你好 - Ni hao

As many of you know, Pony and Trap HQ has moved from Manhattan to Hong Kong. I would like to thank my employer for inviting me to come here, my dear friends Shanta and Beth for packing me to get here, and Cathay Pacific for getting me here safely and quite comfortably. I would like to condemn the weather application on my iPhone. Simply put, it sucks! Prior to leaving New York, it informed me that it would be 70°F in Hong Kong. It is more like 30°F. I am freezing. I have already bought a space heater and a cheap red coat, complete with a fake fur hood. If this weather continues, I will have packed all the wrong clothes. Well, Shanta and Beth will have packed all the wrong clothes.

Anyway, back to my move… The flight over was a cinch. I was out cold almost the entire way. I am a tad bit disappointed; I missed the three meals that were served. Apparently, I was so dead-to-the-world that the gentleman across the aisle checked whether I was breathing one or twice.

A few days before arriving in Hong Kong, I learned that my apartment was not ready for me yet. I am in a temporary apartment for the next two weeks. When I first arrived I was upset, as the temporary apartment did not have hot water. After a few emails and a call to my global mobility caseworker, I was quickly upgraded to a larger, nicer apartment on the 22nd floor, with lots of hot water.

Similarly, my visa was not ready when I arrived. I received it the day after I arrived (Saturday) and was told that I had to leave Hong Kong the next day to get it validated. So off to Macau I went for the day.

It is about an hour by high-speed ferry to Macau, which is the only place in China where casinos are legal. It is often called the Vegas of Asia. I found it much more charming than Vegas, with its colonial Portuguese influence still very apparent. I met two ladies at the ferry port who were going to Macau for the same reason, so I toured the island and had a Portuguese lunch with them.

Apart from the cold weather, Hong Kong is to my likening. I am only six days in and have spent four of those days working. I was a bit disappointed that I started work on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as this would normally be a day off, but then I learned that I would have two days off for the Chinese New Year this month.

I hope to explore more this weekend, buy some warm clothes and attempt to get a local personal cell phone. Also, we are having a potluck lunch celebration for the Chinese New Year at work on Monday. I have to bring something. Any suggestions?