The Easy Life

I think what makes HK so liveable is that if you are an expat living and working and hanging out in the main expat areas, you're not really living in a foreign country. After having lived in Korea and Japan, and traveled extensively, I think there are some common characteristics of living in a foreign country that can make expat life challenging. The two primary factors - language and culture. Those were the two biggest challenges I faced in Japan. And though I speak Korean, during the times I lived in or visited Korea, the culture was always a challenging aspect (in many ways similar to Japan - male-dominated, male-catering, chauvinistic, materialistic...but add to that uber-Confucian with a healthy dose of filial piety and filial guilt for lack of filial piety). But in HK, for the most part, I just don't feel the language or cultural challenges I've felt in other places. Generally, most people I encounter on a daily basis speak English. (not the best English, or even comprehensible English, but English nevertheless, ok-lah?) And culture-wise, as a working woman, I think HK is absolutely the best place to be. This is a culture where women work. In the same kinds of jobs that men do. And make it to the top. And have kids. You can have career AND family in HK, thanks to the availability and affordability of help.

HK is so liveable, so easy, that it just doesn't seem like a foreign place. It's like wandering around Chinatown all day long, not like actually living in a foreign country. It's the "easiest" expat experience an Asian American woman could ask for.

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On the subject of help. I've never had help before. I didn't grow up with a nanny or a housekeeper (although I did grow up with a loving Grandma). I've never utilized a housekeeper because in the States, I never really saw the need. But since moving to HK, we've obtained the services of a helper (as they are called here) and I've seen the light. I love having help. I hope that doesn't sound bougie - it's just that it is so beyond wonderful to come home to a spotless, dust-free clean house after working long hours. It's so wonderful to not have to do dishes or vacuum or scrub the toilet or throw out the trash. Our helper can only come once a week right now, so Tuesdays are my favorite days to go home because I know that I'll walk through my door and feel happy. The first time I came home after she had been there, I declared that I loved her. She cleans better than I could ever clean. She leaves our dishes perfectly organized on the shelves. Our floors and counters are spotless. She makes our lives better. In HK, you spend so much time working, walking around, running errands, so it's so so so wonderful to have someone who saves you the time of cleaning your house (which you have to do often in HK because of the spectacularly immense amount of dust and humidity) so you can have free time to do the things you need or the things you want or nothing at all.

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The only thing that makes my life not easy here is my job. But in my profession, that would be true anywhere I live. Crossing my fingers that there are no inane demands over the holidays...