last night in hong kong (for now)

The past couple of weeks have been an absolute whirlwind for me. I've finished teaching at ICS, said goodbye to the kids and my colleagues, packed up my office, have had several farewell dinners and send-offs with dear friends, packed and cleaned up my place, and have moved out of my current flat. I am definitely ready to be home for the summer and take it a little bit easier.

I feel as if one chapter in my life is coming to a close, and although I'll be here next year, things will be quite different, as I'll be in a new job and a new part of the city. Some of my best friends have left Hong Kong now and life is transitioning for me, yet again.

I have had my fair share of Hong Kong-esque experiences lately, where things are a contradiction of ease and convenience mixed with irrational policies and black-and-white thinking. For example, this morning, I had to take my school things (books, files, etc) to my new school to store there for the summer. I had too much to take on the train, and my friend suggested that I hire a "man with a van". So, he made a call and 20 minutes later, someone shows up, throws my boxes in the back of his van, and takes me clear across town in rush hour traffic for 8$. Contradict that with my situation this afternoon, where I went to return my security ID card at my apartment complex to get my refund. Shouldn't this be something that I can do in a few minutes? No, they say it takes a whole month for this to process and I absolutely cannot get my 20$ refund. I tell them that I am leaving Hong Kong tomorrow and I will not be here in a month. They do not believe me and tell me again that it cannot possibly take less time than one month to process. That is the policy, after all. We finally get a manager, and after 30 minutes of debating, I walk away with my money.

The other annoyance in my life is the rain. It has been raining every day, almost all day, for the past 4 weeks. I have been keeping track, and there has literally been 2 days in this past month with no rain. There are puddles everywhere, the ground is soaked, and my umbrella has been worked to its end. I am ready for the dry, summer heat of Colorado.

winding down

For those of you who don't know, I'll be staying in Hong Kong next year. I took a new job at a different school, Hong Kong International School, still teaching Special Ed. I'm heading home for the summer in less than 3 weeks, and have just a week and a half left of the school year. Unlike other years, I'm not completely antsy for the school year to be over, but I certainly am ready to come home this summer. I miss family and friends and am looking forward to just being in America again. Although I've been here for a while now and typically know what I'm doing with the day to day things, there are certain comforts and an ease to being in your own country. For example, this Saturday I went to the bank to cash a check and to change my address. Well, there were two problems with this: the bank doesn't cash checks on Saturday at their counters (?) and they wouldn't cash my check because it was issued by Citibank, not Hang Seng, which is where I have my account. So, instead of depositing the check at the counter, I had to wait in another long line (after waiting for 30 minutes already) at the check deposit box, which is right inside of the bank itself. Then I had to get in a separate line for the ATM where I could withdraw cash and pay my utility bills. Why couldn't all of these things be done in one single step? Because that's just how it works here. These small, stupid things aren't usually a bit deal, but it can definitely be frustrating, especially when things don't appear to make logical sense. Hong Kong thinking is very black and white, and I am ready for a break from that. I'm also ready to drive (yes, I know gas is expensive), eat good Mexican food (ranging from Taco Bell to Chipotle to real Mexican), and shop at Target. I'm ready to drink Blue Moons instead of Carlsburg, get away from the humidity, and see the stars again. I'm ready to get in a line without someone so close behind me that I can feel their breath on my neck.

I do love Hong Kong and I'm so glad to be staying next year. There certainly are many advantages to being over here as well. But for now, get me back to Colorado!