We hope you had a fabulous weekend filled with all the things you love about Chris's favorite holiday. I realize that it's Tuesday already but the last week has just flown by.
All in all, we had a very traditional Thanksgiving weekend. Here's the low down.
Biggest Going Out Night of the Year
Yes, that would be the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I realize that we (well, most of the people reading this blog) don't celebrate the night before Thanksgiving with as much enthusiasm as we used to, but Chris and I did head out for the evening. We spent the night at the Happy Valley Racecourse for the Wednesday night races. Our friend Lorraine's parents were in town visiting so a bunch of us headed out for an all-you-can eat and drink buffet in one of the restaurants at the racecourse.
You can tell that we haven't totally acclimated to Hong Kong because we are terrible at gambling on horses. I mean, I picked the horses with "Diamond" in their name or anything sounding remotely cool to win. Let me tell you, that didn't work out so well. I don't totally know what Chris's tactics were but they didn't turn out all that well because I don't think we won one race. Very pathetic considering that there are 10 or 11. I guess next time I will have to study my horses and jockeys beforehand.
Regardless, it was a fun night but much less drinking than normally accompanies this night. That turned out to be a good thing since Chris had to get up and go to work in the morning and I had to get ready for our Thanksgiving feast.
Beijing Politicians say "No Thanks"
For those who hadn't heard, Chris and I, along with our friends Mike & Sara, were planning to host 4 American sailors for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday night. For the holiday weekend, the USS Kitty Hawk and its supporting ships were scheduled to dock here to give over 8,000 U.S. servicemen & women an extended stay in port. We thought it would be a nice way to share the holiday and thank our servicemen & women.
I think we should have figured that there would be a problem when we heard at 1:00 on Wednesday that the ships couldn't get permission to disembark on to Hong Kong and they were sitting out somewhere in the harbor.
Since the 1997 Handover, the Chinese central government in Beijing is required to grant permission to any ships coming in to port. It wasn't a problem in late September when the last ships were in town but, then again, the Dalai Lama hadn't yet received the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal. That happened mid-October which made the Chinese government none to happy. The NY Times reported Tibet's Communist Party Boss as saying "If the Dalai Lama can receive such an award, there must be no justice or good people in the world." Sounds a bit melodramatic in my opinion. Granted there was probably some translation issues going on but I mean, come on. No good people in the world? I mean, really?
So the Chinese were a bit testy with the U.S. and managed to make their point by not granting permission to the ships when they arrived on Wednesday afternoon. I imagine that when the military had enough of the shenangans, they decided to turn around and head back to wherever they were off to next (I was hoping to find out where they were going but Chris insists that it might go against national security if they share these things with me). Several hours after the ships had left, Beijing announced they would grant permission for the ships to dock. Coincidence? Bad timing? Hmm, I think I'll let you decide.
The Standard newspaper here reported on Friday that the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said "We have decided to allow the Kitty Hawk strike group to stay in Hong Kong during Thanksgiving, and it is a decision out of humanitarian consideration only." Again, believe what you may.
It was too bad for us because our Thanksgiving Day plans quickly fell apart when we found out about it but it was much more disappointing for so many family members of sailors on the ships who had flown to HK to spend the weekend with them. They had apparently descended upon HK in quite large numbers.
So, what did we have for dinner? I have to say that after cooking and cleaning all day, I wasn't really up for a big dinner without our guests. If you've been reading our blog, you probably don't need two guesses to come up with what we ate for dinner that night: tuna fish sandwiches and wine. The good news is we like both of them. It was a bit odd to be sitting there by ourselves with nothing to do but at the same time, not really, because it didn't really feel like Thanksgiving. It's hard to explain but I am sure that other people who have spent holidays away from home know what it's like.
Turkey time
Friday was really our Thanksgiving. We got up early and called all of our family in Chicago, Buffalo, Milwaukee and Sheboygan. That's really when it started to feel like the holidays and then Chris went off to work! Not exactly your typical holiday but the businesses don't exactly celebrate Thanksgiving here.
That night we hosted 6 of our friends to dinner. For being away from our family, it couldn't have been a more perfect day. After we talked to everyone and Chris went off to work, I headed down to the wet market to get some last minute veggies. It was a beautiful day and I was in my capris and t-shirt, very happy that I wasn't in the snow in Milwaukee. I managed to get to the market at just the right time. How cool to see half a pig slung over some guy's shoulder as he delivers it to the butcher, a truck full of dead pigs hanging from their hooves and a cart full of beheaded but fully furry lambs coming down the hill. You obviously don't get this just anywhere and the wet markets are very special places here. I love moments like those and am very grateful that I get to experience them.
My friend Sara came over and helped me do a little cooking. I was a bit nervous because this was the first time that I cooked the turkey, stuffing and gravy but it was a relaxing day. Doesn't sound possible, I know, but we weren't eating until 8:00 that night so there was no need to rush through things. I was able to almost recreate my grandma's stuffing, my favorite, and the food turned out better than I could have hoped. We had a really nice night with friends and even watched the Packers beat the Lions! So cool. Our British friends enjoyed their first Thanksgiving dinner and are thoroughly convinced it was a good thing the pilgrims crossed the Atlantic.
Black Saturday
No, there really isn't one big shopping day here in HK. Actually, with the number of malls here, just about everyday is the biggest shopping day of the year. However, I did head out to one of the malls the day after our Thanksgiving to do a little shopping.
Things are decorated to the 9's here for Christmas. The malls are covered in Christmas decorations of all sorts and people everywhere are in the holiday spirit. Well, not really, given that only 10% of the population is Christian but give the Hong Kongers a reason to shop and they will partake. It is strictly a commercial holiday here. Not to say that it hasn't become partly that in the U.S. but not to this extreme. As I understand it, all of the stores and restaurants are open on Christmas Day and the bars are fully packed. The government and businesses are closed so people head out for a good party.
We didn't bring Christmas decorations or anything with us so it doesn't really feel like the Christmas season just yet. I am listening to Christmas music as I'm writing this and trying to get in the mood. I'm only getting away with the music this late at night because Chris is in Jakarta for the night but I'm not sure it's totally working. I may have to go buy some poinsettias or something to at least brighten up the house.
A second meal
On Sunday, we got invited to another Thanksgiving meal. It was a nice afternoon and the food was fabulous but I have to tell you that I am not as excited to eat leftovers after eating a second full meal. It didn't take long but I think I may be turkeyed out.
Chris and I have a lot to be thankful for this year. It has been one of the crazier ones that I've experienced but in a good way. We have been blessed to have had so many new beautiful babies become part of our circle of friends this year, an amazing number when I really think about it. I just realized that I forgot to mention that Bob & Renee Robbins welcomed their son, Brock, on Oct 9. True to Robbins-form, he was nothing close to a small baby but he is happy, healthy and loved by his big brother, Dan and sister, Rachel.
We are so thankful for our entire Hong Kong experience so far. We have had amazing support from family and friends and we couldn't have gotten this far without everyone back home, that is for sure.
I have always been a firm believer that all Americans should live abroad at some point in their lives and the last 4 and a half months have solidified my belief. I am truly thankful for this opportunity at this point in our lives. I am thankful for the ridiculous number of funny stories that have gotten us through the not so good days. I am thankful for the wonderful friends we have made and the small but expanding support network we have built here in our new home. I am thankful for the countless new and wonderful things and places that I have seen in the last year. I am thankful that I can now wear jeans again.
I could go on and on, which is a good thing, but I think you get the picture.
You will hear more from us in the next few weeks but, in the meantime, here I am with my first turkey! It's not exactly the greatest lighting but you get the idea.
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