Home Sweet Home!

I had the chance of helping out a friend, who is American, with watching his house and dogs for a week. I could cook whatever I wanted and have a bigger bed to sleep in. Something about being able to walk into a house and have a sense of home was an amazing feeling! Granted, the commute from school to the apartment was about forty minutes by MTR and bus but hey that's life sometimes. The greatest part about the commute though was that is was less than two American dollars. Everyday I was greeted by two chocolate labs, Sophie and Camille. Walking the dogs here in Hong Kong is much different than that at home. At home you can just open the back door and let them run outside and they can do their business. Here, however, you have to make sure they are on a leash and bring a bottle of water to rinse the cement and a bag or newspaper to pick up the "extras." The majority of people here dislike dogs and often will look at you with a mean face, make rude comments, or completely walk the opposite way when they see you coming. There is really no area for the dogs to enjoy the grass or play in a park. Everything that is available is located on the sidewalk or on the pavement.

I had the brilliant idea to bake fresh, homemade sugar cookies one evening. I spent a lot of time making this cookies and enjoyed every minute of it. I organized them nicely on the platter to cool and made sure to put them at the back of the counter where the dogs wouldn't even be able to see them. Now I must mention this little bit of information... the whole time I was baking and even eating a few of the warm cookies the dogs never even cam into the kitchen and when they did they ignored the cookies. I went to bed and woke the next morning to bag the cookies to bring to church and friends. I saw the plates exactly where they were left, not moved. However, all of the cookies were gone and not even a crumb was left. I began to question if I had bagged them up before I went to bed and just forgot that I did that so I began to search for the cookies. Shortly after I began my search here come the two sweet, innocent dogs around the corner with crumbs on their cute, little faces. Needless to say I was a bit upset at them but all I could do was laugh! The dang cookie monsters ate ALL three dozen of my sugar cookies!!! I guess the good part about it wast that they were not chocolate chip.

I began painting this week in my art class with the ink. It is much more difficult than Western style painting sue to the fact that the "paint" used is ink and the different shades are produced by adding water to your brush. The brushes are made of different types of animal hair. The holding of the brush is a lot different with the hand being more stiff and up right. When you apply the ink to the thin rice paper you have to control the pressure of the hair against the paper so that the ink does not "bleed." It took me several trial strokes with the brush before I learned how to control the ink. The first several weeks we are concentrating on the flowers. The professor is very patient with the three of us foreigners and has to set us aside so she can work with us in English.

Since this past May, I have decided to exercise and find interest in playing sports due to my clearance from the cardiologist in April. I was running about once to twice a week or every other week during the summer. For the past three weeks I have been running every other day, and I am up to three miles straight without stopping or slowing the pace. I have taken an interest in soccer due to the fact that I enjoy watching it and that all my friends play it here. The thrill of playing for two straight hours running and up the field is amazing to me! I mean, I haven't been able to do this stuff for over twelve years and now all of a sudden I have this energy and a heart that beats completely different! So I tried playing soccer twice with my normal tennis shoes and something just did not feel right. I went on a shopping trip to find a pair of soccer shoes. Little did I know that this trip would turn into a five hour search for a size twelve pair of shoes! I literally went to two different areas to find this size and over fifteen different footwear stores. The biggest size that everyone had was a nine and a half or a ten. Some of the workers would say, "you can still wear this size and the shoe will stretch.." Ok, I do not know if you heard me or not but I wear a size TWELVE to a THIRTEEN!!! Finally after searching and asking I gave up on even looking at the style of shoe I just wanted the size that would fit me. Then there it was, the store of all stores... It was like a dream come true and so professional. Everyone working there had a walkie-talkie and would radio the style of shoe and size to a person who would then get them and drop them from a whole just big enough for a shoe box to drop from the ceiling. It was like a candy shop for a big footed kid! I began to search the store and I went ahead and looked at the styles before I even asked what the biggest size was. There on the shelf sat a black pair of Nike soccer shoes with a red and metallic silver check on the side. I slowly walked up to the counter and asked what the biggest size was. As the worker was typing in the style number into the computer I became nervous... two minutes passed without a word from this guy. Then all of  a sudden he turns around and holds his hands up to the drop box form the ceiling... the intensity set in. Would this be my last stop for shoes or would I have to continue the long search? A box fell from above and the guy, in his best English, said, "Sir here is your size TWELVE pair of shoes." All I really heard was TWELVE in that statement and I ripped the box out of his hand and put them on so fast that I was up and walking in them in the store in less than a minute! THEY FIT!!!

The week was winding down and I wanted to cook a good southern meal for a few of my German and American friends. I thought of the perfect meal that I have been craving for and decided to prepare fried chicken, cream style corn, rolls, homemade mashed potatoes and homemade gravy. It was like perfection! The buttery goodness in everything was like heaven in my mouth! The grease and juices from the chicken was like water quenching the thirst of a marathon runner. The girls kept asking how I knew how to cook so well and if I could come to Germany to cook for them. Turner and Carla ate about three plates each and just could not stop eating the amazing food! Ok, I must admit I ate two big portions as well. The meal was such a great way to just sit back and relax like a small family around one table and just eat, laugh, and share stories about home. After about an hour at the table, Turner began to play the piano and we sang songs. The evening was truly a highlight of the first couple of weeks here in Hong Kong!

And They're Off!!!

I have successfully completed on full week of classes here at HKBU and love every minute of it. I am a fortunate student with me classes ending at 11:00 am on Thursdays as were many students still have classes on Friday afternoon. I am enrolled in four courses which range from Cantonese, Literature and Film, Chinese Art Studio, and Understanding Society in Hong Kong and Mainland China. In case you were wondering all of my professors speak English! It is a little strange how classes are done here. You have the usual reports and projects but there are really no quizzes or multiple tests throughout the semester. Mainly the final is your examination and sometimes a mid-term is used. The grade focuses on a large percentage of participation and involvement in discussion. I think that my art class is my favorite so far. Int he class we are learning how to paint the often seen art works of the landscapes, bamboo, flowers, and fish that are on rice paper and scrolls. The art uses ink instead of paint and the brushes are a bit different.

My art class is not only the most interesting, it is also the most interesting to get to! It is on another campus on the other side of Hong Kong. I have to take the MTR and leave at 7:30 am on Wednesdays to get to the class. It was my first time to go to this class and none of my friends were taking the class or a class that was on that campus on Wednesday. Needless to say, the trip was eventful and after sweating and making my clothes drenched due to the humidity outside I finally made it at 8:40 am when class started at 8:30 am. There are no signs directing you to the campus nor was there anyone on the streets that knew what or where I was talking about. I think maybe they did know and they just did not want to help the lost white boy out... So I called my friend Cassy, who had a class there early in the week, and told her where I was. Yes of course! I was on the other side of town and had walked all that way thinking I was going in the right direction. So I turned around and walked the other direction and made it to a landmark, a temple. I took the road up a hill and was told to watch for a wall made out of tin and directly after there will be three steps. I found the three steps and what seemed to be a trail. Let me just say that I felt this "trail" was a trick and that there would be someone on it that would rob and more than likely murder me! Sketchy to say the least... I took a deep breath in and walked up the three steps and began on the short trail that was made of broken glass and brick. There was a random stepping stone with an ear painted on it, weird I know. After the trail there was a guard booth that was on a real, steep road. That was the road to the campus. As I made my trek up the hill I was amazed at the architecture of the two buildings and the landscape that the buildings sat on. The history of the builds and land is absolutely remarkable. The campus used to be the British air force mess hall and recreation area along with a few offices. It faced the old airport and there are tunnels underground that lead to the old airport. Of course, the openings are now sealed off and some of the original things are missing. It is really neat that I get to have a class where much of Hong Kong's history took place. Hong Kong was once a British colony and in 1997 they became their own and will possibly one day be back under the Republic of China. If you were wondering, I did make it to class and the history lesson of the day absolutely made my week!

Not only are the classes starting, but the title of this post is also about the HORSE RACES!!! Since this used to be a British colony the famous sport is still around. Every Wednesday night during the fall semester the races occur. Me and a group of friends went to watch since it is only about $1 USD to enter. The atmosphere was absolutely incredible and there were so many people... Mostly there were white people and I said to myself "where in the heck did all these white folks come from?" The night was going great and the enjoyment of watching the races were amazing. When it came to the seventh race of the night I felt a little persuaded to go ahead and "donate" $10 HKD on the number seven horse. As seven is my lucky number I felt it appropriate. After much yelling and making my voice go hoarse, the number seven horse passed all of the others at the last minute and WON!!! So basically my donation towards that horse paid for my dinner and the trip there for the night. I was a happy person to say the least. 

Thought It Was A Good Idea In The Beginning...

I wanted to go hiking through Hong Kong so I began to search Google and came across a website that had routes and trails with maps and GPS coordinates for Hong Kong. A guy by the name of Michael, who is from Australia, has lived here in Hong Kong for seven years and loves to hike. He put the website together for hikers and those interested in hiking around Hong Kong. I found a trail that would lead to the world's largest sitting Buddha and thought that it would be a great trip to bring a few of my exchange friends on. I emailed Michael to ask a few questions about the trail and he offered to go along with us so he could update the trail on his website. How awesome to have someone who is an experienced hiker in Hong Kong to join us!!!

We traveled by the MTR to meet him. On our way there on the MTR, an Asian man asked Toby where he was from and he said Germany. (Note: the majority of my friends that I do things with are from Germany and were with us.) The man began to shout and shake his fist saying, "I hate Germany, I hate Germany and all Germans!" He asked the others where they were from and some said Sweden just so that he would not go off on them. The man continued to rant by saying, "All of you are Nazis and I hate you all!" Needless to say while this was going on I was getting closer and closer to the emergency exit to bust out if needed. I am not a dumb American; I know a nut job when I see one!

When we finally met Michael, we took a bus to Lantau Island for this "hike." Michael told us that the one we were going on was roughly 10 kilometers. I thought to myself that 10K was nothing.... yeah ok I did not realize how steep some of these peaks were! We started out with fourteen brave souls on our trek. It was not too hot but it was very humid. As the trek continued and we were closer to the higher peaks the winds were picking up so it made it cooler for us. I brought three liters of water to drink and was done with that about three quarters of the way.

The scenery was absolutely beautiful and to be apart of that made the trip so much more enjoyable. Poor Michael, he was used to making this trek in two and a half hours and it took us four and a half. I know he was probably bored out of his mind but he was very patient with us. At times I was wondering why I was doing this to my body due to the strain and stress it was doing on my legs and heart. I kept telling myself that if I finished it would be such an accomplishment for me! I never was able to go to Philmont due to my heart so I was thinking to myself that this is what it must be like!

As we got closer and closer to the Buddha in our view it was only to find that we had much more land to travel. All of us were very encouraging to each other and I did a lot of praying for myself that I could just make it to the next peak! It was nice to have those quiet moments on the trail; time to clear my mind of things that have been bothering me and time to talk to God about what I have been discerning about lately. I continued to see God's beauty throughout the day as we continued on the trail. When I would become weak or think that I could not make it I would continue to speak to God and ask for strength and guidance on the trail. Overall, the experience of the Holy Spirit and the landscape was mind blowing and I would have not traded it for anything!

One of my good friends, Bennedikt, stayed close to me the entire trek and we were able to talk a lot and was able to bond more. I guess you could say that we were encouraging each other. When we had mastered our last peak, the Big Buddha as only about 1 kilometer away. Benni offered for him and I to take a taxi for the rest of the way since we were now on the road. I seriously considered the idea but I told him that if I gave up on this that I would be upset in the end. He agreed and kindly kept trekking up the last kilometer with me. As we reached our destination all we could think about was food. We immediately looked for food due to all of us being extremely hungry. Michael decided to share a little bit of information with us... the trail that we had been on for the past four and a half hours was a level four... a level five is the most difficult! Sure, now you tell us; thanks Michael. Out of the fourteen people that started the trek only nine of us survived the entire trip! It was such an accomplishment. As we searched for a place to eat at the Big Buddha we found Subway. I screamed very loudly and everyone looked at em like I was nuts but I was super excited to have a fresh sandwich with lots of veggies on it.

As we made our way to the Big Buddha after we ate we saw.... more stairs to climb to get to the top. Umm, excuse me dude but we just trekked a long way up and down mountains to see you and now you want us to climb more stairs to touch you?!? Aren't you asking a little much of us Mr. Buddha? I sucked it up and began to climb and climb and climb my nice rounded American body up to the top. My legs were shaking by this time. It was such an accomplishment and a rewarding afternoon to know that I made it all the way and did not give up!

One our way back to the university we took the cable car that gave an amazing view of some of the landscape of the islands. It was a nice relaxing ending to such a long day. Michael was a great help and sport to stick with us the entire time on the trail. The most amazing part of the entire trek was getting away from all the sounds and fast pace of the city and to enjoy the clean air and environment that God made for all of us to enjoy!