Now we are tall and Christmas trees are small

Some thing that I always need time to get used to in Hong Kong is the living environment.

Typically, I live in the flat that my family and I used to live in when we were still in Hong Kong (when I was younger than the age of 5). It was an apartment that we shared with my paternal grandparents (the flat had 3 rooms and 2 washrooms) and now they live here by themselves. Everytime I come to Hong Kong now, I have readjust my memories of my old home to bring them in par with reality and get used to this place again. Everything seems really small, cramped up, and oppressive. I can cover all the "empty floor" in my room with less than 5 steps. I admit, it's probably because I've long grown accustomed to "Canadian" living - the size, the big empty spaces, the triumph of aesthetics over neccesity and practicality.

The interesting thing is, when I was small, I don't recall feeling this way about this old home of mine. I remember seeing it as a big place. My parents sometimes invited their friends or relatives over for dinner parties and the flat could fit more than 15 people. Now, it is hard for me to imagine how 15 people can possibly socialize in such a small place. I remember being able to run down the hallway at top speed. Now I can walk from one end to the other in more or less 5 steps. I remember taking baths in a huge bathtub. Now I don't think I can sit with my legs stretched out in the tub even if I wanted to. I remember not daring to stand beside the window of our 14th floor apartment because I would be scared by how small everything looked below and realizing that if the windows broke I'd probably die from the fall. Now I open up the windows and hang clothes outside to draw, 14 floors above the floor.

As the BeeGees sing: When I was small, and Christmas trees were tall. I don't think anything has changed here. The bathtub didn't shrink; the ends of the hallway didn't shift any closer. It is a matter of growing up.