Get excited, America...this gwailo's coming home for Christmas! I know, everyone, long time no blog but, trust me, you haven't missed out on anything big. It's been exams and papers as far as the eye can see here in Cantoland, and I've been unable to release my inner tacky-super-tourist for some time now. Of course, by now I hardly feel like a tourist anymore. It has officially been over 6 months since I arrived, and Hong Kong feels more like home than ever. In a way, I'm a little nervous going back to America because--surprise!--I'm anticipating some culture shock. Westernized as it is, Hong Kong is still extremely different from the USA. There are so many things that just haven't been a part of my life for the past half year: I haven't driven a car, stepped foot into a Walmart, or eaten Mexican food, for example. But in the States, I won't go to karaoke, sit down with friends for yum cha, or haggle in Chinese with the street-hawkers in Mong Kok. Don't even get me started on all the stuff that's probably changed back home since June! I'll save that for another day.
On the other hand, surely y'all can all tell how excited I am. I love Hong Kong, China, and Asia in general. I could probably spend the rest of my life here and be both happy and content (assuming I can eventually find satisfactory shampoo). It's the people that really make the place, and indeed it's the Cantonese people and the friends that I've made here that make this 30-mile rock feel like home. No matter how many friends I make in Hong Kong, though, my family and lao pengyou are still on the other side of the Pacific. I'm so glad to see everyone back home, but I know I'll be equally glad come January, when it's time for me to return back to my new home.
Perhaps the hardest thing about this time of year is saying goodbye to the friends who won't be here when I come back. In just a few short months, some of the other exchange students have become friends I will never forget, but there are so many who are here for only one semester. This past week has been a flurry of bittersweet goodbyes, and gut-busting laughs. Alice and I even went to see Cantonese Opera together...hence at least part of the hilarity! To all the exchange students, I'm so happy to have met you. Sometimes we waiguoren have to stick together. Stay in touch, and I hope everyone holds onto the same brave and adventurous spirit that brought us to a place as strange as Hong Kong.
Happy Christmas, Hong Kong!
I think today's theme song says it all.
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