Hong Kong vs China

Until I met a someone who was from Hong Kong, I'll admit I was ignorant of the distinction between the special economic zone and the country of China. To me, they both spoke Chinese (which technically they do but it's Cantonese and mandarin, which are as different asPortuguese and Spanish) so were the same. However, I can say having been there even though just ever so briefly, that that previous assumption is not true. Hong Kong really is not China. They'd been under colonial rule since the mid-1850s and it feels it. Hong Kong really is like a slightly asian-ed version of Britian. They've got the double decker buses, driving on the wrong side of the road (ha!) , every western food imaginable - including Mrs. Fields Cookies - street names I can actually pronounce and a crap ton of white people to boot!

But while it was nice to feel pretty much back home, I have to admit I kind of missed China. Well, no I did miss China, and I really missed Wuxi. What can I say? Ive been here nearly three months, and the place has really grown on me. I mean come on Hong Kong, why are you so stingy with the honking? Don't you know that you should just lay it on even if there's no one around? Or what about spitting? You mean to tell me you actually do swallow your spit? And taxi drivers speak english? So we dont need to do a five minute back and forth of all the possible ways to say "Chun Jiang Hua Yuan" everytime I try to go home? Oh, and what is this Cantonese thing? I just got 你好 down! You can't change it up on me now! And I know there are non-Chinese people all around, but not even a second glance? Here I'm guaranteed at least the basic triple take. I'm just saying, while Hong Kong was a nice reminder of home, don't be fooled into thinking its a slice of China. That's a completely different animal.