I had hoped to make sure I posted my fondest memories each Wednesday, but I gotta tell you, it was a busy week! I was busily preparing some grants for the other photography/writing project I am working on. And the babe and I both got sick. Usually that means he falls asleep by 6:30 each night, but in this case it meant staying up waaaay past each of other bedtimes. So, without further delay here is this week’s fondest memory.
From the time I was very young I was always very curious about the world and I longed to travel. I recently opened a “time capsule” I had sealed as part of a class project when I was in grade school. It was interesting to read though and see that some of my goals haven’t changed much–travel the world, have a family, take pictures.
When I was 14 I traveled abroad for the first time, sans parents. I had never ventured beyond the tristate area and there I was enroute to the UK. The following summer I traveled to Hong Kong for the first time with an exchange student I met in school. I spent a good portion of that summer there and while I have many memories of HK, the two most memorable occurred while I was completely alone. I had the realization, that despite my age, in that moment I was an adult, making adult choices and relying on my charm and brains alone. I was in a subway station without my friend and I was utterly lost. In those days (early 90′s) not many people spoke English and I couldn’t always understand the signs. There I stood, completely alone. Not a single soul in the world knew where I was and it was one of the most liberating moments of my life.
The wind in my hair standing above Victoria's Peak
The next, very similar moment, occurred while I was leaving HK and facing changing planes through two different countries. On my way in we stopped at a very backward seeming airport in Japan. Seriously, NO one spoke English or Cantonese. We were near panicked trying to find the right line and during the return trip I had far less time to make my connecting flight. But I did it. And I did it alone.
When I arrived in the US I was a different person. I was no longer the uncertain child, I was a woman who had traveled the world on her own. I knew that nothing could stop me from doing what I wanted. And I was right.
A couple of years ago I returned to Hong Kong to visit Chennie. Chennie is, and was, like a sister to me. She lived with us as an exchange student when we were both in high school. Following graduation she attending a college nearby and has returned often to visit. This time it was our turn to return the favor. We went back for her wedding and it was just as amazing 15 years later, only this time I got to experience it with my parents. The pictures in this point are images I captured with a point ‘n shoot camera during this visit.
by Erica
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