"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.