Unique Impressions, Pedestrian Walkways, Bloody Fun

Welcome to Hong Kong, I told myself as I stepped off the runway of Eva Air just one week ago. Where to begin?

hustle | bustle | noise of the city | fascinatemethrillme

So a few notes about the strangeness of coming to a new city, and a foreign land. For one, the way a person crosses the street. When I was in California, I would rarely walk anywhere except to enjoy the landscape. When in Hong Kong, I am walking through the city to travel from point A to point B. Normally, the walking at "home" in the United States would include a cappucino and perhaps a book, with a final stopping point at which to sit and watch the sunset or open the pages of that book. That was my Newport Beach routine. Here, I may travel to the MTR (the subway) to get to Wan Chai or Sheung Wan to look at flats in the nearby area, walk from the Yaumatei station in Kowloon in order to get to school, or walk down the road to an internet cafe or coffee shop to check my e-mails. I suppose I continue to sip cappucinos, although admittedly, I had to cut down caffeine almost immediately on the budget in order to save costs. The way I cross the street is different as well. I brush my hand lightly over this yellow box, instead of pushing a button. The signal lights up in Chinese red characters and English lettering which politely say, "Please wait." I wait and the little green guy appears across the street with a familiar clicking sign, telling me to cross. The pedestrian crosswalks look much the same as the U.S. crosswalks, however the simple technology advancements of the hand "brushing", versus the button-pushing in America makes me think I am really am in a new territory with new rules. Technology. Gotta love it.

Simple enough, right? Okay. Next item of difference. This may not seem like a big deal to a resident expatriate (expat, as we are affectionately called) from the UK, but for American expats the cars are driving on the opposite side of the road. It reminds me of London. The first few hours of walking and moving around the city make one disoriented. Then you adjust. I've already grown accustomed to looking right, then left, instead of vice versa. However it is a phenom of small proportion. One to laugh about. More importantly, the type of people I've been meeting are so varied. I was introduced to several people already from a friend I have in Hong Kong. Friday night included dinner at Tokyo Joe's, a Japanese restaurant of sorts, to Racks, a billiards spot with good cocktails and interesting faces. After Racks, one saunters over to Volar, which is a difficult spot to be admitted unless you know someone. Apparently, I've networked with the right people. Unlike home, the night is just beginning at 12am in Hong Kong, whereas Newport Beach always seemed to be "popping" around that time, but guaranteed, all crowds are pushed home at 2:00am unless you want to grab a 24-hour pizza at Laventina's. Not so here. The closest thing I might be able to compare in the city that never sleeps - New York. Living in a big city has its advantages - cuisine, convenience, transportation, culture, interest, nothing dull in any minute. Living in a bit city has its disadvantages - pretension, arrogance, clutter, smog. The intangibles seem to outweigh the bad. As far as the variance of people, I would say that Hong Kong attracts an intelligent plethora of educated persons, some genuine and some not quite so genuine. I have much to learn when it comes to knowing the nuances of graciousness, levels of manners, culture, when to say yes, when to say no, and how this affects a basic conversation to one that is more than simple acquaintance.

After one evening, I found myself almost pushed into a wall when I was trying to dance. This young girl not much taller or bigger than me wanted to push inbetween the crowds instead of going around the crowds. This is much like my experience on the streets of the city. When one is walking on a sidewalk, there is often a push - not a gentle push, but not quite impolite either. It is just the way of things. People are used to getting their way around here, and taking it, rather than asking for it. One must get used to it. Over the weekend, I attended an event across the harbor in Macau, and there was an afterparty at the Hard Rock Hotel where I met another English teacher and another two people who were closely connected to teachers. I met with a lot of friendly outreach and enthusiasm for teaching, and it seemed these people were interested to know more about my experience in Kowloon. (I don't have much to say since work will not start for another week.) However, the ability to network with such unique faces - many are from around the world - and so easily, it astonishes me. I love surprises. But, I really love good surprises!

In conclusion, I will say that at the start of my second week, I am ready to begin settling in. When I have a few downloaded photographs of the city, I will add them to the blog pages, but for now, I will say that the city has grabbed ahold of me. I am content.

Joyeux Noël!

Christmas shopping, Christmas shopping. Oh, my goodness. I've already received quite a few wonderful gifts and I'm overwhelmed with the pressure of buying and making some lovely things for some of my favorite people, and making it "personal". Mom's gift was shipped to my house and I'm just happy it arrived in time for me to wrap and put around the tree. Dad's is ready but it needs a lot of wrapping paper! Suzy's is wrapped and looks very pretty...Netty's is the only one I'm still working on, and everyone else is pretty much covered. Phew! In the meantime, I'm feeling quite blessed that I'm so prepared this year. I got a surprise gift of lip gloss from a wonderful co-worker and some wine, as well as a Jean-Paul Sartre philosophy book, "On Being and Nothingness," from two other co-workers, which is precisely what I asked for! Lately, it seems people have been really thoughtful and considerate about seeking gifts that "speak" to me. I even received two books of poetry from good friends....Lately, my friendships have been growing more and more...so much so that I have been able to make special presents that tell inside jokes, or regard memories that mean something to me and hopefully the other person, as well. And I've been given presents as well, that I will cherish.

Truly a time of giving, and I'm just so happy to be celebrating this year! It is going to be a wonderful holiday! Not to mention my cousins from The Netherlands are here and we're having a blast...Arjan, Petra, Lex, Lisa...Love you!

Here are some pictures from the Christmas-Hanukkah soiree I threw a few weeks ago. Password is in lower case letters: christmas

http://gs98.photobucket.com/groups/l268/C3GMBB9Y2Q/?albumview=grid

Plus de moi-même

"I hate American simplicity. I glory in the piling up of complications of every sort. If I could pronounce the name James in any different or more elaborate way I should be in favor of doing it." - Henry James

Independence Day

The weekend was long and the sunshine was beautiful, but I am exhausted. From Thursday to Sunday, there was always something to participate in. I feel assured that I did all I could to cram as many activities into one weekend as possible. Some of the days were longer than others, but my favorite part was having Iva stay for two whole days, swap stories and get to know her. She comes highly recommended from my sister and I’m glad we spent so much time together Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning! Phew. Lucky me. Long weekend, though. Happy Independence Day for all of my fellow American patriots. Americans really like to celebrate, for that matter, Newportians really like to celebrate. I’m surrounded by enthusiasm and fervor. Exhausting and not ready to come back to the daily grind, but here I am. Can’t wait to get some of my remaining energy out during tennis practice tonight, and followed by restful sleep, I do hope to have. I can’t wait to spend a date with my pillow on a Monday evening. (With the window open – It is so hot in my house these days!)

Long Day.

arrrrrrrrrgh. Why can't some things just be simple?

How To Escape Sex and The City..

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if men refused to watch this movie? I listened to a ten-minute call-in show about men who liked or were being dragged to see Sex and the City. It was hilarious. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90950481
Listen to this!

I'm In A Kick Your Butt-Kinda Mood

yea, do you get it

“Just cause you feel it, doesn't mean it's there.” - Radiohead

You Get Me

“A heart that's full up like a landfill and a job that slowly kills you.” - Radiohead

Postscript -- I do not have a cell phone right now.

The last time I had the phone was on my final flight home from Atlanta to John Wayne airport. Since Saturday night, I've had trouble getting all my messages, I had no reception in D.C. or New York, so maybe the phone was dying anyways. Hrrmph. So if you're reading this, you can leave a voicemail, since I can check VM, but no text messages please! Hopefully, Delta airlines will return by mail...Hope. Hope.

I <3 Family

I find that family is wonderful. Between food and fun, there’s no better thing than family. And you know what else? My roommate, Nilo is quickly becoming a part of that, too. I feel so lucky, lately. Which is great, because honestly, I’ve been in a state of non-happy the last seven days. It isn’t so much that I’m unhappy, but I’ve been “without”, lately, pondering why things are so stressful. The hardest thing about it is that I can’t focus on my law school prep studies when I feel so… so…blah.



The reason I can feel like myself (maybe the only reason) is that my wonderful cousin, Nikki, was here to visit. I won’t say “best friend” since we just had this discussion that one can never just have one best friend, (and I agree) but she is truly one of the most inspiring people to be around because she’s so pure. And when I’m around her, I find it easy to express my emotions, my fears, and this is hard for me, on most other occasions. Very few allow me to relax and just speak plainly. Maybe because she's a writer. Maybe because she's so sweet. But probably because she understands me. She's an old soul. She just makes me smile.

Quarter is Worth 1/4th A Century's Wisdom

It is quite akward the first time one begins a new project...and so I feel the same about this blog. I mainly wanted a landing page for my own thoughts as I feel I am in a unique stage than ever before in my life. Not a quarter-life crisis, but a quarter-life presence. And on the brink of turning twenty-seven, I know I am leaving the juvenile days of late since I am closer to thirty than twenty. It does not feel old, it feels appropriate. Yet, it does not feel young, either.