To wrap yarn around a bird's wing

So yesterday I spent the entire day (mostly) at St. John's Cathedral and Hong Kong Park. First off was lunch at St. John's, which I discovered is the meeting place for many, many migrant workers from the Phillipines and Indonesia (also a big place is the open area of the HSBC building not far from St. John's). Since yesterday was a Hong Kong holiday, the grounds were packed with workers on their day off, talking to friends in their mother tongues and just enjoying each others company. I sat down beside this tree and friendly women would occassionally pass by me, smiling and saying something in a language I couldn't understand (Tagalog maybe?). I think they assumed I was also a migrant worker, enjoying the day off. It really made me realize how important, how necessary, these moments in the park were for these young women. How it was a time to find some sort of home-connection and be surrounded by friendly faces. I started thinking a lot about my own sense of being an expat here in Hong Kong, particuarly since I always am mistaken for a Hong Konger (many people asked me for directions that day and I could only say "I'm sorry. I don't know." in Chinese). I do admit, it's reassuring to live in Soho, since there is an expat population here. The fact that I can eat pizza or a hot dog or at Subway reminds me of home.... but also, the fact that I can eat at a Chinese restaurant and have yum cha also reminds me of home. Strange.

After walking around St. John's, I walked to Hong Kong Park, which is the most unusual park I've been in before. First off, it's very artificial and built to be artifical. There's a fake waterfall, fake pond with goldfish, a fountain trailing down stairways, a huge aviary (where you walk on a bridge suspended many feet up), an indoor sports facility, a teaware museum, a visual arts center and more. The park was planned for people in mind - not nature. But yet it was a really nice break from the city itself. The teaware museum was my favorite, as it houses some really unique, creative, and often provocative tea sets from contemporary potters (the intersection of art and function). Plus, they have little reading nooks that I might have to use in the future. The aviary was a strange experience, since, once inside, you do have this sense of being in a natural area, but then again there is a netted roof and the skyscrapers surrounding it. I found one bird just walking around the edge of the aviary, looking pretty confused. I would be too. It depressed me a little... but then I looked over at this really old man who was just sitting there, smiling so purely, and I realized that this place can bring joy and peace for the many Hong Kongers who are often stuck in the noise and bustle of the city.