Half a decade

5 years ago, I landed here in Hong Kong. The first week, I ended up attending a friend of a friend's Thanksgiving party the weekend after I arrived. I suppose that, in a nutshell, summarized Hong Kong. It was a party that reminded me of the comforts of home, hosted by people I met but have long since faded from my memory. I remember it being in the Mid-Levels, in a good-sized living room, with turkey. The conversation was friendly, and the wine was flowing. I remember drinking a little more than I expected, and surprised that everyone was so friendly to someone just off the boat.

Which pretty much is Hong Kong: It's a city that still perplexes me five years later, but filled with people - and by this I mean locals and expats, be they white, black, japanese or british-born chinese - who are much ore welcoming than the country where I came from. Sure, the U.S. is a country of immigrants, and that is why I always think it has a capacity for renewal, no matter the down times, because we welcome all in (or at least we used to) and give them a chance. But not every pocket of Americas is welcoming to those outsiders, and when I think of where I grew up, I wince when I think about how unwelcoming people often are when it comes to immigrants or other outsiders.

But Hong Kong for over a century now has been an international city. It's used to people coming and going. People who live here get used to people coming in one day and leaving the next. Heck, two weeks ago I met a woman from Utah who wants to import California wine and Montana beer here. I agreed to meet her and give her advice on it. I and my business partners met her and her manfriend for a night out; they conversation flowed easily, we went for late-night food, and the next day she offered me all of her excess stock from a trade show she was attending, so she did not have to carry it home the next day.

A few thank you emails followed up, and who knows if I will hear from her again. But the beer remains in my apartment for other friends to enjoy. In the US, I never had random encounters like this, which happen here more than you think.

But what does it all mean? You can constantly be busy here in Hong Kong if you want, but it may not always be the deepest things you are doing. Five years in, I still yearn for my days in Chicago sitting on my stoop, drinking beers with friends. Now, I occasionally trade beers with random people transiting through. Both are rewarding in their own way.

And I'd like to think stuff like this is worth it. I know what it was like to move overseas and not really know anyone. If you are open to someone, hopefully that karma will build up and pay you back the next time you move somewhere new. And in a city like this, where everything always changes, I'm thankful on this Thanksgiving day that this city is open to people of every country always be willing to be friendly with each other.

1) Construction of the MTR, the subway here, has gone on full-bore in my neighborhood. Which occasionally means noise, but not as bad as what I awakened to a few weeks ago: They were piledriving in the lot next to my building, which has been vacant for about 4 years. And when I mean piledriving, I mean fierce piledriving, the one that knocked dishes off my dishrack. And no, there are no noise codes here, really. A lot of places start at 8am and go till 6pm; at least the construction crew next door waited until 9am to start.

2) Even four years ago, it was not easy to find turkeys in grocery stores. Now, they seem to be everywhere; you can even order one baked at the local grocery store across the street (It's a Wellcome, the grocery store chain that is part of a huge conglomerate; if you order at the store, one of their restaurants cook it). Heck, they even now have turkey breasts in the freezer for the smaller couples who don't want a full bird. And lo, the Holy Grail of food may be arriving soon: last weekend, during a beer and cheese tasting I helped lead at one of the upscale groceries, one of the mangers said she was excited because she hopefully can sign a deal to import a bunch of mexican food, including chipotles. Yes, chipotles, the cans of smoky peppery goodness that I stock up on every time I go home.

3) Beer business is.....meh. You live, you learn.

4) Thanksgiving grows every year. Trying to figure how to get 25 or 30 people in my apartment tomorrow for the fifth orphan thanksgiving here in the apartment. Wish me luck!

5) Oh, and for those of you in American who think there is Christmas overkill: The subway station the other day was playing Christmas music, and soon every store will be playing it nonstop until Dec. 25. It's like a universal plague. (though, I doubt that when you go to the grocery store in the States, I doubt "Jingle Bells" will be interrupted by a public service announcement fro the store to "Make sure you observe proper hygiene with fresh meat and poultry!"