Hong Kong

It’s officially a new year- the Year of the Dragon! With a ticket booked for Korea at the end of January, and a flight home for three weeks this spring, 2012 should be another well-travelled, adventurous run for yours truly. The travels began with a trip to Hong Kong.

My visa needed “changed over” to working status, which is made easier by a trip to this Special Administrative Region of China.

This city is noticeably different from everywhere I have been in China. Everyone—well almost everyone—can speak English! I asked several taxi drivers for directions and they provided English answers. Besides the language, the city has a strong British influence throughout. The way people dress, their patient mannerisms in the public realm, the whole place felt a little more comfortable than the “hurry up” style of mainland China.

Here are the highlights of my short trip:

Most of my time was spent on a “hop on, hop off” tour of the city, historical sites, markets, and the nearby beaches.

Best part: taking the tram to the top of the mountain (ok, hill) for a view of the surrounding buildings nestled along the shoreline.

For dinner, I took a ferry to a different island where I met a friend (this was previously arranged) and fellow alumni from the Independence Institute intern program I completed while in college. Steve has been working in Hong Kong as an educational director for a large international schools network. We enjoyed some German food along the beach and talked politics.

That night: took time to update my blog! I’m just sorry I could not do more, but I was tired from a long day.

Best food: Hong Kong French Toast, which is cited as one of  the top 50 food of the world, according to CNN at this website I love to share: http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/eat/worlds-50-most-delicious-foods-067535?page=0,0

Strangest food or drink: Field Mouse Wine. Saw this in a traditional medicine shop. No joke, there are small, hairless field mice floating in the bottle of wine. Looks like a science experiment! I don’t know if they drink this stuff or just have it for display…

Foreign Food: Miss Field’s Cookies, Morton Steakhouse, Outback Steakhouse. I had the cookies, but didn’t make it to the steak houses.

Interesting to See: Advertisements for Hong Kong Disney Land were all over the place!

Christmas in China

I survived my first Christmas away from home because of two holiday “miracles.” The first being an incredible care package from my loving, thoughtful, and happy shopper Aunties, the second being some much-needed Skype conversation love with the whole family on Christmas day. Ok, so these were made possible by modern-day technological miracles, but doesn’t everything have that “holiday magic” feel in December? Even being far from home in a culture that does not celebrate Christmas, I still had that feeling!

My care package was full of the necessities: chocolates, my favorite organic cereal and almond butter, and plenty of warm clothes! Now my stomach and dresser cabinets are overflowing and I’m trying to make space for all the new stuff!

Actually, the holiday was enjoyable, though I did miss home more this week than I have up until this point. I’ve been away from Colorado for almost nine months, and as exciting as this adventure will continue to be, I am consciously counting the days till my visit back home in March.

Nanjing is very well decorated with the strappings of Christmas, considering it’s not an official holiday. I spoke with many Chinese who all seemed to agree that the young people of China are more interested in the holiday and like to celebrate it with friends. I saw two large trees (as in two story tall trees), and almost every shopping center or restaurant had a picture of Santa Claus on their doors.

My school celebrated the holiday with a Secret Santa gift exchange. We did one exchange just among the staff, and then coordinated exchanges for each class of students. Since I teach three classes, I had to buy gifts for three different students, which also meant I received three gifts after all was said and done. I received some nice presents, but I really enjoyed watching the kids open theirs and guess who their Secret Santa was.

My favorite gift (not including those in the care package!) was a large, beautiful poster of the Great Wall. I hurried home to find the best place for it in my apartment!

After my classes were finished for the day, I said goodbye and Merry Christmas to co-workers, then joined one of my good Chinese friends, Mr. Lou, for a movie at the nearby cinema. We saw a Chinese movie (no English subtitles), by the name of “Dragon Gate, Flying Sword.” The star was none other than Jet Li, who has always impressed me with his acrobatic kung fu! My Chinese is not anywhere near the level of understanding actual conversations spoken at normal talking pace; but I was able to catch bits and pieces. By pieces, I really do mean pieces. A lot of: “he is…I am…she is…” but whatever language came after was lost on me! Still, I could easily follow the story line and the kung fu moves can be understood without any language!

I went home for the evening, relaxed, and made my scheduled skype call with the family, before waking up again to catch the relatives at Aunt Reta’s house. Thanks everyone for being a part of my Christmas, no matter how far away!