Merry Christmas from Hong Kong!
Hello and Merry Christmas. It is Christmas evening in Hong Kong, I am
bordering on a food coma and have had a full, wonderful day here. Video chat
with the family, Home Alone on our wall thanks to the projector we
'borrowed' from the office, snickerdoodles, butternut squash soup, carols,
and a nice mellow evening to top it all off. I've attached a photo of my
flatmate, Kara and I in front of our tree (topped with an elephant).
I hope this email finds you more than fine. I wrote it a week or so ago,
planed on taking it out of its rough bullet points... but I like bullet
points, so they stay. Its in nice categories for you, as usual. Oh, and if I
have your address, I finally got to stamping your Christmas/New Year's
(hopefully NOT Valentine's Day) cards tonight. Check the mail expectantly,
I'll feel the vibes and get them out quicker.
*Work*
·Freight and funding fun·
I know you have a general idea of the work I am doing out here, but
perhaps not a grasp on it… let me begin by digging into just one aspect of
my work, a snap shot of what takes up the most lines in my daily timesheet.
My desk is in an office tucked in the corner of our building between
Global Handicrafts (fair trade) and Global Village (experiential learning),
adjacent to our director’s office in shared space with his assistant and the
parade of people always coming through our office. I love it, our office
sees everything from government officials to asylum seekers or the World
Economic Forum to a clinic in Nepal.
Crossroads has four major branches of work, and working in the
director’s office I get a bird’s eye view and my fingers in a little of
everything. My focus, however, is on what started this organization in the
first place… redistribution of wealth.
Hong Kong is the business center of the world, China is it’s
manufacturer. These combined creates a strange culture here that is a cross
between Pick’n’Save, a La Jolla mall, New York City and Tomorrow Land. Got
that visual? Do you see all sorts of excess material goods?
What we do is take those quality material goods (from cutting edge
medical equipment to educational supplies to blankets to electrical) and
fulfill requests from grassroots development organizations around the world.
A clinic in rural Uganda is now able to safely test for HIV/AIDS
Burmese refugees in the hills of Thailand can equip the only school
for their children with desks
An English center in Kazakhstan can offer job training skills
Filipino flood victims still living in evacuation centers two months
after their homes were destroyed receive brand new clothing
I work interdepartmentally within Crossroads, making sure shipping,
funding, donations, processing and communications are all on the same page.
Plenty of my time is also spent communicating with the donors of freight,
shipping, and funding explaining what a huge difference their generosity is
making in the lives of thousands of people. I get to speak with those
people, learning first hand what their needs are, what is affecting their
work and how we can empower them to do more.
So many reasons I am a big believer in what we do here… We are
recycling thousands of tons of quality used goods that would have otherwise
been thrown in landfills. We are empowering local people to join development
movements which are most sustainable with the people themselves are doing
the work, when they recognize the problems in their community and know best
how to address them. Our whole staff is comprised of volunteers, so our
overhead is absolutely minimal. And we’re not talking about just any old
volunteers, there are engineers, former refugees, nurses, young
professionals, retired couples, Oxford grads and activists on our staff
running an organization that gets the job done well (even if there are SO
many meetings).
·People power·
Speaking of people, we are losing a large handful of full-time staff
members in the next month. Their commitments are over, but they are leaving
holes in our staff that are going to be tough to cope with. I have heard a
lot of you tell me recently that you need a change, a career break, a new
city, work that matters to you, a different direction… seriously, you know
who you are. I just want to encourage you to ask me more about our staffing
needs. Hong Kong really isn’t that far away and you’d be surprised how your
finances fall into place when you’re on the right path. We need people who
want to change the world, care about humanity, the environment, have
experience in communications, IT, admin, cooking, dancing, theater,
teaching, grant writing, you name it… whatever your skill-set, you can use
it to make the world a better place. If you want to do it here, let me know!
We can be neighbors!
*Life*
·Friends of friends·
I have had the joy of reconnecting with friends who have moved to
Hong Kong. They live deeper in Hong Kong and work for companies, banks or
schools. It has been a blast hanging out with them, climbing, traveling,
adventuring. I just returned from a wedding in Thailand (thanks fam for the
birthday ticket and Leigh and Scott for being awesome and in love).
·Projects·
Tuning up my random life skills has been keeping me busy. I’ve been
knitting while catching up on podcasts, got my favorite seeds from home
(thanks Dre) and am gardening, and have committed to re-upulstering my couch
(ha, have never done a project quite like that before). I am keeping busy
and enjoying it all. I’m telling you, life is good in Hong Kong.
*Holidays*
·Thanksgiving·
Even though there are only three Americans on staff here, we had a
huge feast for the 70 of us. I felt a sense of pride as we explained the
food and reason behind the holiday. Afterwards, I enjoyed a mass-skype call
with both sides of my family while they were all feasting and I was just
barely awake. The Friday after, several of my American friends went over to
Christy’s house for a ‘leftovers’ dinner of turkey/cran sandwiches and
mashed potatoes… I haven’t had to eat since.
·Birthday·
As most of you know, I am now 27 years old… no need to be sad though
when you are doing what you were made to do and when people here know how to
throw a party. A traditional birthday at Crossroads is celebrated in a theme
centered around the birthday person, it is always a surprise that awaits you
at your desk… mine was fruits and vegetables! It cracked me up, I didn’t
realize I was such a vocal advocate of our organic farmers’ market, or the
urban farming projects here, but I guess it stuck. I sure enjoyed it though,
carrot cake, veggie name tags for everyone, dried fruit snacks, and a song
written just for me about greens. There was so much thought put into the
day, from breakfast to dinner to even the next day. Topped off with a care
package sent from home, I felt very loved. It was a wonderful birthday this
year.
·Christmas·
Though it is strange to be so far from family over the holidays, all
us ex-pats that stay here really do it up and recreate the family
atmosphere. It is fun being surrounded by so many cultures and so many ways
people celebrate this time of year. Despite our vastly different
backgrounds, we are able to come together and enjoy living out what really
matters to us; life and love.
Of course I wish you could be here to see the work being done through
Crossroads Foundation, or see the faces of those benefiting from it. I
understand that most of you cannot, but feel free to browse our website
www.crossroads.org.hk or my photo stream that is finally up-to-date and has
photos of all the above mentioned events and happenings
www.flickr.com/photos/courtneyanne.
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