Why I miss hanging around with foreigners (and why I don't)
I had English friends. I had American friends. I had French friends. I had Polish friends. I had Nepalese friends. I HAVE Chinese friends. And I miss hanging around with them. I miss having a friends group. I miss having FRIENDS.
I've lived in England for 10 years. Okay? 10 YEARS. Then I moved back to Hong Kong, and I ended up only having those few friends who bothers contacting me on facebook once in a while. I have colleagues here in HK, okay. But we only hang out as COLLEAGUES.
My life.
And I'm bragging about it on my blog.
Oh my god.
You know, when I was in England, I endlessly complain about how I want to leave the hell hole. I have left the bloody hell hole. But found myself in another, even worst, hell hole. So I want to go back now. I miss our house. I miss the big tree outside our house. I miss our garden with the ant hole. I miss the park near our house. I miss our noisy neighbours. I miss talking in English everywhere I go. I miss everything about my old life, including the absolute rubbish that comes along with it.
IT WAS PEACE!
Which comes to why I don't miss it.
Let me tell you an inside secret about living in a foreign country. It is not as good of a heaven as you think it is. First, despite the diversity it has and the constant reminder of how bad racism, stereotyping and discriminating is, it does not, afterall, stop it from happening. The thing about growing up is the shocking and desvastating realisation that you will slowly come to terms with of how messed up this world actually is. When I was younger, I have never really thought myself as different. I am Chinese and live in a world with basically everyone with a different ethnic to me. And, I liked the diversity. I know, I studied Health and Social Care, so these things are very relevant to me, but I respect differences. Okay? Everyone is unique and different in their own way, and I believe people should respect that.
Anyway, back to the point, so I was somehow stereotyped. Not in a really bad way. But I was. And I didn't realise and notice it until I was in my last year of secondary school ("high school" as most people call it). I became very self-consicious since then. There were younger students walking past me and be like "Hi, Asian!". Which is why I am still not used to not being stereotyped here in Hong Kong. I have come back to my own city, being mixed back with my own people, on the outside, I'm the same as everyone else. On the inside, I'm not.
I grew up with English people. I grew up with these people constantly by my side. I liked it. I was one of them. Problem is, I still am. Which is why Hong Kong is a foreign place to me, with foreign people who are actually my own people. I know, right. The way they talk, the way they act, everything are different, and I am not used to it.
England has fresh beautiful air. You can see beautiful sunset. You can see stars at clear night skies. It has beautiful nature. It has beautiful animals and insects that are busy living their wild life. It has houses with gardens. It has endless roads with trees and flowers. The people are kind and peaceful. It has diversity that are respected. Here in Hong Kong is the opposite. Polluted and clouded air. No sunset and stars because of the tall buildings and effected climate, with harmful animals and insects that seems to like to attack humans. It is small. The people are rude and discriminating. I could go on and onbut this post is getting long.
So basically my life is torn in half. In England I am a foreigner. In Hong Kong, I MOST definitely am a foreigner. But you know what the sad sad thing is? I don't regret coming back to Hong Kong. Despite all the crap it has, I cannot deny there is some things that are worth praising about the stupid city.
You see, I grew up with Japanese stuff. I grew up with Ultra Man, and Gundam, and Kamen Rider, and anime, and all the girly Japanese stuff they fart out before the cheap stuff came in, probably after around 2006. And they have these things in Hong Kong. They have Japanese stuff here that I can gurgle at. I'm not saying I didn't grow up with non-Japanese stuff, cause I have. Like, Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles, and MI High, and Power Rangersthat they copied off from Japan, and Powerpuff Girls, and Winnie the Pooh, and all the Disney stuff they put out.
I also grew up with my own culture. The Chinese culture. So I'm basically a Chinese who's also Japanese and English. I have lived in Europe for ten years. Besides Hong Kong and England, I have been to France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Belgium and India.
This is my life. And now you can see why my world is so diversed. I don't set my mind on one thing and discriminate all the other things and pretend like that thing is better, cause as I've already said, "I respect diversity".
Which is why, I miss hanging around with foreigners.
I've lived in England for 10 years. Okay? 10 YEARS. Then I moved back to Hong Kong, and I ended up only having those few friends who bothers contacting me on facebook once in a while. I have colleagues here in HK, okay. But we only hang out as COLLEAGUES.
My life.
And I'm bragging about it on my blog.
Oh my god.
You know, when I was in England, I endlessly complain about how I want to leave the hell hole. I have left the bloody hell hole. But found myself in another, even worst, hell hole. So I want to go back now. I miss our house. I miss the big tree outside our house. I miss our garden with the ant hole. I miss the park near our house. I miss our noisy neighbours. I miss talking in English everywhere I go. I miss everything about my old life, including the absolute rubbish that comes along with it.
IT WAS PEACE!
Which comes to why I don't miss it.
Let me tell you an inside secret about living in a foreign country. It is not as good of a heaven as you think it is. First, despite the diversity it has and the constant reminder of how bad racism, stereotyping and discriminating is, it does not, afterall, stop it from happening. The thing about growing up is the shocking and desvastating realisation that you will slowly come to terms with of how messed up this world actually is. When I was younger, I have never really thought myself as different. I am Chinese and live in a world with basically everyone with a different ethnic to me. And, I liked the diversity. I know, I studied Health and Social Care, so these things are very relevant to me, but I respect differences. Okay? Everyone is unique and different in their own way, and I believe people should respect that.
Anyway, back to the point, so I was somehow stereotyped. Not in a really bad way. But I was. And I didn't realise and notice it until I was in my last year of secondary school ("high school" as most people call it). I became very self-consicious since then. There were younger students walking past me and be like "Hi, Asian!". Which is why I am still not used to not being stereotyped here in Hong Kong. I have come back to my own city, being mixed back with my own people, on the outside, I'm the same as everyone else. On the inside, I'm not.
I grew up with English people. I grew up with these people constantly by my side. I liked it. I was one of them. Problem is, I still am. Which is why Hong Kong is a foreign place to me, with foreign people who are actually my own people. I know, right. The way they talk, the way they act, everything are different, and I am not used to it.
England has fresh beautiful air. You can see beautiful sunset. You can see stars at clear night skies. It has beautiful nature. It has beautiful animals and insects that are busy living their wild life. It has houses with gardens. It has endless roads with trees and flowers. The people are kind and peaceful. It has diversity that are respected. Here in Hong Kong is the opposite. Polluted and clouded air. No sunset and stars because of the tall buildings and effected climate, with harmful animals and insects that seems to like to attack humans. It is small. The people are rude and discriminating. I could go on and on
So basically my life is torn in half. In England I am a foreigner. In Hong Kong, I MOST definitely am a foreigner. But you know what the sad sad thing is? I don't regret coming back to Hong Kong. Despite all the crap it has, I cannot deny there is some things that are worth praising about the stupid city.
You see, I grew up with Japanese stuff. I grew up with Ultra Man, and Gundam, and Kamen Rider, and anime, and all the girly Japanese stuff they fart out before the cheap stuff came in, probably after around 2006. And they have these things in Hong Kong. They have Japanese stuff here that I can gurgle at. I'm not saying I didn't grow up with non-Japanese stuff, cause I have. Like, Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles, and MI High, and Power Rangers
I also grew up with my own culture. The Chinese culture. So I'm basically a Chinese who's also Japanese and English. I have lived in Europe for ten years. Besides Hong Kong and England, I have been to France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Belgium and India.
This is my life. And now you can see why my world is so diversed. I don't set my mind on one thing and discriminate all the other things and pretend like that thing is better, cause as I've already said, "I respect diversity".
Which is why, I miss hanging around with foreigners.
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