A Weekend in Cheung Chau!

Hello! It's Saturday following a busy week- and I'm finally getting the chance to sit down and write to you all about our delicious weekend in Cheung Chau. An island south of Hong Kong Island, Cheung Chau is probably best described as a "fishing village" and summer house locale for Hong Kongers. The sun set as we arrived on a ferry. The tents you see are the docks where the ferry let us off.

Brett and I stayed at the

one hotel on the island- The Warwick. It was nice- with complimentary breakfast served

on our private patio overlooking the south China Sea. We woke to more adventurous tourists (and locals?) windsurfing on a VERY windy day. I don't expect

you to keep up with the local weather, so I have to tell you that typhoon was blowing past and the repercussions of gusty winds did reach us on our long awaited vacation. But no matter! Our first day was spent sleeping late and then getting Chinese massages.

We did venture out for dinner. We crossed the island on foot (the only way if you don't want a ride from a bicycle taxi). There are no cars allowed on the island (with the exception of an ambulance- and a fire truck, I think). It takes less than 5 to walk across the narrowest point.







Dinner was spent waterside for seafood, in Brett's case! See the photo of scallops served on the shell piled with garlic. Brett was in heaven. We also had pork and broccoli- aslo very good, though not from the water! Note the very large Tsing Tsao Beer.
Dinner
Here is the beach just outside the hotel. We went looking for sea glass to add to our collection. (We also have some from our Macau April trip.)

We spent Monday travelling back to the main island, but headed south to Ocean Par

k, a local theme park in HK. Check out that Panda, and Brett probably wishing he was as relaxed as the sprawled big guy.

It was a great trip- and one

we'll likely recommend as a side trip if you can come visit us in Hong Kong! :)

Moon Festival, Wedding, and Another Concert!

What an entirely insane week we had! Busier than we'd been in a long time, Brett and I finally had the chance today to relax and enjoy the day.

It was Grace's birthday on Thursday. Please see picture of Adam giving her a birthday kiss! Behind her, note the "birthday themed desk set" we gave her. Like a strand of Christmas lights, these birthday blubs are powered via her USB port and com

plete with birthday mouse pad and hat: truly an office treat. Upon receiving t

his gem, Grace's first thought was, "It's reusable!" ... I'm happy I have until June to look forward to the same reward.

Thursday also marked National day- China's 60th anniversary. Similar to 4th of July for Americans, National Day is a holiday (no work- unless you are Brett Peach under a deadline) and loads of fireworks above Victoria Harbour. Since Brett was working, we timed his dinner break to the televised fireworks and dubbed it "National Fish Taco Day" - as that was the tasty dinner that night.

This Saturday was the "Mid-Autumn Festival" or some of you might have seen it in the tour books as the Lantern or Mooncake Festival. Another holiday (2 in a span of 3 days, but not related enough to give us Friday

off work and an extra long weekend.

Mooncakes are traditional treats for this time of year. The originals are very dense pastry filled with lotus seed paste (similar to fig or sesame in flavor...) and they contain a salted duck egg yolk, representing the full moon.

They are tasty in small bits, but seriously the most dense dessert I've tried. They come in beautifully ornate boxes. Modern confections have reinvented the mooncake over

and over. Haagen Daaz (which is mysteriously huge here, by the way) has an ice cream mooncake. The same is true of Godiva and other western stores...they all want a piece of the "money-makin' mooncake."

Brett and I headed off to Plato's wedding first thing saturday. (Picture of us above is from after the beautiful ceremony). It was small and lovely- with more cameras than guests. It was professionally filmed- and the place was full of asians and their cell p

hone cameras! Brett and I were starved so we headed back to that patio on the IFC tower you'll remember from one of my September posts. I ran into the grocery for some bread, cheese, salami and fruit- and we had ourselves an expensive little "western picnic" with a nice view of TST.

We headed home for a while to rest before the big concert.

Junk Boats and Students!

Hello Everyone!

I finally have more pictures to share. Brett and I headed out with my co-workers

yesterday on a "Junk Boat" ride. This wasn't really an old fashioned junk boat- like you'd see if you google imaged search the term. It was more like a yacht- well, two yachts. We buzzed off the coast of Sai Kung, in the north eastern corner of the new territories, to a small cove, where we tied up to the other boat- allow

ing everyone to move between the two. Activities commenced immediately. There were two small speed boats designated for shuttling people to a nearby beach and for wake boarding

and banana boat rides. Banana Boats are near-exactly as they s

ound. It's an inflated boat in the shape of a banana. Much like tubing, the banana is dragged from the back of a boat while three people hang on for dear life. Brett and I decided that we'd try for wake boarding...

Being his super-cool self, Brettpulled out his phone and downloaded "how to wake board" videos from YOUTUBE (aint technology great?!) to prep us for the excursion. Leslie Heller, I wish you had been there to see me! I got up on a wake board for the first time in my life. Granted, it was probably about 10 seconds

long and it took me three failed attempts first, BUT I DID IT. The speedboat-full of people watching must have thought I was totally insane. I was extremely awkward, I'm sure- but more importantly, as I got up on the board, they all started screaming in excitement. As I was pulled back onto the boat, they told me I screamed right along with them.

Check out the sun beginning to set as we made our way back to the pier.

Below also find: Brett getting

back from a run. Can you see the line of sw

eat on his shirt!? WOAH. This place makes one sweat like mad.

Also, there is one of our office trying to make medical masks fun and inviting (perhaps beside the point when getting that close?!)...

Vanessa....for you~ a few of me with the students at one of our schools. I was hosting group interviews for the EAT or "English Ambassador Teams" - SO FUN.

Brett's Concert and Birthday!

Hi Everyone!

I thought it was time for a few more photos!

Just yesterday we celebrated Brett's birthday. You'll see below that I economically, yet artistically, wrapped his gifts in free HK newspaper and the ribbon that they tie around boxes for easy transport back home from a store. I felt quite creative.

Here's a picture of the river in Tai Po on a clear day. You can see lots of the tall apartment buildings where Hong Kong stores all the people! :)

I've been doing tons of reading

since arriving. On my commute I always have a

half hour or so to read. I'm really enjoying it, especially my new library card. Tai Po Library has tons of English books- totally cool.

On a night out on the island, Brett and I had a drink at "the Keg"- which is NOT American, but Irish. :) Ever had a Kilkenny? Very nice beer.

I also have a picture of Brett's concert from a couple of weeks ago. It was a total hit! I bunch of the CNETs came, and really enjoyed themselves. **Even better! A video from the concert below! :) It's only a few seconds, but gives you a sense of how absolutely fantastic Brett is.

Below, you will see the pictures I promised a while back from the Russian restaurant. Remember the story about the frozen Vodka room complete with fur coats. These should entertain.

Photo Journal: Finally!

It's been too long again. Sorry!

I decided it would be fun to post a photo journal, as I've been trying to snap shots here and there going through my days. Part of the "lack of blog" until now was due to the fact that I have spent the last 3 weeks in orientation with the new teachers for our program. 57 native English speakers all arrived at Hong Kong Airport and there were three of us there all (in shifts) to greet them. I got lucky with the 12noon to 9pm shift! There was another girl after me, boy I felt bad for her when she was there half the night and had to report to work the next morning!

During their first weeks here, the CNETs are housed in a "hostel" of sorts. But it's the nicest hotel I've ever seen. I'm not sure of any others that have a marble decorated lobby! Basically, they stayed in a modest hotel. We also spent two nights away at "camp," which turned out a lot less fantastic than we'd hoped. It rained the whole time, and I think most people felt more confined then they did creative. And in addition, this was just days after their arrival so a good percentage of us were jet lagged, too.

Transitioning to traditional work days was a welcome change. Our program is divided into three groups: Primary, Secondary, and Post-Secondary (also known as "VTC). The Vocational Training College program in Hong Kong is similar to Community Colleges in the states. Students come from secondary school as a result of not having the test scores to get into traditional universities. This is the program that I worked with during orientation. I will, however, through the course of the academic year, visit and work with both primary and secondary programs as well.

During orientation, we asked local students to join us for afternoon sessions with our new teachers. This was good practice for them to work with a new type of student, but also a great excuse for students to come learn some English and have fun during the summer. One of the local students gave me a card with a photo of us (they are addicted to taking pictures of us and each other) and an incredible sweet sentiment.

"Emily: Thank you for your teaching and I will remember it. You are very beautiful and nice. I like you so much. Haha :) I like playing the "guess word" game with you. It's very exciting! Finally, wish you happy all the time!"

As she gave me the card she told me not to show anybody because she didn't have time to make them for all of us. She also apologized for her "bad English." LOL so cute.

Pictures below include my dramatically different (from each other) shopping centers. One is the "Taste" store, which is just off the MTR station on my way home. It's not that great when its the weekend, but on a work night it's a pretty easy stop- a totally decent price to pay for a good dinner! (I think Brett would agree). It's not the cheapest place in town, but you can find things there that are organic, from the states, etc. They have a fantastic cheese counter, really nice breads and a descent "western style" bakery. This is where I'd found the closest thing to "french bread" (until last week, which I'll share in a moment). I love taste- it makes me feel a bit like shopping at Whole Foods- just that much closer to home when I need it. Alternatively, the local market (quite literally located under the Tai Wo MTR station) is my go to for veggies that I can buy local. Please don't worry, we are always careful to thoroughly wash or cook everything we buy there, but we've never had a problem (knock on wood). Local sellers set up their food much like Pike Place actually.

The chicken dish is NOT (sadly) one that I made, but a lovely lunch I had with a group of CNETs during orientation. It was the first chicken I'd had that looked (and tasted) so western that I "had to take a photo" for the blog! It was very nice!

I also put in a shot of how Brett and I have dressed up the living area of the apartment. You'll notice a guitar has made it over! Brett will be using that next week in the upcoming concert that I'm dying to see!

The three photos throughout are of the skyline at dusk. A group of my coworkers went to the IFC tower on HK island to a section of roof which is public property. While there are bars and restaurants on the roof, you can also choose to buy snacks and drinks at the grocery store below and economically enjoy the view. You can even see the humidity in some of the photos! Yea, it is that hot. It's amazing. I can't wait for the clear, drier heat of the fall.

**SPECIAL thanks to Vanessa for my 2nd postcard. Boston's mallards are now on display on the wall here in HK.

Love- Em

Typhoon Updates and Rice-Cooker Brownies!

I've owed you all an update for a while now. The last time I wrote was early morning following our Typhoon. While I can't say I misinformed you, I can admit to not sharing the whole truth- but only because we hadn't yet left the house the morning after the storm. These pictures will help relay the damage. We were very surprised

to see that outside of our

complex, far more vegetation was ripped from the earth and scattered through the streets. Notice the whole tree blocking the road a

s Brett ducks below to cross. Check out this video on YOUTUBE if you are interested i

n more.

Typhoon warning (and thunderstorm warnings for that matter) are taken very seriously here. Offices and schools close when

warnings arise. I don't want anyone worrying that we aren't taking care in those

situations. Most people aren't as

stupid as those featured in this video. And just for the record, I have no desire to "experience" a typhoon anywhere but within the safe confines of the apartment! As I said before, there was such little damage in our complex, I think due to grounds crews being so cognisant of their preparations. More work ahead makes less post-typhoon? Perhaps. (This is our lovely complex on a nice evening...)

I'm thrilled to tell you that last night Brett and I managed to bring a fridge to our apartment- all the way from Hong Kong Island! I found a woman selling her

fridge on a website called geo-expat.com. A handy website to aid ex-pats in finding used stuff! As luck would have it, there are taxi vans that you can hire to move large-ish appliances and furniture. The best part is that we saved SO MUCH money by buying a used fridge. It was literally like $2000HKD less this way.

It was definitely more work than going to

the store and having it delivered, but this way we actually have money to spend on food to fill it. (By the way that is my afternoon coffee- on ice, which I made myself! In my new freezer!)

Speaking of food. At home, I've always had a bit of a "baking problem." That is, I grab a little of this and a little of that, throw it in the oven and see what I get. (I know all the classic, rule-abiding bakers are cringing right no

w, as the one rule of baking is always "Follow the recipe exactly!")... Welp- today, my creative side got the better of me and I threw a m

akeshift homemade brownie batter into our rice cooker to see what would happen. Voila! Brownies. Sweet. Tonight we will have decadent dessert with ice cream (FROM OUR FREEZER! Ha). Is it completely inappropriate that I'm this excited about food? I have included pictures of

the new fridge, and of course the rice-cooker brownies! :) ENJOY

** Thanks to Laura for the first postcard. Toulouse France is now represented! :)

It's Raining, It's Pouring- and I'm Satisfied!

Last night was our first #8 Typhoon since coming to Hong Kong. It hit Hong Kong about midnight. Brett and I had seen the warnings for a #3, which really isn't a big deal- usually like a thunderstorm. So we headed down to Kowloon in search of Thai food. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of Pad Thai, Fried Pineapple Rice, and delicious Chinese Cabbage and Mushrooms, which I will be trying to recreate in our kitchen! While the waiter was clearing our table, he said, "You like Thai f___" something we didn't understand. We assumed he'd said Thai food and started praising the meal...Then he repeated himself and Thai f___ suddenly sounded like TYPHOON. He clarified and we learned that a #8 was headed our way. We hurried for the MTR and raced for home. We had jackets and an umbrella...and the 3 block walk back home from the train still soaked us! As we arrived home, we received text messages from our friend Rebecca warning us to get home (I think she feared we would miss the signs). We watched the 4th Harry Potter movie as the storm hit. I was continually distracted from the movie by the weather. Trees blowing and rain coming in at a sharp angle. I was happy to be safe at home and not out in that weather!



I'm settling into a rhythm I've longed for! Finally, I'm working again and I'm pleased with the routine of daily life. Life is not without worry or insecurities while in a foreign country, though!


I went to apply for my HKID card the other day. On my lunch break I was to head down to a government office which I assumed would be much like an American Dept of Licensing. I did have an appointment, thanks to a handy online feature! I did have a partner in crime... another newish co-worker who was after his ID, too. We hopped into a taxi from the office trying to shave some time off the trip and hopefully return within an hour. The first speed bump we hit was that the taxi driver didn't speak English. I had an exact address, though- so he puts me on his cell phone with someone (the dispatcher?) who spoke English. I read the address, then he spoke to the driver again. We got exactly where we needed to be! HA! Challenge conquered.



We arrived into the main waiting room and saw a small line for reservations. Since the room was full of people, I assumed we were one step ahead for having said reservations. Welp- wrong! The whole ordeal took about 2 hours. I was SO GLAD to have Adam with me to talk to! After a photo, fingerprints and an interview, I was issued a card. It will be printed and I'm to pick it up in 10 business days...

Another interesting aspect of Hong Kong are all of the wet markets. I've mentioned to you before the outdoor markets with people selling fruits/veggies- and fish and meats. You'll also remember that I was instructed only to point at things that had signs and a clear price. Well- Brett and I have learned a new trick. Because when you point at the Gai Lan (Chinese dark greens which we use in our Pad Thai at home...) they give you $12 worth, and we can't use it all before it goes bad. Instead we point at the item and hold out the amount of money's worth we'd like. So I hold out the $5 piece and then we are given about half a regular portion. I know what you're thinking...duh! But we feel quite ingenious over coming up with this masterful approach.

I had to pick up some fluorescent light "starters" at the market yesterday. Brett told me there was a hardware store along the area, so I took the broken one with me, knowing I'd need a prop! I found the hardware store, pulled out my visual aid, and held up 4 fingers. Ha! I appropriately communicated. This is like living life within the game of charades!

Today is Sunday and we are headed out for some errands before meeting office people for an evening of Karaoke. Unfortunately, our kayaking was cancelled in light of the typhoon. We'll have to reschedule! :) I'll let you know how the singing goes...

Take Care!