Initial impressions of the New Territories

It is now 7:17 am, Hong Kong local time. It is early by all standards, especially mine. What is making it worse is that I have been awake for more than 4 hours now. Bad case of jet lag, hot and humid climate and a paper-thin mattress are all equally to blame. Since this morning I already caught up with two of my good friends through skype and msn, and I am already in my new office. Not working yet, obviously. In my defense, I have not had my coffee yet, and the cafeterias do not open for another 10 minutes. I wanted to make some coffee in my dorm, but I ran into some technical difficulties (no mugs).

It has been around a day and a half since I arrived to SAR. So far my experience is a mix of excitement, optimism, sleep deprivation and just plain fighting for every breath. It is an understatement to say that this is an amazing place unlike anything I have ever seen. I was describing the New Territories to my flat mate last night as a collection of lego blocks that someone threw into a mixture of jungle and Oregonian vegetation, and then connected those lego blocks by roads (by some miracle, all the blocks fell upright). 

I have a feeling as if people are not welcome at this place and that the nature is only giving us a lease (which is only appropriate, given the history of the place) until it reclaims its rights. The university itself is in better shape than the residential area though. Some of the buildings could be qualified as beautiful, and there is a definite consistency in the architecture (compare this to the monstrosity that is EPFL). To be fair, in both places concrete is king, but somehow here the forest comforts you into understanding that the green prevails over the gray.

Another similarity to Lausanne is the topology of the place. The university is built on steep hillsides that should make the capital of Vaud blush in inadequacy. It's more than 20 000 students move around in buses (free, clunky, ready to break down, but somehow don't) and shuttles (not so expensive, small, modern) since the distances and the climate do not always allow for an enjoyable walk. Speaking of which, I had my first one this morning. I was

 interested to see how long it would take me to reach my office in the old Ho Sin Hang

 Engineering Building from the iHouse Block 2. 15 minutes, give or take. And not only did I do the walk, I managed to enjoy it as well. To understand why I say this, you have to understand the climate here during the summer. Imagine that someone has taken a long hot shower in a bathroom that does not air well. And you enter this bathroom soon after the other person leaves it. The ensuing sentiment (also known as the sauna effect) is what I was feeling during the first day and a half here every time I stepped foot outside. Luckily, the temperature is still not too high (hovering below 30 degrees), so I will have time to get used to the weather before it gets bad. It will get worse (hotter) in a couple of days, but at least I will also be able to see the sun, something of a rarity here during the summer.

Anyway, I look forward to the following months, hopefully with more sleep. There are so many things to say about this place, and I hope to actually keep up the blogging this time (with pictures, perhaps). Don't get your hopes up though. Oh, and another thing. I will get to see the "real thing" tonight; my friend Christy will show me around the city. Maybe we will not go to the Hong Kong island, but at least I will go around Mong Kok.

Cheers from Gui-Lo who is going to get his jet fuel now