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cooked burned a frightening image of death
from the glass platform. 180 degrees of vision,
into my brain that I couldn’t shake. I couldn’t
180 thousand. No, more. 1 million. Easily, 1 million.
stomach the thought. I ate around it. Immedi-
2 million. Half of 7 million. Millions of individuals
ately, she asked me something along the lines
in peripheral vision. Both humbling and terrify-
of: “What was the most unexpected thing you
ing.
have noticed since being here?” The answer
Over time I began to enjoy the soundtrack
was beyond me. The accumulation of all ex-
of lonesome traveling. White noise of bustling
periences and contrasting cultures with spe-
engines and murmurs of a language I’ll never
cific norms and mannerisms didn’t hit me un-
know. Networking webs became a nightmare:
til I returned to America. I didn’t realize how I
the source of anxiety.
seamlessly adapted to chinese culture until I re-
peared. My path was a jagged line. My mind: a
turned home. I thought everyone is driving on
mess. Plans and motivations changed with ev-
the incorrect side of the road, most Americans
ery blurred face passing by on a subway car.
take my business card for granted and most are
“If this woman brushes her eyebrow I’ll take the
not polite to strangers, unlike the ladder. When
train east.” “When the train unloads, I’ll exit with
Elaine posed the question to me I was speech-
the others but I’ll wander in the opposite direc-
less--for it was the hardest question.
tion.” The serendipitous detailings of how oth-
Comfort zones disap-
An afternoon like the rest, lonesome
ers moved in their habitat motivated my move-
wandering of neighborhoods were decided
ments and without fail. The journey was better
from a flip of a coin. I entered the enormous
experienced alone. When I noticed this in my-
glass shard of architectural design of One Is-
self I began to notice it in others. The answer
land East.
I was in a prism with panoramic
to Elaine’s question was surfacing. Every lonely
views of city from above, deserted of all move-
excursion was scraping away to what would
ment and shaded from blistering heat. Still,
define my connection to Hong Kong. It was the
quite, sterile. Ascending in the pill of an elevator
unexpected, beautiful, quiet white noise of the
capsule the doors eventually open to a glowing
found solitude in the world’s most dense me-
red platform notifying me I’ve arrive at the sky
tropolis. People turn to the city streets for their
deck. Situated in front of my opening door, so
peace and quiet.
perfectly planted I questioned the reality, was a
their company with one another, undisturbing,
man agreeably isolated on the cubelike couch
unobtrusive, but accompanied. The sought af-
overlooking what looked like heaven. Sky, man,
ter solitude by the people of Hong Kong and I-
sky. We stood worlds apart comfortably in our
-the very thing that separated us--was the very
found solitude above the crowds and concrete
thing that connected us. Our worlds will forever
structures that congest downtown, together.
be apart but in our untogetherness I found a se-
You can’t help but wonder how many people
curity I had not known could ever live inside of
you gaze down upon when you’re observant
me.
Unrelated strangers share
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