Ocean Park

The first time I heard of Ocean Park was at Mike's parents house when we were talking with Joyce and Sarah. Joyce kept saying "Ocean Pahk" and I just didn't understand what she was saying until it dawned on me... Ocean Park! Now I always say "Ocean Pawk" in my head. Joyce and Sarah said that Ocean Park is better than Disneyland, and we have heard that sentiment from people here as well. We really liked Disneyland, so we were a tough sell.

Mike had parent-teacher interviews from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm all day Saturday (not so fun). But in lieu, the school had a day off on Monday, which is a lot of fun! We thought it would be good to use that Monday do something touristy so that it would be less crowded than usual, so it seemed like the perfect day to go to Ocean Park.

Ocean Park is kind of exactly what it sounds like. It's an amusement park with a real nautical theme to it. It's on Hong Kong Island built at the top of the mountain overlooking the ocean. There are a lot more "thrilling" rides than what Disneyland offers, which is why I think older kids like it. And there's an aquarium, pandas and dolphin shows, so even though it can't compete with Disney princesses (not much can in Annika's eyes!), it tries to anyway.
Half of the park is at the bottom of a mountain, and the other half is at the top. It's so spread out and confusing. You can either take a cable car or a train from the bottom to the top. We opted for the cable car, and had to wait about 45 minutes to get on. Now that the girls are familiar with cable cars, they knew exactly how they wanted to travel. The wait was long (why was it so busy after all on this random Monday in November?), but the views were, as Mike kept saying- and said about many other things as the day went on-, "worth the price of admission alone!"
We got to the top of the mountain just as the dolphin show was about to start. Everything was translated between Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, which was a bit confusing. We watched it for a while, but we've all seen our fair share of dolphin and sea lion shows at West Edmonton Mall so eventually we left in search of lunch and ferris wheels.
The ferris wheel was also a long wait for a short ride. But again, the views from the top were "worth the price of admission alone", so you can't complain about that.
A roller coaster jutting over the edge of the water is pretty awesome. I can't wait until the girls are roller coaster age!

The one "thrill seeking" ride that we could go on was the log ride. We weren't sure if it would end with wet, crying children, but we decided to give it a go. It turns out we have a little "thrill seeker" on our hands. Annika had the best spot in the front, and LOVED it! She immediately wanted to do it again. Leila did not like it, but at least she didn't cry about it. Mike and Annika went on it a second time, and I was able to get a picture (not a good one- we had just our old little camera with us again this time) of the final descent into the water. It was the highlight of Annie's day. She would have done it a third time, but she was getting pretty wet, and it really wasn't that warm out!
We took the train back down and went to see Le Le and Ying Ying, the Giant Pandas. They were both awake! So fun!
Annika in front of a Giant Chinese Salamander. Yikes! It was ugly.
We tried to wake Leila up to see the Pandas, because she was wanting to see them, but the nap won out. Oh well, I showed her the pictures just now, and she seemed okay about missing it.
Annie chose the sea horse, Mike got stuck on a pink fish, and Leila and I shared a double- seater dolphin.
Then we discovered the kids zone. It was perfect for the girls. There was a slow little pink train ride that made Leila happy, and the girls had this clown ride all to themselves. There was also a bouncy thing and a playground. All it needed was a Starbucks (better yet, Tim Hortons!) and we all would have been set!

Annika found another thrilling ride- the Frog Hopper.
I rode it once with her (there's only room for one adult at a time), but Annika rode it four times in total.
I was tempted to buy the key chain and magnet of this picture, but they were asking about $25.

The last thing we did was check out the aquarium. We were tired and ready to go home, but the aquarium was so impressive! If we go back to Ocean Park we need to spend more time there... it was pretty cool. Dare I say... worth the price of admission alone?
And... a video! Yes,that's Annika you hear screaming like a little girl.

Chinese foot massage

Every other month or so the women in the Tuesday morning mom's group I've been going to goes out on a Friday night together. Yesterday, instead of going for dinner or coffee, the Friday night activity was getting foot massages. I was curious what that would be like, but not sure if I would actually like it. I don't like head massages at all. I like shoulder massages and always get Mike to massage my shoulders as hard as he can when I'm stiff and tense. I've only ever had two "real" massages before- one in Thailand when I was really sunburned, so it hurt too much to enjoy, and one when I was pregnant with Annika and I did like it- because it meant I could lie on my stomach.

I thought it was a fun experience to get a foot massage at a local place, but I don't think it's anything I would do again on my own! Val and I both had men, which seemed kind of sketchy compared to the women. My guy was really sketchy. Look at him! What a joker. He thought it was funny if I said it hurt. And it did! They pounded on our heels and calves, pulled our toes and twisted our feet. I guess some people like it, or maybe it's supposed to be good for you. Val and I giggled through the whole thing, and she was pretty sure she was going to have bruises the next day.

Look at this guy pounding the heck out of Val's calves. It was only about $12 for an hour, so that's pretty cheap. Maybe I can find a pedicure place instead!

Even though it wasn't my cup of tea (actually we had to soak our feet in tea before they started the massage), I have to admit it was still fun I am just so very grateful for new friends, and social opportunities!

things i never heard my kids say in Canada

- "It's okay, Mom. We can just take a taxi" (Leila after waiting at the bus stop for a while)

- "Mommy, I made you a dumpling!" (Leila playing with her play food)

- "Wow, his English is REALLY good!" (Annika in reference to a BRITISH, CAUCASIAN waiter who led us to our seat)

- "please can we go to 7/11 and get a Puccho? (both girls... 7/11 trips not new, Puccho- new favorite candy)

- "ooh, that's a nice Buddha!"

- "please can you buy me some seaweed to take in my lunch?"

- "NO, I WANT TO PUSH THE BUTTON!!!" (we didn't have fighting in elevators in Canada)

- "Is it a Typhoon Day today?"

camp and fieldtrip

I'm sure it would be an interesting blog if Mike wrote about his time at grade six camp since he's a whole lot more witty than I am, but it's probably not going to happen. I uploaded his pictures, though, in case anyone is interested in what this Bible camp in Sai Kung looked like in the day time (it looks much nicer than when it's raining and dark out!).

A praying mantis... up close and personal!

(Mom, that's Ami in the yellow kayak. She was one of the four staff who went on the trip)

That's what the cabins looked like from the outside.

On Friday I went along on Annika's fieldtrip. It was Sport's Day at the school, so the five kindergarten classes went to Tai Po Waterfront Park for a day of outdoor activities.
It was raining when we arrived, so they had their morning snack under a shelter. Also, thanks to the rainy days, for the first time we needed socks, pants, sweaters, etc. It's warmed up again since, but I was pretty cold the whole day- the coldest it's been since we arrived.
Annika enjoying a fish ball that her classmate was so kind to share during lunch time.

Playing games on a big field of real grass!

The view from a lookout tower you could walk up.

By lunch it was very crowded! School groups were everywhere! Many parents came out and joined their kids for this day. I'm glad I invited Annika's classmates and their families to her birthday party because now I know several of them, and everyone is so kind and friendly! I'm pretty much the only one who brings a younger sibling because we don't have many options for childcare at this point (we miss you, Grandma Janzen!), but the other moms are always trying to help me with the stroller, etc. and it's really nice.
It's neat to see Annika with her friends. But I always come home from her fieldtrips exhausted and have a whole new respect for kindergarten teachers!!!

adventures in Sai Kung

Sunday, November 6: Mike is packing to go to his grade 6 camp in Sai Kung. He will be gone until Wednesday. I tell him that Jocelyn has suggested to me that we take our kids and go out to visit (since her husband is there the whole week running the camps) on Tuesday night. Mike doesn't think this is a very good idea. The camp is at least an hour away, and he thinks he will be busy chaperoning his students and won't even be able to spend time with us. Plus, it is an half hour hike into the camp and doesn't know how I would manage with both girls. Well... okay. Makes sense.

Monday, November 7: Mike calls me in the evening. Camp is going well, but it has been rainy. He thinks that maybe we could come. The path is paved and I could bring the stroller. We waffle back and forth and decide to watch the weather. Jocelyn has assured me that she and Rachel will be going regardless, so it's up to me.

Tuesday, November 8, 10:00 a.m.: Mike calls me while I'm at my mom's group. He says he thinking we should come. The atmosphere is pretty laid back, so he wouldn't ignore us after all, and the rain is mostly just that misty wet kind where you don't even need an umbrella. I tell him that Annika is excited about doing this and would probably be disappointed if we didn't go. He tells me that I should bring the girl's raincoats. I'm surprised he's encouraging us to come- I figure he must miss us. We decide that if it isn't pouring out, we will come.

3:00 pm: It's still the misty kind of rain. I am packed to go and somehow my bag is huge and full. I wonder how I'll manage with two girls and stroller and big bag.

3:15 pm: I return from picking Annika up from school. I am sweaty and damp having changed into jeans and walking shoes. I realize that this would not be a good option in the rain, and put on shorts and sandals and take the bulky fleece-lined raincoats out of the bag to make it lighter. Annika quickly changes out of her uniform, and we head down to the lobby to meet Jocelyn and Rachel.

3:30 pm: we head to the bus stop to take bus #1.

3:40 pm: get on bus #1, ride it to the end of the route.

4:05 pm: arrive at bus terminus and see that the next bus we want is there so we don't have to wait long.

4:10 pm: get on bus #2, which takes us to Sai Kung. It is a scenic drive, but now it is pouring rain. We wonder how our walk into camp will go? My two little bottomless pits polish off the buns and bananas I'd packed, leaving none for me. Oh well... there will be a BBQ at six at the camp, if we can arrive in time. Annika happily watches videos on Jocelyn's iphone, and the three girls are really cooperating.

5:10 pm: arrive in Sai Kung. Time to find our final bus that will take us to the base of the camp. We see that the bus we want is there, but it is empty- the driver must be on break. The girls are running off a bit of steam with Jocelyn supervising, and I decide to check if there is a bus schedule posted. I see that that the bus we want comes at 5:05 and 5:40, so we just missed it and will have to wait half an hour for the 5:40 bus. I call Jocelyn over and show her, and we decide we better take a taxi.

5:20 pm: We haul the girls and our stuff through the rain and pile into a taxi. We realize we have no idea what to tell the driver so that he will understand where to take us. He doesn't speak English either. I call Mike to see if he knows the name of the camp (he doesn't really know what to tell me), and Jocelyn has a brainwave to call another teacher's wife who is Chinese who should know the name of the camp AND be able to communicate it to the driver. The driver is impatient with us, but Jocelyn is able to get ahold of our friend, and passes the phone to the driver. He now knows where we want to go but tells us that we have to take a green taxi, not a red taxi. He tells us what the Chinese name is that we should say to the green taxi driver. We apologize profusely for taking up his precious time, and then pile back out of the red taxi, cross the street and watch a green taxi drive past us. Fortunately another green taxi arrives. I have already forgotten what the Chinese instructions are (my brain seems to not want me to learn other languages!), but luckily Jocelyn remembers and he understands. Mike calls and tells me that he has walked to the base of the path and is waiting to help us with the walk.

5:35 pm: We drive through the rain, and suddenly we see Mike standing near the edge of the road. Our taxi driver stops and lets us out.

5:40 pm: We trudge through the jungle. It is getting dark, and steadily raining. The first thing Mike asks me is why I don't have the girl's raincoats. I don't really have a good answer for that because it isn't that warm anymore, and we don't want the girls to get wet and cold and my reasons for not bringing them no longer makes sense. Sigh. The way we get there is Jocelyn carries Rachel and an umbrella, Annika walks on her own with her umbrella. She thinks this is great fun. I carry Leila with an umbrella, and Mike, who is wearing a rain jacket walks and pushes the stroller with the big bag in the stroller through the rain.

6:05 pm: We arrive! We're wet. The students are still in chapel.

6:10-7:30 pm: little Rachel is reunited with her daddy, and the girls (and me!) are glad to spend a bit of time with Mike. We find out how Hong Kongers do BBQ- hotdogs, corn, and fish balls roasted over coals. Mike's grade 6 girls all take out their cameras and Annika loves the attention and poses for pictures for them. They keep calling her a princess and she loves it. Jocelyn asks me continually in her sweet, earnest way if I am happy that we came. I keep answering "yup!" and laugh because what else can I say? I eat two undercooked hot dogs and decide to forego the fish balls. My two little bottomless pits each eat a hot dog and Annika also wolfs down a cob of corn. I take a few pictures, but have the 50mm lens on the camera which isn't great.

7:40 pm: We pack up to leave and hope we can catch the 8:05 bus. Thankfully, Mike walks back with us again, this time pushing Annika in the stroller so we can go faster. I carry Leila the whole way again, and somehow walk right into a pile of cow dung. It's pretty dark and there are street lamps every so often but there are dark places in the middle. Mike is nervous about encountering a wild boar on his solo walk back.

8:10 pm: we arrive at the road and realize that we missed the 8:05 bus. We walk to the bus terminal, and don't have to wait long until the bus we want comes.

8:30 pm: we get on bus #2, and get the girls into their jammies. I regret bringing summery jammies because it is airconditioned on the bus and they are damp and cold. It seems like nothing I packed was right for the trip.

9:15 pm:- we arrive at the last bus terminal, but decide to take a taxi because it is a short drive home. The girls are barely still awake, but I'm glad they are because I didn't know how i'd carry them both if they were asleep.

9:30 pm: HOME! the girls go straight into their beds and I scrub the cow dung off my feet, let Mike know that we made it and find out that he did NOT encounter wild boars. I head to bed and hope the girls sleep-in, even if that makes Annika late for school (they don't- they wake up bright and chipper at 6:30 am).

The End.

Cheung Chau Island

When we saw that the forecast today was sunny and +30, we thought we better take advantage and head to the beach! It gets cooler this week- *only* highs of 23, and rainy. When we went to Lamma Island last Saturday, we saw how easy it would be to get to other islands because the ferries all leave from the same place. So we decided to check out Cheung Chau Island since we knew there was a beach there, and thought it would be easy to find. It's even smaller than Lamma Island, and is similar to Lamma in that there are no cars or roads. Just lots of bicycles! The island used to be a refuge for pirates. It is also famous for a bun festival that takes place in the spring.

We really liked Cheung Chau. Dare I say better than Lamma? I don't know... maybe it's because it was so sunny and we were all in great moods (not always the case on these day trips, I must admit). It also seemed a bit more open, and slightly more touristy, but not in a bad way. In any case, it was a really good day. The girls slept on the 1/2 hour ferry ride there, so they had lots of stamina to make it through the day, and I think they had a fun day.

Annika and Mike enjoyed swimming, but there were strong waves (lots of people go to windsurf), so Leila and I stayed near the shore.

Leila would gather little treasures she'd find in the sand and then run to the water to wash her hands. She'd wait for the waves, and sometimes she got really wet!

So funny...Leila noticed a girl was burying her boyfriend in the sand and stood and watched for a long time. Eventually Annika quietly moved in and began to help. She figured they needed her efforts too, I guess. After a while, Leila got brave and helped pat down the sand too. We're wondering if we can do that to Uncle Lincoln in Bali???

Skies are not always this blue in Hong Kong! Such a charming little place...

I saw so much beauty everywhere I looked. I loved the bright colors- so much yellow everywhere!

Annika took the photos of me and Mike and the one of Leila (we just had our old little point-and-shoot along this time). She knows how to do a really cool photography trick where she gets Leila to jump up and down and then covers the flash with her fingers!

For supper, we had pad thai at the water's edge. I tell ya... does the view get any better than that?!

How fortunate we are to enjoy this lovely day in Cheung Chau!

PS. this post was also a bit of an experiment in photo collage. good? bad?

PPS. have we convinced anyone to come visit us yet?

three months

Yesterday (November 3) was our three month anniversary of being in Hong Kong. It is mostly significant because in those first stressful 7-10 days, we kept telling each other, that if we could make it to three months, we can look back and things will be a lot better. Mike kept talking about finding an equilibrium. Really, those first days and weeks were not that great. They were draining physically and emotionally. And financially. It was expensive getting set up! We didn't meet or talk to anyone besides Mr. Yip for a whole week, and getting our housing and banking sorted out was really stressful. Plus, I lost my purse/wallet on Day 2, and that didn't help things either! So we just kept looking ahead to three months and hoped that things would look up.

And they did. So much earlier than three months, too. I think once Mike and Annika were settled in school and Leila and I got into a routine, and we started meeting more than just one person, things got a lot better. I think it probably took 6 weeks. So thanks for those of you who prayed for us in this transition because it had it's ups and downs, but we've seen a lot of prayers answered.

When I told Annika that it had been three months since we got here, she said "that's it?". I wonder if in their minds it seems like we've been here forever!

And... some pictures of today with Leila. She was reading so nicely to her little doll, Samantha.

We bought Samantha (Leila named her after a little girl from church) with birthday money from Grandpa Erwin because none of our dolls came with us to Hong Kong. Samantha goes lots of places with us these days.

We made a deal- if Leila let me take some pictures of her, she could take some of me. So that's how it worked.