One Week Plus A Day

One week can make a place seem so far away. It was just a week ago when I had to close the windows of our little apartment on a sweltering afternoon in Hong Kong just to get some peace and quiet. The hum of hundreds of air conditioners can amount to a lot of noise. It was only last week when I could stand on the side of any road and simply wave down a mini bus, wave my transit card and be whisked off to the centre of the city. Just last week I could spin a globe and land my finger on any country and likely find an authentic restaurant serving that nationalities delicacies a short transit ride away.

The tallest building in Hong Kong, International Financial Centre (IFC)

One week can make a place seem so far away. The first thing we did when we came home was insure and register our car. The only plastic card we'll be using for a while is one at the gas station till. As we drive around getting some errands done we think about density. "That person's front yard is big enough for an 18 storey apartment block, maybe even two!" I feel a little sense of loneliness as we drive past empty residential streets. "Where is everyone?" But over this last week as I sit in the yard surrounded by garden, listen to the breeze and the birds at the farm and walk through the coulees at sunset I am reminded why I call this place home and why I always come back here after all my excursions.














Tom's childhood playground