Down with the Homesickness (ooh ah ah ah ah)

Well, helloooo, my people, 

Long time no chat. Sorry and thank you to those people who have been asking where my blog has been. The truth is, it has been unwritten until now; my apologies, kids! The humidity and I are still bebopping alongside each other during this wildly hot Hong Kong summer. 

Since my first post back in August, I have been settling into my new home at Morningside College. It turns out “settling in” to a new place/job/country after barely being allowed to leave the state of Vermont for two years is a little bit (a lotta bit) hard. I will fully admit to spending the better part of the last month coping with culture shock and homesickness. Those aren’t terms that I’ll leave up for interpretation because I’m learning that culture shock manifests itself in so many different ways for so many different people. To be clear, I am having an amazing time in Hong Kong. I am constantly learning new things about myself, the place, and the people around me; this doesn’t give me any reason to sugarcoat the challenging parts of this experience. So, leave it to me to expose everything to ya in three parts: 

1. City shock 

2. The "Freshman Year" feeling 

3. Homesickness 

City Shock 

This may be proving to be a term I coined myself because I have yet to find it on the internet (thanks for nothing, Google), but it is REAL. 

            city shock 
             noun
             1. A subset of culture shock specific to moving to a large city with minimal prior experience 
             2. The overwhelming feeling of discombobulation occurring in transition from rural to urban life induced, specifically, by things like public transportation, tall buildings, and a plethora of human beings around you at all times 

    “Kait felt city shock when she couldn’t get in her Toyota Tacoma, blast Leon Bridges, and drive the backroads of VT to recalibrate.”

There you have it, Merriam Webster. I have truly never had to think about how little city time I've had in my 24 years of life until now. I have also never ridden so many escalators (indoors and outdoors), buses, and trains. All you people taking subways and trains to work on a daily basis really act like it's no big deal, but every time I hop on the MTR, I can't help but wonder "is this what teleportation would be like if it just took a bit of time?" Everything either moves too fast or too far underground to take in any visual of the outdoors, but somehow you end up in a location different from where you started. There is nothing wrong with the train at all; it is convenient, always available, and saves me from paying for gas and parking. It's just weird that I can't freely scream-laugh to my podcasts and sing "Dog Days Are Over" at the top of my lungs in transit from one place to another whenever I so please. To say the least, I feel like Mike Teavee exploiting "Wonka Vision" on a daily basis.  

In attempts to remedy (queue Jason Mraz) my experience of city shock, I took myself on a loop hike up Buffalo and West Buffalo Hill in Ma On Shan. So far, this is the only HK hike I've done because it is just so damn hot right now and, if I have any say in the matter, I would love to survive to see another day after walking in the woods. I did this hike back at the start of August just after a rainstorm hoping the weather might be cooler. I wasn't wrong, but it was still scorching hot. I packed all my salt sticks, lots of food, a backpack full of water, and went on my way anyway. I was totally craving the solace of being surrounded by nothing but a few trees. Even though there were substantial distant rumblings of thunder (I was tweaking but continued to ask every other hiker if we were safe. Don't worry, Mom. They were farther way than they sounded.), rain, monkeys, and a summit in the clouds, I felt "fixed" once I was finished. I love staring at the mountains from my window every morning, but walking around them was a game changer.  

The calm (?) before the storm.

The exact moment of panic when I heard thunder and noticed monkeys overhead on the trail ahead. 

The residual storm cloud found at the summit of West Buffalo Hill.

Just below said cloud.

I also tapped into the world of eastern medicine soon after getting here. I indulged in a bit of singing bowl therapy and went for a sound bath lead by sound alchemist Malbert Lee. Lee played a wide variety of Himalayan and crystal singing bowls while nine other people and I lay comfortably on the yoga studio floor. The session was incredible and the amount of healing our bodies can do by directing sound and energy via sound is pretty amazing. Really cool session, and I felt VERY relaxed and unbothered afterward. I wandered around the city just taking everything in while I was feeling unconcerned by people in front of me/slow walkers taking over the sidewalk. A wonderful breath of fresh air. 

That "Freshman Year" Feeling

Okay. When I say "freshman year" I am in fact referring to my first year of college. Some might just call this feeling loneliness, but I feel like there is a specific kind of loneliness that came with starting my first year of college, and now, my first year of working outside of the US. In short, it is the feeling of being in a new place, absolutely surrounded by new people and opportunities, but still feeling wildly alone with nothing to do. During my first month or so at St. Mikes, I would routinely call my mom in tears and shock at my absent knowledge of how to make friends. She would reassure me I was going to be fine, that I did in fact know how to make friends, change is hard, etc. This time, when I texted my mom explaining my more recent yet all too familiar meltdowns, she just responded with "Ok." I, of course, called her and expressed my immediate feeling of "wtf thanks for the support...NOT." To which she responded with "What? We've heard it all before. You know you're fine, this happens, and you know it'll get better." To be honest there was nothing more reassuring and affirming than that "Ok." Because I know she's right. Moms are always right. Aren't they? 

The moral of the story here is that my mom's "oh, you're fine" theory proved to be true. Despite daily Google searches including various renditions of "how to make friends in hong kong," "how do adults make friends," and "sports to play with people in hong kong," I have been able to settle in, try new things (dragon boating, candlemaking, mahjong) and am "Ok." Actually, more than ok, and nothing less than happy as can be. 

Candle-making class with Hiraya Scent & Co!

Beginner Mahjong meet-up! 

I am more than lucky to say I have never actually been alone because Juliet and her absolutely lovely friends are here (thank god). It still makes no sense that Juliet and I are living in yet another country alognside each other, but we're having a blast!!! Weekly dinners accompanied by reality TV binges. Serenity. But when our schedules don't align and I can't walk through my NZ backyard in my jammies to wind up lounging on her couch, I experience growing pains.

Homesickness

The reign of the Queen of Homesickness (me) lives on! I JUST MISS MY PEOPLE!!! Always. I selfishly want everyone (Aggie) here with me at all times. It's very weird not being home for new and exciting parts of my favorite people's lives. To sum it up, Molly and Jer got engaged while I was sleeping, Aggie is beauty (as always), and teachers went back to school. 

The best mid-slumber surprise ever!!!

The first thing I did on the morning of August 29 was scream. Loud. Cheers to the happy couple. 

I wish Aggie had a phone, but bless my mom for fielding these messages. 

It's all worth it to get pics like this in return, though! 

Alright, team, that's all for now. Quick and abrupt wrap-up because I'm tired, done thinking about the blah parts of moving, and ready to get to the fun stuff!!! Because there's a lot to tell, and I really do love my new home. So much. So much so that you'll also find "how to fly a dog to hong kong" in my recent Google search history just in case I decide not to be in the US for a while longer... 

Thanks for reading, and I am already looking forward to sharing the more exciting parts of exploring Hong Kong. With beauty there's pain (Is that the saying? That can't actually be right...). My constantly frizzy hair and I will see you next time. Love you all!!