Arriving in Hong Kong this past Sunday afternoon, and immediately upon stepping out of the train from the airport, I felt right home. Within thirty minutes, I stumbled upon an old friend walking down the street, and we walked to a nearby bar where an afternoon happy hour was attracting veritable hordes of people. From there, the next few days were full of reunions, catching up, and visiting a few places that I bewilderingly missed over my year of living here. First, Ocean Park, Hong Kongās combined theme park and animal conservation agency; it was quite fun, but our group ended up non-willingly picking up a terribly awkward high schooler who felt the need to follow us around all day.Ā
In other news, I hiked across Lantau Island with a friend--Lantau is the biggest of the islands of Hong Kong, and thus host to some of the most epic hikes the city has to offer. The day was cloudy and cool, but the experience was unforgettable even without much sunshine.
In my old lab, a number of changes have taken place. The old director left, or perhaps was pushed out, and is now at a university in mainland China. The new director has totally shifted focus, from language to psychiatric disease, and everyone seems to be in rather better spirits. There seems to be more of a sense of purpose, anyway.
In a broader sense, the city is relatively unchanged; the political upheaval of the past eight months has settled into a kind of quiet grudge between the government and many of the citizens. Still, tensions with mainland tourists and China in general remain as high ever.Ā The gap in opinion between the younger and older generations is, perhaps, more prevalent, as the younger people of the city are more apt to desire political independence than the older folks, who have seen it shift from colony to city to special administrative in the span of a lifetime, without much change to their daily life.
It was, to be honest, kind of difficult to be back for so short a time. Iām not sure if its just because of the age I went, or the duration of my stay, or the amount of incredible experiences I had there, but Hong Kong has become etched into me in a way Rochester, where Iāve lived far longer, is not. After four days there, I didnāt want to leave--it felt like I should have just picked up where I left off a year ago. With much to look forward to in NYC in the coming years, a bit of me will, I think, always remain in the lush mountains, foggy oceans, and towering concrete jungles of Hong Kong.
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