Greetings from Hong Kong!

Leih hou, family and friends. That's "hello" in Cantonese, and perhaps the only person that knows this is my Asian sister, Ashley.

Things in Hong Kong are....better. They say there are 4 stages of culture shock: elation, resistance, transformation, and integration. Ryan and I pretty much skipped phase one and went right to resistance. It has been a tough road. I'm not sure if there's a more ominous beginning than landing in your new country on the worst pollution day they've had....EVER. But things are starting to look up.

First, some good things about Hong Kong.

1) The weather right now is perfect. A high of 84 and a low of 77. Low humidity, sunny and clear skies this weekend. We're loving it.

2) This city is cool. There's something for everyone here. Great restaurants, bars, hiking, paddling. The landscape changes dramatically, from beaches to rolling hills to mountains. Yes, it's crowded in areas, but I can't believe how quickly you go from being surrounded by loads of people to being alone on a trail.

Hiking with some new friends. 

Fun bars! 

Coffee in a bowl? Check! Ryan can live here now.

3) It's convenient. Much like Bangkok, there's a 7-11 on every corner. We have 3 grocery stores within a 5-minute walk of our house. My acupuncturist is right downstairs. You can get around cheaply and efficiently on buses, in taxis, and on the MTR (underground). 

The Octopus Card is not just an ordinary travel card.
You can pay for things at 7-11 AND we can buy our school
lunch on it. Wow! 

4) People here rock. While the locals don't have the same easy smile of Thai people, they appreciate efficiency and are friendly. The expats are incredibly fun and inviting. Ryan's already found two softball teams to play on! I randomly met and reunited with a former classmate from grad school. We also have some great friends from our time in Thailand that live here.

I don't have a photo of Kirk and Julie, but here is
the perfect combination of the two, their ubercute
daughter, Liliana.

Enjoying some chill time at Jim's house.

 5) People follow the rules.

Ha ha ha.....just kidding! 

6) Dumplings. There is a delicious, Michelin starred dumpling restaurant a 10-minute walk from our house.

Feeling hungry? HK is a mere 12 hour flight from SFO! 

7) We didn't have to change the web address of our blog! Somehow "kirchnersinasia" didn't work well with our time in London.

Now for the not so good part. The air here is terrible. Like I said, we landed during the worst pollution Hong Kong has seen....EVER. And there have been days recently that seemed equally bad. I have an app on my phone, The Air You Breathe, that Ryan calls my "depressing app." When the air is nice here, Hong Kong is phenomenal. When it's bad, it casts a pall on everything and makes it difficult for me to appreciate the good parts of the city.

Is Hong Kong a great place to visit? Undoubtedly. I hear Octobers's nice (wink, wink). If given the opportunity, should you live here for six months or even a year? Absolutely. Would I recommend that someone move here permanently? Not at this point. But check back with me when I reach "integration."