The Routines of Life I’m so busy now that I can’t catch up in one sitting when writing my journal. So, I’ll continue where I left off. Last Sunday I went to church for the first time. The U.S. Consulate had located an English speaking church service for me to attend. It is a daughter church of St. John’s Cathedral near the U.S. Consulate. But, the daughter church where I go is called Emmanuel and is located nearer to campus. It is an Anglican church. It is similar to a Lutheran traditional service in the sense that we sing hymns and [View Full Entry]

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Now, it’s time to relay the happenings of the Chinese New Year! Thanks to Dr. Lian and Alison from the Centre on Advancement in Special Education (CASE), I had places to go and food to eat during the Chinese New Year! The meals normally delivered to me from the Asia Pacific restaurant on campus were not available during the holiday. Saturday night I went out with Dr. Lian and his daughter Kuo-Hsin to visit a long-time friend of Dr. Lian’s. They went to university together in Taiwan during the 1970’s. Ms. Yang and her son Anson live in Kowloon near a [View Full Entry]

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I have just add a map of the countries I have visited to help you see where I have been. <div style='text-align:center;'><a href='http://www.travelblog.org/VC/my-visited-countries.html?cl=chfrukus' onclick='window.open("http://www.travelblog.org/VC/my-visited-countries.html?cl=chfrukus&popped=1","tb_map","width=820,height=510,toolbar=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=auto,resizable=yse,status=no,location=no");return false;'><img src='http://www.travelblog.org/VC/vc-mini.php?cl=chfrukus' width=197 height=107 alt='Visited Countries' border=0><br>My Visited Countries</a>< [View Full Entry]

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Learning the Lay of the Land A lot has happened since my last posting. I had my first O&M lesson on Tuesday night. The instructor is very kind and knowledgeable. He showed me how to go from my dormitory to my office and to the main library. We joked a lot, and he even offered to continue my lessons after our agreed contract is over, should I need more help. I haven’t been back to the library yet, but I have been between my office and my dorm several times. People are so helpful that I barely have time to learn [View Full Entry]

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This is Tuesday, January 17th, 2006. I’m sitting in my office at the University of Hong Kong. My office is bigger than the one for the Centre for Advancement in Special Education (CASE), the entity that is hosting me as a Fulbrighter. I will share this office with one other staff member soon. They will probably be a visiting scholar as well. Settling into Daily Life As of now, my meals are being delivered three times per day by the Asia Pacific restaurant on campus. I’ve given them HK 500, and they deduct from my account every time they deliver to [View Full Entry]

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Good food and room to sleep OK, about my flight: We took off about 45 minutes late. I slept for maybe an hour or so. Then, I had linen napkins, a place setting with salad and an appetizer. After that came my beef steak, yummy vegetables, and a potato/stuffing thing. I drank coffee next, and finally, I had apple pie. Flying business is great! I had enough room in my seat so that my legs weren't even squished together! If I put my feet out straight in front of me, they didn't touch the seat ahead of me! My neck pillow [View Full Entry]

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Getting through paperwork I've been waiting for the U.S. State Department to grant my medical clearance for my Fulbright project in Hong Kong for several weeks now. Because I'm blind, the doctor required more medical documentation than is typically required of other grantees. My general practitioner wrote a letter detailing the kinds of supports I need to function independently in daily life. My coordinator for disability services at my university suggested language for the general practitioner's letter. Then, I had to sign a release that would allow the letter to be sent to the s [View Full Entry]

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Getting Accepted to FulBright I applied for a Fulbright grant to conduct my dissertation research for a Ph.D. in special education in September of last year. On August 19th of 2005 I was notified that I received the funding! Ever since then I've begun planning for my trip. Details,Details Since I'm blind, I've had to think about arranging even more details than the average person. I've decided not to take my Seeing Eye dog, Jill, with me. In her middle age she's getting a little growly. I'm concerned about the impression she'd make in Hong Kong if she growled or [View Full Entry]

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