Starting it up

Well, I somehow managed to get an internship in Hong Kong for a month this summer (June), which is pretty damn cool. It seemed like a long shot, but I ponied up the $250 application fee and submitted the form, thinking I'd be spending my summer at ITA doing the same ol' same ol'. But it looks like I'm gonna be leaving on a jet plane at the end of May.

After my month in Hong Kong, I'm going to hang out in Japan for a couple of weeks (July 4 - July 20 or so). When I was in Japan a few years ago, I spent about a month in Tokyo, with a few days in Kyoto. I'll definitely visit Tokyo again, since it's pretty much the coolest place in the world, but I want to try and get to some other cities in Japan.

"Why an internship in Hong Kong" you're probably not asking yourself? Well, one of my main goals in law school has been to live and work in another country. Never really had the opportunity to do that as an undergrad, so I'm psyched to do it now. And if I'm going to experience some time in another country, it may as well be somewhere as different from what I'm used to as I can manage. As I learned last time I visited Japan, it's amazing being in a country with a totally different culture, where there's no shared history, and it's obvious that I'm an outsider. Fascinating and totally cool.

I've never been a big picture taker, and I've never kept a journal. Which is sad, because every time I take a trip, there are so many interesting things that I'd love to keep fresh in my mind. It's never a problem holding onto the big things, but this time I want to document all the little things in between. What I do when I'm just hanging out. Which coffee shops and restaurants I visit. Which route I take to the subway. All those little things that fill in the days, between visiting the temples or major historic district. This time, I hope to keep all of that (most of that?) fresh in my memories by documenting it here.

At the moment, I'm still sorting out the logistics. Buying plane tickets (they keep getting more expensive!). Finding a place to stay. Hell, just getting all the visa documents together is a pain in the ass (I really need both a letter of good academic standing and a letter from my school stating my intent to return?). But I think I'm going to send that all out tomorrow. Also keeping an eye on plane tickets. Gotta pull the trigger sometime.

Now, back to eating Whole Foods chocolate chip cookies. I have no will power.