Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Great US Trip

We are starting to feel normal again having almost recovered from jet lag due to our recent visit to the US. It was an excellent trip—very relaxing while still managing to see family, friends, shop, and eat. Our house and storage unit are in great shape which is a true comfort. Fall was upon the east coast and a refreshing change from the hot and humid Hong Kong weather that will likely be around through October.

While in the US, I reflected on the things I miss about the States and also the things I love about Hong Kong. Erik and I both miss fall. I am nostalgic about making chili or soup on a cool Sunday evening with the sound of football from the living room. Additionally, I miss my house. It is a great place. Of course, we miss our friends and family dearly, but I think an attribute of great relationships is when you feel like it’s been a week, not a year, since you last saw one another. Now that we’ve been away from the US for two years, I don’t miss some of the things I did when we first moved. I don’t miss TV. It is crazy that with about 200 channels, there is nothing decent to watch. It is better to have only 20 channels of crap. Even though we did buy a decent amount of clothes, I am comfortable with my limited choices here in Hong Kong. I definitely miss having a cat. It was a real joy to have my parents’ cat sleep with us each night.

I think I’ve commented before that Hong Kong definitely feels like home to me, and I hope we can remain longer than one more year.

I didn’t take many photos in the US, but did manage to capture a few highlights.

A fabulous dinner at the new Emeril Lagasse restaurant in the Sands casino which has inhabited the old Bethlehem Steel Factory. Erik and his friends—interestingly, these were his attendants at our wedding.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Want Some Watermelon?

I’ve mentioned before, the grocery store in the mall near our apartment is quite fancy and features organic and high quality merchandise. There is a special produce section devoted to items from Japan. These Japanese items are always more expensive than the China grown produce and often more expensive than the stuff imported from the US, Europe, or Australia. That said, I was shocked to see the price of the Japanese watermelons this week. The price for a basketball-sized melon was HK$329 or US$42! Who buys these things, especially when the store had China watermelons the same size for about US$4.00. Fresher produce can be purchased in the street market for approximately half the cost of this high-end store. So the choice is an air-shipped US$42 watermelon from Japan, or walk 15 minutes to the street market and get a locally grown one for US$2.00 max.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Another Moon & Arch Pic

There was a beautiful full moon in Hong Kong this weekend. The summer has been very clear, and recently, the weather has changed to be less humid. It is still hot, around the mid 80s, but it is bearable.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Apartment Touch Ups

This week marks our two year anniversary in Hong Kong. Since our days in the apartment are limited, I wanted to put the final touches on it while we still had time to enjoy them. We acquired many wonderful items from my friend S who recently returned to the US. S has excellent taste. I would like to buy at least one more piece of antique Chinese furniture. Here are some of the recent additions:
Black Chinese boxes, antique picture, and flower pot from S. The plant is from another expat who returned to the US.

Chinese alter table and reclining Buddha from S. Erik's Beijing photograph I had framed for his birthday. Framing in Hong Kong is very inexpensive.Porcelain Chinese vase lamp from S. The little urn is from Bangkok which was purchased last fall. The Japanese block print is a few years old. Erik bought it on one of his first trips to Japan.Big, beautiful, carved mirror from S in our bedroom. You can see the Tibetan prayer flags hanging over our bed in the reflection. The prayer flags are from a sacred Buddhist temple we visited in India. On the dresser is an antique postcard from India with a handpainted image of Ganesh. In the guest bedroom, my sister's sketches were recently framed and hung over the bed.