Anyone else feel like living abroad changed them forever?
"You can leave Hong Kong but it will never leave you". And I would add, no place ever leaves you.
I stumbled upon this quote on Instagram, and it really hit home.
Living abroad changes you in ways you never imagined, and yes, I would say for good.
Because you get to know yourself, for real.
If you choose well, you meet brothers and sisters along the way, friendships that last forever.
You may not talk for months, or see each other for years, and still feel like no time has passed in between when you meet again. You can still laugh and talk about the same things, because you’ve lived and shared experiences that changed you forever.
It opens your mind, a lot, and makes you richer through experience.
After Hong Kong, I took the best of both the Western and Asian worlds with me. Because local (Asian) and Western cultures converge in that place where multiculturalism is the keyword and is at the very heart of the city.
You experience culture shock.
Oh yes, which wakes you up and confuses you in equal measure, but also tests your flexibility and makes you a more adaptable person. Barcelona changed me in many ways, yes, forever, but it was still Western culture.
But Hong Kong was another level, not better, just different. The languages, the smells, the expossure to Cantonese and Chinese culture, the colours, the food, the very different ways they approach problems, the high-efficiency, high-speed culture, and many other things.
You start valuing things you took for granted in “those other parts of the world.”
The chill vibes of Barcelona, my native language, more space (literally speaking), and of course, I felt homesick many times, wherever home is. In Barcelona, I missed Hong Kong’s quick-fix, practical mentality, the cultural approach to many situations, the skyscrapers, my great friends, among many other things.
And of course, in both places I missed things from Uruguay, my home country: my family, my friends, Christmas in the summer... and on and on.
And you realize each place has its advantages and its own vibes. You can’t have it all in one place, but you can carry it within you.
You learn to accept that you can talk about the experience and still be unable to put it into words.
I’ve found myself in that situation many times, like, “How was the experience of living in Hong Kong?” Then, you try to summarize, while thinking to yourself, man, it can only be experienced.
You will live with a heart and mind that belong to many places, while choosing to call one of them home.
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