Yao lok!

J and I have officially survived our first experience navigating our way around HK (with a little help from the always trusty map). We have gone on many adventures the past few days and I have many stories and pictures to share!! I am thoroughly enjoying being in Hong Kong....I love the people, the mountains, the weather, the culture, and some of the food. We begin our student teaching Tuesday. In talking with Gigi this morning, J and I found out that HKiEd students call it TP, or teaching practice. We had a great laugh about "TP" being toilet paper in the states. I have grown up putting TP and PT on the grocery list whenever I needed toilet paper or paper towels. But, for now I will be the ST (student teacher) doing my TP (teaching practice) in HK (Hong Kong) with my CT (cooperating teacher). Sometimes I feel as though I need a key at the top of my blog for all the acronyms! Nevertheless, J and I have been filling our time with one-in-a-lifetime opportunities!

With the help of our fearless leader, Eric, we went to the Festival Walk shopping mall in the early afternoon Saturday for some shopping and lunch. I am so THANKFUL for my friendship with Eric. He has given us many tips and I am not sure how I would survive without him! He is very good about tricking Jamie and I as well as forcing us to figure out where to go. For example, yesterday on our way home he walked us into the MTR station and said, "Emily, I do not know how to get home...where should I go?" And J and I had to figure out which line to take, how to get there, and explain why/how we knew. It was a scary and helpful experience to say the least! I believe it helped us feel more confident and secure in our travels Sunday.

As we traveled around Kowloon Tong and Sha Tin I was continually amazed at the shear number of people! I have pictures from previous trips, but it never really hits me until I am trying to navigate my way around and feel as though I am drowning in a maze of unfamiliar faces. It is not a scary thing, just a nervous thing. People have a different sense of personal space in HK....they don't have any. In the US we are used to space and a personal bubble. Here, people bump into each other and move on. There is no "excuse me" or "sorry". Eric said that the volumes of people will increase as the holidays draw near...look out!

Our day of shopping ended with a trip to IKEA! It is fairly new in HK and people here think it is just the "cats meow"! They come here for dinner at the cafe, come to shop, go on dates in the furniture section, and even come to purchase the blue/yellow plastic bags that IKEA is famous for. It was a cultural experience to see some many people in one place but not purchasing anything!!

Inside the Festival Walk mall there is an AMC movie theater, a food court, music store, full salon, and a skating rink!






After we dropped off our many purchases of the day back at campus we decided to go to the Pack 'n Shop at the Tao Po Centre (next to the police headquarters). To get there you have to ride the GREEN mini bus to Tai Po Centre. When you get close you have to hit the RED stop button and yell to the driver, "Yao lok, mm goi" (Stop, thank you!). He then lets you out at the appropriate stop. At the centre I was fascinated by the large amounts of pastries. There were sweet ones, tart ones, big ones, small ones, chocolate, coffee flavored, etc. One of my favorites is the egg tart. It looks like a mini quiche but the filling is a sweeter egg mix. They serve this pastry at corner stands, grocery stores, and even KFC. However, the one that caught my eye were the cream puffs! I thought of mom and how she could have eaten the whole case :-)

There are vending machines EVERYWHERE! This one fascinates me and I really want to try one. The drink may look like a regular bottle of coke, however, when you open the bottle the drink turns to ice crystals (or so Eric says). Hopefully I can try one and share this caffiene experience!
It amazes me how many "new" items are in HK that we do not have in the states. Starbucks, and even McDonalds have items that would just blow Americans away...because they are so tasty and unusual.

More to come SOON :-)
sending my love across the ocean...