Thursday, October 18, 2012
My First "Hong Kong Moment"
What do you mean, "Hong Kong Moment"? It's a
phrase that I heard often when I first came almost three weeks ago. Andy,
Rebecca and the kids would use it when things went a "little differently" than
planned. OK, sometimes it was a lot differently. Our favorite story so far
occurred before Abby, Sarah and I arrived. It was sometime during the first two
weeks, the kids were challenged daily with the amount of homework they were
getting, and therefore, what time they were going to bed. They were also
struggling with all the pressure that went along with these changes, sometimes
resulting in breakdowns. So as my oldest was having one of these meltdowns at
10pm, she woke up daughter #2, who had already been asleep for over an hour.
When Emma woke up, she started crying out , "This is NOT going to work!" Yes,
Emma can be dramatic, and we can laugh about it now, and we often use that
phrase when we are having a "Hong Kong Moment."
So my first major "Hong Kong Moment" came today. I was going to my friends house to have our weekly get together and prayer time. I live for these times. So I was so excited to get there, greet her two younger children, and take all my "stuff" off...including my purse, my baby (in the front carrier) and my diaper bag...uh-oh...the diaper bag (a book bag) was not on my back! I immediately knew that I had left it on the train. I hadn't been at my friend's flat for two minutes before she was dialing the MTR to call customer service and see if they had found it. Luckily, her MTR stop is the last on the line, so they often sweep the trains before heading the other way. Sure enough, the person on the other line asked, "Does it have a bible in it?" That's the one. So I headed back to the MTR, about an 8 minute walk, to collect my bag. When I got there, I told the man that my bag was there and I was there to collect it. He repeated, "the one with the bible in it?" Yep, that's the one. He went back and brought out another man who had my bag in hand. I identified it again, and to myself I was thinking how blessed I am and how easy this was. Then, he asked for my Hong Kong ID card. I hadn't gotten mine yet. Then, he asked for my passport. I didn't have that either. Andy had taken it because of some paperwork and had not returned it. The man could not believe that I didn't have either in my possession. He then asked if I had my passport number. Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't have her passport # memorized. Didn't have that either, but I told him I would try to get it. Now I am feeling very alone. Very unprepared. Very frustrated that I have no ID on me. I called Andy to see if he had my passport on him. After finally pulling him out of a meeting with my four calls and "urgent" text, he tells me he left them at home. Now I am upset and tears are starting to stream down my face. Granted, I have just been through a month of cry-fest with all the change and being postpartum, but this emotional reaction kind of took me by surprise. Finally, Andy asked me if I had my Hong Lok Yuen (our community) card. This has my picture and name on it. Yes I did. I handed it over, and the man said that he would check if it would work. He went in the back room and came back two minutes later to let me know that it worked. He finally brought my bag out to me and had me sign for it. Needless to say, I will not be walking around without my passport until I get my ID card :) Lesson learned...and I survived my first, but probably not my last "Hong Kong Moment."
So my first major "Hong Kong Moment" came today. I was going to my friends house to have our weekly get together and prayer time. I live for these times. So I was so excited to get there, greet her two younger children, and take all my "stuff" off...including my purse, my baby (in the front carrier) and my diaper bag...uh-oh...the diaper bag (a book bag) was not on my back! I immediately knew that I had left it on the train. I hadn't been at my friend's flat for two minutes before she was dialing the MTR to call customer service and see if they had found it. Luckily, her MTR stop is the last on the line, so they often sweep the trains before heading the other way. Sure enough, the person on the other line asked, "Does it have a bible in it?" That's the one. So I headed back to the MTR, about an 8 minute walk, to collect my bag. When I got there, I told the man that my bag was there and I was there to collect it. He repeated, "the one with the bible in it?" Yep, that's the one. He went back and brought out another man who had my bag in hand. I identified it again, and to myself I was thinking how blessed I am and how easy this was. Then, he asked for my Hong Kong ID card. I hadn't gotten mine yet. Then, he asked for my passport. I didn't have that either. Andy had taken it because of some paperwork and had not returned it. The man could not believe that I didn't have either in my possession. He then asked if I had my passport number. Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't have her passport # memorized. Didn't have that either, but I told him I would try to get it. Now I am feeling very alone. Very unprepared. Very frustrated that I have no ID on me. I called Andy to see if he had my passport on him. After finally pulling him out of a meeting with my four calls and "urgent" text, he tells me he left them at home. Now I am upset and tears are starting to stream down my face. Granted, I have just been through a month of cry-fest with all the change and being postpartum, but this emotional reaction kind of took me by surprise. Finally, Andy asked me if I had my Hong Lok Yuen (our community) card. This has my picture and name on it. Yes I did. I handed it over, and the man said that he would check if it would work. He went in the back room and came back two minutes later to let me know that it worked. He finally brought my bag out to me and had me sign for it. Needless to say, I will not be walking around without my passport until I get my ID card :) Lesson learned...and I survived my first, but probably not my last "Hong Kong Moment."
No comments:
Post a Comment