pictures of crowds and cute kids

This past weekend our school had Fall Festival combined with a walkathon at the Walled City Park (if you know Jackie Pollinger's story, this should sound familiar). The theme was "Passport to New School Building", because we are raising money to move into a new building next year. Everyone was dressed in costumes from around the world. The above picture is of me in an Indain outfit and with the Lee family.

Teacher friends Aaron, Kelly, and Sara trying to find a place to eat at the busy secondary campus.

At the walkathon with some 2nd graders. Yeah, the kids here are pretty darn cute.


The busy, busy fall festival. Lots of food,games, and prizes.

Me with one of my 1st graders. Apparently, when you take pictures here, you're supposed to make the peace sign. At least, this is according to Ryan.

no atkins diet here

Krispy Kreme just opened up a few restaurants here, and people are going nuts for them. I guess Chinese people aren't quite as obsessed with low-carb diets as Americans are (but are generally in better shape... doesn't quite add up).

Other restaurant chains found here that I forgot to include in my previous list: Ruby Tuesday and now Burger King.

Sometimes seeing the global name brands all over is comforting (a piece of home), but it's usually just really sad to see... everything seems to be a chain.

just another day

My cousin Kate (Bruinooge) was in town visiting a friend this week, so we had dinner tonight in the Wan Chai district. It was good to see a familiar face and to talk to someone who's known me my whole life.

On the train ride home, I started to think about all of the things that have become routine and part of daily life here. This week just about marks the half-way point between arriving here and coming home for Christmas. I came up with a list of things that I barely notice now, things that are part of my daily life which I noticed upon first arriving, but have become ingrained with my routine. I'm sure there's more, but here is a list off the top of my head...

routine things:

• watching people do tai chi every morning in the courtyard
• working on the 5th floor of a building, overlooking a racetrack
• going to Pizza Hut and not being able to find a pizza that doesn't have corn on it
• finding myself running down the stairs along with everyone else to get a seat on the train or subway
• taking about 12 escalators a day, and making sure that I follow the custom of standing on the right, and passing on the left when I'm in a hurry
• noticing that 80's fashion has made a huge come-back
• getting coffee at a McCafe (usually adjoined with a McDonalds)
• seeing an entire aisle of Cup Noodles at the grocery store
• passing by 4 7-11's on my way to work, all without a Slurpee machine, but all where I can pay my bills and buy stamps
• hearing students talk about their 4 day weekend vacation to Thailand
• having my students speak at least 3 languages, sometimes more
• passing by malls filled with Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vitton on a regular basis
• commuting to work by bus, taxi, or train and having a book in hand
• calling an elevator the "lift," and the restroom the "toilet"
• going to a Starbucks right next to a street vendor selling fishball noodle soup
• using my cheap cell phone to call home, 14 hours behind me
• taking a ferry on a regular basis, for about 30 cents a ride
• paying high prices for yogurt and cheese, but buying produce cheaply (and often at the wet market)
• seeing about 1/2 the people on the train wearing Converse tennis shoes
• hearing "please mind the gap" when boarding the train
• watching the majority of people passing on their phones or with earphones
• hearing English being spoken, but with a British or Australian accent
• finding most public places extremely clean, maybe due to the "no spitting" or "no hawking" signs

lamma island

Today I went to nearby lamma island, a quiet, more remote and sleepy island with no cars and some fishing villages. We took a ferry from the central ferry pier, hiked across the island (about an hour and a half), ate lunch on the patio of the laid-back pub full of expat Brits, and took a returning ferry.

It is still hot and here, with temperatures in the upper 80's, which is supposed to be a refreshing change from hot and humid with temperatures in the lower 90's, as it was upon my arrival.

The lush vegetation (want a banana while you're hiking? no problem...they're everywhere) around the island reminds me that I am in a tropical environment, the fishing boats remind me that commerce and industry here is different than Denver, and the Buddhist temple reminds me that I'm not in a Western country anymore.

It was refreshing to get away from the busyness of the city, which I always appreciate when I have a chance for a small escape.

mid-autumn festival

This weekend was a big national holiday...Mid-Autumn Festival. I went to a lantern festival, which mostly consisted of veiwing large, lit up lanterns in various shapes, sizes, and colors. There was some traditional music, costumes, free palm readings, and carnival games. People stay up late at night, having family parties and setting off fireworks. They also give and get mooncakes, which are a heavy pastry with an egg in the middle.



more lanterns


and yet more lanterns

lantau island

In the midst of our 4 day weekend, some friends and I decided to go hiking on Lantau Island, a huge, nearby island (that actually holds Disney and the airport). It was a hot, humid, and foggy day, which is fairly typical here. Even in a tank top and shorts, I was still hot getting off the bus!



We ended up hiking at the base of the Big Buddha, a big attraction here, partly for tourists and partly for religious followers. He is nicknamed "Big Buddha" for a reason...you can see this structure for miles (I should say kilometers) around.



Partway up the steps and closer to the big Buddha


On the way back down the mountain to the subway stop, we took the cable car route. This just opened up a few weeks ago, and was pretty busy on this holiday, but completely worth it for the 25 minute ride of views of mountains and oceans all surrounding us.


From the Big Buddha... two of many statues that surround the Buddha to honor him.