From Hong Kong back to California

It's been over a year of living outside of the US. Over a year of buzzing streets, noisy signage and billboards, flashing street lights and overly time controlled cross walks, Chinese open air markets, sale items displayed beyond storefronts onto the sidewalks, and fast-FAST paced movement with walking-talking & being all at the same time. High high skyscrapers, standing in line in front of elevators for restaurants and bars located on the 11th floor, open views of the city light from way above, vibrant street nightlife full of strange and familiar faces, loud music, large crowds, eating out almost every night, cab rides home, bus rides home, the comforts of riding the MTR home, up the pipeline while indulging in the next chapter of a book. Intense working days, days turned into nights and some nights going through until dawn. The family-friendly office environment there is the only bond that keeps us all from going insane 24/7 in our cubicles. Group dim sums (Yam Cha), group pictures, group food court lunches, group tea time breaks, group shared dishes, and group gossipin’. The intensity of living in Hong Kong all once foreseen through that first night as I watched the explosion of "horizontal" fireworks across Victoria Harbor, on Chinese New Years.

The rhythm of my daily life in Hong Kong, one in which I have tried so hard to slowly but surely become accustomed to, has been suddenly switched back to the familiar comfort of my home sweet home, in sunny Southern California. Here I sit still, and listen to the sound of the delicate front porch bells dangling in the wind. Life as I remember,is silent, slow, solemn and sane. Family-friendly neighborhoods. Drive thrus. Shopping malls. Fast Food. "Ethnic" cuisine. Family fun places. Palm trees & Beautiful beaches. Walmart, Target and Albertson's. Fighting for the best parking spot in order to avoid walking thru the dark and hot pavement. Streets without much signage, some with no sidewalks, manicured grass lawns, property fences that go on and on forever, sweet family dwellings all sprinkled side by side. Shops, restaurants and offices with Vietnamese services and signage all make up our beloved "Little Saigon."

Here, I enjoy being in my family setting, with open space and time to enjoy playing with my baby nephew. Being close to family and friends, I can see just how much everyone has further established themselves over the past year: new car, newborns, new house, new apartment, new job, new marriages & new challenges. Here I am at peace, yet restless. My time is spent catching up with the daily patterns of my loved ones around me, one that I use to know as my own--slowing down the pace and just being. But, that subtle restlessness inside comes from my time spent in HK. AS much as I have longed to go back to a homier lifestyle, having been exposed to frenzied states for such a long time, makes it that much harder adjusting back.