auradis

I’m finally home after spending the best seven months of my life in various parts of Asia. The country city that had the greatest impact on me was definitely Hong Kong; it’s like my home away from home away from home if I count Mizzou, and I will never forget my time there. It’s hard not to fall in love with a vibrant, thriving city after living there for six months. Every city I visit hereafter will be colored by its comparison to HK. I understand now why certain people love and are always pining after it.

People have asked me if I’d consider finding a job in HK, but as much as I love the city, it’s not the same without all the friends I made here [most of whom were also exchange students]. In fact, if I went back in a few year, it would probably feel totally empty. Also, not being able to speak Cantonese was a handicap even while I worked at an English publication. So, I don’t foresee any long-term relationship happening between me and Hong Kong.

I could probably write a lot more, but jet lag has been putting me to sleep before midnight for the past few days and this is all I could come up with off the top of my head.

Pros:
+HK has everything that I could want [except lint rollers and Chipotle and central heating], all packed into three-ish condensed islands. I love the double-decker buses, the colorful MTR stations, the mountains and stairs and collision of east and west. All of it has become so familiar and I love it. The busy-ness of the city, the non-sleeping-ness of the city, the tall buildings and public transportation of the city, I’ll miss every one of these.
+Everything is in English! Well, most important things anyhow. Menus definitely vary by location, but the city itself is pretty easy to figure out thanks to the 99 years of British rule. Another awesome influence [I presume] is the prevalence of Mini Coopers. I’ve never been to the UK, but HK was seriously like Mini Cooper heaven for me. I LOVE IT.
+Ladies’ nights are three times a week every week [in various locations], which means free cover and [usually] free drinks. I didn’t take advantage of this THAT much, but nothing in America can compare. Paying for my own drinks? Tch, I’m too spoiled for that.

A blinged-out pink & white Hello Kitty Mini Cooper FABULOUS

Cons:
-When I arrived in HK, my skin was basically blemish-free. Now, as I leave, the humidity and rich food has erupted like a volcano on my face, and my skin is suffering more than it did when I was going through puberty. I have accepted this fact but it bothers me a LOT.
-Many families in HK have maids that live in their apartments to help do the mundane chores like cleaning and errands and babies. I’d venture to say that 99% of these maids are Filipina women, who work six days a week and get Sundays off, during which they congregate weekly in various areas around HK. This might be a bit of an overshare, but I’ll just say that even though I don’t want to see them any differently, it’s difficult to adjust back to normalcy after seeing them valued as more or less second-class citizens in most of HK. Which brings me to my next country…which will be the next blog entry! Good night :)

I had a nasty cold for four days. The day I got sick, people treated me very well, bringing me medicine and fruit and asking after my health. After telling them I was still feeling unwell even after a day of lying around generating snot [the internet wouldn’t work until 6PM], a handful of individuals identified the origin of my illness with complete certainty: the air conditioning.

Ah, yes. Evil technology!
“It’s bad to have it blowing all the time,” one said. [I don’t.]
“I saw with my own eyes a previously healthy girl confined to a wheelchair because of constant air conditioning,” another told me. [Um WHAT. Okay…]
“It’s really better not to use it,” the last one advised.

Seriously, that guy. After seeing that I still had a seriously drippy nose a few days later, he glanced up in the corner of my room where my air conditioner was languishing and said, “You really should leave it off.” WELL OF COURSE, I HAVE A COLD, WHAT KIND OF RETARD WOULD I BE TO INDULGE IN AIR CONDITIONING UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES??? Sadly, he was not the only person to insinuate this about me.

While I don’t doubt their good intentions, there’s nothing I hate more than being talked to patronizingly — I shut down immediately, smiling and nodding and wondering how to tell them that the cold is actually a virus that I probably caught because I’m cooped up inside with people 24 hours a day instead of, you know, outside or something. No, it can’t possibly be germs! Definitely the a/c.

Whatever. Let them keep their drinking-hot-water-cures-everything remedies to themselves. I was probably just grumpy from being sick.

My first Sunday (night) service began with me sitting on the wrong side because I didn’t know the genders were segregated. Sometimes it’s a de facto habit in youth group, but I’ve never seen it willfully implemented before.

Preparing for service

Are Asian people always late? I thought it was just a stereotype cooked up by Asian Americans as an excuse for laziness, but it’s also about disrespecting other people’s time. The service started at 8PM with 13 people in the room: Half an hour later, all 100 chairs had been filled. I wondered how much these people have suffered for their faith in this country.

This weekly service is open to all of this factory’s workers as well as those of neighboring compounds. I wonder if the CCP ever care to check around here? Not a seemingly suspicious place.

Rows of chairs w/ hymnals

The power went out for a few minutes. Spiritual warfare? I wondered. In nearby buildings, lights still shone brightly. The initial time of worship was led by a couple of my students. Sometimes I forget that half of them are studying to be missionaries; it’s not something to take lightly.

Next, a woman who could’ve been Cat C’s sister went up to the podium for more worship and prayer, and then she began to give the sermon. This is the second time I’ve been in a completely Chinese church, and also the second time I’ve seen the congregation led by a female pastor. What would complementarians have to say about this? [Insert smirk.]

The power went out again briefly; she persevered and began her message in darkness. The passage of the day was the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. I was filled with wonder at hearing such a familiar story read aloud in Chinese.

The power went out again, and the ushers started lighting candles. Apparently this frequency of blackouts was not a common occurrence. I didn’t mind listening to her preach in the dark, actually. Without the whirring of air conditioning, the podium, lit only by a battery-operated desk lamp, had a more captivating quality. I wonder if she was a factory worker herself or a full-time pastor. Maybe she was from the Yiwu seminary?

I listened to facts that I’ve learned [and even taught] time and time again: Jews hated Samaritans, why the woman went to the well at noon, etc., and I felt filled with my daily bread. Finally, something comforting in this uncomfortable land.

She explained things carefully. The power went out once again. A man sitting in the back answered his phone. I wanted to smack him upside the head for lack of manners, but this kind of thing happened during class at HKU too. Chinese people…

“If Jesus lost one out of 99 sheep, he would leave the rest to search for that lost one. That might not make sense to us because if you already have 99 sheep, losing one isn’t a big deal is it? But if you had three children and lost one, wouldn’t you leave the two in someone else’s care to look for the missing one? This is the way Jesus looks after you.”