Well, its been a long time since I've updated, but now I have all the missing information!

First of all, I know my departure travel details. I leave from Cedar Rapids to LAX on the 19th, via Dallas, and then I'm handed over to AFS personnel. In this first step to my departure alone, I will experience two 'firsts'; my first time flying alone, and my first time in California. Hooray!

The next big pieces of info I've received are my Host Family and School Placement. I will be living in Fanling (about 17 miles north of central HK) with with a host mom and dad! I am so eager to meet them and learn more about Fanling, because the Internet lacks in English information about the town.

My school is Tuen Mun Catholic Secondary School in the town of Tuen Mun, about 15 miles from my home. I know my classes will be split between English and Chinese, but I really don't have any more information about the school. Its website provides no english translation and they haven't directly contacted me, so I have yet to find out the specifics. This will round out my types of schooling pretty nicely - at some point in my life I will have experienced public schools, private school, homeschool, military/government school (ok, so that one was really pre-preschool), and now financially aided religious school. Quite a list.

So now I have 3 days left in the following: the Western Hemisphere, North America, the USA, the Central Time Zone, the Midwest, Iowa, and Iowa City. And I can't wait to leave! Goodbye everything! In one sense I'm going home; back to the hemisphere in which I was born. Weird.

I still have to pack my suitcase and carry-on and make sure everything is within the strict weight guidelines, and then I'm pretty much set to go!

Ben