Hong Kong

Hong Kong is the best of both worlds- Chinese tradition, British efficiency. I made the mistake of not really planning ahead for Hong Kong, but unlike most of the places I've travelled this isn't a very good idea- accommodation as a rule, isn't cheap and if it is cheap it's either not so good or can't be booked last minute. . . I was saved from a cockroach hostel (or $30 a night) by Ian, a Brit living on Hong Kong island teaching Spanish at a private school. He had just started his fall break and was leaving to take his vacation in the Philippines on the same day that I was- perfect. Since he was on holiday, he had time to hang out and show me the city. Together we explored the perfectly planned colonies streets and climbed to the top of Victoria peak to see the whole place. Hong Kong is modern and efficient, but still feels just enough Asian to be charming. I'm not defending colonialism, but it sure was nice to have a taxi driver actually use the meter.On my second day there, Ian and I ventured out to one of the smaller islands, had a seafood lunch and hiked around the tiny island to a deserted (but unfortunately very dirty) beach. We hiked back to the other side to swim instead in the immaculately kept public beach near the village.

On my third day I ventured out on my own to go to see "the big Buddha" on Lantau island. The best part was actually the cable car ride up the mountain. Far below the car (you could pay extra for a glass bottomed car- I didn't) you could see a trail snaking it's way up and around the hills. From the cable car you could see the new airport- built to replace the old one that used to jut out into the bay and that required planes to maneuver through the skyscrapers in order to land- my mom described feeling like the plane's wings might get caught on the laundry lines hung off of the buildings as it landed. . . At the end of the cable car journey there was a tourist village (sole purpose- sell souvenirs) a monastery and as promised a really big Buddha up on a hill. It was a very dramatic placement and impressive. Of course in addition to the British efficiency, Hong Kong has also mastered the tourist sell. While the big Buddha was impressive, it also felt a little like Buddhist DisneyLand (and you can visit Mickey and his friends at Hong Kong DisneyLand just one metro stop away from Buddha) there was a multimedia "walk with Buddha" experience and some sort of monkey theater show, neither of which I did. In fact I is kind of incredible to me how so many countries have managed to make money off their religion. Anyway. . .

Random conversation with Ian (now you see why we got along so well): where did he name for turkeys come from? Turkeys are native to North America. We call them after a country in the Middle East, in Russian they are called индюк (indook) thinking they came from India, in several languages it is hindi for similar reasons, in Spanish they are called peru (at least they got the right hemisphere.) In light of this, I think I like the Albanians name the best- they came from somewhere over the seas and they didn't speculate on where, hence gjell deti- the rooster of the sea.

Rooster of the Sea

Albanian language note: the word for turkey is gjell deti which translates literally as "rooster of the sea." My linguistic theory for this is that because turkeys are native to North America and were not brought to Europe until after the colonization of the New World (they ate the national bird!), the best way for the Albanians to describe them was that they were like roosters, but came from boats- hence rooster of the sea. Anyway, the good news is, there are turkeys here, so Thanksgiving here can be a success . . .

This is my third Thanksgiving outside of the United States. The first was my senior year in high school when I was on an exchange in Israel. We were speaking at a school and I'm not sure if it was a nice thought or just a coincidence but I think they gave us turkey sandwiches for lunch. After lunch all of the Americans (there were 24 of us I think) went around and said what we were thankful for and a few people who had never really been away from home started to cry. I think that the Israelis were mostly confused . . .

My second Thanksgiving away was when I was on study abroad in Prague. If I remember right, all of the Colorado students (there were about 10 of us) went to dinner with our American professor to a restaurant that someone told us had turkey. I think I had the chicken.

For this Thanksgiving, it has been a tradition in PC Albania for the families at the American Embassy to invite volunteers to their homes for dinner, so many volunteers came to Tirana to get an American style homecooked meal. A few of us convinced our Program and Training Officer, Jan, to let us invade her apartment and cook ourselves and do a Gray's Anatomy marathon. Jan is one of my favorite people in Albania. She is an RPCV in Jamaica and then Lesotho and has a background in training and counseling. She reminds me of some of the best parts of my mother and Lola (one of my second mothers). When I sprained my ankle she was nice enough to let me stay with her and she has been a big support to me since I arrived. Jan has managed to go through life without ever cooking Thanksgiving dinner, this year is no exception. Eight of us are cooking at Jan's house today. We have (almost) every t-day staple: turkey, pie (apple and pumpkin), mashed potatoes, veggies, rolls, even a can of cranberries. The only thing that we don't have is sweet potatoes, but I think that we will get by.

Although it would have been nice to go to a swank embassy house today, I'm really glad that I'm here with lots of friends and that I could contribute my expert pie making skills (plus veggie peeling and chopping) to the meal. Even though my family is far away, I feel happy and thankful today. I'm surrounded by loving friends and we have a bountiful meal.


I hope that your Thanksgiving (wherever you are) is as good and fulfilling as mine. Happy Thanksgiving!