LearningToFly.me

Hi!

Many of you are enjoying all of the lovely offerings of Fall in the states – college football, tailgating, stadium nachos, apple picking – and I have to admit I am quite jealous. Although Fall in Hong Kong is growing on me. The humidity has dialed back a bit and 85 degrees is now very comfortable. We are making the most out of our last few weeks in Hong Kong – more on that below – and thought we would provide a re-cap of our summer in S.E. Asia.

June brought some pretty awesome friends to Hong Kong, but these guys didn’t have to travel very far. Matt and Allison are dear friends from Boston who relocated to Singapore about 2 months before we moved to HK. Allison and I worked together in Massachusetts for several years and when she told me she was moving to Singapore, I decided the only rational response was to follow her. Normal. I know.

Matt and Allison were amazing guests for a lot of reasons, but the best part was they didn’t have to recover from any jet leg so we hit the ground running when they arrived and kept going. We walked through the ladies market and flower market, watched the dragon boat races, hiked every peak we could in two days and ate so much dim sum. It was incredible to share Hong Kong with these two and even better that I’m now working with Allison again! More on that below. (You see what I am doing here?)

After celebrating the 4th of July with some of Hong Kong’s finest expats, we hopped over to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for a few days. Dom was able to dive into work and I entertained myself with a photography tour around the city. I signed up for Vietnam’s Photo Adventure’s group photography tour and as luck would have it, no one showed up, but me! So I had a private tour of one of my favorite cities with the most patient french man I may ever meet. Arnaud is a truly gifted photographer, but he is equally as talented at teaching a total novice like me how to actually capture the beauty of our surroundings. Most importantly, my new best friend taught me how to properly cross the streets of Saigon. Turns out it takes more than wincing, running and a prayer.

Do you notice the ladder?

We had some vacation days planned in August and neither of us had ever been to the Philippines, so we packed up and shipped out for a 2 hour flight to Manila. We only had a couple of days in Manila before we headed to the beaches of Boracay, but we made the most of it. Our hotel connected us with a tour and again we were the only two people to show, so we received a private lesson on Manila from a retired high school history teacher – Dom was in heaven.

The first part of our tour brought us to the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial – think Arlington National Cemetery only in the Philippines. We could have walked this memorial all day. There are more than 17,000 headstones in this memorial and the wall of the missing (photo below) honors more than 36,000 MIA – It’s the largest American military cemetery outside of the U.S.

The rest of our tour took us through Intramuros, the old town center of the Spanish colonial period that features beautiful architecture and extraordinary catholic churches. I know the U.S. recently celebrated in a visit from Pope Francis, but I am not sure it holds a candle to the enthusiasm this country displayed when he visited earlier this year. Every part of our tour included a factoid about the visit from His Holiness and every gift shop was packed with Pope souvenirs.

After our day-trip in Manila, we boarded a tiny plane to the island of Boracay – famous for it’s white sand beaches. Despite arriving in rainy season, we were very fortunate to have had plenty of days in the sun. Boracay is a very popular beach for tourists from mainland China and South Korea… and their selfie sticks. Somehow, even though the restaurants were crowded the beaches felt like they were our own. We traveled from our villa to the beach and market in a covered motor trike and I remain impressed that I didn’t fall out the back. We stayed at a lovely villa and made friends with the owner who after a few dinners together kindly reduced our room rate… forcing us to extend our time on the island. Twice.

SO tan!

Our captain for a fishing trip

Check out this holy ride!

Late August brought another very special visitor, all the way from D.C….. the man, the myth, the legend: Robbie Elsworth. Robbie is a hometown friend of Dom, a personal favorite of mine, and the only other person I know who travels as much as Dom. So when he decided to come to Hong Kong for a weekend with only a weeks notice it felt totally natural to all three of us. Thank you Congressional recess.

Robbie and Dom hit the links in Hong Kong on probably the hottest and most humid day of the year, but luckily they had some very generous help to carry their clubs. We hit the streets of Lan Kwai Fong that evening and the following day we hiked our way to the Peak to earn us some delicious dim sum. Since this was Robbie’s first dim sum experience, we had to go all out and order the whole duck. We were really sad to send Robbie back to DC, but someone has to fix that place so we let him go.

September was a jam-packed month, though absent any visitors. Some highlights include another trip to Vietnam for Dom, a birthday celebration fit for a queen (and she is!), a trip back to the states for Dom, a live performance of Bon Jovi in Macau, and the start of a new job for me. I feel very fortunate to have found an incredible opportunity to work during our time in Asia. I joined ConneXionsAsia (CXA) in August to help launch their Hong Kong operations and I cannot speak more highly of this team and the mission behind our work. CXA is Asia’s first private workplace exchange that allows employees to spend their corporate-sponsored flexible benefit dollars on health and wellness services that are designed to… wait for it… make you healthier. Imagine that. Now, we just need the U.S. to catch on to this brilliant concept.

I came upon CXA through Allison, who works at their headquarters in Singapore and it has been so fun to reconnect with my friend and colleague while in Asia. Who would have ever thought? Sadly, though, our days in Hong Kong are numbered and so is my time with CXA. We will be returning to Boston in December  (lovely that time of year, eh?) as Dom’s assignment in Hong Kong is complete and he will be taking on a new role within Shorelight’s headquarters. It will be wonderful to be closer to family and friends in the U.S., but we have truly loved Hong Kong as our home for the last year and enjoyed even more the friends who are like family.

We are going to make the most out of our last days in Hong Kong and our B&B still has a few more guests planned for October, so more to come!

It’s been truly incredible to share our life in Hong Kong with family and friends – even with Braden Bennie and Jay Radley. Jay and Braden are UC Bearcats who enjoy an adventure – to put it mildly. We have spent time with these guys in Boston, Cincinnati and the slopes of Colorado, but it was time to take this mess abroad. The two had planned a pretty amazing S.E. Asia trip that began and ended in Hong Kong, but fresh off their 15-hour flight they were greeted with an important question:

We goin’ out?

Or are we going to bed?

Thankfully, they had the energy to allow us to show them some of Hong Kong’s finest establishments:

The next day, Jay and Braden flew to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam because they couldn’t handle another night with us, but we were quick to follow. While Dom was working, Braden, Jay and I toured and tasted the best of Saigon. Below are pictures from our tour of the Ben Thanh Market:

Keeping de fish cold

Fresh vegetables and the biggest carrots ever

A little sniff of mint

Gorgeous prepared vegetables

Sugar cane being squeezed into a delicious fruit drink

Dried fruits and nuts

Look at that color!

This will make you a vegetarian in a second.

LOOK at the size of those avocados!

Now experts in the ingredients used in traditional Vietnamese dishes, we decided to try our hat at cooking some local dishes. I remain surprised that Braden didn’t cut his fingers off. Following our amazing cooking class, we joined our classmates for a drink atop The Rex Hotel, which is was a common gathering place of correspondents during the Vietnam War.

Impressive, Jay.

Pork fried rice presented in a lotus leaf.

I was highly supervised.

Green mango salad with BBQ chicken

Braden’s fancy spring rolls

Appropriate.

The next day, Braden, Jay and I hugged Dom and headed west to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Our flight was pretty solidly delayed forcing us to the bar, but we arrived in the Kingdom, grabbed a bite to eat and toured the popular Pub Street. Pub Street is just that- a street lined with pubs, tourists and tuk-tuks. We made an early night of it because we were catching the sunrise the next morning at Ankgor Wat.

Angkor Wat – the largest religious monument in the world  – is absolutely breathtaking. Every step we took felt historic and it’s easy to see why this temple is displayed throughout the country with such pride. The grandeur of the architecture in this once Hindu transformed Buddhist temple is like nothing I have ever seen. I don’t think our photos will ever do justice to its beauty, but we tried:

While Angkor Wat is probably the most well known temple, we visited several more over the next two days. Most of these temples were built between the 9th and 12th century and despite tourists like us walking through them, restoration efforts have enabled them to maintain their beauty and detail.

Naga, the 7-headed snake

Inside Angkor Wat

A steep climb into the temples

Rules around behavior and dress code inside the temples

Carvings all along the walls

Wolf pack

These stairs were off limits

What do you see, B?

Because we couldn’t help ourselves

After Angkor Wat, we traveled to the Bayon temple, or more commonly referred to as the temple of faces. These towering faces were worth the climb, but the height left us fully exposed to the 103-degree heat and sun. I’m pretty sure this is where my nail polish melted off my fingers – not kidding.

Can you feel the sun?

Grown ups. Braden, Jay and our tour guide hiding from me.

Remember we started the day at sunrise, so at this point it’s like 11am and the sun isn’t even hitting its peak power. Yikes. We head over to the Ta Prohm temple, which is easily one of my favorites. I know, they all are. But see, unlike the other temples, this temple had been abandoned for hundreds of years and as a result, trees have grown up, around and through the ruins. I wish we could have spent more time here, but we were pretty close to a heat stroke and needed some water. Oh, fun fact, this temple was featured in the movie Tomb Raider.

We called it a day at about 3pm and sat in the pool to bring our core body temperature back down to something tolerable. Jet leg got the best of Braden and he was tucked into bed by about 4:15pm, so Jay and I found our way to the spa. What? We walked a lot that day.

Day 2 in Siem Reap was just as beautiful and probably hotter. We toured several more temples and all of us purchased some seriously cool artwork. Ones negotiating skills are severely compromised by heat, but we still got a fair deal. It was very hard to leave every temple and not be swarmed by sincerely adorable children selling souvenirs, but tourists are advised against buying from them as it only encourages the children (and the adults pushing them) to stay out of school.  The poverty and visible wounds of war in this country are unparalleled and sobering. Each of us walked away moved by our visit to Siem Reap and I would recommend this trip to anyone.

Let there be light.

Taking a breather.

Looking up inside the temple.

Before the climb.

More stairs. No shade.

Roar.

We took our talents north, to northern Vietnam to meet up with Dom for the second half of this adventure. We stayed one night in Hanoi and the boys enjoyed a night out in the city, while I caught up on some sleep. Our visit to Vietnam fell during the 40th anniversary of the reunification between the north and the south and both Hanoi and HCMC displayed dozens of posters in celebration.

People zipping by on their motorbikes

On a mission for beer

Just one of many reunification posters

Dom and his groomsman B

Pensive Jay.

The next morning, the four of us (yeah, Dom!) packed up into a van heading to Ha Long Bay to board our Dragon Pearl Junk, which would be our home for the next 3 days. The drive featured fascinating snapshots of northern Vietnam, some Taylor Swift and probably too many beers. I still feel sorry for the extra passenger in our van. Oh, we also had the pleasure of seeing a water puppet show, which was amazing. Think of a puppet show, but all of the puppeteers are swimming under water and breathing through a straw-like tube while they perform.

Rice paddy

I think we will be ok for a 2 hour ride.

Rice!

Oh hey!

I love this shot

Cheers to an amazing trip.

The stage for the water puppet show

We arrived at the dock and boarded our boat and we were nothing short of impressed. I don’t think could recommend a trip more highly – the staff was exceptional, the food was incredible and the views…. well, you decide:

View from the upper deck

Ready to board our boat!

Cheers because this is unreal!

This view….360

Chef Jay putting his vietnamese culinary skills to work

After we enjoyed Chef Jay’s spring rolls, it was time to jump into some kayaks and discover Ha Long Bay. We brought the selfie stick out on the waters with us and I am very proud to say that no phone was lost or damaged while selfi-ing:

There were hardly any other boats on the water, but here is a fishing boat

Kayaks in cave – sweet.

Family photo!

Go Bearcats!

Just catching up on the open waters

Notice Dom’s nerves as I am holding the selfie stick

Go Jay!

We took a swim and then settled back onto the boat for some cocktails and dinner. It was very romantic dining with Jay and Braden – something every couple should experience:

Braden and Jay swimming without a lifeguard

View from our room

Cutest couple ever 😛

So full from the 11 course meal

B fishing for squid – I swear!

We were able to jump back into our kayaks on day 2 and roam around the sea for a couple of hours and caught a swim before lunch. Later that evening, we went to a remote beach and Dom and Braden kayaked into the sunset. Jay and I worked on our burns.

Life is good

I wish they had more fun

Our dining room for 3 days

We love you mom!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Probably the coolest part of this whole trip – apart from spending quality time with J and B – was our last dinner in the bay. The last night of the Junk, the crew prepared dinner for everyone inside a cave or as they put it, the largest restaurant in the world. We climbed 95 stairs to enter this cave and what awaited us was a presentation of food that exceeded all of our expectations. The chefs had been preparing the food since 6am that day and when you see the photos, you will understand why.

Your table is set…

I almost caught my dress on fire

So cheesy

So cute

Chefs cooking up some prawns and chicken

Doves carved out of parsnips

An eagle carved out of a pumpkin

A dragon carved out of a pumpkin

A replica of our junk from a watermelon

Family photo

On our last day, we had the opportunity to tour a fishing village located – as you can imagine – on the crystal blue waters of Ha Long Bay. These fishing villages are home to families who float on and attend school in wooden houses on the water. It was incredible to see these structures and get a sense of the community they call home.

Homes in the fishing village

Traveling to the fishing village

You think your remodel is tough?

A classroom on water

It was time to say goodbye to Ha Long Bay and head back to Hanoi for another night. We spent our evening in Hanoi roaming the street markets in search of the perfect paintings and eating too much pho. We found our way to the tomb of Ho Chi Minh and across the way was the Hoa Lo prison or better known as Hanoi Hilton where American POWs were held during the Vietnam War.

Outside our hotel, hyped on Vietnamese coffee

Our time with Jay and Braden was nearing an end, but we gave it all we had during their last two nights in Hong Kong. Dom and the boys enjoyed one of our favorite hikes and the next day, we decided to see if lady luck was on our side in Macau – China’s answer to Vegas, only bigger. Turns out, I’m not too bad at craps (it was my first time) and was on a heater so we all came home winners. I was assured that will never happen again, so I have retired my dice-rolling arm.

Despite my best efforts to convince these guys to stay, they eventually had to return home, but it was amazing to travel with them and to share Hong Kong with some other Bearcats.

While I spent a good portion of our trip back to the states in the heartland with family, I was able to get a few, very cold days in Boston and it was wonderful. Walking around Boston got me thinking about how this city actually prepared me a bit for our life in Hong Kong. Here’s what I have come up with:

5) Accepting (just barely) a local’s desire to avoid eye contact

Well at this point you know that I am a very proud mid-western – dare I say lady – and what that means in this context is that I smile at and say hello to passing strangers on the daily. In the mid-west, we hold your doors and let you pass, dart an approving head-nod while crossing paths on a trail, and you can bet your bottom dollar we do it all while looking you in the eye.

Now I’m not saying that 4 years in Boston scrubbed the sweet right off of me, but I have become perhaps a little less sensitive to the blatant disregard of my pleasantries. And it’s a good thing, too, because people in Hong Kong are an even tougher crowd than Bostonians. Plus side: there are a lot more people in Hong Kong so my odds of finding a smiling face have slightly improved.

4) Wild, stomach-turning taxi rides

I took taxis in DC pretty regularly and never felt sick. Perhaps it was the allure of living in the nation’s capital, but those rides were always so pleasant. Transition to Boston and the only time I really need a taxi is when traveling to and from the airport. If you have traveled with me (or Dom) you know we kind of push the limits in terms of catching most flights, so I used to chalk up my nausea to nerves, but it turns out it’s statistically proven that Boston taxi drivers drive like jerks. (These statistics haven’t been published yet, but it’s a fact). I also love when I suggest an alternate route and am kindly met with “Lady, I’ve been doing this for thirty yeahhhhs, you wanna take my job.” Needless to say, 10 minutes in a Boston taxi makes me a little angrier with people and sick to my gut.

Taxis in Hong Kong are a friggin fun house. I mean it. The positions I strike just to try and find some balance as we whip around streets at un-godly speeds are awkward at best. God help me if I have a coffee in my hand because it’s going everywhere. The entertainment during these rides, apart from watching me face-plant into the window, is pretty over stimulating. The commercials on the mini-screen are never in English so it’s just a lot of yelling in Chinese, cartoon imagery that would make anyone’s head spin. Hong Kong taxis only accept cash, which I always hope means I can get rid of some of my loose change, but after being tossed around like a sock in a dryer I am just so happy to get out that I’ll likely over pay just to not stay in there for another second.

3) Thrifty Grocery Shopping

I miss Kroger’s. A lot. In Boston, the closest I could get to the selection, convenience and price of the holy K-Roger’s was a Shaws, but it was a 20 minute walk from our apartment. Don’t worry, I used one of these fancy city carts to carry our groceries, but if I was taking the time to wheel all that way, I piled the groceries on so full that 90 percent of the time I ended up needing a cab just to get home.  Oops. Given the distance, we typically shopped at the Whole Foods just across the street or as Dom and I lovingly refer to it, Whole Paycheck.

Fortunately, shopping at Whole Paycheck prepared me for grocery shopping in Hong Kong. We are slowly trying to modify our culinary preferences to accommodate the cost of groceries ( you pay a little more for Western food) and I am always on the hunt for better prices (ahem, Gary Corrigan’s daughter). The good news is grocery shopping in Boston prepared my weak little arms and our wallet for groceries in Hong Kong.  I will say, nothing could have prepared for hauling groceries in 90% humidity. Yuck.

2) Becoming a Professional Pedestrian

That has a nice ring to it – I think I’ll put it on my resume.

After going car-free in Boston, I have actually grown to prefer walking to driving. Sometimes I think, “What if I become like my Grandma Mary who just stopped driving all together?” But then I remember that sweet little Mary did so because she had the vision of a bat and our city was safer for it. Don’t get me wrong, I love cruising around and singing in my car, but that’s just not going to happen in Hong Kong. Luckily, I have invested in some serious old-lady walking shoes and foot massages.

1) Pronouncing the Names of Surrounding Cities

The number one way living in Boston prepared me for living in Hong Kong is that I grew quite comfortable with being corrected when I butchered the name of the town I was traveling to and from. My former job had me crisscrossing the Commonwealth on the regular and my colleges often got a good laugh at me when I would tell them where I was off to next. Now, before you question my reading comprehension skills, check out the video below and you will better understand what I am talking about. 

In Hong Kong, I’m just screwed. I give it a good college try, but I am quite certain I am not pronouncing much of anything in Cantonese correctly. Thankfully, some of the more common spots, such as Lan Kwai Fong or Tsim Sha Tsui have are just commonly known as LKF or TST. I got those!

All in all, Boston and Hong Kong are two incredible, but pretty different cities and we love both for a lot of reasons.

You have been oh so patient while I was running Berardi’s Bed and Breakfast for the last month and I am excited to fill you in on the particulars of our crazy little life. Our B & B has hosted family and friends from near (Shanghai) and far (USA, USA, USA!) and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I love Hong Kong and it has been simply incredible to share this city with people we love.

Let’s kick this party off with our good friends Dr. Brent and Dr. Maribeth Cengia who bookended their Thailand vacation with a visit to Hong Kong. Brent was a roommate of Dom’s in college and a groomsman in our wedding and the lovely Maribeth is from my hometown. She is a lot more than that, but for brevity, I’m sticking with the important stuff.  They arrived from North Carolina with more energy than I expected and wanted to see our hood on their first night. Bonus time! Color me impressed – there are only two things I will ever do after a 16+ hour flight, shower and sleep. In. That. Order.

We crammed as much as we could into the couple of days they had in HK, though regrettably we did not make it to Karaoke. Next time.

Here are some snap shots from the Cengia’s visit to Hong Kong:

#Selfiestick

A hike to the Peak

We are so creative!

MB and I enjoying the most delicious drinks 🙂

That’s a daiquiri COVERED in cocoa powder…

These two. Had to have matching hair cuts.

A view of Hong Kong Island!

After a few days in HK, the Cengia’s were ready for their well-deserved Thailand vacation and the very next day, another pair of Ohioans made their way to Hong Kong. Ben and Alicia Mirtes, with their almost 2 y/o, are living in Shanghai on a temporary assignment and were able to pop over for a weekend in HK.

We had a ball with Ben and Alicia and I have to tell you, their boy Henry (aka the General) is one of the coolest dudes I have ever met. He was a champ at allowing the grown ups some time to catch up and he has a solid bowling record to go with that adorable mug.

Henry beat all of us. No lie.

The perfect defense to snap-happy tourists: Canopy down.

Dinner with a little Peppa Pig and a new friend for Henry.

King Henry and his men

Crazy kids.

It was so special to share Hong Kong with these dear friends and we are so grateful they included us in part of their adventures. We hope to see all of them again soon!

Next up, my family travels east, but they almost didn’t make it.

Sponsor: This 3-part series is (un)officially and a bit awkwardly brought to you by Selfie-Stick.

Last month brought a very special visitor to Hong Kong…. My cousin, Sweet Caroline. She arrived like most – jet-legged, but ready to go. I simply loved having family here and it was so special to share our new city with her. It was quite different seeing Hong Kong through her eyes. For instance, I am getting pretty used to the sights and sounds and got a kick out of her running away at the sight of dead fish and hanging chicken feet. If you haven’t met Caroline, well, you’re missing out. She has an energy and enthusiasm about her that is unmatched. So we spent her first two days in Hong Kong introducing her to our crazy friends and stuffing her full of S.E. Asian food, but come Sunday afternoon, we were Bali-bound! We arrived in Bali, got our Visa on arrival and only had to answer a few questions with immigration.  Perhaps it was weird that Dom was traveling with two blonde beauties, but nonetheless we had the awkward (yet funny) opportunity to answer the “what’s your occupation?” and “what is the purpose of your trip?” questions. Dom and Caroline calmly answer and soon it’s my turn. Giggling, because that’s what I do in any serious moment, I nervously responded “housewife,” which is what I had circled on the previous visa application paperwork. Hey, I’m nothing if not consistent. And they didn’t have a box for former government employee plotting her next move. We get to our hotel in Bali and are lovingly welcomed by a card in our room from our friend’s Chris and Meghan. If you know this couple, I’ll leave the sentiments of the card to your imagination. Man, I love them. We relax on the beach for the evening and turn-in to prepare for our 6am departure to Gili T.

Gili Trawangan is an island about 2 hours by boat off the coast of Bali and it is a magical place. The boat ride there can be either amazing or awful – depending on your stomach’s ability to handle the sea. We faired pretty well. Chris and Meghan – who currently live in Sydney, Australia – have developed a solid base tan which allowed them to sit on the top of the boat for the full two hours and soak up the sun. Dom, Caroline and I sat on the inside of the boat like vampires.  Except for the last 10 minutes of the ride when we climbed up top and it was wonderful. I mean, I burned, but it was beautiful up there.

Our time in Gili was spent at the lovely Villa Sama Lama near the center of the island and the property was breathtaking. The five of us spent the first day in the pool, playing games, and getting settled into our new norm.

The only way to get from our Villia to the city-center was by bike. Not motorbike, as those are forbidden on the island, but by a good old fashioned bicycle, complete with a basket, bell and kickstand. We rode into the night like 5 kids from Goonies with headlamps fastened to our heads and bike locks and backpacks in the basket. We only lost half of these items, which is to be expected when riding home after a few drinks at dinner.

Our days began with a stellar breakfast from the sweetest ladies on the Island who woke us up each day to hot coffee, orange juice (pretty sure it was Tang), fresh fruit, omelets, banana or papaya pancakes (don’t try papaya, yuck) and toast with jam. We ate like kings and the good people in our group went for a jog around the island following breakfast each morning. I joined them once and made sure it was a jog with a soft j.

Our last day in Gili was probably the best. We biked to another resort on the island and found a little slice of heaven. We ate all the thai food (weird because we were in Indonesia, we know) and drank all of the fruity drinks they would make us.

It was so hard to leave Gili, but when the boat arrived we loaded up and this time all of us sat on top. I had some SPF 50 (with zinc) to get rid of so no burn for me! Caroline on the other hand fell asleep and got some strong color. I’m not convinced we’re related. She can actually tan. Megan, I accept our differences. Back in Hong Kong for a few days before Caroline heads back to Pittsburgh and we crammed everything in that we could. Our favorite afternoon, or at least mine, was having high-tea at the Intercontinental in Kowloon. The lobby is beautiful and cozy and the view is uncompromising. We enjoyed delicious tea, snacks and cakes while facing Hong Kong Island and listened to a house band playing instrumental covers of Michael Jackson, Maroon 5 and Disney classics. Brilliant. We were so sad to see our sweet Caroline leave, but we had an amazing trip with her and the Speelman’s and think we need to go to Australia next to visit the Speelmans!

As I approach the end of Holy Week and the celebration of Easter, I thought I would share my recent, shall we say, experience of going to church in Hong Kong.

You may or may not know that Dom has been traveling a bit as of late, which means I can usually be found walking around aimlessly exploring every inch of Hong Kong and loving it. Last week, I walked around our neighborhood and stumbled upon a lovely Catholic Church that not only offered a Mass in English, but it carried the same name as our Church in Boston – St. Anthony’s. Though you wouldn’t know that by the picture below.

Oh boy. English was a very generous description of the 11:30a.m. mass. I walked into the church to find it as packed as one might expect to see at Christmas or Easter, did a quick calendar check to make sure it in fact wasn’t Easter (winning), and sat in the back like a good, late parishioner. I looked around and counted roughly 150 people and a handful (like 4) westerners. You got this, Cam.

The beginning rituals were just that, rituals. Not hard to follow and the church even displayed the words of the hymns against the wall, which I figured was a good sign. Then came the sermon. At first, I thought, ‘oh this is just hard to hear because I am sitting in the back and I’m not fully concentrating’ so I began to focus as strong as my little brain could.

Nope. This is not English. I mean it was, but very poor English. I am not trying to sound like a snob because I actually think English is a very difficult language to learn if it’s not your native tongue, but man was I in the wrong place. Here is what I gathered from the parts of the sermon I could make out:

• Forrest Gump;
• Life is like a box of chocolates; and
• Sacrifice

That’s it – those three statements. The rest was just inaudible. So I have concluded that the message I was to take away that Sunday is as follows: Tom Hanks is a gift from God, you never know what you’re going to get from life and God sacrificed his Son for our sins, such as eating too much chocolate.

Once I made it through the sermon, I was back in action because the next series of rituals are the same with or without a language barrier. However, during the peace offering, things took another turn. I went to extend my hand and my cat-like reflexes caught on that no one else was offering theirs in return. Whoopsies. In Hong Kong, offering a sign of peace is done with a polite head nod and maybe a ‘Peace be with you, ‘ but I couldn’t tell because I decided to take things an awkward step further and offer a full-on Namaste-style bow.

You see, in Hong Kong, people are very afraid of germs. I would compare it to the caution you would take if you found out your officemate had the flu. Every. Single. Day. As such, everything a human hand touches in Honkers is sterilized and therefore people do not shake strangers’ hands.

All in all, we are pretty fortunate to have a plethora of churches to choose from in Hong Kong and I look forward to finding one that meets both our spiritual and linguistic needs. In conclusion, my experience was everything I needed it to be and more and I wish you and yours a very Happy Easter!

Enjoy some coffee-enhanced ramblings about Hong Kong from yours truly.

Top 10 things You Might Not Know About Hong Kong

#10 Where is Hong Kong?

Hong Kong, known as Asia’s world city, is located on the south coast of China (see map below) and is a 16-hour flight from Boston. For perspective, Beijing is located in Northeastern China and is about a 3.5 hour flight from HK. In US terms, a comparable distance between Beijing and Hong Kong would be to fly from Boston to Denver.

Now for the fun part. Hong Kong is just a 2.5 hour flight from Bangkok, Thailand or the equivalent of flying from Chicago to Miami. Check yes to a long weekend in Thailand! HK to Bali? Just shy of 5 hours or the same amount of time it would take to fly from Columbus to San Francisco. In fact, we are heading to Bali/Gili Islands next week with the oh so sweet Caroline Degnan (my cousin) and the Speelman’s (college friends) who recently re-located to the land down under. It’s sure to be an inspirational trip.

#9 Hong Kong has more skyscrapers than any other city in the world 

There are more buildings greater than 500 feet in Hong Kong than in any other city in the world. Not only does HK boast the most skyscrapers, but these buildings amass themselves in an area 3 times smaller than the state of Rhode Island. I am not going to pretend to know what I’m talking about when it comes to the respected field of architecture, so I’ll just say the buildings in HK are mesmerizing and more modern than any city I have ever seen. And every evening, Hong Kong hosts the world’s largest permanent laser light show across the skyline. Fireworks are added during Chinese New Year.

Blog spoiler alert: Chinese New Year began February 19 and it was incredible. More to come after Bali 🙂

#8 Cantonese AND English are both official languages of Hong Kong

In nearly every commercial or residential building, signs and information are made available in both Cantonese and English. It can be a gamble with taxi drivers and with locals at stores, but you hone in on your pantomiming skills pretty quickly. Just a fun fact, Cantonese is a dialect of Chinese spoken only in Hong Kong and neighboring areas in Southern China. In mainland China, the official language is Mandarin Chinese and while Cantonese shares some the of the same vocabulary with Mandarin, the two languages are very different. So the time Dom spent studying Mandarin is not very helpful here. He’s still cute though.

#7 Hong Kong is Dense

The density of people in Hong Kong is almost indescribable, but I’ll do my best. Close your eyes. Don’t fall asleep, this isn’t that boring. Now, picture yourself in any shopping mall in America during the holiday season. Make it black Friday, I don’t care just fill the image with a ton of impatient people racing to get somewhere and you have found yourself on any street at any time of day in Hong Kong. According to my vast research on the interwebs, Hong Kong Island is approximately 426 sq miles or 3 times smaller than the state of Rhode Island. Take a third of Rhode Island, throw in those amazing skyscrapers I just referenced and sprinkle in 7 million people and you have Hong Kong.

These crowds aren’t for everyone and I’ll admit that some days they aren’t for me, but more often than not I am completely over stimulated – in the best of ways – walking around this city looking at the incredible cast of characters and wondering what brought them here and what has made them stay.

#6 In my humble opinion, it is the most efficient city in the world

From transportation to retail shopping, I have never lived in a city so obsessed with efficiency and my little OCD heart loves it. The Mass Transit Railway, known simply as the MTR, is the fastest connection to anywhere you really want to be in Hong Kong. This network of underground lines is just nothing short of impressive and the exits from these fast trains are laid out alphanumerically with more than a dozen to choose from at a single station. That sounds more complicated than it really is. The beauty of this organized chaos of it is you can exit the MTR’s air conditioned tunnels and arrive at almost exactly where you need to be, which makes a considerable difference when it’s raining or really hot and humid outside. In addition to the air-con, the MTRs are filled with fun little shops!

The MTR trains arrive every 3 minutes and I’m convinced boarding them during rush hour with a child/stroller could be an Olympic sport. During the busiest hours, the station employs staff to remind passengers to be polite and not to push. Want to experience what the subway is like in Hong Kong? Close your eyes again. This time, you’re at a movie theatre with 500 of your closest friends (or the Corrigan family) and once the show is over, everyone exits through the one and only door. Some if not all are on their cell phones. Mmmm cozy.

The MTR also connects you to the Airport Express, which is a high speed train linking you from the center of the city to the international airport in exactly 24 minutes. Before boarding the Airport Express, you can check into your flight and take advantage of the in-town luggage check  in at the MTR station. This world class system tags your luggage to your flight allowing you to board the Airport Express bag free. So convenient! To access the MTR, you need an Octopus card, which is the same thing as a Charlie card (Boston) or Metro card (DC) and similarly you just swipe it upon entering and exiting. The bonus with this card is that you can use it to pay for items at the grocery store, pharmacy, or even Starbucks.  Agh, so efficient again.

#5 Cost of living in Hong Kong

Depending on the surveys you read, Hong Kong’s rank in expense tends to vary, but last year’s Mercer assessment measured the comparative cost of 200 items across the globe, such as housing, food, clothing, etc., and ranked HK the third most expensive city in the world. Fortunately – and thanks to our friends who already live here – we knew this before our move. The biggest hit to your wallet is the cost of housing. For example, a two-bedroom, 800 sq. ft. apartment in Hong Kong is approximately HKD$54,000 or USD$6,900. It’s ok, I threw up a little, too.

What’s that? You want a car in Hong Kong? It could cost you twice its value courtesy of a registration tax. That doesn’t seem to impede some.

Another expensive purchase in Hong Kong is your child’s education. International kindergarten tuition can cost anywhere from HK$70,000 (USD$9,000) to more than HK$170,000 (USD$22,000) a year. When it comes to grocery shopping, I naively thought we would save money, but it turns out produce and most food is just as expensive as dining out. In the meantime, granola bars make an excellent dinner for two.

#4 Hong Kong has mountains

You may or may not have seen my recent triumph, so let me pat myself on the back just one more time. Our dear friends (whose very lives I threatened the whole hike – ahem, Landon) took me for a lovely Saturday morning hike and despite my attitude, I loved it. It was easily the scariest and most physically-demanding hike I have ever completed. Scary because while the views were unbelievable, the trail lacked guardrails and I was convinced a strong wind or a violent sneeze was going to send me right off the mountain. Naturally, this bureaucrat took to educating my friends on how unacceptable these trails would be in the good ole US of A. Now that I think about it, I can’t believe they didn’t leave me up there.

Hong Kong’s mountains are great for hiking, running and biking and the views are breathtaking. I naively thought this city was all buildings and that the nick name “concrete jungle” was more than appropriate, but I’m so glad I was wrong. Looking up from the skyline and the Louis Vuitton on every other corner, Hong Kong is home to very old and rugged mountain peaks, protected parks, rainforests and beaches, which make for an excellent get-a-way right in our back yard.

#3 Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997, which means …

Well, a lot of things, but let’s keep this brief. It means people drive on the opposite side of road from the US and escalators are positioned opposite from our layout. I have yet to figure out foot traffic. This is very challenging for people like me who have an incessant need to obey social norms because I can’t figure out the norms! As hard as I try to remember which way to look when crossing the street, 9 times out of 10 I am wrong and there is a scared little blonde darting across the road for her life.

Cars are also fashioned with right-hand drive gear, which continues to throw me for a loop when I see passengers on what I expect to be the driver’s side of the car.

#2 World’s longest, outdoor escalator

We have established that Hong Kong is hilly. And not Beacon Hilly, I’m talking ‘kiss the ground you’re walking on’ hilly because the incline is that steep. Mountains remember? So to keep people moving, Hong Kong developed the world’s longest, interconnected system of 20 covered escalators to transport people with ease through the central part of the city. The escalators go through the heart of the mid-levels and you can just step right off to some of the best restaurants and bars this cosmopolitan city has to offer.

#1 Hong Kong is hot and humid

This is an understatement. Hong Kong, in my opinion, is sweltering jungle in the summer months. It’s winter now and quite temperate. Think San Francisco weather, though you wouldn’t know it was pleasant by the attire of many of the locals. Mothers wearing puffy jackets and kids with coats, hats and scarves like it was 30F… it’s 55F folks. Now, I can have my laugh at this, but nothing makes out to be a tourist more than my short-sleeved dress, leggings and flats when everyone else is bundled up.

It’s all fun and games right now, but summer is coming (read in the Game of Thrones voice). When we have visited HK in the summer, we took AT LEAST 2 showers a day and changed our outfits a minimum of 3 times a day. If you want to experience what a Hong Kong summer feels like (at least to me), turn on a steaming hot shower and stand in the bathroom for 5 minutes with the door shut. Now, turn on the hair dryer directly to your face. Oh yeah….. you feel alive.

So, while I may be having a little giggle at locals bundled up in what I would consider a pleasant spring day, they will surely have the last laugh at me when it is 90F and 90% humidity and I am a sweat mop. I’m going to leave you with that lovely image.

I look forward to updating you on how we are settling into life in HK. Thanks for taking an interest in our adventure!

As I sat to write an update, I was effortlessly thrown into my reliable shame-spiral over the delay of this post. This endearing process is typically reserved only for those of you lucky enough to have worked with me and the love of my life who said “I do” three years ago. You said it. I heard it. There were witnesses, kid.

It’s a slow burn this shame-spiral, but once I’m over myself, well, game on. I’m filling you in on this moment not for your pity, but rather to share a moment of enlightenment I experienced as a result of moving abroad.  It’s a symptom of throwing yourself completely out of your comfort zone, but I’m getting to the good stuff, I promise.

In grad school, we studied the theory of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs which suggests that we humans need to have our most basic level of needs met first, such as food, water, air, and shelter, before we are motivated to achieve our next and greatest level of awesomeness. (I’m paraphrasing a bit.) As such, I’m going to chalk up 50% of this delayed post to good old fashioned laziness, but the other 50% will land solidly in the camp proving his theory that I needed to meet some basic needs before I felt truly motivated to write. My basic needs of food, water and air have all been met, though the quality of this air is debatable. So the last basic need box to check: shelter, or more specifically a home.

You see, Dom and I have been living out of a suitcase since exactly November 4. Election Day. And in my defense, I’m pretty sure I’ve done more in the same time frame than than some of our elected officials in Congress. I digress. My point, and subtle plea for your forgiveness, is that this bird who is learning to fly really needs a nest. And we found one!

But first let me tell you how we got here. It was by the grace of a mighty God and the truly charitable acts of family and friends that we made it to Hong Kong with all of our luggage. From our last post you recall we were subleasing our apartment to a wonderful gentleman from Ohio, so while we could keep the major items of our apartment in tact (sofa, bed, dresser, etc.), we needed to divide our personal belongings into things we were taking with us to Hong Kong and things that would remain in storage. We did this in approximately 2.5 days. Here’s why:

After our trip to Hong Kong in November, we headed for the greatest state in the Union to celebrate Thanksgiving and it was wonderful. So much food and so many new babies to hug. Keep up the great work family! I stayed in Toledo with my family for an extra week and Dom traveled for work. We met back up in Boston in early December and started packing. We made good (not great) progress before we both got sick, Dom more so than me. I had a common cold, but Dom settled into bronchitis. He coughed and worked while I stared aimlessly at my closet.

Oh man, if hours were dollars, the amount of time I stared at that closet would buy me a flight back to the US. I was overwhelmed with our apartment and didn’t know where to begin. So I did what every type A girl would do… I turned to excel and made a to-do list that would make my Deloitte colleagues proud. Now we’re cooking with fire. Oh, wait! Time to fly back to Ohio for the Christmas holiday.

January 1st we are back in Boston and our flight is January 4th. We can do this! But first let’s buy some firewood because my sentimental husband would like to have one more fire in our apartment before we move. I love him. I really do.

At this point, the fire is roaring and Dom is as stubborn as he is unhealthy. I am shoving, zipping, and folding our 700sqft apartment into every bag I can find. I run out to grab us dinner, but by this point I’ve packed my winter coats and clothes so I pull together anything I can find and start to layer. I was runway-ready.

It’s Saturday morning, exactly 24 hours before our flight departs to HK, and my sweetheart tells me he is going to go to Urgent Care at MGH because he is really sick and has a cough that could probably get us stopped at immigration. I think to myself “Remember when your mom, my mom, and the homeless man on the street suggested you see a doctor?!” He heads out and I put my game face on. I pack and Dom comes home with meds and his trusty cough, but he is back!

We spend the next 12 hours packing and re-packing. This experience taught me two things: Dom is a masterful packer. I am a slob. Like any couple (or just us) we divided the labor by ownership and started packing, or in my case shoving. By 10 p.m., Dom practically had his bags color-coded and mine looked like a garbage heap. I smiled at my boo and asked if he had any room for some of my important items in his luggage. We had “cleansing” of what I thought was important and Dom engineered my junk into a home. This took hours.

Our place was now split into luggage going to Hong Kong and boxes going to storage. By storage I mean the home of our charitable friends Kaitlyn and Liam who may have regretted their generous offer to store our stuff. Kaitlyn was my first boss in Boston and Liam is the lucky man who married well. 🙂 These two are so dear to us and their generosity has no limits. While their 2.5 year old and 7 month old were down for a nap, Liam drove into the city and picked up our goods to store in their home. What a blessing!

We spent the early morning hours readying our apartment for our new tenant and around 3:00 a.m., Dom convinced me it was time to take our 12 bags and one massive bin down our death stairs. Fun fact about this bin… it’s Dom’s from his first move to China. I swore we would never need it and hated keeping that hideous thing in our apartment for seemingly no future need. Foot in mouth. We start our journey downward. Keep in mind, our neighbors below us just had a baby and all I worried about was waking up that little nugget by the sound of a 50lb bag plowing me down the stairs. We made it down and caught a few hours of sleep before our flight. Two Uber SUVs full of our lives, took us to the airport and we checked into our flight.

It’s 7:00 a.m. and Fitbit tells me we have logged more than 7,000 steps and 22 floors. What Fitbit failed to measure was the number of times Dom had to re-pack my luggage to make it fit in the security line. I’m the worst. Nonetheless, we fly to Chicago and pop some bubbly in the lounge to toast to our new adventure and for making it this far!

After sitting on the tarmac for 2 hours and we finally take off for our 15 hour flight to HK. By the way, we realized on the plane that it was the first time we had every flown to Asia together. We are an economical pair, so typically I’ll fly to meet Dom wherever work takes him. We arrive in Hong Kong and to our surprise so did all of our luggage! It’s now 9:00pm in HK and we loaded our life into 2 separate cabs to our hotel and went straight to bed.

So we are officially in Hong Kong and it took a village. Our friends in HK have continued to go above and beyond in helping us get settled and we are so very grateful.  We move into our place in mid-February and couldn’t be more excited, but more on that in another post. Probably next year. Just kidding.

You made it to our blog – Excellent. Settle in, I had a long flight and a lot of coffee.

You made good on your part of this deal, so I’ll follow suit. In January, Dom and I will be moving to Hong Kong.

In keeping with my public affairs background, I have prepared a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that I hope prove useful and modestly entertaining. Enjoy.

Why are you moving to Hong Kong (HK)?
The winters in Boston.

Ok not really. We are making a temporary move to Hong Kong as Dom has been offered an incredible professional opportunity with his company and we have always wanted to live abroad. The timing is right, we are leaning over the edge of adulthood and still craving a little adventure, so HK fits the bill.

Wait, what does Dom do again?
Dom joined the fine team of Shorelight Education last October. Shorelight Education funds and manages the global aspirations of leading universities to drive institutional growth, create new revenue streams, and expand access for students. Eager to take on a new challenge, he was lucky #13 in what has quickly grown to a team of more than 80 staff in just 18 months. He has spent the last year building successful partnerships with US and UK universities so in addition to being an ever-proud UC Bearcat, he is also learning to be a Kansas Jayhawk, Auburn Tiger, UCF Knight, and FIU Panther.

Dom accepted an assignment as Regional Director of South and South East Asia where he will spend the next 8 months working to set up branch offices and incorporated entities to expand Shorelight’s international presence in the region.

This effort will include hiring operational leadership in 6 key markets across the region, training and activating marketing and recruitment channels, and leading business development in Asia for Shorelight’s transnational education programs.

How long will you two live in HK?
We are planning on living in HK through September of 2015, at which point we will return to Boston and see where life takes us.

What will you do with your apartment in Boston?
We simply love our apartment in Boston. It’s more than 100 years old, chock-full of character, in the heart of one of the most charming neighborhoods in America and boasts some pretty interesting neighbors. Since our stint in HK is temporary and the idea of moving up and down four flights of winding stairs sounds less appealing than a root canal (and trust me, I know), we were eager to find a friendly face to sub-lease our fully furnished charmer. And we did! The best part… he is from Ohio 🙂

Have you and Dom ever been to HK before?
As many of you know, during the early stages of our courtship, Dom lived in Beijing while I began a life in Washington, D.C. I was fortunate to visit Dom just before Beijing hosted the 2008 summer Olympics. We began our trip in Beijing and ended in Thailand, but in between we spent a few nights in Hong Kong. It was like no other city I had ever experienced.

Fast forward to 2012, we cashed in those hard earned sky miles (thank you, Dom!) and went back to Hong Kong for a week before making our way to Bali, Indonesia. We spent time with some wonderful friends and their amazing kids and Hong Kong started to feel like a very livable city.

What will Camie do in Hong Kong?
I am equal parts excited and nervous by this question. I resigned from my position with the Health Connector and am currently “Fun-employed” and am so looking forward to spending the holidays with our families sans the demands of work.

During our visit to HK in November, I had the opportunity to attend the American Chamber of Commerce Women of Influence Conference  (thank you, Brian!) and networked with some of the most inspiring women in the world. I am looking forward to job searching in HK and will be sure to keep you posted on my adventure.

How did your parents react to this news?
Those of you who know them well, know the Corrigan’s and Berardi’s are pretty phenomenal people and we can attest they are even more amazing parents who continue to support both of us unconditionally. And we test the conditions of that support often 🙂

At a certain point in one’s marriage and life there is the ever-intensifying (albeit justified) hope that the mention of big news equals baby. As you can imagine, the announcement of our move to Hong Kong had to be well orchestrated to avoid any confusion. As such, we prefaced the conversation with “We have some exciting news to tell you ABOUT DOM’S JOB!”

Now I am firm believer that context is key, so let me set the stage for you a wee bit. For about 100 years, Dom and I have told anyone and everyone that we plan to move closer to home. In fact, that’s pretty much how I have introduced myself in D.C. and Boston. “Hi, I am Camie. I’m new here, but don’t get too close, my heart belongs to Ohio. No, I didn’t grow up on a farm.” And so on and so on.

True to our word, over the summer I was searching for work within driving distance of our families and was offered a wonderful position in Chicago just as the Hong Kong opportunity knocked on our door. We had run our families through the ringer on this, and yet, they still remained incredibly supportive of our decision to accept this offer.

Needless to say, we owe you guys and we are going to start a (not so) silent campaign to encourage the Corrigan’s and Berardi’s to visit their offspring in Hong Kong!

Do you know anyone in HK?
And how.

In fact, Dom and I know far more people in Hong Kong than we knew when we moved to Boston 4 years ago. During his days as an ex-pat in Beijing, Dom made some incredible friendships and as luck would have it, a good handful of those friends found their way to Hong Kong, too.

The Brenner Family
Brian and Mayumi Brenner adopted Dom a long time ago. They have been generously giving up their spare couch during visits to Hong Kong since 2007 and we have lovingly watched their family grow with each visit.

Let’s start with the most important fact – Brian was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. What could top that? Well, Brian is also a devoted Cincinnati Bearcat and rivals Dom in his enthusiasm for regional sports, their alma mater, and their fraternity: Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Brian and Mayumi are raising three incredible kids and their support for our move knows no bounds. We are truly blessed to know them and call them friends.

Amanda Mohar
I’ll just lead with this… Amanda is also from Cincinnati, Ohio and is also among the UC Bearcat faithful. Originally an opera/voice major, Amanda was in Dom’s choirs at CCM (College Conservatory of Music) in college, decided international affairs was more her bag and moved to Jinan, China to teach English. She was his roommate in Beijing a year later, a coworker at EduGlobal China, and has spent the last 7 years living in various parts of Asia. She has a warm heart and an adventurous spirit.

Fun fact, Amanda is related to very close friend’s of the Corrigan family and I went to high school with her cousins.

We live in a small world, folks.

The Bibeaus
Oh Canada!….. Dom met Landon and Marisa Bibeau (introduced by Amanda Mohar) while they all lived in Beijing and they became fast friends. Back in those days, the Bibeau’s were parents to the one and only Carter – an adorable pug whom Dom baby-sat when they traveled and his Canadian passport photo still remains in Dom’s wallet.

During our 2012 visit to Hong Kong, Landon and Marisa generously let us stay with them and we got to meet their amazing first-born! This kid is “the man” and he now shares his toys with his brother (also, awesome) and the two are getting ready to welcome their baby sister in the Spring. We are so grateful for this family and can’t wait to spend more time with them next year!

The Hands
Another member of the Beijing Band, Tom and Ivy have also relocated from Brisbane, Australia to Beijing, China, and eventually to Hong Kong now that they have grown by one – and he is such a sweetie! Dom and Tom are in the same industry and they trade war stories over a few bottles of wine whenever they are within 500 miles of one another. Dom had the opportunity to attend their beautiful wedding in Australia in 2009 and we couldn’t be more excited to join them in Hong Kong.

James and Ainsley Kelly
James and his beautiful bride, Ainsley, might as well have been from the Beijing band as James’ job had him passing through the city quite often when Dom lived there. Dom and James, like Tom, are also in the same industry so there is no shortage of stories that could have been featured on “Locked Up Abroad.” Aussie natives of Canberra and Newcastle, James and Ainsley have found themselves moving to Hong Kong just a few months before us and we are so excited to experience this transition with them! They have been incredibly helpful as we set up our move and we look forward to making memories with them soon!

Stefanie (Dunlap) and Nick Brenner
Remember that small world part? Yup, it’s true. Another Ohio-native has found her way to Hong Kong, but not just any Ohio native. Stefanie is from my hometown and we went to high school together! Her mom used to work for my late Uncle Terry and my mom taught her brother Bobby in junior high. Nick hit the jackpot with Stefanie and is pretty cool himself. These Buckeyes have already made Dom and I feel at home!

When do you two actually leave?
Dom and I will fly east…far east on January 4 (Happy birthday, Dad!) and will stay in a hotel for a hot second.

Do you have a place to live?
Ugh. Details.

During our visit to HK in November, Dom and I saw over 30 apartments and learned that the market in Hong Kong turns over very fast. So while we found some incredible places to call home, unless we wanted to move in that day it was in our best interest to wait until January to secure a place. Teaser for another blog 🙂