Hong Kong's Mid-Autumn Festival

Okay, I should totally be scolded for being a hermit during the Mid-Autumn Festival. I'm apprehensive of social interaction. Just kidding.

Whilst my midday nap, I evaded an invitation to see the Dragon Dance at Victoria Park with a Canadian exchange student (Matt) from my Health Psychology class. After the evasion, I considered showering before leaving my room for dinner but decided against it. Then I ran into another group of friends, my fellow Hall III internationals, and ate with them in the canteen until they invited me to see Hong Kong island. I avoided this invitation after running into a Malay friend (Sean Sean) who invited me to eat with their group. Later, I found out that Sean Sean was also going with the other Malays out for a night on the town. It seemed there was no escape. Someone lent me some travel money and the next thing I knew I was on my way to the city with a large group of twenty other students (comprised mostly of BBA, Finance, and Accounting students). Regrettably, I did not have my camera and I had left my dorm room with the shorts I was planning to sleep in, bed hair, and a backpack with study materials.

As an immediate consequence of not having a camera, I resorted to my Sony Ericsson Elm camera phone which produced okay quality photos. But the atmosphere at the carnival called for technology beyond that which such a machine could offer. So next year I'll hopefully be more prepared for friends dragging me out of my shell of a dorm life.

The crowds were ridiculous in Hong Kong. And with thousands of people on the street, I couldn't help but feel small and insignificant. The city carnival was in fact mostly for families and couples and people who just wanted to see and take pictures. I was feeling more alone than usual. I felt that it didn't matter how crowded a place was if only I had Hieu holding me and making sure I would never get lost. It didn't matter how many people there were, I would still feel important to someone and that's enough for me. It seems that finding love in a city like Hong Kong is a one in a million, hit or miss, chance--especially for someone like me. Which, of course, makes me realize how much of a blessing it is to have somebody to love. Someone to miss. Someone to care about. Someone that makes you feel like yourself when everything around you is going wrong. My only thought is... one day. One day, Hieu and I will share even more amazing and unforgettable experiences together. But it'll have to wait.

The day before, I ate mooncakes with some dear sisters from church. Hall III also had a celebration and I made mooncakes!

Traditional moon cakes bewilder my American tastebuds.

Another thing... I really hate when people cuss. (I'm sorry if you ever read this Kevin.) Unfortunately, I never say anything about it anymore. I don't protest against cuss usage like I did in high school. You see, I don't have anything against Kevin since he was really friendly and helped me avoid getting lost in the heavy crowds. It was also a relief to find someone I could relate to and could speak and understand English with high proficiency. However, cussing is a personal distaste of mine. And it saddens me that "Americanized" locals would cuss so much. Because there's much to say about how senseless American culture is... we could really afford to expand our vocabulary.