Compare and Contrast

One of the really common things in Hong Kong is eating dinner later than we are used to in the US. So with Maggie and Nicholas, we try and east dinner between 5:30 to 6:30. 

Eating dinner at 5:30pm- 6pm in Hong Kong is like eating dinner at 4pm in the States.  The dinner hour has just started, late lunches are still finishing up, you get a couple strange looks about eating so early and the restaurants usually have a table. 

Being out of phase with the rest of Hong Kong by 2 hours usually means we can get a table.

Reservations are a must because restaurants fill up.  Walk in is tough. So if one tries and makes a reservation the day of or walk in, you are usually told "I have a table at 6pm, but you have to give it back at 8:30pm."  We usually always say yes because we have on record never had a dinner out with our kids that lasted more than 1 hour.

Transitions

The thing about being an expat in Hong Kong is your life is about continuous transitions.  Even if you are settled, there is always a transition or two or five going on around you: new people coming, people you have befriended leaving, as Maggie would say “forever.” It is a constant state of no steady state. I find myself looking to the local scene for that sense of permanence. Even that is in a constant state of change.

There was a funny story in the paper several month's ago that stated that the average lifespan of a business in Wan Chai, our nieghborhood, is about 16 months if that.  And now with all the weathly spending in Hong Kong, upscale stores are pushing out local stores faster since they will pay insane rents. The thing is there is generally no report or story.  One day your favorite restaurant is there, the next it is a hole in the building. No time to prepare.  The entire city seems to take it in stride.  So even the local scene is in a slower yet constant state of change.

With that, a family we befriended almost on our first week here is leaving for Spain on Monday.  The Grahams. I remember waiting down in the temp apartment lobby for Maggie’s bus and there was Alistar waiting with his son Alex. Then when I took a taxi to pick Maggie up the end of the day, there was Alistar again picking Alex up.  We started talking, thought it silly for us to each take a taxi to the same temp apartment and agreed to car/taxi pool in the afternoons.  The preschool did not have a bus in the afternoon.

From there we have had play dates and trips together.  We will miss them, but that is the life here. Exciting and changing all at the same time. A life of good byes.

And….

Maggie’s adopted preschool had her graduation day today (Friday morning).  Don’t worry Ms Janice, Maggie will always be a FUMCDC girl!  It was a very nice ceremony.  Pictures on Facebook. I remember how I was so concerned about Maggie’s adjustment midyear to this school.  Not only mid year, but a British style program.  It and Maggie of course worked out fine there. So just as Maggie and I got settled, we have to say goodbye to Woodland.

I leave with a strong recommendation for the Woodland Beachside Preschool to anyone in Hong Kong. They have taken care of Maggie and brought her into their family.  We are very grateful for it.

And….

Maggie starts Hong Kong International Summer Program in July. She will take a reading and writing in the morning and Chinese in the afternoon through July.  This will be the last school transition we have to make during our stay.  I welcome that.

A least a very little bit of continuity.  I will take any small piece I can get.

Slacker

I have been accused of slacking off in my posting duties. (You know who you are. No need to call you out .....Carrie.) Ok so I will do better.  I must admit, I have had several ideas in the past weeks and in between fire drills at work, Maggie's social calendar, Nicholas' social calendar, rain storms, cyclone warnings, strep and general exhaustion, forgot and moved on. Mea Culpa.

June 13, 2011: A Day of Rain

Well we got our first glimpse of what a "tropical downpour" whould look like.  It started raining in the night and lasted through the mid afternoon.  The thing about it is that this was I think only the first stage of a thunderstorm warning: amber level. Lord knows what "black" would look like. Except this, you don't go out.

So stuck in the apartment.  I think we didn't do too bad.  The apartment complex has a playroom so we ended up there before lunch.

So our life continues here. Katy and I go to work.  Maggie and Nicholas head back and forth from preschool. Eva helps us all.

We planned our next summer vacation at the beginning of August to Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia.  We decided to book the Shangri-La Resort there.  Instead of ajoining rooms, we went with a suite.  I think that will work out better.

Maggie's birthday party is scheduled for Saturday June 25 at the Parkview apartments.  Maggie and her new friend Alex are having it together. We befriended Alex's parents, Alistar and Anna. Alex goes to the same preschool.  They are from the UK.  Unfortunately they are will be headed to Spain for good at the end of June.  They were only here temporarily as Anna works for the UK government. As Maggie says, "They are leaving and never coming back."  It happens so frequently that it becomes a part of the life. We will miss them.

As we will truly miss all of our friends for Maggie's birthday.

The rain is stopping. A little sunshine for the evening. A welcome sight. Signing off from across the planet.