Tunes of the Month

Five February Favorites:

1) Feist
...I Feel It All
...1234
...Mushaboom

2) Waterdeep
...Good Good End
...Whatever Thing
...You Have Redeemed My Soul

3) Laura Story
...Great God Who Saves
...Mighty to Save

4) Jack Johnson
...Sleep Through the Static
...What You Thought You Need
...Hope

5) Jason Upton
...Beautiful People
...Sons and Daughters
...In Your Presence

The Men in My Life These Days...(Happy Valentines Day!)

Mature, responsible fourteen, fifteen and sixteen year olds...as you can see.


We just finished off our regular season. A pretty decent record of 6 wins, 2 losses. Today's win was strange, to put it kindly. The home team didn't have a bench to sit on, nor did they have a score sheet, or scorekeepers, to start the game. A game that was supposed to be played in quarters was played in two halves, until the clock chimed 6pm, and the public gym we were playing in lifted their nets with one minute left in the game. A slightly anticlimactic finale, especially with a score of 18-14. Yes, we were playing basketball! Ah well, the best part was that the location of the gym was a perfect picture of Hong Kong- built on the top level of an indoor wet market. We're walking by the vegetable section and I'm wondering- this is really the way to the gym? Classic use of space!!

Saturday is our first play-off game. Should be a good one! I've enjoyed this bunch a great deal- committed, eager and a lot of fun.

Pep Rally Movie 2008

Here is the movie I put together for today's pep rally:

The Latest

This weekend I was back on the road. This time on a sequel trip to Kaiping, China, as a staff sponsor for our high school students. I soaked up the chance to be in the real China again: boys with pink motorbike helmets, the prolific Chinglish signage, dusty streets, Chinese students requesting me to sing their favorite song (either Westlife, Big Big World, or Yesterday Once More), cheap everything, my favorite green tea, and random men on the street with big goofy smiles and hearty "hullo"s. Love it, love it. I didn't take many pictures this time around, but I couldn't resist trying to capture the ultimate cute factor of the little Chinese babies in their bundles!
The downside was the loooow temperatures. I know, I know. It sounds ridiculous to say I was chilled to the bone for three days straight when the temperature was ten degrees. But true. There's no escape from it; no indoor heating to be found.

Today we had our second annual school pep rally. I felt very much transported to my days at Johnson. Good times. It was fun to watch the kids, and particularly my players, as they enjoyed themselves. Definitely worth the effort!! I'm happy to invest my time and energy into helping make our school a place where kids have fun and feel a sense of pride in their school, and of course, their teams!

I'm excited for this weekend because it kicks off the Chinese New Year holiday, which means one week of delightful rest and play. I was originally planning to travel to Malaysia during this week but decided to stay put. I'm definitely glad I made this choice, as I'm already planning many things I would like to enjoy here in Hong Kong. On the priority list: cheap lunches at amazingly good restaurants, squash with Bob, tennis, working out (it's a foreign concept these days), trimming the growing fro :), a couple movies, some reading, some thinking (not toooo much), and what I need most: a lot of praying!

Guess I'd better head for bed. Stay warm!

Aussie Open Hype

Day 5- Serena is sizzling with 15 aces in her third round match. Domination or what?!

Justine Henin blows my mind. Her overall record in the past 3 years is 63-4. Her one-handed backhanded leaves me dumbfounded. She is so good. I love watching her play.

I've got to say, in honor of Heather, that Rafa's orange look is just not working out. I'm not digging it.

However, I know Heather's rooting for Jankovic, so here's a pretty awesome picture I found. Desktop material! I dream of a two-handed backhand like that!

Speaking of Jankovic, this is a neat video on "The Rebirth of Serbia". I find it hard not to cheer for the big three of Jankovic, Ivanovic and Djokovic.

Here's an interesting article detailing how both Roger and Pete tragically lost their coaches- and were seemingly spurred onto their legendary play as a result. It's a good one.

Looks like the match of the day was Baghdatis/Safin. A five-setter, one I hope to catch via my friend's marvelous daily recordings of tennis coverage.

Both ESPN and Tennis.com have good highlights to wrap up each day's action.

Ohhh. I love tennis!!!

Zephaniah 3:17

My students' memory verse this week has become my new favorite. I never tire of hearing this:

The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

The Big Visit!

Well, once they finally made it to Hong Kong (a mere 39 hour adventure from Regina due to delays), we had such a good time together. They were great sports in trying different kinds of Chinese food, squishing into my flat (everyone gets 120 sq. feet to themselves, ha ha!), embracing the crowds, and riding in style on the double decker buses around town. Saturday was a beautiful day with a blue sky and we spent it at Disneyland! The favorite ride was definitely Space Mountain! Ah, it was just so much fun to have them here. My students were thrilled to meet my parents and interrogate them on what they imagined to be my evil childhood. Ha ha. They were a little disappointed to find out I really was an angel. Ha ha ha!

It's never easy to say goodbye to my family though, even though it's only five months this time around. I'm glad they get to sneak in one or two more days on their way back home. I was reminded again, of how blessed I am to have such awesome parents. And, just how special Autumn and Andrew are to me. Even though I don't get to spend as much time with them as I'd like, I feel pretty lucky to have some sweet traveling memories with them. Last year, their home in India as well as Nepal. This year, my home in Hong Kong!

Follow this link to my pictures of the weekend!

The Space Mountain Thrill.

Team India 2008. It was great to hang out with Pam and Raysha. They're going to do an awesome job in India!

Buzz and Andrew.

Thailand...two weeks later...

I think my last post regarding Thailand was from Chiang Mai. I didn't tell you about....

-our awesome cooking class (I learned my favorites: pad thai, red curry, sweet and sour vegetables and papaya salad)
-the white flour sand and green see through waters at Koh Samet
-jumping the waves
-playing water frisbee
-laying the smack down on the girls in our Ultimate Pillow Wrestling Challenge
-how it is marvelous to have a tan, but after three days laying around on the beach, I'm ready for a new game
-spending New Year's Eve and New Year's Day next to the toilet :), something that is turning out to be an annual holiday event for me...a yearly cleansing ritual?!
-sweet chats with the three gals I traveled with
-how lovely and refreshing the fruit shakes are, or did I?
-how I really enjoy Thailand, but I feel a certain darkness there. There is beauty, but a more clear lostness than felt in other places I have lived in and traveled to.

There you have it. It was a great two weeks. Sorry to the Flickr fans out there, but for the four of you who check it, here is the first album, and here is the second album of my Facebook pictures. You can view them there; it's just seeming a bit tedious to upload them twice. My favorites are from the Elephant Nature Park. Enjoy!

Our lovely cooking prof and my wicked papaya salad. Spicy!

White Water Rafting!

Quadding!

Giving Dumbo a scrub-down in the river

Feeling the Love!

Our day at the Elephant Nature Park

The Beach!

Best Movie in Years.

I just watched August Rush.  I think it is one of my favorite movies, all-time.  Have you seen it?  

My favorite lines of the movie (spoken to the main character, a young orphan boy):

"Boy, what do you want to be, more than anything in the whole world?"

"Found".

A beautiful movie.  Now if only itunes would add the soundtrack...

Thanks for the nudge, Steve.  You were right.

Loving the Elephants!

Yesterday we played with elephants. We waded into the river and scrubbed their backs, tried to avoid the elephant poop floating down the river, fed an old elephant her lunch diet? of watermelon and banana, and even got a big wet slobbery kiss from a baby. It was an awesome day!

We went to The Elephant Nature Park, about an hour and a half outside of Chiang Mai. This place is all about loving elephants! Seriously, though, they are doing a tonne of good, pun intended. We had the chance to meet a small, bright-eyed woman named Lek. Lek is an amazing woman. She is the founder of the park. She rescues abused and neglected elephants from around Thailand and brings them to the sanctuary, as they refer to it, to essentially be loved, healed and brought back to health.

We learned so much about the elephant tourism industry in Thailand. A hundred years ago, 100,000 elephants could be found in the country. Now, only 5000 remain. The stories of each of the elephants in the park were so sad. One had a gnarled leg due to a landmine while logging in Burma. Another was blinded by his mahout (owner). One had his tusk chopped off and nearly died because of the infection. We learned about how the mahouts put the elephants through a brutal training to break the independence of the elephants- an ancient Thai tradition. It was sick.

Most tourists are just not aware of the exploitation of elephants. I didn't know about most of this until yesterday. The Park has a great focus in offering day trips to tourists. Their hope is that it will catch on, and that other elephant owners will see that it's an attractive option to tourists. There were also a number of other long-term volunteers from around the world. It lets people come and have a natural experience, and really it is so much better than watching them paint pictures, spin hula hoops, etc. Getting elephant poop in your shoe while scrubbing its backside and getting a big kiss from the biggest mammal on the planet is way better than the former option!

So yes, now I am all for saving and loving the elephants! What a great experience. I took so many pictures; can't wait to show you!

The Juniper Tree

In my last post, I mentioned that we are staying at The Juniper Tree. This place is really something special. It meets a real need for missionaries living overseas- a place to be refreshed, to be together with family, to be renewed. They take such good care of each visitor.

Christmas Day was made special by meeting so many new people from around the world. A family from South Africa serving as dorm parents in South Korea, a family from Lumsden (yes, Lumsden!) also working as dorm parents, but in Malaysia, an American family going on 7 years in the south of Thailand, a young British family serving in a remote village in the north of Thailand, a Swiss family in Bangladesh doing business and trying to create job opportunities for the many that are jobless, an American family teaching in Cambodia, the list goes on! It is life-giving to be around people devoting themselves whole-heartedly, as a family, to making a difference in Asia. A sweet blessing to have crossed paths in such a beautiful place.

Christmas Eve in Chiang Mai

It's Christmas Eve. I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It is marvelous! Our first day and a half in Chiang Mai included:

-Foot massage (if you follow this blog, you likely assumed this would be on the list!)
-Market shopping (MORE to come! Chiang Mai has the best night bazaar!)
-Quadding through the Chiang Mai jungle-like land (so much fun!!!)
-Whitewater rafting (my first time- the only downer was that by the time we got on the water, the sun was tucked behind the mountains, so it was rather chilly...but still a great ride!!)
-Seeing plenty of elephants (though we will spend Wednesday at the Elephant Nature Park- giving the elephants a bath, feeding them, spreading a little TLC to the big guys)
-Eating delicious curries, pad thai noodles (my favorite), accidently and painfully downing a disastrous chili (ohhhh the suffering!), mango salad, and fresh fruit shakes
-Offroading in the back of trucks as the general mode of transportation

Another highlight has been our home here in Chiang Mai- "The Juniper Tree". It is a wonderfully cozy retreat center- a getaway spot for missionaries in SE Asia. We're staying in a lofty little cabin-like house. There are likely 50 others staying here as well. Tomorrow we will enjoy a Christmas dinner together. What a blessing this place is! Quiet, secluded, clean, quaint.

That's all for tonight. Warm wishes for a cozy Christmas from Thailand...

A Ponytail Present

I have a special friend in Hong Kong who is fighting cancer. She just took her second round of chemo, and the last time I visited her, she knew her hair would be gone by Christmas.

In honor of this dear woman, as well as my Aunty Laurie and other women I have known who have bravely fought cancer, and inspired also by one of my beautiful sister-in-laws, I decided to give away my ponytail. I will send it, as Tara did, to the Beautiful Lengths campaign organized by Pantene Pro-V. They will hopefully accept my curly mop of a ponytail and use it, along with other donated ponytails, to make a wig for a woman who has lost her hair due to cancer. If you're interested, have a look at their website. I think it's just one more way to encourage those we love- "we're with you all the way".

So, here's Harmony minus the ponytail...for the first time since 1985?!!

Saying Goodbye to Hiroki

I am feeling heavy with the news that one of my students will be leaving our school, as of the new year. This is my first experience in having a student leave in the middle of the year, and I don't like it! This particular student has brought so much joy into our classroom, with an additional measure of ten-year-old boy silliness. He is one of those kids who light up a classroom- so eager to learn, so easily excited. A true joy to teach, even on the days when I had just about had it with his goofy faces or his questions: "Hey, Miss Muckkk-Millan (as he pronounces it), can you do this??"(moving his ears without his hands, actually, quite impressive). Ah, it is hard to let him go. I guess we do our best to make a difference for as long as we have the chance, and then trust that someone else picks up where we left off.

(on the right)

High Tea Blessing

Two friends and colleagues treated me to High Tea at the Peninsula Hotel yesterday afternoon. What a treat! It was my high tea debut. What better way to experience high tea than with a British gal and a fellow Canadian, a beautifully festive stringed quartet playing from above, and most lovely (that sounds British doesn't it?) Christmas decorations dressing up the colonial Peninsula. They claim high tea at the Peninsula is a Hong Kong institution. Oooh. Too bad they didn't offer to drive me home via one of their Rolls-Royce Phantoms...

Live Tennis, Gotta Love It!!

I'm really excited about what came in the mail today: tickets for the JB Group Classic 2008!! I'm going to the "Super Friday" on January 4, which should showcase the best of the bunch in the semi-finals. I'll be rooting for Ivanovic; she's my favorite in the draw. Other top players in the draw include Sharapova, Venus, Hantuchova, Chakvetadze and Dementieva. It's just a warm-up tournament and lacks real intensity (I went to the event in 2005), but it's still so awesome to watch these ladies play.

Hong Kong: Built for Speed.

Each time I fly into the HK airport, I'm reminded of the striking efficiency of this city.  I have to yet to find myself in a city that compares.  Even as you travel from the airport to the city, it's easy to see that this is most definitely a place that thrives on convenience and speed.  I'm sure that even as I step off the plane, people are walking faster!

My favorite part of returning to Hong Kong is watching the visitors go through immigration, while I whip out my nifty residence card, note the many empty stalls calling my name, and slip my card into the slot.  I pass through the first gate, it takes my thumbprint, and bam- I'm back in Hong Kong.  The only glitch in the system is that while you pass through at lightning speed, you still end up waiting for your bags on the other side.  This actually makes the baggage folks appear subpar, but the fact is that they can't catch up with the swift immigration process.

The "Airport Express" train takes you from the airport to the city in 20 minutes flat.  You can actually check in your bags at two different stations in the city, which is pretty neat.  After zipping back to town on the train, you are filed into a line and into a taxi immediately.

These are just a couple examples.  Essentially, this city is built to maximize on time and space.  But no matter how efficient Hong Kong is, no matter how quickly you can get from A to B- it's never fast enough it seems.  People are always speeding ahead.  

I must say I love the efficiency and convenience.  Hong Kong is a very cool city to live in.  It makes Canada's set up seem slow-moving. A Hong Konger might even feel quite inconvenienced by much of the comparative waiting.  Compare it to its neighbors in SE Asia, and it is worlds apart.  But while I love how easy it is to live here, it's harder to slow down when the world around you is zooming, never stopping, always going.  I can't forget it because I can hear its chorus 32 floors beneath me!

It may be fast, but I see the effect it has on people's lives and the culture of Hong Kong. Though I now have many awesome friends here, walking through the city it feels like people are disengaged and disconnected from one another.  So, which would you rather?  Are speed, efficiency and convenience worth the sacrifice?

Holiday Playlist

A Christmas to Remember- Kenny and Dolly (YES!)

Christmas Without You- Kenny and Dolly

Wintersong- Sarah McLachlan

River- Sarah McLachlan

Song for a Winter's Night- Sarah McLachlan

Do You Hear What I Hear- Out of Eden

The Christmas Shoes- Newsong

Welcome to Our World- Michael W. Smith

Let It Snow- Michael Buble

Babe in the Straw- Caedmon's Call

Bethlehem Town- Jars of Clay

Love Came Down at Christmas- Jars of Clay

Manger Throne- Mac Powell

Two Days in the Philippines

I had an awesome weekend! On Friday at 6pm, I flew to Manila, arrived at the airport and anxiously sorted through a sea of faces, trying to find Jane, the "girl in the red shirt". I finally found her, not long after I had started imagining how I might spend a weekend in Manila on my own. We were joined up by the rest of our group: three South Africans, one Hong Konger, two American Hong Kongers, Jane, and myself.

We stayed the night in Manila. Though I was only there for a very short time, Manila didn't give off a good vibe. I heard quite a few sirens through the night. We were greeted by a guard dog and a security check at the hotel entrance. I wasn't sad to leave early the next morning for our destination- Bohol.

We arrived in Bohol, a tropical, coconut-tree spotted island just south of Cebu, which you may be familiar with. Bohol is known for its chocolate hills, the smallest primates on earth (tarsiers), white sand beaches and the fattest python in captivity. We actually saw all but the first during our day there.

At the airport we were picked up by the Filipino workers for ICM (International Care Ministries). They were a major highlight for me. Such giving, hardworking and joyful people. Filipino people in general are such fun, easygoing, quick to smile kind of people. I have much to learn from their joy-full way of life, evidently not stemming from their circumstances. The ICM gang showed us some highlights of their work there. We stopped by a slum, where we watched the feeding program at work. About 40 ladies waited there to receive their weekly supply of rice, given by the pastor responsible for distribution in their community. The pastor serves as the touchpoint for ICM, feeling out the needs of the people in his area and then addressing them using the ICM resources and workers. We spent time treating the kids to candy.

They also took us to visit two "special patient" cases. The first was a sweet one year old boy, suffering from severe eye problems. ICM takes the special cases and gives them what they need to pay for surgery. We also visited a twelve year old boy in desperate need of three major bowel surgeries. Both were extremely touching to visit, and realize what a difference had been made in their life because of God's provision extended through ICM. I held that baby boy tight, and we prayed for his vision, his life and his family.

In the afternoon, we saw a couple of sights and stopped by the ICM's crusade, "Celebrate Jesus". There were about 2000 people there.

We enjoyed supper with the entire ICM crew. There are about 100 ICM workers, all local Filipinos. They are working in 3 different places in the Visayas area in the Philippines.

The next morning we joined them for church. The preacher was a blazing fireball! He prayed for English before he started....and he had way more than that. He spoke of the futility of our efforts without the Spirit of God. It was a powerful morning- later he prayed for the two fourteen year olds that were on our team. Very special.

We had to leave shortly after that. It was an extremely fast weekend, but so worth it! I was moved by the hearts of the people there, and very excited about the work being done there. It seems the needs are endless, and many times the main response is feeling overwhelmed. But ICM has managed to create a ministry that is touching so many lives, meeting so many different needs. It is primarily supported by Hong Kongers, and within the Philippines it is generally carried out completely by local people. It's exciting stuff! This coming year, they are planning to relocate an entire slum- between 10,000 and 15,000 people!!

The group I traveled with really made for a great weekend, too. They were a lot of fun!! I learned a lot about the Philippines AND South Africa, too! The mother and daughter combo were always laughing...which made them quite a joy to be around. They infected kids with joy by blowing up countless balloons and shaping them into swords and dogs. The street kids loved them.

Oh, there are more stories and more reflections- but this is already very long, and I'm ready for bed! Hope you enjoy the pictures up on Flickr. They always tell the tale best.

One Long Skate

There is an ache in me that never leaves when I'm away from home, but there are times when it feels more acute. The last couple days have felt that way. It likely has much to do with the arrival of the Christmas season. Though I'm very excited about the adventures Thailand has in store and I will enjoy soaking up the sun and feeding elephants and eating colorful curries, it's not home. I miss my family. I miss, in advance, the family dance nights (yes, we McMillans dance up a storm), Mom's Christmas dinner, Mom's Christmas brunch, holding a new baby nephew, watching the kids I love open their presents, playing guitar with brothers, having great chats with my sisters, going to the McMillan New Year's party, and so on.

My favorite Christmas album, Wintersong by Sarah McLachlan, has been on nonstop for the past week. One of the best songs, River, makes me ache for a good ol' skate. I wonder how long it might take me to skate across the Pacific....

Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I wish I had a river so long
Teach my feet to fly high
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on

I miss Canada. I miss you!