So, finally, sadly, I must say that my time in Hong Kong is drawing to a close. While I still officially have over 2 months left in this lovely city, in reality that adds up to only about 8 more weekends which I can spend doing everything either 'one last time' or in some cases for the first time. I've been checking things off my mental to-do list slowly but surely, and only a few remain.

What remains:
I have some shopping to do in Shenzhen, for certain Chinese things that just can't be bought in America
I need to visit Macau once before departing Asia (it's a 2 hour ferry ride away, I just need to apply through AFS and find a guide to show me around).

What that means is that I'm basically done with everything I 'needed' to do in Hong Kong. I've seen basically everything there is to see, been almost everywhere there is to go, and done all the things I had dreamed of accomplishing before coming to Hong Kong.

What I've done that I expected to do:

Visited the Big Buddha on Lantau Island by cablecar (Largest seated outdoor bronze Buddha in the world)
Eaten real Dim Sum (done that trillions of times)
Sung Karaoke (also done many times, each time a little less scary/weird)
Visited the Ladies Market in MongKok (awesome street market, located in the place with the world's highest population density)
Seen Tung Choi street (a street full of goldfish vendors)
Temple Street (another crazy night market)
Gone hiking in Sai Kung (awesome nature park in HK, opposite of the bustling city)
Visited several outlying islands (HK has tons of tiny little islands, fascinating places)
Been to The Peak (HK's highest point, incredible view of the city)
Seen traditional temples (all ove HK)
And tons more things I can't think of right now...

Things I've done which were totally unexpected:

Flown in a helicopter (friend of a friend just happened to be a pilot!)
Traveled to Xiamen, Shaoguan, and Shenzhen (Mainland is crazy-awesome!)
Met more fantastic people than I can keep track of (Yes, I have a real problem remembering all my friends' names and faces)
Become the vice-chairman of my school's Geography Club (OK, so that really doesn't mean much, but I like the title)
Played numerous basketball and soccer pickup games with locals (always a pleasure)
Taken, and passed, the HK exams (Yes, I'm actually 'learning' some applicable book-knowledge here)
Seen Giant Pandas
And again, tons and tons of things that I can't remember right now.

But the point of all this is just to say that I truly feel as if I've taken full advantage of every second I've spent in Hong Kong + surrounding areas. I've taken control of my time here, and done what I like, while still maintaining a better-than-decent relationship with my Host family, classmates/teachers, and out-of-school friends. I've learned so many things about life, myself, people, the world, and HK's unique culture. Rewarding to say the very least. I have no regrets at all.

So, though my blogging is clearly declining, it is for a good cause. I'm just too busy getting the most out of my last few weeks in Hong Kong!

Ben