It is 4am Hong Kong time and I haven't quite adjusted to the hours here. The last few days have been a whirlwind of taking boats to nearby islands, eating with Pat’s friends and celebrating a strange amalgamation of Valentine’s and Chinese New Years, despite having a vested interest in neither.
There is so much going on around me that it is hard to begin to describe any of it. Hong Kong is a sensory overload. There is a distinct smell of being on a tropical island mixed with the delicious aroma of restaurants packed into tight spaces everywhere. There is a constant hum from the cars zipping around though the narrow streets and what seems like far too many people crammed onto the narrow sidewalks. There is never a time when everything is closed and even though it is after 4am on a Monday morning there are people at bars and restaurants that are making noise 10 stories below me on the street. Since there is always a bustle of something going on stores have their neon lights on at all hours. The glow of neon that envelops the city makes the place seem oddly futuristic. There is a mix of old buildings that are water streaked from the tropical climate and new, clean banking towers built from modern glass and metal. Signs are all over the place in a mix of Chinese and English.
I feel slightly overwhelmed at times as I try to take everything in and then I look over at Pat as he is walking next to me and he is totally calm and relaxed. I supposed this isn’t so much of a shock to him as he was living in Tokyo up until several months ago. I don’t mean to imply that the city has too much going on or that it’s busy-ness is a detriment—in fact I believe the opposite. I love how so many people from relatively different cultures can exist together in such tight quarters and get along so well. Since I have been here we have been out late at night outside of bars and clubs and I have witnessed zero fights (something that I saw or heard with relative frequency when I lived on State Street in Madison) and people keep telling me what a safe city it is. Violent crime is almost non existent.
The other thing that I am completely intrigued by is the mix of ex-pats living here from every part of the English speaking world. Americans are in the minority compared to other English speakers. Pat and I brunched yesterday with a group of his friends and coworkers that was made up of Irish, New Zealanders, Australians, another American and a Scotsman. It seemed like I was very tuned into the everyone's slight cultural differences. Pat has often been the lone American while living abroad for some time now and it seems like he notices the similarities that everyone shares more than their differences. I can see why that is: compared to Hong Kong, America and New Zealand may as well be the same place. I love the fact that people from all over the world whose strongest common bond is language can come together to a tiny island off the coast of China and become fast friends. Being around other ex-pats in an Asian country is going to help me shed whatever vestiges of Americentric attitudes I still have. The world is a pretty big place. I am happy that I am getting to see more of it.
Rainy cab ride through Hong Kong.
The bright lights of Macau.
Friends looking at $40k watches with a man named Man.
Pat at 6:30am at a noodle shop. It is packed with other people getting a bite to eat after a long night out.
Eating Scotch Eggs with a Scotsman. Meta brunch.
Mary and a Bloody Mary at brunch.
Pat in Lan Tau, an island where the cars are banned and the quiet is deafening.
I know that eventually I won’t care about signs that don’t make sense. But for now…
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