If I haven’t mentioned it before, when attending UBC I live at home in Burnaby, an hour away from school by transit, with my family. My dad, my overprotective brother and my mom who is there once or twice a year. Hong Kong is a whole other story. I am living in student residence. Hall 2 of 9 Halls with other people around my age with a distribution of about 50% locals and 50% other (international, mainland China, exchange.) Or at least that was what I was told the distribution is.

The only similarity is the distance to the nearest mall is about the same and the route to it is divided by a similarally steep hill.

I love living on campus to the point where I am starting to wonder if there is something wrong with me because I feel like I should be feeling home sick. Lets arbitrarily analyze this with a +/- scale and see if I am being blinded by my freedom from commuting (and freedom in general) or if this really as wonderful as it feels.

• 15 minute walk to school vs 1 hour transit? No brainer. +10
• Not having the worry about staying at school extra late doing projects (which is surprisingly common here) and then waiting for the bus in the rain. +5
• No longer having ask if I can go out (I have “Asian parents.”) +7  Though still getting checked up on over the phone. -2
• Haven’t had a decent home cooked meal in a month. -4
• Eating out at unique places all the time. Only +4 because then you realize it gets expensive and you start saving by going to some not so good for you places *cough*McDonalds*cough*
• Big Mac meals and McNugget meals here are only $2.50 here! +0… It’s McDonalds.
• The stove here is actually a hot plate. Only -1 because I don’t cook here.
• Another -1 because I don’t cook.
• Weekly dessert night for Hall 2!!! Only +1 …because I have gotten fatter =I
• Unhealthy changes in appetite due to lack of affordable quality portioned correctly food on campus. -6
• When your food gets stolen or destroyed in the tiny common fridge. -4 because then you’ll never put anything in it again.
• Another -2 for the sheer lack of space in that fridge.
• Having an awesome room mate who likes the stuff you like and has similar sleeping patterns. Neutral. Because it could have easily been the opposite. But +2 because she is just that awesome.
• Hard time getting alone time to be depressed and moody. -5
• Easy time to find someone to hang out with. +4
• Learning about other cultures because res is so diverse. +6
• The sharpest rise in number of Facebook friends (and real friends of course ;)) I will probably ever have. +1
• The hall committee banging on doors every night trying to solicit votes. -1
• Living independently for the first time can be really taxing on your self control. Neutral. It’s good preparation for life?
• There are no dorm parties here but there is the nightly drinking and hanging out on the lawn. +2
• I can’t sing as loudly as I want to my music of questionable taste. -3
• That moment when you realize you don’t have basic supplies such as an umbrella, toilet paper or a blanket for the changing weather. -2 because then you realize those things are super cheap in Hong Kong.