4 Weeks Exactly!

It has been exactly 4 weeks to the day that I arrived in Hong Kong and became what I am now referred to as an expat.  I don't love the term because I believe I am a present and constant Windsor-ite, while simultaneously acknowledging that my day-to-day life is in Hong Kong.  It is official though.  Last week I went, all by myself, to pick up my Hong Kong ID.  Not a temporary one.  The real one with a bad picture and all my encrypted information and everything.  Just like my California Driver's License only this allows me to quickly go through immigration when I enter Hong Kong.  Like I'm a native, only giant sized with hips and boobs that are not normally seen in these parts!


I've had good days, great days, sad days, bad days, horrible days, laugh-out-loud days and this-would-be-great-if-all-my friends-could-join-me days.  Through it all there are a few things I know for sure:

*I am happy to have my marriage back.  The kind where I fall asleep next to Joe and wake up beside him and everything else is ok as long as we have that as a constant.

*I am savoring these next three years with Alex.  I can't believe Melanie is already off to college and I can't believe that chapter has ended.  I know our next chapter with her is going to be just as amazing but I am still missing my baby girl.  So, Alex, it's ON!  Let's make some memories.

*I AM NOT GOING TO HAVE CUTE HAIR HERE FOR MORE THAN TWO SECONDS.

*Hong Kong is a place of tremendous contradictions and contrasts...modern, contemporary architecture contrasting with no irrigation systems and one or two guys moving hoses around to water huge lawns and parks.

*I get so queasy on the double-decker buses here that I may become a taxi princess.  Swaying around narrow streets, narrow misses, and sudden stops don't make me feel so good.

*Pedestrians DON'T have the right of way here!

*My math skills are not so great.  Between calculating the value of HK$ versus US$, changing everything to the metric system, and figuring out military time, I am in a perpetual state of HUH????

*I forget what it feels like to be cold.

*I carry all my friends and family with me every moment of every day.

*The laughter of a child crosses all language and cultural barriers.  When you hear a child laughing or giggling, it makes you smile and you suddenly know that what matters most is universal. 

Here are some moments and memories from my past 4 weeks...

A TYPICAL HONG KONG STREET IN CENTRAL

WALKING AROUND AN AREA OF HK KNOWN AS CAUSEWAY BAY...

THERE ARE ALWAYS THIS MANY PEOPLE WHEN YOU ARE MAKING YOUR WAY AROUND...

WALKING THROUGH IFC MALL, ONE OF A MILLION HUGE MALLS HERE...

THE FIRST APPLE STORE IN HK OPENED AND THE CROWDS WERE EVEN WORSE THAN USUAL!

HEADING INTO THE MTR STATION (MASS TRANSIT RAILROAD).

GOING SOMEWHERE USUALLY ENTAILS A LOT OF WALKING, A SHUTTLE BUS, A MTR, A POSSIBLE MTR TRANSFER TO A NEW TRAIN, AND MAYBE A DING-DING (DOUBLE-DECKER ELECTRIC TROLLEY).  THERE ARE ALSO CITY BUSES, FERRIES, TAXIS, MINI-BUSES, AND A WHOLE LOTTA OTHER OPTIONS THAT MAKE MY 45 YEAR OLD BRAIN START TO SMOKE! 

The welcome mat is always out at the Toth home so want to come join me as I continue to explore? 

WATERFALL MOMENTS

OUR WATERFALL!

So, this is the view we see from the back of our home.  The dining room, Alex's room and my bathroom all have this view.  I call it OUR back yard even though I really share it with all of the Bel-Air complex and the 8 million people that live in Hong Kong!  Not too bad to look at and it turns out, not too tough to get to and climb.  The first week, after I arrived and was settling in, my new cell phone rang.  It was Alex.  He had gone out to take the dog for a walk.  He said, "Mom, look out the window!"  I wasn't sure what he wanted but he proceeded to tell me to go over and look out the dining room window.  "Do you see me?" I'm thinking...What?!  What are you doing?  Well, like the curious, brave, I-can-do-it soul that he is, he decided to stop looking at the waterfall and go climb it!  He managed to get himself to it with Aspen in tow and climb up and then call his Momma so she could see her son and her dog on top of "her" (I'm very possessive!) waterfall in Hong Kong.  

VERY COOL!

I appreciated this moment and Joe was there beside me to take it in and love that our son was "out back" climbing a waterfall and we were living on the 36th floor of our high rise watching him! 

This is also why I love being a Mom... because my children are raising ME well.  Alex is teaching me how to embrace this experience and be a true participant in life.  Mel too.  They are both in the midst of huge changes and new experiences and they rise up to meet every day with enthusiasm and a positive attitude.  If they can do it, I CAN DO IT!    



Same Food, Different Flavor

"Make yourself available for the experience."  Marianne Williamson

This is a definite experience and I'm trying!  So, as I write this, it is MY Friday afternoon.  Alex is at school.  Joe is off to Macau for the day, for work.  I am still trying to figure out how to be Tammy in Hong Kong!  Everything is different and I am the same.  Yet I am completely different.  Everything I once knew about myself has shifted. The friendships, the community, the job, the routines, the food, the transportation, the language, the customs, the places to shop, the weather, the seasons, and, brace yourself...the TV options.  Oh how I miss a good, bad TV show to get my mind off of things! LOL!

FOOD AND GROCERY SHOPPING

 

So I've been cooking but so far I am not impressed with myself.  I need to learn how to make food really yummy again.  So much is imported here that nothing has the same flavor.  Fruits and veggies, breads, and, as you see above, the proteins are a whole new experience here.  The meat in the grocery stores is super expensive but the other option is the street markets where you can find the above selection sitting out all day in 90 degree weather with 80% plus humidity.  Not brave enough for that yet. 

                                                                               

NAME THAT FRUIT...

When I first arrived, a beautiful, large fruit basket showed up from Joe's store and coworkers to officially welcome us to Hong Kong.  It was filled with amazing pears, plums, grapes, apples, grapefruit, and several things I wasn't familiar with, like the above.  Turns out it is a dragon fruit.  I wasn't sure how to eat it or prepare it so I cut into it and this is what you get:

It's good.  I wouldn't say I'm in love.  I think it would be great in a big fruit salad with other flavors to balance it.  Now, speaking of salad...not a big deal here.  I love a salad.  Green salad, fruit salad, spinach salad, pasta salad, etc.  Here...not so much.  They cook their vegetables and don't usually serve lettuce cold. 

THE GOOD NEWS AND MY BEST FIND SO FAR

WINE IN A GLASS, TO GO!

This makes me happy!  I went to get a bottle of water at a little food store and LOOK...They have white and almost-red wine in a glass with a sealed top on it, kinda like a pudding cup for grown-ups!  So, I figure I have many more wonderful discoveries ahead but the glass-o-wine is good enough for now!  Pam, Carla, and all my wine country ladies...come join me for a glass!  My treat!!

Welcome To Our Home

View of most of the Bel-Air Towers

I'm back and I survived my first outing alone!  I got lucky because I took a taxi to my destination so it was pretty easy.  You can download an app that will translate the address where you want to go for the taxi driver.  Did that.  Next hurdle, paying and tipping in HK$.  Did that!  After my appointment I had two hours to walk around central Honk Kong and start learning my way.  It went pretty well but I have NOT acclimated to the heat and humidity so I end up soaked!  I ended up in an huge luxury mall sitting in AC at the Starbucks and drinking a cold frappacino to recover.  So much for experiencing new things!  LOL!  Baby steps!

So I think I've got the picture thing figured out so I am sharing pics of our new residence area, Bel-Air.  It is outside of the really busy Central Hong Kong and allows us to see more green and nature plus a view of the South China Sea.  Alex has been able to ride his bike.  There are great walks for me and Aspen without fighting the city crowds.  Though it is like a suburb our complex is pretty huge with many  phases, towers, and floors (about 41-43 per building).  It has great facilities for all of us.  Indoor and outdoor pools, two gyms, spa, and great recreation for Alex.  Classmates live in and around here so he has already been down to play pool, foosball, and go to the movies at the nearby Cyberport where we also can grocery shop, dine, and attend events.  This is important because we are not going to have cars so walking and public transportation is always in the plan.  You may end up on a bus, then the MTR (Mass Transit Railway), and then finally a walk to your exact location.  I am learning to plan accordingly by learning bus/shuttle times, MTR stations, and understanding the time it will all take to get where I need to go, not to mention the condition I'll arrive in.  Joe says it takes a couple months but eventually when I walk around I won't be as soaked from the humidity.  The body adjusts.  I can only hope!!!!!!!!

Enjoy the pics of our new "home."

       Seaside park where I take Aspen for long walks.  Looking toward Bel-Air.

The park also sits next to the South China Sea so we can watch the ships.

"It's Like I Am In A Foreign Country!" ;-)

First let me just say...I know!  So far my record of blogging is not so great.  I set up myself to start blogging several weeks ago but the reality is my plate was too full and I needed to get Melanie off to college and prepare to move.  I knew if I set it up then, though, that I would be committed. I wanted to make sure once I got here I didn't drop the ball and not do it at all.  I knew once I arrived in HK I could take the time to write because the hardest parts were over.  I can even go back as I process the last few months and write about it as I fully realize and review all that has been.  Hopefully, it will be in combination with all that is yet to be and together we can experience this adventure!  I AM HERE...Hong Kong, China.  Yikes!  The title of this blog is tongue-in-cheek cause you know I like to laugh about it all, yet it is very honest.  Much like Dorothy said to Toto...I am not in Windsor, or even California, or even the United States anymore!

I arrived here just shy of one week ago and it has been a whirlwind of things to do to prepare for this day... my first day on my own. Joe had 3 relocation days off still, so he saved them for my arrival to help me settle in.  Thank heaven...there was my new residence to learn about because we live in a huge community of high rises called Bel-Air.  There are residence id's and access cards and learning how to get around and where you are allowed to walk the dog.   I needed several practice runs to just manage to be able to take the dog out for a walk without getting lost.  One of her favorite places to walk is a seaside park but it entails three seperate elevator rides down more than 36 floors and three seperate buildings to get there!

It just happened to work out that I arrived on a week when the smog was at its worst and even Alex had his Cross Country practices canceled because his coach said running with this air quality is equal to smoking a pack of cigarettes.  Oh, great!  I've put a picture up so you can have a sense of the smog. 
The smog is going to be one of my adjustment areas...but I also hope that since I arrived under the worst air quality it can only get better.  There are magnificent views to be seen so I anticipate them. 
I am figuring out how to post more pictures but I have just wasted a whole lotta time and got a whole lotta nothin'.  While I anticipate cooler weather and less smog, you can anticipate me learning how to show you all the pictures I am taking to share!  Hee Hee!

I have to stop here for now.  I have plenty more to say but I get to venture out on my own soon so there are other things to accomplish.  I have the house to finish moving into!!! I will leave you with the memory of the moment I arrived to see Joe and Alex after a two month seperation...After about 18 hours of traveling, 14 in the air, then waiting in line to go through immigration, followed by baggage reclaim and customs, I exited the secured area of the HK airport to see the most handsome guys ever with a huge bouquet of flowers and real hugs!  They have nurtured and supported me every moment since I've arrived and I frequently hear Joe ask, "Do you know how happy I am to have you here?"  So even when it is hard or I feel sad, it is still good.  I borrow a quote from one of my favorite songs by Joni Mitchell, "Well, something's lost but something's gained in living every day." I'm living and I'll talk to you soon.