Stepping into the airport with her luggage rolling behind her, junior Lillie Weise turned and took a last glance at the city that had become her home. Weise returned to Kansas City from Hong Kong in July after living there for five years because of her dad’s work. Her family hadn’t been planning to stay as long as they did, but plans changed when her dad received a promotion.

“We were supposed to be in Hong Kong for three years, but when my dad got promoted we stayed for two more,” Weise said. “We moved back when he got an offer here.”

Weise’s family used to live in Kansas City, so when moving back to America it seemed like the logical place to go. Weise attended Good Shepherd grade school before the move and still had many friends with whom she had stayed in contact with during her visits home every summer. Even with all of her Kansas City connections, Weise said it was still hard to leave her life in Hong Kong.

“I knew the move back was coming, but the emotions were half and half,” Weise said. “I was excited to come back, but it was hard to leave. It was all very bittersweet.”

Although Weise is now 13 hours behind her friends in Hong Kong, she hasn’t lost touch with them completely. She said that even though the time difference makes things harder, she still manages to keep in contact.

“It’s easier to keep in touch with things like Facebook and FaceTime,” Weise said. “And some of my good friends will come visit me here since I don’t know how often I’ll come back.”

Even though Weise misses her old friends, she said she was excited to come back and see her friends in Kansas City and start at Sion, a school radically different from Hong Kong International.

“The all-girls part of Sion is definitely different. And we had block scheduling, which really makes a difference,” Weise said. “I don’t really prefer one, but it’s weird to have seven classes each day instead of four. But they’re both good schools and both very intense.”

Even though Hong Kong is 7814 miles from Kansas City, Weise said it was easy to readjust to life in America, partly because she had visited so frequently while living in Hong Kong. She said life in Hong Kong was much more fast-paced, and it was easier to get around using the city’s public transportation system.

“I miss being able to go out and do whatever using the public transportation,” Weise said. “But it was hard to be away (from Kansas City).”

Weise said having the experience of living in Hong Kong was definitely worth all of the time spent away from her friends, the time difference, and the struggles of trying to deal with the confusing connecting flights getting from one place to another.

“It was great because I was able to travel a lot and see different cultures,” Weise said. “It really has changed me.”