It’s interesting what becomes ‘normal’.
The exact time that normal officially changed was on my last trip back to Australia. As is fairly standard for a trip to Sydney, I spent considerable time with my Best Woman and it was she that noticed it. On all previous trips, when I made comparisons, they were between Australia and Hong Kong. The last trip, I was doing this the other way around. I can’t remember what we were talking about, though apparently, I had been doing it the whole time.
Fast forward to a brunch today for a friend’s birthday and the opportunity to catch up with quite a few people I hadn’t seen in a while. We hadn’t seen each other because most at the table had been on trips either for work or holidays or a combination of both.
The conversation progressed to chatting about the upcoming long weekend at the start of May. As it turns out, all our passports will be in use again. Just to give some perspective, one hour and we can be in mainland China, a couple of hours to the Philippines and Vietnam, around four to Singapore and Tokyo and it’s fairly cheap given the discount airlines having helped to drive the prices down.
I thought back to the same situation in Sydney, unless things have changed significantly, it is likely we would have been talking about renovations, the price of housing and whatever Tony Abbott has / hasn’t done lately. Depending on the participants, sport would also feature. (I’d be a part of that conversation – I miss watching Sunday Rugby League!). While sometimes a long weekend would see a trip to Bateman’s Bay (3 hour drive) or somewhere up the coast, more often, it would be spent at home gardening, catching up on housework and seeing friends and / or family. I would have enjoyed all of it expect the housework. That part, I would try to finish as fast as possible so I could do the rest! For some perspective, to fly an equivalent amount of time, I’d be in Brisbane, Melbourne or Adelaide. Or Norfolk Island. It would also not be very cheap unless I was lucky with a good fare.
It’s also likely that if it had been in Sydney, it would have been one of a few buffet, free-flow champagne brunches that I would have gone to in the year. For HK, I think this may be my fourth though for some reason, I seem to be drinking water at them. No, it’s not because I’m pregnant, Mum. That’s probably a topic for another post (not pregnancy, drinking water at a free-flow brunch).
In both cases, the topic of food, new restaurants and bars would come up. I seem to socialise with food people in whatever country I happen to be in.
Property was raised. As in Sydney, it’s also a hot topic in HK, whether it’s rent or purchasing, just depends on who I’m with and when last we caught up or if anything ridiculous has happened in the market recently.
I’m considering buying a place and have been looking for a little while. I’ve seen one in particular that I really like. It’s a studio and has a rooftop which would be great for sititng out and watching the world go by. It’s in a fabulous location. The main downside is that it’s a five storey walk up and my dog is getting old now so who knows how much longer she could cope with that many stairs and she’s too heavy for me to carry. It would be great for my butt though (the stairs, not carrying the dog), naturally that’s a deciding factor. Lousy if I’m traveling with a big bag but that doesn’t really happen that often. I prefer to travel light. There’s no point in comparing prices with Sydney since that’s a very long commute for me to get to work each day.
With some out of country visitors, they were curious about the sizes of our places and where we ate.
Due to the size of the kitchens, most in HK tend to eat their dinners out. It’s also due to the price of food. It can be cheaper to eat out and still be healthy, than shopping to cook the meal yourself at home in a kitchen where with a pirouette, you could reach the sink, the two burner stove and the bench. No additional steps required (a plie would see you hit each knees into a door on either side). I’m fortunate that I have a galley kitchen so I tend to eat home more frequently. It’s also because I rush home to take my dog out. She has an outdoor spot where she can go at home if she really wants to but she seems to prefer crossing her legs and waiting for a walk.
We spoke about dragon boating since a few of us are training and a guy that is visiting from South Africa was keen to see if he could train when he comes back for another visit. Have I mentioned recently how much I enjoy this sport? I sat on the right and was at the front again today so the other side of my body should be feeling it tomorrow.
There was only a brief chat about helpers since none of us seem to be having any concerns at the moment. Depending on who I’m with, this part of the conversation can go for a while.
We chatted about HK Sevens and what’s involved, the dress ups, the late nights / early mornings and going into work on Monday. Same as in Australia, you can’t go hard all weekend where everyone knows what’s going on and not show up for work. That is just not cricket! Or rugby in this case. This came up because a few people hadn’t been to the Sevens before and others were overseas visitors and were curious what’s involved. Naturally photos were shown.
Work was briefly discussed since quite a few at the table were in the same industry and work together. This happens in either country. We all like to know what each other is up to and how it’s all going.
Schooling is normally a popular topic when there’s a few parents at the table but with only one set that has kids, that didn’t come up.
Fitness is a big deal here. In spite of the amount of alcohol consumed and dining out that happens, a vast majority of expats that I know seem to make an effort with their fitness. Triathlons have really taken off over the past five years. Running is quite popular too as is yoga. Many workplaces have teams that participate in various sporting activities, beyond dragon boating, from overnight hikes through to team relays to run up 110 flights of stairs. We spoke about a few of these things too.
The hours are long in Hong Kong compared to what I worked in Sydney though I still tend to manage a fairly good work / life balance. Most expats work hard and play hard. It’s important to also rest hard. I’m a big fan of a good rest. That’s the time where I read, write and contemplate my bellybutton. Can’t overestimate the importance of a good bit of navel gazing to gain a bit of perspective on things. Also good to make sure it’s clean.
It really is a bizarre existence which I would not have dreamed I’d be living ten years ago. We talk about it being like living in a bubble. It can be quite a superficial bubble and be readily sucked into the name brands (says me that has a thing for handbags) given there are more Louis Vuitton stores per capita than anywhere else in the world and shopping is HK’s national pastime followed closely by hiking.
It is easy to feel so far removed from the real world as all our home countries are generally around 9-16 hours away and given most have been away for a while, our home country politics don’t seem quite real anymore. We hear other expats’ views of various policies and how they see other countries and our perspectives shift. This happens on everything from Australia’s immigration policies, detention centres and boat people to how Aborigines are treated, visas issued, tax, parental leave and learning English for citizenship. Some are perspectives that when I lived in Australia, I’d have to search to find but living here, it’s often volunteered. Their views interest me.
The opportunity for travel is a main driver keeping me in HK. It’s another opportunity for learning, diving, photography, meeting new people and seeing new things. I also find my work interesting, challenging and enjoyable (as long as I’m not spending too much time in spreadsheets) and I like my colleagues too. I’m very fortunate to have some good friends here which does help me to keep things in perspective and not get sucked into what could be a truly bizarre existence.
I think I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to live here and as odd as some of these things are, it is just a part of it. It’s not for everyone, just the same as any location isn’t for everyone, but it is definitely for me at the moment.
I remember when this all seemed surreal. Perspectives shift, I’ve changed, it is good to remember though, that all because it’s normal doesn’t mean it’s permanent. It’s also not better or worse than what I have experienced before, it’s just different. Things will always change, new things will become normal over time.
Even as I write this, while it is now normal, I realise how weird it all sounds when I read it with Australian eyes, pretending that it is not me that’s living it.
Must remember to keep it real…
* Thanks to Of Monsters And Men for the title to this post.
**There are numerous other things that are now normal to me too so perhaps there’ll be a Part 2 to this post of things we didn’t chat about today that are still different compared to what I previously saw as normal. This would include the English / Australian / American translations and people walking (with and without umbrellas). I’ll have to think about what else to add.