First impressions

Contrasts. This is certainly the first thing that catches the eye.
Or, should I say, DIRT and TRASH caught my eye first?

Then, BLUE GLASS & CONCRETE modernity slowly glided into the picture, shaping word "contrast" as a justification of that puzzling feeling... I was scared. Scared to get scared: I'd come here for A YEAR! Will I last?!..

My subconscious knew better and shut the fears away immediately. Next thing I find myself doing is buying a plant from a street vendor in a dirty little street for what is to be my home for the next 12 months just a block away. I am here, and I am settling down... Her young but tired, wrinkled face lights up with a SMILE. She explains in accented but fairly good English how often to water the plant as she carefully places the pot into a plastic bag for me and disappeares to break my very first HKD 500 note for change.

I move on to explore the exotic fruit at the next stall and get completely put off by the STENCH. I walk away, wondering what the smell is and suddenly discover a new meaning of "stench". It does not necessarily mean "bad", it is enough for it to be an "UNFAMILIAR" smell to put us off! I simply had no idea of the origin of the smell and it alerted me, made me worried. Was that discovery my first step in opening up? Probably...