Should I stay or should I go now?

February 27th, 2006

I can’t remember the next line to that song. That is, however, the question that I face now. If I stay in Hong Kong for the next mod, then I will miss some things that I dearly cherish. 1) spending the last 6 weeks of my free time with my friends at school 2) my bed (I know this seems rather trivial, but it’s not really trivial at this point) 3) Fiji with Mindy and Pam. I’m not sure that is the exact order that those things belong in, but you get the jest. So, I am seriously contemplating whether I really want to stay in Hong Kong for another 6 weeks.

If I do stay for longer, I get to see the Philippines, Tokyo, and Vietnam. I can also hang out with my GL, which would be nice (assuming he returns to some semblance of the person he was at the beginning of the term). He takes this school stuff much more seriously than I do and, to be honest, he’s not terribly fun at the moment. He reminds me of a ex who one of the kindest people I've known, but hespent every waking moment stressing about work and being convinced that the full weight of his employer’s concerns rested squarely and solely on his capable shoulders. My GL doesn’t drink nearly as much as my ex, but the similarities are honestly a bit too close for comfort. Maybe that is the trade off with b school boys?

I’m also considering whether my desire to go home is related to the fact that my professor basically told me that Santa Clause doesn’t exist – the only way to successfully do business in Asia is through corruption and sex. I feel like I’ve been living in complete awe of this fantastically interesting place only to find out that underneath it all is an ugly, dirty, and demeaning culture. I still hold that his level in society as a self-titled dream maker and the fact that he has no problem pimping out women in order to meet his own business objectives influenced his discussion to the point where much of it can’t be held as realistic. It’s two days later now and I still feel sad about his views on Asia. I guess I know that some of it must be true and no matter what, it will never reconcile with my western morals.