it’s raining outside. there’s something comforting but also mildly depressing about the familiarity i instantly felt once i felt the first raindrop hit flesh. the past month has been a bit of a blur…i know i always say that…but if i could try to make sense of it
i’d tell you about how my aunt shirley from LA (also one of my fave relatives) came for the month….went shopping one-too-many times with her…saw more of my mom’s side of the family…i think both sides need that extra buffer of familiarity (mom being here or shirley) to reign in my foreign-ness whenever i visit – otherwise we’re all faced with awkward lapses of silence and inevitably being my mother’s daughter…the unspoken apologies and resentments from ages past. maybe all the lavish displays of hearty dishes and endless conversations about wealth, acquiring more wealth and what to do with wealth - fail to truly vanquish or tame the skeletons that have followed us to this point…sometimes i get annoyed at how hesitant to outright expression the chinese culture seems to be. the words that leave your mouth don’t really seem to be your own..filtered first through a convoluted net of other peoples expectations and perceptions before making their way to light – at which point the meaning, force and fire which once drove the emotions forth are reduced to barely a spark. blaaaaaahhhhhhh
i’d also tell you about how school manages to block out a lot of my time…particularly being a month laden with final projects, essays, presentations and final exams – i’ve spent a good amount of time in the medical library near my hall. days blend together when i submerge into study mode…social contact is at a minute…except (of course) for my daily conversations with my best friend and of course random nights out with the other exchange kids and vince…but otherwise DANG i feel like a turtle. another blaaaaaaahhhhhh
last night we went to 3am dimsum in this nook and cranny hole-in-the-wall restaraunt nestled in sai wan….the hours of operation for the joint are a quirky 3-12pm and a mixed demographic of inebriated partiers traipsing in after a rough night (again) at lan kwai fong to the insomnia-stricken elderly residents nearby who meet once the doors open at their usual table to people-watch – putting up a good race to the self-service dimsum table situated to one side of the establishment. where else but hong kong can i find a place bustling with activity at 3 in the morning….coming off a stupor induced by my studies…there’s nothing better to infuse a refreshing jolt of life into your veins than the occasional comfort of company and oh the food was good too!
i should be studying….feel like this post is incomplete…
