Christmas in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has been such a wonderful place to spend Christmas with my sweet husband. Of course there were a few tense times as we first learned how to navigate the metro system and had to drag our luggage to our hotel. My first problem was to figure out that the metro entry doors open up differently than the one in GZ.  The metro in Hong Kong has a turn stile that you need to push through. I was locked out twice and had to go to customer service along with a few hundred Chinese people with problems while Rick waited for me inside the gate. I almost started crying but a kind Chinese agent walked me through the gate so that I could meet up with Rick again. I guess they don't like crying Westerners on the Metro!!!

This is a picture of Rick in GZ before we left for Hong Kong. We went to Redtory which is an artsy place in GZ to have lunch and walk around. Definitely on our visit again list. 

We spent the night in Shenzhen on our way to Hong Kong because we wanted to see the city. We stopped in for ice cream at a McDonalds that was part of a Walmart. This is what Walmart looks like in China just before Christmas. Not a line that I want to wait in!

A selfie with the Hong Kong skyline. 

This is Hong Kong from the peak. We had an amazing tram ride up with a group of student caroling for us while we waited in a long, long line. 

Rick and I were able to go to the Hong Kong temple the next morning. It was a beautiful clear day and the temperatures were in the 70's. We had a wonderful experience there and were able to do a session in Thai with a room full of Thailanders that were in Hong Kong to attend the temple for the week. It is currently the closest temple to Thailand which is over 1,000 miles away!

The following day we took a bus and went to to Stanley on the south end of Hong Kong island. The Andersons told us about the restaurants in that area that serve fish and chips. There is nothing like some delicious fish and chips for a Christmas dinner. Maybe a new tradition for us!

It was raining when we got to Stanley but the weather soon cleared and we were able to find lots of great bargains at the markets all around the area.  Notice all of the Christmas decorations;  it was quite a festive place to spend Christmas Day!

We spent the evening walking the mid-level escalator where we found a shop with some luscious dark chocolate gelato. We judge all gelato by their chocolate and this one was a good 8. Rick says that it wasn't Italy, but it was close. 

This large sign was by the escalators on the wall. Proof that Christianity is alive and well in Hong Kong. Quite sad that we would not find a sign like this in America. 

We are on our way back to GZ this morning. Hong Kong has a fast train that goes straight to GZ and will take under two hours. Our next trip is next Friday so we need to get back home to wash our clothes and to get ready for Singapore. Our next post will be all about Singapore and our two week cruise!

Thanksgiving and Beyond

Time has really been flying by here in China. Thanksgiving was three weeks ago and Christmas is this week!  First I want to catch up on our Thanksgiving celebration here in GZ. Seven of us took a guided bike tour around the city for a five hour ride.

The weather was just a touch cool so we dressed with light jackets and long pants. We had a fabulous tour and were able to learn all kinds of little tidbits about the city. There are other tours available that we would like to take another time.

The tour ended along the Pearl River and then to the new town area.  We had lots of fun and got a little exercise to boot.  We spent that evening at the Allen's home where we ate a delicious turkey dinner with about 30 people.  

Rick and I celebrated our 35th anniversary eating dinner with a group of our friends at Element Fresh.  It is one of our favorite western style restaurants here in GZ. 

We finished teaching our classes on Friday. This past week our classes were about our American culture and the Christmas celebration. We really had a wonderful time with music, stories and games about our traditions back home. It really made us homesick!  

Our final classes were full of emotion as we told our students goodbye and sent them on their way.  We received all kinds of gifts, hugs and kisses from the students. It will be really hard to beat the experiences that we shared with our students this semester. 

You can see that we wear coats to class!  We are in south China where it is supposed to be warm so our classrooms are not heated. The temperatures are in the 50's and low 60's with high humidity so concrete buildings really are cold!

These are all Ph.D. Students that we teach so some of them are married and they range in age from about 23 to 37 or so. Wonderful students and such a great experience!

This coming week we are heading to Shenzhen for one night and then into Hong Kong where we will spend Christmas. We are so excited to be able to go to the temple in Hong Kong and to spend a wonderful Christmas.  Hong Kong will be our next post!