We arrived in Hong Kong!

Despite our moms trying to ground us at the last minute, Kelly's dad trying to miss the exit for the airport and our dog Elbert trying to guilt us into not leaving (dog people know what we're talking about), we caught our flight from Denver!

After a 16 hour flight over the north pole in complete darkness - as well as sitting in the middle seat which did not recline - eating 3 dinners because we never - technically, saw morning, we finally made it to Hong Kong! Adjusting to the 15 hour time change has been a bit demanding on our minds and bodies - as we write this it is Thursday morning in Hong Kong and Wednesday evening in Denver! Which also means we will be celebrating the New Year when our friends and family in the Rockies are just waking up! If we find out any secrets from the future, we will send them along...


For doing nothing except walking around, our first day in Hong Kong was quite interesting. Starting off our day with noodles and beef satay was new! 

From there, we made our way through the markets and learned about many new delicacies including sparrows nests, dried oysters and sea cucumbers. Although Hong Kong has two national languages  - Cantonese AND English, we had a very hard time trying to communicate about some of these treats - though Angry Birds seems to be a universal truth, as well as the New Orleans Saints - who for the last two days have graced the front page of two local papers! Despite my occasional nay-saying about machismo sports, so far on our trip seeing the Saints in local papers has made us feel not too far from home. AND Tim Tebow has made us relevant to a new friend who was not sure where Colorado was until we mentioned the Denver Broncos!

Although the food was fascinating, what has perhaps been most interesting is learning about Hong Kong's revolutionary history marked most notably by Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Although he was not alone in his pursuits, and he passed away well before his vision was fully actualized, his ideas about anti-imperialism and national self determination seem to be what ushered in an independent Hong Kong. When we arrived in Hong Kong we read in a local paper that mainland China had just canceled a very popular TV show based on life in Hong Kong because the show was deemed "too controversial" by the Chinese government. Hong Kong still stands out from mainland China because of its independent ideals and progressive politics.  A statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen now sits in the middle of one of Hong Kong's many urban parks overlooking a small portion of the vast skyline. 

Today (as y'all back home are falling asleep) we will be heading to Tsim Sha Tsui where Amnesty International Hong Kong is located to meet with some community organizers about life without parole for juveniles in the US. AI Hong Kong is currently campaigning to end the death penalty in Asia and support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in the workplace. 


Happy New Year!

One week from today!

One week from today Chris and I will be arriving in Hong Kong to start our 6 month journey to London! The process to get here has been a bit daunting as we have had to navigate international visa requirements, currency conversion, a half dozen vaccinations, language barriers as we reconnect with old friends and make new friends via Couchsurfing.org, determining what exactly we will need to pack for a 6 month long trip that spans three very different seasons, and, of course, convincing our moms we are prepared and will be safe...

This December we celebrated the one year anniversary of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana (JJPL) in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) welcoming home their first clients after they were released from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. Together these men served nearly a century in prison (pictured above as they walked out of the prison gates). Their release was due to the United States Supreme Court decision in the case of Graham v. Florida which made life without parole for juveniles unconstitutional in cases where a murder did not occur. As we celebrated I was reminded of what it took to not only get them home that night, but also how that week after their release was at times so tough that those huge smiles were ripped away by feelings of doubt. After spending nearly their entire lives in prison and walking out with only a pillow case and $10 checks to start their new lives, we were first faced with the harsh reality that to even cash that check we would need $15 to pay for a birth certificate (because both of their families had lost their homes and their possessions in Hurricane Katrina - a common reality amongst those serving JLWOP) to get a State ID. Essentially, they were starting out $5 behind.

A year later we are thrilled to see the United States Supreme Court consider extending the Graham ruling to even more cases, but also concerned about how we will be able to keep that hope alive once they walk out of those prison gates. Annually, it is estimated that around 700,000 people return home from prisons and jails.  Many despite a strong work ethic and goals to succeed on the outside will end up homeless because of barriers to employment, and the simple fact that most come home with nothing besides the clothes on their backs to start their new lives. This concern is why we have decided to dedicate our trip to raising money for those, who we hope, will be at home with their families next holiday season. Please visit our Sponsorship Page to learn more and make a donation. Every penny will go towards paying the high costs of re-entry for people given a second chance after being sentenced to life without the possibility of parole as youth in Louisiana.

We have started our outreach to academics and activists for our research and have been thrilled about the reception we have received. Today, we were sent  the photos below from Amnesty International's (AI) office in France documenting events they put on through the month of December for AI's Global-Write-A-Thon. This year, AI focused on 15 people facing human rights abuses - including, Christi Cheramie, a young woman in Louisiana serving JLWOP! In France alone, over 250,000 signatures were collected during this years write-a-thon! Hundreds of letters and emails were also sent on Christi's behalf to Governor Jindal and President Obama asking them to end JLWOP and commute Christi's sentence.

To learn more about Christi's case and JLWOP in the United States, please follow the embedded links.