Our trip to Paradise

We left for Koh Samui, Thailand on Tuesday, November 23rd 2010. We walked down to the bus terminal on a sunny Hong Kong afternoon. It was so nice to be on vacation when normally we'd be working. We like our jobs but it's always nice to take a break! We took the Airport Express bus and it was pretty empty at that time so we had space. It was about a 45 minute ride to the airport from where we live. Then we arrived at the airport but our airline wasn't open until 4pm and it was somewhere around 3. So we wandered the airport and had some lunch and hung out until it was time to check in. Checking in was smooth and then we boarded our flight on Bangkok Airways - Asia's "Boutique" airline - whatever that means. I never thought I'd fly on Bangkok Airways - how cool. Security was slightly easier than when we flew last in the U.S. We still had to bag our liquids etc. but we didn't have to take our shoes off. The flight was smooth and they feed you well. It was an almost 3 hour flight to Koh Samui - direct. I read and journaled and just relaxed. When we flew into Koh Samui it was about 7:30 pm or so. They are a hour behind Hong Kong time so however it works out. It was dark so we couldn't see much but the airport was all outdoors in little grass covered hut buildings. I guess it's won awards. It was really neat to see it in the daytime when we left. Immigration was easy and our bag was ready and then our resort picked us up in a nice SUV. That's when the vacation really starts. We were given cold scented towels that smelled like lime sort of. The driver told us that we had about a 30 minute drive to the resort so we just settled in and looked around. My very first thought was I'm on the travel channel. You see, Koh Samui is a beautiful Island but areas are very poor and there was street food and stalls for selling to the tourists. We wound through what seemed like side streets. Not unlike Mexico but still different. A lot of people ride mo-peds there. But then we got on a nice two lane highway that twisted and curved for a bit. Shops and the like were a bit nicer at that point. Then we turned off on a side road and traveled that for a few minutes. Our resort - The Renaisssance Resort and Spa by Marriot - was quite tucked away.

When we arrived we were escorted in to the front desk and our bag was brought in (we brought just one of our really large luggage duffels). The lobby was just soooo beautiful I was in awe. We were given more towels, mini flower lei things and lemon tea on a tray with flowers. We checked in and were upgraded from our garden view deluxe room to an ocean view and given the "honeymoon" treatment. We were taken to our room and the nice lady showed us around. When we opened the door we were greeted by two swan towel animals that made a heart with scattered rose petals on them. It was beautiful. Our room had a very large beyond king size bed, and the a beautiful balcony and an outdoor jacuzzi tub and separate shower and bathroom stalls. There was scented oil burning throughout the resort and in our room. It was so beautiful and romantic and pampering. I cannot even begin to express how well we were treated from the moment we arrived. We were treated like royalty. And we did our best to show our appreciation. The lady that checked us in and who we saw throughout the week told Ernie as we checked out that we should come teach there because we were so nice. :)

We decided to explore a little after we got settled and so we walked down to the beach but it was so dark we couldn't see anything. Still it was exciting. All the paths seemed to have lots of plants and it seemed so confusing. We stopped at the bar and Ernie had a coke and I had a Perrier and we called it a night. We fell asleep to the sounds of the frogs in the little pond.


The next morning we woke up to the amazing view outside our sliding glass doors. We had two chairs and a little table/footrest on our balcony on the fourth floor and palm trees and flowering tropical vegetation and beyond that the ocean. It was so amazing to wake up every morning and see that. When I stepped outside it smelled like flowers. We threw on some clothes and went to check out the complimentary breakfast which was unbelievable! We had an ocean view table for two and they pull the chair out for you and put the napkin in your lap and then they took our orders for coffee and then we went inside and partook of the amazing buffet of food. Also there are two cooks who will make you fancy pancakes or eggs or whatever. It was so good! Fresh fruit juices like watermelon, pineapple etc. And the coffee was really, really good. We ate and played with our new camera. Then we headed back to the room where we waited out a quick rain shower. Everywhere we went people did the little head bow, hands like they are praying. It was so neat. Then it was sunny for a while so we hung out at the pool. The pool and beach are right there together so it's so amazing to just be. I had another cup of coffee and then put my swimsuit on. The air is such a perfect temperature that I was never cold at all and in fact it was quite hot in the direct sun. When the spa opened at 10 I made an appointment for a 90 minute massage at noon. :) They had a deal where if you bought $10,000 Thai Bahts in credit at the resort you actually got $15,000 to spend so that ended up being the best thing we could've done (keep in mind it's $28 Thai Bahts for every U.S. dollar approx). The only catch to that was if you didn't spend it all you didn't get it back but it worked perfectly for us. Some things we paid in cash but we could just sign room 409 and they deducted it from the credit and we could get a daily balance. It was so handy. We of course spent more then that on our vacation but it was mostly for the spa.

I am not going to go day by day but I will share the highlights. Every night we had a romantic candelight dinner. The first night we ate at the Banana Leaf restaurant at our resort that had all you can eat Thai food. It was so good. We had appetizers and Ernie got a rice dish served in a pineapple and my rice came wrapped in a banana leaf. So cool! I had some froofy cocktails which I'm convinced didn't have any alcohol in them anyway but were so good. Ernie tried a local beer called Singha. Or something like that. The second night we had dinner with a Greek couple from Athens that we met on our elephant trek (I'll get to that) and we went to the TawaNN restaurant at our resort. They had Angus beef night and I had a tenderloin cooked to perfection with bernaise sauce. Ernie had ribeye. It was soooooo good. They served free flowing wine from Africa. It was yummy with dinner and the company was great!!! Friday night we had Thai curry back at the Banana Leaf and I had a whole fried sea bass with red curry paste and because I didn't know which of the five rices to try they brought me a plate with a little of each. They were so nice!!! The final night :( we had dinner back at TawaNN for Phuket Lobster night. I had a lobster stir fry and Ernie had steak again. Every dinner was amazing and to sit outside near the ocean with candlelight and great service - sigh. Now I know how the other half lives.

I also had a spa treatment every day. The first day was the 90 min Aroma Fusion massage. The second day was a 60 min Island Fusion massage, the third day I had an after sun body wrap and a moisture surge facial and the last day I had the most amazing thing - I had an inroom bath. See you can order a bath (I ordered the dream bath) and then two women came to the room and prepared it. It took like 40 min. and I couldn't look. Then when I saw it - well pictures will speak more than my words. There was like this mineral stuff in the water that tingled and it was so relaxing. It was amazing that I could take baths outside and not be cold. Ernie also had a massage and some other treatments. I was a total regular! :) I LOVED it. Before your treatment they'd give you cold lemongrass tea with honey and a scented cold towel. After your treatment you'd get another towel and hot tea with dried mango to eat.




Okay, for wild adventures we had a few! I'll start with the most tame - our resort had kayaks and so we kayaked around our area a couple different times. The ocean was gentle and it was fun! On Thursday we decided to ride an elephant through the jungle. Why not right? It was CRAZY! At 9:00 this safari place picked us and the couple from Greece up and then a few more people and brought us to their "place." We chatted with the couple from Greece and that's how we met. The Safari place was crazy. They have all kinds of shows there - reptile shows and you can feed baby tigers and they have zip lines etc. We chose the elephant thing. You sit in a seat high up on the elephants back and there's a "driver." I have to say that riding an elephant that high up as it makes it's way down a slippery jungle trail by the water is pretty scary! But it was an amazing experience. Our elephant was named something that sounded like Sumchai or Somchoi. Something like that. He was 14 - so young. We bought bananas to feed him and he could smell them so every now and again he'd put his trunk back toward us to give him another. Both Ernie and I got to actually ride him sitting on his neck. We saw other animals along the way and a village too. It was so cool. The other crazy thing we did (okay well it was crazy for me) was rent a mo-ped for the day. It was only $7 U.S. for the whole day! For gas you stop at a stand and buy a glass bottle which is one gallon of gas and they put it in for you. It was crazy. So for about $10-11 for the day we had transportation all over the island. Ernie drove and I rode on back. He's done it before so I just hung on for dear life! There's about a million other people riding mo-peds and cars and trucks and huge potholes. I was pretty terrified at first and then I settled into a calmer acceptance. We found a Starbucks and I just had to laugh. No matter where I go there it is! My stomach was in no position to consume anything though! Then we went to the fishermans wharf and the big buddha. That was crazy. From an artistic standpoint it was amazing. From a spiritual standpoint it was sad for me. All these people spending so much money on "religious supplies" (they had all sorts of stands) and trying to earn their way to heaven by doing all these weird rituals was a bit unnerving and all these weird monk guys too. It reminded me of the golden calf in the bible. Anyway, it was interesting to see I guess. Then we decided to head back. We went to the big Lamai beach and walked around. Different crowd then our resort. I loved our resort. It had everything we needed and every inch of it was a work of art and landscaping. I loved how it smelled, how the people treated us and how amazing everything was. We got back and ordered room service and took a nap!

We did spend our share of time at the beach/pool. We had fantastic weather - clear, sunny and hot. I layed on the cushiony adjustable beach chairs sometimes in the sun and sometimes in the shade and read my books and swam in the ocean or the pool and just relaxed. Ernie and I built a sandcastle and I built a face and then we watched the tide take them. We got pizza served to us right there on the beach and anything we wanted to drink. Mostly we did that for lunch or room service before a nap.

At night we'd get little packets of different kinds of dried fruit with our turndown service as we were enjoying leisurely 2-3 hour candelight dinners. In the daytime we saw turquoise water and green coconut palms and white beaches. Are you jealous yet? Seriously I'm jealous of myself! Usually on a vacation when it's time to go I'm ready. But not this time. I wanted to stay so bad!!!It rained the morning we left a few times and that helped a tiny bit. It was the most relaxing, pampering vacation I've ever had. It really didn't cost very much either - even though it seemed like it should have.
Now I'm back in Hong Kong trying to make the adjustment from a total summer feeling to Christmas. It's weird. I would recommend that resort to anyone in the future and I hope to go back someday. I will post a photo album hopefully in the next few days because we have more even cooler pictures. Thanks for reading!

Drag Queens, Pole Dancing and Eyelashes...

I bet that title made you curious to read more! I'd say only in Hong Kong but I'm sure there's many other places to see these things! The Saturday before Halloween Jen, Cath and I went out to a club called The Fringe to see the ICS (that's our school) jazz band play. They were the "opening act" for the Saturday night jazz band that plays there. It's about 45-1 hour by train to get down to Central on Hong Kong Island. We get about halfway there and we're waiting for the next train and we see these towering 7 foot beings in knee high platforms and mini skirts. Yes, they were drag queens. The most unbelievable drag queens I've ever seen! In light of it being Halloween weekend we entertained the idea that they were costumes but upon further inspection we could tell that they were way too comfortable and well done up for it to be a seasonal thing. We decided we needed a picture so on the train we positioned ourselves to covertly take a picture of them when lo and behold they asked to be in the picture! It was so funny because the other Asian people avoided them like the plague!

Then we arrived in Central and proceeded to look for the club. While we were walking we quickly realized that it was the night for the Halloween festivities. It kind of resembled what I think Mardi Gras might be like. Open top trams went by full of costumed people yelling at the people on the street. Streets were blocked off and it was generally crazy. We decided to take a taxi to our destination so as to avoid any further confusion in all the madness. We get to The Fringe and it was a tiny bar/lounge place and there are all the ICS kids playing on the little stage area. In a bar - with alcohol! Call me old school but that was so weird to me! That would never fly in the states. But it was all good here! Huh. I think the drinking age here is loosely 18 but I'm not sure. Not that the kids were allowed to drink but still...weird. Then we stayed to watch the professional jazz band. They were awesome and played older jazz tunes. Then the singer came out and they did a beautiful rendition of "Over the Rainbow." Harriet - if you're reading this - I said out loud "this is for Harriet!" and then I teared up. Then our feet were hurting because we couldn't get seats and we wanted to get home before the trains stopped running so we left. On our way to the station (we walked) we saw lines and lines of cops patrolling the streets and plenty of revelers all around. We narrowly missed stepping in vomit and then I saw someones fake eyelash on the ground. It was so weird that random eyelash...

Then we finally get on the train and Cath strikes up a conversation with a young, sort of nerdy looking Asian. He wasn't holding on to anything and she was holding the pole so she was talking about balancing and such and then he asked her if she'd pole dance for him! I said "Cath, did that guy just ask you to pole dance?" I couldn't believe it. Finally, after a long journey in painful shoes (pain is beauty right?) we made it home. What a night!

We had our Fall Festival two Saturdays ago. It went really well. Our booth was Towering Blox for R2 and our theme was recycling so you had to stack tissue boxes and whoever made it fall over lost and the other person won. It was very popular.
We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary here at ICS among nearly 20 friends that we've made here in Hong Kong. It was an amazing night. We ordered 10 pizza's, my friend Kate made two cakes and Ernie surprised me with a gorgeous bouquet he'd had specially made and a silver engraved plate. And of course I found out our trip is to Koh Samui Thailand! He also wrote me vows that were amazing and read them in front of everyone. Very special! Then we went downstairs to the theater and saw the ICS show choir perform. It's like Glee and they did several Glee songs but then it had a Christian twist at the end. It was fun and at the end the gave us a shout out and spotlighted us and we had to stand up. That was neat.

We leave for Thailand in 9 days!!! I'm praying for nice weather there. Looks like it should be. White sand, warm blue water, spa massages and plenty of tropical flowers and romantic dinners. It's a resort that tailors to romantic getaways so it should be good. I will need a break after this coming week. We have a field trip to Outback Steakhouse for our restaurant theme. I take both my morning and afternoon classes together at once. Each kid has a parent going though so I just facilitate but still I'm a bit anxious. Then Friday I have twenty conferences from 8am to 8pm. All I can say about that is if the Lord brought me to it He'll get me through it because that seems impossible. Then I have 8 more on Saturday from 8-1pm. Then I work that next Monday and Tuesday - Sunday (23rd-28th) I am in Thailand. Phew! Then it's on to Christmas! Wow - time is beyond flying for me. I think I'm getting past the adjustment stage onto the living here stage. I have routines now and I've got some other things I'm looking to get involved in but I'll save that for another blog as things develop. All in all I feel blessed and for now, quite happy!
God bless and peace out!

Life in R2 (Kindergarten sort of)

So every three weeks or so we do a new theme unit. Remember - these are 4 and 5 year-olds. We just started a new unit this week called "Firehouse." This week we are learning about firefighters and their gear and equipment (not exclusively - we do other things too). They are very enthusiastic about this particular theme. Because they are are all ESL (English as a second language) one of our primary goals is to increase their language and vocabulary through activities in our themes. After spending time making a theme web on the board, reading some books, doing a science experiment using a candle and a bottle and water to show how fire needs air and looking at posters of their equipment my kids were totally into it. After theme/center time we all line up and go to the bathroom (but it's called a washroom here). The boys all go into the boys bathroom and the girls into the girls bathroom. I have the T.A. during that time so she goes with the girls and the janitor goes with the boys. I wait outside between the two bathrooms so that I can keep an eye on the kids who come out. Well, one little boy comes out of the bathroom and says to me "Mrs. Davis, we were pretending our wee wee's were hoses and we were putting out fires in the toilets!" Well, that's practical application right? I don't think I can use that as a valid assessment though! I had to turn away because I was laughing so much. Too funny! I guess that's boys for you!

Things are going better for me - I'm getting into the groove of teaching at this school and I am able to start implementing more things that I want to do. I have a set schedule for every day and my first formal observation went very well. It was a hard road at first. There were too many new things being thrown at me. New country and people, new modes of transportation to cope with to and from work. It was (and still is) hard to find the right store to get what I needed, all new classroom to set up, new teachers to learn about and work with, new material to teach, new way to do things, new paperwork and 30 new kids who don't all speak English very well. It wasn't just starting a whole new job, it was a whole new way of life. I'll admit - I had some bad days. But I trusted that God brought me here and He would work it out and He is. I feel much more comfortable now and I was extra conscious of it all because I'm teaching the kids how God loves us and takes care of us and living it at the same time.

Now about finding what I need - okay I hate Walmart. Not because of what they sell but because of the people in there. It always seemed crowded and chaotic with long lines. But I have a whole new appreciation for Walmart now. You don't know what you're missing until you don't have it. Talk about crowded and chaotic - that's about every mall here. And the fact that I have to go to a mall or a certain "street" to find various stores and things is a bit of a hassle. It would be nice to go to one store where I could get milk, some eye makeup remover, a laundry basket, and fabric softener, a measuring cup, a sports bra etc. all in one stop. Here I have to first figure out where to get what and then plan my trip. It could literally take me all day to track all of that down here. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying...it's different. If you've lived here all your life you're used to it but for me it's kind of crazy. But we're doing okay.

Now on to Super Typhoon Megi. Yeah - super typhoon! It goes Typhoon, Severe Typhoon and Super Typhoon. Must be because I complained too much about the last one whimping out. Now nature is going to show me! Everything is getting taped up and sealed up here and some parents were telling me today to stock up on food because everything will close if it's bad. Huh. My first "major" weather. I guess they say now it might be the worse in 40 years not 20 years. Dear Megi - I know you want to show off, but really - you don't have to - I believe you. Love, me.
Well, more about it later granted all our windows and electronics survive the weekend. :)
God bless and peace out!

I am a Friend of God

We sang the song "I am a friend of God" this morning in service - one that I have sang a dozen times, but today it struck me differently. What does this have to do with Hong Kong you might say? Well, I started thinking how much more of a friend God is to me now then He was even back in Phoenix. Not necessarily that I need Him more, or that He's blessed us more, though He certainly has. It has to do with teaching the children His stories.
Yeah, as a kid I had a passing knowledge of stories like Adam and Eve and Noah's Ark. But they were like the Easter Bunny to me. I didn't know the heart behind the stories. But now I am responsible for teaching the students these biblical stories and not just telling the story but delving into the meaning and the lesson God wants us to know from them. The bible is so full of instructions for us to be safe, healthy, happy and whole. And that is what is evident to me now in ways it wasn't before. God is my friend and He loves me. We heard in church today that love is wanting what's best for someone - be it friend or enemy. And God wants what's best for me and for you. He teaches us that we should tell the truth and be good to each other, and not seek revenge and to be obedient. It's only through obedience that we can be truly free. And I can see that so clearly when I apply that to the classroom. We talked about the rules in the classroom and how when Mrs. Davis tells you to use walking feet it's not to be mean but to keep you safe. Or how you have to raise your hand before you speak so that everyone gets a chance to be heard and that you listen when other's are speaking. We talk about these rules, we colored a page illustrating these rules and we review these rules. Am I being hard on them? Too strict? No - if they are obedient they will be happier as a result and the classroom a pleasant, safe place to be. As the teacher I know that and they - as the children - don't. So it's my job to help them through that. That is how God is. He's not oppressing me - He's freeing me by giving me boundaries. We are His children.

These lessons bring me closer to His nature. We stay on one story for a week. We pray together and we learn together. I can see how God was sad when people made bad choices. Just like I am sad when a student hits another student in anger or something like that. I want to say - but you know better! Why did you do it? Now we have this issue we have to deal with. But that's how we all are isn't it? The Pastor today talked about how - even as adults - when someone wrongs us we have that "playground reaction." But really, that's not the way we should respond. Mature faith requires us to pray for our enemies and that is hard. But when all is said and done it's what's really right. I am the teacher but I think God is using this situation to teach ME. If we would just listen to Him like I want my students to listen to me then all would be well. I don't mean that everything will be perfect in your life - things still happen in the classroom even if we do follow all the rules - but when those things do happen we know how to best respond and handle it. Some verses I think apply:

Genesis 6:5-6 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.

Matthew 18:3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:14 Jesus however said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them; for it is to those who are childlike that the Kingdom of the Heavens belongs.

Romans 12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.

I've heard people say that being a Christian is too strict and that God is a tyrant and so on...but when you love God back (because He already loves you) then you want what He wants for you. You want to be obedient because you see that it is out of love that He asks us to do certain things. Not that we always do - sometimes what we want to do and what we do are two different things. But that's a whole other path I could go down...Ernie found this book in the giveaway pile in the breakroom and it's called "None of these Diseases" by Dr. S.I. McMillen and it was written in 1968. I started reading it and it brought revelation to me as well. God gives instructions in the Old Testament that are law for the Jewish people so you might say why follow some of that as a Christian - Jesus frees us from the law (again - a whole other path I could go down but I won't right now) but it talks about thing like how the bible gives instructions to Moses on cleansing the hands after dealing with the dead or infected but for so long Doctors and students in hospitals would do autopsies and then go perform surgery and wonder why the mortality rate was so high. I quote "At long last, in the year 1960, man finally muddled through. He learned, after centuries and at a frightful cost, what God gave to Moses as inspiration." There's MANY other instances like that and I'm only 3 chapters in. I believe God created us and therefore knows what is best for us. Plain and simple. So through all of this - when we sang "I am a friend of God" I truly understood it this morning.

Well, that's all my ramblings for now. Good for you if you made it all the way through - I know it's long. God bless!

My Experience at the Doctors in Hong Kong

I thought this was blog-worthy just because healthcare is always such a hot button issue AND with things being so crowded here I expected a nightmare and not feeling well I put it off. However, I knew I had a sinus infection and had no energy and felt miserable so I finally gave in at the gentle urgings of my co-workers. I was going to take today off to go to the doctors so I was typing up sub plans when Cora, the Amin Assistant at our kindergarten gave me a card to a doctors office open until 7pm. I called and they spoke English and set me up with an appointment for 6:10. I called Ernie and he sweetly suggested to meet me at the train/minibus area so we could go together. I took him up on his offer and finished my sub plans quickly and left. We found it fairly easy - it was on the 13th floor of a place called Grand Central Plaza. I went in and it was a small room with sort of built in benches on either wall and a counter to check in. I filled out a minimal amount of paperwork and then waited. They brought me my patient number so if I need to return I have that. Then a few minutes later I went back to the doctor who was in a room behind the counter. She was very nice, spoke English and listened to me. I explained how I'd been sick twice in a month and my previous sinus issues and how I was prone to sinus infections. She checked me out in the normal way and determined that yes, I did have an infection. We discussed antibiotics (me being pretty knowledgeable about them at this point). Then I sat in the waiting room for a few more minutes and I was kind of worried because with our insurance you pay first and then they reimburse you later. I didn't have a whole lot of cash on me. So then I was called up to the counter and given my medications right there. No taking a prescription to Walgreens and waiting another 30 minutes. Then came the bill. It came to - altogether - $30 American dollars. Wow - that's all? I couldn't believe it! That was my co-pay for urgent care back home. And I got my meds, three different ones - And it wasn't busy - And they were very nice. Not a bad deal. God totally took care of me. And I got a doctors note for staying home to rest today and boy I needed it. I put it off because going to the doctors back home was always such a hassle. Long waits - 30-40 minutes past appt time and then you were finally seen and then you leave and have to drive to Walgreens, turn in your prescription and sit there for 30 minutes when all you want to do is crawl into bed. I didn't have to drive - the bus was right there when we were done and home I went. Such a blessing. Which is a good thing because the doctor told me that in the winter the winds change and blow from China, bringing all the pollution from the unregulated factories and I guess it gets REALLY bad here. Like so bad you can see the air around you. She told me to wear a mask or I'd have a hard time. Nice. I guess it can't be ALL good here can it? Well, that's all for now. Blessings!

It's time for my (Ernie's) perspective

What an amazing place, Hong Kong! In some respects Americans are very lucky to have what we do: Average size house/apt is about 1000 sqft. In HK is it maybe 400 tops, and they often live with multiple generations, (grandma, grandpa, etc). NOBODY owns a house! Everybody lives in a 50 story housing unit, EVERYBODY! Very FEW people own a car, I would say about 95% of HK's do not own a car, they take public transportation: Train, Bus, mini bus, walk, taxi… Including Veronica and myself!
I feel very safe here, as opposed to let’s say, some parts of Thailand or the Philippines or Phoenix for that matter. I would have no problem allowing Veronica to take off for the day adventuring into downtown HK by herself.

The Gorgeous Veronica!



Not to dump on American youngsters, I once was one, but HK is still an adult run country. The media has not taken over the rearing or development of the children here in HK. In the US MTV, Lady Gaga and Paris Hilton are more important to American youngsters in general than their parents; here in HK children as a whole have great deference for adults. This city is very clean, even though it is packed. Even on Sunday afternoon while jogging, I can stop to use a public restroom and find a worker inside cleaning. Although people are not paid very much, they are working! People live within or below their means, not above.
Our school is amazing and we have about 1100 students. This is the biggest shocker of all: Out of 1100 students I have seen, 2 are overweight! In the US I would easily say about 1/3 of any class is overweight. A big difference is when given the choice of ice cream, candy or other junk food, children in HK would most often select dried, shredded, cuddle fish!











Also, the cafeteria at our school is furnished with fresh local produce each day, and they cook everything from scratch! There is usually a fish option, but always noodles, rice and vegies.






Travel Section: We already went to Macau, a 1 hour hydrofoil ride from HK. Macau is a nice, small Portuguese country/SEC or special economic country/zone set up by China (or something like that).


Next we are going to a secret location for our 10 year anniversary. Veronica knows we are going somewhere, but I can’t post where because it is going to be a surprise! It will have a large white sandy beach, between HK and Australia and between the Maldives and Guam. That is all I am going to say!



Until next time: Go Cowboys!
PS: Just talked with Greg Collins in Australia, he and Natasha may be coming over for a visit soon!

More Adventures...and random stuff

So it's been a while since I wrote on here. That's because I've been busy doing so no time to write about it. Tonight I have time so here goes. I have lots of little thoughts and random events to string together so I hope I don't lose anyone.

As I sit here on my couch I have realized some new traits in me that make me more like a local. I tried the whole polite excuse me thing for a while but when you're on the train and the doors are about to close and you have to get off and you say excuse me and no-one moves you have to physically push people out of your way. I know - sucks - but that's the way here sometimes. Believe me those doors are unforgiving. They aren't like the elevator door where if you stick something in the way they will open back up. Nope...they will close on you or whatever you stick in there and stay shut and the train will start moving...how do I know that? Well...one day a lady stuck her newspaper in the door. It shut and she was able to yank it out as the train pulled away but barely. Then a woman stuck her bag in the door. The doors closed and her bag was stuck in the door as the train started to go. We all reached to help get it for her but then the train guy noticed and the train stopped with a halt almost knocking us all on our fannys. It was actually pretty comical. I took a picture. I'll try and post it. Don't get in the way of train doors - they are merciless...

The next trait is my ability to weave through large crowds at a fast pace. I am improving. Always on my toes here. It's almost like a video game sometimes and the more I "play" the better I get. People are always shopping here. Always. Bizarre.

The next thing I noticed was my after work snack was dried seaweed and these soy and seaweed flavored rice cake snacks. Huh. And I like it. I had sushi from the grocery store for lunch Sunday. It's much different here. I had some kind of roll with flying fish roe on it. Ernie made faces at me but it was really good. A little strong on the wasabi though. A bit painful for my nasal passages. Eric - I thought of you. I do eat my American food when I can find it though. Last night we had burgers from this place called Triple O's - I guess it's a Canadian chain. Oh - it was sooooo good. So don't worry too much.

I have become a great navigator. I managed to map out my whole trip to Wan Chai on the main Island to get some art supplies. Then Ernie said can you find a Subway (the sandwich place) and I found that too and mapped it out and off we went and we didn't even get lost. I love the trains here - they are so easy to use.

I am picking up some words too. I don't know how to spell them but hiyah, hiyah means yeah or yes, Hi-itsa (sounds like that) means the next station is, djo san (sounds like that) means good morning. My daan means check please and mmm goi means excuse me or thank you. I recognize other sounds but don't know them as words yet. But that's pretty good for two months.

Other random stuff - Asian women shouldn't dye their hair lighter - it turns orange. My hair is destined to be frizzy and gross here no matter what I put in it so I give up. Older people here are always exercising or doing some sort of movement on the walking/biking path. It's neat. I think they are on to something here...they really don't have the same deodorant here but not too many people smell...when the wind blows from China it's really smoggy here. When the wind blows from the sea it's nice. I like walking so much most days. I don't mind the rain here because it's never usually for that long. It's not easy to run a few quick errands. You have to go to the malls mostly for stuff and that's always a process. Or there is a "street" like kitchen street or sneaker street with shops all of that nature. But that's okay. There are deals to be found.

My classes are sweet and adorable and we are having a lot of fun together. They have started bringing me pictures most every day. I love praying with them and teaching them about life. It is a blessing. And I am humbled and honored that God would choose me to do such an important job as teach these little ones about Him. He has blessed us and provided for us so well to be able to do this.

Okay, trips we've done - we went to Central and to Soho and had Mexican. It's really neat there and we barely explored it. We took the world's longest escalator - the mid-level travelator. It was cool. We took the ferry across the harbor. We took a special boat to the Island of Macau. It's actually a separate SAR (Special Administrative Region) and so our passports got stamped. We had dinner at an amazing Portuguese restaurant called Fernandos that's famous. I took pictures. We had fun, we got lost, we found our way and it was interesting. We had Japanese curry, we went to the fire dragon parade for mid-autumn festival which is a big holiday here. It's almost like Thanksgiving for us where families get together and have a feast. The children brought me mooncakes and we had a lantern parade. Again - I took pictures.

We've just been living every moment we can with lots planned for the future. We will have to see what tomorrow brings. :) I cannot believe this week will be October 1st. We have been here 2 months and 3 days already. Wow - time is flying. Well, until next time...much love to you all.
Veronica