The First Touchdown
Now that I've lived in Hong Kong for five years, it almost feels like I've always lived here. I can jump from bus to bus and dodge pushcarts like the best of them. But sometimes I'll be struck by the thought of what my former self would have thought if suddenly transported to Hong Kong. Sometimes when rounding a corner, I spot a particularly steep skyscraper, I have to stop and wonder at how I ever got here.
My hometown in Colorado is slightly different than Hong Kong. Just a bit. Weather likes to be unpredictable, sometimes with four seasons in one day. You always have to carry an umbrella, sunglasses, blankets, flairs, sunscreen, and water, just in case you run into weather. Could be any weather. In winter, we'd make snow ice cream, in the summer we'd go hiking, letting our dogs off the leash to frolic in the rivers and gallop up and down the slopes to their hearts' content. When driving in the mountains, it's good manners to give a finger-flick wave to any other drivers you happen to come across. I was pretty old before I realized that you can hike on trails. I always thought that using a trail was a "walk" and traipsing up a mountain through the trees and over rocks was a hike. Maybe my dad just didn't like trails?
Our house, a spacious gray two-story with a basement, sat a respectable distance from our neighbors. My parents toiled on the weekends to get flowers, trees, and green grass to grow in our arid climate and shale soil. The buffalo grass, cactus, and sunflowers did just fine, though. We could look out over the city and also had a nice view of the mountains behind. We had all the space we needed.
To give you some perspective, my hometown has a population of around 16,000 people in an area of 32km. My college town in Arkansas was also around 16,000 people on 29km of land. Really squishing it in there. Ap Lei Chau, the first place I lived in Hong Kong, crams more than 80,000 people onto a 1.3km island. So, spacious is a word I have learned to live without.
I first came to Hong Kong after college. I could have gone back to Colorado when I graduated, but my parents told me I could live with them for awhile and experience Asia. So I was off to Hong Kong and adventure.
Before I moved, I had a very hazy idea of Hong Kong. Islands, lots of buildings, something to do with China, dim sum, ok, that was pretty much it. Back in the day, I spent much less time on the internet than I do now, so I didn't even check it out before I moved. These days if I as much as take a day trip to another part of Hong Kong I'll look up reviews, check maps, see if there are any videos of the area. I was very ignorant back then, but there is something exciting about moving to a place you've never seen.
The flight was kind of a blur. I had gone to Korea first to visit a friend and her family so at least I had the long-haul flight out of the way. I do remember I had two black suitcases and a backpack. All of my worldly belongings (well, not counting the things stuffed into my brother's attic or the ones long forgotten in a shed in my hometown).
My dad was at the airport waiting for me. He hadn't made a sign for some reason. He asked if I was hungry, but I had eaten on the flight so we just went to 7-11 so I could pick out a drink. It's funny how 7-11 can be so familiar and yet so foreign. The orange and green were there, but there wasn't an Arizona iced tea in sight. I picked out a blackcurrant drink called Ribena. Blackcurrant. So exotic.
After drinking my fill, I followed Dad outside to the buses. Now there was some real adventure. Coming from the middle of America and from a small town, my experience with public transportation was pretty slim. Cars were pretty much the way to get around, although walking or riding a bike or the occasional hitchhiking (sorry Mom!) were possible. So here we were not only riding buses, but they were double decker buses!
Of course, we had to sit upstairs. No question about that. I settled into the seats and relaxed (wow, so clean compared to the New York subway, the London Tube, and that English cross-country bus that smelled like sewage, my previous frames of reference when it came to public transport). It was night, so most of the scenery was comprised of dark hills, buildings, and lights. But that still makes for a great view.
When we passed the shipping yard with what seemed like miles upon miles of shipping containers and building-sized cranes bathed in the orange light of street lamps, I felt like I was in a movie. After an hour and a half of twisting and turning through endless streets with impossibly tall buildings, we finally made it to our little Duck Tongue Island.
"Here it is," Dad said as we drove over the bridge from Aberdeen to Ap Lei Chau. I looked out at the sleeping boats and the buildings nestled together by the water. The 80,000 person village almost looked quaint compared to the other areas we had just passed, but I was still impressed by the signs jutting out in different directions and the jumbled look of the main street.
We were almost the last passengers to jump off the bus and drag our suitcases across the street. As we climbed down the winding stairs through the jungle-like trees, I could see buildings below, reaching up in front of us to meet the trees.
Just a few more steps until I would be in my new home. The new chapter had officially begun.
My hometown in Colorado is slightly different than Hong Kong. Just a bit. Weather likes to be unpredictable, sometimes with four seasons in one day. You always have to carry an umbrella, sunglasses, blankets, flairs, sunscreen, and water, just in case you run into weather. Could be any weather. In winter, we'd make snow ice cream, in the summer we'd go hiking, letting our dogs off the leash to frolic in the rivers and gallop up and down the slopes to their hearts' content. When driving in the mountains, it's good manners to give a finger-flick wave to any other drivers you happen to come across. I was pretty old before I realized that you can hike on trails. I always thought that using a trail was a "walk" and traipsing up a mountain through the trees and over rocks was a hike. Maybe my dad just didn't like trails?
Our house, a spacious gray two-story with a basement, sat a respectable distance from our neighbors. My parents toiled on the weekends to get flowers, trees, and green grass to grow in our arid climate and shale soil. The buffalo grass, cactus, and sunflowers did just fine, though. We could look out over the city and also had a nice view of the mountains behind. We had all the space we needed.
To give you some perspective, my hometown has a population of around 16,000 people in an area of 32km. My college town in Arkansas was also around 16,000 people on 29km of land. Really squishing it in there. Ap Lei Chau, the first place I lived in Hong Kong, crams more than 80,000 people onto a 1.3km island. So, spacious is a word I have learned to live without.
I first came to Hong Kong after college. I could have gone back to Colorado when I graduated, but my parents told me I could live with them for awhile and experience Asia. So I was off to Hong Kong and adventure.
Before I moved, I had a very hazy idea of Hong Kong. Islands, lots of buildings, something to do with China, dim sum, ok, that was pretty much it. Back in the day, I spent much less time on the internet than I do now, so I didn't even check it out before I moved. These days if I as much as take a day trip to another part of Hong Kong I'll look up reviews, check maps, see if there are any videos of the area. I was very ignorant back then, but there is something exciting about moving to a place you've never seen.
The flight was kind of a blur. I had gone to Korea first to visit a friend and her family so at least I had the long-haul flight out of the way. I do remember I had two black suitcases and a backpack. All of my worldly belongings (well, not counting the things stuffed into my brother's attic or the ones long forgotten in a shed in my hometown).
My dad was at the airport waiting for me. He hadn't made a sign for some reason. He asked if I was hungry, but I had eaten on the flight so we just went to 7-11 so I could pick out a drink. It's funny how 7-11 can be so familiar and yet so foreign. The orange and green were there, but there wasn't an Arizona iced tea in sight. I picked out a blackcurrant drink called Ribena. Blackcurrant. So exotic.
After drinking my fill, I followed Dad outside to the buses. Now there was some real adventure. Coming from the middle of America and from a small town, my experience with public transportation was pretty slim. Cars were pretty much the way to get around, although walking or riding a bike or the occasional hitchhiking (sorry Mom!) were possible. So here we were not only riding buses, but they were double decker buses!
Of course, we had to sit upstairs. No question about that. I settled into the seats and relaxed (wow, so clean compared to the New York subway, the London Tube, and that English cross-country bus that smelled like sewage, my previous frames of reference when it came to public transport). It was night, so most of the scenery was comprised of dark hills, buildings, and lights. But that still makes for a great view.
When we passed the shipping yard with what seemed like miles upon miles of shipping containers and building-sized cranes bathed in the orange light of street lamps, I felt like I was in a movie. After an hour and a half of twisting and turning through endless streets with impossibly tall buildings, we finally made it to our little Duck Tongue Island.
"Here it is," Dad said as we drove over the bridge from Aberdeen to Ap Lei Chau. I looked out at the sleeping boats and the buildings nestled together by the water. The 80,000 person village almost looked quaint compared to the other areas we had just passed, but I was still impressed by the signs jutting out in different directions and the jumbled look of the main street.
We were almost the last passengers to jump off the bus and drag our suitcases across the street. As we climbed down the winding stairs through the jungle-like trees, I could see buildings below, reaching up in front of us to meet the trees.
Just a few more steps until I would be in my new home. The new chapter had officially begun.
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