Jeremy Carver of Hong Kong

Written by Jeri Jeppson

Jeremy Carver (9) was born in northern Virginia. He played soccer and baseball there and explored the nearby fields and beaver pond. And he went with his family on trips to the zoo, to Civil War sites, and to places in Washington, D.C.

Then Jeremy and his family left their house in the Virginia countryside and moved to an apartment on the nineteenth floor of a skyscraper in Hong Kong, a British dependency leased from the People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong is a huge international trade center, and from the patio of his home, Jeremy can overlook the beautiful harbor there.

Jeremy soon had favorite plant, fruit, pet, and juice vendors in his new neighborhood. They and other people he meets are fascinated by his hair because it is so much lighter than theirs. About 98 percent of the people in Hong Kong are Chinese, and Jeremy got to be in an ice-cream commercial when a foreign child was needed in it.

Some of his walks take Jeremy past the park where each morning men do an exercise called tai chi. Men in Hong Kong also “walk” their pet birds daily in the park. Usually they carry the birds in their cages; sometimes the birds perch on their owners’ hands or shoulders. Jeremy learned that in Hong Kong there are many more birds kept as pets than there are dogs and cats.

Each morning Jeremy’s father walks to his job at the American consulate. His work includes making arrangements for important people visiting Hong Kong, and Jeremy has had the opportunity to meet Vice President Bush. Despite his busy schedule, Jeremy’s father takes the time every night to read aloud to his children.

While Jeremy’s mother stays home to take care of everything there, including his sister Wendy (3), Jeremy and his other sisters, Jodi (11) and Dana (7), put on their school uniforms and ride a bus to the Hong Kong International School on the other side of Hong Kong Island. Jeremy’s brother, Nathan (13), also rides the bus but doesn’t have to wear a uniform, because he’s in junior high school. On Mondays Jeremy wears his Cub Scout uniform instead of his school one and stays after school for den meeting.

Just as his school has people from many different countries, so does Jeremy’s ward. Some of the other members also come from the United States, but others come from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, India, Czechoslovakia, and Korea. The only English-speaking ward in the stake (the others are all held in Chinese), Victoria Ward meets in a beautiful old building.

Jeremy’s family still likes to go on outings together. They usually climb the steep streets of Hong Kong in the family van. However, they also take taxis, subway trains, ferries, and double-decker buses, all of which are easy and inexpensive to use.

One trip was a ferry ride to a nearby island where a Buddhist monastery is built on the top of a mountain. Other trips have included a drive to the farms and small villages near the Chinese border. But whether it’s a family-home-evening walk in the neighborhood or a longer excursion, Jeremy loves to meet the people of Hong Kong and have them as his friends.

Photographed by Jeri Jeppson

Jeremy at a Buddhist monastery

A Buddhist monastery

A neighborhood vendor

Jeremy, Jodi, and Dana in their school uniforms

Double-decker buses in downtown Hong Kong

A shopping area

The juice vendor

Jeremy Carver

The view from the balcony