When you're born in the land of the Long White Cloud - the place dubbed ‘middle-earth’ - and then raised in that other place they call 'The Land Down Under' -- getting to another country usually involves (at the very least) a good few hours up in the air. Let's face it, flying within Australia can take up to five hours and involve jet lag! So, the idea that I can be in a completely different country, new culture, new language (heck even new chopstick etiquette) within a couple of hours still manages to impress me! Suffice to say, during my time here in Asia's World City, I've managed quite a few short flights that have landed me, rather excitedly, in exotic, seemingly far-flung locations…all within the blink of an eye. With this in mind, I took my latest trip to the Philippines with a grain of salt. It’s just up the road - been there done that. That grain of salt was in fact so teensy; I didn't even check my e-ticket (properly). I'd been invited to host a corporate awards night as Master of Ceremonies (as I have done many times). But it seems the close proximity of this foreign land had me held hostage to a touch of complacency. Admittedly - I was a little sidetracked with family in town. As any expat will know, much-loved visitors on your turf means any semblance of normality is totally lost - you happily immerse yourself in the vortex of sightseeing, shopping and eating out. Every day is like a holiday in your own city (until reality bites). Click here to read more on EXPAT FOCUS … [Read more...]
Reinventing the Wheel: From Television News Reader to Expat Mum in Asia
Last day on air as a News Reader for Sky News Australia My column for online magazine Coping with Jane…. I want my old life back! You know the feeling right? That nagging little voice in your head -- sometimes it's not so little though, it's screaming out, desperate to be heard. I suppose it’s all par for the course when you’re catapulted out of your comfort zone into a foreign land where no one speaks your language and everything from the climate to the culture is about as alien as eating a fish ball on a stick! The initiation into expat life is not all that different to those frenzied days as a new mum. To say everything feels unfamiliar is probably a gross understatement right? Babies definitely don’t speak your language and working out their culinary desires can be a far cry from your usual dinner date. I copped a double whammy. From television news reader living the (sort of) glamorous life in the harbour city of Sydney, to the unknown fragrant harbour of Hong Kong, unemployed and up the duff! I’d been with Sky News for ten years and I’d worked hard for my dream job. I always assumed when or if I was lucky enough to have a family, I’d simply do what I’d seen the other mums do before me – come back to work after a year or so of blissful baby-dom, and slot into a few shifts a week on the tele. Perfect! That was until I threw a spanner in my own destiny. Click here to read more on Coping With Jane >>> … [Read more...]
Milking Hong Kong for all it’s worth…
For the last few months here in Hong Kong, if nothing else, my eyebrows have had a good workout, raising frenziedly with headlines like this leaping out at me from the pages of newspapers (local and international). “Milk Smugglers Top Heroin Courier Arrests in Hong Kong" "China's Parents Crave Illegally Imported Baby Formula" "Chinese moms risk prison if caught smuggling infant formula, but could they stay in Hong Kong?" and "Hong Kong is troublesome, says milk powder offender" Did somebody say 'milk powder offender?!' Admittedly I was a little baffled as to how something so seemingly innocuous like baby food could be the cause of such scandalous headlines. Then during my latest airport dalliance, a bit like the news headlines every 15 minutes, announcements boomed across the intercom - "Warning: All travellers to China are to take NO more than two tins of infant’s formula across the border!" That's two tins, OK! Message received loud and clear - but just in case you didn't get it, once through customs you'll be greeted by this: … [Read more...]
A high price to pay…
There was a chill in the air at our house last week. 40 floors up, we were enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon - while two towers along, a woman murdered her partner, before plunging to her death from the 77th floor. I know. It's high. She landed in the swimming pool… Dragged out by a lifeguard, you can bet, it was a day on the job he'll never forget. The lifeguards, that for 364 days of the year, barely get their feathers ruffled by anything more taxing than how many towels to give you. It was a warm spring day, not far from the pool, BBQ areas were in full swing as residents soaked up the sun, oblivious to the drama that prevailed….that is until the word got out. The driveway was bumper to bumper with ambulances, fire engines and police cars and the sky above was swarming with media choppers and paparazzi. (And no, despite the media frenzy going on outside our door, we may as well have been on the moon, we were still none the wiser.) This week though, if there was a water cooler in the apartment block, it's a sure bet, residents would've been huddled around it, fishing for clues. Clues as to how it came to this. How a wealthy couple in the prime of their lives with young children could end up splashed across the front page of newspapers, another gruesome statistic. … [Read more...]
Homeland…
Being an expat is the easy part, being good at it - not so 'all in your stride' straightforward. I've just arrived back in Hong Kong, bleary-eyed from an overnight flight with a two year old (say no more) and feeling a little bit, well, empty. It's been six months since I was home, the longest period since my 'stint' as an expat began. So far I've been lucky enough to get home on a pretty regular basis, but two and a half years into this mad Asian adventure, saying 'goodbye' doesn't get any easier. It's the quiet drive to the airport, everyone lost in their own world. Here we go again - brace yourself, don't cry - smile, make light-hearted banter, pretend you'll be back in no time and they'll be none the wiser you've even gone, lost in translation somewhere over the Orient. To read more...head to Expat Focus … [Read more...]