News today from the Occupy front was disturbing to say the least.

When walking through the protest site yesterday, I was struck by the thousands of posters, slogans, stickers, chalk drawings, and sculptures of those supporting the protests. Seeing The Lennon Wall, as it has come to be known, was surprisingly moving. There is energy you can feel from all those little post-its!

We’ve been living with Occupy about a mile away for about 2 weeks. The boys’ October break coincided with the start of the Occupy movement in HK, so we were out of the country for the first week of the protests. It was during those first days that police fired tear gas into a largely peaceful crowd, inciting protestors and citizens alike. Since then, the protests have continued: Hong Kong students demanding Beijing honor promises made during the handover in 1997, Beijing refusing to acknowledge Hong Kong students have anything to say. The rest of the city is pretty much going about its business.

Occupy Central is an encampment set up on the main highway through Hong Kong. It is bigger and way more impressive than you probably have seen on television feeds. If you live in Boston, imagine protesters barricading 93, forcing everyone to drive 3a, or loop around to come from the west or the north. It’s sort of like that. Not small. Traffic can get into and through the city, but it’s painful.

What’s incredible to me is that so many of the occupy barricades lasted this long. The barricades were first constructed of metal barriers zip-tied together. Many were left unguarded – it was odd to me; in the US, these unmanned roadblocks would have been summarily removed by police, or even by disgruntled commuters. In HK they remained undisturbed for more than 2 weeks (and they are still not all gone).

Many friends have sent emails or FB messages wondering if we are fine; some wonder whether we will return from HK. We plan to stay. The reality of life with the protests is this: Travel time has been doubled for many of our journeys. The boy’s school bus route was altered and each ride takes 20-30 minutes longer.

Exact ETA Unknown or, definitely really late.

Public transportation is the best way to get anywhere (not a bad thing). The resulting traffic mess has been annoying. But that’s it. The protest areas do not feel dangerous. It’s easy to get around on foot. This morning, just before some of the barricades were cleared to restore some traffic flow, things at the protest site were peaceful and calm. Considering the protestors passion, their peaceful approach, and their love and respect for their city, can any expat here really complain?