Friday-Saturday, May 30-31st
Chris and Nick arrived safely in Chicago Thursday evening. Chris called to tell me they had an uneventful flight, which is sometimes all you can ask for flying with a 3 1/2 yr old. I could hear Nick in the background running around like a crazy kid. He was so excited to see all of his toys and DVDs. Welcome home guys!Apparently they both took early evening naps that night. Nick woke up from his nap wired. Chris fell asleep at midnight and woke up to find Nick still going strong. He assumed Nick would climb into his own bed or in with him when he was ready to go to sleep. Nope – 4am found Nick standing up in his room ready to fall asleep. Not sure if he ever did sleep that night, but he did get some sleep from 4am on. He must have been fun at nap time during school on Friday!
So what’s a gal to do when she’s got the weekend alone in Hong Kong? Apparently lots of walking!
Chris and Nick called early Saturday morning (my time) to tell me how their first day of school/work went. After a chat with the boys, I hopped on the Star Ferry and headed to Kowloon. I walked and walked, shopped and shopped. At one point, I realized that I had no sense of direction whatsoever. So I sat down to find my way. I’d made it all the way to the Jade Market! Which was so far when we first came to Kowloon early in our trip that we had to taxi it there. Feeling proud I’d made it so far (and found myself on a map!) I then realized I was super hungry and would have to get back! After wandering for another hour or so, and not being enticed by any of the food shops, I went to McDonalds. I know. I can’t believe I’m in Hong Kong and eating at McD’s. I don’t even like McD’s. I only go for Nick. But there I was, and thinking I’d get a crispy chicken sandwich, as that had to be safe. I will not be eating at McD’s again. They should have called it deep fried mystery meat. Two bites and I was done. One of the fun things about McD’s here is the music! The one near our apartment always played Christmas music when we were there. Nick loved it! This location was having a children’s bday party and the kids were singing something to the tune of Auld Lang Syne.
For as much as I complain about the rudeness of the crowds, I’ve found one thing enjoyable. When at a lunch spot and searching for a table, it’s acceptable to take any empty seat. In the states, one person would take an entire table and no one would even try to share with them. It’s one example of “sharing personal space” here that I enjoy.
So you know my love of cosmetics. I wandered into a makeup store and was examining some lip gloss. It came with two tubes. One seemed to plump and the other to stain your lips. A woman came over to me and said “lippo”. Ah yes, lip balm. Nope, because then she starts rubbing a circle over her heart and saying “nippo”. Huh? For crying out loud. I’d picked up nipple tint! My face must have turned the color of the “nippo”.
Tailor. I’d read all about how you can buy custom-made clothes here so inexpensively. So I read up on my tailors and made an appt with a reputable one. I went in with a photograph of a cute dress I was hoping he could duplicate. He looked at the photo, said no problem, brought out several books of fabrics for me to choose from and then quoted me a price. 3x as much as the dress retailed for back home. I guess I was supposed to ask for a Chanel suit, and not a copy of a $300 dress. Live and learn.
Tired, hot and ready to go home, I made my way back to the ferry only to see a wonderful site. Mr. Softie! It’s an ice cream truck with a soft serve machine inside. For $7HK (under $1 US), you get a perfect portion cone of whipped goodness. One flavor. I love Mr. Softie!!!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday-Thursday, May 27-29
Tuesday-Thursday, May 27-29
Remember when we couldn't find the "mangos" the other day? The boys found them!
Nick really missed his school and his friends while he was in HK. Imaginary Lewis (Lewis is his best bud back home) was in our apartment quite a bit the first few weeks. One of the museums had a Chinese schoolroom set, which had audio of schoolchildren singing and reciting. Nick didn’t want to leave the room. He was swaying to the Chinese school songs and then got so excited when “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” came on, singing along. Nick spent a lot of time building forts at the apartment out of the couch/chair cushions. At one point, he called the cushions his “friends”, making Chris a little anxious to get Nick back home to his routine and friends. Luckily they’ve already got play dates/parties lined up for their return.
The boys spent a lot of time at the Zoological gardens. They also ventured out to the Museum of Coastal defense this week. Apparently the kid’s games at the museum are pretty intense. Gas masks, grenades, guns. Not your usual kiddy games. Ferry rides, subway rides, bus rides, tram rides…You name it and those boys were using their Octopus cards to ride it.
The boys left Hong Kong today L Of course we had rain all morning. The hardest rain I’ve seen since we’ve been here. Taxis/cars can’t get down our hill (thus our original drop off at the top of the hill 6 weeks ago), so it was a wet 5 minute dash up to the escalators. Dodging umbrellas and hanging meat while trying to get 2 suitcases, 2 bags, a purse, 2 adults and a kid up the hill. Finally made it, only to get it all up two flights of stairs (covered – thank God). But we made it and got them to the airport train station, which has airport check-in counters! So they were able to dump their luggage, secure boarding passes and head to the airport with just themselves and their snack bags. Lots of hugs/kisses. I didn’t cry until they were on the train waving goodbye. It was so much fun being able to share these adventures with them. I know they’ll miss parts of it. But I also know they’re looking forward to getting home to pizza, streets without crowds/meat markets/pushing, school, toys and the car! Safe travels guys – I love you! And I’ll see you in three short weeks!
Remember when we couldn't find the "mangos" the other day? The boys found them!Nick really missed his school and his friends while he was in HK. Imaginary Lewis (Lewis is his best bud back home) was in our apartment quite a bit the first few weeks. One of the museums had a Chinese schoolroom set, which had audio of schoolchildren singing and reciting. Nick didn’t want to leave the room. He was swaying to the Chinese school songs and then got so excited when “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” came on, singing along. Nick spent a lot of time building forts at the apartment out of the couch/chair cushions. At one point, he called the cushions his “friends”, making Chris a little anxious to get Nick back home to his routine and friends. Luckily they’ve already got play dates/parties lined up for their return.
The boys spent a lot of time at the Zoological gardens. They also ventured out to the Museum of Coastal defense this week. Apparently the kid’s games at the museum are pretty intense. Gas masks, grenades, guns. Not your usual kiddy games. Ferry rides, subway rides, bus rides, tram rides…You name it and those boys were using their Octopus cards to ride it. 
The boys left Hong Kong today L Of course we had rain all morning. The hardest rain I’ve seen since we’ve been here. Taxis/cars can’t get down our hill (thus our original drop off at the top of the hill 6 weeks ago), so it was a wet 5 minute dash up to the escalators. Dodging umbrellas and hanging meat while trying to get 2 suitcases, 2 bags, a purse, 2 adults and a kid up the hill. Finally made it, only to get it all up two flights of stairs (covered – thank God). But we made it and got them to the airport train station, which has airport check-in counters! So they were able to dump their luggage, secure boarding passes and head to the airport with just themselves and their snack bags. Lots of hugs/kisses. I didn’t cry until they were on the train waving goodbye. It was so much fun being able to share these adventures with them. I know they’ll miss parts of it. But I also know they’re looking forward to getting home to pizza, streets without crowds/meat markets/pushing, school, toys and the car! Safe travels guys – I love you! And I’ll see you in three short weeks!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Thursday, May 22 - Sunday, May 25
Thursday, May 22 - Sunday, May 25
A Pookie reunion! Chris and Nick came home to find Pookie, an apology note from the management office and candy waiting for them. He'd gotten caught up in the sheets, but they sanitized him. Ewww-what does that mean? Oh happy day!
Friday I took the day off and we headed to Stanley. We caught the double decker bus and enjoyed our first sunny day in over a week! We went through the market to view the goods and buy Nick an airplane. Then onto lunch and the beach. The water felt so wonderful. I'd swear we were at a resort somewhere, it was so beautiful. Nick took right to the water, "Can i swim?!".
Saturday was Lantau Island for the Big Buddah. We took a ferry, then a bus, then a short walk of 260 steps up to see the Buddah. Nick made it 240 steps before asking to be carried. It was very foggy, so we only got glimpses of the Buddah every few minutes. And mosquitos. Did I mention the mosquitos? Then back down the 260 steps (carrying the 35 lb turkey the whole way this time) and ready for lunch. No nap for Nick, so a few fits were thrown in throughout the day for good measure. At one point, I left Nick and Chris on Wisdom Path to sort out their issues. Three minutes later they both emerged with scowls on their faces. Guess that wisdom didn't work right away. Apparently the thing to do is eat at the vegetarian, family style place that's part of the Monestary. Well, they brought us lots of food. But can't say any of us were excited about it. We started with tea and a soup/broth. It resembled muddy water with green pepper chunks in it. Chris still won't claim to know what that veggie was. Then a big rice pot with some other veggies to add in. Lots of tofu. I don't want to be a monk. Then we walked to the cable cars to take us down the other side of the mountain (as scary as a roller coaster at points) and to the subway to take us back to our neighborhood. Phew. What a day! Home with snacks and then naps. Well, at least 2 of us took naps. Nick figured out how to work the DVD player and watched the Scooby Doo movie. Again. Pizza for dinner - oh sweet heaven! My belly was so happy!
We ended the busy weekend with a day on Kowloon. We took the ferry over and then walked over to the Hong Kong Museum of History. Nick loved it and I actually learned some things about the culture we’ve been living in for the past month. Then we headed to the subway and made our way to the Ladies Market. “Copies, copies”. Chris didn’t think that sounded much better than saying “fake bags” or “counterfeit watches”. It’s amazing the crazy wares they sell at these markets. Everything from jewelry to underwear to fake bags to shoes to costumes. Back to the subway to Kowloon park, where we wandered forever looking for the Kung Fu exhibition. Never found it. But did find a great swimming pool for Chris and Nick to visit this week. Also found signs for parrots and flamingos. Nick got it in his head that we were looking for mangos. So we pretended to look all afternoon for mangos. It was on the ferry ride home that he said “we saw the parrots, but not the flamingos”. Mangos. Flamangos. Flamingos. Ahhhhhh. Chris researched and found a noodle shop for an early dinner. It was authentic. So much so that I had to make a McD’s run once we got home. McDs is insanely cheap here. Hey, 3 yr olds love McDs! They sell sundaes with green tea sauch and red beans, apple pies/red bean pies, Shogun burgers (which from what we can tell might be like McRibs) and exotic sauces for their McNuggets: Pineapple/Soy and Mustard/Chili.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wednesday, May 21
Wednesday, May 21
Nick and Chris have been busy exploring the city. Nick has his Dad’s sense of direction and knows exactly which streets to turn down and which way to go to see the monkeys at the botanic garden! It’s funny to see him leading Chris around.
You guys thought I was exaggerating my first day when I had to sneak my trash out. There’s a woman who comes around once a day to empty our trash cans. She goes through each item and leaves in pieces of paper if I haven’t written/printed on both sides. No kidding. It took me several weeks to catch onto why she was leaving trash in my can.
Poor Nick. He has a stuffed dog “Pookie” that he is attached to. My mom bought him a duplicate at one point, in case we ever lost the first one. Nick spotted the dup immediately and insisted on carrying them both around. Days before we left for Hong Kong, both Pookies had an accident with some purple Silly Putty and came out with purple spots. But that didn't stop them from coming to Hong Kong. Then one went missing. It took us a good week or so to realize that he wasn’t hiding in the apartment. Nick didn’t seem to mind too much as long as he had the other one, so we got over it. Until the other Pookie went missing yesterday. Gulp. Coincidence that it’s the same day they come in to change the sheets? We contacted the building management. I can say from personal experience 32 years ago, that Pookies are not replaceable. Old photo of Pookie below (pre-purple spots).
Nick and Chris have been busy exploring the city. Nick has his Dad’s sense of direction and knows exactly which streets to turn down and which way to go to see the monkeys at the botanic garden! It’s funny to see him leading Chris around.
You guys thought I was exaggerating my first day when I had to sneak my trash out. There’s a woman who comes around once a day to empty our trash cans. She goes through each item and leaves in pieces of paper if I haven’t written/printed on both sides. No kidding. It took me several weeks to catch onto why she was leaving trash in my can.
Poor Nick. He has a stuffed dog “Pookie” that he is attached to. My mom bought him a duplicate at one point, in case we ever lost the first one. Nick spotted the dup immediately and insisted on carrying them both around. Days before we left for Hong Kong, both Pookies had an accident with some purple Silly Putty and came out with purple spots. But that didn't stop them from coming to Hong Kong. Then one went missing. It took us a good week or so to realize that he wasn’t hiding in the apartment. Nick didn’t seem to mind too much as long as he had the other one, so we got over it. Until the other Pookie went missing yesterday. Gulp. Coincidence that it’s the same day they come in to change the sheets? We contacted the building management. I can say from personal experience 32 years ago, that Pookies are not replaceable. Old photo of Pookie below (pre-purple spots).
Monday, May 19, 2008
Monday/Tuesday, May 19/20
Monday/Tuesday, May 19/20
Monday was the one week anniversary of the earthquake. At 2:28pm, all of the cars/buses/ferries blared their horns for three minutes. You could hear it 33 floors up in the office. Even though we’re close (well, closer than the States), I feel like Hong Kong is so far removed from the disaster. It’s constantly on the news and there are volunteers collecting money on the street corners, but we could be in the US for all I know.
Mary headed back to Chicago today. Living with your mother-in-law. On a 13 hour time difference. For 4 ½ weeks. In a 1500 sq foot apartment. In an unfamiliar area. Come on. You’re all waiting to hear the horror stories. Considering that I can’t stand to be with anyone other than Chris or Nick for more than 3 days in a row, there should be some stories! But you know, for two gals in a foreign country with a 3 ½ yr old, we didn’t do too badly. We had our little routine. I’d get up in the a.m. and get ready for work. She’d go out to get her coffee. She’d come back a few minutes before I had to leave for the day. We’d check in with each other once a day and then I’d come home with dinner or latch on to whatever they had eaten. We’d chat for a bit (while Nick yelled “too loud” because he couldn’t hear the TV over our talking) enjoy a glass of wine and then head to bed. On the weekends we’d all head out for some exploring one day and let Grammy have a sans-Nick day the next. Then meet up again for dinner that night. Now, Mary might have her own blog, where she’s saying something completely different… When I first brought up this trip to Mary, she immediately said “I’ll be there”. Even after the trip changed locations, dates and threatened to die all together. I love that Mary never hesitated on coming on this trip so that Nick could be with his mom. And without that, this trip probably never would have happened. Thank you Mary! Love you! And safe travels home. I’ll see you in Florida!
Monday was the one week anniversary of the earthquake. At 2:28pm, all of the cars/buses/ferries blared their horns for three minutes. You could hear it 33 floors up in the office. Even though we’re close (well, closer than the States), I feel like Hong Kong is so far removed from the disaster. It’s constantly on the news and there are volunteers collecting money on the street corners, but we could be in the US for all I know.
Mary headed back to Chicago today. Living with your mother-in-law. On a 13 hour time difference. For 4 ½ weeks. In a 1500 sq foot apartment. In an unfamiliar area. Come on. You’re all waiting to hear the horror stories. Considering that I can’t stand to be with anyone other than Chris or Nick for more than 3 days in a row, there should be some stories! But you know, for two gals in a foreign country with a 3 ½ yr old, we didn’t do too badly. We had our little routine. I’d get up in the a.m. and get ready for work. She’d go out to get her coffee. She’d come back a few minutes before I had to leave for the day. We’d check in with each other once a day and then I’d come home with dinner or latch on to whatever they had eaten. We’d chat for a bit (while Nick yelled “too loud” because he couldn’t hear the TV over our talking) enjoy a glass of wine and then head to bed. On the weekends we’d all head out for some exploring one day and let Grammy have a sans-Nick day the next. Then meet up again for dinner that night. Now, Mary might have her own blog, where she’s saying something completely different… When I first brought up this trip to Mary, she immediately said “I’ll be there”. Even after the trip changed locations, dates and threatened to die all together. I love that Mary never hesitated on coming on this trip so that Nick could be with his mom. And without that, this trip probably never would have happened. Thank you Mary! Love you! And safe travels home. I’ll see you in Florida!
Saturday/Sunday, May 17/18
Saturday/Sunday, May 17/18
We finally made it to Macau. We made our way to the ferry and purchased our tickets for the TurboJet. An hour trip across the Pearl River and we arrived! You have to go through customs upon entering and leaving Macau, which really bit into our time. We skipped the casinos and took a cab into the heart of the city. Crowds. Crowds. Oh, the crowds. The shopping wasn’t so great, but the architecture was beautiful. We went to a gorgeous temple and watched as the people lit incense and prayed. In Japan, I felt very comfortable and peaceful at the temples. We felt very much like outsiders at this one and didn’t feel right buying or lighting incense. Nick had to go to the bathroom, and luckily there were some right at the temple. Holes in the ground. Ohhhh-not this again!!!! So I used by left hand as a seat for his bum and my right hand to hold him up. That left him in charge of aiming, which didn’t go well. He hit his shoe, and kept moving that foot farther and farther away from the stream. Which meant we were both being pulled off balance. But we escaped unscathed. Except for my flip flopped foot. I just tried to remember my grandmother saying “it’s just a little sugar water”. We headed down the stairs for more exploring. The map was useless, as many of the streets weren’t labeled. We were filling up with water because it was so hot out. I went in to buy water and went for the coldest looking ones with clear bottles/blue tops. Well, it wasn’t water. It was ION water. Mary and I stopped drinking after a few sips. Nick chugged his. Then waited until we were lost to say he needed to use the bathroom. I couldn’t even find us on a map, how was I supposed to find a bathroom? (I know, there are a lot of pee stories when you travel with a 3 ½ yr old!) Luckily I still had my Ion bottle, so Nick could discretely do his business on a deserted street. All worked out well, except for Nick telling me he was finished and me moving the bottle only to get my arm soaked. We finally made it to a point where we got a cab to take us back to the boat. Nick waited until we were in the cab to start his dance. You gotta be kidding me. No kidding. Wet, tired, dirty. We were a mess. Some soda and Pringles on the boat helped a little. A shower when we got home helped even more. I have no desire to go back to Macau anytime soon.
Chris arrived in Hong Kong. It’s a Nordloh reunion! He strained his back last week (all the work around the house he’s been doing!) and we had a questionable few days where we didn’t think he would make it out of bed, let alone all the way to Hong Kong. But armed with Advil and muscle relaxers, he arrived. Tired and hungry. He’s told me that the blog photos don’t do our neighborhood justice, so more to come!
We finally made it to Macau. We made our way to the ferry and purchased our tickets for the TurboJet. An hour trip across the Pearl River and we arrived! You have to go through customs upon entering and leaving Macau, which really bit into our time. We skipped the casinos and took a cab into the heart of the city. Crowds. Crowds. Oh, the crowds. The shopping wasn’t so great, but the architecture was beautiful. We went to a gorgeous temple and watched as the people lit incense and prayed. In Japan, I felt very comfortable and peaceful at the temples. We felt very much like outsiders at this one and didn’t feel right buying or lighting incense. Nick had to go to the bathroom, and luckily there were some right at the temple. Holes in the ground. Ohhhh-not this again!!!! So I used by left hand as a seat for his bum and my right hand to hold him up. That left him in charge of aiming, which didn’t go well. He hit his shoe, and kept moving that foot farther and farther away from the stream. Which meant we were both being pulled off balance. But we escaped unscathed. Except for my flip flopped foot. I just tried to remember my grandmother saying “it’s just a little sugar water”. We headed down the stairs for more exploring. The map was useless, as many of the streets weren’t labeled. We were filling up with water because it was so hot out. I went in to buy water and went for the coldest looking ones with clear bottles/blue tops. Well, it wasn’t water. It was ION water. Mary and I stopped drinking after a few sips. Nick chugged his. Then waited until we were lost to say he needed to use the bathroom. I couldn’t even find us on a map, how was I supposed to find a bathroom? (I know, there are a lot of pee stories when you travel with a 3 ½ yr old!) Luckily I still had my Ion bottle, so Nick could discretely do his business on a deserted street. All worked out well, except for Nick telling me he was finished and me moving the bottle only to get my arm soaked. We finally made it to a point where we got a cab to take us back to the boat. Nick waited until we were in the cab to start his dance. You gotta be kidding me. No kidding. Wet, tired, dirty. We were a mess. Some soda and Pringles on the boat helped a little. A shower when we got home helped even more. I have no desire to go back to Macau anytime soon.
Chris arrived in Hong Kong. It’s a Nordloh reunion! He strained his back last week (all the work around the house he’s been doing!) and we had a questionable few days where we didn’t think he would make it out of bed, let alone all the way to Hong Kong. But armed with Advil and muscle relaxers, he arrived. Tired and hungry. He’s told me that the blog photos don’t do our neighborhood justice, so more to come!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday/Friday, May 15/16
Thursday/Friday, May 15/16
Nail salon. My pedicure was chipping last weekend so I ventured for my first manicure/pedicure since I’ve been in HK. I pass a respectable looking place near our house each day and decided to call for an appointment. The phone call went well and I was scheduled to go in that afternoon. Well, when I walked in, they seemed surprised that I actually showed up to get my nails done. A girl checked me in, called out to someone in the back, shuffled around for about 10 minutes and eventually sat down to do my nails. It took her ages to gather all of her tools, as if she’d never done a pedicure before. Another girl came out of the back a while later. About 20 minutes into it, a guy walks in the front door and looks all nervous. He mumbles something about “5 minutes”. The girls say something else to him and then he hurriedly leaves. They giggle as he leaves. I assume it’s just a guy who’s a little embarrassed to be getting his nails done. But something isn’t sitting well with me. The girl helping me had tons of silver bangles on her wrist that are clanging with every movement. And had long, talon-like nails with gems all over them. My experience with nail technicians is that they don’t wear nail polish because it just gets removed when they go to remove the clients polish. And jewelry just gets in the way. Ok. So is this a front of sorts? Yes, that’s it! Drugs are my immediate thought. I leave the salon with presentable nails and don’t think much of it…Until the next day when I run into the nail gal at the 7-11. Wearing the same short shorts and tummy bearing shirt from the previous day. Wheels start clicking in my head. Nervous guy. Nail technician with talons. Skin-bearing outfit. Confusion over setting up the pedicure station. Wait a minute! They’re not dealing drugs. They’re ladies of the night! Or women of the 5 minute something. Gag.
Some of you know about my cosmetic obsession. One of my all-time favorite things to do when I visit a new city/country is to check out their drugstores. I could spend hours roaming the aisles to see the packaging and varieties of their toothpaste, cosmetics and medicines. Observations so far: hair color aisles offer dark brown to black, no blonde, light brown, red... Cosmetics – lots of skin whitening products, cosmetics with photos of babies on the packaging (“skin as soft as a baby”, “lips as pink as a baby”, etc.) and not much variety of colors. They like their lipstick pink. Tiny bottles of sunscreen. And the greatest/scariest tools – metal ear cleaning tool, metal pimple lancer/blackhead remover and tiny little razors. Have to admit that I bought a hair product that I can’t even tell what it does other than ‘for dry damage on hair tips’. One of the consultants kindly translated for me. And of course entire aisles of Chinese remedies in colorful little boxes which I’d love to be able to read. They remind me of old medicine boxes you see in antique stores or museums.
Elevator at work. It says it can hold 21 people. Our elevator bank services floors 19-34, with our office being on 33. I hopped on today to go downstairs and people piled in from every floor we stopped on. It amazes me how they just keep packing in. I counted 16 of us when the elevator stopped on 25. Panic. Someone started pushing buttons. Nothing. Doors opened 2 inches and shut. Deep breathe. I’m not claustrophobic, but my stomach was getting freaked. Doors opened 2 inches and shut again. Finally, they opened all the way and we all poured out. We were probably only stuck for less than a minute, but what a long minute that was.
Chris arrives on Sunday - yeah!!!!!!
Nail salon. My pedicure was chipping last weekend so I ventured for my first manicure/pedicure since I’ve been in HK. I pass a respectable looking place near our house each day and decided to call for an appointment. The phone call went well and I was scheduled to go in that afternoon. Well, when I walked in, they seemed surprised that I actually showed up to get my nails done. A girl checked me in, called out to someone in the back, shuffled around for about 10 minutes and eventually sat down to do my nails. It took her ages to gather all of her tools, as if she’d never done a pedicure before. Another girl came out of the back a while later. About 20 minutes into it, a guy walks in the front door and looks all nervous. He mumbles something about “5 minutes”. The girls say something else to him and then he hurriedly leaves. They giggle as he leaves. I assume it’s just a guy who’s a little embarrassed to be getting his nails done. But something isn’t sitting well with me. The girl helping me had tons of silver bangles on her wrist that are clanging with every movement. And had long, talon-like nails with gems all over them. My experience with nail technicians is that they don’t wear nail polish because it just gets removed when they go to remove the clients polish. And jewelry just gets in the way. Ok. So is this a front of sorts? Yes, that’s it! Drugs are my immediate thought. I leave the salon with presentable nails and don’t think much of it…Until the next day when I run into the nail gal at the 7-11. Wearing the same short shorts and tummy bearing shirt from the previous day. Wheels start clicking in my head. Nervous guy. Nail technician with talons. Skin-bearing outfit. Confusion over setting up the pedicure station. Wait a minute! They’re not dealing drugs. They’re ladies of the night! Or women of the 5 minute something. Gag.
Some of you know about my cosmetic obsession. One of my all-time favorite things to do when I visit a new city/country is to check out their drugstores. I could spend hours roaming the aisles to see the packaging and varieties of their toothpaste, cosmetics and medicines. Observations so far: hair color aisles offer dark brown to black, no blonde, light brown, red... Cosmetics – lots of skin whitening products, cosmetics with photos of babies on the packaging (“skin as soft as a baby”, “lips as pink as a baby”, etc.) and not much variety of colors. They like their lipstick pink. Tiny bottles of sunscreen. And the greatest/scariest tools – metal ear cleaning tool, metal pimple lancer/blackhead remover and tiny little razors. Have to admit that I bought a hair product that I can’t even tell what it does other than ‘for dry damage on hair tips’. One of the consultants kindly translated for me. And of course entire aisles of Chinese remedies in colorful little boxes which I’d love to be able to read. They remind me of old medicine boxes you see in antique stores or museums.
Elevator at work. It says it can hold 21 people. Our elevator bank services floors 19-34, with our office being on 33. I hopped on today to go downstairs and people piled in from every floor we stopped on. It amazes me how they just keep packing in. I counted 16 of us when the elevator stopped on 25. Panic. Someone started pushing buttons. Nothing. Doors opened 2 inches and shut. Deep breathe. I’m not claustrophobic, but my stomach was getting freaked. Doors opened 2 inches and shut again. Finally, they opened all the way and we all poured out. We were probably only stuck for less than a minute, but what a long minute that was.
Chris arrives on Sunday - yeah!!!!!!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Wednesday, May 14
Wednesday, May 14
Walking down my street on the way to work and heard a rooster crowing. I’m afraid it was coming from the chicken vendor. I was afraid to look. A few days later I heard more commotion from the stall and looked in to see a live chicken being weighed. Poor little guy. Turns out that if you look deep into a few stalls, there are cages shoved full of chickens. Many are still yellow and fluffy. I remember now why I stopped eating meat when I was younger. When I pointed the chickens out to Nick, he was so excited. “I didn’t know those were there!” I didn’t go into explanation for him of WHY they were there. I finally got up the nerve to take a photo of the meat market. Part of the reason was because every few days they have a cow’s tail hanging there and today the tail was out! I have no idea (and don’t really want to know) what they do with this tail. So as I was aiming my camera to get a good shot of the tongues and tail, a truck pulled up to block my view. Grrr. Well, wouldn’t you know that truck was full of dead pigs. Mary has a better photo of the tail. You can just see it here behind the legs on the right hand side. I’ll try to get Mary's copy posted.
The street leading to our apartment is usually wet in the am and pm (when I’m walking to/from work) as the vendors are busy hosing down the chopping blocks, floors, etc. So last night I was walking home and had on my flip flops. I stepped in a small puddle/stream, which splashed on my leg. Ick. I was grossed out, trying to figure out which stall that water would have been from. Flowers stall, not so bad. Pigs/chicken stall – gag!! Got home to find a big mosquito bite on my leg where the water was. All I could think about was Jeanni and the boil/tapeworm/something horrible she got during her Peace Corps stint. Not sure if it was even her China adventure when she got it. But that was in my head. Well, I wake up to find a small boil-like thing where the bug bite was. And a bruise. Malaria? Tape worm? I realize it’s probably a pimple from my body lotion or something. But I’m a little freaked. If I die, tell them to look behind my right ankle for the boil/tapeworm/bird flu.
So I thought that buying produce from the vendors on the street would be so fun and fresh. But as I see the vendors every time I venture outside, I’m seeing more and more about how they operate. At night, all the produce is packed on ice and stored for the next day. Sure, they’re bringing in more fresh goods, but they’re also selling the day old stuff the next day. I’ve also seen them cutting off the browning bottoms of lettuce to make it look fresher. Hmmm. I’d rather not know. And would rather buy my produce at the City Super.
Over the weekend, we found Cat Street. Full of antique stores. So much fun to see some real and fake antiques. We stopped by a public park complete with paths, playground and koi pond. We spotted a woman doing tai chi with a sword. Or is it called something else when they have a sword? And how does one non-chalontely walk to the part with a sword? A sign greeted us at the entrance saying this is the snake’s active time and to stay out of the flower beds and shrubbery. If you see the snake, please don’t try to catch it. Not a problem. I told Nick to watch for the snake. Well, the next hour and days afterwards, we had to hear “there’s a snake. Did you see the snake? Where was the snake?”. We watched a woman skimming the leaves out of the pond. Nick spotted a turtle, which the woman promptly skimmed into her net and left with. Nick couldn’t believe this! So he chased her all the way to the building where she was taking the turtle (see last photo). I still don’t know what she was ging to do with it, as there were other turtles in the pond. Luckily a man came up and shared his fish food with Nick, which got his mind off of the stolen turtle.
Walking down my street on the way to work and heard a rooster crowing. I’m afraid it was coming from the chicken vendor. I was afraid to look. A few days later I heard more commotion from the stall and looked in to see a live chicken being weighed. Poor little guy. Turns out that if you look deep into a few stalls, there are cages shoved full of chickens. Many are still yellow and fluffy. I remember now why I stopped eating meat when I was younger. When I pointed the chickens out to Nick, he was so excited. “I didn’t know those were there!” I didn’t go into explanation for him of WHY they were there. I finally got up the nerve to take a photo of the meat market. Part of the reason was because every few days they have a cow’s tail hanging there and today the tail was out! I have no idea (and don’t really want to know) what they do with this tail. So as I was aiming my camera to get a good shot of the tongues and tail, a truck pulled up to block my view. Grrr. Well, wouldn’t you know that truck was full of dead pigs. Mary has a better photo of the tail. You can just see it here behind the legs on the right hand side. I’ll try to get Mary's copy posted.
The street leading to our apartment is usually wet in the am and pm (when I’m walking to/from work) as the vendors are busy hosing down the chopping blocks, floors, etc. So last night I was walking home and had on my flip flops. I stepped in a small puddle/stream, which splashed on my leg. Ick. I was grossed out, trying to figure out which stall that water would have been from. Flowers stall, not so bad. Pigs/chicken stall – gag!! Got home to find a big mosquito bite on my leg where the water was. All I could think about was Jeanni and the boil/tapeworm/something horrible she got during her Peace Corps stint. Not sure if it was even her China adventure when she got it. But that was in my head. Well, I wake up to find a small boil-like thing where the bug bite was. And a bruise. Malaria? Tape worm? I realize it’s probably a pimple from my body lotion or something. But I’m a little freaked. If I die, tell them to look behind my right ankle for the boil/tapeworm/bird flu.
So I thought that buying produce from the vendors on the street would be so fun and fresh. But as I see the vendors every time I venture outside, I’m seeing more and more about how they operate. At night, all the produce is packed on ice and stored for the next day. Sure, they’re bringing in more fresh goods, but they’re also selling the day old stuff the next day. I’ve also seen them cutting off the browning bottoms of lettuce to make it look fresher. Hmmm. I’d rather not know. And would rather buy my produce at the City Super.
Over the weekend, we found Cat Street. Full of antique stores. So much fun to see some real and fake antiques. We stopped by a public park complete with paths, playground and koi pond. We spotted a woman doing tai chi with a sword. Or is it called something else when they have a sword? And how does one non-chalontely walk to the part with a sword? A sign greeted us at the entrance saying this is the snake’s active time and to stay out of the flower beds and shrubbery. If you see the snake, please don’t try to catch it. Not a problem. I told Nick to watch for the snake. Well, the next hour and days afterwards, we had to hear “there’s a snake. Did you see the snake? Where was the snake?”. We watched a woman skimming the leaves out of the pond. Nick spotted a turtle, which the woman promptly skimmed into her net and left with. Nick couldn’t believe this! So he chased her all the way to the building where she was taking the turtle (see last photo). I still don’t know what she was ging to do with it, as there were other turtles in the pond. Luckily a man came up and shared his fish food with Nick, which got his mind off of the stolen turtle.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Monday/Tuesday, May 12/13
Monday/Tuesday, May 12/13
Monday was a public holiday in Hong Kong - Buddha's Birthday!
Some random HK thoughts:
Cleanliness – Hong Kong is a clean city. Yes, some of the markets (like the one on my street) emit some strong smells. But every night, there’s someone there picking up the trash/chicken remnants from the day. There's a woman who comes into the office weekly just to sanitize the phones. How nice is that?! And it's not a quick swipe. She thoroughly cleans it for at least 45 seconds with several different cloths. The woman who empties the trash each night wears a breathing mask. In the bathroom, there’s a little dispenser of sanitizer that you spray on toilet paper to wipe the seat. There are Purel-like gel at stations in odd places like Starbucks. And several of the elevators have signs saying “disinfecting every 4 hours”. Should I be impressed or scared? I really don’t see that many surgical masks around here. Maybe 1/300 people wear one. But they are available at every grocery store.
Pharmacies – like most places outside of the US, you can get almost anything at the local pharmacy without a prescription. Bad news is that you can’t anonymously walk down the pharmacy aisle and pick up over the counter stuff. You have to announce your symptoms to the pharmacist in front of everyone. But you get the goods. I won’t go into the details of the symptoms Mary and I were experiencing last week to need such medical attention.
Queue – when you walk to the elevator banks at the office each day, everyone patiently waits at the edge of the banks. There’s an attendant at each bank who presses the elevator button and then guides you to the available elevator. Seems all nice and orderly. No one crowding around the doors. But as soon as an available elevator arrives, it’s every man for himself. The attendant will even stand in front of the doors with his arms out once the elevators are full, so that no one else can get on. Why the orderly line just to push/shove/crowd onto an elevator? The street is the same way. Nice queues for the buses, but stampede once the doors open. You really need sharp elbows for the crowded streets.
Monday was a public holiday in Hong Kong - Buddha's Birthday!
Some random HK thoughts:
Cleanliness – Hong Kong is a clean city. Yes, some of the markets (like the one on my street) emit some strong smells. But every night, there’s someone there picking up the trash/chicken remnants from the day. There's a woman who comes into the office weekly just to sanitize the phones. How nice is that?! And it's not a quick swipe. She thoroughly cleans it for at least 45 seconds with several different cloths. The woman who empties the trash each night wears a breathing mask. In the bathroom, there’s a little dispenser of sanitizer that you spray on toilet paper to wipe the seat. There are Purel-like gel at stations in odd places like Starbucks. And several of the elevators have signs saying “disinfecting every 4 hours”. Should I be impressed or scared? I really don’t see that many surgical masks around here. Maybe 1/300 people wear one. But they are available at every grocery store.
Pharmacies – like most places outside of the US, you can get almost anything at the local pharmacy without a prescription. Bad news is that you can’t anonymously walk down the pharmacy aisle and pick up over the counter stuff. You have to announce your symptoms to the pharmacist in front of everyone. But you get the goods. I won’t go into the details of the symptoms Mary and I were experiencing last week to need such medical attention.
Queue – when you walk to the elevator banks at the office each day, everyone patiently waits at the edge of the banks. There’s an attendant at each bank who presses the elevator button and then guides you to the available elevator. Seems all nice and orderly. No one crowding around the doors. But as soon as an available elevator arrives, it’s every man for himself. The attendant will even stand in front of the doors with his arms out once the elevators are full, so that no one else can get on. Why the orderly line just to push/shove/crowd onto an elevator? The street is the same way. Nice queues for the buses, but stampede once the doors open. You really need sharp elbows for the crowded streets.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Tuesday, May 13
No worries - all is well in Hong Kong. The earthquake didn't touch us. From what we've heard from other offices so far, everyone in Beijing and Shanghai is safe as well.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Thursday-Sunday, May 8-11
Thursday/Friday, May 8/9
Thanks to the power of blogging and a kind Chicago associate who used to work at Motorola, I found out that 3G is a cell phone related technology. Jeesh. You’d think they’d make these buildings earthquake proof ;)
Was trying to print something today and got this message from Microsoft "Ai-yaah!?". No kidding. What the heck is that?
What is this heavenly creation called lime soda? I ventured to someplace other than my standard two lunch destinations. Well, nothing on their menu was really working for me. Seems they like their pork here. So I picked the prawn and linguini Italian dish. Comes with tea or a lime soda. I opt for the soda. They don’t take credit cards but do take Octopus cards. Rock on – I’ve got one of those! It’s like a CTA/Metro card, except in addition to transportation you can also use it at McD’s, Starbucks and certain stores/restaurants. So I put my card on the scanner and stand there smiling proudly. She motions for me to really scan it this time, which I try and it beeps, showing that I’ve paid. Ok, off to wait for my number to be called. 211. It’s supposed to pop up on a screen and they call it out. Not on the screen yet. I see 210 and 213, so I must be next. Ok, now I’m just looking for anything they’re packing up as “to-go”. Ok, I see a soda. A bag of something. She’s calling out “chet yet yet” or something like that. My number is not on the screen “chet yet yet”. Hmmmm. I’m guessing “yet yet” could be “one one”. So I go up with my ticket and she gives me food. Genius!!
The Aqua Luna. Nick and Mary met me after work and we walked over to Pier 9 to find our boat. Our boat came sailing in, with the red sails. They helped us onboard and directed us to the upper level where there were lounging couches everywhere. We found a spot, ordered a round of cocktails/apple juice and sat back. A 45 minute tour on the harbor, with the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island on one side and Kowloon on the other. So relaxing. So much so that Nick fell asleep halfway into the ride. Mary and I both agreed we’d do the tour again in a heartbeat.
Saturday, May 10
We made reservations for brunch at the InterContinental on Kowloon (10 minute ferry ride across the harbor), which is supposed to have spectacular views, especially at night. French toast with Nutella in the middle. I’m still thinking about that breakfast! We then hopped in a cab to the Jade Market. The first few stalls were fun, until you realized that every vendor had the exact same wares. I did get Shannon a present there – Oh Shannon. When you see it, you’re going to say “oh my gosh, oh my gosh! How did you know I wanted this?!”. Nick had enough excitement for the day and fell asleep in the market. We hopped back in a cab to the ferry. Mary saw us off and stayed on in Kowloon to do some shopping/museums. Nick and I hit the escalator home for some quiet time.
Sunday, May 11
Mother’s Day! We were supposed to go to Lantau Island to see the Buddha, but woke up to overcast skies and two very tired travelers (Nick and Heather). So Grammy headed out and Nick and I lounged for a while. Little man insisted on wearing his Spiderman outfit out, complete with mask. What’s a mom to do but agree? We finally headed out to lunch and decided to see a movie!
Movies. Ahhhh, many of you know my love of the movies. Dark. Quiet. Popcorn & soda. It doesn’t get much better. So I tried my hand at the automated ticket machine, but the touch screen wouldn’t let me get past “1:15pm show”. So we made our way to the ticket booth and ordered 1 adult, 1 kid to “What Happens in Vegas”. I know, I know. But that cute Cameron Diaz was a refreshing change for the slightly homesick. The ticket agent asked which seats we’d like. Assigned seating! We then made our way to the theater, where ushers were there to guide us to the large leather seats. My god. How can I go back to my dinky Davis Theater after this? Even AMC will look pitiful compared to this service! Nick usually falls asleep 20 minutes into movies, so thought he’d get a nap and I’d get a relaxing 1 ½ hours. Nope. 90 minutes of Nick asking “what happened?” and me whispering “they’re having a party” or “they’re mad at each other”. He fell asleep during the last 1o minutes. I made my way to the counter to pick up the checked in stroller (such service!) and heard a voice behind me saying “m’am” to find the usher there with our stroller waiting, just what I needed to lay down a sleepy Spiderman.
Thanks to the power of blogging and a kind Chicago associate who used to work at Motorola, I found out that 3G is a cell phone related technology. Jeesh. You’d think they’d make these buildings earthquake proof ;)
Was trying to print something today and got this message from Microsoft "Ai-yaah!?". No kidding. What the heck is that?
What is this heavenly creation called lime soda? I ventured to someplace other than my standard two lunch destinations. Well, nothing on their menu was really working for me. Seems they like their pork here. So I picked the prawn and linguini Italian dish. Comes with tea or a lime soda. I opt for the soda. They don’t take credit cards but do take Octopus cards. Rock on – I’ve got one of those! It’s like a CTA/Metro card, except in addition to transportation you can also use it at McD’s, Starbucks and certain stores/restaurants. So I put my card on the scanner and stand there smiling proudly. She motions for me to really scan it this time, which I try and it beeps, showing that I’ve paid. Ok, off to wait for my number to be called. 211. It’s supposed to pop up on a screen and they call it out. Not on the screen yet. I see 210 and 213, so I must be next. Ok, now I’m just looking for anything they’re packing up as “to-go”. Ok, I see a soda. A bag of something. She’s calling out “chet yet yet” or something like that. My number is not on the screen “chet yet yet”. Hmmmm. I’m guessing “yet yet” could be “one one”. So I go up with my ticket and she gives me food. Genius!!
The Aqua Luna. Nick and Mary met me after work and we walked over to Pier 9 to find our boat. Our boat came sailing in, with the red sails. They helped us onboard and directed us to the upper level where there were lounging couches everywhere. We found a spot, ordered a round of cocktails/apple juice and sat back. A 45 minute tour on the harbor, with the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island on one side and Kowloon on the other. So relaxing. So much so that Nick fell asleep halfway into the ride. Mary and I both agreed we’d do the tour again in a heartbeat.
Saturday, May 10
We made reservations for brunch at the InterContinental on Kowloon (10 minute ferry ride across the harbor), which is supposed to have spectacular views, especially at night. French toast with Nutella in the middle. I’m still thinking about that breakfast! We then hopped in a cab to the Jade Market. The first few stalls were fun, until you realized that every vendor had the exact same wares. I did get Shannon a present there – Oh Shannon. When you see it, you’re going to say “oh my gosh, oh my gosh! How did you know I wanted this?!”. Nick had enough excitement for the day and fell asleep in the market. We hopped back in a cab to the ferry. Mary saw us off and stayed on in Kowloon to do some shopping/museums. Nick and I hit the escalator home for some quiet time.
Sunday, May 11
Mother’s Day! We were supposed to go to Lantau Island to see the Buddha, but woke up to overcast skies and two very tired travelers (Nick and Heather). So Grammy headed out and Nick and I lounged for a while. Little man insisted on wearing his Spiderman outfit out, complete with mask. What’s a mom to do but agree? We finally headed out to lunch and decided to see a movie!
Movies. Ahhhh, many of you know my love of the movies. Dark. Quiet. Popcorn & soda. It doesn’t get much better. So I tried my hand at the automated ticket machine, but the touch screen wouldn’t let me get past “1:15pm show”. So we made our way to the ticket booth and ordered 1 adult, 1 kid to “What Happens in Vegas”. I know, I know. But that cute Cameron Diaz was a refreshing change for the slightly homesick. The ticket agent asked which seats we’d like. Assigned seating! We then made our way to the theater, where ushers were there to guide us to the large leather seats. My god. How can I go back to my dinky Davis Theater after this? Even AMC will look pitiful compared to this service! Nick usually falls asleep 20 minutes into movies, so thought he’d get a nap and I’d get a relaxing 1 ½ hours. Nope. 90 minutes of Nick asking “what happened?” and me whispering “they’re having a party” or “they’re mad at each other”. He fell asleep during the last 1o minutes. I made my way to the counter to pick up the checked in stroller (such service!) and heard a voice behind me saying “m’am” to find the usher there with our stroller waiting, just what I needed to lay down a sleepy Spiderman.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Wednesday, May 7
Wednesday, May 7
I am so accident prone this year and believe that bad things happen in threes. So anticipating number 3 (1: hand, 2: tooth) anytime now. No, no. That’s not a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just past experience. Or maybe I’m taking on the superstitions of Hong Kong? Hopefully it’ll wait until I get back in the States. I did find out that according to the Chinese New Year (which began in February) it’s the year of the Rat. That’s my year! A colleague in the HK office shares this birth year with me and explained that according to Chinese superstition, there are two things that can be done to ensure we have a smooth year – ride a cow (could also be sitting on the back of a person who is born during the cow new year) or carry a gold cow charm the entire year. I’m searching for a charm ASAP. My recent bad luck (starting in Feb – a coincidence? I think not) could be due to my lack of a cow?!
Nick – what a big head he’s going to come back to the states with. Shopkeepers give him candy and toys. Restaurants give him free ice cream. People stop him on the street to hi-five him and touch his hair or face. Totally spoiled. He attracts so much attention here. And he doesn’t even realize this isn’t normal. I was warned that it would be even more so if we venture into mainland China or Hong Kong Disney. I was told they’ll want to hold him and take photos. I’d like to see someone try to hold him. He’s been practicing his karate arms.
When I first read the sign in the elevator stating “This is a 3G-enabled building”, I immediately thought of earth quakes. Can it handle a 5.0 or larger?! Wait, should I be on the lookout for earthquakes or Typhoons?! A quick Google search seems to say “3G-enabled” means you can use your cell phone in the elevators and not lose service. But I’m still not convinced…
Funny to hear everyone speaking Chinese in the office, because it will a normal conversation smattered with English phrases. “你好。我叫從 consulting firm 斯圖爾特。想知道如果您有時間聊天關於機會。我們的客戶尋找一"thought leader"... 他們製造大豆產品, soy products, 等。謝謝在您的時間。Bye bye!
I am so accident prone this year and believe that bad things happen in threes. So anticipating number 3 (1: hand, 2: tooth) anytime now. No, no. That’s not a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just past experience. Or maybe I’m taking on the superstitions of Hong Kong? Hopefully it’ll wait until I get back in the States. I did find out that according to the Chinese New Year (which began in February) it’s the year of the Rat. That’s my year! A colleague in the HK office shares this birth year with me and explained that according to Chinese superstition, there are two things that can be done to ensure we have a smooth year – ride a cow (could also be sitting on the back of a person who is born during the cow new year) or carry a gold cow charm the entire year. I’m searching for a charm ASAP. My recent bad luck (starting in Feb – a coincidence? I think not) could be due to my lack of a cow?!
Nick – what a big head he’s going to come back to the states with. Shopkeepers give him candy and toys. Restaurants give him free ice cream. People stop him on the street to hi-five him and touch his hair or face. Totally spoiled. He attracts so much attention here. And he doesn’t even realize this isn’t normal. I was warned that it would be even more so if we venture into mainland China or Hong Kong Disney. I was told they’ll want to hold him and take photos. I’d like to see someone try to hold him. He’s been practicing his karate arms.
When I first read the sign in the elevator stating “This is a 3G-enabled building”, I immediately thought of earth quakes. Can it handle a 5.0 or larger?! Wait, should I be on the lookout for earthquakes or Typhoons?! A quick Google search seems to say “3G-enabled” means you can use your cell phone in the elevators and not lose service. But I’m still not convinced…
Funny to hear everyone speaking Chinese in the office, because it will a normal conversation smattered with English phrases. “你好。我叫從 consulting firm 斯圖爾特。想知道如果您有時間聊天關於機會。我們的客戶尋找一"thought leader"... 他們製造大豆產品, soy products, 等。謝謝在您的時間。Bye bye!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Monday/Tuesday, May 5/6
Monday/Tuesday, May 5/6th
So I was happily chomping on a piece of herbal flavor Extra gum last week when I heard a crunch. I’d eaten a boiled egg earlier, so thought “oh, some of the shell made its way into my mouth”. Um, yes, that must be it. Pulled a few little white pieces of something out of my gum and then headed to the bathroom to check it out. Cracked my tooth!! I think it’s the tooth with a crown (from the Potbelly incident a few years back). Of all the stinking luck. I do not want to find a dentist here. It doesn’t hurt, and I think I’ve worn down the pokiness over the past few days. Think I can wait until I get back in June…Chris is going to the dentist next week and asking her advice.
Paper products are so scarce here. You get 1 napkin at take out places (or none at Mak’s noodle shop or dim sum). Kleenex travel sizes are super tiny! Credit card size and about an inch thick. And they come in scents. Much needed for the daily walk by the meat market! Gag. And apparently you carry them everywhere with you to use as napkins and toilet paper. The rolls of paper towels are laughable. They’re about ¾ the height of the ones in the US. Yet they still use regular size paper towel holders?! I do think it’s forcing me to be a bit greener. They have a huge campaign here to recycle the plastic shopping bags. It’s kinda nice. I now carry two cloth grocery bags with me, since we buy groceries every day. Tiny fridge/no freezer.
Our apartment looks onto the rooftops of a few buildings. You can always find laundry hanging and people doing exercise. It’s not Thai Chi. More like an aggressive stretching or possible even exercises left over from the Mao era? One exercise looked like very energetic marching. Can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like it. But nice to see people active and feeling free to do exercise whenever and in whatever they’re wearing.
So I was happily chomping on a piece of herbal flavor Extra gum last week when I heard a crunch. I’d eaten a boiled egg earlier, so thought “oh, some of the shell made its way into my mouth”. Um, yes, that must be it. Pulled a few little white pieces of something out of my gum and then headed to the bathroom to check it out. Cracked my tooth!! I think it’s the tooth with a crown (from the Potbelly incident a few years back). Of all the stinking luck. I do not want to find a dentist here. It doesn’t hurt, and I think I’ve worn down the pokiness over the past few days. Think I can wait until I get back in June…Chris is going to the dentist next week and asking her advice.
Paper products are so scarce here. You get 1 napkin at take out places (or none at Mak’s noodle shop or dim sum). Kleenex travel sizes are super tiny! Credit card size and about an inch thick. And they come in scents. Much needed for the daily walk by the meat market! Gag. And apparently you carry them everywhere with you to use as napkins and toilet paper. The rolls of paper towels are laughable. They’re about ¾ the height of the ones in the US. Yet they still use regular size paper towel holders?! I do think it’s forcing me to be a bit greener. They have a huge campaign here to recycle the plastic shopping bags. It’s kinda nice. I now carry two cloth grocery bags with me, since we buy groceries every day. Tiny fridge/no freezer.
Our apartment looks onto the rooftops of a few buildings. You can always find laundry hanging and people doing exercise. It’s not Thai Chi. More like an aggressive stretching or possible even exercises left over from the Mao era? One exercise looked like very energetic marching. Can’t say I’ve ever seen anything like it. But nice to see people active and feeling free to do exercise whenever and in whatever they’re wearing.
Learning in Hong Kong. Did you know that a great place for kids to learn their numbers is in the elevator? Nick is starting to recognizing his numbers. Or maybe just memorizing (12 is our house, 2 is the management office, 6 is laundry, G gets us to the fish market…) Except for the missing number 4 (thus no 4, 14 or 24). He’ll go back to school counting “1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7…”.
View from my shared-office window.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Saturday/Sunday, May 3/4
Saturday/Sunday, May 3/4
Saturday Nick and I headed up the hill to find the YWCA swimming pool. Tiny pool, but we were happy to splash around for a while. The pool went from 4ft to 5ft, so it was more like Nick hanging on to my neck while I walked back and forth. We neglected to bring a towel, so we were the two wet Americans in the locker room drying off with the hair dryer. Off for some ice cream, which Nick fell asleep halfway through eating. We then met Grammy at the Peak Tram. It’s a tram that takes folks from the base to the Peak (big mountain). Have to say, the tram was a lot scarier than I expected. At one point, we were at a 45 degree angle (no kidding) and I wasn’t quite sure how we were still attached to the mountain. Turns out the tram is connected to two cables that run along the track. It was pretty foggy at the top, so we didn’t get much of a view. We’ll have to try again.
Sunday we had our first bus-ride to Stanley, a section of Hong Kong southeast of the Central area (where we live) known for its Market. We boarded the #6 double decker bus, but had no idea how much it was. Mary was trying to give the driver 50 cents, but he (and everyone else behind her) was pointing elsewhere. There were numbers everywhere, so we had no clue which one the price was. Turns out it’s HK$7.80 (US$1) to get on. Finally Mary just handed me all of her change and said “here, you pay for me”. I’d been warned the bus was a little scary, and it was. It was very clean, structurally sound and air conditioned, but it had to wind up narrow, curvy roads to get to Stanley. A little like driving with my Dad in the mountains of NC. Dizzy. Gorgeous views on either side. Turns out Stanley is not only a tacky, tourist market place, but also an amazing beach destination!! Really beautiful. Sunday was the first day of continuous sunshine since we’ve been here. So we were drinking lots of beverages to stay hydrated, which means we were also visiting every restroom available. Warning – potty story ahead. Nick and I hit the end of the market and he started his little dance. So we found the public restroom. Well, these were not really toilets. More like a porcelain hole in the ground with foot holders on either side. No problem, he’s a boy, this should be easy. Or not. Nick was having none of it. “I want to sit down” “But you’re a boy-you can pee standing up” “I want to sit down”. All the while he’s dancing around barely able to hold it in. We finally compromise on him squatting over the hole, with me yelling “point it down, point it down!”. Nick came out with an empty bladder and a wet shirt. Luckily we’d just bought a Spiderman outfit in one of the stalls. Complete with cotton Spidey mask. So Spiderman and I walked around the market for a bit before meeting Grammy for dinner. Everyone calling out to him “Spiderman” and then pointing their hands like they were shooting webs. Funny thing is that Nick has no idea what/who Spiderman is other than hearing about him from the kids at school. So what must he have thought these web-slinging Chinese were doing to him? Bellies full, we headed back to the bus, which charged us a different fare going home. Go figure. It was dark, so I couldn’t even see what money I was putting in. But I apparently gave enough, because the driver took off, sending me flying. Luckily Grammy and Nick were already upstairs in seats.
Saturday Nick and I headed up the hill to find the YWCA swimming pool. Tiny pool, but we were happy to splash around for a while. The pool went from 4ft to 5ft, so it was more like Nick hanging on to my neck while I walked back and forth. We neglected to bring a towel, so we were the two wet Americans in the locker room drying off with the hair dryer. Off for some ice cream, which Nick fell asleep halfway through eating. We then met Grammy at the Peak Tram. It’s a tram that takes folks from the base to the Peak (big mountain). Have to say, the tram was a lot scarier than I expected. At one point, we were at a 45 degree angle (no kidding) and I wasn’t quite sure how we were still attached to the mountain. Turns out the tram is connected to two cables that run along the track. It was pretty foggy at the top, so we didn’t get much of a view. We’ll have to try again.
Sunday we had our first bus-ride to Stanley, a section of Hong Kong southeast of the Central area (where we live) known for its Market. We boarded the #6 double decker bus, but had no idea how much it was. Mary was trying to give the driver 50 cents, but he (and everyone else behind her) was pointing elsewhere. There were numbers everywhere, so we had no clue which one the price was. Turns out it’s HK$7.80 (US$1) to get on. Finally Mary just handed me all of her change and said “here, you pay for me”. I’d been warned the bus was a little scary, and it was. It was very clean, structurally sound and air conditioned, but it had to wind up narrow, curvy roads to get to Stanley. A little like driving with my Dad in the mountains of NC. Dizzy. Gorgeous views on either side. Turns out Stanley is not only a tacky, tourist market place, but also an amazing beach destination!! Really beautiful. Sunday was the first day of continuous sunshine since we’ve been here. So we were drinking lots of beverages to stay hydrated, which means we were also visiting every restroom available. Warning – potty story ahead. Nick and I hit the end of the market and he started his little dance. So we found the public restroom. Well, these were not really toilets. More like a porcelain hole in the ground with foot holders on either side. No problem, he’s a boy, this should be easy. Or not. Nick was having none of it. “I want to sit down” “But you’re a boy-you can pee standing up” “I want to sit down”. All the while he’s dancing around barely able to hold it in. We finally compromise on him squatting over the hole, with me yelling “point it down, point it down!”. Nick came out with an empty bladder and a wet shirt. Luckily we’d just bought a Spiderman outfit in one of the stalls. Complete with cotton Spidey mask. So Spiderman and I walked around the market for a bit before meeting Grammy for dinner. Everyone calling out to him “Spiderman” and then pointing their hands like they were shooting webs. Funny thing is that Nick has no idea what/who Spiderman is other than hearing about him from the kids at school. So what must he have thought these web-slinging Chinese were doing to him? Bellies full, we headed back to the bus, which charged us a different fare going home. Go figure. It was dark, so I couldn’t even see what money I was putting in. But I apparently gave enough, because the driver took off, sending me flying. Luckily Grammy and Nick were already upstairs in seats.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Friday, May 2
Friday, May 2
Today is proving to be a challenge. 3 or 4am I wake up to hear Nick saying “uh mom, look”. Well there was nothing to see, but there certainly was a puddle to feel. Normally we just strip the sheets, toss Nick in our bed and everyone goes back to sleep. But when you’re sharing a bed in Hong Kong…The beds here have a mattress, down mattress pad, mattress pad cover, fitted sheet and then a down comforter with cover. No flat sheet. So we stripped off the fitted sheet and the “pee pad” that Grammy was so smart to bring and slept on the mattress pad cover. Of course this was a big accident that made it’s way to the comforter too. So we flipped that over and moved on with life. Have I told you about the sleeping arrangements we’ve had since we moved into the new apartment? The fold out couch promised to us was a dream. And Mary doesn’t sleep well and sometimes gets up at 3am to read. So she’s taken the living room as her bedroom and has been putting the couch cushions on the floor with a beach towel over them, 2 pillow from the bed and 2 of Nick’s blankets. Her own mini futon-like bed. It seems very sad, but she swears she’s comfortable. After last night’s fiasco, I think she might be onto something!
Rain today. Which is sad not only because my hair is a frizz ball, but because the Olympic torch is coming thru Central Hong Kong today! Will they still run in the rain? How exciting and scary! It’s supposed to run right in front of the office building, so hoping I can see it out the window. Did I ever tell you guys my story of holding the torch when it came through Annapolis, MD years ago? I picked an unfortunate day to wear overall shorts (come on, poor grad student, 90’s), so the photo is hidden away somewhere safe.
Rain continued – I’ve told you about the escalator that goes for miles. Well, there’s a hop-on point right up the hill from our apartment. So I decided to ride it today to stay out of the rain. Well, cute/wet flats and escalators don’t mix. Within 1 step on the escalator my left leg slid forward, my right foot turned in and I automatically let out this strange wounded animal yelp. So embarrassing. Not to mention the grate marks that are now on my foot. Too make matters worse, I made it to work to find my cup of pineapple had spilled all in my leather bag.
It’s got to get better, right??
Today is proving to be a challenge. 3 or 4am I wake up to hear Nick saying “uh mom, look”. Well there was nothing to see, but there certainly was a puddle to feel. Normally we just strip the sheets, toss Nick in our bed and everyone goes back to sleep. But when you’re sharing a bed in Hong Kong…The beds here have a mattress, down mattress pad, mattress pad cover, fitted sheet and then a down comforter with cover. No flat sheet. So we stripped off the fitted sheet and the “pee pad” that Grammy was so smart to bring and slept on the mattress pad cover. Of course this was a big accident that made it’s way to the comforter too. So we flipped that over and moved on with life. Have I told you about the sleeping arrangements we’ve had since we moved into the new apartment? The fold out couch promised to us was a dream. And Mary doesn’t sleep well and sometimes gets up at 3am to read. So she’s taken the living room as her bedroom and has been putting the couch cushions on the floor with a beach towel over them, 2 pillow from the bed and 2 of Nick’s blankets. Her own mini futon-like bed. It seems very sad, but she swears she’s comfortable. After last night’s fiasco, I think she might be onto something!
Rain today. Which is sad not only because my hair is a frizz ball, but because the Olympic torch is coming thru Central Hong Kong today! Will they still run in the rain? How exciting and scary! It’s supposed to run right in front of the office building, so hoping I can see it out the window. Did I ever tell you guys my story of holding the torch when it came through Annapolis, MD years ago? I picked an unfortunate day to wear overall shorts (come on, poor grad student, 90’s), so the photo is hidden away somewhere safe.
Rain continued – I’ve told you about the escalator that goes for miles. Well, there’s a hop-on point right up the hill from our apartment. So I decided to ride it today to stay out of the rain. Well, cute/wet flats and escalators don’t mix. Within 1 step on the escalator my left leg slid forward, my right foot turned in and I automatically let out this strange wounded animal yelp. So embarrassing. Not to mention the grate marks that are now on my foot. Too make matters worse, I made it to work to find my cup of pineapple had spilled all in my leather bag.
It’s got to get better, right??
Monday April 28-Thursday May 1
Monday April 28-Thursday May 1
Nick seems to be adored by the Chinese. Whenever we go out, at least a few people reach out to touch his hair or face. He hates being touched by people and reacts so negatively it’s almost embarrassing. A few people have even asked to see his eyes. Guess blue eyes/blonde hair are rare here. I’ve told him that he doesn’t have to talk to strangers (who making clicking noises at him), but that it would be really nice if he could smile and wave every now and then rather than scowl at anyone who want to get his attention.
Nick and Grammy visited the Zoological Garden again, and finally found the monkeys! Apparently the monkeys are deep within the garden and they hadn’t walked far enough in to see them last week.
Lunch with Jill and Emily on Friday. Went to a tea house that was a few stories up off the street. The city really is built up. I tend to look for places street level and realize that I’m missing entire restaurants, stores, etc that are above. Enjoyed awesome vegetable dumplings that were in a soup with thin noodles. Totally butchered eating the long, broccoli-like things with chopsticks. They were awkward to hold and then I couldn’t keep my chopsticks on them as I tugged to get through the tough part. We had a drink made of lime and honey. Kinda icey. Amazingly good. It was cloudy, so maybe some milk in it too? These are the sorts of things you later learn have 1000 calories.
You’ve heard my issues with the electricity/voltage here. I haven't blown up anything yet, but have had a few close calls. Well, to turn on the hot water or stove, you need to turn on a little switch before. I’m not sure why hot water isn’t continually running. And these switches, along with the light switches, are teeny tiny little things. So to turn the lights on/off, we end up flipping all the switches just to find the right one. I waited about 5 minutes for water to boil the other night before realizing that I hadn’t turned on the “heat” switch before turning on the burner.
Nick seems to be adored by the Chinese. Whenever we go out, at least a few people reach out to touch his hair or face. He hates being touched by people and reacts so negatively it’s almost embarrassing. A few people have even asked to see his eyes. Guess blue eyes/blonde hair are rare here. I’ve told him that he doesn’t have to talk to strangers (who making clicking noises at him), but that it would be really nice if he could smile and wave every now and then rather than scowl at anyone who want to get his attention.
Nick and Grammy visited the Zoological Garden again, and finally found the monkeys! Apparently the monkeys are deep within the garden and they hadn’t walked far enough in to see them last week.
Lunch with Jill and Emily on Friday. Went to a tea house that was a few stories up off the street. The city really is built up. I tend to look for places street level and realize that I’m missing entire restaurants, stores, etc that are above. Enjoyed awesome vegetable dumplings that were in a soup with thin noodles. Totally butchered eating the long, broccoli-like things with chopsticks. They were awkward to hold and then I couldn’t keep my chopsticks on them as I tugged to get through the tough part. We had a drink made of lime and honey. Kinda icey. Amazingly good. It was cloudy, so maybe some milk in it too? These are the sorts of things you later learn have 1000 calories.
You’ve heard my issues with the electricity/voltage here. I haven't blown up anything yet, but have had a few close calls. Well, to turn on the hot water or stove, you need to turn on a little switch before. I’m not sure why hot water isn’t continually running. And these switches, along with the light switches, are teeny tiny little things. So to turn the lights on/off, we end up flipping all the switches just to find the right one. I waited about 5 minutes for water to boil the other night before realizing that I hadn’t turned on the “heat” switch before turning on the burner.
May 1st is Labor Day in Hong Kong, so no work! That means more exploring! We started with dim sum for lunch. Little place that's been around for a hundred years. Menu was all in chinese and you were supposed to mark the entrees you were interested in. Well, we didn't know where to start. Luckily they finally brought us an English menu. Mary didn't understand the concept of dim sum/sharing and ordered all pork dishes. Which is fine unless your dining mates don't eat pork. Live and learn. Below is a photo of Nick and Mary in one of the private booths. Beautiful wood and frosted/etched glass panels. Mary went on to go shopping and Nick and I walked around a bit before heading home for nap time.
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