The Rabbit is almost here!

Chinese New Year is right around the corner. This is the year of the Rabbit. The entire city is preparing for the big week of festivities. Red lanterns are being hung, lucky red envelopes are being bought, and lion dances are being rehearsed.




For me, getting ready for the New Year is simple. All I have to do is reach into my box of decorations my students from Chinatown have given me throughout the past 6 years! I have everything from paper dragons to signs that say 恭禧發財 (Gung Hay Fat Choy) Happy Chinese New Year!



My brother and sister-in-law happen to be visiting me for the next two weeks and the timing couldn't be more perfect. My brother loves to say Gung Hay Fat Choy to me every time we Skype. Now he can walk around town saying it to all the locals he meets.

On Monday, I went to the bank to get my Lai See (lucky money) to give out during the New Year. I will place the freshly printed money in red envelopes. The color red is a lucky one and is said to ward off evil spirits.

I have to carefully plan out how much money I will put in each envelope. The envelopes are for people I want to thank for helping me throughout the year (doormen, hair stylist, letter carrier, cleaning helpers, etc.) I was told that the amount of money in each envelope should end with an even digit because odd-numbered money gifts can be associated with funerals. I also have to make sure that the number four does not appear in the amount. The pronunciation of the word "four"in Chinese sounds like the word "death," and many superstitious people believe it will bring them bad luck. Floor 13 of a building in the states is like floor 4 here in Hong Kong...they both don't exist.

Since my number skills haven't gotten any better in the past 6 months, I better leave the money sorting to D. I wouldn't want the year of the Rabbit to be an unlucky one for anyone!

Brrrr....It's cold in here!

For the past month, I have been experiencing the Hong Kong "Winter". Winter here usually lasts around 2 months and the temperature drops into the high 50's. The local women break out their designer puffy down jackets and their fur coats. The younger crowd puts on their extremely high furry boots and studded UGGS.

You would think coming from NYC that I would find temperatures in the 50's to be quite mild for winter weather. I don't have to bundle up with layers of clothing, my earmuffs and gloves are tucked away in the drawer, and I don't have to wear tights under my pants. The truth is even though it's not so cold outside I am still freezing...inside!

The buildings here are designed to handle the hot, humid weather which Hong Kong suffers from a great part of the year. During the summer, the buildings blast the air conditioning so hard that you can feel it in the streets as you walk past building doors. In the winter, however, the buildings feel just as cold as in the summer because they are not heated.

My flat is freezing! We live on the 26th floor and the saying "heat rises" is not true in this case. All I want to do is turn on the heat..too bad my building doesn't have any! Thankfully, we invested in two space heaters which I move from room to room with me depending on where I am sitting. I also bought a hot water bottle which I bring into the bed with me at night to warm up the sheets.


It's so hard to motivate myself in the mornings. I feel so cold, that I don't want to take off my cozy pink robe to get dressed for the day. I end up putting on way too much clothing because when I get outside, it's always much warmer than the room I just left!

Chinese New Year is right around the corner and I was told that a cold New Year is a sign of good luck. I hope it's a cold, lucky, holiday. I'm just glad I won't be in town that week!

182.621009 days

182.621099 days = 6 months = 1/2 year = the amount of time I have "officially" lived in Hong Kong

In the past six months I've...

fallen in love with a city I once never even imagined myself visiting

learned how to cook (well soups and desserts..thanks to C)

learned how to differentiate the Aussie from the British accent

used Skype every single day and have been able to keep up with the lives of my friends and family back home

flown back to the USA 2 times to see my cousin and two of my best friends get married! (missed a few weddings that I would have loved to attend)

made some new life long friends

visited 3 new countries

eaten at a restaurant, gone to a club, and flown on a 16 hour flight...by myself!

learned to eat other Chinese dishes beside Shrimp dumplings and Peking Duck (although they are still my favorite)

made the biggest change in my life thus far...and couldn't be happier! (well I could if you were all here with me!)

Rainbows in vending machines

When it rains in Hong Kong...it pours. I can't tell you how many umbrellas we now own. There are too many to fit in the umbrella stand that sits outside our door. When we first moved to Hong Kong, I was unaware that a crystal clear blue sky did not mean that it wasn't going to start down pouring 15 minutes later. During the summer months, you can not leave home without your umbrella.

If you do leave home empty handed, do not fret. You can pick up an umbrella at your local MTR (subway) vending machine. When the images of vending machines pop into your mind, most people probably think about snickers, chips, and soda. Me? Oh I now think about umbrellas.

We are not talking about your ordinary black umbrella sold on the streets of Chinatown. We are talking about quality umbrellas that won't flip inside out the second the wind hits them. Better yet, they come in every color of the rainbow.

In Hong Kong umbrellas are not just used to stay dry, they are very often used to block the hot sun. Although I may have yelled once or twice at an old Chinese woman blocking up the entire sidewalk with her umbrella on a sunny day, she actually has a valid point. I mean, my own husband now pops open an umbrella on a hot summer day to shield him from the scorching sun and he's one of the smartest people I know!

I have to admit, I have not purchased mine yet since the lilac color always seems to be sold out. A friend told me she has several of them and they never fail to keep her dry.

Although rainbows in the sky are seldom seen, you can always view one in the local Hong Kong vending machine.

A New Year's Wish

Happy 2011!
May it be filled with:
double happiness
special memories
family
friends
health
&
love