Looking back at the goodbyes...

I swept over a lot of really good times on my blog (guess I was too busy enjoying them, so no apologies there!)- there were some great memories made during my last days in Hong Kong. So before I dive into the routines of life at home on this blog (that needs a new name?!), tonight I feel like looking back on some of my favorite goodbye moments in HK...

-A group of awesome friends from school (maybe 20 or so) pulled an awesome surprise on the three SK girls leaving town. It was a blast...they blindfolded us, put lovely signs asking for goodbye hugs and escorted us around the city, even traveled across the harbor on the bus to a mystery dinner location. It was so much fun, and we definitely didn't see it coming!!
-On three different occasions I celebrated? leaving with my tennis friends! Such good memories- the first was a trip out for HOTPOT + watching Wimbledon, another was THAI + dessert buffet at my place, and the last was a huge SHANGHAINESE feast + tennis!! Food is a key element, you see! I will miss these special people- not just because they know all the best places to eat and always order seven hundred dishes, or because they are die-hard tennis fans- but mostly because they were so much fun, and I sensed such a genuine friendship with them.

-Even though our school year ended unexpectedly (and sadly), I loved the chances I had to visit some of my students and their families in their homes! What a treat! I had such a great class this year- we became quite close. I have a feeling I will miss them this year! Each visit was unique and fun. One friend/parent treated the three SK girls to dinner at the "revolving restaurant", which none of us had been to! She really went out of her way to be a blessing and encouragement to us as we left- and we'll all remember her kindness, I'm sure.

-I received an amazing gift from friends- one that surprised me and blessed my socks off!! Two of my best buds, Alison and Liz, worked their creative brilliance in creating a movie for me- SUCH a great keepsake of my years in HK. It's called "Hong Kong Will Miss You, Harmony"! It made me laugh a lot and cry a lot! I love it and I will treasure it for a long time.-On our last work day, we had our annual year-end farewell event. My dear friend and colleague, Marg, blessed with such kind and encouraging words (and prayers!). She is one in a million, this one! I miss you (and why didn't we get a picture on that last day?!)!

-On my last night in HK, I spent time with some of my good friends from Solomon's Porch (my home church). I'm already missing SP so much! I loved my community at SP, and it was neat to spend my last evening with that crew.

It seems...not enough...to recap the last month in this way. It was a sad time- but such a wonderful time because it was a constant, FUN celebration of friendships, really. Sometimes I felt (and still feel) like crying about the friends I've said goodbye to (for now). But more often, it's the joy-inspired kind of cry- because it's been so good, and I've been so blessed! I miss you, my friends- thinking of you tonight.

Here are a couple other pics from the last weeks- one of my lovely friend Mary, and one of my bball guys, Kenneth...and the other is our SP house church- "K-House!" I spent the year with this small group. As you can see in the picture, they knew me well by the end of our time...ha ha! The next one is my friend Jacqualine, and the last is my Sunday School class from SP!

Well, that gives some voice into the month of June, but I still haven't managed to write about Shyam and Joshua's time in Hong Kong, or...my time in the Mae La refugee camp...or my great family reunion on the ranch...or my job news, which is developing! It might happen yet!

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

A great day. (27/31)

I've had an excellent Saturday. It started with a morning at home, watching a great game between Kansas and Michigan St. online, and then working with IMovie '09 for awhile. Then I left for the Rugby Sevens, over on the island. It took me a lot longer to walk there after my bus ride than I had anticipated, but it was turned out well because I met a lovely British couple, Sarah and Grant. We chatted all the way up the hill to Hong Kong Stadium.

I really enjoyed the Sevens! It's an awesome sporting event! Crazy, crazy fans, and a great tournament structure. Continuous games all day long at 20 minute intervals. I watched about 15 different teams play during the afternoon, I think. Some of them were huge blowouts. The powerhouse teams like England and New Zealand were so good. It's a fast game and fun to watch. Rugby players make football players (as well as most other athletes!) look like pansies. Especially in the Sevens game, they have such an impressive combination of power and speed. I was surprised and impressed with the sportsmanship evident in the game. I didn't see the after the whistle clashes you see in football, nor the dives you see in soccer. I liked that. It was fun to watch them break out for long runs. I watched Canada beat Chinese Taipei, and after that Hong Kong pulled out a big win against Tonga. That was a great match.

The fans in the infamous "South Stand" were nuts. I overheard one person trying to find a friend on the phone..."So, you're next to the Incredible Hulks and the bumblebees? Are the men in the orange tights closeby?!" Some of my favorite get-ups: the Smurfs, the Teletubbies, the Roman soldiers, the bananas and the Dan Marinos. I wished that I would have taken my Nikon with me; there were plenty of fun photo opportunities. I think the fans in the South Stand alone were likely responsible for drinking enough to fill the Hong Kong harbour with beer...so you can imagine the environment on that side of the stadium!

After the Sevens, I met up with new friends at an Indian/Nepalese restaurant. I had a great time getting to know Medha and Kala. Dad has become friends with Medha's family in Guwahati, so he connected Medha and I. And the food was so, so good!

Overall, a great day!

I didn't know how to get to the Stadium, so I assumed this guy was headed in the right direction...

Hong Kong Stadium

The "South Stand"

These people were pretty excited to have their picture taken.
They're only one hour away!

Delicious meal with new friends, Kala and Medha

Good times (25/31)

Tonight we had our basketball wind-up party. One of the guys on the team has a great place for a party. His parents make movies. You can imagine that his house (it actually is a house) is slightly more spacious than my 630 foot flat.

Things got interesting when one guy locked out two of the others, while letting the guard dog loose in the yard. We laughed pretty hard as they tried to escape by running around the pool...and eventually jumped in. I wish I would have caught it on video. The dog was far more playful than dangerous; but I would have been freaked out if I was the one locked out of the house! Anyway, a few of us were left inside, enjoying the entertainment. With sixteen year old guys, you can guess it wasn't long until everyone was thrown into the pool...coach included (twice)!! Ah, good memories. I'm going to miss these guys, that's for sure.

A cake I made for the party.

The party site!

Toss #1

Toss #2 (they launched me backwards a second after this picture)

Hong Kong Sevens (24/31)

Today I picked up a free ticket to the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens! I am excited. I'm not really a rugby fan and I know little about the sport, but the Sevens are the talk of town in HK at this time of the year. It will be good to add to the HK experience resume. Plus, I'm always up for learning about a new sport. From what I hear, the fans take on Riderville-like qualities, so that should keep things interesting.

I'm doing a little research before I go. Here's what I know so far:
-Hong Kong is supposed to be the biggest stop on the Sevens Cup circuit.
-They've been hosting the Sevens in HK since 1976. Tradition.
-Rugby is normally played with 15, but for Sevens...they play with 7. Good one. Same size field, so the game depends more on speed.
-Games only last 15 minutes (two 7-minute halves, with a 1-minute half time). So on Saturday, games start every 22 minutes...from 10:30am to 7:15pm.
-New Zealand comes in as the defending champions. Samoa won the year before.

The rest I'll learn on the fly! Should be fun!

Adventures with Steve and John..(19/31)

It's been a fun, full, fantastic week! Last night we went on a little adventure through three distinct areas of Hong Kong. It was John's only chance to see as much of the city as possible, so we did the best we could with the time we had and the remaining energy from a busy week!

The adventure started with supper at one my favorite Thai restaurants in an area known for its great Thai cuisine. My good friends Tammy and Maureen joined us. The guys enjoyed the dishes, though they were a little thrown off by the traditional Tom Yum Thai soup. Some people love the stuff, but either way Tom Yum is a taste like no other, really. Thai food is the best!

After we polished off the likes of the pad thai, red curry, papaya salad and satay, it was time for a walk to...Starbucks. Ha! Starbucks is so...cultural?! But necessary for two guys fighting jet lag and needing to a see a big city in one night. Next stop was The Peak, one of my favorite destinations. We were caught in a bit of a cloud at the top, but it cleared up a bit and we were able to catch a decent view.

The last stop was Mongkok. Drop-off point? The same sick and smelly corner I walked Steve blindly into a couple days before- stinky tofu corner. Love it. John didn't exactly love it, but again, it's all about the experience. We navigated through the crowds and did some late night shopping in the market. John was overjoyed when he found a shop specializing in Chinglish magnets. I'm pretty sure most of the market heard him laughing. What a character.

We finished things off with one of my favorite drinks- a mango coconut sago drink. I got a funny look from Steve when he discovered the little sago-tapioca like balls in the drink. "What is that?! Fish eyeballs?!" Stretching the ol' horizons, we are...ha ha! They were both ready to escape the crowds and "go somewhere without people" by the time we were finished in the market! Most Canadians would be; it's a chaotic place to spend a couple hours!

It has been awesome having them here. It's always wonderful to share this place with people you love! I know they were both a real blessing to our secondary students at the camp, and certainly a blessing to me! Great memories made.

My friends, the taxi drivers (18/31)

Tonight I had a highly amusing taxi ride home. I wasn't entirely in the mood; feeling a little tired and too lazy to stretch my limited language skills across the 15 minute ride to my place. Too bad; Wing Leung the taxi driver had big dreams for these 15 minutes. Here are some of the words Wing Leung spoke often on our ride: "You! Me! Make friends-ee!! (as he pretends to drink) You teach English-ee to me! You English teacher! Call me!" Repeat. Repeat. So we worked the language a bit- new words in caps- "This is a TRAFFIC JAM. Many CARS!!! I am TIRED! I am hungry (he got that one!). LET'S GO!!"
It was quite the conversation. Maybe I'll call him up for a ride when Steve comes back on his way through and introduce him to Wing Leung.

This happens from time to time with taxi drivers here. Last week a friend and I met taxi driver 007. Yeah, I named him Bond. He loved that, a little too much...and the same ride that I took today with Wing Leung (the one that took 15 minutes), turned into an 8 minute ride with Bond. Plus he sang karaoke. Loudly. "And I....eeeeee...I...will always love yoooooooou". Yes- Whitney Houston by my Cantonese taxi driver who thinks he is now James Bond. What a great ride home.

Driving a car in Canada might seem a little dry after cruising the streets of HK with guys like Wing Leung and Bond at the wheel.

Sunday (15/31)

I spend most of my Sunday at church. I teach the 5 and 6 year old class in the morning, eat lunch with friends, and then go the afternoon service. Our church is on the Island, in an area called Sheung Wan. I like walking through this district. It has an old, traditional Chinese feeling to it. The theme of the streets around our church is dried goods. Dried everything. I really have no idea what many of the items are. Some of them look like well, dried poo. Lots of the stuff is dried fish. And all of it is good for your health, of course! The streets have a distinct aroma, as you can imagine. Thankfully, there are a couple of delightful bakeries that give some reprieve to the fishy odor. Anyway, I took a couple pictures at lunch today, as I wandered the streets for awhile. (Bonus pic: my Sunday School students showing off their Queen Esther crowns!)

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):