I have been trying to track what I have been up to over the past few weeks since I last had the chance to sit down and write. This city is a roller-coaster of astronomical proportions.
Summer came. It was 30 degrees in Hong Kong this week. You conveniently forget about the heat over the short few months that the locals call 'winter'. It is clear that the weather is an aspect of life that does alter your mood. I used to struggle with the weather in the UK. Blaming it on my misery. I knew I was happy in the sun, but I just felt I waited forever for the sun to come out. Someone said to me the other day 'it's amazing how many people put up with the hard life, when there is better out there'. Turns out, I still feel miserable when I look up to grey skies and happy when I feel the sun. There are just a lot more blues skies in Hong Kong than there are in England.Saying that, we are all dreading the impending humidity that has started to creep in. There is blue skies and sun, and then there is oven hot heat. Oven hot heat for months and months. I don't care about what anyone says, the weather DOES effect you. If it is pouring with rain for days on end in the UK, you feel cooped up in your home, unable to go outside. It is the same with 40 degree heat, you stay indoors, hugging the air conditioner and debating how you will get from one place to the next with the least amount of exposure. It's just different. I prefer my trade in, I can head to the beach in the peak of summer and jump in the sea. 40 degree heat from the sea is more than bearable, in fact, BRING ON SUMMER.
I have been out and about. I won tickets to the Man Asian Literary Prize, book reading evening at the University of Hong Kong. Naturally I called on my best friend Matt to join me. It was nice to give back something, after endless invites from him to exclusive opening evenings. It was a Time Out magazine competition that I entered. It was brilliant. An inspirational evening. There were 6 authors who had been short listed for the world renowned literary prize. It was the Asian take on the Man booker Prize. My colleague and new writer friend, Paolo who also introduced me to the Hong Kong Writers Circle joined.
There were two authors that stood out, Jeet Thayil, an Indian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
), and Tan Twan Eng (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
The weekend that followed was gloriously sunny. Paul and I headed to the Peak, and a new place for me. Just up from the touristy hot spot there is the most beautiful English looking garden. Grass, and lushious trees, families picnicing and enjoying the fresh air form all the way up there, above the city. We sat in the sunshine and indulged in cheese, sliced meats and wine.
I left Paul in the sun. It is so nice to have my friend back in town. I cant wait to visit Paul in Singapore next month. I made my way to Matt's, in Prince Edward, my new home from the 6th April. I wonder how long it will be until I stop thinking of it as Matt's and start thinking of it as mine? We went and met with the landlord, negotiated a good price and I signed. Months and months of anxiety disappeared in a second. I was committing to staying in Hong Kong for at least another year. Lots of new lessons for me to learn about responsibility. We headed to a friends Zine night. A Zine is like a comic mixed with a magazine, but without all the ads, and rubbish that is in most magazines. It is where creatives share their experiences, drawings, stories and thoughts.
Sunday I went to church. They did a wonderful enactment of the story of the son who leaves home, to a distant land, everything goes wrong for him, and he returns home to a father, he believes will reject him, but who, in fact welcomes him back with open arms, no love lost. Luke 15: 11-32. It made me think about my own life decisions. It made me think about forgiveness and how building a relationship with God is like building a relationship with the father I never had. It is about trust. Undeniable belief that you are unconditionally loved. That you have to live your life, and those who care and love you will love you no matter what happens. The brother incidentally was the one who felt lost. He had stayed and believed he was being loyal to his father. He hurt when the son who had left returned. I thought about intimacy. Loving without rules.
The season of roof top BBQ's, boats, beaches, sea, books, sunshine and heat has begun. I am starting a new chapter in Hong Kong. Today though is about my family. Today and the next two weeks is about love.
At 4:30pm the two greatest loves in my life land in Hong Kong International Airport. And I will be there, arms wide open.......tears streaming down my face, to embrace and welcome my family into new home.
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| The 6 authors short listed |
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| Jeet Thayil |
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