I was born in England but moved to Hong Kong when I was three-years old. My father, an airline pilot, and been offered a job out there and it was a huge change for our family. But since me and my sis were so little, it just seemed like part of normal family life. Hong Kong became my deeply adored home and I still feel that that's where my roots are. I lived there for 23 years, I went to school there, made important friendships and got my first job there. It's an amazing place combining fast-paced city life with stunning natural landscapes. I was sure I would stay forever.
While in Hong Kong I learned Chinese but I wanted to be so much better (and be able to read and write) so I took a degree in Chinese and Law and I studied Mandarin in Beijing. It was a fun year. So many great stories. Like when I climbed an old spot of the Great Wall with friends and then ate chilli barbecued rainbow-trout that had just been caught from the river; or when we mistakenly went to a gay men's club and wondered why we were the only women in there; or getting electrocuted by the washing machine in my apartment (on a regular basis); or when I broke my foot and didn't realize it until days later when I could barely walk. Yes, good times, well interesting times anyway.
After graduation I was on my path, or so I thought. I had a job lined up with a high-flying law firm in Hong Kong and I was just about to start my final year of law school at Hong Kong University. Then I met the man who would become my Mr. T. He was just passing through, just for a three-day visit. But somehow through an amazingly serendipitous moment we met. It was like a lightening bolt. We both felt it. We spent an incredible 72 hours together, talking until the sun came up. And then he was gone. I missed him so much it hurt. I thought it was strange that I could miss someone so much when I hardly knew them.
What followed was a year of going back and forth to see each other as much as we could. He lived in the Netherlands and so it wasn't exactly convenient or cheap, but somehow we managed just seeing each other every 3 months. But it was hard. Every time we saw each other it got harder to say goodbye. We decided that going on like this wasn't an option and we needed to be together. As much as Mr. T loved Hong Kong, it was just too far away for work. Although he works from home he has regular meetings in Europe and the US and moving to HK would have been impossible. I knew that it was up to me.
Over that year I had been teaching at a local school to earn the money I needed to survive while I studied law in the evenings. As the year progressed it dawned on me how much I was beginning to dislike law and how I was falling in love with teaching. I was good at it. I loved the kids and they loved me back. It was the only job I ever had where I would go home smiling at the end of the day. I realized that I was on the wrong path and I needed to make the change.
New career path, new country. So I packed up my things, said goodbye to my home of 23 years and off I went. I had chosen a great international university in the Netherlands, where I could do my Masters and get more of a background in child development. And I could of course be close to Mr. T.
I loved my course, I got so much out of it and I really grew as an individual and as a scholar. I graduated top of my class and won a 500 Euro prize for my thesis. I was on top of the world. But. Then. What? I wasn't really sure where to go next. As much as I had enjoyed my studies I did not like living in the Netherlands. I missed home so much. I often thought of going back. But what of Mr. T, who I was now engaged to. He could not make the move to Hong Kong. I was also having a dilemma on the job front. I was being encouraged to do a phD, I was even told by a prestigious school that I would be accepted without a problem, and I had a great professor lined up as my supervisor. But somehow I didn't feel ready. I didn't feel ready for years more of study with little income and freedom. When would we even be able start a family? I wanted to work, I wanted to start my life, and then maybe, in the future.. the phD would always be there.
Mr. T and I spent weeks agonizing over where to go, what I should do and how we wanted to live. Let's go to Morocco, I finally suggested. It's where you're originally from. It's beautiful, the weather is good, you can explore your roots and I can learn Arabic. Plus it's only 3 hours away from London/Amsterdam/Paris, it's perfect. Mr. T agreed. I applied for a teaching job in Marrakech and before I knew it we were packing up our things and making the move.
It's been over two years since we moved here. We are so settled and happy now, we know we made the right decision. This is our future now. Sometimes we think back to what could have been, where we would be if we had made different decisions, but life is too short for what ifs and regrets. And now we have new dreams. And they are good dreams. We dream of building our eco-home on our land in the foothills of the mountains. We dream of our organic garden and eating our organic honey and olive oil. But most of all we dream of hearing the pitter-patter of our families tiny feet running through our home. Fate has dealt us a bad hand for this part of our journey, but we hope to overcome IF in time. We hope to bring our someday children up with an understanding of both my and my husband's cultures, a respect for their environment and speaking at least three languages!
In a tip of the hat to President Obama for yesterday's speech, I wanted to finish this post with these words - in the hope that they will echo and be heard around the world: All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort - a sustained effort - to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings. Thank you for these words Mr President!
