As an undergraduate at NKU, I had dreams like everyone else. But none of those dreams stretched across the Pacific Ocean ... to Hong Kong!
My husband, Marty Cahill, ’80, and I live, work, and play in Hong Kong, SAR, China. We moved here in January 2004 when Marty accepted a position with Hasbro Far East. At the time of my husband’s job offer, I pictured Hong Kong as an exotic, mysterious, third-world city full of rickshaws and people wearing pointy straw hats. Little did I know that many of my assumptions about life would be challenged by living in Southeast Asia.
East meets West
It helps to know a little background about Hong Kong. For more than 150 years, it was under British rule. Hong Kong was returned to China in July 1997 and established as a Special Administrative Region. So a border remains between Hong Kong and mainland China. Because of its British heritage, there are two official languages: “the Queen’s” English and Cantonese. Hong Kong is truly a place where East meets West, and it is an interesting blend of cultures.
Hong Kong is a protected harbor, nestled inside sharp mountains that resemble a dragon’s back. It is located on the South China Sea. The city is made up of three large islands, several small ones and part of the mainland called “Kowloon” (meaning “nine dragons”), and it stretches north to an area near the border still referred to as the “New Territories.” Most people refer to the “Island side” and the “Kowloon” side when talking about Hong Kong. We live on the Island side, and Marty works on the Kowloon side.
Marty and I arrived in Hong Kong in time to celebrate Chinese New Year 2004. The Chinese calendar is based on the phases of the moon, so the New Year is different every year. It is the biggest holiday here, similar to our Christmas, with families returning home and lights, gifts and fireworks everywhere. I soon learned that Hong Kong celebrates every holiday, both Western and Eastern. So the holiday season stretches from December to February with seemingly non-stop parties. Hmmm, maybe I could find a way to live here.
 Adjusting to life in Hong Kong was much easier for Marty, who had been traveling here on business for more than 20 years. He had a job, familiar colleagues and friends. I left my job, family and friends to embark on this new adventure with him in the land of skyscrapers. We moved into a “flat” on the 25th floor of an apartment complex consisting of five 36-story buildings. It is in a section called mid-levels because it is located halfway up the mountain. Our living room has floor-to-ceiling windows. I couldn’t walk up to them and look out for months because we are so high up! We have a stunning view of the harbor and the central business district below.
Riding the rails
We don’t have a car here and don’t need one. Hong Kong has a seamless transportation system. Marty and I have an Octopus card, which is a value-added card. We just swipe our card to ride almost any form of transport. We can even swipe our card at the 7-Eleven store to purchase something, making it very convenient. We travel by bus, ferry, subway, foot and taxi. Taxis here are roughly $2 USD to go most anywhere. They are plentiful. Our complex has a shuttle bus that Marty rides each morning to the subway. The subway runs under Victoria Harbor, delivering him within a 10-minute walk of his office building. He says it beats sitting on I-75 waiting to cross the Brent Spence Bridge.
I quickly joined the American Women’s Association to meet friends and to find some activities.  The AWA is an official charity and provides volunteer opportunities as well as social events for its members. The only requirement to join is to speak English. So I have made friends from all over the world. And I’ve learned that many people live this expat lifestyle and have done so their entire lives.
On weekends, Marty and I explore this town together. Like any world-class city, it can be loud, crowded and polluted. At home in the U.S., I complained about car traffic. Here it is “people” traffic. There are seven million people jammed into an area the size of the I-275 belt loop. Small wonder that the only way to build is up. When my friends in Kentucky complain about how crowded the mall is at Christmas time, I simply smile. No one in the U.S. knows what crowded is.
I was born a southpaw and often fantasized about how it would be to live in a left-handed world. Well, here I am. Cars travel on the left side of the road, and escalators go up and down the opposite of what you’d expect. To cross the street, I had to learn to look right first, then left. Even hot and cold faucets are reversed. There is a small step into every storefront from the sidewalk. I have tripped on these repeatedly. But when the monsoons of summer come, it keeps the water outside the building.
Hong Kong has some of the best restaurants in the world. Within 20 minutes of our apartment is SOHO, an area of wonderful restaurants. We can find any kind of cuisine here: Chinese, Indian, French, Italian, Vietnamese, Mediterranean and even Mexican. Then there are the ever-present McDonald’s, KFCs and Starbucks. Hong Kong has THE best airport in the world, and we have traveled to Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia and China. We have seen exotic sights including the Great Wall of China, the Sydney Opera House and the temples of Angkor Wat.
In moving to Hong Kong, I have learned to live “outside the box.” I now truly hear world news (there are more than 80 seconds), and we watch the CBS Evening News every morning. I have been enriched as a person and as a citizen of the world. Our children have had the opportunity to visit, travel and to grow as well.
But what about those rickshaws and straw hats? I did find one elderly man wearing a pointy straw hat and holding a rickshaw up at the Peak. He poses for photos with tourists.
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