So I’m back in HK after a very lovely – if slightly manic – holiday, encompassing dramatic birthdays, World Cup dramas and some wonderful family time with Mum.
Of course Northerner has written it better than I could ever hope to do … but coming back after a break is a real bitter sweet feeling.
On the one hand, there is the sadness that your period of ‘routine free living’ [or should I say, work routine living] is over and you will soon be back in a situation that will make you question whether you’ve ever been away at all … whilst also there’s the comfort of being back ‘at home’ … where everything is relatively calm and in its right place and your mind can’t casually wander off to remind you the ‘holiday feeling’ is only temporary and those valuable days are passing by far too quickly for your liking.
Sure, weekends can sometimes give you a hint of that ‘it’s all moving to fast’ feeling … but it’s nothing compared to a holiday … a holiday that you have been looking forward to for far longer than just 5 working days.
I’ve written a lot about how the role of vacations have changed. For many, it’s no longer about discovery and exploration … now it’s about recuperation … and whilst we did a lot of interesting and new things in these past couple of weeks, ‘recuperation’ was most definitely the purpose of the break.
You see we’ve come back to a time bomb.
In just 10 days, our life in HK will be over and we will be on our merry way to Shanghai.
I don’t mind admitting there is a sense of apprehension in what we’re about to do …
Don’t get me wrong, I’m/we’re excited about what we’re about to do but as much as China is a fast developing nation – it’s definitely unlike any other place we’ve lived.
Naturally there’s a huge amount of positives and excitement in that … which is pretty much what attracted me to moving there in the first place … but this will be the first time I’ve ever lived in a place where I literally do not speak the language and whilst we’re starting our Mandarin lessons almost the day we arrive, that sense of being ‘blocked off’ is not pleasant.
It’s not so much that I won’t be able to communicate – there’s always rudimentary ways in the short-term – it’s more that I will miss out/not understand elements that gives each culture it’s own identity.
What I especially loved in the UK was listening to other people’s conversation and ‘getting it’. I don’t just mean understanding the topic of their conversation, but the little references that only made sense to someone who grew up in that country and at that specific moment in time.
I overheard someone in a pub talking about how his boss always talked to him like Ted Rodgers in 80’s crappy TV show ‘3-2-1’ … and I immediately knew what he meant. I like that and whilst I know I’m dreaming to think I’ll ever get to that level in China, I look forward to the day where my language skills and China cultural network are at a point where I am not always walking totally in the dark.
On the positive, I’ve been doing this sort of thing for quite a while so I have some ‘tricks’ up my sleeve that will help speed up the process – but China is an unbelievably complicated beast so I’m very grateful that I’ve got some awesome friends and colleagues there who can help fill in the blanks as I throw myself into things.
But back to being back …
So we had a great time … a seriously great time … but now that’s over and we have a shitload to do in the next 10 days.
You’d be amazed just how much has to be done when you’re moving country … it’s a minefield of red tape and pettiness but luckily I’ve done it enough times to realise that at moments like these, you don’t fight the system, you just go along with it even if it makes no sense at all.
When we first moved to Singapore the Government wanted me to get a letter from the British Embassey stating they were not against my relationship with Jill. This despite the fact I’d not lived there for 10 years and at that point, had never been there with her.
It made no sense but all pointing this out did, was create more hassle and complication because Singapore immigration doesn’t “do” common sense, it just does “what the process says”.
So the fact the Chinese Government wanted my original school results despite not being at school since 1986 didn’t matter … I dutifully got them for them … and the demand by the removal company to detail EVERY SINGLE THING WE OWN IN THE HOUSE, DOWN TO THE NUMBER OF FORKS, just caused my blood pressure to rise rather than my voice … and the thing is, it’s quite good for me because my natural tendency is to call a spade a fucking shovel and deal with the issue right there and then whereas this way, I have to show a modicum of calm and that has to be better for my health doesn’t it?
On top of all that, this is my final week at Sunshine.
I don’t know about you – but I always find leaving a company weird.
Of course you tend to leave a job because there’s an element/s that you’re not happy with … but that doesn’t mean you haven’t forged some truly deep connections with the people you’ve spent 12 hours a day with over the last few years.
For me, leaving a company is like splitting up with someone but wanting to maintain a relationship with their family and whilst that is [1] not always practical and [2] the worst analogy in the World … it’s going to be quite difficult because there’s some people there who genuinely mean the World to me and not seeing/working/talking to them everyday is going to make life a little less enjoyable.
So here we go … the week of hell … but you know what, life’s even sweeter when you’ve gone through some trials and tribulations so even though I’d rather be chilled out and watching the footie, the next 10 days are the corridor to excitement and discovery and for that, I [sort-of] happily accept the oncoming assault of shit.