‘It surely is hot here in Hong Kong’ was the first thought that came to mind when I first got off the plane. But then again, for me to travel thousands of miles closer to the equator and then complain about the heat would be like taking off my pants in the middle of a worship service and complaining to the clergy that I felt exposed at church.
Hong Kong is where my family is. Hong Kong is also the place where I have access to many luxuries. My aunt’s Lexus seals out so much roadside noise. My mom’s plasma TV and her surround sound system gives such a better presentation of the same Xbox games I have back home. My brother gets me custard pudding of top class quality for some very reasonable price.
I got asked a few questions by my uncle, who’s the businessman of the family. He asked me what my degree is. He asked me whether I can speak Mandarin fluently. He asked me what kind of research or industry I want to go into. He asked me what I want to do with my life.
I felt uneasy. I felt like I had to makeup answers. To be frank, if there is anything I am passionate about, it probably isn’t what I studied during my undergrad years. It probably has more to do with music and football and theology. But I didn’t think I would sound very smart if I told him that.
But if I truly didn’t care about my studies that I shouldn’t have felt uneasy. I could’ve just said I don’t give a crap what I do. But I do care. I do care that perhaps I could have a successful career like my uncle and my cousins. Herein lies the struggle: if there was ever a reason why I would consider living in Hong Kong for good, it’d be because of family…but perhaps even more importantly, it would be the Chinese ingrained hand-in-hand relationship between a successful career and real manhood.
I might feel lesser of a man if I didn’t come to Hong Kong to have a “real” career.
Anyways, without family and without any really really close friends in Vancouver, I have to say that there are always certain things that I miss here in Hong Kong. This career thing isn’t though. I’d be happy working at McD’s if that’s where God points my heart to.
I just don’t think this is the right environment to raise kids.
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