I poked my head out of the water and spit out some salt water. My eyes were hazy and the wash of the wave was still pushing me into the the shore and I realized, this is because we are living in Hong Kong.

Lisa has been saying how much she appreciates being able to travel in southeast Asia due to our current home location but I guess it took me four days of blue Philippine skies and no Internet to recognize it. But the truth is, this is only one of many things that we can be grateful for now that we’ve moved here.

For Thanksgiving, we invited a few friends from work who have/had been great hosts for us in the first nine months in Hong Kong; two from Hong Kong, two from Australia, one from Sri Lanka, one from Hawaii and Rebecca (also from State College). It was important to us to share our Thanksgiving with them after they have shared their experience and often their advice of living in Hong Kong with us.

I’m grateful for a number of things. I’ve been exposed another side of the world both geographically, but also the producer side of the world that many of us know very little of. I have, in nine months, gained comfort in a very unique and humble culture and have had a some of its wisdom and rub off on my. I’ve also been exposed to scores of very unique and interesting global citizens and enjoyed learning from their perspectives. And even despite the challenges; moving to a new country, adjusting to commoditized space, and, especially for Lisa, exploring the China paradigm, have gained from every sight, sound, and moment of the experience.

So what better way to celebrate than with a delicious smoked turkey from 85 South, a delicious assortment of shared dishes (including authentic Ocean Spray canned cranberry sauce) and a hilarious game of Celebrity a.k.a Salad Bowl.  It was a great time. As long as we couldn’t be home with family, a good time with good friends was a pretty good second.

Don’t worry. There’s a lot more to come about our Philippines adventure coming soon.