Asia Arrival

Last night, in Los Angeles, in semed as if we'd never get here. Waiting for what seemed like an eternity, we were trapped at the gate because the wheel of the Qantas flight next door had broken. Complicating matters was the fact that the aircraft was an Airbus A380, the new double-decker model, something I swear I'll never fly. The concept of an airplane that big just doesn't fly with me, no pun intended.

After the situation was resolved, we had the little matter of a 14-hour flight to Taipei. I was able to sleep through a great deal of it but the time seemed to drag on forever. At last, we touched down on this island nation. The airport was empty and spotless, a far cry from Logan, Kennedy, or, god forbid, Newark. Breezing through customs, we were suprisd to find the taxi drivers dressed in suits, out of their cars, approaching us to help bring us to our hotel. Welcome to Asia, I guess. The drive from the airport to the hotel, nearly an hour, took us from the rural coastline, through the lush jungle highlands, and lastly into the bustling city of Taipei. Our hotel was wonderful, a great respite from the stresses of travelling over the last day and a half.

Tonight, we'll be venturing into the northern section of the city to visit the Palace Museum as well as the famous night markets. I'm looking forward to the experience and some more rest before the conference commences tomorrow. Asia amazes me so far.

-Greg

Politics at Home and Abroad

The last few days have been an absolute rush. Last Friday, the beginning of our spring break, I traveled down to Washington, D.C. to spend some personal time around this great city before the Inside Politics program that I am a part of began on Sunday. It was a great time to be down in the district, it was 60 and sunny nearly everyday, and the springtime was definitely refreshing after a long, cold winter. Spending time with friends, old and new, out in Georgetown on Friday and Saturday night was a great reward for 2 months of crazy schoolwork and commitments. I strongly reccomend Bodega, a great Spanish tapas restaurant on M street.

Our "Inside Politics" program consisted of a bunch of meetings with top policy advisors and political pundits. We had a great time meeting with Roger Williams, a candidate for the US Senate seat in Texas. A big practitioner of "retail politics", Williams reminded me very much of George W. Bush in his mannerisms and conversation style.

Currently, I am sitting in Harrisburg International Airport, waiting for our flight to Detroit. I am about to embark on an 11-day excursion to Taiwan for the World Model United Nations Conference. Having participated in Model UN for over 6 years, I am very excited to compete with the best in the world in Taipei. I have also never traveled to Asia before, so I expect that to be an awakening experience. I will be blogging as regularly as possible when overseas, and hopefully posting pictures as well.

- Greg