2022/04/16

Hello everyone! How are you all doing amid the COVID-19 pandemic? I'm sure many of you are feeling frustrated, unable to see how long this lifestyle, with its various restrictions on activities, will continue. I too have finally reached my limit, with the constant noise of children from morning to night every day, and a house so cluttered with papers and stationery that it's almost impossible to walk in. The other day, I finally went outside by myself, and as I took a deep breath with my arms outstretched and looking up at the sky, I found that the air in Hong Kong, despite its high air pollution, tasted better than usual.

First, I headed to Wan Chai and enjoyed a bowl of ramen for one person. After that, while I was walking around, I discovered a silver accessory store. I've been staying at home a lot, but I thought I might as well dress up for once, and when I entered the store, a simple pair of silver hoop earrings caught my eye. Oh, aren't they nice? I picked up the item to see how much it cost, but...it turns out I was more interested in the name of the item than the price!

"Earrings"
Earrings!! I guess it's because it's the "ring" of the "ear", but "earrings" somehow makes it seem like an excavated item from the Kofun period! Like it was buried with a haniwa clay figure. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks it's hard to imagine it as a fashionable modern accessory. My purchase this time was a silver ring that cost just over 3000 yen, so it's fine, but diamond earrings from a high-end brand are also listed as "earrings"! And if they were decorated with my birthstone, ruby, they would become ruby ​​earrings.... While I was thinking about this and paying for the earrings, my throat started to dry out because I had just finished drinking the soup from the ramen.

Just as I was thinking about buying a can of coffee, I noticed a "convenience store" on the other side of the frosted glass of the store. You may be wondering, "What is a convenience store?" Here in Hong Kong, a convenient store, or "konbini" for short, is called a "convenience store"! When you hear the word "convenience store," you may imagine a modern store with bright white fluorescent lights, but when you hear the word "convenience store," you may imagine a store like "Umeya," where a neighborhood grandma sells homemade prepared foods and slightly dusty everyday items!
Now, feeling good after buying and drinking a canned coffee at Seven-Eleven, a convenient store found all over Hong Kong, I decided to head to a toy store. Now that the playground equipment in the park has been wrapped up in tape and is no longer available due to COVID-19, the only way to release the excess energy of the children is to kick a ball in an open space, so I thought I would buy a soccer ball. Also, I really wish they would stop playing with cushions and pillows inside the house, so I'll buy some beanbags instead.
I looked into the store and there it was. First, soccer balls. Hong Kong was a British colony, so let's not call them soccer, but footballs in the British style. Foot ball. It was labeled "football"... That's it! Then, I also found a beanbag, but what do you think I'd call it? Cue ball? No, no, that would make it a handball. Think carefully about what a beanbag really is. The correct answer is here.

"Bean bag"
In English, beanbags are called bean bags, so this is just the same! Fukuro means bag. In supermarkets, both in Japan and Hong Kong, the cashiers often ask me, "Do you need a bag?" To me, "bukuro" means a supermarket shopping bag or something with a common smell, but here in Hong Kong, all bags are called "bukuro". The other day, I was flipping through the Hong Kong edition of the fashionable Vogue magazine, and I was shocked to see that a Dior shoulder bag that costs hundreds of thousands of yen was labeled as a "diagonal shoulder bag". When I hear "diagonal shoulder bag"... I feel like I have no choice but to go for a retro outfit with "monpe" bottoms and "straw sandals" on my feet.

Well, it had been a while since I last got some fresh air and walked around, and I was feeling hungry even though I had just eaten ramen. Then, out of nowhere, I smelled a delicious aroma. And then, this is what appeared before my eyes!

"Netsu-Inu" (Inu = dog)
Hot dog...? This is Hong Kong, after all. Everyone eats snake and duck blood. Do they really openly grill and eat dogs in the streets? There was a comical scene in the Chinese movie "Shaolin" (1982) in which the main character, played by Jet Li, tries to put his dog in his grave, but then thinks it's a waste and grills it and eats it instead... I thought to myself, and when I looked closely at the sign, I saw something written in English. "Hot" and "Dog" are "Hot" and "Dog". ...Ah! A hot dog! A long bun with a sausage inside! Not hot grilled dog meat! By the way, there is a culture of eating dog all over Asia, but here in Hong Kong, the distribution of dog meat is prohibited due to the influence of the British who said, "It's outrageous to eat dog!", so please enjoy "Hot Dog" with peace of mind.

What did you think? This time, I've collected some "just like that!" expressions I found around town. It's getting pretty hot, so I hope you'll put on your earrings, grab a shoulder bag, and go out and discover the fun and excitement of Hong Kong! I hope the good weather continues and COVID-19 related regulations are eased! If you come across any expressions that really piqued your interest, made you laugh out loud, or anything like that, please let me know!

See you next time!

Anne Kobayashi

Born in Tokyo, graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University with a degree in French Literature. Worked in New Zealand, Japan, France and the UK. After giving birth and raising her child in London, she came to Hong Kong in 2020. Just like the places she has lived in until now, Hong Kong is becoming a place she loves. Her hobbies are reading, watching performing arts and kung fu movies.