The getaway gals go to China...

I enjoyed my long weekend in Yangshuo, China with five of my good friends. We considered it as 'one last getaway'. (Yes, we're into the land of "lasts" these days!) I love Yangshuo. It is one of my favorite spots in China. It's only an hour flight from HK, so that made it an easy destination (the journey seemed almost too easy when I remembered my last trip to Yangshuo a few years ago- a 25 hour train journey!).

Anyway, it was a great time- beautiful scenery, good exercise, decent food, awesome accommodations, a fun chance to try out the Mandarin, good visits with friends. My favorite part about being in Yangshuo is going for bike rides into the countryside. This was a daily requirement, along with a daily dose of banana pancakes and a shake of some kind. Here are a few pictures from the weekend (the rest can be found here):

"West St."- Backpacker central.

Tammy, Ashley, Maureen, Mary, Wenny, and myself.

Hmmm.

New friend.

Not bad, hey?

I've had company!

I've had some special guests on the thirty-second floor in the past month! Looking back, the last month feels like such a blur, a busy and beautiful blur! I don't even think I blogged about Tara and Nicole's visit, though the week was very deserving of a blog!

They were a blast to have in HK- totally eager the minute they arrived! They proved themselves to be committed adventurers on their first day, when we decided to go hiking despite the ahem, monsoon icon on the weather website (but really, it said "a few scattered showers"!). The site was right on the 'scattered showers', at least for the first half hour of our hike! For the next three, it poured!!! We were absolutely soaked. It was hilarious, actually. We hiked through the crazy wind and rain, feeling very adventurous. We ran to catch a ferry to start the journey back and then ended up waiting for half hour along with 200 other Hong Kongers to catch a bus...then another bus...and a taxi. We finally made it home. They did all of this on day one! When it was back to school for me, they spent their days exploring the city (as well as one crazy spa day in Shenzhen, across the border in China)...and I always looked forward to the Daily Report from Tara afterschool. It usually lasted about fifteen minutes and was very entertaining. I wish I would have captured one of the Daily Reports on video...:) Anyway, I really enjoyed having them with me!! Not sure if I've ever laughed so much in a week...

the beginning of the hike- day one

bubble tea + foot massage = :)

in the kowloon city walled park

Then Mom, Dad, Autumn and Andrew spent last weekend with me. It was their fourth time stopping in Hong Kong! They are experts now! It has been so neat to create new memories with them each time. Each visit ended up being unique and fun in its own way. This time around was special because we spent a lot of time with the girls that came to India with me; they have become dear to our family. We went out for a local Chinese meal the first evening (their specialty was Peking Duck, and we ate a lot of other notable things, like eel and jellyfish), we went on a beautiful bike ride (though it was so crazy busy on the holiday weekend that you felt you were in the Tour De France, Hong Kong style), and enjoyed meals with other special friends in Hong Kong. Again, another weekend with great memories!

the bike riding crew (new territories, hong kong)

ahhhhh!! traffic galore!

andrew's favorite (and cheapest) and meal: wonton

out for starbucks together by the harbor

at church with pastor sam and his wife, lisa (special people, too!)

the peking duck meal

This week's project (31/31)

This little movie has been my project of the week. We will show it tomorrow at the school's dinner theatre. They are kindly taking an offering for the Bread of Life Academy and Bible College at the event.



India has been on my mind this week. Working on the movie, wearing my red salwar to school on Monday for 'cultural dress day', visiting with Steve after his week in Guwahati, thinking of Mom, Dad and kids often.

In line with the theme, tonight I was over to Richard and Vivian's for homemade Indian supper. We had smoking hot chicken biryani, daal, and shrimp with ocre. All very tasty! Vivian asked me, "So Harmony, do you plan to marry?" Uhhh.... They laughed and said, "Oh, it's quick and easy!!" Richard is thinking of starting a dating website called "Richard's Arranged Marriages: Quick and Easy!" Ha, ha, ha!! I always enjoy their perspective on dating and marriage and wonder at how it could be so quick and easy?! They are a great family and I enjoyed being in their home. Just wait til you see their kids!! Sooo cute! They took some pictures so when I get them I'll definitely post them on the blog.

That's it! 31/31! I dipped into April, but the March Blogging Challenge is officially complete! It's been fun. Thanks, Jill, for joining me! It was great to journey through the month with you!

Tonight's arrival...(17/31)

John is in the house! Tomorrow morning, the two of them will head off to camp to speak to the secondary kids at my school. Our VBS for the elementary kids starts tomorrow, also. It's a busy week. I'm planning to travel out to the camp for the evening sessions.
Steve made good headway on exploring Kowloon side today, and managed to help me break and then fix my toilet! Jetlag hit at about 4pm, but we pressed on through the market, past the smelly tofu place (an important stop), at Starbucks for an espresso to help with the jetlag symptoms...and then over to the Island for supper at my favorite spot- Habibi, an Egyptian restaurant. After picking up John at the airport, we're back and all ready for bed!

Chinese BBQ (14/31)

Yesterday I had a great time with my Chinese friends. I joined them for a Hong Kong style bbq (it's not a barbecue, that sounds so dry... it's a "bbq!"). And these people do some serious, serious bbq-ing. We're not talking about roasting a couple hot dogs or hamburgers with a little white Wonder bread. This is a bbq feast. They bbq everything! Everything on a stick: fishballs, meatballs, hot dogs, mini-sausages, corn, potatoes, mushrooms (long stringy ones from Japan), beef steaks, barbecued pork, cuttlefish, lamb chops, kidneys from some animal, and even squid. Oh, and marshmallows, just for me! When I explained our Canadian barbecues, one of my friends shrugge her shoulders and said, "Oh! That's so boring!!" They also love to glaze honey over everything, which I'm actually quite a fan of now. I might bring that one back to Canada with me! I infused a little North American culture by bringing Rice Krispies and teaching them the way of the s'more. They loved both!

It was a lot of fun. I usually don't understand all that much of the conversation when I hang out with them, but I get to practice my Cantonese listening skills, and genuinely enjoy their company. They are just great people- kind-hearted, generous and fun-loving. Plus, they throw a mean bbq and they're crazy about tennis...good friends to have! Here are a few pictures (I forgot to mention our beautiful spot in Sai Kung, one of my very favorite parts of HK):

A Canadian Christmas

Some of you might enjoy this....bits and pieces from my Christmas in Canada.

Staff Party 2007

Tonight our staff was kindly treated to an evening at the Hong Kong Golf Club. Ohhhh. It's one of those places you know you don't quite fit, where you can't wear flip flops or t-shirts or jeans and you have to wear a blouse. It was very nice. Poolside buffet meal, and a session on the driving ranges with lessons from the golf pro (this again affirmed I am hopeless at golf). Just as I reported last year, the best part was seeing the families of the all the staff members...particularly the kids!

Tomorrow I'm going to mainland China for the weekend with a group of high school students from our school. It will be a very full, tiring weekend, but I'm sure it will be worth it. I'll let you know more about it when I get back!

Fancy.

The lucky guy in the middle is a colleague named King. I'm going to China with him tomorrow. The gal in the middle is Cindy. She is King's fiancee. The lovely lady on the right is my teaching partner, Marg. She is wonderful.

Oh I love those eyes. Meet Olivia.

And Olivia's big brother, Royce.

Aili.

Daniel.

Hunter.

Congrats to Jeff and Daina!!!

One of my best friends' weddings was this weekend! Daina and I have been friends since the first days of Fighting Saints Softball (grade 7?), when her wicked throwing arm caught my eye at tryouts....persuading me of the fact that girls really could throw. I've been lucky to be on her side of the field, or court...I've never had to face her as an opponent! Actually, from high school through university, I spent more time with her than anyone else! We graduated from both high school and university together. I hope we can teach together one day, too.

The D-Train, as I affectionately refer to her as, is determined, talented, fun, and a great friend. Ah yes, she's a special gal- and it was very hard to miss this day....sending a little video along for the reception wasn't much, but here it is. You'll notice a very similar format to the one I made for Matt and Tamara! For three reasons- 1) nobody who was at their wedding was at Jeff and Daina's, and 2) people seemed to enjoy it, and 3) I couldn't think of a better idea! So, here it is- with a new cast of Hong Kong stars!!!

Congrats to Jeff and Daina, once again!!!! Can't wait to see you guys....in China??!

The Shanghai Adventure

I'm back from a lovely loooong weekend in Shanghai! I will upload pictures to Flickr as soon as I get the chance- they tell the story best. Until then, the lowdown word-style, with a few pics now and again.

The highlight that stands out most was the reason we went- the Women's World Cup. Let me go off on that experience for a bit...bear with me, non-football fans...

The best part was simply soaking up the incredible performances of female athletes....playing for it all. They were just so, so good. Marta and Cristiane, from Brazil, were plain silly- their speed and ball-handling skills were ridiculous. I loved watching Abby Wambach and Kristine Lilly in the 3rd place game- they are fantastic footballers. The final (German won 2-0 over Brazil) was a really great game- intense from the start. There was a noted difference (as one would anticipate) from the 3rd place game, where the US walked all over Norway. I still cheered for Norway, as it was a lot more fun to cheer against the Americans I found myself sandwiched inbetween! Ha ha! I started out cheering for Brazil in the final, as I felt no strong pull towards either team and the Chinese were definitely on the South American side....but within the first couple minutes, I knew I had painted my face the wrong colors- I loved watching the German team play. Tough, smart, an all around great team. There's a reason they were the defending champs. Plus, the Brazilians, though passionate and flashy, were a bit whiny. And the defense of the Germans was something to behold! Brazil dominated possession, but the Germans had a solid stronghold in the backfield- and their goalie saved the day, stopping Marta from connecting on a free kick. The (small) stadium was at capacity for the final, with 35,000 in attendance. Overall, it was an awesome experience. The only thing that would have been better would have been Canada or China playing. My, that would have been something.

Okay, there was much more than the soccer, though. Here are a few other highlights:

-Mary (my traveling partner, and a fine one at that...a day later we were joined by another great gal, Maria) and I met three random, hilarious, friendly, warm Chinese people on the street...we ended up going with them to a "rare Chinese tea ceremony" for a couple of hours on the first day. We laughed a lot, and learned about how to drink tea the Chinese way, and how I missed my chance at marriage because I didn't wear red underwear last year during the year of the dog. But I didn't know! Ha ha. Anyway, that was quite the experience...oh the brief and unexpected encounters we have along the way- this is what makes traveling all the more grand.

-We went to a Chinese Acrobatics show. Amazing, amazing, amazing. I don't understand how they do what they do...how they bend...how they balance...how they spin...I just don't get it. But is it ever fun to watch!

-Xiao Long Bao Zi. In English: "Little Dragon Buns". Shanghai is famous for these soup dumplings, and FOR GOOD REASON. We enjoyed a couple solid helpings!

-Foot Massage x 2. Need I say more?

-I spent Saturday with one of my best friends from the Shiyan days- Black. It was very special- though too short. We chatted as we wandered around Shanghai, and we also met up with another friend, Laura, whom I worked with in China. We went to the Jinmao Tower, which is fourth tallest in the world and gives a great view of the sprawling metropolis. It was awesome to reconnect.

-We ventured back to the airport on the "Meglev Train". It took 8 minutes to travel 30 km/hr. That works out to 430 km/hr. Freaky. It kind of fit in with the overall feeling I had of Shanghai- like you are part of the Jetsons or something. Some of the buildings have really neat European architecture, and then they toss in a bunch of Batman/Jetson like buildings with a futuristic feel. Interesting.

-Speaking Mandarin again. So much fun!!!

Well, I guess that's plenty for now. I'll get those pics up in the next couple of days. It was a great trip- definitely a fine way to spend a long weekend.

Czech Her Out!

One of my best friends is on a hockey adventure in the Czech Republic this year. The one and only Chelsa Heywood. Have a look at her new blog- Two Minutes for Czeching. Clever, very clever.

This Week

I'm looking forward to this week. For starters, Jason and Shannon are coming on Tuesday! It will be so much fun to have them here, even though I have to work and will only have evenings to tear up the town with them. I'm excited.

Our first day with kids is on Thursday. I'm really looking forward to many things about teaching this year. I'm already appreciating having a year of experience under my belt. At this time last year, I was swamped with a million things to prepare. This year that load seems a lot lighter. The letters are cut, the schedule is made, I know what I'm teaching, and I'm familiar with the school and my classroom. One new thing in my classroom is an LCD projector. Yes! This will open things up for me to use my computer in different ways.

I'm so excited about the students that I will spend the year with. It's fun to start out fresh and start to develop new relationships with kids. It's inspiring to think of the potential- when I'm trying to see things from God's eyes, I ask myself- if this year was ALL that it could be for this group of students, what would that look like...and how can I be an instrument to make that happen?

So, that's where I'm at tonight. Looking at a new year, with hopes and a prayer that Jesus will shine through a broken vessel like me.

5 of My Favorite Hong Kongers!

The tennis ladies came over tonight for fondue and cake! I love these gals! It was so much fun to have them over!

Singing in the Rain

For the last three weeks I've been glad to have extra company around my flat. I have been hosting a student teacher during her pre-internship at the school. Tasia and her mom, Venee, are from Salmon Arm. They have brought many laughs and new friendship to my life, and as my good friend Deb notes in a recent post, that's the stuff of life! Yesterday I took them out to Sai Kung, one of my favorite fishing villages in the Hong Kong area. From the village you can go on a hike out to a couple quiet and scenic beaches.

The weatherman has been saying it's going to rain like crazy for the last two weeks, and he has been consistently wrong. Why should he be right on a pleasant Saturday? He was wrong for the first half of the day, and we enjoyed a nice hike over a couple hills, past beach one, and enjoyed fresh squid and rice at beach two. And then he was right, and it poured...and it poured...and it poured. We had pruny skin and pockets full of water. It was glorious! There is something fresh, fun, and freeing about running in the rain. Ha ha! Anyway, it was a memorable day, and it was topped off by a monstrous meal at my favorite restaurant- Habibi! Mmmm...Egyptian. Here's Tasia and Venee...thanks for the good times, ladies!