A few days ago, an elderly woman well past the age of retirement served me in a popular, modern tea shop, enthusiastically telling me to take my time in looking over the menu and deciding what I wanted to order. She would constantly thank me for the patronage, even before I ordered anything, and was probably more than twice the age of anyone else working there.

The culture here is very accepting of senior citizens. They have active jobs, and often walk around with their children and grandchildren instead of hiding in rest homes. This is partly due to the fact that living space is extremely expensive, so families end up living together for their entire lives. My eldest paternal uncle, his wife and daughter all currently live with my grandmother (in a roughly 1000 square foot apartment), and have been doing so for almost their entire lives. Generally it’s the parents that work, while the retired grandparents become the babysitters, the grocery shoppers, etc. Everyone is willing to be patient when waiting for a slow old lady to cross the street at an excruciating pace, or help any elderly with canes get on and off the buses. I caught some grandparents taking their grandchildren to school, and it reminded me of my maternal grandparents flying to Canada to take care of me when my parents were working on their careers and I had no school in the summer.

All the beggars here are elderly, unlike the younger ones back home. They can’t afford operations for their cataracts and have already lost their minds. These are people with barely enough strength to stay awake or shake their bowls, people who don’t ask for money to buy cigarettes or booze. It’s hard to look at because they remind me too much of my grandparents. I start to imagine them abandoned on the street, and wonder who could do such a thing.

When I was young, my maternal grandparents came to Canada from Hong Kong to look after me. It was summer and my parents were working while I was left at home. I had no friends, so much of my time was spent being entertained by my grandfather.

He was born and raised in China, and studied at one of the universities there after high school. Being able to attend university was quite an accomplishment back then, and he had only one year left before civil war broke out. He joined the ill-fated Nationalist side, where he would have had a chance to be a comissioned officer had there not been a need for English speaking Chinese people. He spoke English fluently, so he was used as a translator for the British troops. He recovered from a shot to the arm, and fled to Hong Kong to avoid prosecution when the war was over. There he met my grandmother, and assumed a career as a meteorologist.

I knew him as a large, but delicate man, who always took the time to explain things to me (something quite rare for a kid who’s only six or seven). I spent the warm summer days following him around, playing with him, learning from him. Eventually, he became my favourite person in the world, the first person I’ve ever looked up to.

On the day that my grandfather passed away, I was crushed. It was my first family death ever, and when my mother gave me the news, all I could think about was how I would never have him as my teacher again.

Eventually, I went to Hong Kong to take some time off from the North American world, and learn more about my family history. I stayed at my uncle’s house, the same house that my grandfather bought over 40 years ago. It was December, and Hong Kong winters are pleasantly brisk, so I stepped outside onto the balcony after waking up and getting dressed. There was an elderly man in white socks and black shoes holding a little girl wearing Mary Janes’ just below. The man, who bore a striking resemblance to my grandfather, was keeping his granddaughter company while she waited for the school bus to come. I liked how frail, yet tenacious, they looked, as if this weak old man would protect this little girl to the death. Seeing them sitting there, a patient man with a doll of a girl in his arms, reminded me of my grandfather, a strong and gentle man all at once.

And it made me happy to know that he was not the only one.

I took a bus up to the base of Tai Tam mountain, and hiked to the summit. The path isn’t too treacherous, but can be quite narrow and has no railing on the sides to prevent falls. The ground is mostly covered in uneven footing, making the trek hard on the ankles if one doesn’t have proper footware. People young and old alike make the trip, because it’s one of the cheapest and healthiest pasttimes available. The mountainside has very fresh air, something that the concentrated Hong Kong metropolis has lost from the height of the buildings and the diesel tanks of the automobiles. The peak offers a great view of the more sophisticated side of Hong Kong, such as executive golf courses, beaches, and luxury living. Being able to see so many things from one point gives one a a tremendous feeling of magnificence.

Oddly enough, Pabst Blue Ribbon is one of the cheaper beers here and Budweiser is one of the more expensive. Drinking is simply not part of the culture here, so no one checks for ID since there’s no age limit. There’s a lot of smoking though, mostly for image. People walk around with cigarettes hanging out their mouths, and just have one every now and then, instead of needing cigarette breaks every hour.

Hong Kong used to be an open port to China for trade. Ever since the China takeover in ‘97, China has opened up for trade again, leaving Hong Kong as a middleman. Businesses have generally all stopped trading through Hong Kong, since it costs more to go through such a middleman. As a result, the Hong Kong economy has collapsed, and is now heavily dependent on tourism and information trading. That explains why I see so many commercials on visiting Hong Kong back home.

The shopping is great, due to the large tourism industry. Everything is tax free, and is generally cheaper than the equivalent from back home. I was able to find a red turtleneck for $30 that would have cost me $60 (not including tax) in Canada. The stitching is roughly the same quality, and there was an immediate two-hour 50% off sale on anything red, so I got it for $15 instead. I also bought a Seiko Criteria Kinetic Auto Relay watch, which powers itself on the movement of the wearer. The auto relay function automatically sets the date/time, which is useful for when the watch is taken off and runs out of power, so that the date/time don’t need to be set again. It’s only been five days and I’ve already spent more than I thought I would the entire trip. Going into debt has never been this much fun.

Professor The Honourable Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, Hong Kong Secretary for Education and Manpower, was caught playing games on his PDA yesterday during a meeting of parliament. Now I don’t feel so bad about playing my GBA in class.