As the days go by and the Move gets closer, I am realising that I actually will miss Hong Kong. At least bits of it.
It's been a fun place to be for a year but I'm ready to shift back down a gear, to a different pace of life, but all the same, I suspect there will be days when I will look back somewhat wistfully on all the very convenient things, the perks if you like, of living in a city where you can get almost anything you want at any time you want it. I'll miss the ease and numerous opportunities to meet new people from all over the world, who also find themselves living in a "strange" country where things are not familiar. Although I have to say, settling in Hong Kong has been relatively easy, all things considered. Or does it just feel like that because it's over now? :-)
There are so many available support groups and information is just easily accessible here in it's various forms. They have truly mastered service too. The locals are friendly and seem to genuinely want to help you. Those who aren't locals also want to help because they know how hard it can be to find yourself in a foreign place. There is a somewhat "safety in numbers" feeling here...you know you are not the only one and if you have a question, someone not so far away from you, will know the answer to that question because they have already been there and done it. Just knowing that can be very reassuring.
So, what will I actually miss about Hong Kong? After all, don't I just complain about the weather and the noise all the time? Maybe I won't fully realise this until we've vacated, as is often the way; you don't know what you've got until it's gone.
I was going to write a list of the things I think I'll miss about Hong Kong and then realised that it felt a bit familiar...I did that at the half way point and upon reviewing that list, I find that nothing much has actually changed. My feelings at 6 months pretty much echo my thoughts and feelings now, as we approach the end of this assignment. So I won't repeat myself.
However, I do already know some of the things I'll appreciate even more upon our return to Canada, and it certainly doesn't hurt to be reminded to be grateful for what we have. In these somewhat material and very convenient times, it's easy to take the simple things for granted. These simple things are likely to be different for all of us, but it's important to realise what they are, what makes you feel happy, content, relaxed, grateful to be alive. Hopefully I will return Home with a greater sense of what's important to me and build on it, because life is too short not to.
I would like to take this opportunity, whether they see it or not, to thank all my Hong Kong friends and acquaintances for their support and friendship along the way. Without them, it would have felt very lonely and definitely not easy. The ease in being and doing comes through the support of others and I won't forget these heady Hong Kong days! ;-)
I'll miss the smell of incense wafting from the numerous temples that I pass on my daily travels...sometimes unexpected and uplifting and surprisingly calming amidst the noisy traffic and other much less pleasant city smells!
