So I have about ten days left in Hong Kong. It hasnt really hit me yet that Im going to be leaving. However, just knowing that Ill be gone soon is quite bittersweet. Its reassuring that Ill be home for the holidays but I know Ill miss the only other city Ive ever lived in. Each day until I leave I will write about something in Hong Kong that has made these last few months the best moments of my undergrad life. Some might ask why I decide to put this on Facebook. First this serves to inform others who may be thinking about studying or visiting Hong Kong in the future. Secondly, assuming Facebook stays relevant, I can look back in a few years at what I felt at this very moment. The first thing that I will miss about Hong Kong is its native language of Cantonese. As a child, I picked up both Cantonese and English. I would speak Cantonese in my household and with family members while using English for just about everything else. Unlike Spanish which I was forced to learn, Cantonese felt completely natural. Unfortunately, there is little opportunity to use it on a daily basis outside of the aforementioned situation. One of the main reasons that I eventually came to choosing Hong Kong was that I could finally use my native language for everyday purposes. When I arrived to Hong Kong, I never felt much culture shock because I could communicate with all the locals here. In fact if I did not tell anyone that I was from the United States, I would possibly be able to fit in with my knowledge of Cantonese. Being able to speak the language made my transition a completely painless one. Just today, I went to a local restaurant and placed an order in Cantonese. I had come to this restaurant frequently since finals started because its convenient and pretty inexpensive. As I was ordering, I felt a bit of sadness. I began to realize that these were the last few days that I would use Cantonese as my main medium of speaking with others. When I speak in Cantonese I feel like I just simply belong. Not saying that I feel like an outsider in the United States, but this is just a different type of belonging. Being in Hong Kong has allowed me to feel like Im still at home, but just with a different group of people. Being in a different place in the world, of course the feeling of belonging is completely different. However, I will definitely miss this feeling of comfort that I become accustomed to over the last few months.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 10:51:00 +0000
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