Can't wait

This week, I booked my trip to Hong Kong -- the first visit to my birthplace since 1995. In fact, it's been so long that the last time I was there, it was still the territory of the United Kingdom.

About two months ago, I talked with a British guy at an English bookstore about Hong Kong (random conversations with other expats tend to happen quite frequently, I find). He told me that Hong Kong has changed a lot since its colonial days. I guess I'll finally see how much it has changed.

Above: Seoul's Incheon International Airport. I'll be seeing this place again in February as I leave South Korea for vacation.

I'll actually be leaving the same day as a fellow Vancouverite who's also stationed here in Seoul as a native English teacher, so that should be fun. I also have a Vancouver friend who's going to be in Hong Kong during the second half of my stay; there'll be no shortage of Vancouver representation this coming February, that's for sure.

I'm actually a bit excited about the trip. I've missed being in a place where I actually speak the language and where I'm close to people I know (besides the people I may have met during teacher orientation here in Seoul). I miss going out for dinner and not having to get Korean food all the time. It's interesting how at home, you don't realize that you're taking something for granted until it's no longer available. Some of you might know, but Vancouver is like a big Chinatown; visiting Hong Kong feels like visiting Vancouver in a way.

I was in Itaewon (Seoul's international district) last night to get a T-shirt printed, and there was a family there. They were obviously tourists, and were having a blast. But then came the moment where they had to ask someone to take a picture for them. Unfortunately, their English wasn't all that great and they couldn't speak Korean. However, they spoke a language that I understood -- Cantonese, the language of Hong Kong. So I offered (in Cantonese) to take the picture for them. They looked so relieved that someone actually understood what they wanted.

That look really reminded me of my first day in Seoul, before orientation started. That day, I was lucky enough to need help at Yongsan Station, which is one of Seoul's foreigner magnets (due to the nearby electronics market and US army base).

The Hong Kong trip will last for a while -- almost the entire month of February. The reason for that is because my school wanted me to shift some of my summer vacation days to winter. I get 21 days of vacation, and they wanted me to take 16 of them this winter (leaving 5 for summer). The winter breaks for schools are typically longer, and they didn't want to have to keep me around for such a long time in winter, deskwarming or "work from home" or otherwise. That allowed me to book a flight leaving on February 5 and a return trip on February 28.

I have no problem with that, because I need to get my Hong Kong ID anyway (since I was born there) and the processing takes weeks. And I think being in Hong Kong during the brutal winter months in Seoul could be a blessing. It'll certainly be a big savings in utilities, since I'll be unplugging everything and leaving the tap dripping (to prevent freezing) before I leave.

Six and a half weeks to go.