Janet - Living the ex-pat lifestyle in Hong Kong

Colin (Janet’s husband) unexpectedly announced he had applied for two jobs at universities, one in Hong Kong, the other in Jamaica. He got the Hong Kong job, giving them six weeks to pack up and break the news to her parents. In hindsight, they underestimated the impact on their parents of them moving so far away as international travel to Hong Kong was difficult for older people at the time.

They were met at Hong Kong airport by a senior lecturer. They had no idea there was a drastic shortage water and water rationing. Running water was pumped into your home for four hours every fourth day. On arrival at the flat, their colleague rushed them to the bathroom, put the plug in the bath and turned the taps on. He then showed them how to use a small bowl and ladle to have a shower without running water. By this point, Janet was very keen to return home to London!

After a few weeks in Hong Kong, with time on her hands, Janet decided to get a job. It needed to be somewhere English would be an advantage so she applied for a proof readers position at the South China Morning Post, the leading English daily newspaper in the Colony. The sub-editor who interviewed her said she was overqualified and hired her as a reporter.

Her funniest memory of being a reporter was covering the Scouts Jamboree. She had worked for the paper for 18 months by then, doing social diary, events, etc. Running late, she took a taxi to the venue. The Governor’s daughter was the same age, height, etc as Janet. The Chinese officials mistook her for the Governor’s daughter. Firecrackers started going off, someone grabbed her and led her down a path outlined by scouts whilst she was declaring ‘I am not X (the Governor’s daughter)’.

They made good friends in Hong Kong, with lots of socialising within the ex-pat community. Alcohol was part of the ex-pat lifestyle, everyone they knew drank, socialising in the homes of other university staff, with parties revolving around alcohol.

She loved sailing in Hong Kong, especially after they bought a sailing boat with another family. Each weekend they would sail with the kids. The boat was moored in the New Territories, looked after by a boat boy during the week. They would sail to a particular island and stay the night in a dormitory building there. Tents were not an option because of the snakes. On one occasion, when her son was a toddler, the wind dropped away during an evening sail. They became concerned about what was going to happen as they had no engine. To their surprise and relief, the boat boy found them and towed them back in.

Both children were born in Hong Kong, so they found themselves starting to want a garden, pets, etc. They did not want to leave but the environment was not particularly good for raising children. They moved to Christchurch in 1971 when Colin got a job at the university. Arriving in New Zealand was a real cultural shock. In Hong Kong they could go out to dinner, the movies or the night market. Christchurch had one Chinese takeaway and a Swiss restaurant. There was little in the way of night life and the shops were only open on weekdays, except for Brighton with Saturday morning shopping. They had good friends in Hong Kong and now they had to start again in Christchurch.