There are a number of reasons to feel restless in Hong Kong. This city, a dense hubbub of activity, lends itself to flighty feelings. Every time I walk to the pier, it’s common to see people loading all of their belongings onto the ferry, moving to who knows where. A teacher friend of mine told me that at least 25 students from each international school in Hong Kong have vacated in the last few months due to recent economic woes. Even before the global meltdown, Hong Kong has always been a transient place.
Last night Aaron and I had a long chat about why I personally feel so restless in Hong Kong. Here goes:
1. We never planned on making Hong Kong our permanent home.
When we moved to Asia, we told friends and family that we would stay abroad for two to five years. We’ve been away for two years already, and we are definitely staying for one more. Beyond that is anyone’s guess. Where will we move to next? I better go to Temple Street Night Market and ask a fortune teller for that information.
Because we haven’t considered living here for many years, this effects us physically. I try not to buy many household items. I don’t want the cost of moving things to where we’re going next. So anything I buy here will most likely be sold or given away in a year or two. This leaves us with a hodge podge of decorations and furnishings around the house. Some of our things have been selected from the rubbish bins by our flat, which is a common way to recycle in Asia. Asian dumpster diving doesn’t have the same dirty connotation that it does in the US.
2. I am a fish out of water.
It’s not hard to read from these blog postings that I just don’t fit in here. Of my many ex-pat friends, hardly any of them have Chinese friends. The Chinese have an entirely different take on relationships. The idea of acquaintances is less common and is entirely replaced by deep and life long relationships. More often than not, when you have a Chinese friend, you should be willing to live and die for them, not ask to go out for dinner every now and again.
So, all of my friends are foreign ex-pats. I don’t have any friends that are born and raised in Hong Kong. This certainly doesn’t foster a grounded feeling to this area.
3. We don’t have proper Hong Kong IDs.
Getting visas through your own business is a big hassle. It takes paperwork, and proper finances, and more paperwork, and interviews, etc. Aaron and I have been working on this for almost a year now, and we keep thinking that there is a light at the end. But we still don’t have the IDs nestled in our wallets. This means that we can’t enjoy the fast lanes at airport immigration, or use the library, or benefit from the super cheap medical care. It’s hard to feel grounded to a place that we aren’t permanently admitted to.
4. We are young.
Or maybe I should say that I am young, since Aaron just turned 30! I’m finding it difficult admitting that in 2 years I will be three decades old. But, in all seriousness, 30 is young. And being that we have but little earthly possessions, and the world to explore, it’s easy to feel restless.
Coming to Asia opened my eyes to the world beyond the US. I have traveled in and through every US state. I know my own country very well. But what about the Middle East, Europe, Africa? ...and the list goes on. Aaron and I want to see the world. We’ve had such a small taste of Asia and feel it a shame to stop our travels here.
5. We dearly miss extended family.
It’s quite a predicament to have such wanderlust while fostering close family connections. I admit, I miss my sisters the most sometimes. They hold some of my most precious secrets and being away from them for so long has left a bit of an empty spot in my life. Even beyond my sisters, I have such close relationships to my own parents and brother, and aunts, uncles, and cousins. In Hong Kong we have come-and-go friends from around the world, but don’t have the security of Grandma or Uncle Joe right down the road (or at least a shorter plane ride than 15 hours.)
Don’t get me wrong…we really enjoy our adventure. Hong Kong is an extremely livable place, with all the comforts a modern city can offer. I’m simply trying to come to terms with my own inability to spread some much needed roots.
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