Oh man, so depressing.
I feel like I haven’t been in Hong Kong that long. Feels like just yesterday I was a noob following around locals and the kids here since last semester thinking “Woah, public transportation,” going to LKF for the first time, getting lost in Mong Kok, dying because it was too cold, not knowing how to get anyone’s attention in a restaurant, getting ripped off like crazy at Ladies Market, and being fascinated by it all.
But at the same time, I feel like I’ve been eating canteen food for forever, dealing with stupid school for forever. I can find my way to Central with my eyes closed, hail down a taxi and make it back to NT on my own, barter like a pro, and have eaten all sorts of weird. Everything from turtle to pigeon to sparrow. Still gotta try snake before I leave.
I have about a month left here… Which is bizarrely short and long at the same time. It feels long thinking about winding down the semester with a month full of exams and final reports. And a part of me misses my mom’s home cooking, my family, my dog, and LA weather. A small part of me is ready to have my own personal space and be back in my comfort zone. I especially miss my bed. I can’t wait to sleep on a real mattress.
But a bigger part of me is not ready to leave. I’m not ready to say goodbye to all the amazing people I’ve met. I’m not ready to say goodbye to all the things I’ve come to love about Hong Kong… The food, the conveniences, the cheap taxis, temples, culture, student life, street food, Tsing Tao, being able to walk to everywhere I need to go (although sometimes this is a bizzatch during rush hour), amazing dimsum, teaching English (wish I had started doing it sooner), the way of living here that’s so different from LA.
I don’t know how I’ll adjust when I go back. Will I feel out of place?
I think it’ll almost be as if I had never left.
And Hong Kong will move on as if I had never been here, eh?
Weird.
And sad.
