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Place and time. I had some conversations with some co-workers yesterday. It was regarding identity and place association. My friend P is from Italy and came to Canada when he was 20. My friend C like me was born here (in Canada) yet he only feels an association to Canada while I feel my identity associated with Asians and Chinese in particular. Many reasons for this state of affairs. I think the most significant being my sensitivity and also my upbringing.

The way that I described Hong Kong is by describing the heat on the street. It's hot in Hong Kong. You feel it especially on the street because the street is sweating. And it's not just damp, it's the smell of soy sauce that makes it so distinctive. The streets have enough traffic to make it feel dirty. It's just a busy pavement. You can't fault it for being busy. And that in a nutshell is how I characterize the people as well, busy.

So it is alittle strange that I would feel an affinity to a long distant place. A place that is quite different from my birth place. But there it is. It's the history of a place that lends itself to reverence and respect. You look at the Americas as an example and you hear the bands playing and you visualize kids from all over the US giving allegiance to the flag, etc. Of course it's not the flag that deserves such reverence (the flag is the symbol) but it's the documents of the founding of the republic which deserves admiration. So as with any place there are "features" which give it meaning, significance. It's a place where people have made it a home. A place surrounded by a culture announcing it's appetites and affectations saying to the world, "Here I am. This is me. This is my heritage". I don't believe I've ever felt that way. And I don't necessarily feel that way about Hong Kong either. I'm not from Hong Kong. But Hong Kong has a special place in the history of my family. It was a staging point toward eventually migration to Canada. The culture of my family is tied to Hong Kong as well.