The other day, I grabbed a notepad and flipped it open to make a grocery list. For no apparent reason, written in cramped letters in the top corner was “gazellesrock.” All one word, no other references in the notebook, no other information. It gave me pause. Gazelles do kind of rock. They are super swift and can jump really high. They have that weird bouncy gait that makes them look cheery even when being chased down by a hungry cheetah. This got me thinking about all the other little things that rock that I haven’t written about or shared since our arrival here. So here is a list:

Tiny local shops. When our shipment arrived, the boys new beds were minus one bag of hardware. Unable to reach the US company because of the time difference, I took one extra bolt down to a nearby street known for its rows of shops stuffed with plumbing, electrical, stone, or other hardware supplies. At the third storefront, an older Chinese gentleman behind the counter looked at the bolt, fit it with a nut to check the size and threads, then turned around and pulled out a tiny drawer full of the same bolt. Two minutes later, folded in a twist of newspaper, we left with exactly the hardware we needed to assemble the last bed.

Elevator buttons.  When I was about three, my family vacationed in Hawaii. One morning, I left our hotel room, found the elevator, and positioned myself in front of the bank of buttons. I then politely offered to push buttons for each boarding traveller. I still am delighted to push elevator buttons – but I defer to the boys most days. I prefer the older elevators because they have the buttons you actually press, not just sensor buttons.

Banyan Trees. These little babies cling to sheer walls all over the city. Not only do the ropy roots look like something out of a movie set, they also stabilize many of the slopes and retaining walls that hold up the Midlevels, where we live. Banyan Trees’ tenacity reminds you to always bet on nature, even as you are standing in the middle of a concrete jungle.

Sliced Fruit. Watermelon, pineapple, rock melon, kiwi – you name it, there is always fresh fruit sliced and packaged that morning, read to purchase at grocery stores. Often it’s super cheap, too.

Heavy coins & colorful money. There are reasons not to like heavy change, but the way extra thick coins sound in your hand or grouped at the bottom of your purse is delightful – sort of a cross between a click and a clink. The bills here are a riot of color. Different colors denote different denominations. The lack of uniformity (and perhaps my lack of familiarity) makes me look at each bill more carefully than I would a greenback.

Sea Glass.  A few weekends ago, we loaded into a taxi and traveled to the Stanley, a popular seaside area/town on the south side of the island. Although the trip was more to look around Stanley, we decided to take in a beach.  There we found treasure: the beach was littered with green sea glass.  No pecking or hunting for tiny pebbles of brown as we did in Scituate.  Here, every step held gorgeous chunks of glowing green, turquoise, even blue.  My theory is that the relative lack of recycling here means more glass to wash up.  But I prefer to just think of it as lucky treasure!

Bamboo Scaffolding. There is always something under construction in Hong Kong. the scaffolding erected around the buildings is not built of the stout metal Americans are used to, but rather lengths of bamboo lashed together. This scaffolding encases entire skycrapers as they are upgraded or given facelifts. Apparently, scaffolding built this way is light, sways with the wind, and is well suited to the weather. Also, there is no OSHA here.