Asia
HELLO WORLD (GOODBYE HONG KONG)
As I’m writing this, I am sitting in the airport in Hong Kong, the last minutes of our time here ticking down.
This past week was full of going away parties– farewell dinners with family, drinks with friends and coworkers. Being an expat is an amazing experience, but due to the short-lived nature of most expats’ careers abroad, saying goodbye is something you have to deal with frequently. But that doesn’t make it any easier, especially when you’re the one who’s leaving.
Throughout the dinners I tried to ignore the truth of the situation, that we were, in fact, leaving, because the truth is? I’m not ready to go.
I absolutely love this part of the world. The food, the scenery, the culture and even the weather, I just love Asia. Ever since I was young I’ve had a fascination with this part of the world, and traveling here only confirmed that Asia is truly where my heart lies.
I felt the exact same way when I was leaving Japan after living there. And you know what? It’s been nearly 3 years since I moved to Japan, and I still miss it every single day.
When you stay in one place for so long, it becomes like a second home, and to me, Hong Kong is just that.
Johnny and I had grown super comfortable in our lives here– the first real life we’ve built together outside of university. We had a routine, we had regular places we’d frequent, we experienced happy times, silly times and even sad ones too.
But most of all, living here forced me to push my limits, and also allowed me to discover my true passions, my purpose, and for that I am truly thankful.
While traveling and living abroad is a life changing experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything, it still isn’t easy leaving little pieces of your heart all over the world.
So even though I am leaving Hong Kong for now, I have so many good things to look forward to– #BlogHouse in Chicago, traveling across Europe, #TBEX in Mexico, and even a few press trips that are all in the works.
I’m taking on this blog and freelancing full-time and can now officially say I am a travel blogger.
Am I terrified? Absolutely! Could I fail? Totally. But the only way to find out is to dive in head first and give it my all.
So on that note, I say goodbye Hong Kong and hello world. There are many countries I plan on visiting, especially over the next 6 months. And I know now, that with each new country you visit, there’ll always be a risk that part of your heart will be left behind. But I guess that’s just a risk you have to take, and one I’m willing to take. I hope to fall in love with at least a dozen more countries in my lifetime!