Holidays in Hong Kong

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!!!

The holidays here haven't been too different from what they are back home, the only major difference is that I got to celebrate mine 12 hours earlier than most of you! Haha! The first Christmas away from home was a little difficult, and much money was spent on phone calls back home. It was hard not spending it with my family, but I had a surrogate family of other expatriate friends to spend it with. My friend Greg threw a little get-together at his apartment in Wong Tai Sin where we spent the evening talking, singing, and nibbling on whatever Western Christmas delights we could get our hands on. I was very impressed that Greg managed to bake cookies in his tiny toaster oven! In a tribute to almost every childhood Christmas experience, I listened to Nat King Cole's renditions of Christmas carols for a week. I even managed to find 4-foot tall trees in Central, but these trees were priced at about 5 times the US price, and it would have taken me an hour to get it back to my apartment. Not worth it, but maybe for next year.

New Years Eve was spent in Mongkok with my former roommate Terence and a group of local friends. Again, we spent the night eating, playing games, and attempting to teach me some more Cantonese, which didn't work out, to the amusement of everyone. For this holiday, as it seems for every holiday here, there were fireworks in Victoria Harbour. This year was different because instead of being shot off from a barge, the IFC Tower became one giant firecracker! (Look for videos one YouTube, its quite spectacular) My favorite part of the evening had to be when they showed the Dick Clark-esque countdown with Chinese celebrities, and the post-fireworks song was not Auld Lange Syne, as we all expect, but instead, "Happy Together" Apparently Hong Kong can see itself loving nobody but me for all it's life ;)

These past few days, all that I've managed to do is sleep in and just generally "veg out". Boy does it feel good! I've 2 more weeks until the semester starts, so I plan on catching up on a lot of sleep and relaxation. I'm also going to do some travelling and hopefully get into some adventures so I have something to write about. My knitting has been getting interested, but I know that few of you, aside from my mother, want to read about that on the internet ;) So far the most exciting thing her is getting locked out of my room, yet again, and getting that point across to security. There is also a cat on campus that likes to follow me around because I pet/feed him, but I can't bring him inside. I would love to, because you can tell that he used to be someone's pet, but the hostel association frowns on pets, which I think is lame. Maybe I could get a fish or something...

So anyway, I wish everyone a safe, happy, and healthy New Year!!! 2008 is going to be a wonderful year, I can feel it!

October!

Wow! These past 2 months have gone by so fast for me. I thought that I had updated more recently, until I got a few "hints" that people are desiring more info from me. (I get it Jen, OK?!) It's been crazy here, and I've got a lot to share with you lovely people.

First of all, my older sister Emily got married in October, so I flew back for the event. I'm so happy to have a new sibling in my family! Now two of my older siblings are married, so I guess it'll be my turn soon...;) I loved being home and seeing all of my family that came from far and wide, some of which I haven't seen in years! My grandparents Darkow and my Uncle Bill were staying at my mom's place, so out little house was fairly packed with people and puppies! It was also wonderful to snuggle up with my dogs once again- sometimes I go through puppy-withdrawl here, but I'm working on convincing the hostel association to let me have a dog, wish me luck! From my Dad's side, there was my Auntie Ninou, my grandma Memee, my cousin Chris, and my Titi Jo. We all managed to sit down for dinner the night before the wedding and I got a few great candid pictures. (I can be quite sneaky with a camera when I have to be) While I sitting there at dinner, I realized how much I love all of my family, and how nice it is for us to all get together after so much time and distance. These people are really wonderful! In this picture, there is my older brother Greg, the Marine, his wife Heather, and my auntie Ninou. I still remember going to her house as a kid and I thought that she was the coolest person ever because she had a SuperNintendo and a dog! That was pretty exciting for a 6 year old. Emily, Greg, and I spent a lot of time at her place before we moved to Baltimore. This dinner was a lot of fun because we all just got to sit and giggle for awhile. I really treasure moments like these. The next day was the big event itself...

Emily's wedding was quite lovely- I've never seen my sister happier or looking more beautiful. She had her wedding, and the reception, at the Cloisters, the same place where Will Smith got married. It's a restored cloister that was shipped over from France and rebuilt in Baltimore. It's really quite darling, though I thought that the two statues of armor were a little much, but that doesn't matter. My cousin Hannah was a bridesmaid, I was the maid-of-honor, while Chris's two god-daughters were junior bridesmaids, Shelby and Madison. Those girls are incredibly sweet and well-behaved, and they looked so darling. Emily wore a stunning off-white princess gown, with the rest of us in midnight navy. My mother and grandmother made the veil, which has become a bit of a tradition in our family. Well, I guess that you can see the rest of the details from the pictures. My brother Greg wore his dress uniform to walk my sister down the aisle, and he looked mighty impressive. I've posted all of my wedding photos online for you, but I've put one of my favorites here. This was actually taken by my cousin Chris, and I love it because we all look so happy together, even if we all look a little goofy. The ceremony was small and intimate; I think about 100 guests. The reception was slightly larger, but just as intimate. The caterer, whoever it was, was delicious. I didn't manage to get some wedding cake, but it looked tasty! Emmy and Chris had their first dance to "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaacs , and I cried like a baby when I gave my toast. My cousin David got the garter, while the best man Stan caught the bouquet for one of the junior bridesmaids, who wanted nothing more than to catch it. I thought that was a really sweet gesture on his part. This is pretty much the quickest explanation of wedding ever, but what is important is not the details of it, but how happy my sister and her new husband are. Even though the trip was long, I'm glad I flew the 18 hours for it. One of my favorite nights ever!

The next day, less than 24 hours after the wedding, I had fly back to Hong Kong. Some of us have jobs, you know......That was not a fun trip, I was tired, emotional, and hungry. Not to mention that American flight attendents are quite nasty! The next couple of days were pretty rough, jet-lag wise. I didn't really get over it in my short time home, and I felt like my soul was in Chicago, and my aura was somewhere over the Pacific. It took about a week of waking up at 5am and going to bed at 8pm to get over it. Yet again, it was totally worth it. October was also about getting to really know my students and feeling comfortable with them. They are really a great group of kids, even if some of the girls talk a bit too much in class. I helped them prepare for a inter-class debate, which we one. I was so proud of them and I felt like such a mother-hen. From grading their journals and watching them in class, I can see them grow academically and as people. They don't seem to be as shy around me as before, which makes working with them much easier. October was also the month that I threw an "American" party for my hostel. That mostly consisted of playing charades and making some good homecooking for a huge group of students. They went through the food in about 10 minutes flat! It was a great compliment, and thanks to my mom for supplying the recipies. October went by fairly fast, and it seems like November is going to be the same way!