Macau Macoma Part 3

Lessons Learned: Third Edition

Mexican food: outside of the Southern US and Central and South America - not the same. Ever.

If you move to Asia: you can kiss your personal space goodbye.  It's in the fine print when you sign a contract to work over here: your personal space no longer belongs to you. Don't look for it, it's not there.

As a matter of force, you must learn to be aggressive and rude whilst living out here.  It's not our fault: it's not even their fault.  You just have to do it to get ahead in life.  Otherwise, people take advantage of your good nature and cut in front of you in lines, steal taxis from you, rip you off, and generally run ramshod all over you. Don't let them!

People, as a rule, are surprising.  Just when you lose what little faith you have left in a culture, they redeem themselves. A taxi driver turns the meter off when he brings you the wrong place, a bus stop monitor holds an umbrella over you because you're standing in the rain in your rain coat and your bus is late. Those are the moments that matter, not all of the bad ones in the entire time you're there combined.  Life is much too short to hold on to all that bad.

Grey days do not necessarily mean you should stay in bed. Get out and do something. There are far too many of them in Macau to let them go to waste. Grey days can be just as awesome as sunny days!

You affect people more than you know. Sometimes you don't realize how much until it's too late. Keep in mind that you may never know how people truly feel about you: feelings are pretty complex and unpredictable. Bearing that in mind, even if you're not everyone's cup of tea, you are someone's! Treat everyone with kindness because you have no idea what cross they are being made to bear.

ALWAYS look down at the street/sidewalk when walking. Someone's puppy or child may have utilized the space as a toilet and you may or may not step in it. There is also an inordinate amount of vomit that may compete with Bourbon during Mardi Gras. You notice these things when you spend 2.5 years staring at the street.

Grocery stores smell like durian. I don't understand the draw of it, but it is very popular. I have tried it, I do not care for it. The smell permeates everything in the store and if you're unlucky, your other fruit purchases as well.

You might surprise yourself with how adaptable you are. I did. I was pretty sure I wouldn't survive without Mac and Cheese and instead, I flourished. I also realized I was ready for some big life changes - I eat so many more raw foods, I cook with more vegetables than pasta, I drink more water than anything else, I do yoga at least twice a week. The lifestyle I always wanted to live I was more ready to embrace here because why not start over? It worked out for me and I love Macau for that.