We are sooooo busy!

Here is a typical conversation in Hong Kong:

"Hi, how have you been?"
"Good. I've just been sooooo busy."

Or perhaps the person will tell you how tired they are, which is clearly a result of the fact that they are sooooo busy.

Now, to a certain extent this is justifiable. This is a work hard, play hard city. People work. A lot. And they go out. A lot. Nothing here is done half-assed. And if you don't like the fast-paced, life is zipping by you, you better keep up, hurry everyone is getting ahead of you lifestyle then you....move to Thailand.

So of course this blog post should be about how incredibly busy and important we are. Well, we do work a lot. But surprisingly things have mellowed out this year. So why haven't I updated our blog more often? Probably because I've been thinking about how busy I should be. But mostly it's because we've had a lot of visitors this year!! This has forced us to put work on hold and be present with our friends and extended family that have come to see us.

Our first guests: my second set of parents, the Larramendys, stopped in HK on their way to Vietnam and Cambodia. Nikki and her parents were a cornerstone of my high school years. They took me on vacation with them, they listened patiently as Nikki and I broke out into hysterics over whatever it is that 15-year-old girls laugh about, and they provided a warm, caring environment as well as many hot, delicious meals on 16th Avenue. It was an absolute treat to have them out and show them around this city.

At fancy Sunday brunch at the JW Marriott.

A trip to Asia wouldn't be complete without visiting
a shopping mall. 

Next up: the Bakers. Brian was Ryan's best man, and I've written a few blog posts about his visits to Thailand and London. This time Ryan and I had lived in the country for more than a year and had most of our wits about us, so for once Brian wasn't showing us around our own city. He came out with his lovely wife Mikaela and super-cute daughter Sibylla. We spent the weekend hiking, eating local food (Brian always brings out the adventurous eater in us), and catching up.

One of our goals was to take a boat ride to see the famous white
dolphins in Mui Wo. However, even the dolphins were too busy to surface
that day, so all we got was this picture of the Bakers near the dolphin mural.

And last but not least, Ryan's mom and new husband came to visit us on their way to a honeymoon in India. Joe is the newest addition to our clan of parents, and we love him so! Between the two of us, Ryan and I now have 7 parents :)

A wedding day picture of the Boom - Kirchner - Schwartz clan. 

Some trip highlights include a walk to the Peak, the Hong Kong History Museum, getting a suit made, and eating Peking duck! These guys were troopers. They didn't even laugh too hard when we showed them our guest bedroom, which is a room that only fits a bed. Everything in Hong Kong is so literal!

Riding the gondola on the way to the Big Buddha.

So the next time someone asks you how you're doing, you can forgo the expected "I'm fine" with a little ditty about how busy you are, a la Hong Kong style. Which I guess is better than the typical response that many Russians give, according to the NY Times:

"Hi, how have you been?"
"Absolutely terrible. This winter is never ending, all I eat is potatoes, and my haemorrhoids are flaring up again."