First month

Hey everyone!

We have now been here for one month, and it stil feels like we have only been here for a couple weeks because the time has flown by.  Shannon enjoys teaching his 6th graders, and has even become a coach for the 8th grade soccer team.  Josiah loves preschool and has such a wonderful teacher.  He even gets to go to Mandarin class twice a week.  I've tried getting him to teach me what he's learned, but he tells me that it's a secret.  He has learned a lot of new songs, and has made some new friends in school too.  Ava is adored by a lot of people around here, both by staff at the school and strangers that we meet on the playground and train.  I think part of this is due to her lighter hair.  I am getting to know other moms in the area, and have joined a playgroup that also has some other spouses of ICS staff.

View going to the train station from school/home

View going back home, train station is on the left

We've learned and experienced a lot of new and interesting things over the past month.  Most mornings I take the kids out, and I always pack an umbrella and the kids' raincoats.  It tends to rain often this time of year, but only for short periods of time.  Most umbrellas here also have a UV protection lining, so they're not only great for the rain but also provide much needed shade from the heat of the sun.  It the past week, the weather has not seemed as penetratingly hot.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm just getting used to the weather or if it is actually getting cooler.

There is a local playground right near a big housing complex about a five minute walk from the school, so we try to go there most mornings.  The kids love going there to play, and I try to use that time to meet and engage in conversation with other people.  There is usually a group of elderly people chatting on benches and some women here and there doing tai chi or other exercise.  There are not always other children when we go, but when we do see them they are accompanied by mothers, grandparents, or helpers (which are usually Philippino live-in nannies).

This is a really American thing to say, but I've been surprised by how few people in our neighborhood can actually speak English since it's one of their national languages.  The other morning, a woman pointed to Ava and started talking to me in Cantonese.  Since I didn't understand her, I said my usual phrase of "I am Korean" in Cantonese.  "Ahhh," she said knowingly and then she told me, "Beautiful!" as she pointed to Ava.  Thinking that we could communicate, I started talking to her in English, but then she shook her head and said "No English."  We laughed and shrugged at our inability to speak with one another and watched our kids play.  This kind of scenario has played out pretty regularly, although I have chatted once with a grandfather whose grandaughter was applying to enter a kindergarten at a school nearby.  I'm still hopeful that I may be able to find other moms in our neighborhood that I can communicate with and get to know a little better.  

In Central, near church

For those of you that prayed that we would find a good church to attend, thank you!  We started attending a great little church called Island Community Church.  It still takes us four train transfers or a long bus ride to get there, but we love it because it's a bilingual church and it feels very much like family.  There are probably less than fifty people that attend, but it's so neat to be a part of that community.  During Sunday worship adults and children alike can pick up a tambourine, shaker, or other instrument of their choice and sing praise to God.  It essentially feels as if everyone is part of the worship team.  We also love that the songs and sermon are both in English and Cantonese.  There is a missionary family and another family that works at Crossroads (the website we linked to in our first HK post) that attend as well, and we also love that the church is composed mostly of Cantonese youth.   The pastor of the church is Cantonese and has a full time job outside of the church.  He invited our family over to his place for dinner next week, so we hope in the next month or so that we can get more involved and find ways to serve in the church and local community.

First Day of School

I've also become friends with an ICS parent that is native to Hong Kong.  I've ended up on the same train and walk to Josiah's school with Sally (name changed) and her daughter.  She's originally from mainland China but moved here when she was two.  She is not a Christian but decided to send her kids to ICS because she heard from others that it was a good school.  We walk together on most days when we see each other.  I hope that I can share the good news of Jesus with her, and I'm thankful to have her as a new friend.  She's told me that her parents are not happy that their grandaughter is attending a Christian school, but she thinks her kids can make their own choice and she is okay with if they decide to become Christians when they grow up.  I think that's awesome and it has been fun as we get to know about each other and our cultures too.

Train's here!

On a completely different note, it's funny how quickly we've gotten accustomed to taking public transportation.  I love the train system here because if you miss a train, you know that another will come in less than five minutes.  I've also purchased a used stroller off of an expat site (and still paid more for it than my whole stroller system back in the States) but I am so much happier for its small size and weight.  I've learned that you can take a stroller up and down an escalator, which is really great when you ride them a couple times a day.  Due to our new stroller, we've actually arrived to Josiah's school a little earlier than usual (it's about 20 minutes away by train and walking) and had a couple minutes to walk around the area.  The school is very close to the ocean, so we've been able to enjoy the peaceful view a couple times.  There are also great pedestrian and bike paths right next to the water all over the place here, so if you're a runner or biker this is a great place to be.  The paths are used at seemingly all times of day, and are well lit at night too.

One of the other great things about Hong Kong is that it's very safe, and perhaps part of it is because the city seems to bustling from morning til evening everyday.  For those of you that like to sleep in, stores open late here, usually around 11am or noon and close around 10pm.  Some shops will open a little earlier though, and I can do my grocery shopping at the wet market around 9:30am.

I know I've given you all the impression that Hong Kong is very expensive.  Although that's true, it can be cheap as well depending on where you are and what you want to purchase.  The funny thing is that you never know where you'll find a good deal, so it's good to stuff an extra reusable bag into your purse just in case you end up buying something that A) you never knew you could find or B) you find something at a great price.  Shannon needed to get a watch for coaching soccer since he has to ref some of the games, and he was able to get one in Central (where the business district is located) for less than four US dollars.  This week I discovered a little shop in the wet market in our neighborhood where they sell steaming buns filled with pork and cabbage or Chinese barbeque pork for less than a dollar.  The kids' favorite place to hit is definitely the bakeries.  There are little bakeries everywhere here, and they are great incentives at getting Josiah to walk far distances.  They are also the reason why I probably won't lose any weight here even though I'm walking a ton.  They're very similar to Korean bakeries and they sell anything from loaves of bread to mini muffins to light pastries filled with custard.  I have yet to try the green tea bun or curry donkatsu mini sandwich buns, but they look really  tasty.  I don't like to spend money, but we love to stop by the bakery more often than we should.

Some of you have also seen a picture that I posted to my facebook (you can find me at Carol White if we're not facebook friends already) about a hike that I got to take with some of the other staff at the school.  One of the teachers led us on a hike to a beautiful waterfall and spectacular view of the mountains and city.  It was so refreshing to enjoy the natural beauty of Hong Kong and be able to jump into the natural pool at the end of our hike.  It was actually only one train stop away from where we live, which tells you which part of Hong Kong we live in.  We live in the New Territories where the land has not been as developed yet. (and we hope it stays that way :P)

Have I got you wishing you could be in Hong Kong with us yet?  We hope this has caused you to want to make a visit!  We hope you can see the pics, and sorry if they're not very good.  Our camera is still on its way here, so we've used Shannon's tablet to take pictures or others have sent some pics to us.  We miss you all and please pray for us when you think of us!

Praises:
Thank you Lord for helping us find a great church and new friends.  Thank you that Josiah loves school and for providing a great teaching job for Shannon.

Prayer requests: Please pray for...
- Opportunities to serve in our church and local community
- Sally and her family, that we would continue to get to know them and that they would know Jesus
- ICS, that the students and staff would be a light to Hong Kong

Left side view from our balcony

Right side view from our balcony- train station and canal are in between the two apartments