Visitors in November/Shenzhen

I am having trouble with blogger changing the format of my captions and photos. I am new to using it and don't really know how to fix it. So I apologize for the format.

We had a visit from our good friends Mike and Jodie from Traverse City. It was a lot of fun to spend time with them and the Krohns. We often talked about how fun it would it be to be over here together and for 10 days we got that chance.


 I visited Lo Wu for the first time. A busy gateway between Hong Kong and mainland China. 
Lo Wu commercial city is a giant shopping complex.  You can get your nails done, buy illegal dvds and designer knock off accessories and clothes, or get your own made all in one place. 

It was an overload to my senses upon first entering. The second hand smoke lingering on every floor, with shouts of clerks outside their stalls yelling " hey missy, missy" trying to get my attention. 
It took about 15 minutes for me to adjust to the noise and smell and think clearly.

 My big purchase was a gray coat They started out at a sell price of $950 ($135)I bought it for $250 ($35) - the inside tag price read $3500 HKD ($500) I don't know if that is relevant or not
but all in all I felt I walked away with a good deal.
 The kids and Nathan visited the kite park while I shopped. Then they had pizza for dinner. Finding good pizza in China is hard to do but NYPD is good by American standards. The owner said he would like to open one in Hong Kong on the Island we can hope he open ones up in the New Territories.

The picture of the kids on the step in front of the station was taken not only by me but by several other tourist and locals.

Jane practicing for her Christmas program and our day out.

Lunch in Shenzhen from outypants on Vimeo.

7 months and top Five

We have called Hong Kong home for 7 months now.

5 indications I am starting to feel at home:

I don't have a mild heart attack anymore when offered water in a glass at a restaurant ( you don't drink tap water here)
I can wear jeans in 79˚ weather comfortably
I can tell a taxi driver where we live in Cantonese( so far I am being understood 50% of the time)
I don't have to buy all our food with an American label on it just because it is familiar - although I still use a lot of imported stuff because it is all I can get for certain items
Automatic check for Octopus card (electronic card used for public transportation) instead of car keys before leaving the house.




Elliot's top five about Hong Kong___ this week any way
prefers the buses over the train or boats
Spaghetti house for dinner
Playscope (indoor play place we have a membership too hands on stuff, toys and climbing net)
Best Friends: Isaiah and Aaron
Hiking

Jane's top five:
Restaurant - Ajisen ( Japanese Ramen place) she loves pot stickers
Buses
Best Friend: Abigail
Beaches
7-11 as a snack stop


My top five attractions/regulars so far
The promenade- I don't tire of that Hong Kong skyline
The ferry - relaxing way to travel ( not hour long ferry 10 minute ferry )
Repulse bay- my favorite out of the 4 beaches we visited
History Museum
Mong Kok for shopping- thanks to Bethany the secondhand /Pier one close out shop on Sai Yee street

Restaurants:
Spaghetti house
Genki Sushi
Triple O's ( canadian burger place)
India restaurant ( out of 3 Indian places we tried -by far the best Indian food is found here!)
Ajisen



Top five- over all likes
Being close to the China border- Shenzhen maybe only a 20 minute train ride, but you know you are in a different country rather quickly. Cheap buys and cheap eats. I hope to get better about exploring

The mountains- I love the views here too gorgeous.

Weather- the beach in October- need I say more


No car- no driving


Good selection of tea

Free Ice Cream from outypants on Vimeo.

Tuen Mun from outypants on Vimeo.

Say Cheese from outypants on Vimeo.

Ocean Park 2009

The two big theme parks here in Hong Kong are Disneyland and Ocean Park. We picked a weekday to visit to Ocean Park. The last time I had checked the weather it was sunny skies the day we left it said a few morning showers and sunny in the afternoon. Well it rained all day. Thankfully the rain was on and off and when it did rain it was mostly a light rain. At least the lines weren't really long and it wasn't 100˚ outside. The downside were the Halloween displays- they had some gruesome heads in the food stalls that scared Jane. We did our best to steer away from them and enjoyed our day as best as we could in spite of them.



The cable cars offer a nice view over the mountains. When we visit Repulse Bay you can see the cable cars as you are swimming in the water now when we go back to the beach the kids will remember being on them. Blue skies would have made the trip better but it was still pretty. The kids had fun riding all the kiddy rides. Jane loved the Frog Hopper right away, but it took about 8 rides before Elliot would try it when he did he enjoyed it. Jane was willing to ride some bigger rides but she was not tall enough. She will be our roller coaster girl for sure.








The aquarium is a great attraction with sea turtles, sharks,stingrays and larger fish. I have seen Panda's before otherwise those might have been a bigger deal for me. This is obviously the main attraction to Ocean Park. The rain as far as we could tell didn't stop the rides or too many attractions so we were able to experience a lot of what the park had to offer.
The kids couldn't stop cheering over the dolphin show. I remember Sea world being more impressive and of course having a Killer whale on display helps- but it was entertaining over all and they loved it.

Ocean Park from outypants on Vimeo.

mid-autumn festival lanterns!

mid-autumn festival lanterns!
Originally uploaded by muffyskat

A picture of one of the lanterns at the New territories celebration

Mooncakes : close-up

Mooncakes : close-up
Originally uploaded by SNAP: Singapore National Album of Pictures

Mid-Autumn Festival

Decorations outside of Parc Versailles.



The first week in October in China means the Mid-Autumn Festival. What does this mean? Moon cakes, lanterns and parties. October 1st is National Day this year marked the 60 year anniversary of communist China. These two celebrations overlapped one another.






We visited the East Asian Games Lantern Display in TST then got on the boat to visit the carnival at Victoria Park. As Americans we are constantly amazed at the lack of merchandise and vendors for these celebrations. We were actually hoping to purchase lanterns for the kids while at the park just for fun. Yes we could have walked down a side street and found a store that was selling them but we had already travelled on foot quite a bit and did not want to venture too far out. If this event were held in America there would be Food Vendors- hats-T-shirts- pins for sale on site at the event. Lantern Festival 09 or Mid-Autumn Celebration at Victoria Park would be sold in many colors and sizes.
 We found lights strung overhead and stages where traditional dances,opera and puppet shows were performed. No rides and no elephant ears. I have been in Hong Kong long enough not to expect the rides or the elephant ears. 
I am not complaining about the lack of ways to fleece me of my money by overcharging me for food,and cheap merchandise.



We attended the Celebration at Sha Tin which is in our area the New Territories. Sha Tin park is sprawling and a nice place to hold an event like this. It was pleasant to walk through and the displays were plentiful and some quite impressive. We caught some acrobats and dancing. The two languages the event was hosted in were Mandarin and Cantonese so we didn't quite know what was going on for scheduled events. We were without our camera then so we only got video of the event. No face painting or animal balloons but you could get your palm read. The line was sadly long for this "entertainment"


Mooncakes

Lotus Paste and eggyolk
I found the traditional Mooncake to be not that bad. The lotus paste has a sweet taste. It is a dense and very rich.

Guilin Trip September 2009

Nathan was able to take a couple of days and visit Guilin China and surrounding areas. Guilin is known for being one of the prettiest places in China and many travel far to visit it.





This village had no road until 1997. At that time no one spoke Mandarin (the national language spoken by virtually everyone on the mainland) by 2003 everyone spoke English! Reason being tourism. All the buildings are newer buildings.

Rice Terraces in the first photo




The cave was illuminated by lights. In the states when you visit caves you see signs and are told not to touch the formations as they are changed by the touch of human hands. Everyone touched the walls and formations in this cave.























The women in this village don't cut their hair. They keep it wrapped and covered until they are married and their husband is the the first one to see their hair. The side they wrap it up on indicates if they have children or not.

Nathan was volunteered to be part of a show that went through traditional wedding rituals he was a groom and had a bride
who is actually a married woman. At the end he was told he needed to buy a gift for his bride. I suppose you could refuse to do this, but I imagine you would be looked down upon, so he paid money for her to have a nice bracelet and in return was given three small cloth purses. One whose strapped broke after 2 minutes of Jane playing with it. A nice little money making scheme they have going on. The amusement I get out of watching him on the video is worth it. He was getting his behind pinched a couple of times an indication he was told that you are liked. I am unsure if this is a traditional tribal practice or just a slapstick gag to make the audience laugh.





They cooked rice and vegtables inside these bamboo containers over a fire very good. The chicken one you might want to pass on-they cut up a whole chicken and throw it all in there.


I particularly find this photo amusing. It is common to see postings on the mass transit telling you to give up your seat to the elderly or anyone in need with pictures indicating who that might be. This spells out very clearly who the in need might be.

Kid photography and Home school journal

Photos by Elliot.
You start to appreciate how a 3 foot person views the world. 
 These photos take me back to when I was kid. I can remember being too small do the things I wanted to do. Frustrated because I couldn't communicate my thoughts in away as to be understood by adults. Reprimanded when I was sincerely trying to be funny and do good and mad when I was laughed at instead of taking seriously.   Our kids are blessed they have an"easy" life without too much worry and responsibility, but growing up is not devoid of trials.
 I pray that everyday I will take the opportunity to connect with my children and see life through their eyes so as to have compassion and understanding.  We have a perfect parent in God who comes to our level when we are unsophisticated,childish, and even sinful. Although I can't be perfect, I can learn from God to be slow to anger and wrath and quick to listen and just remember what it was like to not be a grown up.

No wonder he gets so bored, the kid probably can't even see out the windows!

The MTR turnstile

Elliot has walked underneath a few times, I think just because it is easier. He technically was short enough to be free a few months ago, but after age three they expect you to pay.

This is the spot where we catch the shuttle bus and where we get dropped off.  I love it when Icome down the escalator and see the shuttle just about to pull in and I hate it when I see the shuttle leaving, knowing I have a 15 minute wait. Of course we live only about a 15 minute walk from home so the option to walk is often what we choose.

The PARK-N-SHOP Grocery store

Walking home in the mild 70˚ weather is an option, not in the 90 degree, if I have frozen groceries and want them not to defrost.  It is then the time to pay the minimum taxi fee and have them take me to Parc Versailles, I have to say it Cantonese- it sounds like this
Die Yon Yoon. 
.

Upon day one of our arrival in Hong Kong the fight between the kids is who gets to push the buttons. I really thought this would stop be exciting after a week. It began when we lived on the 16th floor in Horizon Suites and has continued now that we are on the 4th floor in PV. The system which the kids worked out is Elliot pushes the button to call the elevator or lift as they are called here. Jane gets to push all the rest of the buttons. I think this is okay with him because he can't really reach all the rest of the buttons yet. The time is approaching for this system to change.

Homeschooling

It doesn't seem like it should be back to school and be fall time. It is still in the high 80's here with no signs of it slowing down. The leaves aren't turning colors and there is no crisp fall air to be felt.

Jane asked if it was fall time and I almost hesitated to say yes, our ABEKA curriculum is decorated with pumpkins and apples for the worksheets this term, but the reality of our life is palm trees and lychee fruit.

Jane's primary question during the school day- are we done yet?  There is something to be said for the classroom setting that is ruled by a clock. The kids know when they are done, they don't ask a teacher after they had lunch- are we done with school yet? I should just set up a time during the day that I know we will be done and make it the official end of the day.

A display a New Town Plaza
Homescholing is a very foreign concept to a majority of the Chinese. When I tell them we do school at home, they usually respond "oh you must be a teacher"  I don't know if it is legal for a local to homeschool their kids. There is a community of homeschoolers here but a majority are expats.

Elliot is adjusting to the more formal program I have put him on as a Pre-K student.

Teaching Robots- how nice.  I was reflecting on frustrating teaching moments and thought how nice it would be for the kids to have a switch for when I am teaching, that turns off all their emotions, rebelliousness, laziness, will-fullness,  so they simply listen and do what I say..  
Of course not really, I am not opening up the Stepford Academy anytime soon,  but sometimes the reality of being the parent and the teacher to a child can be overwhelming.
Some days it feels like a little bump in the road and we get over it and go on, other days that bump is a steep hill that we spiral down at a rapid pace.

All parents are teachers. Some might not be actually teaching their kids math concepts or doing the science experiments with them, but our kids will model what they see us do.
We teach them with our attitude toward learning, we teach them how to treat others, how to respond to hurt and failure,  Do we respect authority, obey the laws. Do we act one way in church and another outside of it? They observe and learn.
They would have to learn this from me even if they are in school all day, the fact that I teach them their grammar and about George Washington is just something a little extra I am choosing to do.

I do think I will put Jane in school next year, her personality would thrive in the social setting and I know she would be motivated to get good grades and please the teacher.  We will see what happens, but those are my thoughts.

We have  a membership to a place called Playscope.   My friend Denise who is a Hong Kong native, and my neighbor introduced me to it.
 I describe it as a mini- children's museum.  The fact it is here in Tai Po is a blessing!  The philosophy of the people who designed it is, to let kids have creative play. Give them tools and toys that let them use their imagination. The workers are great and really interact with the kids. They can play dress up and do crafts or jump on the rope web. We have really enjoyed the toy and game lending library. They even have full size play kitchens you can "check out" if you want. We enjoy getting new board games and toys. It is cheaper then spending money on games that either you find you don't like or you quickly get bored playing.
 They have a book library too.  It is an air conditioned haven in the summer. 

Playscope from outypants on Vimeo.