This evening…

This evening
This evening started
This evening started the
This evening started the process
This evening started the process of
This evening started the process of saying
This evening started the process of saying see
This evening started the process of saying see you
This evening started the process of saying see you later!

This evening was my ‘despidida’ with Chater Road, Chater Garden, and Hong Kong Bank based organizations. A chance to say thank you for the support they have shown me and to look back at the past 18 months together. But above all it was a chance to remember how much I am loved & how blessed I am and to feel it first hand.

There were tears as members of various organizations shared blessings, thanks, and members shared personal thoughts. The language seemed to flow back in forth between Tagalog & English and that seemed natural. Stories were shared of events I had all but forgetten about. I let the tears fall because there was nothing I could do to stop them, i was saying “see you later” to pamilya. I don’t know everyone really well but that’s ok. I am apparently much more well known at least on the fact that I stand out. I hugged, lots of hugs, smiled for pictures, and took in the moments. The tears fell and yet I tried to fight back the stream of tears when those sharing teared up or the speakers spoke personally.

So to the Chater Road, Chater Garden, and HK Bank Based Orgs:

To FILWOM & FMWU-CGC-Apologies for grouping you all together but I”m not always sure if I can consistently tell you all apart unless people are wearing their org uniforms. You all were my first immersion with an orgs during KBP 2011….was that only just over a year ago?? I learned square dancing that evening & the beauty of just being able to be me. While I don’t know you all that personally, i was never ceased to admire your hard work & passion during the campaigns & when there were events in Chater Garden. Thank You!

To Gabriela-HKB & Migrante-HKB-So I’ll be honest, when I first arrived it took me a while to figure out what org was who but that never stopped  me from taking time to pass through HKB on a Sunday. Even before I was active on Chater Road, during campaigns I would make sure to pass through HKB when something was going on. B/C even if I didn’t always understand the language the drive & passion was something I respected and looked up too. As i became active, I started enjoying the brief conversations when I would pass through as a chance to take a breather, learn so much, and hear stories. Like the human web game, while things might be a tangled mess at times, we can work together to figure things out…a lesson I learned through conversations under the HKB. Thank You!

To FMA-Differences don’t matter may be the understatement for the lessons you taught me. Making sure I had a place to me when I was new to Chater, feeding me during various Sundays, explaining the signature campaign over and over & then encouraging me to go out and get signatures. I was never officially a member but I felt cared for & loved in ways I’m struggling to put into words. I always knew if events were happening on Chater Road & I couldn’t locate POWER, I had a place with you all. Thank You!

To ACFIL-From the Tuklas Talino 2011 on last, last New Years Day and the thanksgiving party a few weeks later. You pushed me out of my comfort zone little by little, getting me to sing Karaoke on Chater & making sure I was well aware of the basic issues being faced at the time by the migrants in Hong Kong. Then during the April Fools BBQ, i learned an important HK lesson of keep your bags away from Monkeys & an important life lesson in trying to speak a new language even if I don’t know very little. Thank You!

To POWER-Not Yet…we still have one more Sunday…so for now THANK YOU & I’ll see you Sunday!! 🙂