If there was a definition for EXPATIFY (which there's not) I'm pretty sure it would go something like this: Acceptance of the alien nature of an environment, development of new-found tolerances, greater objectivity and appropriate coping skills. Pretty much sums up the adjustment required when you become an expat don't you think? When you launch yourself into expat life -- for awhile, everything seems out of kilter. For me, stepping off the plane into the neon-lit metropolis of Hong Kong was akin to plunging head first into an ocean full of hungry sharks. I was frantically treading water, doing my very best not to get swallowed up. Everything in my new environment felt all-consuming, overwhelming and more than a little suffocating. I could literally taste the foreignness. Heart in my mouth, eyes wide like saucers, I struggled to soak in my new surroundings. The predominant and (for many) most memorable image - the rows upon rows of imposing skyscrapers that stand luminously guarding a city that's heaving with bodies. A city where the light never dims and everything and everyone operates in permanent overdrive. There's not a spare patch of land in sight - roads are packed with vivid red taxis jostling for position, while on the water, ferries zip in and out, past the Junks, weaving through the hundreds of container ships, docked briefly in one of the busiest ports in the world. Overhead, a constant buzz of helicopters criss-cross through a concrete jungle. A fragrant harbour loaded with its distinctive smells, in every direction it's sensory overload. To read more, continue over to Expat Focus>>> … [Read more...]
A motherless country….
Today my heart aches. Not for me…not for my family. But for someone else's family. Someone who doesn't have the luxury like I do, of having her little girl under the same roof. Not in her arms nor at arm's length, arguing over what she wants for breakfast or which channel she doesn't want to watch on the TV…she's not even 'just around the corner' at a play date or at school for the day. I say luxury but for the majority of us born in the western world, luxury is not a word we would normally associate with having a child, our own child living with us in our own home. Caring for them as only a parent knows how, making sure there's enough oil to keep the wheels spinning on the family home, day in, day out. It's largely something we take for granted and all too often catch ourselves complaining about, passionately. For some people, like my friend who's also a Domestic Helper, Lara*, it's simply not an option to have her little girl living with her, permanently. … [Read more...]
Close encounters of the inflatable kind…..
Look what I found in my backyard...... Yes! Watch your step - this is a giant pile of p*#!! Or perhaps better known as a 'Complex Pile' by Paul McCarthy (USA) It's 15 metres high and 33 metres long and it's part of 'Mobile M+:Inflation' - A (con)temporary sculpture park of inflatables.' There are six inflatable pieces, including this giant pair of female legs next to a big black cockroach! Or, artistically known as "Falling into the Mundane World" by Tam Wai Ping. (Hong Kong) But wait there's more... … [Read more...]
My neighbour’s got the flu: Bird Flu
Just up the road, China's ducking for cover with a nasty dose of the flu. Down south, Hong Kong's going out of its way to avoid catching it. The word on the street: "Don't Panic!" But make no mistake, precautionary measures are being put in place quickly and methodically in a steadfast effort to boost Hong Kong's immune system. In Mainland China, 129 people have been infected with a new strain of bird flu - H7N9 and 31 people have lost their lives. Hong Kong's government says with 30-thousand Mainlanders visiting the fragrant harbour city each day, it can’t rule out the possibility of an outbreak here. … [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...]