Outside of amazing Portuguese food that was covered by our boss (score!), today was rather uneventful. Of course, the night is not over, but things have certainly simmered down. We sat in a linguistic theory class this morning where I learned linguistic theory not having a lot to do with what I'm actually teaching, but I learned it nevertheless. Then it was off to lunch, a tour of a gym (which if I choose to join will cost me from $50 American to $100 American depending on how long I commit...will I stay in shape for that much money? haha, it was free in America and I didn't use it!...in other words, we'll see). After that we bought sim cards for our cell phones (local prepaid ones) and got information on the language classes we can take around our work schedule.
Tomorrow we go to immigration and have been told it can easily take 3 to 4 hours waiting for your turn. This is the point I am thankful for music and books...and hopefully comfy chairs at immigration?
In other exciting news, the chairman of the center we are working for is Professor Mao. Soak that in, I am working for chairman Mao. lol. And our school is next to the PLA (People's Liberation Army) building. That means we're safe. Their involvement in Macau is limited in comparison to China and mostly is for military/foreign affairs. It's all rather comical though.
Oh, and this just in: my colleague Lauren just got on a website that was trying to get her to upgrade from Internet Explorer. It said, "every time you use Internet Explorer, a puppy is strangled....please upgrade to Chrome, Mozilla, etc. for the love of puppies." Then it had a link to the other browsers, a link for puppies, and a picture of a cute golden Labrador puppy. Classy. By the way, it does not actually strangle puppies. No worries.
Well, that's about all the writing juice I have for today. I had the most wonderful milk tea today. Milk tea is a cold drink popular in Asia consisting of milk, tea, and sweetener. The one I ordered at the Portuguese restaurant was brought to me in 3 containers I had to mix together, and I made it simply ah-mazing! I guess at this point the milk tea calories are about out...at least the ones that can be converted to writing blogs.
Yum,
Chelsey
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The Little Things
My friend Jessica is one of those sweet little optimistic bundles of sunshine who turns dirt on a sidewalk into a place where flowers might someday grow. Her outlook on life has rubbed off on me a tiny bit over the almost 9 years we've been friends now, and I'd like to think that I try to get a lot of happiness out of the smallest things. Today was one of those days. This time though, it may not have been any level of impressive optimism but rather just a love for rare things. To explain more clearly, tonight I discovered that I can get Quaker Oatmeal Squares (a beloved cereal in our home), chocolate milk, and Dove Shampoo all here in Macau and at not too ridiculous a price. What does this mean? Clean, healthy hair and fiber in my belly...well, the chocolate is really just a bonus, but we'll say it's the calcium ;)
In other news, today we signed our lives away for the next 10 months. In fancy wording that is 'contracts and paperwork'. And in case anyone is wondering, if I don't make it home (which I will if I have to turpentine a lions tail or slide down a razor blade into a pool of alcohol to do it!) my mother will be getting my pay...which is diddly squat in terms of what anyone would ever really want, so yeah don't make any grand plans of sabotage unless you'd like to reap the grand reward of a single name brand can of biscuits...which you would have to further retrieve somehow from my mother. In other words, ldkajdkljds.
Onward.
Tonight for dinner, after a hard days' work in teacher training (but a fun and valuable one), we wandered into a little Portuguese part of town. The streets were paved in little tiles of black and white, which I could only imagine would be something like a slip n' slide in a rain storm, but today the streets were dry (unfortunately?). We found this little Chinese restaurant in the alley and ate a delicious dinner for a modest price. I drank freshly made papaya juice for the first time. It was a treat, but not so sweet and very filling. The interesting thing about Macau and all the Asian cities I have been to is that the cost of food is about the same as the cost of a beverage...so it makes you second guess drinking with your meal. I drink about 2 gallons of liquid (non-alcoholic drinking people!) a day, so it's very difficult for me here having to pay for every ounce I drink. I realize at those times I do not drink I have gotten dizzy, so my cheap self is sucking it up (preferably through straws ;)) and staying hydrated. Actually tonight the straw in my juice was bent in a curl for me :).
Lunch today was a different story. Although it was fabulous to be able to eat with our Fulbright friends now working at USJ, we went to an overpriced and under serviced Indian restaurant. The food was AMAZING, but there was hardly any of it. Luckily, we are still at the hotel and eating large amounts at the breakfast buffet. I paid the equivalent of about 11 US dollars for a tiny bowl of vegetarian (which is cheaper) Indian food, one tiny flat piece of bread, and a 12 ounce can of soda. To give you an idea of what I've been paying, I ate my little tummy stuffed and had a luxurious juice beverage (aka more expensive than a soda) for half that price.... noted that we probable won't be going there again.
Uggggh who is this whiny girl?!?! Stop, Chelsey. The good news is-- outside of the little details that I'm sharing just to help you get a grasp on life and experiences here-- I'm absolutely loving it and taking it all in. Macau is a very nice, very well off place with a lot of opportunity to learn and explore. So as Dora would say "vomanos!" (Let's Go!)
In other news, today we signed our lives away for the next 10 months. In fancy wording that is 'contracts and paperwork'. And in case anyone is wondering, if I don't make it home (which I will if I have to turpentine a lions tail or slide down a razor blade into a pool of alcohol to do it!) my mother will be getting my pay...which is diddly squat in terms of what anyone would ever really want, so yeah don't make any grand plans of sabotage unless you'd like to reap the grand reward of a single name brand can of biscuits...which you would have to further retrieve somehow from my mother. In other words, ldkajdkljds.
Onward.
Tonight for dinner, after a hard days' work in teacher training (but a fun and valuable one), we wandered into a little Portuguese part of town. The streets were paved in little tiles of black and white, which I could only imagine would be something like a slip n' slide in a rain storm, but today the streets were dry (unfortunately?). We found this little Chinese restaurant in the alley and ate a delicious dinner for a modest price. I drank freshly made papaya juice for the first time. It was a treat, but not so sweet and very filling. The interesting thing about Macau and all the Asian cities I have been to is that the cost of food is about the same as the cost of a beverage...so it makes you second guess drinking with your meal. I drink about 2 gallons of liquid (non-alcoholic drinking people!) a day, so it's very difficult for me here having to pay for every ounce I drink. I realize at those times I do not drink I have gotten dizzy, so my cheap self is sucking it up (preferably through straws ;)) and staying hydrated. Actually tonight the straw in my juice was bent in a curl for me :).
Lunch today was a different story. Although it was fabulous to be able to eat with our Fulbright friends now working at USJ, we went to an overpriced and under serviced Indian restaurant. The food was AMAZING, but there was hardly any of it. Luckily, we are still at the hotel and eating large amounts at the breakfast buffet. I paid the equivalent of about 11 US dollars for a tiny bowl of vegetarian (which is cheaper) Indian food, one tiny flat piece of bread, and a 12 ounce can of soda. To give you an idea of what I've been paying, I ate my little tummy stuffed and had a luxurious juice beverage (aka more expensive than a soda) for half that price.... noted that we probable won't be going there again.
Uggggh who is this whiny girl?!?! Stop, Chelsey. The good news is-- outside of the little details that I'm sharing just to help you get a grasp on life and experiences here-- I'm absolutely loving it and taking it all in. Macau is a very nice, very well off place with a lot of opportunity to learn and explore. So as Dora would say "vomanos!" (Let's Go!)
Monday, August 29, 2011
New territory, but I am not Columbus
We have arrived in the luxurious Macau!
Earlier today, after lunch and a tour of MPI and just needing a bit of a break, I climbed into my KING SIZE BED in the room ALL BY MYSELF...that was for emphasis because my last hotel room that I shared was about the size of a king size bed. Anyway, back to the story, so I got out my laptop because I understood we had free wifi at this hotel and I typed into Word this lovely blog full of energy and vigour and humor to make even a snail laugh (p.s. their sense of humor stinks). It was after that that I discovered the wifi was not free in the lobby as I thought. Oh giddy me! (that was a play on an earlier blog, FYI)
So. Since I have already used my blogging energy for today, here's a quick little sum up of today: early morning luggage, taxi with bungee cords, Kenisha's luggage handle breaking, Ray explaining 'awkward turtle, awkward cow, and awkward ultrasound' to Donna (from HK) in Cantonese (it may not have crossed cultural understanding. lol). Then it was on to getting stuck in line because I didn't have a paper I didn't know I needed, riding a ferry that made a 6 hour ride into 1.25 hours and thus felt like a galloping horse, meeting up with a lady who was similar to an interesting character belonging at Hogwarts, getting a cubicle!!!!, touring MPI, dropping things with chopsticks, holding things with chopsticks, Disney soundtrack cool down, blister scab still existing, lots of heat, noodle soup for dinner, walking way out of our way after looking at the fountains outside the MANY casinos here (but not 'lost' because we've been told it's almost impossible to get lost in Macau), and finally crashing back in our hotel.
Yeah.
Breathe. It's a lot.
So the weather is HOT here, they don't put vegetables in a lot of their foods (so be happy mom, your kid wants to eat veggies!), and the school we are at is even nicer, newer facilities than my Alma Mater. (We have smart boards).
That's pretty much the update in the life of this'un. Oh, and on the way back to the hotel I grabbed an apple juice at the store. I was like 'Minute Maid, picture of apple, safe!' No. There's this thing with Asians; they like texture in their drinks and they don't generally do ice. So every once in a while I stumble upon what I like to call 'clumpies' in my drink. I call them this because they are intentional bits of aloe. Yes, you read that right, the plant you use for sunburns is in my belly. It's weird for me on the way down, but it doesn't really have a flavor. Appreciate your ice for me today. lol. I'm not complaining though, let's put that on the record. I will be dodging Minute Maid Apple Juice Macau Style in the future.
Now, back to the business of enjoying not walking or standing in a queue. Rough day packing 150 bajillion pounds of luggage. I am woman, hear me roar.
Chels
Earlier today, after lunch and a tour of MPI and just needing a bit of a break, I climbed into my KING SIZE BED in the room ALL BY MYSELF...that was for emphasis because my last hotel room that I shared was about the size of a king size bed. Anyway, back to the story, so I got out my laptop because I understood we had free wifi at this hotel and I typed into Word this lovely blog full of energy and vigour and humor to make even a snail laugh (p.s. their sense of humor stinks). It was after that that I discovered the wifi was not free in the lobby as I thought. Oh giddy me! (that was a play on an earlier blog, FYI)
So. Since I have already used my blogging energy for today, here's a quick little sum up of today: early morning luggage, taxi with bungee cords, Kenisha's luggage handle breaking, Ray explaining 'awkward turtle, awkward cow, and awkward ultrasound' to Donna (from HK) in Cantonese (it may not have crossed cultural understanding. lol). Then it was on to getting stuck in line because I didn't have a paper I didn't know I needed, riding a ferry that made a 6 hour ride into 1.25 hours and thus felt like a galloping horse, meeting up with a lady who was similar to an interesting character belonging at Hogwarts, getting a cubicle!!!!, touring MPI, dropping things with chopsticks, holding things with chopsticks, Disney soundtrack cool down, blister scab still existing, lots of heat, noodle soup for dinner, walking way out of our way after looking at the fountains outside the MANY casinos here (but not 'lost' because we've been told it's almost impossible to get lost in Macau), and finally crashing back in our hotel.
Yeah.
Breathe. It's a lot.
So the weather is HOT here, they don't put vegetables in a lot of their foods (so be happy mom, your kid wants to eat veggies!), and the school we are at is even nicer, newer facilities than my Alma Mater. (We have smart boards).
That's pretty much the update in the life of this'un. Oh, and on the way back to the hotel I grabbed an apple juice at the store. I was like 'Minute Maid, picture of apple, safe!' No. There's this thing with Asians; they like texture in their drinks and they don't generally do ice. So every once in a while I stumble upon what I like to call 'clumpies' in my drink. I call them this because they are intentional bits of aloe. Yes, you read that right, the plant you use for sunburns is in my belly. It's weird for me on the way down, but it doesn't really have a flavor. Appreciate your ice for me today. lol. I'm not complaining though, let's put that on the record. I will be dodging Minute Maid Apple Juice Macau Style in the future.
Now, back to the business of enjoying not walking or standing in a queue. Rough day packing 150 bajillion pounds of luggage. I am woman, hear me roar.
Chels
Sunday, August 28, 2011
There was no lime put in the coconut, but the day was shaken all up.
Today I walked my feet off. No really, I have 2 stubs. Luckily, I have height to spare and appreciate Captain Hook, who has drafted me into the missinalimb club. We're going to be besties fo sho!
I just drank a Nescafe--a delightfully interesting mixture of instant coffee, milk, and water. In other words, blame anything crazy on the caffeine.
So, back to today. I have a new friend Nancy who is an ETA at the other university in Macau. She laughs at my jokes (even the lame ones). Summary: I love her. haha. No really, she's great. Today her and I went to Hong Kong Island via ferry and then searched for a bus we didn't know the number for. So she asked 4 different people in her lovely Cantonese (her parents are from here long time ago) before we finally got to the place we needed. Then, we rode the lovely double decker enclosed bus up the beautiful hills of Hong Kong until we reached the HK prison. lol. The next stop a lot of people got off. The following stop the bus turned off. We then ran down to the first level. Too late, the driver had locked the doors. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I was locked in a HK bus today in sweltering heat. Luckily, neither Nancy or I are too claustrophobic and we both have a great sense of humor, so we started laughing about how dumb the situation was. A guy outside the bus went and fetched the driver, so we were only in there like maybe 4 minutes. While inside, I was joking about us pulling the wrong lever to open the door and it being the emergency brake which would then be like a scene from a cheesy comedy movie.
We then walked around the coast area with a lot of upper level fancy touristy shops. I was surprised to walk into a store and try on a pair of Crocs and the smallest size they had was a 10. Thought I would never hear that here.
Next, we stopped for a break of coconut milk...cleverly disguised as water...it's like coconut is a fruit spy. Just saying. It was my first real deal coconut experience though. I thought of all the people in my life that just Loooove coconut...okay, it was more the people that dislike it that came to mind.
The rest of our free day consisted of riding another double decker bus front row, which was more like a roller coaster ride on the narrow roads. We walked along the beach, but didn't get in; took the subway to the Art Museum of Hong Kong; it closed early, so we went through 2 floors in 10 minutes; we walked along the Avenue of Stars; ate Pizza Hut for lunch (yum!); had Japanese food for dinner; bought an orange at the fruit stands in the tourist district; almost got close-lined by a 3 year old being carried...ya know, the normal stuff. lol. Anyway, that's a quick summary of a fantastic day in the sun and a fabulous new blossoming friendship. Love it. If anyone wants to fly over and give me a foot massage, please let me know ;)
I hope your Sunday is as super fab as all of you. Tomorrow=the ferry to Macau. My father told me to be safe, so I suppose I will have to change my original plans. lol kidding. Yum yum customs!
Chels
I just drank a Nescafe--a delightfully interesting mixture of instant coffee, milk, and water. In other words, blame anything crazy on the caffeine.
So, back to today. I have a new friend Nancy who is an ETA at the other university in Macau. She laughs at my jokes (even the lame ones). Summary: I love her. haha. No really, she's great. Today her and I went to Hong Kong Island via ferry and then searched for a bus we didn't know the number for. So she asked 4 different people in her lovely Cantonese (her parents are from here long time ago) before we finally got to the place we needed. Then, we rode the lovely double decker enclosed bus up the beautiful hills of Hong Kong until we reached the HK prison. lol. The next stop a lot of people got off. The following stop the bus turned off. We then ran down to the first level. Too late, the driver had locked the doors. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I was locked in a HK bus today in sweltering heat. Luckily, neither Nancy or I are too claustrophobic and we both have a great sense of humor, so we started laughing about how dumb the situation was. A guy outside the bus went and fetched the driver, so we were only in there like maybe 4 minutes. While inside, I was joking about us pulling the wrong lever to open the door and it being the emergency brake which would then be like a scene from a cheesy comedy movie.
We then walked around the coast area with a lot of upper level fancy touristy shops. I was surprised to walk into a store and try on a pair of Crocs and the smallest size they had was a 10. Thought I would never hear that here.
Next, we stopped for a break of coconut milk...cleverly disguised as water...it's like coconut is a fruit spy. Just saying. It was my first real deal coconut experience though. I thought of all the people in my life that just Loooove coconut...okay, it was more the people that dislike it that came to mind.
The rest of our free day consisted of riding another double decker bus front row, which was more like a roller coaster ride on the narrow roads. We walked along the beach, but didn't get in; took the subway to the Art Museum of Hong Kong; it closed early, so we went through 2 floors in 10 minutes; we walked along the Avenue of Stars; ate Pizza Hut for lunch (yum!); had Japanese food for dinner; bought an orange at the fruit stands in the tourist district; almost got close-lined by a 3 year old being carried...ya know, the normal stuff. lol. Anyway, that's a quick summary of a fantastic day in the sun and a fabulous new blossoming friendship. Love it. If anyone wants to fly over and give me a foot massage, please let me know ;)
I hope your Sunday is as super fab as all of you. Tomorrow=the ferry to Macau. My father told me to be safe, so I suppose I will have to change my original plans. lol kidding. Yum yum customs!
Chels
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Do we miss Jesus?
This morning I woke up early not because of jet lag issues, but because I went to sleep at about 9:30 and it was 6am and my stomach was yelling for nachos or some equivalent. lol I was hungry and had 8.5 hours of sleep, who can blame me?
I also had a really strange dream which I do not recall now (though I did when I woke up) that woke me at 5 this morning with some strange liquid running from my eyes...tears, much?
So with all these factors combined and attempting to listen to my iPod to help me get back to sleep (as this is the morning I get to sleep in!), I began to miss people from home. I won't list names of who I was missing because I don't want anyone to feel excluded, but it was enough to get me thinking. I thought, as I was missing persons x, "do I miss Jesus?" That is--when we go these periods of time that we don't speak to Him or read His Word, is it the same longing to see Him, be held by Him, hear from Him, etc. that we get from 2 week long vacations from our precious toddlers or spouses? Well, it should be. So that was my wake up call to my wake up...call.
I hope you guys enjoy your Saturday evenings as you prepare for your Sundays. Just remember, there is something far more important than what concerns you. Is it readily on your mind?
A little reflection I thought worth sharing. Love.
I also had a really strange dream which I do not recall now (though I did when I woke up) that woke me at 5 this morning with some strange liquid running from my eyes...tears, much?
So with all these factors combined and attempting to listen to my iPod to help me get back to sleep (as this is the morning I get to sleep in!), I began to miss people from home. I won't list names of who I was missing because I don't want anyone to feel excluded, but it was enough to get me thinking. I thought, as I was missing persons x, "do I miss Jesus?" That is--when we go these periods of time that we don't speak to Him or read His Word, is it the same longing to see Him, be held by Him, hear from Him, etc. that we get from 2 week long vacations from our precious toddlers or spouses? Well, it should be. So that was my wake up call to my wake up...call.
I hope you guys enjoy your Saturday evenings as you prepare for your Sundays. Just remember, there is something far more important than what concerns you. Is it readily on your mind?
A little reflection I thought worth sharing. Love.
Don't rain on my parade...what, there's a parade?!?!
It rained today. As if you couldn't tell from the title of my blog that that was what was on my mind...
But it was a good rain. I mean, it made all the people head toward the overhang and the market I was at was a little crowded, but fortunately I'm a bit taller than the average crowdperson and did not feel too stuffed in there as I could see out and beyond.
The first half of the day we went to English Centers again and the Hong Kong Museum of History. It was an amazingly long museum. We had an English tour guide who talked about 10% of what was in there, and it took close to 2 hours. At first, I was wondering why she didn't go more in depth. By the end, I was grateful she didn't. So maybe I zoned out in history class and was thinking about the cartoon Strawberry Shortcake when I was younger (quite possible), but I had forgotten that after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they invaded Hong Kong. I bet those guys were tired. Anyway, the Japanese took over HK for like 5 years in the 1940s and it wasn't until America dropped those two gifts in Japan that HK got Japan to leave. Crazy, huh? First time I've ever had someone outside the U.S. vocally admit thanks for the U.S. showing its muscles. I was quite proud, especially knowing that my grandfather would have probably been sent to Japan had it not been for that. I got a huge sense of pride for and appreciation of my home again today.
While we were at one of the English centers today, the guide was showing us a variety of books, one of which had something to do with pursuing a PhD. He said, 'you know what that means, right?...'Permanent Head Damage." haha. Love it. That explains Dr. Gregg's condition. lol. I'm kidding, but I feel like this is a test to see whether he even knows my blog exists...guess I'll be getting feedback now.
We were free after the museum today, so we went to a Japanese restaurant--I'm looking less novice with chopsticks again. Then Athena, Nancy, and I broke away from the group and went to hang out with Athena's aunt and uncle who live in HK. We met them at this Cricket Country Club--nice stuff. Then it rained and they drove us to this shopping area that has like 1.7 million population density in 4 blocks because that's where the best local shopping is. I didn't buy anything. The rain made the humidity go away though, which was nice and breezy. It's very humid here. After that, they took us to the school where Athena's dad had gone as a kid. I thought this was very neat since it was not a typical tourist thing and we got to see how the locals live.
Both Athena's aunt and uncle are very knowledgeable and have seen the world it seems. Her aunt is a distributor of unique, non-licensed, more educational type of toys. I got to pick her brain about starting and owning your own business. Fabulous. When they dropped us off, she told me about these tiny shops which are hidden inside and up a level, each owned by young aspiring business owners. These shops are only open on nights and weekends because the owners work during the week and days. I went up there after dinner and was amazed. It's the cutest little assortment of eclectic shops, each speaking about their owner. I could just picture myself pouring into something like that...it's like a work hobby. Absolutely splendid. They reminded my of my friend Jessica McDougal--and there were owls everywhere (which she's a fan of).
Oh...and before we went to meet the aunt and uncle, the three of us girls went to Kowloon Park, a big public park here in HK. We walked through a labyrinth, looked at a bird lake and aviary, and then saw the public pool. The public pool is nice and large, but I quickly caught on that the trend here is speedos....small speedos. Needless to say, we got the FULL tour. lol. This is where the song 'Blinded by the light' pops in my head... Anyway.
Tonight for dinner I had this cousin-of-waffle as I'm calling it. It was waffle/pancake batter in this beehive/bubbly shape. It. Was. Marvelous. I'm a girl after sweet things. Yum. And I ordered it without language. Btw, the first sentence I learned in Cantonese was "I do not understand Cantonese." Thank you Pimsleur language CDs! It goes something like "ng m sik tang guang dong hua," but I'm totally making up that spelling of pronunciation, so who knows what we're all really saying as we read that inside our heads.
Tomorrow is a free day! Adventure awaits! I hope your weekends are just fab! Thanks to Vicki and Debbie for the comments :)
But it was a good rain. I mean, it made all the people head toward the overhang and the market I was at was a little crowded, but fortunately I'm a bit taller than the average crowdperson and did not feel too stuffed in there as I could see out and beyond.
The first half of the day we went to English Centers again and the Hong Kong Museum of History. It was an amazingly long museum. We had an English tour guide who talked about 10% of what was in there, and it took close to 2 hours. At first, I was wondering why she didn't go more in depth. By the end, I was grateful she didn't. So maybe I zoned out in history class and was thinking about the cartoon Strawberry Shortcake when I was younger (quite possible), but I had forgotten that after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they invaded Hong Kong. I bet those guys were tired. Anyway, the Japanese took over HK for like 5 years in the 1940s and it wasn't until America dropped those two gifts in Japan that HK got Japan to leave. Crazy, huh? First time I've ever had someone outside the U.S. vocally admit thanks for the U.S. showing its muscles. I was quite proud, especially knowing that my grandfather would have probably been sent to Japan had it not been for that. I got a huge sense of pride for and appreciation of my home again today.
While we were at one of the English centers today, the guide was showing us a variety of books, one of which had something to do with pursuing a PhD. He said, 'you know what that means, right?...'Permanent Head Damage." haha. Love it. That explains Dr. Gregg's condition. lol. I'm kidding, but I feel like this is a test to see whether he even knows my blog exists...guess I'll be getting feedback now.
We were free after the museum today, so we went to a Japanese restaurant--I'm looking less novice with chopsticks again. Then Athena, Nancy, and I broke away from the group and went to hang out with Athena's aunt and uncle who live in HK. We met them at this Cricket Country Club--nice stuff. Then it rained and they drove us to this shopping area that has like 1.7 million population density in 4 blocks because that's where the best local shopping is. I didn't buy anything. The rain made the humidity go away though, which was nice and breezy. It's very humid here. After that, they took us to the school where Athena's dad had gone as a kid. I thought this was very neat since it was not a typical tourist thing and we got to see how the locals live.
Both Athena's aunt and uncle are very knowledgeable and have seen the world it seems. Her aunt is a distributor of unique, non-licensed, more educational type of toys. I got to pick her brain about starting and owning your own business. Fabulous. When they dropped us off, she told me about these tiny shops which are hidden inside and up a level, each owned by young aspiring business owners. These shops are only open on nights and weekends because the owners work during the week and days. I went up there after dinner and was amazed. It's the cutest little assortment of eclectic shops, each speaking about their owner. I could just picture myself pouring into something like that...it's like a work hobby. Absolutely splendid. They reminded my of my friend Jessica McDougal--and there were owls everywhere (which she's a fan of).
Oh...and before we went to meet the aunt and uncle, the three of us girls went to Kowloon Park, a big public park here in HK. We walked through a labyrinth, looked at a bird lake and aviary, and then saw the public pool. The public pool is nice and large, but I quickly caught on that the trend here is speedos....small speedos. Needless to say, we got the FULL tour. lol. This is where the song 'Blinded by the light' pops in my head... Anyway.
Tonight for dinner I had this cousin-of-waffle as I'm calling it. It was waffle/pancake batter in this beehive/bubbly shape. It. Was. Marvelous. I'm a girl after sweet things. Yum. And I ordered it without language. Btw, the first sentence I learned in Cantonese was "I do not understand Cantonese." Thank you Pimsleur language CDs! It goes something like "ng m sik tang guang dong hua," but I'm totally making up that spelling of pronunciation, so who knows what we're all really saying as we read that inside our heads.
Tomorrow is a free day! Adventure awaits! I hope your weekends are just fab! Thanks to Vicki and Debbie for the comments :)
Friday, August 26, 2011
Define the word interesting: my Friday
Today was a hoot. Although to this point, you probably have the perception I have been nothing but on a nice free vacation, we have actually been walking ourselves to blisterdome! Ok, I made that word up and only have that one blister, so that's not exactly true. I've been trying to tell you the interesting parts because there is just sooo much to tell, but what we've been doing each full day that I've been here is walking, training, subwaying, busing, riding, etc. around the city to a variety of English language centers and universities to understand what they do and how we can do our jobs better once they start. I have learned a lot. The most I learned was yesterday at the Confucian Center at Hong Kong University, which teaches Chinese instead of English, but they brought a lot of English teachers in to talk to us. Maybe it was most helpful because I was more in question mode, but I learned a lot about Chinese culture.
The Chinese and many Asian cultures are very big on 'saving face'...that is similar to what we would know as pride, but in a way that is much larger because what people think of you can go downhill much quicker than just a prideful person making a mistake. Because of this, we teachers have to find unique ways to never tell someone they're wrong, but yet still teach the right way...this may mean involving the whole class, using the word correctly in the sentence, or waiting until the end of class to go over issues. It's unique for me, and your prayers that I don't mess up and destroy face (or however that is phrased) for one of my students is appreciated. This will be a learning and growing process for sure.
Okay, now on to the fun stuff. And it has been.
1.When we visited on of the English centers today, there was a picture of Uncle Sam on the door saying "I want you to be quiet." Classic.
2. There was an article in the China South (English) newspaper that had piglets feeding on a dog. The caption itself was rather comical as well.
3. There was a spot in the elevator that said "what's hot" and then some Chinese characters...we didn't find out until later this was a place to tape up events. All I had to say is I knew the answer....the elevator was hot. Air conditioning is present, but they tend to only air condition the rooms they are in, not hallways, etc. Much more economical.
4. In one of the English centers they were checking the fire alarm system, but they didn't tell us. So when the fire alarm (identical to the ones in schools at home) went off, we were like ummmm...but they didn't react at all. I then guess that they used it as bells to switch classes because it would go off for less than 30 seconds every like 5 minutes....but surely they didn't change class 15 times an hour. lol. They eventually told us it was testing. I'm not sure why that didn't cross their mind earlier, but they gave us miniature Twix bars, so it's ok.
5. Okay, last, and most amazingly. The guy in charge of the Hong Kong America Center, who organized this segment of our orientation, invited us back to his home in the New Territories/nice/village/spread out area of Hong Kong. Housing in HK is extremely pricey. One of the ladies in our group is staying here. She found a modest, tiny, not so clean single bedroom apartment for about $1000US a month. I've heard people say it costs more to live here than in NYC. So when we went back to this guys house in the village, my response was 'dang.' Mind you, it wasn't all that big, but for HK it was huge. He and his wife lived on this like peninsula/waterfront setup where you could swim, etc. There were these little boats that came and got us and took us out to a fishing farm. There, a local fisherman friend of theirs and his wife made us a fresh catch home cooked meal. Amazing! The head of the Hong Kong America Center's wife was British and just the most adorable thing on earth. She was so happy and giggly, and I just wish we could have bottled her up and taken some of that happy with us! lol. She used great words like 'that's so fab' and 'oh, giddy me.' I felt like I was in the most precious movie ever. She also was talking about the most precious 90 year old man in Colorado that took her to church and how old men turned her on in her giggly little way. Of course, she was joking, but it was a great line, especially sitting next to her husband who she said she guessed would have to wait like 30 years. lol.
Okay, I must depart, the day is about to begin and my time on here is limited. I hope you all enjoy your weekend!
The Chinese and many Asian cultures are very big on 'saving face'...that is similar to what we would know as pride, but in a way that is much larger because what people think of you can go downhill much quicker than just a prideful person making a mistake. Because of this, we teachers have to find unique ways to never tell someone they're wrong, but yet still teach the right way...this may mean involving the whole class, using the word correctly in the sentence, or waiting until the end of class to go over issues. It's unique for me, and your prayers that I don't mess up and destroy face (or however that is phrased) for one of my students is appreciated. This will be a learning and growing process for sure.
Okay, now on to the fun stuff. And it has been.
1.When we visited on of the English centers today, there was a picture of Uncle Sam on the door saying "I want you to be quiet." Classic.
2. There was an article in the China South (English) newspaper that had piglets feeding on a dog. The caption itself was rather comical as well.
3. There was a spot in the elevator that said "what's hot" and then some Chinese characters...we didn't find out until later this was a place to tape up events. All I had to say is I knew the answer....the elevator was hot. Air conditioning is present, but they tend to only air condition the rooms they are in, not hallways, etc. Much more economical.
4. In one of the English centers they were checking the fire alarm system, but they didn't tell us. So when the fire alarm (identical to the ones in schools at home) went off, we were like ummmm...but they didn't react at all. I then guess that they used it as bells to switch classes because it would go off for less than 30 seconds every like 5 minutes....but surely they didn't change class 15 times an hour. lol. They eventually told us it was testing. I'm not sure why that didn't cross their mind earlier, but they gave us miniature Twix bars, so it's ok.
5. Okay, last, and most amazingly. The guy in charge of the Hong Kong America Center, who organized this segment of our orientation, invited us back to his home in the New Territories/nice/village/spread out area of Hong Kong. Housing in HK is extremely pricey. One of the ladies in our group is staying here. She found a modest, tiny, not so clean single bedroom apartment for about $1000US a month. I've heard people say it costs more to live here than in NYC. So when we went back to this guys house in the village, my response was 'dang.' Mind you, it wasn't all that big, but for HK it was huge. He and his wife lived on this like peninsula/waterfront setup where you could swim, etc. There were these little boats that came and got us and took us out to a fishing farm. There, a local fisherman friend of theirs and his wife made us a fresh catch home cooked meal. Amazing! The head of the Hong Kong America Center's wife was British and just the most adorable thing on earth. She was so happy and giggly, and I just wish we could have bottled her up and taken some of that happy with us! lol. She used great words like 'that's so fab' and 'oh, giddy me.' I felt like I was in the most precious movie ever. She also was talking about the most precious 90 year old man in Colorado that took her to church and how old men turned her on in her giggly little way. Of course, she was joking, but it was a great line, especially sitting next to her husband who she said she guessed would have to wait like 30 years. lol.
Okay, I must depart, the day is about to begin and my time on here is limited. I hope you all enjoy your weekend!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
there are signs for fog: this means business
Today was the first full day in Hong Kong. It was excellent. I have walked enough roads to earn the fine title of “woman with blistered heel,” which translated into some other language is, well, something else. These road were many with a variety of names, many of which I do not remember. There was a Nathan Rd. and Hollywood Rd. This, yes in fact, does mean I’m a celebrity (as merely joked about yesterday…it does appear I was wrong ;)). And in other news, you’re welcome to the Nathan out there that may be reading this blog and suddenly got a feeling of connection with Asia. They love you here…whether they know it or not. [You’re welcome to Hong Kong for that short bit of tourist recruitment].)
In other news, I am learning the value of humility (which that part about a celebrity above seems to contradict). It seems I am far from educated in the language and in need of much help doing the simplest things, such as ordering a meal. Good news is that I’m eating…something. No, actually, I am fortunate enough to have some fluent Cantonese speakers in my group. But this does draw my attention to the international travelers in the U.S. Being a non-native speaker has definitely made me think about the somewhat common trait of Americans looking down on non-English speakers in the U.S….put yourself in their shoes?
Other exciting events today included a man holding what resembled a McDonald’s type of disposable cup that was covered in Scrabble letters (in English). I can read again! Just kidding, there is quite a bit of English on signs here. The English is sometimes a little different from what we are used to though. For instance, I got a kick out of something outside of a health clinic today that said, “elderly vaccination subsidy scheme”…so we’re tricking the elderly? Lol. I’m sure this is not at all what it meant. It did make me wonder if maybe the British use the word ‘scheme’ differently than American English. I thought this when I saw a sign about a ‘charity scheme’ and also apartments with the title ‘Scheme.’…or else they are fans of obvious trickery? Lol.
Other flashbacks to home today included hearing Taylor Swift’s “Back to December” while dodging the rain in some art place where there was a Hugo Boss “Different” cologne promotion going on via painting. I did not paint. Other than that, we looked over Hong Kong and rode a trolley up a steep hillside. It was very peaceful and quiet. I did not realize Hong Kong has such terrain. Ahh, but there is much to be learned grasshopper. As for now, I must depart. Enjoy your 9-5 workday, I am heading to bed.
Oh, and last: It gets dark at like 6pm here. You know what that means? No...it means the sun goes down early. Haha, silly rabbit, Trix are for kids (as are tricks?). :)
Chels
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
instead of 'on the road again' would it be 'in the air again?'
I have arrived safely in Hong Kong. I am safe. I don't have time to write in detail at this time, but know that I appreciate all the prayers that helped get me here safely. This week in Hong Kong I probably will not have much access to internet, but hopefully that will change when we move to Macau. Be patient with not hearing much. I'll be fine...plus, I'm famous so if something bad happens it will probably be in your local paper anyway (I mean Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse got spots)...that's a joke. Gosh, I've been reading too much Tina Fey.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Not goodbye, but a new way to say hello
Some people will struggle with the transition of me leaving. I've seen my fair share of tears in this process. While I appreciate that people love me enough to miss me, I intend to return home safe and sound. I will miss so many faces, but God has given me a peace about this journey and shown me that I should look at it as opportunity not loss.
As Paul said in Philippians 4:11 about much more challenging times, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."
I am excited for this new journey and what we can all learn from it. Please, be excited with me.
As Paul said in Philippians 4:11 about much more challenging times, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."
I am excited for this new journey and what we can all learn from it. Please, be excited with me.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Hello!
Hello! Welcome to My Macau Story! Thanks for being part of my journey. My official start date is August 23, so I hope you will return then and see what's new.
Please note that this is not an official Department of State website or blog and that the views and information presented are my own and do not represent the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State.
Please note that this is not an official Department of State website or blog and that the views and information presented are my own and do not represent the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State.
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