Remembrance

Cousin Carol was my mentor on all career and travel matters. She enthusiasticly supported my artistic, academic, financial, and adventurous pursuits. In December, Carol was in the hospital when I told her about my opportunity to live in Hong Kong. She was elated at the possibility, kissed me through her oxygen mask, and patted my hand as she told me how proud I've made her. Three days later, she was dead.

It was nearly impossible to leave my family in the wake of such a horrible loss. I wanted to help, to reminisce, to feel their support, and to collapse in my partner's Brenda's embrace every day. Instead I renewed my passport and packed my bags, knowing I would need to postpone the grieving until I arrived in Hong Kong.

In Chinese tradition, smoke from fires and incense carry good wishes and earthly posessions up to the deceased. When my Chinese-American friend's stepfather passed away, I had been deeply move by the gentle medative practice of folding paper offerings to place in the fire at the wake.

At A-Ma Temple on a rainy day, I purchased gold-leafed paper and folded it into the shape of ingots (bars of gold) to the best of my ability, and placed the oragami into a brick fireplace. Watching it burn, the smoke made my eyes tear for the first time since Carol's funeral.

The first part of my ritual complete, I climbed perhaps 200 stone steps to a summit and placed bright red candles and yellow incense in an alter overlooking the sea and distant hills. Carol had always loved the mountains, and I felt a renewed sense of peace as I decended the stairs back to the land of the living.

View from A-Ma Temple out to the sea and distant hills.

Birthday parties

The doctor was right. My voice was back 47 hours and 45 minutes after I took my first dose of antibiotics. So I had 2 celebrations...

First, a funny-scratchy-voice sober celebration with coworkers on Wednesday. We went out for a "hot pot" dinner, which is a cross between fondu and shabu shabu. 8 of us sat around tossing all sorts of raw meat and veggies into a big steaming caldron of soup. Then we fished them out with chopsticks and slotted ladels. Absolutely delicious! And no one got food poisoning, which made us quite proud. My new friend Ben was the star chef of the night.

Then on Friday, I went for drinks at my favorite Irish pub on earth... PJ Murphy's, in Kowloon (the Hong Kong equilivant of Brooklyn). Since the pubs close early here, we had to move on just as the Investment Banker friends were getting out of work around midnight. One of them shares a birthday with me, so we certainly couldn't go home! There was more celebrating to be done in the quaint frat-party areas nearby. Went home late and happy.

Good medicine

Wednesday, Feb. 13th, I woke up with a sore throat, a cough, and a headache. My first thought was, "Damn, Chinese restaurant chopsticks really aren't hygenic!" My second thought... "I think I need to see a doctor."

I'm in a foreign country with no knowledge of the medical system. Yikes!

It got worse. When I tried to say good morning to the doorman, an achy bellowy sound came out. I had officially lost my voice. The day before my birthday.

Well, the kind folks at my company recommended a doctor on the opposite side of the island, in Repulse Bay. The receptionist directed me brightly, "You can't miss it. We're in the big blue building with the hole in it." What?

Despite its horrible name, Repulse Bay is absolutely beautiful. And so is the building. But more importantly, the doctor experience was efficient!

3:05 Arrive at doctor office, 10 minutes early for my appointment

3:15 Doctor sees me, asks questions, consults books and websites to understand my unique medical history, and tells me to "say 'aaahhh'." No paper gown required.

3:22 I officially have tonsolitis (and I thought that was just for kids!).

3:23 Doctor predicts I will have my voice back in 48 hours from the start of my medication. I've never heard a projection like that. Isn't she worried about lawsuits if it takes 50 hours instead? Not in China.

3:25 I have antibiotics, instructions for at-home steam therapy, and an English-language receipt for the $1,000 I just paid. Thankfully, that's in Hong Kong dollars, not American.

This is one efficient system. Even if my American insurance company refuses to reimburse the claim, I don't mind the price. As they say, "Doctor: HK$800. Medicine: HK$200. Voice back to normal in time for weekend birthday celebrations: Priceless."

new year symbolism

"Kung Hey Fat Choy!" That's one of the many ways to say & spell the Chinese New Year greeting. It translates roughly to "wishing you much prosperity." 2008 marks the Year of the Rat, and Mickey Mouse is featured prominately in stores' holiday tchotchke aisles.












More traditional (and adorable) mice images with good luck blossoms can be seen, 10 feet tall, adorning the sides of buildings across the city. The style is similar to wood block prints, which were invented in China over 1,000 years ago.






The word for mandarin oranges in Cantonese also means gold, so the mandarin orange tree, decorated with red packets containing coins, is essentially a money tree.








Oranges and other foods showing "the color of gold" are popular this time of year. My personal favorite, even before I learned its name, is the Nipple Fruit, a fabulous pear-shaped yellow fruit with five stubby legs near its base. The legs represent members of 5 generations under one roof, and since Chinese New Year is a family holiday, it represents longevity and peace among the relatives. The fact that nipple fruit is poisonous doesn't taint the message - people display the fruit just to keep up appearances!

flower market

Sunday was downright sunny. My new friend Jamie tore me away from the british tele programs and we explored the Lunar New Year flower markets. This cultural celebration is part botany display and part street fair. And of course, since it's Hong Kong, the true goal of the vendors is to sell sell sell.

In Victoria Park, the city was bustling with models waving plush golden bricks, hawkers pushing silk boxers with golden hand prints, Japanese orchid vendors, and cute dykey girls who just wanted to share some hugs. I celebrated with the locals, and gave out a few free hugs myself.

outside

So the weater outside is a bit frightful (cold and rainy, which looks like snow in this photo). But that doesn't stop my coworker Charles and his delightful wife Carmen (in red) from throwing a fabulous bbq! Folks from China, Malaysia, the US, Australia, Germany, and Britain all attended the Hong Kong festival, and we all brought our own version of bbq food. I discovered bbq pumpkin (yum!!!), and us Americans introduced our new friends to smores.

Going around the table from the far left are... my boss Murray, coworker & host Charles, ?, coworker Robert, me in brown making smores, ?, New Yorker and coworker Jamie, some guy from Colorado, coworker Ben, coworker Leo, coworker Winnie, ?, hostess Carmen in red, and Murray's wife Kate.
As you probably gathered from earlier pictures in the blog, I live in a sea of buildings. To break things up a bit, there are a lot of tiny little parks, like this one a few blocks from Wing Lok Street... the "Cleverly Street Sitting-Out Area." Complete with chess-like table tops to play with.

This is another view from my balcony. It's amazing just how packed all these streets truly are with buildings! And I'm a New Yorker, so you know it's intense if I'm impressed.

The dreary grey atmosphere lasted over 15 days. Today, it finally broke and we had some sunlight. The weather in Hong Kong isn't usually this cold or gloomy - the climate is typically subtropical! See the weather reports on China's snowstorms for a sense of what this country is going through. Worst weather in 50 years. Thankfully, I'm not up north in Shanghai!

So there you have it - a taste of the great outdoors. Hopefully I'll get to go outside during the sunshine and share some more flattering images of the city. Good thing I found such a fun, energetic group of people to spend time with!