Junkin' It

Things have been slow out here lately, and unfortunately there is little new to report on other than the drain of funds and the intensity of the heat. SCLI is gearing up for the school season and our curriculum is beginning to come together. We are currently working on a pitch presentation and educational materials to show to schools and potential students. Sadly, any revenue from our efforts will not be realized until late fall at the earliest... Which is frustrating.

The new direction we are working toward is seeing some positive progress, and though we are in the due diligence phase of things,the potential market is promising. We are excited about it, but cautious nonetheless.

The bright spot in the past few weeks was junk boat cruise we were invited on this last Saturday. The weather was perfect, albeit painfully humid, but the sun stayed out and the waters were calm. It was my first junk experience in Hong Kong and most certainly will not be the last. The cruise set off from a large pier paaacked with parties ranging from 10-40 people all awaiting their respective boats. Our meager crowd of 15 or so dialed in the reserved boat and set sail for the island of Po'toi about an hour and a half away. Po'toi is one of the southern most islands under Hong Kong's jurisdiction and is home to a small town that exists solely to run a large restaurant frequented by junkers. The fish was amazing and diverse, and the atmosphere, though a bit muggy was quite interesting. Large round tables housed boat parties and all were seated on various levels of decking. all of this overlooked the medium-sized cove that sheltered the 6 or so junks that were there at the time of our arrival. Lunch was great, but it was time for a swim.

I have since been told that the salinity of the waters varies greatly depending on which coves the captains decide to stop at. Ours happened to be quite salty. Eye-burny salty. A damper on the afternoon's activities? Absolutely not. We christened the swim with a couple jumps of the top of the boat, then proceded to loung about in lifesavers for a good half hour, before swimming and jumping in some more. The good life.

Swimming was nice and a few of us retired for naps on the main deck. We slowly raced the sun back to Hong Kong and once there, decided it wasn't yet time to go home. Negotiations were in order, and an extra couple hundred hong kong dollars a head bought us and extra 90 minutes to watch the sun come down and the city light up, in an unprecedented on-water view.

A great day indeed, and sadly, it's all in the past as we continue to work, study mandarin (we're a bit behind regrettably), and continue to make something of our time here.