The kids were in school until nearly the end of June. This was very late for my American sensibilities and difficult to deal with on Facebook, since school had been out since May in Florida and early June in Melrose. The kids, as you can imagine, were not pleased to be catching a 7:10 school bus in full uniform while their friends from back home were posting about going camping and hanging out at the skate park. Once school finally let out, we steeled our resolve for a hot and humid July.

It’s not a huge secret that I have not found this transition to life in Hong Kong to be super easy. I have come to understand that I am simply not a “Big City” person. I don’t like the congestion, the pollution, the constant noise, and the general hustle and bustle. But over the past few months, I have begun to relax and enjoy life here. Living abroad in midlife is really an amazing gift from the universe and getting into a routine (meditate, exercise, write, etc.), plus meeting some people, and taking Cantonese lessons has really helped.

I won’t pretend to understand on anything other that a very basic level what is going on in Hong Kong right now, but I have spent a fair amount of time thinking about what it means for us. And for now, our family is choosing to stay the course. We will continue to do our jobs, and to live up to the commitments we made when we moved here. Sometimes the only way out really is through.