Dear dad, mom and Jr.,
London is about self-resilience. In Hong Kong or Taiwan, if you’re hungry, you can always go downstairs and grab something to eat.
But not in Hong Kong.
From my house at St. John’s Wood, I have t cover myself heavily in jackets and make the way to the Tesco Express that is around 10 minutes away — close if you think aboutit, but far if you’re carrying three bags of groceries.
You need groceries because it’s too expensive to eat out all the time. A regular meal outside would cost you at least GBP 5 (or HKD 60), and that’s a normal takeaway. The food is bland and not even good. So you buy food to cook.
You take around 15-30 minutes to prepare the food, 15 minutes to eat it and then another 20 minutes to wash it out. Ma Fan!
But that is life in London — if you don’t prepare, you don’t eat.
That’s why, I’ve been preparing really simple stuff like bagels with salami slices and cheese. Easier and not so much washing to do. There’s also the supposedly healthy salad which I prepare with corn (from can of course), tuna flakes and sun-dried tomatoes. I love sun-dried tomatoes – they really prepare a nice kick to a meal. I wish there were more in Hong Kong.
I can only do breakfast stuff though so my diet is kinda limited. Sigh. Hopefully, I can start cooking meats soon. If you know of any simple meat dishes to cook, send them over as am totally in need of meat. And of course rice, which can be found in super small bags at GBP 3++ a bag!
Geez, never realized just how Asian I was since I got to London. Now, all I can think of is rice. I wished I brought a rice cooker with me when I left. Now I know why young university students bring rice cookers with them when studying overseas.
In addition, it’s colder in London nowadays. At the moment, I am wearing a jacket and socks while typing this email.
And it’s only mid-September!
Imagine just how much colder it will be later on.
In conclusion, there are many things great about London. For example, my place is comfortable and I have enough to survive. However, compared to Asia, it’s more inconvenient and I miss our maids back home. You really have to appreciate how food comes fast back home.
Anyway, gotta go. School starts tomorrow . Take care and love you!
Your loving daughter and sis,
Bonita
Hey.. Hey… I really enjoy reading your blog! Haha… I’m a master student in Belfast, UK. All the experience you mentioned here is just like the things I used to complain, especially the food. Well, Belfast is a just a very small city and I’m not really bothered with the transportation system, as I could reach around university just by foot. But I stayed a couple of months in London last summer and I understand completely how you felt! 😉
Anyway, I started from looking for some information about Taiwan, and finally end up in a very interesting blog. I love the blog you posted about the reasons of going back home. I’ve been almost two years away from home, and started to think where to build my career after this course over. Somehow I miss home so much. Family, friends, and like what you said, the convenient life.
However, as I haven’t earned anything to get back those I spend here, then I think I need to bear a little longer to be away. Then enjoy your time back home, would visit your blog more often 😉 Anyway, I’m from Indonesia. Hehe