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Question #1 “Why are normal nails taking giant chunks out of my wall?”
Concrete walls and nails for hanging frames are not friends. I decided to go on-line and see if I could find an answer from American ex-pats who arrived before me. They had some sage advice; 4 mini-nail plastic hooks. So I jogged down to the alley of local merchants and found my local hardware store; oh god the confusion. It was overwhelming to me, but twenty minutes, a game of charades and $45 later, I was in business and putting some color up in my very white apartment.
okay, now my biggest problem with the "hardware shack" was that I even get confused in a Home Depot.....with really well organized aisles......and a staff of orange cloaked english speaking experts at my disposal....
Question #2 “Why are there mutant dust bunnies on my tile floor only six hours after I mopped it?”
Apparently pollution in Hong Kong is a problem. A combination of its age as a major city, zero government regulations, the winds from China (images of Derek Zoolander daintily coughing to his dad about having the black lung pop into my head), the fact that there are a gazillion people living in a few square miles, and then the fact that they’re all smoking. I guess the air’s not so clean, and that equals dirty apartment. So I huffed on foot to Wing On, a local department store that I would liken to a JC Penny and bought an air purifier – I can’t wait to see how long before the filter is black! (it’s the little things that keep me going)
ok, now this picture doesn't do the high tech nature of an air purrifier justice.....there are little lights in different colors blinking..... it IS cool.....
Question #3 “Why the hell is everything wet?!?!?
My clothes have been damp for a few days, the towel I used after my late night shower is still sopping two mornings later, my crackers have gone soggy a mere hour after opening the box. I don’t understand. Apparently in humid climates, there is a lot of water in the air. So I stopped at a home appliance store in Harbor Park and bought a dehumidifier to dry the air and collect the water inside the machine. Holy crap I have never seen a tank fill so quickly. I emptied it three times in the first twelve hours it was plugged in. I was a little nervous about having all of these random appliances lying around my house, but they make everything look kind of space-agey, as though I understand technology. I like it.
Question #5 “Where do I recycle my boxes, cans and bottles?”
Oh yeah, they don’t recycle here. (see problem #2)
Question #6 “Am I supposed to get wet when it rains and what about my patent Sigerson flats?”
There is no alternative to walking when it rains, you have no car, you have no limo with driver, it’s tough to flag a taxi on arbuthnot road, you can’t figure out the bus system. Suck up your Oregonian pride and buy an umbrella while sucking up your inner Paris Hilton and wear flip-flops.
Question #7 “Can pictures do a home justice?”
For my mom’s sake, I hope. The beauty of the whole thing, once you get the problems taken care of, questions answered, and goods unpacked, a place really can feel like your home!
Question #4 “How am I supposed to get errands done if I don’t have a trunk and a garage next to the kitchen?”
It’s impossible to procrastinate on errands in Hong Kong. If you let your fridge dwindle to a mere bottle of vodka, random can of beer, ketchup, and laughing cow cheese wedges (I’m not saying this has happened), on the same day you have to take and pick up your laundry, on the same day you need to pick up a DVD for your viewing pleasure, you have screwed yourself. One must spread errands out over the course of a week; schedules are good; grocery shop Sunday, pick up weekly DVD’s Tuesday, groceries again Wednesday, laundry Thursday……. I will miss my G35 and the strip malls of America.
