Something has been tugging at me lately. I think…it’s a realization that I’m graduating and moving on, again.

yum yum…

Why, oh why, am I finding good places to eat, now? One month before I leave? They’re all pretty cheap to boot too.

Even the pineapple bun I had today was better than most I’ve eaten here.

Foward Looking

I feel like I’ve talked about my floormates a lot. And I have I guess, but to be fair, if it weren’t for them, I think I’d say I really am ready to be back in the US. To me it’s just like why I want to go back to Japan and Korea. The best thing about visiting those places is the fact that I have friends there. And now,  I have friends here. Not friends who are from overseas and in the same boat as me. Friends who were born here, and might not even have a lot of experience outside of this island community.

With that said, I think I’ll be ready to come home. There’s a time for everything. I think, beyond moving away from my friends (again…), what scares me the most is graduation. Once I go home, I know that graduation is coming. What do I do then? All that talk I used to have with my friends about my options in life, actually needs some action now.

I will never cease to want to be a kid. A kid who simply enjoys life and doesn’t worry about things like surviving; a kid who’s outlook on the world isn’t tainted by the failure and inadequacies of mankind, and himself.

Melodrama

We had ‘Thanksgiving’. If you can call it that. Of course, Thanksgiving is about being with family, with friends. I was with friends, no doubt. They’re good people, and I enjoyed eating with them. But it was no different than any other night we go out to eat.

I know the same will be for ‘Christmas’. There will be lights, trees, music, and undoubtably food to eat with friends again. Christmas is about celebration, giving gifts to show real appreciation, and getting people together and enjoy life with each other.

Hong Kong could have most, or even all of things, but it doesn’t. There’s something to be said about tradition, something that can only be forged over years–a looking foward to a time of year where you will all come together and celebrate the fact that you can even get together, again. And there’s an added bonus; everyone else will be doing the same thing. And perhaps that’s where my Hong Kong experience falls flat on its face.

All that aside, I have to say I’m really attempting to push my memories and longing for ‘tradition’ aside. Those are harder to ignore, than say my longing for things like food you can get in America (read: In-N-Out). Those things are easy. Why miss them when I know that I can get them in a mere four weeks? I refuse to miss out on the many many great things here, just because I want something I’m going to get soon.

But Thanksgiving, Christmas? Deep things like that return to my mind here and there. I know giving it up for one year, and maybe another couple in the future, won’t kill me. But it doesn’t change the fact: I wish I could be home for these times of the year.

My return flight date is rapidly approaching. It started off slow, but as they say, in the blink of an eye, it’s December already. I won’t miss my fellow US exchange friends relatively too much. I know we can see each other in the US. But my Japanese, Korean friends, and especially my Hong Kong local friends, I’m going to miss them a ton. My floor has been so good to me. They’re good guys; they all want to know whem I’m going to come back to Hong Kong. I don’t know what to tell them. I’m sure I’ll be back, hopefully soon, probably just to visit. But I guess that’s what happens when you have friends who are far away. You’re there for each other when you can, and just look foward to the next time you see each other. Kind of like traditions, really.

Food

I remembered why I love Chinese food today.

I love eating with lots of people, ordering different dishes, and eating a little bit of everything. Good food that simply tastes good, different types, different cooking styles, and cheap to boot. Salt and pepper style foods will never get old for me.

There’s just something about eating with lots of people, sitting at a round table talking with each other, sharing food, laughing at each other, telling stories, and just enjoying ourselves. None of this order for yourself. Although it has its place.

I will sorely miss my local friends when I leave…

假鬼老: Fake Foreign Devil

Or “Fake Foreigner”, less literally translated, which has become my nickname to my floormates as of late.

They tell me it’s because they know I’m from America, so when they look at me they want to talk to me in English, and have to constantly remind themselves that I actually do know Cantonese. So I’m a foreigner to them, but not really.

Which has made me think. It’s not my goal to “be” a Hong Kong boy. I don’t need them to think of me as a local. I don’t need them to forget that I was born in America and am not fluent nor completely literate. It was a good feeling to know that these Hong Kong locals have accepted me as a floormate and more importantly, as a friend. They don’t care that I don’t know perfect Cantonese. I sense an appreciation from them for the fact that I care to learn, that I try to learn. I think they appreciate that I try to hang out with them, try to get to know them, and try to care about them as well. After all, they’re my friends too. And that’s what friends do, even if we come from different places.

Hong Kong isn’t a place I think I would choose to live in for a long period of time. I could get used to it here, I could “fit”, but I know that ultimately it’s not for me. That said, it excites me to know that I can still be here and make local friends that I would hope I can keep in contact with when I leave. For real. None of that “KIT stuff in yearbooks during high school.”

Antipode

I’ve been noticing a strange split in myself. Well, it’s kind of cool too. Let me use my trips to Japan and Korea to explain.

Japan, is a more exciting and fun place. At least Tokyo is. It’s faster paced, more flashy lights, and more full of energy. Here, I spent my time with a bunch of my good friends here doing crazy fun activities.
Korea, felt intrinsically full of warmth and “home”. I mean it’s environment lends itself to beauty, not energy. Cities surrounded by mountains and trees. And here, I spent my time with a good friend and his family, and a few of his friends.

Or maybe it’s not a split, and one of those silly ‘two sides of the same coin’ kinda thing, where everyone needs some amount of both.

I wonder where Hong Kong fits on my chart.

I’m not sure what to write about. I could write about Korea. Or Japan still. Or more Hong Kong.  But I think I will just write a few things I’m grateful for lately.

-Friends, overseas.
-being a native English speaker.
-having some grasp of two other languages. Even if one is dying.
-having the desire to learn other languages.
-having parents who are willing to fund my ridiculous travels.
-having an American passport that lets me to travel to  many places without a visa.
-feeling like I’ve been bonding with my floormates, despite the fact I’m an international student.
-being able to positively impact people’s lives
-for supposedly having a smile imprinted on my face. I imagine it must do wonders when I can’t communicate through words.
-having great friends here, in Hong Kong.
-for having a local roommate.
-for being invited to eat dinner with people who know I can barely communicate with.
-for people’s generosity and hospitality
-for the opportunity of being here on Hong Kong
-for the opportunity to appreciate not only other cultures’ uniqueness, but America’s too, believe it or not.
-for the ability to laugh, live, and have fun while I’m at it.

Home

One of my friends was talking about his potential prospects of actually taking up residence here in Hong Kong. He wants to find a job here, loves it here, and quite honestly fits well, in a strange sort of way.

Which made we wonder, could I live here? I’ve tackled this question before, to which I answer, definitely not. At least not in the long run. I could do a year here, maybe two. But as much as I love it, it’s not for me.

There are certain things I’m going to miss. Simple pleasures like riding the MTR trains, riding buses, just seeing lots of people and feeling their energy as I walk by. I’m going to miss the super accessibility of food, especially bakeries. I’m going to miss just walking down a street and picking up egg tarts. I’m going to miss the lights, the hum hum sound of someone going somewhere. I’m going to miss the feeling of fellow life.

What makes up a home anyway? Forget the old adage, ‘home is where the heart is’. My heart’s in a billion places, so unless my home can be too forget that. Is home found in family? Can’t be, I’m going to leave my family one day, for good. None of this college come back every big break deal. Friends? Maybe, I’ll always miss my Bay Area friends, but what of the new ones I make? Comfortability? Life isn’t really about being comfortable. Or is it just the knowledge that you will make the best out of whatever place you’re put in?

If it’s one thing Hong Kong has taught me, if I want to feel like some place is home, getting to know the local people there is a strong first step.

That said, I wouldn’t mind living in the US and having a job that makes me travel. That would rock.

Heaving

You either learn to love the beauty in what you don’t like, or you let it trouble you forever.