Well, it is hard to believe that the first month in 2008 is already behind us. One cool thing about living in Hong Kong is the fact that we are almost a half a day ahead of our family and friends in the US. Thus, it is always fun to call them in the morning and tell them that the day is going to be a good day, “Dad, Friday is going to be a great day…it was for us.” Randi and I had “dinner and drink” events Thursday night to finish off January. Randi had drinks with our friends Caryn and Jerry. Caryn works for W.L. Gore and Jerry owns his own business and is involved in consulting with oil companies. He is headed to Saudi Arabia for a business trip and I am sure we will have some great conversations when he returns. Meanwhile, I had dinner with my fellow FedEx Express ex-pats and one of our FedEx Trade Network (FTN) attorneys, John. I met John in Hong Kong almost one year ago when I was involved on a special project involving FTN. He is a great guy from Memphis and it was good to hear some stories from home. Apparently, we are not the only ones getting unseasonably cool weather. John informed us that it has been in the teens and low twenties in Memphis…which is cold…no matter where you live. February is going to be a great month. Randi and I are taking our first real vacation to the island of Boracay in the Philippines and then I will be heading to China for another project for the second half of the month. Boracay is supposed to be absolutely beautiful and we have heard nothing but good things from friends who have visited the island. Randi is hoping to learn how to scuba dive on this trip; that way she will be able to join me on some underwater diving adventures in the future. It is hard to believe but the end of February will mark one year in Hong Kong and it has indeed moved along very quickly; this will put is halfway through my assignment.
Now a few words from Randi…
Hmmm....words from me?....Well, I was supposed to write this on Feb 1 and now it's Feb 3, so from that you can deduct 1 of 4 things: 1.) I'm at work; 2.) I'm stressed; 3.) I need a vacation; and/or 4.) All of the above.
But honestly....(well, that is pretty honest)....I haven't sent one of my typical update emails since before Christmas. Christmas was a nice holiday once Mark's family arrived after a very chaotic travel schedule complete with uncooperative winter weather in the US and UK that left them stuck in London Heathrow for 14 hours (yes, sitting in Heathrow for 14 consecutive hours) and arriving in HK with no luggage after taking nearly 2 days en route. I think Mark and I will soon have to accept that requiring our families to fly anywhere to visit us seems to cause either: a.) natural disasters (the earthquake and flash-flooding that left my parents traveling nearly 3 days and arriving in Hawaii less than 24 hours before the wedding in Maui) or b.) logistical nightmares that paralyze the air travel industry on an international scale. I will contend that the real culprit behind the Hawaii debacle was a 4.2 ounce bottle of Clinique moisturizer and those rigid TSA rules about liquids, gels, and aerosols.
As for an update about life in HK...nothing really notable to add to the list of 257 of the craziest things I've eaten since living here. The last mass email sent had pics of the pigeon head for dinner in November attached but for some reason wasn't accepted by several email servers...how could pigeon head possibly be spam?? That's quality stuff. I have to say Mark's parents and brother were brave in trying the local flavors we offered them. Granted we were a bit tame...no internal organs, exposed heads, feet, eyeballs, anything with the viscosity of sinus drainage, etc...although neither us nor my friends could talk them into sampling the chicken feet with yum cha (dim sum) at lunch. Some things you just have to try.
The latest and greatest thing going on now is Chinese New Year. For us I suppose it would equate to a 4 day Christmas. It is the most important holiday of the year - most locals spend time with with family, have big meals, give red packets holding cash gifts (lai see), etc. This year marks the Year of the Rat. Allegedly the Year of the Rat symbolizes wealth, charm, and order...and here I was connoting it with death, disease, and filth....uneducated gweilo (white person)...what was was I thinking???
As for the expatriate community during CNY, most people take a holiday (vacation) and head out of town. We will be spending about a week in Boracay, Philippines. I cannot wait! I am so excited for some beach time. Boracay comes highly recommended as it is one of the few uncommercialized and naturally beautiful strips of beach around...and unlike a lot of similar destinations in Asia, western tourists aren't targeted and solicited so heavily to give money, buy useless souvenirs, and whatnot. From my understanding, it's a getaway with little more than a few restaurants/bars, beach, diving, and water sports. Yahoo consistently ranks it as one of the world's Top 10 Beaches...and what's good enough for Yahoo is good enough for me. I'm sure there will be future posts on flickr.com, so we will keep you updated.
Also soon to come out on Flickr maybe...I was on my way to the office today to do some catch up (on a Sunday afternoon--sigh) when I found myself in a Chinese protest march. The shouting, signs, and flags were all in Chinese so I have no idea what it was about. I'm sure onlookers and protesters were wondering where the clueless gwei mui (white girl) came from...just another typical I Love Lucy moment in life. Most likely it was a pro-democracy demonstration since reaction to China's decision to delay the possibility for universal suffrage in HK until 2017 (instead of 2012) has not been good. Ideas toward democracy here are as interesting as they are controversial - worth Googling "politics of Hong Kong" sometime. Anyway, I walked in the back of the protest march -- with the cops in case these usually very docile and non-confrontational Chinese suddenly went all Orange Mound on everyone (to non-Memphians that means homicidally crazy) -- until I found a way to get around; only then to try to cross the street when the light changed and left me stuck in oncoming traffic that involved multiple double-decker buses. Yet another predictable moment from I Love Lucy...one day I expect to go schizophrenic and hear Desi Arnaz's rebuking Cuban voice in my head when I do the absent-minded things I do. I have pics from the action I will try to post soon.
So until next time - Happy Chinese New Year...Kong Hei Fat Choi!!! We will update you on Boracay and the latest Hong Kong-isms later in February.
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