1. You have lived in many cities, countries, and on many continents. Please list all. I lose track!
2. How long have you lived in your current home? Is it home? What makes a home a home?
3. What has been the most delightful moment today?
4. What has worried you most today?
5. When you think of Berlin, what things come to mind first?
6. How far is the distance between Hong Kong and Berlin? Real and felt?
7. How long have we known each other for?
8. If there would be a symbol for our friendship, what would it be?
9. Do you hope or believe that tomorrow will be a better day than today?
10. Have you seen the sun shine today?
1. Ha ha! Oh dear, even my best friend can't keep track. Can I, that is the question!
ReplyDeleteWorking in reverse order, sorry to disappoint you but I've only lived on two continents!
I've lived in 9 countries: Finland, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Cambodia, and Hong Kong (not a separate country but usually considered as such). Did I remember all? I'm surprised that it adds up to as many as 9. Sometimes it does help to do these listings!
Hm, cities: Rauma, Helsinki, Seoul, Jakarta, Georgetown, Kunming, Leiden, Geneva, Phnom Penh, Sen Monorom, Hong Kong. That adds up to 11. Many many homes though...
2) I've lived almost 9 months in my current home here in Hong Kong. It does feel like home. Not an ideal home, though, as we've had "home improvement" (read: deterioration) issues since we moved in. It felt a bit rough and tough to pack up half of the house only 8 weeks after making a intercontinental move. After that week-long renovation I've hesitated with putting up paintings, decorating, furniture shopping, etc. - basically hesitated making the place a long-term home. As I write this I just noticed a new, possibly moldy stain on our bedroom ceiling. This. Is. What. I. Mean. Maybe next week we'll have to "evacuate" again due to renovation. Today we already had electricians visit. Last week the plumber. This building was built in the '70s but it's not really kept up to date, is it...
Long story short, I'm the type of person that empties their suitcase within the first 5 minutes in the hotel room and arranges the items to make the place feel more mine and more cozy. My husband says I could adjust to living in any building / home / room, even a nasty one. Maybe he's right but I do want to spread my humble belongings and special mementos wherever I am, and I'm not liking that I can't feel relaxed in doing that right now, in this flat. But, ultimately, what matters is that home is where my family is. As long as I'm with my husband and two boys, I'm home.
3) What a wonderful question! I beat all the other moms, dads, and domestic helpers and I was the first person to pick up a child at my son's kindergarten. He was really impressed and he gave me the sweetest smile when our eyes met across the room and then he ran into my arms and gave me a huge hug. Can't be better than that!
4) Today has been stress- and worry-free, actually! I'm really having to think about this one. I woke up with the remains of yesterday's headache which kept me worried about a possible migraine attack this morning. I felt like puking so I worried about managing today's 6 hour workload. A basic painkiller helped and I was totally fine by 10 am. Relief! After feeling ill I tend to feel incredibly happy to be back in good health again! Like a blast of joy in my heart.
5) Berlin - you come to mind first, of course! Then I think of your amazing family. Your neighborhood. The older style apartment buildings in white or pale colors, with decorative details. The boulevards. The bakery you liked near your old house. Eating Thai food downtown with you. Ha, that's where I guess I felt most at home - in Asia in Europe!
6) I googled this 8750 km between you and me. Bwaah! Sounds too far! The felt distance - like a few neighborhoods between us. The internet is a blessing in this sense. But then again even without it you'd be in my thoughts daily.
ReplyDelete7) We met back in the fall of 1990... That's 24 years, soon!
8) Good question! Maybe a paintbrush? Not the grade 5 class ring (with maple leaves) for sure! Ha ha! Or maybe our symbol could be a number: 4.5! Not because of what it stood for but that we were able to create this whole code language.
9) Absolutely!
10) Nope. But what made me really happy and relieved and alert was the clear albeit gray sky today. I kept on staring up and away today since the past days have been foggy and smoggy with worrying amounts of air pollution being trapped by that sea fog. Yesterday it poured with rain so all of a sudden, like magic, the sky was as it should be. And I could see the mountains around Hong Kong!