5 things I brought with me:
- Lots of underwear: Hong Kong’s weather is always humid and very hot, which makes getting clothes sweaty, nasty, sticky, and dirty very easy if you ever step outside for even just awhile during the day. The humidity also makes drying clothes somewhat of a hassle, so frequent washing of clothes is usually not an option. This is why I decided I would try and take it easy by bringing lots of underwear and undershirts to wear and cycle while recycling the outer clothes less frequently. So far, so good, but I did have to bust out some of the clothes I bought at the start of my trip.
- My badminton racket: My original plan was to bring my stuff here to play since it’s vacation time and I don’t really feel like being a lazy slob. However, most of my exercise so far has been walking and browsing stores more than actual sports or formal exercise. For one thing my uncle is always busy and hasn’t had time yet to take me down to the gym/show me how to access the clubhouse. Second, Benson (and Stephany too, I guess) isn’t here yet to smash birdies with me, so I’ve still got to wait awhile.
- My passport: One of the main reasons I came back this time was to complete my registration and application for a permanent citizenship in Hong Kong. Since I was born in Canada while my mom and dad were still over on a visa as HK permanent citizens, I am supposed to be entitled a very good shot at permanence myself. I went down to the Immigration Office in Wan Chai the second day I got here to register and I waited only a few days before they called me back and told me I was approved. Then I had to go back and get my passport’s 90 day maximum staying period (for vacation) revoked for a “stay as long as you want, you’re a citizen now” pass. I had to take care of all this before my eighteenth birthday (hence the rush) and am now slated to go down and finalize my citizenship card and documents on the day of my eighteenth birthday.
- Money: I think I generally don’t spend a lot of money. During the school year, I remember stepping inside a mall for the first time in months to get a small bite and that was it. I realize it must cost a fortune to raise kids, but I’d like to think I’m on average pretty average when it comes to spending money. There are, of course, times like Epic Week where I really do need to spend a little more since I am doing, seeing, and eating quite a large number of things, but those times are balanced out by droughts of spending like during the school year when I don’t have that many things to buy or places to go. I brought money back to HK (or at least, my mom did) anticipating comparatively mega-low prices (due to the exchange rate) and neat stuff worth buying. I must say, so far, not disappointing at all. If you know where to look for good deals, you can get pretty much anything (designer or just good old fashioned sweet stuff) for steal-prices. And when it comes to food, oh man! Imagine a meal at KFC named the “MAX MEAL” (yes, all caps) for $28.5 HKD. Converted as of right now, that’s about $3.70 CDN, and without tax. Actually, I’m going to go down and grab another one of those in a few minutes. I’m hungry.
- My harddrive: As I type, I’m listening to Explosions In the Sky off of my external drive I used to have on my desk. For some reason, I decided it’d be safer to bring this with me just in case I needed anything (in terms of music, pictures, software, etc…) off my harddrive while here in a strange place. Apart from the convenience of having all my digital “stuff” right here, I also have a place to store my portable applications (aside from my USB thumb drives) and download stuff to. One thing I hate (in my imagination, since it has yet to happen) is people using my electronics and leaving behind huge footprints for me to clean up. This would include newly installed software, registry garbage, application user data, downloaded files, changed user preferences for existing software, you name it. With my own harddrive here, I can download and install (portable, non-registry involving applications of course) and reconfigure to my heart’s content. Oh, and having all my music here doesn’t hurt either.