Hong Kong! And Other Fun Things.

By the way, we really need to keep up more often. You're all going to think we're boring and you'll forget us. Hmm...I'll think on it and see what I come up with.

Birthday Dinner: Yum!

We have been up to some fun these days. A couple of weeks ago it was my (Steph, here) birthday. It fell on a school day, but we had some really nice friends who were still willing to hang out that night and eat delicious Mexican food. And that morning I got to open a package from my family at home! It was very sweet, and I was a little extra homesick that day :) Then, that weekend we spent time with our friends Jesse and Emily, doing a bit of shopping and eating dinner together (see pic at right). It was special to have that time together, and it was special to be celebrated like that!



We were invited to the wedding of a teacher that I work with in the Kindergarten. So that same birthday weekend we got to go the wedding! It was a pretty fancy and elaborate wedding, and fun to see what a Chinese wedding looks like. They had some elements of tradition and some modern touches, and it was really neat. Fun to have the chance to be a part of the life of one of the teachers I work with too.

You Guessed It: Turtle!

One way that the extravagance of the wedding showed, was in the feast that we were served! There must have been more than twenty dishes, ranging from lamb and chicken to turtle and bullfrog! And much in between. We had yet to try anything too different from what we're used to at home, and this was our chance! There were a few things I liked, and then others that were not as much my favorite. But surprise! the turtle was pretty good. And the frog was okay, but I could live without it. Overall, it was a fun experience. For the most part we enjoy the food here. Wuhan is known for its spicy food, which is great, since we like spicy! Well, mostly I love spicy, but Luke is okay with most of it too.

Speaking of delicious food, we went to Hong Kong this past week! China has a national holiday in the first week of October, which meant vacation for us! So we took off for Hong Kong with those same friends I've mentioned, Jesse and Emily. They're the ones who looked out for us when we first moved here, and continue to be generous and great friends to us. So we bought fast train tickets to a city near the border of mainland China and Hong Kong, and then made our way down there! Oh yes, the food thing: we ate a lot of good food there, but the highlight was this Indian meal that pretty much was the highlight of the trip. SO GOOD. Wow, it was amazing, and when I think about it, I wish I could go back just so I could eat at that restaurant again. Amazing curries, chai, garlic naan, too bad I don't have pictures. I'll stop swooning.

Okay, so there were other reasons why Hong Kong was great too! We got to explore the city a bit, and do some shopping, and stay in a great hostel. Oh, where do I begin? Our hostel was located in this huge, sketchy looking high rise building called Chungking Mansion. Apparently, if you'll check out the movie Johnny English, the "outdoor scene" of the movie was filmed in front of Chungking. We're going to have to see it, because that would really be fabulous. Chungking Mansion on the big screen. As you walk through the building, there are vendors everywhere trying to sell you everything from spices to watch batteries to "hip hop clothing." And so many people from all over the world. And then we get to our actual hostel, which has only two rooms that they rent. It was run by these great Filipino women who were full of spunk and pizazz. I could go on about them, but you'll just have to take my word that they were a hoot and so great. I will say, that Luke was longer than the bed. But that was mostly just funny. We stuck a chair at the end of the bed so his feet didn't hang over.

Us, across from the island where the laser show happened!

And then, we did some shopping at a huge market, and also in the district near our hostel. And there is a laser light show that you can see from the edge of the water, across to the main Hong Kong island. There are these huge high rise buildings that shoot lasers into the night sky, and the actual buildings light up too. We had a really nice time.


And so, here we are, on the eve of heading back to school. We feel as though we really were able to rest from school a bit. And maybe we're never really ready for vacation to be over, but that's okay! Some really great kids await at school tomorrow. And hopefully some good teaching! Sometimes in China, when you get vacation off, you have to make part of it up by having school on the weekend. So tomorrow is Saturday, and we'll be off to school. While you are all eating waffles and putting your feet up, right? Well, enjoy it, and don't feel too bad, because it was definitely worth having the break!

Thanks for being our friends, and keep in touch!

Love,
Steph