Happy Old Year!!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy evening in 2009 :-)

Home.

It's funny how for 2 1/2 months I have called Hong Kong "home". Last night I had to say goodbye to a dear, dear friend. I have grown to love it here, at "home"; the city life, the public transportation, being a minority, learning the language. It has all been a part of my "home".
Today I go home, real home. I leave behind memories, old friends, new friends, students, my towel, a pillow, and many band-aids.
I pray that God blesses me with an opportunity to return.
As I look out my window, the sun is rising through the clouds and I can only think....God is good.

FOOD!

The past 2 weeks I have traveled to many fun and unique places for dinner! It has been a blast catching up with close friends, getting to know new friends, and even trying new dishes. (yes mom, I have tried new foods)!!!

Last Saturday Eric's parents took Jamie, Cherrie, and I to the University of Science and Technology for dinner. We has some very traditional food, including duck :-)
I am a HUGE fan of duck. We also had many vegetables and fruit, for dessert.



The family :-)


Eric's mom convinced me that this is very good for your skin, so I ate it!






Sunday evening J and I met Eric, Gigi, and our new friend Robin met us at a Japanese place. As you can see from the pictures below, I ate fish eggs and eel. Fish eggs are disgusting (not really sure why anyone eats them) and eel was ok (a little spicy because of the sauce).



Last night J and I went out with Winnie, our tutor (RA). We had a blast at the Tai Po Mega Mall!!

Bitter, sweet.

As I walked out of Renaissance College today tears filled my eyes. Today marked the end of my 4 month teaching practice. At 3pm I still had a stack of reflections to mark and didn't mind to stay and work. Part of me, well all of me, didn't want to leave. I knew that once I left, I was not sure when I would return, if ever. I have enjoyed my time at RCHK. I have learned more than I ever thought about teaching middle school general music and looked forward to attending lessons every day. My creativity has grown, my bag of "tricks" has increased, and my ability to "think on my toes" has greatly improved. Overall I find myself a whole "new" teacher than when I began in August.

My day was quite possibly the most eventful day to date!! It began with a noisy 26 bus ride to the MTR station. I was greeted by the wonderful Performing Arts staff for our 8am "meeting." We had Starbucks coffee and muffins. My CT's gave me some gifts including a signed yearbook as well as a Mollard baton. After grading papers for 3 hours I got to teach my final classes, year 7 and year 3.

Today has been an bitter end, to a sweet future :-)
I will be state-side in 5 days!!!!!

Sending my hugs across the sea.....

It's beginning to look a lot like....summer?

I love warm weather. However, there is something just plum wrong with 75 in the middle of December. Christmas decoration have been up since mid-November, and Christmas trees are now on sale. It just feels a bit odd.
The entrance to Renaissance College is now decked out with Christmas decorations! My favorite part, besides the giant Christmas tree, are the holiday tunes greeting us each morning. It's hard to "get in the spirit" when they are playing Frosty the Snowman and I am wearing flip flops. I look forward to chilly weather, where I have to wear my whole closet outside!!

Cantonese Opera

MISSING EVERYONE!! Sending my love across the ocean....

Last weekend Eric took us to the Heritage Museum. I have never been there before and think it is a must for any musician, or tourist, to visit while in HK.


On our way, J and I found a gelato stand. Of course bought some! I had raspberry/peach...it was delicious!

The entrance to the museum is filled with this:
a giant dragon used for the New Year Festivities.

The Heritage Museum is filled with galleries of Chinese art, past and present. It also has exhibits on Cantonese Opera. I am currently teaching on unit to the year 3's on heritage, focusing on Cantonese Opera. What better place to learn than at the Heritage Museum! This a traditional entrance decoration. If you notice in the background there is a stage with some fake people on. On the other side of this monstrosity there is usually sitting a god. The performs would often perform for a particular god. They had a special seat for him/her above the crowds so they would have an unobstructed view.


Cantonese Opera is not only about the high pitched singing, it is also about the elaborate costuming. The costumes are made of silk and are usually covered in sequins. They are colorful and usually have a matching head piece. In this picture you will see different head pieces. The jeweled pieces are for royalty, the princess, price, king, queen, etc. The one in the bottom left corner would be worn by a "common person".


My favorite part of the afternoon was this computer station. I had the opportunity to turn myself into a Cantonese Opera Princess...quite funny!!




I also had the rare privilege to watch a live Cantonese Opera performance!!! It was fascinating! There were 2 characters (and a baby doll) with the musicians off stage. Eric told us that the musicians are so skilled that they can change key if the singers changes key. Their movements are so skillful and graceful. Their singing is really an acquired taste. However, this art form is a rare and beautiful display of Chinese culture.

Tutti Frutti!

Fruit is in abundance here in HK! You see it in the supermarket, you see it on baskets at cafes, you see it in school lunches, and you see it on the street.
I have grown to like and dislike many of the fruits here.

One fruit that I am not too keen on is star fruit; looks beautiful, tastes tarte.


I also am not a fan of fruit that has other animals attached to it...this grape has a feather adhered to it.


Some fruits that I have grown to like and will miss eating when I return to the states are:

DRAGON FRUIT!!! Beautiful AND tasty!!!


Mango King (Hui Lau Shan). This is a fruit drink that is a mango smoothie with chunks of squishy mango on the top....a very tasty treat after a night on the town.