Added Dimension

It’s been a busy week, with another friend flying in from Sydney for a few days.  Along with all the local tourist trap visits and a ferry to Macau, we have been digging up old stories and swapping catch-up ones.  It’s been emotional, with a lot of talk of a loved one who took his life and stories about friends no longer in my circle.  But that’s the nature of Hong Kong: people breeze in, stir up your emotions and then fly off to another exotic destination. On Friday a good friend I made here and have known almost the whole time we’ve lived in Hong Kong returns to the US.  This is more of the same and the nature of living here.  Friends from your background come and visit, friends you’ve made here leave. When it comes to friends, there is nothing constant about this kind of lifestyle.Sure I go back to my apartment, check on my boys, check the mail and get on with my life.  But the emotion and the upheaval created when a friend blows into town sure is different from life in the ‘burbs of Melbourne, Sydney or California.  It sure stirs the memories of loved ones and great times.  It reminds you of what you are missing from home: the dimension of a past.My friend felt that it must be hard to leave home to live somewhere else because of a husband’s ambition or your love for him.  This, she said, “gives your life an added dimension”.And that it does – I have met people from all over the world struggling with the same issues that I do living in Asia. Let me count the ways:I have shared my evening meal with five or six different nationalities.  I have invited strangers into my house because they too were in need of a family atmosphere (US Navy men).  I have traveled and seen poverty, reminding me of how fortunate I really am.  I have mastered communication skills that do not involve words.  I have found that women are truly the center of the melting pot.  I have found that children are a great introduction to strangers who do not know your language.I have learned to be resourceful so that depression and loneliness does not set in.I have realized that not everyone can live this lifestyle and can make it a living hell for their spouse.I have seen people make loads of money and live extraordinary lives here.I have learned to cope without family and husband at times and come to understand and cherish my friends who have been single mums.I have become outspoken on issues that are dear to me because it does matter and I can make a difference.I have learned that your immediate family becomes stronger because you depend on them for your love.I have learned to become organized, because what was here today might be gone tomorrow.I have learned to move on, especially as friends leave.And so goes another day for me …. My friend came, she breezed around and she left. May her next port of call be as interesting as it has been for me?