Today the rain that I have heard so much about arrived and it was falling sideways. I was in a crabby mood because of it. I know that I choose to live on a hilly island with an outdoor escalator and it was my fault for wearing cream colored pants and ill-fitting shoes that were giving me a blister almost immediately. But I still don't know why everyone was using their umbrella as a WEAPON and not moving the least bit out of the way when they passed on the already too small sidewalks.
We've talked a lot about places we've been but not much about where we live, so I thought I would write a bit about Hong Kong (today may or may not be the best day to tell you all about Hong Kong because I'm very disenchanted with it).
I'm not going to give a huge history lesson, rather a very short one. Hong Kong first was part of China, then it was a British colony (1842-1997), then it went back to China. John and I describe Hong Kong as "China Light" because it is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) (different than SARS, which was an illness that also made Hong Kong popular and I was convinced I had contracted last week, but it was apparently only a regular respiratory infection). In short, it means that the island is supposed to have some element of autonomy until 2047. I'm not sure what happens after that. I imagine I won't live here anymore - I'll be like 70 years old.
We've talked a lot about places we've been but not much about where we live, so I thought I would write a bit about Hong Kong (today may or may not be the best day to tell you all about Hong Kong because I'm very disenchanted with it).
I'm not going to give a huge history lesson, rather a very short one. Hong Kong first was part of China, then it was a British colony (1842-1997), then it went back to China. John and I describe Hong Kong as "China Light" because it is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) (different than SARS, which was an illness that also made Hong Kong popular and I was convinced I had contracted last week, but it was apparently only a regular respiratory infection). In short, it means that the island is supposed to have some element of autonomy until 2047. I'm not sure what happens after that. I imagine I won't live here anymore - I'll be like 70 years old.
Hong Kong to me is a very strange place. I love the airport, but I am at times very aware of the differences (like today). Most people speak English, they are very into nice cars (which makes no sense to me because we are on an island), it is very crowded and people walk very slow. It is completely normal to burp out loud, directly in someone's face - however it is rude to use a toothpick without covering your mouth with your other hand.
People do not say "bless you", they do not hold the door, they do not let you off the subway before they barge on, they like to cut the line. The are in LOVE with hitting the "door close" button on the elevator. The door will immediately close (or try to close), usually only stopping when there is an obstruction. People will do this in your apartment building, office building without regard to your situation -- you could be pregnant, old, have a stroller, be carrying bags and they'll just keep pressing that button like it's a game of Centipede.
They do not help the eldery.
They allow their dogs to "foul", as the signs describe, where ever they please. This leaves you in constant fear of stepping in dog foul.
You can walk straight from a building with every imaginable high-end store to a street market with fish intestines and live chickens.
You can walk straight from a building with every imaginable high-end store to a street market with fish intestines and live chickens.
I think Hong Kong smells.
These ladies are checking out the fish intestines.
This was some sort of bovine head with horns that was hanging from it's nose. There are other bovine insides hanging next to it -- I'm not sure if they're from the same animal.
These chickens are in a store next to the fish place -
This is the meat store next to the live chicken store --this is probably the next stop for the chickens living next door.
