I love getting Christmas cards. I love the trickle of mail that appears in our HK mail box, and the happy bunches that come through our mail forwarding service. I enjoy the whole deal – noting trends in design, color, and type of photo, reading what everyone is up to, seeing how kids have grown – and I deeply appreciate the effort that goes into getting every card done and out in that holiday window.

I didn’t send them this year. When we arrived in the US for Christmas break, I had already missed the pre-holiday deadline for online cards. I told myself I was waiting to see if we might have an address change (our lease was up), and after all, I was busy packing and sorting out Jed’s birthday and our Christmas from afar since our entire holiday would be spent in the US. Plus, I couldn’t get quite the right picture of the boys – you know, the one that shows how the boys have grown and demonstrates that we are a clever, fun-loving, (insert your favorite slightly aspirational descriptor here) family. I figured it would be easy to snap a pic of the boys after the jetlag wore off, on a good ski day, or out in the yard, or in front of a snowy bunch of trees, or, or, or.

An early attempt.

Then, instead of joining us for Jed’s birthday in Truckee, Tommy landed at Mass General in Boston. A tiny “bite” on the top of his foot turned out to be a seriously strong bacterial infection that led to over 3 weeks of no fun, including a 3 day hospital stay, trips to ERs in two different states, trial and (mostly) error antibiotics, many, many rounds of IV antibiotics, and eventually a surgical cut across the top of his foot in the hopes the infection would drain.  After delaying our return until Tommy could fly, we arrived back in Hong Kong weary and . . . cardless.

So the Baxter Christmas card never happened. Slowly the holidays have ticked by – the window for Happy 2015! passed by, then Valentine’s Day, then Chinese New Year, then St Patrick’s Day (we are part Irish, after all). Easter is next up. Maybe I’ll get it all together and send a Happy Spring! card, but don’t hold your breath. My apologies for the skip, and don’t take me off your list! I loved getting your holiday cards, and I hope to return the favor sometime before next Christmas.

When we packed up our Scituate house and headed to Hong Kong 3 years ago, we stopped in Truckee, CA on our way over.  Unexpectedly, we found a little house on a big stretch of land.  With our Scituate house on the market, it felt like a touchstone that would keep us connected to the US. I did think Tommy was completely crazy to try and buy a house literally on our way out of the country; I’m usually the impulsive one. But it worked out, and I am so glad it did.

Our house in Truckee is what makes Hong Kong survivable. For all the benefits of our adopted city, it can be exhausting. The pollution here gets worse every year (that’s another blog post), and the thrum of the city is palpable. In Hong Kong, the lights are bright, the crowds are close, and there’s always noise.  In Truckee we have the stars. It’s dark and stunningly quiet. We might see someone walking their dog once in awhile, but for the most part our little slice of nature feels deserted. The internet is dial-up, and you really do need 4-wheel drive in the winter.  We all love it.

Occupy is still happening. It’s not as violent as the 2014 Keene Pumpkin Fest or as luridly shocking as the story about the recent murder in Wan Chai, so it doesn’t warrant headlines in the US. The news here revolves around what comes next. One of the main highways in HK is still blocked by a tent city. Will the HK government do something that shows thoughtful leadership? Will infighting amongst the Occupy factions cause the movement to fizzle?  As you can see from the pictures below, it certainly doesn’t seem like things (that’s a highway) will be back to normal anytime soon.

As for us, we feel safe. Our day-to-day is surprisingly ordinary, given there’s a major protest happening. I hope it stays that way.

Occupy Central has grown since I visited in early October. This picture was taken at the end of October.

Neat. orderly, peaceful. When we visited on a Sunday AM in late October, there were people dozing tents.

Painstakingly cleaning the carpet of lint with bits of duct tape.

Entrance to the study area.

The two rows of blue marquee tents (with the two yellow peaks in the front) form a Study Corner set up by students.

Protesters are worried about being identified in photos posted to social media.

Homemade barriers protect the tent city beyond.

These barriers have been reinforced in all sorts of creative ways after attempted removals by police, with everything from chains to zip ties to chairs to hastily-mixed cement.

News today from the Occupy front was disturbing to say the least.

When walking through the protest site yesterday, I was struck by the thousands of posters, slogans, stickers, chalk drawings, and sculptures of those supporting the protests. Seeing The Lennon Wall, as it has come to be known, was surprisingly moving. There is energy you can feel from all those little post-its!

We’ve been living with Occupy about a mile away for about 2 weeks. The boys’ October break coincided with the start of the Occupy movement in HK, so we were out of the country for the first week of the protests. It was during those first days that police fired tear gas into a largely peaceful crowd, inciting protestors and citizens alike. Since then, the protests have continued: Hong Kong students demanding Beijing honor promises made during the handover in 1997, Beijing refusing to acknowledge Hong Kong students have anything to say. The rest of the city is pretty much going about its business.

Occupy Central is an encampment set up on the main highway through Hong Kong. It is bigger and way more impressive than you probably have seen on television feeds. If you live in Boston, imagine protesters barricading 93, forcing everyone to drive 3a, or loop around to come from the west or the north. It’s sort of like that. Not small. Traffic can get into and through the city, but it’s painful.

What’s incredible to me is that so many of the occupy barricades lasted this long. The barricades were first constructed of metal barriers zip-tied together. Many were left unguarded – it was odd to me; in the US, these unmanned roadblocks would have been summarily removed by police, or even by disgruntled commuters. In HK they remained undisturbed for more than 2 weeks (and they are still not all gone).

Many friends have sent emails or FB messages wondering if we are fine; some wonder whether we will return from HK. We plan to stay. The reality of life with the protests is this: Travel time has been doubled for many of our journeys. The boy’s school bus route was altered and each ride takes 20-30 minutes longer.

Exact ETA Unknown or, definitely really late.

Public transportation is the best way to get anywhere (not a bad thing). The resulting traffic mess has been annoying. But that’s it. The protest areas do not feel dangerous. It’s easy to get around on foot. This morning, just before some of the barricades were cleared to restore some traffic flow, things at the protest site were peaceful and calm. Considering the protestors passion, their peaceful approach, and their love and respect for their city, can any expat here really complain?

J.Crew has arrived! Well, sort of.

News that J.Crew would join Gap as an american-based retailer with a storefront in HK was tantalizing. J.Crew has had a small presence in department store Lane Crawford, but the selection is very small. Leading up to J.Crew’s bricks and sticks arrival, free international shipping was offered on its website, but the HK prices for items themselves were higher than on the US site. I assumed the hike was to make up for the free shipping.

Well played, J.Crew. I like the mahjongg tiles.

I stopped in at the new J.Crew store a day after it opened; however I soon realized I would not be frequenting the new Hong Kong branch. There was only a small selection of t shirts and shorts, but prices were big – anywhere from 10 to 30% more than in the US. Of course, most of the relatively small shop is dedicated to J.Crew Collection, a selection of clothes made with extra J.Crewiness.  I like J.Crew (and will have an order waiting for me in the US) but not at such a markup.

Rare and Special, apparently.

I’ve read that the parent company is looking to start a chain with offerings closer to J.Crew Factory prices called J.Crew Mercantile (who remembers Gap Factory?), but I doubt we’d see that store here in HK, and I doubt I’d want to pay up for whatever they would charge in HK. What I don’t doubt is that plenty of Mainland retail tourists will be happy to pay J.Crew’s “rare and special” pricing.

Movies are one of the great exports of the US.  My love for them has increased since being away; partly because I really miss the whole experience of American TV.  Movies are a nice substitute for everyday viewing when the local channels loop Hawaii 5-O, CSI, The Voice, Wipe Out, The Amazing Race and Asia’s Next Top Model.  We buy shows on iTunes through our US account, but there are still plenty of programs (HGTV anyone?) we simply can’t get.  Dare I say we miss the commercials a teeny tiny bit?

The theaters we frequent are in malls. At home I usually don’t find myself at an afternoon movie during the week; here, I do.  Movie seats here are assigned, whether you buy your ticket ahead of time or walk in.  No more rushing to get your favorite spot. If you want middle center seats, you can buy them ahead of time.  Not available? You can check the seating chart online and decide whether you really want to watch a movie from the far left (no) or the front row (no again).

In the US, you can expect that if you are headed to a PG movie, you won’t be bombarded by inappropriate previews for, say, R rated slasher horror zombie movies.  This happened to us when we went to see Captain America.  The preview was for Rec 3. Complaints to the staff (teens in bow ties and vests – just like home!) were not fruitful (just like home!).

The concession stand is disappointing for movie candy aficionados, but exciting for popcorn lovers. The candy selection is paltry.  Skittles, M&Ms, stale jellybellies. Blech. Popcorn here comes sweet, salty (sometimes referred to as ‘american style’) or mixed. My favorite is mixed. Mindlessly consuming a week’s worth of calories is so much more gratifying when you alternate. There is also a bar (which I have NOT frequented in the afternoon). One drink from this bar and I would essentially be paying for a nap.

3D is still big here, so that’s also a factor. Can we all just agree that it would be best if the 3D movie viewing trend went away?  I like 2D movies. The 3D experience has the tendency to give me a headache, and my kid who wears glasses has a hard time watching 3D too.  Plus we have an entire junk drawer full of 3D glasses which I only remember when I’m dropping in more 3D glasses.

If you want to view like a local, be prepared to dash out before the credits have even begun.  I don’t understand the scramble for the exits – particularly when movies like the Avengers, or Captain America 2, reward those who stick around with an extra scene or two.

So Tommy was recently asked by a visiting colleague if it rains often in HK.  Tommy replied that it doesn’t rain all that often, but when it does, it comes down all at once. This is a problem when the city is basically built into a hillside and most slopes are paved. In fact, almost every slope in HK is identified by a serial number in an effort to identify and prevent potential landslides before they happen.

Last night, the black rainstorm warning signal was raised. Rainstorm warnings range form amber, to red, to black.  Black has been raised only twice in the past two years; we’ve seen quite a few rainstorm warnings. The storm last night produced hail big enough to break windows at a local mall.  Interior flooding seems to be everywhere. The volume of rain is unnerving, particularly when your throw in dramatic thunder and lightning, monsoon winds, and landslip warnings.

Because we don’t have local news, we are tied to our weather apps.  The Hong Kong Observatory provides the most detailed information about weather in HK. It is a government run site, but so far has proved reliable.  If you have the iPhone app, this is what you will see:

Each warning has an explanation:

Another bout of rain just came through and the amber rainstorm warning is still up, but it looks like things are settling down to just wet, wet, wet with some occasional thunder and lightning.

Since the expanse of windows is one of the best features of our apartment, we were pleased to learn periodic cleaning was included in our rent.

When I scheduled our first window washing, I was surprised how readily I was able to reserve a “slot”.  I envisioned some suspended platform or swing contraption would be employed; I had witnessed just such a platform being used at our 12th-floor serviced apartment. I thought it could be a long wait to schedule a cleaning, given building management must have to schedule according to when the apparatus was available, when enough tenants had requested cleaner windows, etc.  For some reason, it never occurred to me the outside of our 29th floor windows would be cleaned from the inside.

On the day of the cleaning, two guys turned up at our door with buckets, squeegees, and a ladder. They slipped off their shoes and brought the equipment inside.

I took these pictures surreptitiously, with my phone on silent.

All I could think of is how I would overbalance if I attempted this.

How long can you hold your breath?  It takes these guys about 30 minutes to clean all the windows in our apartment. No safety gear. No harnesses. Wikipedia says this about window cleaning: “Risks include slipping on water or soap, and falling from heights.” No kidding.