I told the rain to go away, but he is stubborn and he stayed

This morning I woke up and conducted my 2nd interview for my research...we're making progress!

I helped Cora with finals and such. We ended up talking about the inscription at the bottom of the statue of liberty, Texans and their love for the right to carry and conceal, and a Chinese American playwright. It's been a learning experience for me as well as of recent.

Athena and I had a nice lunch today as part of our start to vacation since we're not flying anywhere and thus saving money. We had planned on French, but the set lunch menu at that restaurant was mediocre so we went up the street to Restaurante Escada--a Portuguese restaurant. We both had a type of fish I'd never heard of with vegetables. Vegetable soup and lemon iced tea came with the lunch set as well. It was quite good. I think my favorite part was the potatoes mixed into the veggies--it's been so long since I've had potatoes. Simple luxury, huh?

As I escaped MPI to go teach at Hou Kong today, the buckets dumped from the sky. I took the bus, but traffic and walking from the bus stop made me both soaked and late. My kids were disrespectful though (in Cantonese...) and I wasn't in the mood on a nasty, wet Friday, so I was grateful that I'd missed those first few minutes with them.

I made a carrot soup of sorts tonight and researched Athena's and my activities for this weekend. Athena made apple muffins. And the biggest success story of the day was buying, trying, and enjoying cottage cheese. It was marked down and it's something my dad likes to eat. Cheers, or clumps, or whatever is appropriate, Dad!

Don't expect a blog for a bit, but do expect yourself to have a great weekend!

Indians, Kitchens and the Chipmunk-esque

Today I worked on some things from my lap top all cozied up outdoors in Senado Square. I saw someone on an electronic device the other day and wondered if there was wifi (free or through our network) in Senado. Alas, there was! I was extremely productive sitting under a shade tree on the concrete seating area. Even better (?) was that it meant I didn't have to go to Starbucks to use internet in a different environment away from my apartment (is dodging Starbucks always good though?).

This evening, I was in the office working on my Dom Bosco lesson before meeting up with our Malaysian friend Alvin who is doing research here on Macanese culture. We met up with him in the winter and he has since returned to Macau. He and I went to Indian and shared good cuisine and good conversation.

After we finished our meal, though the restaurant was empty with the exception of one other party, it seemed like they wanted us to leave. Alvin and I met up with Athena and Kyle and enjoyed beverages at the Ruins of St. Paul. I cracked and bought a milk tea. Why is that cracking? They're not supposed to be good for you--very sweet. It's something I'm sure I'll miss when I'm back in the states. I do wonder what interesting things I'll miss about Macau. The weather today was nice--more like the subtropics I enjoy (sunshine and nice breeze).

Today also marks the discovery that the Macau library has Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, a book Kyle recommended about Bourdain's perspective on the behind-the-scenes of the restaurant industry. The first few pages were great and I look forward to reading it on my 4 day weekend...FYI, no blogging from Saturday until Wednesday.

Tomorrow Athena and I are treating ourselves to a fancy French lunch as part of our vacation plans. I'm already excited.

Runnin' in a Rainy Wonderland

This morning began once again at Dom Bosco--this time giving oral exams. The DVD they were supposed to watch while I pulled them out for the test didn't work...what's new, but I was able to get all the students tested in one period. Hooray! I was testing them on the concepts of 'either...or,' 'neither...nor' and 'both.'

After a quick lunch in the office (Lauren told me I was cute packing my veggies for lunch this morning), I went and helped Cora with some translation work/explaining material for exams. Some of the information she's covering in her American cultures class is things I learned in high school and don't feel an authority on. I'm not sure how we American ETAs came away from our universities so much more experienced with Googling than my students here...

They have finally awarded the scholarships to the Macau ETAs for next year (earlier than we found out last year). One of the students is already emailing with questions on details. Unfortunately, they will have to find their own apartments next year. We're the only year that has ever had lodging provided...I'm attributing that to my grandmother's prayers--don't think I don't know that woman gets serious on her knees even about apartments and such.

My 1st grade class got a little over excited today when I used a game to teach them parts of the face (same lesson as the other 1st grade class on Monday). If there is one thing children are blessed with, it's voiceboxes that function fully.

After kiddos, I came home to mop in hopes that our apartment would stop smelling like sewage. Unfortunately, it's something much, much deeper than cleaning issues (which we knew all along). Oh well.

Tonight, the 4 ETAs met in Taipa at a new to us coffee and wine place called Passione. Lauren nicknamed it 'Rotisserie Chicken' when she couldn't remember the name of it...because those words have so much in common. I'll give her the 'n' sound, but that's it. We had paninis instead of coffee--the rarity of sandwiches in our lives makes them something special...and coffee+dinner would have been pricey. The panini was okay. I'll probably go back there for coffee at some point because they roast their own beans there (in other words, it's fresher than Starbucks).

After that, I showed Lauren another little coffee shop in Taipa with a winding staircase ( :) I love those). We went with the intention of introducing Lauren, but she decided it was too cute not too bask in the environment.

We took the casino shuttle back to another casino in Macau to walk home and it began pouring. Athena and I had umbrellas, but they didn't even do much good as hard as it was raining. In about 10 minutes of rain on our walk home, the streets were full of about 3 inches of water. The streets around Senado are Portuguese mosaic little tiles which are slippery when wet. To avoid slipping in my flip flops, and for the fun of it, I took off my shoes and ran in the rain. Being barefoot felt amazing. This was by far the highlight to my day even if my clothes and purse got soaked.

Poems and pumpkins

This morning we judged the English Choral Speaking Competition at Dom Bosco. After about 6 weeks of prep, I was satisfied with the results of 2 of my classes. Each class competed within their grade, so my students only competed against each other. I judged grades 1,2 and 3 so that I didn't judge my own students. I was impressed by the 1st and 2nd grades compared to the same aged kiddos I teach at my other primary school.

We girls went back to the office and then out to Thai for lunch.

Cora and I met up and I helped her study for a final. After splitting up, I edited a paper for her. One of the papers she wrote that I helped edit won the Macau-wide English Composition Competition. I'm proud of my girl! She is very good at writing short stories in her second language, that's for sure.

Tonight at Bible Study, we talked about the armor of God. We were trying to figure out why Roman soldiers used to wear open toed boots...the steel toe becomes steal my toe. Chris made pumpkin bread from scratch and brought it to the study. Ah-mazing!!! We have finally completed the book of Ephesians.

Emmental that I said to you. I hope you meant all you said too.

Today wasn't all that eventful.
I worked on my LinkedIn profile, edited a paper for Ted, spent time on my resume, researched restaurants in the Louisville area (and by that, I mean I made a list of ones with unique menu items/ideas/set ups worth trying and watching), talked to my fellow Kosovo Fulbrighter, and taught parts of the face to Hou Kong kiddos.
After reading all these amazing sandwich menus from the states, I got a craving for cheese this evening and ventured to Taipa to purchase some French Emmental Cheese. Wikipedia says this cheese is sometimes known as Swiss cheese in the states, though I must say it was not as sharp as the Swiss I'm used to.
I conducted my first interview about gambling and culture tonight with the Couchsurfer I met from the states a while back. I think for my first interview and a bad internet connection it went quite well.
Tomorrow morning I will help just a choral speaking contest. Joy, oh joy!
---and it rained as predicted.

Obrigado

Sunshine, productivity, catch up, new friends, new experiences, flowy dresses, and loads of laughter. I'll take 2 orders, please.

I met my Portuguese friend Christiana, whom I met last weekend, at CuppaCoffee this morning and her, her brother, Ray and I all sat together at church. Steve L. led service as our pastor and his wife are still in New Zealand exploring her health issues--please remember them in your prayers. After church, the 4 of us went to lunch at a local Macau cafe and laughed our heads off being absolute smart alecks...and just because Christiana and I both have a deep appreciation for laughter.

After lunch, Ray and I met up with all the other ETAs for a meeting with our HK orientation director (the orientation we had when we first arrived). Our meeting leader ended up being sick and not showing up, but the 8 of us sat around and chatted for about a half hour anyway.

I went home for about an hour to take advantage of the dry air for drying laundry. I've been told that it's supposed to pour again this week. Ehh. That may negatively affect some potential beach plans toward the end of this week and early next week on vacation. We shall see.

There was definitely a consistent theme of 'go where God leads you' and 'God will make a way' today everywhere. Maybel, a lady at our church from Singapore was saying it when we chatted while she was greeting this morning. One of the TIS teachers shared his testimony before the sermon this morning, and his testimony involved that point. And tonight at the Brazilian/Portuguese church, I went to with Cristiana the message was on how children believe anything is possible and how we are called to have that same faith in Christ (come to Him as little children).

The service at the Portuguese/Brazilian church tonight was in English, and they had translators with headsets for Mandarin Chinese and Portuguese. It wasn't that big of a congregation, but even still they had resources to take care of those that spoke different languages. How great! The service tonight was led by the Y.W.A.M. (Youth With a Mission) group from U.S./Canada so it was in English. One of Cristiana's friends from school, Shiping, came to the service as well. Both of them are Portuguese majors, and he is from mainland China.

After church, I stuck with Cristiana for a bit and talked to some of the football (soccer) players and the pastor. They invited me to come along for pizza at a Portuguese owned pizza place down the street. I'm still getting the names down, but my new friends are hilarious. I never knew that Brazilian culture was one of lots of joking and lots of laughing, but that's both what Cristiana told me and what I've translated on my own. They spoke limited English, but I still laughed a ton and had a good time. They didn't let me pay for my part--I always appreciate the gift, but feel a little awkward accepting. In some cultures, you're supposed to fight hard to pay or it's rude, in other cultures if you fight at all to pay it's considered rude. I never know which one to do...

The pastor and his wife gave me a ride home. Their adorable 3 year old daughter sang in the car on the way home.

I am very blessed to have such opportunities to meet and learn about so many types of people. Today was a good refresher for the week ahead. I think I'm ready for a Monday.

P.S.--"Obrigado" means thank you in Portuguese.

I'd say that was a score

Blogger has changed some stuff on me, so if I flub something up, blame them...and my lack of expertise. Hello and welcome to the first sunshiny day in a week! And hallelujah for it!

This morning began at the orphanage quizzing Annie for her interview at MPI tomorrow. They are required to do interviews to get into the college programs here, and the interviews are conducted in English. Lei Lei and I played Scrabble while Annie was memorizing part of her answers. She ended up with a very difficult hand when the board was mostly filled and gave up. I don't think I could have made more than one 2 letter word from what she had. A "Q" and a "J"--come one now?!

Since I ventured to the orphanage and left earlier than normal, lunch was back at the apartment today. Pumpkin was the food of choice--Japanese pumpkin to be exact. I had no idea how to cook pumpkin, so I just made something up. I ended up steaming it and it was quite delicious. Some Australian pears joined the pumpkin to make a delicious multi-national treat.

After lunch, I took the bus to Macau stadium to see my new Brazilian acquaintance play football (soccer) for free. On the bus there, I cracked open a new book that I'm not sure I'll read all of called 30 Days in Sydney by Peter Carey. The author's style is a little hard to follow, but I'm hoping to pull something from the content. The first 30 pages were mostly rambling and setting the scene, but I did appreciate his reflection on the oppression of the Aboriginal people (kind of like what the Native Americans experienced). I'll read at least a bit more.

When I was about to get off the bus, a kind young man offered me his seat. Knowing I was 2 stops away, I declined. As the bus filled up even more one stop later, he insisted, even speaking in English his concern for how crowded it was getting. I thanked him and informed him I was getting off soon. See chivalry is NOT dead.

After getting a bit lost trying to find the right entrance to the stadium, I ventured in to watch a game before the game I was actually hoping to see (I'd been told the wrong time). So during the first, less entertaining (less talented) game, I wrote a poem about a man's love for soccer and semi-watched. The second game was far more eventful, and although the team I was cheering for lost, I found it highly entertaining. I really wanted a t-shirt and face paint.

Here's a glimpse of the stadium--as you can see, the free game was a PACKED house (sarcasm):

At half time, I ventured back to the restrooms and the security guard (a Filipino about the age of my father) asked me, "going home, ma'am?" I responded that I wasn't, but took the care he seemed to have in his voice as an invitation to chat with him after I'd returned from restroom duty. We talked about Manila, safety in the Philippines, Macau, etc. Turns out he's been here for 20 years, lived in Japan and is moving back to Japan soon. He seemed lonely but sweet and I couldn't help but acknowledge how much I'm growing to love being like my father and never meeting a stranger.
...I also was acknowledging how many attractive football players there were...what, I'm just encouraging being healthy and fit... ;)

After the game, I ventured out to Cheoc van Beach to meet Kyle, Lauren and Ray at an Italian restaurant on the beach for dinner. It was quite lovely indeed. I actually met Kyle on the bus, and we talked law school, catering, food, etc. He knows a lot about food and food service, let me tell you. For those of you who don't recall, he is a USJ ETA.

And now, at the end of an eventful, FINALLY beautiful weather day, I'm at home with a smile. Now that's the stuff, Hostess

If Elvis had a burger?

Today it poured again. Apparently this is normal, and the rain began later than usual this year. I ventured out and worked from Starbucks this morning as a chNge of scenery, but did not make the half hour treck to work in the rain, especially since my only teaching commitment was at the primary school near our apartment. I'll admit, it's a luxury being able to work from home or office.

I taught he kids at Hou Kong about different jobs today. The cutest one was when they attempted the mouthful of veterinarian. Of course, I told them they could simply remember vet.

We four ETAs hung out at the apartment for a while tonight talking about our futures and helping each other out with resumes, etc. Before heading to dinner. We grabbed dinner at a burger place near Senado called Bricks. I had a peanut butter cheeseburger. Yep, you read it right. I think there may have been BBQ sauce on it too. It was pretty good, though my insides were not fully prepared for a hamburger since it's been a while since I've had that greasy of food. The peanut butter cheeseburger was only chosen because they were out of the blueberry jam cheeseburger. I know, it sounds wrong, which is exactly why I wanted to try it. I guess I'll have to make a trip back.

After dinner, we came home and I made Lauren's brownie mix she'd bought in HK a while back. Mixes just don't do the trick for me anymore though. Scratch is just so much better, even when it comes to chocolate.

Quotes of the day (or paraphrases, rather)--Ray: "I like both Condeleeza Rice and Winnie the Pooh and they said similar things."
Athena: "I could make something with chocolate if I could buy a bar and not eat it."
Lauren: "I don't really like chicken...it kind of grosses me out...it's too close to a reptile."

When it rains, it...stops?

This morning, it rained cats and dogs.
This afternoon, I'm not so sure it wasn't raining cows too.
When I left to walk to the bus stop with umbrella in hand, I was grateful to be wearing capris that at least semi dodged the water, but realized my feet would be chilly most of the day and that my bag might experience another paper flooding. Bah. The forecast still isn't on my page either. At least when the sun arrives, it will be almost guaranteed to make me cheerful and make for a fabulouso day.

Cora and I did language exchange today, and I helped her with a translation piece. One of her readings was reflective on Jurassic Park, but I was a failure and not able to help her out by telling her the end of the movie. It has been too many years since I saw that movie and I'm not sure I cataloged all the details in my mind.

Poppy and I had our last language exchange today. I struggled to stay awake.

Tonight, Anna treated all the MPI ETAs, Kyle, and 3 students to Japanese dinner. It was quite delicious, though I must admit that the small portions make you feel like you can eat a lot more of everything. Miso soup, delicious eggplant, sushi of multiple kinds, salmon and tea were all on the menu this evening. I never realized that wasabi came from a root...apparently some connection to horseradish.

We came home to break into some Taza Organic Mexican Chipotle Chili Chocolate that Lauren brought back from the states. You can find it at Rainbow Blossom in L, KY or online, and I definitely recommend it. I've heard cayan pepper was really good with bringing out the flavor in chocolate, and this chipotle certainly did. I'm excited to try coffee with cayan pepper when I get home. Heck, I'm excited to try coffee with anything. Chocolate and coffee are certainly 2 of life's little pleasures.

Talking about little pleasures, I sure hope your day is full of them :)

Happy Fruit Day!

This morning at Dom Bosco, we worked on the poem recital yet again. These kids are about burnt out on it. Fortunately, next week they will have the competition. I get to sit as a judge for the younger kids competition. Our 2nd class was cut short today by a trip outside in the recess area for Fruit Day! Fruit Day is where the students bring fruit and eat it and socialize. Many of them also offered it to their teachers. The principal gave each of us a cup of watermelon (which is one of the more expensive fruits here) Score. One thing I will miss about Macau when I go back to the states is the availability of lots of different fruits. (And you know I love those fruit markdowns!!)

The last English lunch was cut short today by an interview workshop that we were conducting. I interviewed Ted, and since there wasn't a huge crowd, he also also interviewed me as a way to learn some good example answers. The hard part was he put me in a scenario he was in a year ago--applying for a 1 year studying opportunity at Peking University...I made up that my parents went there and that's what attracted me to the school...ya know, mom, remember school in Beijing? Ted knew that I wouldn't have all the answers, but he did get one he asked to 'borrow.'

After the students were done, Ray and I were goofing off interviewing each other. He's a pretty decent B.S.er, but we already knew this. I'm still not to the point of narrowing down what my dream is when people ask me that big question. I mean, I suppose I have aspirations, but the big house, big money and top of the line electronics/jewelery/etc don't do it for me. I'll probably get married, but wedding bells aren't my fairytale dream. I guess my dream life is much like my dreams in my sleep--random, odd, and hard to completely understand.

It must have been national Macau small child Fruit Day today, as my Hou kong students celebrated it today as well. By the time I had them in the afternoon, they had already celebrated it, but they were excited to show me their leftovers. There was a plate of bananas left in the room I teach in, and when they walked in, they all thought that I had treated them. Their faces were that of 'you shouldn't have' and excitedness, but then they learned the truth...Ms. Ho purchased no nanners for them. Call me a horrible teacher.

Tonight was the last Debate meeting for the year, and although I don't normally help out with Wednesday night Debate, I joined for the farewell dinner. We went to a hot pot place. For those of you that have never experienced hot pot, it literally is a hot pot of boiling broth that you throw your veggies, meat, etc. into and cook yourself. This hot pot place also had a bbq spot on the table to grill meat. On the bus on the way to the hot pot restaurant, one of the first year girls (Bexin) said she did not know if she believed that I majored in Economics. To this, I responded kind of in surprise, wondering why she would question it. She said because I must have majored in beauty I am so beautiful. Haha. I wonder if any guy ever used something like that for a pick up line. Bexin and I were talking in a circle of 2 other girls. They're sweet, and my students have frequently complimented me. It's always a nice pick me up and reminder that I am very blessed to hear such things. Everyone likes a little affirmation now and then--we just need to remember to hand it out as well.

At the end of dinner, I found out that the hot pot was all you can eat. I ate all that I could anyways, but it would have been nice to know. I kept telling Jeff that we had plenty of food and didn't need to order more. The most interesting thing I tried tonight (that I know of) was chicken kidney. Jeff could not understand why people do not eat pig feet in the U.S.--it's a delicacy in China. I explained to him that feet are normally seen as a dirty thing...and that's really the only thing I could come up with. I couldn't really explain fully why many Americans don't eat organs either. But, oh, liver--some weirdos (like my mom) love that. ;)  I'll eat chicken feet any day over weirdly textured liver. Actually, I haven't had it in years. Bring it on. My eating mentality has become 'what the heck, why ever not try it?' since I've been here anyway. The kidney was tough, though that may have been because it got overcooked in the hot pot. I'm not sure. We're no experts.

That's a latte rain!

Today, I slept in and took my time before going into work. The day didn't really seem to start out so great. It has rained almost consistently since Monday morning and I think I'm ready for it to be done, though the forecast in not in my favor.

I met with Cora today, and we talked about the Beach Boys, dandelions, and such. Then I went to the library to return and pay overdue fines (ahh, vacation). On my way back, because of a headache and not so fabulous day, I treated myself to a vanilla latte at this coffee shop near the library called Cafe Blu. Athena has told me about it multiple times, saying it was better and cheaper than Starbucks, but the place has no seating, so I was not tempted to go. After all, I pay for the atmosphere when I go to Starbucks...or at least that's what I tell myself when I pay 32MOP for a drink. The latte was good, and the guy made latte art in my to go cup. Every time I see latte art done, it makes me want to be back in an apron again.

Athena and I recently bought some cheap MP3 players and she put some music on mine for me--the mixture of 500 Days of Summer/Hall and Oates "You Make My Dreams Come True" and 6 pumps of vanilla syrup (sheesh!!) helped to improve my day quite a bit. I walked back to work to have the last English Salon of the year, where I helped edit an essay, the students played Life: Adventure Edition and we played one round of Mafia--a game that is popular at both American and Chinese schools, though they have a different name for it in Chinese.

After English Salon, I skipped Bible Study and edited Ted's papers he asked me to look over. I got an email from him saying "Ted's call for help." Interesting words. One of the papers was an analysis on Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken"--a good poem that I recommend reading. I read it in high school, so seeing it again was a bit of a flashback. Along with editing essays, I listened to good music and talked to a good friend on Skype--I love when you cross paths with someone who has the right words at just the right time. That definitely helped pick my day up right as it was coming to a close.

Tonight, I got black sesame soy milk marked down at the grocery. Black sesame is used in desserts here quite often, though it's taste is not very sweet. I recently have been boiling water and adding it to a little bit of milk to make a warm treat (milk here is more like cereal milk/cream, remember). I did this same thing with the soy milk and it was quite delicious...either that or my taste buds just aren't that picky. I'll try most anything once. Most Anything...

Can someone please C L I P time's wings?

This afternoon I edited Poppy's paper on The Call of the Wild. I'm still amazed by the amount of American culture that they study here.

When it came time for me to walk to Hou Kong--and almost exactly at that time--it began to rain...hard. I had an umbrella and assumed that it would stop somewhat quickly, so I chose to walk rather than bus it. That may not have been the best decision. It was one of those rains where people hide in stores and under overhangs and stare in awe of the people taking the streets, wondering if you're clinically insane or if you what crazy important thing you have to get to. For me it was teaching, and at least I had on a knee length skirt that dodged some of the wet. It provided an opportunity for me to teach my students 'wet' and 'dry' in sentences as well. The rain was oddly refreshing, though it got into my bag and got my calendar and class papers wet. The smell of the rain took me back to a time when I was little, fishing at Green River, though I don't remember too many details.

For dinner, I tried a dragon fruit and peanut butter sandwich. Odd, perhaps, but not so bad. I got dragon fruit marked down at the grocery the other day and have learned much about it since. Apparently it's a cactus fruit that originated in the Mexico area and was commercialized in Asia (mine was from Taiwan). It's interesting because I always identified it with Asia and don't think I'd had it until I'd been here. It tastes similar to a kiwi...kind of bland.

At Debate tonight, we ended up playing a game. It was the last Debate session of the year. I can't believe we won't see our university students anymore in like 2 weeks. Crazzzzyyyy. Time is flying!

Lauren is home!!!!!! Yay! She brings glad tidings of great masses of herbal teas (but unfortunately no Cheez-its). I'm drinking a cup of dandelion root tea as we speak. It's surprisingly good and supposed to improve digestion, I think. I guess all those roots were worth 5 cents a pop back then, huh Dad?

It's almost 1:30--why am I awake? Y'all come back now, ya hear.

Try Me

I woke up late this morning. It must have been a God thing that I woke up when I did as my alarm was for 8:30 and I woke up at 10:10--enough time to throw on some clothes, eat a piece of fruit and run out the door. Last night as I was getting my bag together for this morning, I even thought about how horrible it would be if I overslept. I was teaching Sunday School this morning which only happens one time a month, so being late on that one Sunday is not such a great idea. Fortunately, I made it on time.

After church, Athena, Mazen and I ventured over the border and walked around Zhuhai for a bit. Mazen was only with us for a bit before turning back to Macau. It takes so long to get across the border that if you have commitments, you need to give yourself at least 1.5 hours to get back. Sometimes it takes 20 minutes, sometimes even more than 1.5 hours.

We went to a park that was supposed to be a replica of one of the parks/palaces in Beijing. It cost to get in though, so we just observed from the outside. Instead, we walked around in the area and found a free tea and art gallery. The heat encouraged us to pop into a convenience store for ice cream. I came out with this mystery of a bad boy--it was some fruit similar to a strawberry covered in sweet, hard- candy-like goop with rice paper to keep it from sticking to the packaging:

We splurged on a fancier dinner at a famous congee restaurant. By splurge, I mean for China--our nice meal was about 4 bucks. It's cheaper to eat in China than Macau. It wasn't even our meal that was that expensive, the fancy pot of tea was the cost of half of our meal. Seen here, our marvelous rose tea that reminded me of an old Amish style gift store that used to be on Old Preston.

The dinner consisted of dumplings and this amazing pepper dish. It was risky to order the peppers because we didn't know what kind they were or how spicy they would be. They weren't that spicy, so it was a definite score. I like trying new and different things and fortunately Athena is pretty flexible.

Cantonese cooking sure does love oils and sauces though!

Oh, and I mentioned congee earlier--which we did not eat. Congee is rice porridge that Cantonese people eat often with meat inside. I don't mind it plain or with some brown sugar, though I've never had it with meat. Sometimes you get organs if you order it with meat at a cheap restaurant, and I'd just rather skip the mystery in my rice porridge.

Here goes another week! They sure are flying by.

Clowns, Humidity, and Dancing, Oh my!

This was one of those wake up 3 hours before you need to kind of mornings, but the day was surprisingly energy packed.

I went to the orphanage this afternoon and helped out a wee bit. I mostly was there to have lunch and meet up with the pastor to walk over to the 'foreign missionary' event that I'd been invited to that I knew nothing about. Lunch was fish, tofu, and rice. Before lunch, I worked on numbers with a reluctant 14 year old named John. After lunch, I did a puzzle with 3 of the kids during the 'resting' that comes naturally after eating--it's hard for them to understand I don't rest after I eat. After the puzzle was completed, I helped a little girl by giving her a vocabulary spelling quiz. The poor thing was crying. Talk about ripping your heart out. I kind of felt like a mom--though there was an orphanage worker who was comforting her, I was merely experiencing a glimpse of what a mother feels when their child struggles with something as simple as spelling. I'm sure I had my spells, no pun intended.

When we walked to the event, I found out it was a festival for children that is part of the 4-14 mission around the world to make a positive, lasting impact on children between the ages of 4-14 because they are our future, we want them to grow up pursuing Christ, and those are the most impactful ages. The event was hosted by an orphanage in Taipa and local churches helped out. There was a group of about 20 Americans teens/early twenties who were there helping as part of a YWAM (Youth With a Mission) tour. They do training for 2 or 3 months and then go to a place for 2 months I think. I met guys from Kansas, Texas, and one from Canada. Their training was in Hawaii...nice.

Balloons, bright colors, a clown, dancers to praise music and kid oriented activities were all part of the celebration and activities. It lasted most of the day.

While at the festival, I met an assortment of attractive Brazilian football (soccer) players that play here in Macau. This was as a result of finding out about another church here. I also met some new Portuguese girls. The pastor of the Brazilian group told me that he saw me in the airport 2 months ago thinking very hard and writing, thinking and writing. I laughed--yep, that sounds like me. I know how to leave and impression with my over analytical self, at least.

Here are some pictures from the festival:

 

Dancers and the banner in the background with the verse that inspired the 4-14 movement.

The turnout crowd

This was a banner they made by placing leaves with wishes and dreams on the blank tree. Each child wrote on a slip of green paper and placed it on the banner. The M.C. said they were going to show these wishes to the Macau government. The Portuguese girl Cristiana and mine made it up there...we are now children of Macau apparently--haha. oops.

When I went to leave, one of the Brazilians did the typical (for them) cheek grace goodbye. My new Portuguese friend did it as well. Not awkward, but I tell you I focus really hard to make sure not to accidentally kiss them or go the wrong direction. haha. Oh, culture.

I had dinner tonight with Alissa closer to the border. It's interesting that I'm making so many more contacts and friends now that my time in Macau is winding down. I can't believe how close we are to done...

what Ralph said

This last early morning of this week I successfully began with teaching nursing students on the topic of resumes and interviews. Fortunately, I had plenty of materials from the IEBF sessions to pull from for these classes and was prepared for today with my own powerpoints and handouts.

After work, I came home and ventured out again. On my way back out, a nice Chinese lady got all excited in the elevator trying to tell me how she'd gotten off on the wrong floor (my floor) and that the elevator was going up when she wanted to go down. I didn't understand a word of what she said, and I only responded with a smile. This conversation I just explained was my interpretation of circumstances and actions rather than words. It was an awkward 21 flights down as I think it registered to her that she'd just rambled on to me and I hadn't understood a word--or if I had, it would translate that I was ignoring her.

I rounded the corner on the way to Senado to hear my first name. It caught me off guard until I realized it was one of the teachers from one of the primary schools I teach at. That was one of those 'we're both walking in the same direction and neither have anything to talk about besides work and the weather conversations.' Those conversations are so unfortunate, but we just didn't have time or awareness of common interests to dig into conversations about the origins of time zones or how the first tea leaf was brewed.

Tonight, the weather was quite lovely--it's 70s in the evening and I'm quite content in shorts and a t-shirt. I took some time sketching and people watching in Largo de Senado--that is, Senado Square. When the sun is out, it is packed with tourists and cameras. When the sun goes down, there are likely still tourists, but it seems more full of locals, specifically Filipinos. Since the weather is warm, the area around the fountain is ideal for sitting and hanging for cheap. The guys sitting next to where I was sketching were from Nepal, and they'd bought a Tsingtao beer and some potato chips for their Friday night entertainment. A woman walked up to them offering them a bag of peanuts for their beer for 5MOP (about $.60). She gave them some story I overheard about not being able to pay some bill...I'm not sure. The guy was nice and bought peanuts from her though he said he didn't like them. About 10 minutes later, a man walked up and asked if the guys were Filipino, to which they responded that they were Nepali. He told them he was a missionary and offered peanuts to them. I'm not sure if/which story was true. What's interesting is that neither the man nor the woman came up to me, and I think I look like I understand English. Whatever the story, there were lots of ethnicities represented in Senado tonight, as always. Even the businesses are multi-national. Pacific Coffee Company (Hong Kong), Starbucks/McDonalds (U.S.), Macau bakeries, Haagen-Dazs (wait, that's American?!...Scandinavian-American, specifically)...etc.

Here's the sketch of random things seen in Senado tonight:

Enjoy the start of your weekend! And make this Friday the 13th better than expected.

--"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."-Ralph Waldo Emerson--

If Mary Poppins used the USPS

This morning started early for Macau, though if I told you the time you'd think I was ridiculous...so I won't. I taught Nursing this morning for Ray. The topic was Listening and Speaking (in English). I should have prepared better, but they seemed to enjoy acting out and presenting on various medical scenarios. Ray had given me some YouTube videos in Cantonese that I honestly didn't understand that they were supposed to translate to me. Apparently the announcer on the clip even spoke too quickly for them.

I am still working on grading essays for Nursing from last week. Most of them are apologies to their mom or relationship advice. Mom, I'm sorry too--though I did not steal money from your purse or snooze your alarm clock like some of my students apparently have. And in case you didn't know, communication helps relationships.

I helped Cora study for her class as part of our language exchange today. After a huge lunch, I think we were both really to sleep. We made some progress though. Inuit--that's what you're quizzed on today. Do you know what that is? I need to figure how much Native American I have in me because too many times it has come up and I only know of one full blooded relative up the line. (That's where I get my mad tan.....okay, maybe not).

I got a lovely package from the lovely Debbie Rodg today. She sent me a collection of trinkets, saying that she picked up something little for me everytime she thought of me at the store. Just how sweet is that?!? I need to get hold of some matches because I now have smell good candles for my smell bad apartment!!!!! Thank you, Debbie for the precious gifts and thoughts.

I took a nap and worked an additional hour and half when I got home today (committed, right?) It's another earlier night tonight as I teach Nursing 2 Resumes and Interviews tomorrow. I like teaching them early in the morning as it gets me up and finished early.

70 degrees and sunny

This picture sums up quite well my time away from the blog, and I hope you appreciate it as I will not be going into details about my holiday on the blog. I think this picture does justice in explaining my time off was quite sweet. (I love drinks in glass bottles and Lipton was one I'd not yet had).

 Monday night I bought some marked down old bananas and made this treat for Athena and I.  Banana bread or muffins is the norm for old nanners, but I wanted to do something a little different, so I made this up off the top of my head. We ate the whole thing in one sitting, so I think I did okay. It was mostly banana with an egg, some oats, brown sugar, applesauce, cinnamon, and then I made a topping of cinnamon sugar and Oatmeal Squares cereal crumbled on that went on half way through cooking.

Today, I continued teaching the boys at Dom Bosco the poem. My third class was on a field trip for half of the class, so I didn't have to teach as much. That was a nice little surprise. I helped Cora study for her American Culture and History class quiz for a couple of hours since my Hou Kong class was cancelled and as part of English lunch. I was trying to help her make connections between things like Michael Moore and Sicko, Orlando and Miami, and Manhattan and Times Square. I had to explain that the Underground Railroad was not an actual railroad. It seemed when I gave her context, it was a lot easier for her to remember things like Rio Grande and Mark Twain. I was amazed by amount of information they'd covered, and I'll admit there were random facts like comedians from the 1920-40s that I didn't even know.

I teach earlier classes tomorrow and Friday as Ray is on vacation and I'm covering some Nursing stuff for him. This oughta be fun!

the REST of the story

I think everyone was on vacation today--at least in their minds the holidays are still present. I'm not arguing.

Interesting topic Cora and I covered from her American Culture and Society homework today: Woodstock.

I'm still waking back up from the break, so blog mode might take a bit to get into. Tonight, we had Bible Study in Coloanne and about half the people were missing. I led the study, and the chapter our book was on was 'love'--specifically Ephesians 5 on marriage. I honestly thought it was a bit bland of a study because I'm not married. Hello, obvious.

Dreams are the stuff my future is made of...starting in about 20 minutes. Night!

Over To-Hundred To-day

Today, Cora asked me if I'm going to run for president someday. This came after we discussed some of the amendments she needed to know for a test next week. Interesting. She'll probably know more than some American students...  She's volunteering in a poor area of China this week over holiday--her travel will take 22 hours. Oooh.
Today, Lauren explained to me how she attempted to find the end of her tongue when she was 5, which resulted in vomiting on herself....intellectuals...

Today, Athena, Lauren and I walked around the Costa area looking for a restaurant I'd finally rediscovered which we'd eaten at when we first arrived. After 30 minutes of walking in circles and feeling like failures for having lost it yet again, Angie provided the exact location. We realized that it was exactly where we thought it was all along, but that it was closed (meaning there was metal in front of the door) so we'd walked right past it. Tomb sweeping day is tomorrow so some people travel to visit ancestors' tombs...perhaps that's where the owners were. We ended up settling for a Cantonese style restaurant in the area.

Today, I exchanged money with Athena and felt like I got ripped off until I realized converting through 3 currencies had confused me about how much I'd actually handed the man...

Today, the 3 girls went out for late night McDonalds sundaes and closed the place down...Lauren blamed us for forcing her to eat a McDouble...right.

Today, I edited way too many nursing essays, but I had Starbucks to guide me along the seemingly dark and confusing path of run on sentences, misplaced modifiers and misused phrases. It's not so much the problem of fixing it but in knowing what they're trying to actually say and then correcting it to say that. Multiple errors means the sentence could be spun multiple ways. I'm no expert.

Today, I edited a paper for Ted on the Chinese concept of 'saving face' and another on some high tech musical science thing...it was way too specific for Lauren and I to grasp the translation and correct the grammar.

Take a blog following break, go drink a cherry soda, and I'll see you back on here in about a week.

education, situations, and run-away-tions

Here's a picture of winter melon that I mentioned the other day. I had the rest of it for lunch today.   

On my walk into work, I was crossing an intersection and a middle aged guy slowed on his scooter and grinned at me. I smiled back courteously. Then, he motioned for me to get on the back seat of his moped...How did he know old men on slow motorized equipment are my thing?! I waved him away and he got the message. I'm not sure if he'd mistaken me for a Russian prostitute. As I said, they dress pretty modestly. A lot of tourists must have the idea that the majority of foreigners here are prostitutes as Kenisha had someone come up and beg her to go with him or connect him with one of her friends. Of course the excess amount of pamphlets and brochures scattered on the ground everywhere don't help clarify that some of us are not for rent...

I walked to Hou Kong today to find out they didn't need me today or next week. At least I got the free exercise walking too and from work on the clock.

At debate tonight, we did a little different style than normal. It was like a speed version which required them to debate on their feet. The motion originated from the discussion of how the term 'third gender' in China can mean women with a Ph.D because they are less likely to get married. Then we broke out into a discussion of why more highly educated women would experience issues finding a husband...and naturally that ended in a motion.

After debate, we met up with the two girls who are couchsurfing tonight. They are from Taiwan and work for the Honduras department of the Taiwan branch of World Vision. Too cool! They translate the letters to the sponsors from Chinese to English and then the people in Honduras translate from English into Spanish. Interesting how many hands it goes through before reaching the child. We went to the Shanghai Restaurant near where we live for a late dinner/dessert.

Berries, Books, and Beyond

My bed is pushed up against the wall, so there's only one way out of the bed, but this morning that must have been the wrong side. I was a little brat this morning and things were just not going well for me from my morning Skype conversation with my parents to arriving late for worship practice...fortunately a nap this afternoon mostly straightened that out.

This morning we had a family worship service at church and pizza to follow. The pizza was pretty much normal! Yay for tomato sauce instead of thousand island dressing! I talked to the Serbian refugee who has been here 4 years. Her husband was tortured before coming here. I've taught both of her daughters in Sunday School, but never really had a chance to talk to her. I also learned about Anni (the amazing Australian girl in my Bible Study). Apparently her mother was American, fell in love, lived in Africa and had to flee, moved to Australia because it was the only safe tropical place for whites to live at the time, and then ended up divorced and marrying Anni's father who was British. How did she break into telling me her story when we've talked several times over the past several months? She said 'I reckon' while we were practicing worship and I had to know where it came from, as I was sure it was a southern U.S. thing. Her mother was from Colorado, so it's not just the southeast.

Family services are great for chatting, and I also heard the story about my Korean friend who just moved here from Las Vegas. Turns out she was in the states since middle school. Her parents moved to the states just for her education...wow...and then went back to Korea. I have to say that 7 months into my time here, the stories are the best part of Macau since there are less and less new things to see.

After church, I went to the park and sat on the ground reading....sitting on the ground is unusual here so I got stared at even more than normal. Oh well. I sat on the ground to lean up against the seat that had no back...if you can picture that.

The rest of the day included walking around, napping, going to the library, sketching and cleaning. Here are a few exciting parts:

This is the nice seating area at the library. See that there is bamboo being used for construction in the upper right hand corner.

Look, mom and dad,they have this book here! What a find in the really cool kids section I saw hidden around a corner today. I was a piece of cake in the Hungry Caterpillar play in kindergarten.

These appeared at the fruit market a few weeks ago and I was curious if they were mulberries. After tasting them, I believe they are. It's almost like being at the farm again picking them off the trees.