We're Here!

We made it safe and sound. The kids did so well on the plane we still can't believe it! My daughter was up and wide awake at 2am this morning and there's a 50/50 chance my son is sick but that is all to be expected. We are here and we're glad to have that day of travel behind us.

It's sunny and warm here in Hong Kong today. We went for a walk and had second breakfast at one of the coffee shops. First breakfast happened at 4am before I was even awake... Then we stopped into the grocery to get a few meals worth of food. Our shipment still hasn't even left The States yet so who knows when it will get here. Until then we have only paper plates and plastic utensils. Until we get our stuff we are surviving without pots, pans, knives... you know, pretty much everything you need to cook anything. It will be lots of cereal, salad, sandwiches and probably restaurants until our things get delivered. Which will probably happen while B is at work next week.

I am adjusting to my combination washer/dryer. That's right it washes AND it dries. And it's in the kitchen. A full load of laundry in this thing equals about 3 pairs of adult pants. Or 4 outfits for the kids. Or a couple of t shirts and some socks. Not much. What would have been one load of lights and one load of darks has now morphed into about 6 of these new mini-size loads. To run the full cycle of washing, spinning, and drying takes about 3 hours. It's nice to not have to rotate the laundry from the washer to the dryer but it seems like the laundry is just going to be a 24/7 project to keep up with us. I will adjust. I am very glad that it's pretty quiet (except for the spin cycle which sounds like airplane engines spooling up for takeoff). I am more worried about not having a dishwasher or garbage disposal!

There's no electrical outlets in the bathrooms. How weird is that? So I stood in my bedroom to dry my hair today. It made me think back to being in college and not getting ready in the bathroom. The bathroom is humid and hot and has bad lighting so I am thinking that I will not get ready in there? Not sure what to make of that situation... Our water pressure is outstanding though so that is a bonus.

The internet guy came already so we are up and running with that. This guy would have been really easy to draw as an anime character. He had a crazy spiky haircut and he was carrying his stuff in a giant reusable bag with a Knorr Chicken Flavoring brand motif. He had a blue tooth in his ear and I guess it was kind of like those Nextel walkie talkie phones because he would talk with B in English and then in the exact same tone he'd switch to Chinese and be talking with someone else in his ear. G was fascinated with him. She asked him if we'd have PBS.org and he laughed nicely with her but of course didn't answer her--he has no idea what PBS.org is. And then she told me that she'd doesn't speak his language everyday. Which I think means "mom, what the heck is this guy saying?"

The kids are napping, B is looking at work stuff, and I am just relaxing and enjoying my sea view. Trying to convince myself that we are really here and this is really happening. And waiting until it's time to put in the next mini load of laundry.