Over the Christmas period, Mr Shallot and I have been playing tour guide to my aunty and uncle. This has made me realise that over the year, I’ve evolved from being a shell-shocked, over-stimulated jobless immigrant to a relaxed and employed local. I hadn’t even noticed this happening (over course I noticed the job part happening!).

It started at Causeway Bay when my aunty commented on the amount of traffic and people, the noise levels and the contrast between the old and the new buildings. Causeway Bay is all of these things yet this time around I was oblivious to the noise and the amount of movement around me. I’m still spun out about the buildings.

We then went to lunch at a typical Cantonese restaurant where the food is cheap and the labour is even cheaper. We sat in a plastic booth and had our tea delivered while we decided what to eat. My uncle noticed that we were the only westerners in the restaurant. Once again, I was oblivious.

Over the days / nights they visited, we went to Temple Street Markets, The Peak, Central, Stanley Markets, Times Square and a hike to Mui Wo. They’ve been on trams, double-decker buses, used the MTR, Star Ferry and the DB ferry. This was the first time that I felt like a tourist in a long-time and it was great to visit some of my old favourites and not get ripped off! Yet another sign of being a local.

On one of our walks around town, we explained that while the traffic is on the left, people walk on the right though this is a guideline only. Somehow, after being here for a while you know when this needs to be followed and when it is better to walk on the left or even right through the middle of a group of people.

Unfortunately my aunty had a walking-related accident. While on the right she tripped over a concrete block holding a fence (not much is very ergonomic here!) and fell on her ‘good’ hip taking an elderly woman partly down with her. While my aunty was on the ground, by the way the other woman was carrying on, you would have thought she had also fallen. This is also very HK. All she wanted was a thousand apologies and then she was fine. My aunty on the other hand had dirtied her jeans, grazed her knee and now had two dodgy hips!

So what makes a local in HK?

• Not noticing when you’re one of a few westerners
• Being able to order some basic food in Cantonese
• Using the transport system effectively
• Oblivious to the noise and smells
• Crowds are not a concern
• Where to shop to get the best deals
• Able to bargain
• Basic understanding of how the government works and universal suffrage
• Where to hike and just get away from it all
• Able to discuss both the HK and China stockmarket and the fascination with IPOs
• Knowing the ‘way things are’ / the unsaid rules of living here

The changes were slow and culminated three weeks ago when I finally stopped converting everything to Australian dollars.

A local can still be in awe of the bright lights and tall buildings. After all, I have this feeling when I’m in Sydney too.

* Thanks to Pseudo Echo and Lipps, Inc for the title to this post.