Interruption

My room from living area

I had planned on finishing part two of my Vietnam blog post, but I a LOT of important things happened this week, so I thought I'd take a brief interruption in your regularly scheduled programming to introduce you to my new apartment!

 I moved in to my apartment on Monday, and can say that although I was excited, I was also dreading yet another transition.  Though I knew my arrangement at my host family's house was temporary, I still became attached to it.  It was incredibly sad to pack nearly everything I own for the second time in just a few short months and head off into something unknown. But, the good news is that I do love my new flat, it is incredibly convenient to anything I could need, and it is really, really affordable.  Yes, it is above a strip club, yes, the bass from the club is ever-present from about 10pm onward, but all in all, I really like it.  It is renovated, has two bathrooms, and affords nice natural light in my room.  It pretty much met all of the requirements I had for a place, and I am doubly blessed to be living with two other Christian girls.

Bed/Desk are built in

Thankfully, Hong Kong has an IKEA.  New bedding!

Taken from standing on my bed

View out my window.  Our kitchen window on the right

View from the front door

Bathroom

Kitchen in an open floor plan.  Really rare for HK

View from my roommates end of the living room

Okay.  So I know what you're thinking...
Isn't that room a bit tiny?  I mean, that's smaller than my closet in the US.

And the answer is that yes, my room is small, and is in fact smaller than my best friend and former roommate's closet in Houston.  But the reality is that when you cram millions of people into a very small area, you end up with a lot of small apartments, and especially small ones if you want them to be affordable.  So I'm living in my cozy room which I will no doubt decorate with all of my pictures and mementos from Houston that I brought with me as I make more trips to IKEA for big things like a bulletin board, bookshelf, etc.  Because when you don't have a car, you don't want to bring more than you can comfortably carry.  This is a lesson I learned the other day while carrying a duvet cover, comforter, two pillows, two towels, a laundry hamper, 30 hangers and bedsheets through the Hong Kong MTR (metro).  And let me say, that it was far from comfortable.

In any case, this neighborhood for all its quirks is starting to feel like home.  And today, I even found a grocery store.  It is amazing to me how much these small rituals matter.  I can be honest and say that I cried a little bit on the chip aisle.  Not because I was sad, but rather overwhelmed.  Shopping in Denmark was always a traumatic experience, especially at first, because none of the labels were in English. Whatsoever.  So when I spoke no Danish, it was a total nightmare (now that I think of it, probably a reason I learned Danish quickly).   I digress.  But here, blessedly, everything was in English at the grocery store.  It was one of the first things I've done here in Hong Kong that has been easier than expected.  And I was so overcome by the availability of Kraft Parmesan Cheese and Tilamook Cheddar and whole wheat bread and Jazz apples that I just had to shed a little tear.  On the chip aisle.  Which isn't actually called the chip aisle, rather the "crisp aisle".   When I got home and cooked my mom's Parmesan baked chicken with some mashed potatoes, I felt for a moment like I was at home.  And it was a VERY good feeling.  It's funny how these small things can make such a big difference.

I love these people!  Co-Director Julie and boss Wade

Another big event that happened this week was the election.  Believe it or not, the election and all its related fanfare made its way all the way to Hong Kong.  It was actually really cool being awake as

There are two Republicans in there somewhere

the results rolled in.  I definitely never made very much of an effort to stay awake for results in the US, but here it was inevitable.  My boss, Wade, even took my co-worker Julie and I over to the American Chamber of Commerce election watching party at one of the highrises here in Hong Kong.  It was CRAZY times!

As we arrived, we got to select our party affiliation buttons, and were treated to cheddar and caramel popcorn, Starbucks, and more TVs with CNN on than I could count.  I made my way over to the Starbucks counter and thanked the Chinese barista who excitedly told me that she felt very lucky to be working the Amcham event.  Apparently they fought over who got to go.  It made me realize that much more how American politics and our decisions really do interest and impact the rest of the world.

We were there at a particularly exciting time as CNN was beginning to project states for the different candidates.  I will say that in both my experience here and in Denmark that expats tend to be Democrats.  I don't know if it has something to do with the type of personality required to live abroad, or the worldview provided by having an international experience, but nonetheless, that's the

Calling it for Obama

fact.  So, every time Obama would win a state, there would be a raucous cheer, and each time Romney won, one or two lone enthusiasts would clap excitedly.  It was actually pretty funny to observe.  We were going to leave, but for some reason hung around and were there to hear CNN call the election for Obama.  The energy in the room was crazy with people high-fiving each other and merriment all around.  (Except the two Republicans, of course).





Anyway, this week has been really exciting and new and overwhelming, but I am starting to feel more and more like I actually live here instead of just being on an extended holiday where I happen to go to work.  It's a good feeling.

Til next time,

The Adventurer