Mood: Reflecting
My honeymoon with this amazing city dubbed the city where the east meets the west ends tomorrow. The last few months of my life began with a long flight to Hong Kong on August 23rd and will come to a close when I board my flight to San Francisco at 12:50pm. I have had the time of my life here in Hong Kong and do not regret my decision and financial investment to study abroad. Never again will I have the luxury of packing three suitcases (though I’m returning with 4 suitcases, hehe) and moving to a foreign country for four and a half months.
While abroad, I’ve become a seasoned travel and kindled a passion for traveling and for experiencing new cultures—in fact, I had to add pages to my passport because I traveled so much. I’ve been blessed with the luxury to travel all across Asia and Southeast Asia. In the seven countries (The Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, Taiwan, and China) I visited, I sampled the various cuisines unique to the region and saw sites that some people twice my age haven’t seen. Traveling has humbled me and reaffirmed my life passion to help others less fortunate that me. In the Southeast Asian countries, specifically in The Philippines and Cambodia, seeing extreme poverty made me realize how lucky I am to be born into a well-off family in the US. In Manila, everywhere we went, children as young at 8 who should have been asleep in a warm bed were following us around downtown tapping on us on the shoulder, begging for money. As we sampled the various foods from street vendors, we could feel their small hands poke at our arms and pockets. In Cambodia, learning that some of the local fishermen who live on the lake make only $250 US a year was saddening, especially because our six day trip to the country cost so much more than that.
In Hong Kong, I’ve accomplished what I set out to do during this exchange: see the city, experience the culture (my culture), improve my Cantonese skills, visit my grandparents, make lots of new friends, and eat lots of Chinese food. One thing I do regret, however, is not staying in shape. I’ve let myself go and I can’t forgive myself for that. I tried going to the gym almost everyday during the first month here, but after I started traveling so much, I never fell into a routine and thus failed to go to the gym or jogging. I have a lot of work cut out for me when I return to the US, and it won’t be fun, but I supposed it will be worth it. This semester has been a whirlwind of an adventure, and I’m sad to see it come to an end. Returning back to Austin and reuniting with friends will be joyous, but it means going back to work. I got pretty good grades here in Hong Kong and managed to get a 4.0 here in Hong Kong (for the BHP/Plan II courses who’s grades transfer). In Austin, on top of studying hard, I’ll have to find a summer internship (the last two years, I’ve secured an internship in the fall semester, so this semester will be harder). I’m also going to be involved in BC, working as BHP recruiter and a research assistant, and getting back into shape. I have my work cut out for me, but I’m ready for it. Bring it on.
I’ve fallen in love with this city and know that this good-bye is not permanent. As The Terminator would say, “I’ll be back.”
