Fun tidbits about Hong Kong

"A couple are debating whether computers are male or female. 'Definitely female,' said the husband. 'You spend half of your salary on accessories for them and even the smallest mistakes are stored in their long-term memory for use at a later date.' 'No,' said his wife. 'They're male. To get their attention you have to turn them on and as soon as you commit to one, you realise you could have got a much better model if only you'd waited a little longer." ~Gordon Rennie

Magazines are incredibly expensive here in HK so it's a special treat when we allow ourselves to buy one. Today was one of those days and unfortunately the selection wasn't very good. But I picked up a Reader's Digest (the Asian version) because I love the section 'Laughter, The Best Medicine' and this is where this story came from. Computers have become such a part of our lives living overseas that I felt this story suited us.

On our way to Tsim Sha Tsui (aka TST) the bus passed the Cultural Center and low and behold... there were two brides/grooms and their families having their pictures taken. We see this on a regular basis and it's usually during the week, in the middle of the day. When we first saw this, it struck us as odd. We're so used to the typical Friday night or Saturday wedding that it seemed very abnormal to get married mid-week. What struck us as even more unusual was when we found out what really was going on. In HK, Brides/Grooms will essentially register with a photographer and have their pictures taken in several different dresses/tuxes before the wedding. Everyone goes all out dressing as they would for the actual wedding and they go all over HK to have these pictures taken. We've even seen some pictures being taken in front of our complex. We're not really sure why they do this but were told it's the HK way. Just one more cultural difference to understand in order to better serve our people.

Mike just passed this web-site along and I must share.... {You'll have to cut and paste this long web address} http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://bigwhiteguy.com/images/sides/long.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bigwhiteguy.com/dishes/long.php&h=150&w=200&sz=23&tbnid=uHJuVu-xE6oJ:&tbnh=74&tbnw=99&hl=en&start=9&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhong%2Bkong%2Bstreets%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN

It's a man's list of "You've been in HK too long when..." If it doesn't work, do a google images search for Hong Kong streets and look for the web-site in the first page that comes up. This will give you a funny idea of some of the things that go on here in HK. My giggles erupted when I read 'You let the bags that you're carrying slam into the legs of passers-by rather than tuck them in close behind you to prevent them from swinging.' Not only have I done that, I also tend to bump into people with our stroller. What's funny is that most people don't even notice... it's just an unavoidable inconvenience.