Like a phoenix arising from it's ashes...I'm baaaack!
Did you miss me? No?! You didn't realize that I was missing in action? Well, I have been dormant for a spell because SB lovingly shared his winter cold with me. But before I went into the sick room I had quite a few wonderful adventures to share.
First, my undergraduate teammate was cleared to visit me for a couple of days coinciding with the American Thanksgiving holiday. We both went to Texas A&M University back in the day. And now for some shameless promotion of my undergrad alma mater: the Aggies have had the biggest winning season in football (that would be the glorious American football and not the Chelsea brand) in recent memory. I have never experienced my team being the winning team and don't quite know how to handle it. I hear that riots are a good way to celebrate.
My friend is a pilot but her employer doesn't fly to certain countries. We were only given a small window to catch up on nearly a decade of separation but we made the most of it. We hit all of the typical tourist spots in HK and added Macau as well. I had never been to the newer areas since I don't have the least interest in gambling but I'm glad that we went because I enjoyed the spectacle.
The best part of the visit was that we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving together. With our packed activity schedule I knew that it would be nearly impossible to do dinner at home so we joined a large group of friends for a meal at Blue Smoke in LKF. Dinner comprised a delicious butternut squash soup with sage and carmelized chestnuts, smoked turkey, heaps of traditional side dishes such as garlic mashed potatoes and roasted carrots, and three types of pies for dessert. I had not eaten at Blue Smoke before but I will definitely be back for seconds in the near future. After stuffing ourselves to resemble the turkeys that we consumed our group waddled down to the bar areas for a long night of dancing and carousing as if no one had to work the next day. I heard that few of the night owls wouldn't have passed a concussion assessment the following morning.
This was my favorite of all Hong Kong Thanksgiving events. For my family, Thanksgiving has always been the most important holiday because we were all able to gather together and catch up on each other's lives as opposed to Christmas when my parents wanted us to be alone with them. I was always more extroverted than my immediate family and longed for the rowdy, raucous Thanksgiving with extended family. Since my friend's last Thanksgiving consisted of her eating a lonely meal at 11pm in an empty mess hall in Afghanistan with only a group of evilly staring contractors at the next table to keep her company I know that she had a good time.
On Saturday we found our way to another Thanksgiving feast, this time at a residence. The place was around 6000 sq. ft., the largest home that I have entered in Hong Kong. SB and I estimated that our entire flat could easily fit into the living room space. So this is how the otherhalf five percent lives.
Overall it was one heck of an amazing few days although I paid for it later. I am thankful for good friends and wonderful company here in this home away from home. As we enter into the holiday season I hope that everyone out there is safe, warm and in comfort.
Did you miss me? No?! You didn't realize that I was missing in action? Well, I have been dormant for a spell because SB lovingly shared his winter cold with me. But before I went into the sick room I had quite a few wonderful adventures to share.
Whee! Little did I know that I wouldn't be feeling so bouncy in a week.
First, my undergraduate teammate was cleared to visit me for a couple of days coinciding with the American Thanksgiving holiday. We both went to Texas A&M University back in the day. And now for some shameless promotion of my undergrad alma mater: the Aggies have had the biggest winning season in football (that would be the glorious American football and not the Chelsea brand) in recent memory. I have never experienced my team being the winning team and don't quite know how to handle it. I hear that riots are a good way to celebrate.
My friend is a pilot but her employer doesn't fly to certain countries. We were only given a small window to catch up on nearly a decade of separation but we made the most of it. We hit all of the typical tourist spots in HK and added Macau as well. I had never been to the newer areas since I don't have the least interest in gambling but I'm glad that we went because I enjoyed the spectacle.
Doing the tourist thing
The best part of the visit was that we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving together. With our packed activity schedule I knew that it would be nearly impossible to do dinner at home so we joined a large group of friends for a meal at Blue Smoke in LKF. Dinner comprised a delicious butternut squash soup with sage and carmelized chestnuts, smoked turkey, heaps of traditional side dishes such as garlic mashed potatoes and roasted carrots, and three types of pies for dessert. I had not eaten at Blue Smoke before but I will definitely be back for seconds in the near future. After stuffing ourselves to resemble the turkeys that we consumed our group waddled down to the bar areas for a long night of dancing and carousing as if no one had to work the next day. I heard that few of the night owls wouldn't have passed a concussion assessment the following morning.
This was my favorite of all Hong Kong Thanksgiving events. For my family, Thanksgiving has always been the most important holiday because we were all able to gather together and catch up on each other's lives as opposed to Christmas when my parents wanted us to be alone with them. I was always more extroverted than my immediate family and longed for the rowdy, raucous Thanksgiving with extended family. Since my friend's last Thanksgiving consisted of her eating a lonely meal at 11pm in an empty mess hall in Afghanistan with only a group of evilly staring contractors at the next table to keep her company I know that she had a good time.
On Saturday we found our way to another Thanksgiving feast, this time at a residence. The place was around 6000 sq. ft., the largest home that I have entered in Hong Kong. SB and I estimated that our entire flat could easily fit into the living room space. So this is how the other
Overall it was one heck of an amazing few days although I paid for it later. I am thankful for good friends and wonderful company here in this home away from home. As we enter into the holiday season I hope that everyone out there is safe, warm and in comfort.
We're only as old as we feel, right?
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