Month Two- We'll try to get better about these titles

Well, it’s my turn now.  Carol has always been good at getting her thoughts typed up quickly and I’ve always been really good at getting my thoughts typed up slowly.  But now it is Mid-Autumn festival time in Hong Kong and that means 2 days off and extra time for me to whip up a blog of my own.  So, here goes…

The past week has been jam-packed with all kinds of exciting stuff.  We took the kids for a hike on a 3K nature trail this morning.  We stopped off at Subway (which just opened up here a couple stations away) on the way so we could have a picnic lunch.  The hike had an awful lot of stairs for a trail that was given the easiest possible rating, but our kids were awesome troopers and walked the entire thing, not to mention the trip from our home to the trail and back.  We knew Josiah was pretty durable, but the first couple of weeks here in HK Ava wouldn’t even walk down to the shop on the corner without begging to be held, so we were impressed.  The trail started off fairly harmless, we spotted a toad only a few feet onto the trail, but then our hike quickly became more exciting than we had planned.  We’ve heard stories about aggressive monkeys, so when we saw a group of them mingling on and around the path we got a little nervous.  When they did not budge even as we passed by I was more than a little worried that they were going to smell our sandwiches and demand payment to pass.  Fortunately we did not encounter any aggressive behavior, and instead had the interesting experience of walking next to wild monkeys within arms’ reach.

During the holiday we also took advantage of somewhat cooler temps to visit the HK Heritage Museum and stroll through the park nearby.  We also stopped off at a nice Vietnamese restaurant to try some Pho (we’ve heard lots of people rave about it, we’re not raving, but it was good).  Josiah did say that it was the best food he’s had, but he tends to live in the moment so that was not a surprise.  For example, the other day Carol asked him what his favorite part of HK was and he said it was the pink truck they had just seen.  Anyway, now that the weather is starting to cool off we’ll hopefully be able to get out and explore a little more.

I spent Wednesday through Friday at middle school camp (MSC henceforth), which was an overnight camp for all middle school students and teachers.  I wasn’t sure what to expect but MSC was very cool.  We rented out the local YMCA which had cabins, a pool, lots of recreation areas and a cafeteria.  I was rooming with five 6^th grade boys and also was responsible for the room next door that did not have an adult (there are some distinct differences between US and HK 6^th graders which I will not delve into but which make this scenario not as scary as it sounds).  The three days were well planned, utterly exhausting and tons of fun!

Half of our middle school students

We had a great speaker and the first night he spoke about how God doesn’t look at a person’s outward appearance but their heart.  The most exciting part was that many of the students accepted Christ for the first time.  About a dozen 6^th grade boys all came to the back after he spoke and I prayed for them.  Now that camp is over we’re starting voluntary Bible study/discipleship groups that will meet during lunchtime a couple times a month.  I’m hoping that the boys I prayed with and others will come and grow spiritually as we meet together.   

My facegroup (homeroom/advisory)

Getting back to teaching has been really great.  For me it has been the proverbial riding a bike.  (I also hope to find out soon if actually riding a bike is like the saying!)  I am teaching humanities, which is a combination of language arts and social studies.  Because I teach two subjects there is another humanities teacher that teaches the same content and we share a classroom as well.  She’s been teaching 6^th grade for over 30 years in places like HK, India, Beirut and she is a native New Zealander.  She also leads our staff professional development, has ADHD and is tons of fun.  So while I’m quite busy teaching, I’m also trying to be a good student and learn as much from her as I can.  All in all I’m having a great time teaching and getting to know my students.

Lastly, we got our first visitors to Hong Kong!  One of Carol’s old high school friends and his wife moved to mainland China for missions around the same time we left for HK.  They were visiting family in Hong Kong during the holiday and made a visit to our home too.  It was so nice to spend time together and catch up with old friends as well as share our experiences thus far. 

Praises and Prayer Requests

Thank you God for a great week of middle school camp and for the students that made the decision to accept Christ!  Please pray for the new Bible studies that will begin soon.

Please pray for my grandmother who is now at home with my parents in hospice care.  One of the hardest things about being so far away from family and friends is that you really feel the distance when things happen back at home. 

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

The First Two Weeks

Hey friends and family,

We have now been here for two weeks and have finally adjusted to the time change.  Everyone is also healthy now, yay!  We have been busy getting acclimated to the new environment as we slowly learn our way around Hong Kong. 

I know you all are dying to see some pictures, but unfortunately you’ll have to accept our descriptions of Hong Kong for now.  The morning we left for Hong Kong, Shannon and I were out running errands and Ava decided to hide my purse (which had our camera) while I was out.  My parents found it after we left for Hong Kong, so we’re waiting until it arrives.  We promise to post some pictures as soon as we can.

ICS (International Christian School) and our new home are awesome.  The building is relatively new, and they really thought of everything when they built the school.  We have been spoiled, and next year when we have to live in typical Hong Kong housing (aka smaller) that will probably be the real adjustment.  Our apartment is actually bigger than any place we’ve lived in since getting married.  We essentially have two 1-bedroom apartments, which equals two kitchens, two bathrooms, two bedrooms, a living room, and a dining area.  My friends, this is the year to visit us!  We will definitely have the room to house you.  You might want to wait until we know Hong Kong a little better though. 

We live on the 7^th floor of ICS, where the new teachers and staff live.  Our wing is composed of families, and we are so happy that next door to us there is a family with two little girls close in age to our kiddos.  They have already become friends.  Shannon has been busy with meetings and prep for school since school begins this Monday.  A really neat thing has been that every morning for the past two weeks they have begun orientation with faculty devotions and worship time.  We are so thankful to be at a place where we can really live out and share our faith with the staff and students. 

I’m sure all of you are wondering what Hong Kong is really like, and I can tell you that at least this time of year it is VERY hot and humid.  The heat seems just as bad as it was when we were in Guinea, except we have air conditioning this time around!  Anytime we go out to run errands, we come back and feel like we have to take another shower.  It will take a little while longer to accept being drenched in sweat.

Hong Kong itself is a beautiful place.  We’re in Shatin, and all around us we see mountains and buildings.  I was telling Shannon the other day that if you just moved all the buildings out of the way, Hong Kong would really be a beautiful place in terms of natural beauty (though all of the lights at night make the city quite beautiful too).  We’ve heard that the pollution has been the worst it’s ever been, and it’s true.  Most days the mountains have looked quite hazy and sometimes the air is pretty bad, though still tolerable.  I have a feeling that one of the things we will enjoy the most when we go back to the States will be fresh, clean air.  When it rains though and the air clears, the view is great.    

The kids seem to like Hong Kong, especially Josiah, since he’s gotten to ride on the bus and train frequently.  He had never been on public transportation before arriving here so every day has been an adventure.  The kids also have both gotten really good at riding escalators, which are prevalent here.  The transit system is quite clean, especially since you’re not allowed to eat or drink on the train.  Hong Kong is definitely doable without a car, although we’ve learned that good walking shoes are a must.  Anytime we need to go shopping (which has been quite often to buy household and food items) we do a lot of walking.  We are grateful that someone at the school left a double stroller behind.  We’ve taken advantage of it when walking to the nearest shopping area where we get our groceries (about a 15 minute walk), and we’re most thankful for the basket under the stroller since groceries need to be carried home.  There are some stores that will deliver groceries to your door for free if you spend $60, so we’ve done that once as we buy all the things we need to get settled.  We truly have appreciated that service.    

Ava has spent a lot of time being carried in our arms since it’s not really feasible to take the double stroller on the train or bus.  They tend to get very crowded depending on where you are in the city and what time it is.  People are courteous though.  If you’re pregnant, elderly, or carrying a young child, people will motion for you to take their seat.  

Speaking of crowded trains, we went to a church called Solomon’s Porch this Sunday and took the train to get there.  It was a great church, but we’re hoping to find something a little more local and closer.  It took three train transfers to get there and another ten minute walk afterwards.  In any case, on our way home a group of us (eight from the school) were transferring from one train to another.  Seeing that the train we wanted to get on was completely full, we stopped at the doors and decided to wait for the next train since there was obviously no room to get on.  Suddenly, about twenty more people pressed on past us and pushed their way on to the train.  It was pretty hilarious to see that whereas we thought there was absolutely no room, there was apparently still enough room for us (and more) to board the train.  Now we’ve learned and next time, we will press on too. :P 

The other thing that has been quite an adjustment for us is shopping in general.  During the first week we arrived, I hardly bought anything from the local grocery store because everything just seemed so expensive.  Here they sell milk by the liter and if we calculate the cost to US dollars, it’s around $9.50 for one gallon for milk.  Gulp.  Shannon and I have pretty much cut out our milk intake.  I will say that others at the school have been passing on ways to cut down on costs.  If you buy milk two days before the expiration date, the price generally gets reduced by 50%.  Since the kids finish a liter in less than a day, we are learning to look for those reduced prices on the milk as well as other food items. 

We’ve also learned that when you shop in Hong Kong, there are really two types of shopping.  They have the nice malls and bigger grocery stores, and then they have the “wet market”.  The wet market is basically composed of little stalls where people sell anything from fresh produce to umbrellas.  Food is almost always cheaper there than the grocery stores, although the vendors do not always speak English well.  It reminds us of the open air markets in Guinea, except they’re bigger, cleaner, and indoors.  Some of the new staff were taken aback by the wet market and its interesting smells, but the hanging meat, live frogs, and chickens have not phased us, thanks to our time in Guinea.  The wet market is where we buy most of our produce.  Most vendors have a scale to measure items and they generally list the price of our purchase.  So even though we can’t speak Cantonese we have been able to get by and shop there. 

   

Speaking of not speaking English, everyone here thinks that I can speak Cantonese since I look much more Chinese than Korean.  Even when I look completely confused, people continue to talk to me in Cantonese and this seems to happen much more frequently to me than Shannon or other teachers that don’t look Chinese.  One of the other new teachers at the school speaks Cantonese fluently, so this past week a group of us met together in the evening and received our first language lesson.  I’m trying to memorize the phrase “Auw Hai Hon Gok Yun” which I believe means, “I am Korean.” J  I will say that it makes me want to learn more of the language because I look like I should be able to speak it!   

There has been so much to take in these past few weeks.  We’ll end our first real post with the most interesting observation we’ve made.  Whenever you’re out and about, you smell all different odors all at once in the city.  It smells really good like dim sum, horrible like car fumes, sweet like flowers, and nasty like sewers all at the same time.  We’re getting used to it all. J

Thanks if you made it this far, and please keep us in your prayers.  Here are our prayer requests since arriving here:

-         -  Shannon begins school this week.  He has been very busy as ICS gets ready for the school year.  Josiah also begins preschool!  Pray for a great first week of school!

-          - Pray that we find a good church.  There are lots of options, especially if we want to attend an international church, but are really hoping to find a church where we can serve the local native community. 

-          - Pray that Carol would find opportunities to develop relationships with people in the community.  Now that everyone is finally healthy, Carol can actually venture out during the day.  There’s a local playground nearby, so she’s hoping to meet other moms there. 

And thank you for your prayers so far.  The transition has been much easier in many ways than we anticipated.

p.s. Service is a big part of ICS and Shannon got to spend some time Friday with other staff at Crossroads.  They’re based out of HK, but have a tremendous heart for all of God’s children and are doing incredible things to help the poor, sick, widowed, refugees and orphans of the world.  They do too much to easily summarize, but I strongly encourage you to at least check out their website;  http://www.crossroads.org.hk/ .

  

We made it!

Hi Friends and Family!

Sorry for the long delay in posting.  We arrived safely on Sunday evening but have been dealing with a busy schedule, jet lag and sick kids.  We're also still working on the internet situation.  We're too tired to post very much tonight, but besides the things listed above we're doing very well.  Hong Kong has met or exceeded expectations for most things so far, and the more we learn about ICS (International Christian School) the more blessed we feel to be here.   

We definitely felt your prayers on the trip over and would appreciate continued prayer for health and rest. 

I Bara Tunun!

Dear Friends and Family,

Hello! I bara tunun! (As they say here when you haven’t seen/talked to someone in a while.) It has been far too long since we wrote our last update to you in Conakry back in January. Our internet access this year stunk, but we’re glad we’re able to get this last update out to you before we head back home in a month.

We know it’s been awhile, but thank you for all the comments on our blog about the little one growing inside of me. My mom was able to read the blog comments to us on the phone and we’re very excited about the baby. I’m just about to begin my second trimester, which is partially a relief because I’ve spent too much time standing over a toilet and being tired. The good thing is that the nausea is finally starting to go away and I’m able to keep more food down now. Also, I’ve still been able to teach, although Shannon now teaches science for both our classes in the afternoon. He’s been super husband, having to clean, cook, and teach, which can make his days tiring, especially since he’s doing all these things here in Guinea. Please pray for him that he would have strength and that he would be able to find rest during his day, especially in the Lord. Also, please pray for continued health for me and the baby.

It’s hard to believe that we have less than a month left. The year has gone by quickly. The students are doing great and the kindergarteners are still cute as ever. It’s been fun to watch the kindergarteners go from struggling to learn their ABC’s to being able to read. Some of them have really amazed me this year by how quickly they learn. The fourth graders have improved a lot over the past two years as well, and they are such voracious readers and can’t seem to get enough of our new library. Thank you again to so many of you that donated books and supplies. We are trying to make the most out of all the things we’ve gotten. It’s still so fun to be able to teach our kids silly things that we would teach in the States, like what the word “farted” means, because how else will they learn what it is in English? We also enjoy arguing with our kids that pizza is far better than nyere (a chalky yellow fruit with seeds). They claim that nyere tastes better, although they’ve never had pizza before. Believe me, there is no comparison.

We’ve enjoyed living in the village Sambouya this year. The people are very friendly and we like sitting around helping to shell peanuts or sift cassava flour while listening to their conversations. We’ve seen so much more bush meat this year than last year. It’s funny because whenever we ask what an animal is, almost everything, regardless of what it is, is always called “subo”(meat). The different types of meat we’ve seen being sold, sliced, or eaten has ranged from monkey, wild cat, a diker (kind of looks like a tiny deer), rat, snake, to animals that we still have yet to identify. So, it’s been fun living in a larger village where you seem to see more unusual things. The villagers are also excited that I’m pregnant. They all say, “Akaning!”(good!) and one villager is convinced that I’m going to have a boy, because she says my frequent vomiting is a sure sign of it. She also wants me to name my baby after her (her name is Fatumata, which is a very common name around here) if we have a girl and after her husband (Kairfa) if we have a boy. We’ll see. :P

Most of our friends in Sambouya say that the village church is good, and that they’ll go on Sundays, but they don’t actually come. They love to sing the songs that we sing at church and will talk about Jesus with me in the village at their homes, but coming to church is a different matter. I just pray and hope that they’ll come to know the love and joy that we have in Jesus Christ. On the other hand, since we started Sunday school with the children in January, they have been coming every week. We had about thirty kids last week that were mostly boys. It can get a little rowdy at times since hitting among kids is perfectly allowed here, but still we get encouraged by the one kid who sits and pays attention even though our Maninka is still so poor. It’s funny, because we don’t give the kids candy, and we’re not really interesting people, but they still come to hear Bible stories and learn about Jesus. Please pray for the village of Sambouya as we have come to love the people very much.

As usual, please pray for continued peace here in Guinea. Things are always a little uncertain politically. The news about the president is the same as usual. He’s old, the people are tired of him, and they want things to change. That means that strikes can happen at anytime, which can make traveling, besides other things, difficult.

We’ve made the decision to stay at home for the next school year, mainly due to the fact that I won’t even be due until next school year is already in session. We’re looking forward to spending a year at home, although we’re still not yet sure what our plans for the future will be. You can pray for us in regard to these things as well. We would like to be wherever God wants us to be, because we know that His ways are the best.

That’s pretty much all the news from Guinea. We are looking forward to seeing and hearing from you soon! God bless and we miss you!