Comforts of Home

This jaunt in HK is the third instance in which I've spent a chunk of time living in another country. Not that that makes me an "expat expert" (::groan::, I know, but I love plays on words); however, I think it gives me some authority to speak to my own natural progression when living in a foreign land.

The first week or so is like being a tourist -- there are tons of things to do, and see, and I notice them all. I probably take pictures of them all. My senses are bombarded from all sides. It is exhilarating, and exhausting.

After that phase comes the "settling in" part, where I figure out what things I like at the grocery store, and find a place that sells toothpaste, and learn how to navigate public transportation to get to places I'll visit often, such as school or my apartment. The second part of this phase includes finding less immediate staple options, such as a used English-language bookstore and a spot where I can get a real cup of coffee if I want a taste of home (that bit was easy in HK, where Starbucks abound).

Finally, I get to a point where I'm walking home at the end of the day, and instead of looking around and thinking "I'm in ___!" I look around and think "I wonder if that pepper in the fridge is still edible. And I really need to get a pedicure." In other words, I've hit the comfort phase, and it's happened a lot faster in HK than in happened in other places (the wide usage and understanding of English helps -- as does living with my fiance :-)).

Right now Tom and I have a long-term place to stay, a daily routine, a weekly grocery list and a rapport with most of the security guards in our building. We have some restaurants we know and like -- Tom even has a barber. It's nice -- it makes HK feel manageable, and like it's beginning to be "mine." Which is probably good, because we leave for our journey to the Mainland on Saturday and I have a feeling that's not going to feel familiar at all -- not even in the "I've travelled somewhere in Europe that felt like this before" kind of way.

While there, I won't have access to Blogger (thanks, Great Firewall!). But I will try and write my posts as we go along, and put them up all at once when we get back on the 27th.

At that point, I will be supremely grateful for all the comforts of home that HK can provide!