Hong Kong Helen

Greetings all. I've had a super fun last two weeks! I left two Saturdays ago, the 13th, for Hong Kong with about 9 other people. We took a 22-hour train ride down, and it was SO fun. My best friend, Rebekah, and I went with a group of girls and guys who go to a church called Next together. We had gotten to know a few of the people before, but not very well. They range in age from 23-35? 40? I'm not sure really, but most of them are a good 7 years older than me. We had some awesome, fun conversations on the train and saw a lot of fireworks since it was New Year's Eve. We arrived the next day and it was semi-warm...

Alas, the warm weather left. It ended up being cloudy, foggy, cold, windy, and damp the rest of the week. Boo. But we still had a great time. No beach time like we planned, and I didn't bring any warm clothes so I had to buy a fleece down there. We stayed on a small fishing island called Cheung Chau. It was a 30-minute ferry ride from the big Hong Kong island.

Things we did on Cheung Chau:
We explored the island a lot - walked around the little streets, window shopped, etc. We are a lot of meals and drank a lot of milk/bubble tea, which I am absolutely OBSESSED with now. I found a place nearby in Beijing and got two big cups of dongde zhenzhu naicha (ice milk bubble tea). I went on a hike one day with three of the guys which was a blast. I spent almost no time in our flat because it wasn't warm (no heat) and we were out doing things! I took some photographs, and we did group devotions every day which were great. I got to know the people on the trip really well and I like them all so much. I slept in a small bed every night with Rebekah and I slept really well - a HUGE blessing! The first night we got some red wine and brought it back to our flat, and as I was taking my first sip it spilled ALL over me - on my one jacket and my nice jeans. I tried to wash them as best I could that night and hung them to dry inside... They still weren't dry 6 days later when we left. That's how humid and wet it was - and our flat was right on the ocean. p.s. there are no cars on cheung chau!

Things we did in Hong Kong:
We went on a group hike to Jardine's Point which has a beautiful view of the city. Hong Kong is a beautiful city with mountains, the water, clean streets, and fresh air! The opposite of dry Beijing. I got some visa stuff taken care of at the HK visa office. I went alone two mornings on the ferry from Cheung Chau to HK, and I got seasick and threw up the first morning on the ferry. It was awful but a funny story. We also ate lots of meals in Hong Kong, drank bubble tea (duh), walked around, took buses and subways, saw a New Year's fireworks show on the harbor, walked around, shopped, went to lots of tourist areas, etc...

I really like the city of Hong Kong. It's very diverse - you see people from all over the world there. Many people speak English, which is good, but on the other hand many don't speak Mandarin. Lame. It's a big city but is green, by the water, and has mountains behind it. I'd love to go back when it's warmer and play on the beach some! I probably had the most fun getting to know my new friends. Some of them are extremely smart and know so much about so much. They were so interesting to talk to. They are also very knowledgeable about life and living in China, and I'm grateful to have older, more experienced friends. They challenged me a lot and probably got to know me too well. Either they are very perceptive or I'm wildly transparent, because they pointed out almost immediately that I speak bluntly and say what other people want to say but don't. I was glad they still liked me after they knew that, though. We played some silly games, especially deal breaker. I obviously introduced this game to everyone, and I also had the most deal breakers. Shocking.

I've been home for a few days, and have had some interesting experiences since then. Monday morning I went to a Chinese hospital to get a "physical examination" for teaching. It was chaos. Crying babies all over the place (after getting their blood drawn in a hallway, which I did, too). So my "body exam" consisted of getting my blood drawn, a chest x-ray (that my Chinese companion first translated as "sculptured breast), someone listening to my heartbeat, and... well... something I'm not going to post on my blog. I felt a bit violated when they ordered me to pull my pants down, let's just leave it at that. The whole experience was kind of funny, and I get my results back on Thursday - I hope I passed!

I felt very capable today. It's a little warmer, so I wore a dress today. It felt good. I also went to the police station alone to register since I was home from Hong Kong. I found it on my own and communicated in Chinese! Also encouraging. I got some groceries from a Chinese supermarket - I need to learn to cook. And then I went to Rebekah's house for a long time. We hung out, watched LOST, and ate meatball subs with her family. Her family has been SO sweet to me, welcomed me into their family and said they're going to adopt me! It's great to spend time with an American family. Then Rebekah and I went to get our hair washed. This was VERY fun. It costs 20 RMB (about $3), and it includes them shampooing your hair and rubbing your head, neck, back, arms, and hands. Soooooo cheap and it felt sooooo good. I have a feeling this may become a regular activity for me...

I'm feeling great after my Hong Kong trip and am just trying to prepare to start work! Getting errands done this week and relaxing. Friday night I'm going to a new friend's house who went to Hong Kong. Her name is Michelle and she's from New Mexico. She's an ABC (American-born Chinese) and has family in Hong Kong. I'm not exactly sure how old she is - around 30? She has a PhD in piano and is a concert pianist here - wow! She wants to play duets with me! She eats gluten-free (yay, Mom!) and lives one stop away from me on the subway. She's going to have Rebekah, me, and someone else over and make burgers for us (her family is in the restaurant business I think), and then teach us to play mahjong. I have also promised to say the Lord's Prayer in Chinese because my new friend Gordon (my age and a Princeton graduate, mind you) and I memorized it on the train ride back. I need to practice...

I'll try to post a few pictures soon, and I've posted a bunch on facebook!

Officially a Beijinger

To start, let me respond to some comments... Dai yuehan, 跟什么老师谈谈吗？我跟他们没将一将。And Katie, no, Sheila and I don't speak in Chinese together... yet... I told her I'm going to make her do that with me soon.

I can't remember what I wrote last, but the last week has had some really hard days! Some great things too, but definitely my toughest moments. A new friend helped me move to my new apartment last Friday, but it ended up not being such a good idea because I had no mattress pad (mattresses in China are HARD!), no heat, no food/water/toilet paper, no internet, and I was all alone! I slept about 4 hours that night. The next few days Sheila and I moved in more, set up our heat, water, internet, etc., and today I am a little more moved in. I still haven't done any decorating in my room and need a few things, but I'm mostly unpacked - yay! I also had some phone problems this weekend, which was a pain.

Saturday night I went to a joint birthday party for three new friends at a nice apartment. People from the west side and east side were there, which is rare, so I met a lot of new fun friends! I also ate 2 pieces of carrot cake - yummmmmm. Something about China I don't like - very few apartments have dryers, ovens, dishwashers, or disposals. So, eating a baked good was a real treat. Also, most Chinese apartments don't have actual showers - I will post a picture of this later, but there is no distinction between the bathroom - toilet, sink - and the shower. Our showerhead is on the wall with no walls around it. We do have a curtain though, which helps. So, after you shower you have to clean the water up that has gotten all over the rest of the bathroom - it's very fun.

I officially have a job! I signed a contract yesterday to teach at a Chinese kindergarten for a year. No penalty if I break the contract though, thankfully. I'm relieved to have finally decided what I'm going to be doing here, but now I have to get my work visa and a physical from a hospital (that should be VERY interesting). Chinese kids are so adorable, and I'm excited to get to play with them. I like them much more than American kids, thankfully. My job doesn't start until March 1st because all of the schools have a long break for the Chinese New Year/Spring Festival.

Speaking of, I'm going to Hong Kong, specifically Cheung Chau, for the new year! I'm going with a group of 9-11 new friends from the 13th-20th. We are taking a train both ways, so it will be a casual 22-24 hour train ride. It's going to be much warmer than it is here - like in the 60s and 70s. The island we're going to is more undeveloped, so hopefully I'll get to see some of Hong Kong but also sit on the beach, hike, and jump in the water! It will be a great time to get to know some of these people better, too. I'm only thinking about what I will wear and what I should pack for the trip, but I have no idea what my first China trip will be like. Lots of fun I hope!

Every day when things happen to me I think, oh, that's funny, I should write it in my blog, but then I forget or I don't have enough energy to blog. Last night I got propositioned on the subway to teach some guys English. It was strange, the guy gave me his card and tried to get my number but I refused him. People stare at me and talk about me with NO shame. I hear so many people, especially kids, saying "waiguoren" (foreigner). People wave at me, say "hello!", and stare on a regular basis. I don't know if I'll get used to that, but most of the time it makes me smile. My Chinese teacher thinks I look like Meg Ryan??? Some people have said they didn't think I was American because I'm not very tall.

Shoot I can't think of any good stories to tell. Maybe later...