Chris rockin' the elevator

Chris has been in San Fransisco this week representing the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology for a scholastic competition. As a part of his MBA program, his team received a set of patents for yet-to-be-released technology developed by the school's labs and they've been building a business plan for them. This competition in SFO is to present their business case to a community of venture capitalists and academia.

Today was the elevator pitch competition. They came in 3rd out of all the schools. They beat teams from Stanford and the Wharton School of Business. Woooo hooo! This is big stuff I tell ya. Aaaaand, Chris was the one to deliver the elevator pitch. How cool is he?

They came in beyind a couple of PhD's and scientists. But who cares about them.

Tomorrow is the big competition. Stay tuned. Go Chris and HKUST!!

Is Summer here?

The past week in Hong Kong has be cold. Not cold to Portland or, like, Chicago standards but cold for here. Then I wake up this morning to really warm temperatures. It's a bit hazy today but the sun is shiny through the smog and giving the city a warm glow.

Scary thing is that if it's this warm here, it's going to be boiling in Singapore. Good lord. What to wear...

Hello Makenna!!

I got home from Singapore the night of March 10 (HK time) to the best message - little Makenna Renee Koetz was born! With the time difference, I her birthday was March 9th at 10:08pm. Congratulations Lisa and Jeff on your 9 lb 4 oz princess!

I spoke the very happy new mom this morning and Baby, mom and dad are all doing well.

I can't wait to meet you Makenna!

Week 2

I'm starting my 2nd day of week 2 in Singapore now. I have just a few observations to offer at this point (though I hope to have more when I actually get to see more of the city outside of the airport, taxi, hotel and office).

First and foremost, everyone is SO nice here. Everyone. At the airport, at immigration, at the hotel, at the office. And I mean really nice. And welcoming. I know Thailand is already the land of smiles... so maybe Singapore should be the land of welcome. It really makes traveling and being away from home so much easier.

And speaking of land of welcome. One thing I've found so darn endearing is that when I say 'thank you,' the response back is always 'welcome.' Not "you're welcome." Just simply "welcome." Not sure why but I find it darn cute. Maybe it's the sing song voice that comes with it.

And lastly, it's so green and open here. I didn't realize how much I missed that living in Hong Kong. The drives to and from the airport when it's light out are lovely simply because I get to see so many green trees and colorful flowers along the road. And in Hong Kong, you really never need sunglasses because the mass of giant skyscrapers shade any sun that manages to get through the smog. But here in Singapore, the sun is so bright that with few masses of giant buildings to block the sun, you actually need sunglasses. I think I'll have to pick some up!

All in all, I feel a bit like I'm working in Hawaii!

The Lion City

I've just completed my first 24-hour day in Singapore and I rather like it. Probably because I'm not all that adventurous when traveling alone and Singapore such a safe city (both in terms of crime as well as easy comfort).

The name Singapore comes from the Malay word for Lion "Singapura." I've also learned that it's called the Garden City with over 400 public parks. Singapore isn't just one island, it's comprised of over 60 islands - it's just the main island that everyone knows of. The main island itself is quite small: 26 miles across at its widest point. But another island just off shore has something to boast about: the world's largest bat, the flying fox, which has a wingspan of 1.5 meters! I think I'll stick to the main island for now.

Tonight, I did a little window shopping and figured out the subway system. Now, having eaten at my computer, I'm ready to snuggle into bed and watch CSI. That's right - one of my favorite shows of all time is showing here... and better yet, American Idol will be playing here tomorrow and Thursday night. I think I'm going to like it here just fine!

Singapore-bound

Tomorrow begins a 4 month assignment for The Client in Singapore. I will be shuttling between Hong Kong and Singapore just about every week through July, until the woman I'm covering for returns from maternity leave. I'm fairly used to weekly travel from my days working out of Portland but not so much for as long a period of time or across Immigration lines. So, wish me luck and hopefully I'll have some fun stuff to share as I navigate the land where gum is forbidden and the humidity lingers around the 96% mark.

NOTICE

Picked this up in our mailbox the other night:

"Please be informe that a Common Magpie found dead at the balcony of a residential unit yesterday. The carcass was collected by the Customer Service Office (CSO) instantaneously and transferred to Agricultgure, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) for laboratory test. The CSO has thoroughly cleansed the premises with diluted bleach. The CSO advised all residents if a dead wild bird is found in the estate, please contat the CSO at once for collection of carcass.

Besides, the CSO has set up the precautionary measures to prevent the spread of Avian Influenza, which include strengthened the cleaning work in the estate and increase the checking frequency
at all the common area so as to ensure no dead bird hiding in the estate. The CSO would like to take this opportunity to appeal all residents should keep good personal and environmental hygiene, avoid touching poultry and their droppings, wash hands thoroughly immediately after contacting the live poultry and cook poultry and eggs thoroughly before eating, so as to minimize the chance of
getting Avian Influenza.

Should any residents want to get more information about prevention of Avian Influenza, please visit the web site of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health http://www.chp.gov.hk."

Ok, first, all spelling and/or grammatical errors belong to the NOTICE writer, not me. (Not that I'm a spelling or grammatical expert by any means.)

Second, OH MY GOD. Dead bird. Bird Flu. Maybe Chris and I had 24 hour bird flu last week.

Third, right, I'll try to not touch poultry droppings. It'll be tough but heck, it's for my health right?

Fouth, I'll do my best to not touch poultry either. Guess that means no more chicken feet at lunch. Better yet, no chicken unless its imported period.

Fifth, I wonder how many dead bird are hiding in the estate. They sure can be sneaky fellows.

Nothing says 'I love you' like a turtle

Or a hippopotamus. Or a suite at the Peninusla Hotel. Clearly "I love yous" come in many forms.

For our 10 year anniversary (of dating, not marriage), Chris got me a little stuffed hippopotamus and told me nothing says I love you like a hippopotamus. I loved loved loved it. On Saturday, Chris surprised me with an early Valentines Day celebration that included a chauffeur-driven Bentley, a harbour-facing suite at the Penninsula Hotel that was larger than our entire apartment, an amazing set menu dinner at the Penn's famous Felix restaurant, and a little shopping trip where we discovered the joy of Lush being in Hong Kong (I am so in love with their soaps!). I loved loved loved it.

I got Chris a card and a little stuffed turtle. Lame compared to his gift to me be seemed to love it.

You see, love really comes in many forms!

Brought to you by the letters M and S

We often use "MS" in our home to refer to a company that I work closely with. As of Friday, however, it's going to get a lot more confusing. MS will also be a shortcut for Chris' new company!!

I was in Singapore on Friday and had just completed a couple of pretty successful meetings. I was feeling pretty good. And then, I see a text message on my phone.

It's from Chris.

With news that he'd just been offered an internship with Morgan Stanley!!! As a "stragetic communications and operations" intern, he'll be working 20 hours a week through spring semester and then full time during the summer. He'll be reporting to the executive director (one level above VP) of the team.

The first to get an internship in his class (a requirement of his MBA program) he's feeling pretty proud of himself. As he darn well should be. I'm pretty darn proud of him myself! Congratulations husband of mine!!

There and here

I've been horribly absent from the blog. But I was able to keep the promise to myself that I would avoid computers, laptops, the Internet - all things techy, aside from my new nano - during our holiday home to the US. And then, coming back to Hong Kong, well, you know how it goes. Besides, everyone in Portland who reads this blogs pretty much knows what we were up to. But enough excuses... here we go...

But we had a wonderful time back home. We saw friends and family; cooked a big Christmas dinner; holed ourselves up in the cabin at the mountain and watched the snow fall. It's true and a bit sad how much more you come appreciate your home when you're no longer there. At least for me.

We also hit a milestone when we were back home. There we were, celebrating our 6-month anniversary living in Hong Kong - in Portland, well, in Government Camp on Mt. Hood.

It made for an interesting place for reflection:

Everyone asks me: Is it better living in Hong Kong or Portland?

It's such a loaded question. The answer can so easily offend, hurt or puzzle.

Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the family and friends factor. It's a huge one. The fact that we have such amazing, loving friends and family is such a blessing but goddamn, it can make living abroad difficult.

So, putting aside the family and friends factor, I think it boils down to this; simplistic but offers something for everyone:

It depends on whether you value place or activity more.

Whats more important - where you are or what there is to do? Environment or activity? I would assume that for most people, the answer changes as one grows older or begins a family. I would bet that for most younger (or younger at heart) folks, it's about what there is to do. But as we age, where we are becomes so much more important.

One thing about being our age, we kind of fit into both camps and can find happiness - and hardship - with either. Depends on the day I guess. Portland we love for the place. We love the place even more being away. But Hong Kong! Living in Hong Kong, there is so much to do, to experience, your head kind of spins with it all. We talk so much about what we do here, let's focus a bit about Portland...

What I miss about Portland (and what I don't)

• I miss the wide open spaces. The green wide open spaces.
• I miss drinking from the tap.
• I miss driving. Alone. And singing out loud. Off key.
• I miss going shopping and being able to put all my purchases in the car and going back in for more. (I don't miss getting my purchases stolen in Old Town)
• I miss talk radio
• I miss the crisp, clean air. (I don't miss the rain, rain, rain)
• I miss going into stores, trying on clothes and having them fit without alteration
• I miss Old Spaghetti Factory, Old Country Kitchen (not Old Town)
• I miss being able to drive one hour to sit in an historic cabin in front of a wood stove and hearing nothing while watching the snow fall
• I miss having heat in the house, in the car, and in the office (I don't miss actually needing it 9 months out of the year)
• I miss the quiet.
• I miss walking down the street and not having some little old woman push me.
• I miss low humidity. and good hair days
• I miss the ease and normalcy of everyday living. I almost forgot what it's like to order at a restaurant and being absolutely sure of what I would get.
• I miss refillable soft drinks and happy hours.
• I miss egg nog lattes. But they don't serve them past January anyway
• I really really missing taking towels, sheets and clothes out of the dryer and having them be warm and soft
• I miss our loving parents (all 4 sets!), Lisa, Becky, Eleissa, Amber, Sarah, Whit, Cedar, Ty, Kristi, Michael, Scott, Dee, Cooper.... I could go on. I think I even miss the dentist. Ok, not really so much. He's a nice guy but I really don't like being in this chair.

I'm sure there's more but that probably is the bulk of it.

Mama, I'm Coming Home!!!!

It's 7:15 Friday night. Closing down my last day at the office before coming back home to Portland for the holidays. Yaaaahooooooo!!!!

But 22 degrees F? Yeowza - that is C-O-L-D!!!

Doing the happy dance anyway. See you guys soon!

Unapologetic and unpolitically-correct Christmas cheer

So I've read recently that the church has been saying that Christmas is being ruined by commericalism. If you vehemently agree, stop reading here.

I'm personally not religious (which I define differently from spiritual). But I love Christmas. simply because for me, it means getting together with friends and family; egg nog; lots of cooking and eating; bundling up against cold; that warm and cozy feeling of candlelight against the dark outside; and yes, the presents too. Christmas gives me another reason to celebrate with loved ones and be happy. But heck, I even like to celebrate half-birthdays.

I took a little bit of a walking tour around the city just to see how Hong Kong does Christmas. There's no guilt or apologies about it. They go all out. We're talking big light displays on the buildings (and they are BIG), "Sparkling Love" themes, purple trees... the works! And it's a ton of fun. Now if only there was a way they could do an outdoor ice rink...

A trip to the US Consulate - WTO edition

I was informed by an immigration agent over the weekend that I'd run out of pages in my passport. Hurrah! Funny that it makes me proud, eh? Well, funny until I realized that I'd need more passport pages before our trip home. So I frantically made an appointment with the US Consulate in Hong Kong and all morning dreading the trip for two reasons:

1) It's the week of WTO - office would be short staffed due to reallocation of resources to the conference and everyone would be rushing to the Consulate before the actual start of the conference on Tuesday.
2) ANY trip to the US government is a red-tape and process-ridden hassel.

And no, I wasn't afraid of any threats today.

Now back home with a passport with enough pages for a trip around the world, twice, I share my key takeaways:

• The day before the WTO is the best time to visit the Consulate. I pass the Consulate every time I venture into Central or to work and there's almost always a huge line out front. Today, the place was virtually empty. And not a protester in sight!
• Service is better in Asia - even government services. The post office, the DMV, DEQ, City Hall - you name it, any government office in the US is hardly known for it's quality of customer service. Not true here. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Even the Americans working there. How is it that simply moving these services to Asia improves service? Osmosis? Wonder if we could ship all postal and DMV employees to Asia for training before they're allowed to speak to customers.
• Many Asian countries require 6 months left on your passport for entry. A recent executive at my company found out the hard way - at the airport - and was not able to make a long-planned trip to Asia. When I was waiting for my extra pages, a very very distraught woman was at one of the windows pleading for them to expedite the renewal of her passport so she could make a holiday trip to Indonesia (one already paid for and non-refundable). While they were able to expedite the process, having it back by Friday was an unrealistic expecation as all Passports must be sent back to the US for processing. It's not going to be fun breaking the news to her husband tonight. Please make note, when booking travel to a foreign country, make sure you know what their immigration requirements are. Otherwise, it could be a very expensive mistake.
• There is always that one rude, ignorant American. And it wasn't me :) It was the woman with the trip to Indonesia on the line. She went from tearful to downright rude when she learned that it wasn't the American government blocking her way but the Indonesian government. "What?! I don't believe this. They're worried about ME?! They should be worried about themselves and worried about bringing American dollars into their country!! How stupid can they be?" Eeks. Embarrassing.

Now my new goal is to fill up every new page of my book of a passport before we come home to the States. It's good until 2013. :)

Fat nicknames

Just what is it with the nicknames around here? Fat boy, fat man, fat woman, fat girl... people throw out those nicknames (in Chinese, of course) without a second thought. And, the obese Chinese woman with the walker getting on my bus this morning as the exception, I swear everyone here is skinny skinny skinny.

I think the best example would be from a recent taxi ride I had.

It was early in the morning and I was in a cab on the way to some event. Guess it was the time when lots of cabbies come on duty because the radio was alive with activity. People were signing on and saying good morning to each other. It went something like this (not so loosely translated):

"Hey Fat Boy - good morning!"

"Morning Pork Rib!"

"Where's BBQ Pork Bun?"

"Hey, I'm here! Late night of mah jong last night."

Really. Can you imagine? "Pork Rib"??

Language lesson

I grew up speaking Cantonese with my family but living the US, our Chinese quickly turned to "Chin-glish" as we used the language less and less.

So now living in Hong Kong, I'm slowly polishing my Chinese. And I'm learning slang I never knew. Today's lesson:

"Ding" = microwave.

i.e: "Ding it." "Ding it? Why?" It
tastes better if you "ding" it."

But of course they say it in Chinese - except the "ding" part, which I guess is a universal word.

Why "ding"? Well, duh, that's the sound the microwave makes when it's done! It sounds like something I'd make up in a conversation with Chris anyway.

Yes, my colleagues have been teaching me bad words too but I can't write them here. Literally, I wouldn't know how to write it. But perhaps if you ask when I see you, I'll share.

Stress relief

Spending an average of 10 hours a day in front of a computer can wreak havoc on one's back. So my office is having a masseuse in twice a month. We have to share like good children so we each can get a 30-min express massage (shoulders and neck only, sitting in a chair) about once a month.

I had my first one today and it was lovely. I even fell asleep for a bit sitting up, although the 2am conference call last night might have had something to do with that. I'm now sitting here with shoulders much less tense. Maybe I can get her to do a house call for Chris!

Baby, it's cold outside!!

Anyone who's spent much time in Pottery Barn would know that song ;-)

Anyway, something happened Monday afternoon. I'm not sure what it was but there was definitely something. Monday afternoon, when I ran out to grab lunch, it felt cool but I was fine in a dress shirt and pashmina. But when I left the office that evening, it was COLD. And yesterday, it was even colder. This morning I could barely get out of bed because it was so warm under the blankets. It's the first time I've been cold since coming to Hong Kong.

So I looked online and it's only 11 degrees celsius. That's 51 degrees fahrenheit. It's in the 30s and 40s back home in Portland! I think I'm going to have to put on all the clothes in my suitcase before leaving the warmth of the PDX airport. In less than six months, I've become such a wimp...

New vice

One bad habit since moving to Hong Kong: covet thy neighbors art. Visiting some of the friends we've made here, we've seen some incredible paintings, statues, etc that they've collected during their stay in Asia. Coming from the land of Pottery Barn where real life oil paintings are sold only at 5-figure prices or more, I am constantly amazed at the incredible pieces I see every day in Hong Kong (and on our travels) for a fairly reasonable price. In fact, I think a habit is forming; one that I won't be able to afford when we eventually move back to the States.

Two recent purchases I'm SO excited about (and am already eyeing another one):

Pet torture

I did the unthinkable to my (male) cat. As I walk around Hong Kong, I am noticing that it's common practice to torture by dress-up. Most victims are little foo foo dogs like pugs, shi tzus and sausage dogs (we call them weiner dogs in the US). Much like this little pup who guards our local pet supply store:

Wolfie hated me for about an hour after but got to terrorize the little blue coat for the rest of the night, which he much enjoyed.

Thanksgiving in Hong Kong

It's officially the evening after Thanksgiving in Hong Kong and I'm happily eating a big bowl of stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy. Yesterday marked one of the best - top ten at least - Thanksgiving celebrations in memory, which given that it was not spent with family, is an amazing thing. I took the day off and hosted a big, traditional Thanksgiving dinner with our good friend Marian for a group of 20 friends, 70% of whom are not from the states. Being Irish, she'd never done Thanksgiving before so we went all out. She headed up the decorating committee with my help and I was the head chef with her help. And it was fabulous.















This is what I learned:

• You can rent practically anything in HK and have it delivered
• Only in Hong Kong are silk table cloths and runners disposable
• Chinese florists will think you're crazy if you ask for a cornucopia but if you're persistant, you can find one here
• If you send a non-American to buy Thanksgiving napkins and they don't see anything with a turkey on it, you get American flag napkins
• Arts and crafts can be a party game. Especially if combined with booze
• If Shelly asks if she can help and you say "make pilgrim hats," it sounds like you said "turkey hats," which end up being so much better
• Ridiculous hats are fantastic ice-breakers and name tags
• Not a single person we've befriended in HK take themselves very seriously - hence the success of ridiculous hats (which didn't come off until the end of the night - including after the cab ride home)
• Cooking for 20 with no oven requires a lot of teamwork and a little creativity
• Cooking thanksgiving for british and irish friends who have never had thanksgiving and don't have nostalgic memories of how "mom made it" is so much less pressure
• It's possible to use 4 pounds of butter and 3 quarts of cream for one meal
• Salt looks an awful lot like sugar...
• 8 bottles of Champagne for 20 people is not enough; 2 turkeys is too much
• You can never offer too many different kinds of pie
• Making gravy from chicken pan drippings isn't quite the same; but still very edible
• If you make 5 kinds of mashed potatoes, people will try every kind
• I don't like green bean casserole; never have; never will; but I will make it if you do
• If one more person mentions Monica Geller, I will swear off entertaining for an entire year
• Being able to pay someone to clean up after Thanksgiving dinner is the best part of living in HK

"It's tradition"

Now I'm happily sitting in my now clean flat with a bowl empty of leftovers reliving the fun from last night. My one anxiety is that there are now a bunch of water-cooler conversations going on in Hong Kong that go something like this:

"I am exhausted. I went to this great traditional Thanksgiving celebration last night. It was my first one."

"Thanksgiving huh? Isn't that just the American excuse to sit around and eat?"

"Yeah, there was a ton of food. But did you know they wear turkey hats, make paper turkeys to put on the wall, and watch reruns of old Superbowl games."

"They wear turkey hats?

"Yeah, it's tradition. Check out these pictures!"

You can check out the pictures too if you keep scrolling down and see why it was one of the best Thanksgivings ever.

On the menu last night:

• Two turkeys
• Ham
• Green bean casserole
• Brussel sprouts sauteed with bacon
• Steamed brussel sprouts and carrots
• Mushroom stuffing
• Sweet potatoes and acorn squash with cognac syrup
• Regular mashed potatoes
• Roasted garlic mashed potatoes
• Curry mashed potatoes
• Mashed potatoes with scallions
• Col Cannon (Irish mashed potatoes)
• Cranberry-Apple relish
• Gravy
• Bread sauce (some Irish or British kind of gravy)
• Ambrosia fruit salad (remember that cool whip/fruit/cocunut number that was so popular in the 80's?)
• Pears stewed in wine
• Pumpkin pie
• Blueberry pie
• Pecan pie
• Apple pie
• Mince meat pie

Photo recap:

The table Is Set:

Cornucopia Centerpiece

Your T-Day Hosts

Turkey Hats Made by Shelly

Mr. and Mrs. Turkey

Arts and Crafts: Making Contruction Paper "What I'm Thankful For" Turkeys

Wall of Turkey

Cheers!

Everyone Wore Their Turkey Hats All Night Long

And Lastly, for Moms and Dads: Your Children

Weekend in Macau with the girls

It's always risky going on a trip with girls you don't know (especially for you boys ;). But I'm glad I risked it. I spent this last weekend in Macau with our Irish neighbor and her really fun British friends. Those Brits sure do have a good time!











An hour's ferry ride Southwest of Hong Kong, Macau was a Portugese colony up until the territory was transfered back to China in 1999. As a result, it's an interesting mix of Chinese and Portugese cultures. This can be seen especially in the architecture and the food.










If you ever make it there to visit, I would highly recommend 1) the custom furniture that can be made for fairly cheap 2) Fernando's Restaurant 3) the Seradurra dessert that's available everywhere and 4) the executive floor at the Mandarin Oriental Resort where breakfast and drinks come included. And as you can see the pool was fabulous.










Macau is also kind of the Atlantic City of Asia. Not quite as nice as Vegas, although hotel/casinos like The Sands, Wynn and the Venetian are making their way over. Spa treatments, sunning by the pool (sorry for those of you in Portland and London; it's still in the mid-80s around here), gambling, drinking, dancing, and shopping. The people watching was especially interesting with the city gearing up for its Grand Prix this coming weekend. What more could you ask for in a quick weekend away? Marian, the neighbor that instigated this girls weekend, will definitely be among our lifelong set of friends - and provide a reason for us to visit England and Ireland.

Me and Marian at the Macau ruins:

Sleeping Beauty

I got on the crowded subway this morning and noticed through bodies and over heads that there seemed to be a row of open seats. I thought maybe they were broken. Upon closer inspection, I saw that the entire row was occupied by a single person - sleeping!

I thought it was hilarious but everyone else was throwing dirty looks. Part of me wondered if it was some sort of social experiment. No one asked him to move. Why is it that a shaved head plus tattoos seem to look so menacing but neither on their own do?

After the train emptied out a bit, I took a pic. Check it out.

October has wings

Wow, October seems to have just flown by and I've been so incredibly busy (read 16 hour days and a trip to Shanghai) at work, I haven't had much time. So now, a quick recap of the last month in Hong Kong...

Saigon
The pictures have been up for a while on our Shutterfly site so you probably have a good sense for what we did. We had only one full day and two half days, but got more out of our time there than a full week laying around the pool in Arizona. But then again, we're not experiencing much culture laying by a pool ;)

• We opted for the Cu Chi tunnel tour, which albeit a bit touristy, was amazingly eye opening. Seeing and going through the (enlarged) tunnels, I couldn't imagine spending one night in there, let alone 20 years. And during a war. It was easy to see why the Americans lost. The Vietcong seemed to have been an extremely resourceful and ingenious society.
• We went to see the homes where my mom and dad lived and where I was born. Of course much had changed over the decades but it was fun to imagine my grandfather hiring a cyclo (Vietnam's version of China's rickshaw), as he would do every night when I was a baby, to give me a ride around the neighborhood before I'd go to sleep. No ride, Stephy no sleep. So they tell me.
• I love shopping in foreign places, although it can always be a bit daunting. I'm not much of a bargainer, unlike my mom, who's a champ at it. But I managed to pick up some gifts, some things for myself, and we bought a lovely painting of a lovely Vietnamese girl.

• I learned that loyalty is a funny thing when you're born in one country, of another enthicity and have grown up as a citizen of yet another. As we were leaving Vietnam, the customs guy gave me a hard time for not speaking Vietnamese just because my passport says I was born there. "I know how to speak English but I don't like to because I'm Vietnamese," he said. I didn't know if I should feel guilty, outraged or just confused. Interesting moment. Now I'm married to a French/Irish guy with a Polish name. So I decided that I'm a woman of the world. So there.

Treads visits/Kahlin leaves
Had two US-based co-workers visiting. One for a month; one for just a few days but it was so great to have them both in the office. So much of the time I feel no one I work with really understands me or the adjustment I'm going through so it felt great to have some sympathy and understanding for a while. And we had some good times too. MELVIS ROCKS!!

Babies Galore
Two of my dear girlfriends back in Portland gave birth this month. I'm sad not to be able to meet little Charlie Howell and Kylie Wendover until Christmas time but sure enjoy all the pictures. Next up: baby Koetz, baby Kolberg and baby Alfrey. And then we probably start all over again. Chris and I have a couple of years to go yet before it'll be our turn.

Crammin' and Jammin'
Chris was working to the tilt for his first semester finals at the end of October. I think I might have seen him for 15 minutes that last week. I've never seen him so dedicated and commited - he mades me proud.

Another year older
One of the best things about celebrating your birthday when in a foreign country is all the REAL mail. I rarely make it to the mailbox in our apartment building because we only get bills once a month. So what a lovely suprise when I open our mailbox two days after my birthday only to find it packed full of birthday cards and gifts from family and friends. Remember back to summer camp when they passed out the mail and you'd get something from home? Some kids even got care packages. It's just like that :-) And sometimes, you're so happy, you can't help but cry just a little. So who cares if I'm another year older? I got cards from Scott, Dee, Cooper; Kristi adn Michael; Becky, Scott and Keaton; a gift and card from Mimi and Dad; and a big bouquet of fragrant cheer and card from MomK and Don. And what's so great is that I know more is on the way!

Halloween
Sadly this year, I was sick sick sick over my birthday and Halloween. But I managed to make it out to buy a costume and attend a Halloween party with some friends for an entire hour before sneaking out, going home and settling into bed with the bottle of liquid gold (aka Nyquil) I smuggled into Hong Kong from the US. What was I dressed as? Why, one of the three little pigs of course. Who wouldn't want the most ridiculous costume in Hong Kong? Sadly, Chris wasn't able to come out to celebrate as he was studying. Perhaps lucky for him, he wasn't caught in a piggy photo with the big bad wolf we'd met.

The Dispensery
Yesterday I went to see Dr. Vas-a-something-something-something for my cold and never-ending cough. Seriously. I've had this cough for a month. Since before we left for Vietnam. He assured me that I don't have bronchitis, pneumonia or bird flu. But he did give me drugs to clear up my sinuses. A whole truckload of drugs. Pills that will make me sleepy; pills that will make me jumpy; one that I drink; a spray that I snort and a powder I inhale. WHAT THE HELL? He tells me that in the US, they put several drugs into one little pill but here in Hong Kong, it's all individual. Ok. But wow, I feel like an addict. How will I ever remember what to take and when.
I wonder if Hong Kongers are who in the US and get prescriptions think they're not getting enough medicine? And are they thrown for a loop when they're directed to the pharmacy at an entirely different location instead of the dispensery that's inside the doctor's office? They gave me the drugs right in his office.

Eating our way through Saigon

Only now getting a chance to write up a quick note about our trip to Saigon. I'll post more later but I have to talk about the food. It was a key reason for going to Vietnam in the first place. Vietnamese food is probably my favorite kind because of of the bold, fresh and spicy flavors without being overbearing or heavy. I love Thai but sometimes it can be too heavy for me. Never Vietnamese - or at least the stuff I like to eat.

Most of you are probably most familiar with Pho, the Vietnamese beef noodle soup so popular in the Pacfic Northwest right now. But there's so much more. My favorite is the Vietnamese beef fondue where you cook thinnly sliced beef in a vinegar soup concoction boiling away in a pot shared by the table. Then you wrap it with noodles, fresh veggies and herbs in rice paper and dip into a sweet/sour/spicy sauce before eat. YUM.

There's a ton of different things they wrap with veggies and herbs in rice paper and I think I love them all. Then there's the vast variety of noodle soups. Bun Bo Hue - a spicy beef noodle soup is a current fave. The common thing that makes it all so good: the huge quantities of fresh herbs from basil to mint to ones you can't find in the US.

Of course, there's the more adventurous dishes, which we didn't dare try. The tour guide we hired to take us to the Cu Chi Tunnels (more on that later) told us that during war, there was no food so the Vietnamese learned to eat anything and everything that moved - and every part of it. Not everyone in Vietnam eats everything but everything is offered to everyone.

For those of you who think food is boring, I leave you with this picture (click on it to make it bigger). It's a menu board from a restaurant we went to. More food pictures in the photo album. Other Vietnam pictures to come later.

Lantau Island - Big Buddha and Tai O

Last Sunday, while poor Chris was studying hard, I ventured out to Lantau Island (one of the many islands surrounding Hong Kong) with Shelly, Troy and Shelly's dad. It was a scorcher of a day.

We decided to treat ourselves to the first class section of the ferry. For about 2 whole dollars more, you get to sit on hard chairs at long tables on the top floor of the ferry. The cool part was that you could see more being upstairs and there was a small deck to walk out on.








The whole trip was maybe 30 - 40 mins I'd guess. Once docked, we walked out and found the bus that would take us to the Big Buddha. And when I say big, I mean big. The seated Buddha is 26.4 meters high, was cast in China and took 10 years to complete. Weighing 220 tons, it was unveiled in 1993 amid deep religious ceremonies. At its base is the Po Lin Monastery.









The bus took us through lush hills and tiny towns. At the base of Buddha, we stopped for a quick lunch of noodles. There were other options but the noodles looked the safest ;-)














Fortified with food and water, we started the hot climb up the steep stairs to the big guy. You can walk inside the Buddha for souvenirs and to read about its history. The sheer size is amazing.









After some looking around and phototaking, as they say here in Hong Kong, we headed back down the stairs. I particularly enjoyed the breathtaking views of the surrounding hillside on our way down. Perhaps a reason is that going down is so much easier than going up!









Next up, a quick look see at the Monastery. Monks and tourists mingled. Unlike Thailand, there was no dress code. However, meat and alcohol are restricted on the grounds. Good think we didn't bring any with us. The price to see the Buddha included snacks at the Monastery. So we stopped for some cold, sweet tofu dessert and a few little dumplings of various kinds. I ordered a bit of everything and Shelly, Troy and Shelly's dad seemed to like most of it ok. They got even thought the tofu was ok after a few bites ;)









After our snack, we took a taxi to Tai O, a neighborhood of stilt houses along the water. We hired a boat for less than $3 US each and ventured out to see if we could spot the famed Chinese pink dolphins. We were skeptical at first but after 10 mins at sea, lo and behold, there they were. We coudn't get very close and phototaking was tough but we certainly saw pink dolphins. It was great to be in the water and if you click on the picture below and look really close, you'll see the fin of the dolphin and that it's powder-pink.









Heading back towards shore, the boat took us through the canals of the stilt house neighborhood. Similar to our experience in Thailand, I was amazed at how these people live. These houses are built on tall stilts so that when the tide comes up, they remain above the water line. They depend on what they can fish from the waters, both eating and selling their catch.









After a tour from the water, we got off the boat and went to walk through the neighborhood. It was incredibly hot but it was really interesting to tour the markets where people sell the dried seafood they've caught and then walk along the stilt houses and seeing people in their homes. It must be incredibly strange having strangers walking along and looking into your home but we were told that they encourage the tourists because it brings money in.














Exhausted from the heat and long day, we took the ferry back to Hong Kong Island. This was a great experience. I hope to take Chris back soon. But there are a ton of other islands to explore as well. And today, we're off to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) Vietnam.

The rest of the pictures of Lantau Islanda are our online photo album in the same order as what I describe above.

Celebrating National Day

In 1949, the First Plenum of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was held in Beijing. It elected a Central People's Government Council, with Mao Zedong as Chairman, and appointed Zhou Enlai Premier of the Government Administration Council and concurrently Minister of Foreign Affairs. On October 1, 1949, a grand ceremony inaugurating the People's Republic of China was witnessed by 300,000 people in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

On October 1, 2005, Chris and I, along with Shelly, Troy, Shelly's Dad and Kahlin (a co-worker working with me in Hong Kong for a month) celebrated in our own way. We all met for dinner at El Cid in Kowloon for tapas and wine. Our waitress spoke a bit of spanish and the entertainment did as well.









After yummy tapas, we stopped for gelato for dessert. Amazingly the gelato tasted exactly like the flavor it was supposed to be. Kahlin got pistatio and it wasn't the typical pistatio ice cream. It tasted like you were eating nuts and was even a bit savory. Very good. Chris got chocolate and I got half cherry and half almond. I expected the fake almond flavor but again, it tasted like eating the actual nut. Yummy.









With gelato in hand, we wound our way down to the Kowloon waterfront to watch the National Day fireworks. Or so we thought.

We made it down to Nathan Street only to find that half of Hong Kong's population decided to do the same(shocking). The Chinese love their fireworks. The streets were packed. So we found a decent vantage point in the middle of Nathan Rd to watch the stuff go boom.









What a riot. When the fireworks started, the "WAH!!" and "OHHH!!" coming from the throngs on the street were almost as loud. At a couple of points, fireworks in the shape of an "8" (the symbol for prosperity) appeared and again the crowd cheered. It wasn't as fun as watching the 4th of July fireworks back in the US spead out on a blanket in a field or from a boat on the water but I'm glad we didn't miss this for first National Day. Watching the crowds proved to be just as much fun as the fireworks themselves. Next year, we'll probably watch from someone's house on the Hong Kong side though.









After the fireworks were over, we hit a nearby pub to wait for the subway to clear out. More pictures from our night of fun in our shutterfly album.

Morton's

To officially celebrate Chris' birthday, we went to Morton's Steakhouse in the Sheraton Hotel. At our window table overlooking Victoria Harbor, we had a gluttonous meal of meat. One of the things Chris misses most about home is the ability to buy a big juicy steak from Costco, coming home, firing up the BBQ and enjoying dinner out in the backyard. Here in Hong Kong, not only do we not have a backyard or a BBQ, we have a hard time finding really good cuts of steak for less than the price of one arm and one leg. So when MommaK asked me to take him out to a nice dinner for his birthday on her, I knew that it had to be steak. Second only to a backyard BBQ, Morton's of Chicago in Hong Kong delivers a mighty fine steak (Ruth Chris is good too but Mortons comes with a nice view).

A shared appetizers of oysters, a bone-in rib eye for Chris, a filet mignon for me, a side of sauteed mushrooms, a side of asparagus, a slice of key lime pie and cheesecake later, we were stuffed and ready to head home. Of course, we couldn't leave without a doggy, or, er, kitty bag: most of the dessert for us to nibble on later and a treat for the kids.

Mr. and Mrs. Saigon

We just booked a weekend getaway to Saigon, Vietnam in a couple of weeks. Ho Chi Minh City if you prefer. But I don't. It's incredible that we can head off to Vietnam for the weekend. It's amazing, a one or two hour flight and you can find yourself in another world - or another country at least. I love love love Vietnamese food. It's probably my favorite kind, along with Thai and good Sushi. Not sure what we'll do there yet besides eat. Maybe a trip out to the Mekong Delta and the Cu Chi tunnels. Total tourist attractions but figure we can't go all that way and not check it out.

I'm hoping to find more time to spend in Hanoi. Saigon can be done in a couple of days but we'll want at least 4 or 5 for Hanoi. Perhaps during Chinese New Year.

Happy Birthday!

Today is my Chrissy's birthday. He's 25 - again ;-) I guess if I can be 24 he can certainly be 25. For his birthday today, he gets to go to class and then attend a bunch of meetings. hurrah! Good thing we have some fun things planned for the weekend. One is celebrating National Day with dinner and watching the big fireworks display with Shelly, Troy and Kahlin, who's here for the next month. The other - not telling just yet but MomK's involved!

Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a Chinese celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating back over 3,000 years to China's Zhou Dynasty. We celebrated it here in Hong Kong last week, although I'm just now getting a chance to post about it.

The Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually around mid- or late-September in the calendar we use), a date that parallels the Autumn Equinox of the solar calendar. At this time, the moon is at its fullest and brightest.

Traditionally, on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomeloes together. Brightly lit lanterns are often carried around by children.






This year, Mid-Autumn Festival landed on a Sunday and to celebrate, we headed to Shek-O beach with Shelly and Troy. It took us an hour to get there – first by MTR and then bus. The bus took us over the hill and through the lush green trees and as we came down the other side, the beach and ocean came into view. It was beautiful.

We walked through the little Shek-O village where outdoor kitchens were ablaze with food cooking and family homes were beginning to fill. We were taken aback by the "kitchens" but it smelled amazing. Similar to our Thanksgiving, families gather together to eat large meals as a part of the celebration of the abundance of the summer harvest. Like Thanksgiving, it’s a great excuse to lay out a feast and eat and eat and eat!

Through the village and up over the hill, we came to the rocky shore. It was just getting dark and waves were crashing along the big boulders. To our left, we could see a small group gathered around a campfire. The campfire along the rocks and the crashing waves reminded me a lot of our Oregon beaches. A few pictures and bug bites later, we headed back to the village for dinner.

At Little Black Sheep we shared a couple of fantastic pizzas and a salad. It was the best pizza we’d had so far in Hong Kong. It was a cool little place with funky decorations. During dinner, it began to rain hard and we were worried about our plans for the beach. But soon enough, the rain stopped and we headed down to the beach where families and teenagers were BBQing or gathered around candles placed in little pits dug into the sand.

We laid down our blanket and our dessert and wine and watched the activities. Kids were carrying their lanterns; adults were talking about the size of the moon and how it meant that it would be a prosperous year; teenagers were playing spin the bottle/truth or dare around a little fire (I guess some things cross cultural lines just fine ;)

It was amazing to sit on the beach and watch everyone celebrating in their own way. Mid-Autumn Festival is a beautiful holiday.


More pictures are in our online photo album.