The dream comes to an end

It's almost 4:30am, and I've just finished packing. I don't want to go to bed, because that would mean sleeping away the precious few hours that I have left in Hong Kong. But really there is little else to do, except perhaps indulge myself by looking back at the time I've spent here.

These last two months have flown by in a blur. Cliche, yes, but true nonetheless. The speed with which things have moved is explained perhaps by the amount of action that has been packed into each week - the travel, the dining, the classes, and the cultural immersion. I arrived at this exchange program with a healthy dose of skepticism, and leave convinced that this was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I won't soon forget the travel stories I've amassed, the people I've met, the crowds I've braved, the classes I've taken, and of course, the incessant partying I've been part of.

The Far East has blown my mind. I never came here thinking that this would be a place I'd want to be long term. It was more of an adventure - an opportunity to experience something completely different. But now that I've been here, should life ever bring me back this way, I will be one happy camper.

Although as a business student you are told repeatedly how the future lies with China, you eventually hear this enough that its importance begins to diminish. However, having visited China, and having lived here for just three months, it has become clear that the sheer gravitational pull of this side of the world is monstrous and inescapable. No economic decision that you nor I will make in this generation will be made without China and its regional economies figuring into the equation somehow. Throw India into the mix, and it's obvious that the real action is no longer in the West.

On a personal note, the cultural immersion has been eye-opening. I was arrogant enough to think that because of my world travels I would have little to learn here, but obviously I was wrong. The people and their traditions have reminded me of the importance of family, of respect, of "face", and of taking life as it comes at you. These same characteristics are present in other parts of Asia, just as they are in my cultural homeland of Pakistan, but I feel that they are lacking in the US. The cultural renewal alone has been cathartic.

I'm happy to be heading home, but I'm sad I'm leaving. For some reason I feel the same as I did when I was graduating from college, filled with emotions of sadness and regret at leaving behind close friends and a community that has imparted the greatest of gifts - knowledge. But the complementary emotions are present as well - of excitement and anticipation as to how I'm going to apply this newfound wisdom.

Thank you Hong Kong. Thank you.