Tuesday, June 30 – Dolphin watching!

We were up at 4am, and on a jeepney by 4:45 to get to the dolphin watching pier by 5:15. Every year I’ve gone I’ve never seen a dolphin, so this year we were really hoping to see a few. We headed out on a banca boat and actually saw dolphins!!! They would swim right next to our boat, like they were playing with us! It was so fun! However, this was when the huge disappointment hit me… my camera stopped working! Yes, my nice Canon Rebel that takes amazing pictures, that I carry everywhere! Oi… what do you do when you are in another country, in the middle of the jungle, when your camera breaks? Nothing. So this is where my pictures stop... I will hopefully soon get some pictures from a friend, but until then... sorry.

We then stopped off at Pamilacan Island to rent snorkels. We snorkeled around in the water, spending a lot of time just playing around, jumping off the boat. I made sure I could still back flip and back dive off the boat.

On our way back home, we stopped at a knife shop. This shop is on the main road, on the circumferance of the island. At the shop we turn onto the barrio road, to get to our house. Today we stopped, which is typically a long process, now longer with 30 people on the team. People pick out beautiful, ornamental knives to give away as souveniers and then bargin for the price. A few ladies and I decide to take a walk, heading back to the house. Through the hills we travel, hoping to not make it very far, is it's VERY hilly and hot. We stopped to talk to a woman who knew great English... as we left, we heard the bus coming.

We arrived home at 11:30... it was weird, as we felt like we had a full day of activity, because we had woken up at 4. The day was fun, but not over. We left around 3 for Tambangan Elementary which was close to our house, to do our usual VBS type day. It was a fun, full day.

That evening, I had an amazing opportunity to have a close conversation with one of the girls on the trip. We talked a long time, and prayed a lot. I love those opportunities to just love on the girls, who have been hurt a lot. Jesus is so tender in these times, I love it.

Hong Kong Day 3 - Kowloon and The Peak

Today was my last full day in Hong Kong. I had to get to all the places that I wanted to see today... there weren't many, as there isn't too much to do or see in Hong Kong. The first night I was here, I had ridden the ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island, but it was in the dark. I wanted to get some good pictures of Hong Kong Island sky scrapers and the ferries, in the day light. So I headed back to Kowloon via Starr Ferry. I walked around for a few hours, taking pictures, then headed back to Hong Kong Island. I was able to catch an open air double decker bus that went directly to The Peak Tram. I boarded the tram and rode at a 45-degree angle up to The Peak. Views there were remarkable. It was fun to walk around just enjoying the view. There was a wax museum inside The Peak, but I'm not such of fan of those... though I did benefit from walking near it, as they had Micheal Jackson standing there. It was a popular picture place! After I felt I had exhausted the place taking pictures, I had a few hours until sunset. I wanted to get pictures here of of the sunset as well, but didn't want to just sit for a few hours. My camera battery was close to dying though, so I decided to go back to the house I was staying since it was on The Peak as well. I was told that The Peak is within walking distance of the house so I took off on a walking trail I assumed led me near the house. Maybe it wasn't the wisest decision on my part as I felt very lost a few times, knowing I could walk back up the hill to The Peak to catch a bus down to the house. The walking trail came out on the road in which the house was located, phew! However, from that point it was a GOOD long walk to the house. I got my exercise that's for sure! I came back to the house, to charge my camera battery and rest.

When charging was done, I decided to go back up to The Peak and eat dinner up there. They had a lot of restaurants that looked interesting. I caught a bus outside the house that took me back up The Peak and I decided on a restaurant that overlooked the backside of Hong Kong Island and the harbor. It was fancy yet not too expensive. I then searched for the perfect place to wait until sunset. People were starting to gather on top of a building and I assumed from the angle, it would be a good one. I joined them and waited and waited. The sunset was beautiful, changing the buildings and water to a soft pink, it was so amazing it looked fake. Everything glowed. It was a fun night, just watching the changes of the city scape. Satisfied with the pictures, I joined the hundreds of other people waiting for the tram to head back down The Peak.

It was a fun day, but I was getting excited for my adventure in the morning. I'm going back to China! I spent the evening packing a light backpack for my adventure and looking online for things to do in Guangzhou, including directions to the 1 Starbucks - gotta get my mug!

Monday, June 29 - Sagabayan & Chocolate Hills

Monday, June 29 - Sagabayan Elementary

Today we traveled to Sagabayan Elementary, about a two hour drive. It was so hot and humid, unlike the cooler, cloudy days we’ve been experiencing. Granted, it was cooler and cloudy for the Philippines, not typical of this time of year. Today was typical Philippines: hot, humid, and sticky! As we went inside the school dorm, to start crafts, it started POURING! Thunder and lightening accompanied soon after. It’s amazing how in the Pacific Northwest, we say, “That’s Washington weather!” when it’s sunny, yet raining. It’s also typical here, in the Philippines, to have bright, sunny, hot days and looking up to the sky, see a black cloud rolling in. Soon, monsoon rain and thunder follow. We didn’t see a black cloud this day, but we were glad to have finished the outside games prior to this monsoon hitting. During the student lunch, we were given fresh mangoes and a rice snack with ginger and cardamom spices. This school is one that I typically take a lot of pictures. They LOVE to have their picture taken, and then want to see it on our cameras. It’s so funny, we always feel like photographers.

As we left, we continued on to the Chocolate Hills, one of the Bohol tourist destinations. We were excited as last year there was a new tourist “trap”. You could walk to the edge of the hill and a photographer would take your picture jumping in the air and print it off… for $3. It looked like you were jumping over a bunch of Chocolate Hills (green grass covered hills that look like Hershey kisses). We were excited for another opportunity to take the pictures. We climbed the 214 steps to the top of the hill and were met with a chained link fence. You could no longer use natural scenery to take a picture, but had to use a fake background that consisted of two canvases taped together. We were SO disappointed!

Sunday, June 28 - BDA Beach Day

This Sunday morning started off as any other day. I got up early to spend some quiet time with Jesus, as He put it on my heart to pray for the Deaf that morning. I was going to be preaching a basic message of salvation, at the same time tying it together with my testimony. My heart was burdened for them, wanting them to understand who Jesus is in my life. At 7, our team gathered and worshiped, this time in the moat room, where our voices echoed. My heart continued to be burdened for them this day and I couldn't help but cry as I pleaded with the Lord to soften and prepare their hearts for the message.


Emisan led worship prior to me preaching. I preached about Jesus' life and why he came to Earth, how my life was prior to Jesus and how drastically different it is now. It took a lot longer than that, but you get the point. It was great! The Lord was definitely speaking as I was preaching, giving me examples and scripture. At the end I asked for an alter call, asking them to think about which life they wanted to live: similar to mine prior to knowing Jesus, one focused on shame, anger, shyness, fear and depression or a life that I have now knowing Jesus, one focused on Him, joy, courage, love, and serving. Three hands went up... I felt a tug to go deeper, to explain further, so I did. One student, Jessa, had tears running down her face. Ten minutes later, I asked again who wanted to give their lives to Christ. At least fifteen hands went up - including Jessa's! I fought hard not to lose it, I was SO overwhelmed by the Lord's presence and the work He did in those kids, giving them the courage to make the decision and raise their hands, knowing there could be persecution. THANK YOU JESUS! Josh came up and gave directions about cleaning up and packing for the beach as I interpreted. As the kids were dismissed, I then lost it. I was so overjoyed and overwhelmed.


We took all the students to a public beach. This was the first time we've done this, rather than going to a resort, but it saved a lot of money. We rented 6 little huts, that had benches and long tables down the center, for people to chat, store their things, and later eat lunch. I went out in the ocean to play. Upon coming back to apply sunscreen, Zach grabbed me and asked me to interpret for him. He had been talking to Reymart, and thought he was ready to accept Christ. I asked him a few questions and discussed with him what it meant, and he was ready to go. Zach led him to the Lord, while I interpreted. Reymart beamed!!! The rest of the day, he followed Zach around with a huge smile on his face!

Walking out to the beach I saw Jessa. I asked her if her and I could talk. I asked why she had been crying. She said she had a lot of sin in her life. She wanted to accept Christ but not yet, not until she graduated (2 years later). This is common with students who know they will suffer emotional embarrassment and academic persecution from teachers and/or emotional and physical persecution from parents. If they wait and accept Christ when they graduate, they are on their own and know they can make decisions for themselves. While I didn't want to pressure her, she also shared with me issues that were not related to persecution. I told her that Jesus can take away her pain, her loneliness, her anger and all her sin. Jesus can protect her heart and can give her courage to face the persecution. She cried. We talked a long time as she cried and I held her. I cried too. She then was ready. We prayed and I thanked Jesus for a new sister in Christ. Jessa is HIS!

We joined the lunch crew... looking out at the ocean, I very much enjoyed a Garden Cafe catered lunch of rice, pancit, fried chicken, and curry. Yum!

After lunch I enjoyed the water and the beach a little more with friends. Claris walked up to me and asked if we could pray. We sat down and she instantly started bawling, loudly! I held her for a long time while she cried, but I had no idea why. I had to chuckle inside, as she was crying so loudly. My fear of people watching crept up but I had to think like Claris... she couldn't hear herself crying so loudly, so I had to do the same. When she looked up, still crying, she told me why she was so upset. Her parents had divorced because her dad beat her mom (you never hear of divorce in the Philippines, but abuse is very common). Her mom moved to Manila to work. She is living with her grandparents, when she is not at the dorms, with her younger brother. They are very old and had to work again to pay for her schooling ($8 and a pound of rice a month)and living expenses. Her brother was very mean to her, emotionally and physically, as was her father, long ago. She is not allowed to see him anymore because he has two girl friends. She felt all of this was her fault. She felt shame, anger, hurt, and unforgiveness. I prayed. She hadn't yet accepted Christ, but wanted to. We prayed together and she too became a sister in the Lord. AMEN!!!! What a day! But wait there is more!

When we were done praying, we both walked out to the beach and Joshua and I gathered all hearing and Deaf together. We had a few people that wanted to be baptized. No, not a few, 12! Those 12 lined up as Mart, the Deaf pastor, explained what baptism meant. It wasn't just a ritual that you do in the Catholic church, but it's a public announcement that you have made the decision to walk with Jesus. The 12 agreed, and one by one, walked out into the ocean to meet Mart and agree to be baptized. Among those were Rosaly, who accepted Christ 2 years ago, and her sister, Girly, who accepted Christ that morning. What a joyous day!

Afterwards, I played in the ocean with Rosaly, Girly, and Emisan. Emisan sat on my shoulders and we played chicken with others doing the same. It was so fun but hard work. We chatted out there in the ocean. Then I realize that as I was acting younger than my age, I must have pulled a muscle in my back, cause it SURE hurt! It was extremely sore that night, but it only lasted a few days. Our friends left the beach as we changed out of our swimsuits and into short, on the bus. We've never had to do that before, but the public beach isn't as nice as those resorts. We headed off to town to load up on supplies for the schools. We met at Gary (Debbie's husband) and Kristie (Lindie's sister and a good friend of mine, my roommate) at ICM, the mall outside of town. I was SUPER excited to be in the Philippines with Kristie once again! She was here my first year in 2002 and came again with me in 2003, but hasn't been back with the team since. I was so excited to spend a lot of time with her!

Heading back to the barrio, we stopped at Along and Endai's house for dinner... yes, all 30 of us & yes, they were expecting us! We ate wonderful pork adobo, sprite pork, sweet Filipino spaghetti, fruit salad, vegetable and vinegar salad, and sweet rolls. It was SO good, I had to have seconds! I think pork adobo is becoming my second favorite to pancit. I have a recipe, I need to make it!

What a splendid weekend! I shared all that happened with Kristie, as we drifted off to sleep... thank you Jesus for open hearts and your Word to sink powerfully into their hearts!

Saturday, June 27 - BDA Retreat!

A full day with BDA students - So excited!


As I was outside, at 5am for my quiet time, I heard the basketball bouncing on the court. Thankful that I stay in the main house, away from the noise I was curious at what time that started. Our team had our normal Bible study in the morning and then headed down to the camp with BDA. Leoni again led worship and one of our students, Natalie, led the session.


Our day activities started:

*Scavenger Hunt - We had 6 different colored teams and 6 places for those teams to find. At each place they were supposed to complete the necessary activity (climb a coconut tree, team pyramid, rock pass with spoons, 3 basketball shots, entire team crab walk, and ball pass with feet) in order to receive a part of the weekend verse. The first team to complete the verse successfully wins.
*Romans and Christians - All Deaf Filipinos where the Christians. All the Americans were the Romans. The Romans chased the Christians and if a Roman caught a Christian, they would put them in jail. In order to be freed from jail, the Christian would have to complete an activity like 10 jumping jacks or make 3 shots at the hoop. There were three locations around our complex that each Christian had to get to. They were safe zones, but they also couldn't get into the final safe house until they had been to the 3 safe zones. It's just a more complicated form of "tag".
*Water balloon toss - Each pair of people got one water balloon and tossed the balloon back and forth, taking a step back each time they received the balloon.
*Craft time - Half the group went to make friendship bracelets and the other half made tie-dye t-shirts. When they were done, they switched.

After lunch was siesta or free time. I had been preparing for my teaching time the following morning when I was summoned by some Deaf girls who wanted to talk to me outside. I went out and Emisan, Rosaly, and Antonia were all there. They had gotten off early from their fly-tying job and came up to the Sunrise House, to join in the weekend fun. I was so excited to see them and talk with them! I had seen Emisan at Bible study Wednesday, but I hadn't yet seen Rosaly, since she was at her own Bible study that night. We sat and chatted and caught up quickly.

Pool time is always fun. With almost 100 people walking around and more than half of those in the small pool, I tend to sit out. I sat with Emisan and Rosaly and we decided to paint our toenails. Emisan had painted each toe a different color and decided that I needed the same, so she painted my toes for me. They she put my hair up in bobby pins all around my head, so that my hair was off my neck. It was nice to not worry about my hair, but I'm sure it looked funny.

After dinner we performed our dramas for the Deaf. I took my time in between all the dramas to explain in depth what each one meant and hopefully relate it to them. The message for all our dramas is "Jesus is the answer." All the dramas point to having problems and issues in our life in which we struggle. Jesus is the only way to fully get rid of those problems. We just need to give our heart to Him and trust only Him.

After our drama presentation, we had a talent show. Normally this is an American show as the Deaf tend to be shy and not want to perform. But this year we had many Deaf participating in dances (with no music) and dramas. What a fun day! No snake episodes tonight either!

Friday, June 26 - Silent Retreat, Tambangan & BDA Weekend!

One of my favorite days of the year!

Our day started as normal: wake-up at 5 and have quiet time until 6:15, shower and eat breakfast, and start our group Bible study at 7 - student led. At 8 we started Silent Retreat day. This is where we have 4 hours of alone time with Jesus where we can pray, read, or worship. I headed back to my bedroom, which is nicely air conditioned, and I had a very purposeful time with the Lord. At 10, I met up with Lindie, Josh's wife, and Debbie (Angie's mom) to drive down to Loay to pick up supplies for lunch. With 30 people on the team, food runs out fast. We bought supplies for spaghetti. Filipinos LOVE spaghetti. They add sweet and condensed milk to it though, to make it sweet and creamy. It's REALLY good, but we make it with just the spaghetti sauce. My body needing protein, I went on a hunt for some meat. Behind the stores in Loay there was an open air market selling fruit and vegetables. I thought there must be meat there somewhere. I found it, but it surely wasn't fresh. It was laying on bloodstained, wooden tables out in the open. The people standing near it were waving sticks, with yarn on the end, over the meat, to keep the flies off it. I decided I didn't need meat in the spaghetti that much!

The three of us head back and successfully made spaghetti for 30 people. The team then prepared the camp for the Deaf campers that were coming that night. We made animal balloons for each bunk and signs for the buildings, welcoming them. We then planned out what we were going to be doing for the weekend. Amy Grimm really took charge here with Angie Snyder. It was great. Everything was organized and planned out by the time we left for Tambangan Elementary.

Tambangan was great. We headed back to finish preparing for the campers, who arrived 15 minutes after we did. We ran outside to greet them and were so excited to see them. Last year there was a lot of opposition from a Catholic teacher and only about 40 students came. This year, Dennis Drake, the founder of IDEA, made it mandatory that all students come to our camp. Yeah, such favor! All 65 students were there and started playing court games like basketball and volleyball. Dinner was supposed to be at 6, so at 6 I went down, and Marita (the cook) was in a frenzy. Her help did not show up and now she and one friend were alone, cooking for 100 people. It looked like they had just started. Lindie and I jumped in slicing huge pieces of pork with dull knives. An hour later we were done, and dinner was being served. Pork with vegetables and pancit... a wonderful meal, I ate a lot of it! I LOVE pancit! Eating though, I realized my hands still smelled like raw pork. I had washed my hands a lot, but the smell stayed until the next morning. It was gross.

That night after dinner, we meet for session. Leoni, a teacher at BDA and a good friend, lead worship. Peter, a father of two children on the trip, lead the session with me interpreting. As all the Deaf students went off to prepare for bed, our team met in the camp kitchen to talk and pray. Joshua and I talked about the spiritual warfare that is always present on these weekends and specifically surrounding these students. We prayed... as we prayed, we heard a continuous ruckous from the boys' dorm. Thinking they were just fooling around, playing, we continued to pray. I knew there were teachers down there that would take care of things. As we finished praying, I headed down there to say good night to the students and the ruckous was continuing from the boys dorm. These dorms have 50 sets of bunkbeds, each dorm (one for boys, one for girls) sleeping 100. Right away I was confronted by a bunch of girls saying there was a snake in the boys' dorm - that's what all the ruckous was about. Yikes! The girls told me they caught it, so assuming it was safe, I walked into the boys' dorm. They had the snake pinned to the ground with a stick, right behind it's head so it couldn't strike and it's body was covered with a black, plastic garbage bag. One of the teachers, Keats, and Chris, an American caught the snake.
The American who caught it was volunteering with IDEA for 10 weeks. His organization funds a lot of IDEA and they had sent him over to interact for 10 weeks. Prior to catching the snake though, one of the IDEA workers had been scratched by the fangs, not bitten. So Chris took the snake up to the house, holding behind its head and further down the body. We showed one of the care takers of the house the snake, who backed away from it, while Keats told him that it was safe, Chris had it paralyzed. It was poisonous. The IDEA worker who had been scraped, needed to go to the hospital, as snakes like this could release a venom that could kill in 30 minutes. Just to be on the safe side, they went off to the hospital. Prior to leaving though, they knew they couldn't enter a hospital with a live snake, nor did Chris want to continue to carry it alive. Keats found large wire cutters in the garage and proceeded to cut the snake in half, to kill it. The next day Keats showed me pictures and the video they took. The snake was about a golf ball size around but over 7 feet long. Gross!

It was a great night overall, but I was also looking forward to the next day with the students.

Thursday, June 25 - Barrio Walk and Triple Union

When we don't visit a Deaf school, we typically visit a hearing school within the barrio (neighborhood) in the afternoon. Therefore our morning was free. We all took off with water and pockets full of candy. Our goal? Walk around the barrio, meet people and give the kids candy. The first house was just at the bottom of the hill of the driveway. Primo, our night security guard, and his family live there. We have loved his children JellyMae and Mark Anthony at their schools and when we see them around. His wife just had their fourth child, Jefferson, just a month ago. She was still recovering from her emergency C-section, which is a big deal in the Philippines. Primo's oldest child, though, is who steals our heart every year. His name is James. He has cerebral palsy. He is confined to his bed all day. His bed is made up of two wooden benches pushed together to make a "crib". No mattress, no pillow. We held his hands, moved his arms, and sang to him. He smiled!!! What I would give to see an occupational therapist with James! It's these times when I think of how rich us Americans are, we have so much, and know so much, and we take it for granted everyday.

Continuing on our walk we spent time with the preschool kids and teacher. Amanda (senior in Bothell) and I continued our walk to go to Tessy's house. She has been a long time friend in the barrio. She was married as soon as she quit school, at 14 years old and had her first baby when she was 15. She has two babies now.

The afternoon we visited a barrio school called Triple Union. In the past this school has been very difficult as there are many of them and few of us. Their behavior is often disrespectful and pushy. This time I was amazed that it ran so much more smooth. Granted we have 30 people on our team, rather than 20, so our numbers increased. I think what really helped though, was warning our team, and encouraging them to be proactive with organization. It really paid off, especially when we were handing out the gift bags. Typically they push and shove and grab at the bags, this time we organized it so that when they left the school, they could get one - so much better! If you double click on this picture, and zoom into this boy's eyes, you can see me taking a picture of him - in his eyes!!!!

Wednesday, June 24 - Jagna

I too love Jagna Elementary! This school is fun because a long time friend, Frances, who graduated from BDA (Bohol Deaf Academy) years ago works in the Garden Cafe near the school. This cafe, like the other two on the island, is ran by IDEA and the Deaf. Frances is a waitress and I look forward to seeing her every year.

This school was another long drive - 2 hours, but as always, worth the trip. We did our normal routine but performed the dramas for the entire school. At the end of our visit, we ate lunch at the Garden Cafe and then said good bye to Frances. We headed home for a brief while, and then headed out after dinner. We were going to BDA to visit the Deaf! Every Wednesday night, my friend Mart (the Deaf pastor) and another friend Emisan lead a Bible study at the school. I was so excited to see Emisan as her and I became pretty close last year.

We arrived early and as the BDA students went off to eat dinner, our team followed Dennis Drake, the founder of IDEA, to a newly built building. IDEA has a few vocational businesses, like the Garden Cafe, that hires the Deaf as they graduate high school. The idea is that they will be trained in a vocation and eventually be able to go out in society with a highly trained skill. This building was built to house the expanding fly-tying business. This business has 22 workers that make very intricate flies for fly fishing. The flies are sold on the Internet through a Montana shop.

We had Bible study that night. Emisan led worship and preached, as I voice interpreted for the American team. I love Deaf worship! As usual, it was very hard to pry the team away, even a half an hour after we were supposed to leave. We just want to talk and talk with them! There hearts are so open and they are so genuine in receiving and giving love. Oh how I've missed them! On our bus ride back to the house, the American team was SO loud! They were telling each other stories of the Deaf they had met and how they communicated with them. It warmed my heart that they were excited to be with them.

Tuesday, June 23rd - Talibon

Talibon Elementary is one of my favorite Deaf schools operated by IDEA (International Deaf Education Association) because one of the girls I sponsor, Joselle, attends school here. Last year she was 5 years old and attending school for the first time. She had only been in school a month, but had been without language her entire life. She couldn't tell me her name, her age or her grade. She didn't smile until we were leaving and she had a lollipop in hand. This year it was completely different. Right away I saw she was smiling with other kids. I went directly to her and asked her name. She told me, and told me her age and grade, smiling at the attention the entire time. I told her I was her sponsor and she beamed. She stayed close by the rest of the day.

Here's the run down of a typical schedule at the schools:
*Meet and introduce the team
*Games: Outdoor - dodge ball, kickball, tug-o-war, random field games; Indoor if raining - Fruit basket, Elephant game, 1-2-3-4 Game
*Crafts: paper airplanes, bead necklaces, tie-dye bandannas (I'm in charge of passing out supplies and rotating the groups to go out side for tie-dye)
*Dramas: David and Goliath, King of Hearts, Everything, Three
*Testimony and Prayer
*Saying goodbye: animal balloons and gift bag

Since this school was so far away, we didn't arrive until late, which means we ate lunch in between activities. The kids eat their typical mound of rice and one golf ball sized piece of meat, while we scrounged for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

At the end of our visit I pulled Joselle aside and gave her a gift. It wasn't much to me, but she pulled each item out of the bag and showed it to her friend like it was a secret treasure - so cute! It's such a blessing to support Joselle, but to actually meet her, play with her and see her academic, social, and spiritual progress. I love her smile!

Hong Kong Day 2 - Typhoon Wins

Saturday, July 11

So now I know what Typhoon level 1 means: there is a typhoon 800km off the coast of Hong Kong - be prepared. I woke up this morning to a lot of wind. Forgetting about the warnings I saw the previous night, I continued my plans. I hopped on a bus to downtown and transferred to another to head out to Stanley Market. This was a favorite place of my mother's and mine and I was excited to see how it had built up and changed. A lot was different, including the Starbucks as you enter the Stanley Plaza, also new. I walked along the waterfront admiring that it actually had a nice walkway, worthy of calling it a waterfront. It had nice restaurants (all non-Asian) and shops facing the water... then you turn into the market. That's when it becomes a Chinese market, covered in rice bag tarp and bamboo sticks. I walked through, and that's when the start of the typhoon really hit. It was raining hard, and sideways. You had to go far into a "store" to be safe from the rain. After walking around for a while I thought, "I can't leave here without buying anything!" I thought I had gone through the entire market, and was heading back to a shop where I saw some great bowls, when I found a different jewelry shop. Well, different for this market I guess. It wasn't jade or pearl, it kind of reminded me of those silver jewelry shops in the malls and the store Fireworks. It was fun! I found some different things in there, but still went and bought the bowls too. Prior to leaving my favorite shop though, I asked them where to eat. I wanted something authentic, like Asian, noodles or dim sum. They directed me to a tea house, which I had remembered reading about. Their entire menu was dum sum and noodles. I was SO excited! I ordered sweet pork humbow, crab and pork dumplings, and banana fritters in caramel sauce. I would technically call it gorging - it was the BEST dim sum I've ever eaten - SO good!!!

I was walking out to the waterfront to take a foot picture when the typhoon wind and rain started again. I ran for cover but it didn't let up. I wound back to the front of the market, and took a lame foot picture with the market in the background prior to loading the bus back to town. The entire way back to down town it rained. I was planning on going to The Peak in the afternoon to go on a hike, and then see the night skyline which is supposed to be great when it's clear. Obviously it wasn't clear so I decided to change plans. I headed for SoHo which has the Guinness World Record for the longest covered escalator. It's supposed to have a lot of neat restaurants and variety of shops along the way that you could visit. I saw the restaurants (again, all non-Asian), but I was still recovering from my glutenous dim sum. I didn't see any fun stores, so I took the escalator the full 16 blocks up the Peak, looking at the sights of Hong Kong life as I went. Then looking down, I realized it is not an escalator but stairs, and those stairs are not covered. So much for thinking of an alternate dry activity, I got soaking wet!

Coming out of the SoHo escalators I was done for the day. That made me wet and exhausted. I made my way to Central to catch the bus, but ended up in IFC mall to use the bathroom. I thought it was ironic that I've been in three typhoons in my life and all three times, including today, I went to a mall... as did everyone else on this Saturday. It was busy! That's when I saw the sign, it was now a level 3 status typhoon. This just means it's an active typhoon and people need to use precautions when driving and such. That convinced me enough to head home. As I arrived home, the pain in my feet became increasingly more aware. I now have a blister on each foot. I guess I have walked far for two days, but I am wearing my chacos, which are my staple of a shoe during the summer. Oh well, still gotta live right? Well, I didn't get to The Peak tonight, but weather is supposed to be better tomorrow. Tonight I'm letting the typhoon win and taking a rest from the city. Last day of Hong Kong is tomorrow, the Peak will happen typhoon or no typhoon.

Hong Kong Day 1 - Kowloon

Friday, July 10

Wow, today was SO exciting! I started off my day sleeping in a little... until 6:30, I know it's not much, but I've been getting up at 4:45-5 every morning in the Philippines. I got ready for my day and asked Lilet, the Shulls' helper, where to go to catch the bus downtown. I packed up and headed off for my first adventure. I have to admit it was a little intimidating and I was nervous about catching the bus and finding my way downtown on Hong Kong Island. The Shulls had given me a list of popular things to do in Hong Kong, as well as an Octopus card. I had heard of these before, but had never heard of one being used or seen one. It's a little ATM-size card that you can use for any public transportation and merchandise at select stores: 7-Eleven, Starbucks, McDonald's, etc. I looked at the card and there wasn't a swipe bar or bar code, so I wasn't sure on how to use it. When I got on my first bus, just below the house, I verified that it was going to the place that I wanted. Then I sat down. The driver took off, but then I noticed the sign by the Octopus machine that said you need to pay when you get on. Oops! I waited until the next stop, watched how another man used his Octopus card (laying it on top of a sensor) and I did the same.

I arrived at the location that I wanted, anticipating seeing a bunch of signs for the trolley. I needed to go east into the Wan Chai district. I was currently downtown, Central, Hong Kong Island where there were A LOT of people weaving this way and that on the side walk. I backed myself up to a wall and brought out my map. I have a great sense of direction and am very successful with maps... but I had no idea where I was, I couldn't find street signs anywhere. I walked around the corner and saw some double decker trolleys, but the name on them didn't match the name I was told, nor the name on the map route. I looked around and saw two security guards for a bank watching me. I approached them and asked what to do. He pointed to a double decker trolley and told me to get on that one fast. I complied and off I went. Through the streets I was able to find some street signs and follow where I was going on the map, so I knew where to get off. When I got off the trolley, I walked the direction I needed to go in order to find the Chinese Embassy. One goal during my time here was to try to get into Guangzhou, China, where my family lived 20 years ago.

One thing about Hong Kong, is that often times they have built buildings side by side for blocks at a time or they have major roads, inaccessible to pedestrians. So if you want to get to the other side, you have to walk for blocks to get around it, or find a "footbridge". I found this out the hard way, as I'm standing on the street wanting to cross, but realizing I couldn't get further than that, because there are buildings there. I look up and see people walking on this "footbridge" and it goes for a while. I decide to try it. It was SO convenient! It went for 4 blocks, directly where I wanted to go, yet there was no traffic to stop for or roads to cross.

I found the Chinese Embassy, praying I could some how get an expedited visa to China for Monday... knowing it was Friday and the weekend was soon. I filled out the paperwork, got my picture taken and waited. The woman at the counter took my info and told me to pick up my visa Monday at 10. YIPEE I was going to China! So excited, I left to go to Kowloon to buy a camera, as my nice camera broke my first week in the Philippines. On my way back to the trolley, I saw a Chinese travel agency so I decided to stop in. I realized, now that I will have a visa to China, I have no idea how to get there. I asked a woman at the agency and she booked a round trip ticket on their "high-speed" train for noon on Monday. I also booked one night at the Garden Hotel, the same hotel that my family lived in for 2 years. I was SUPER excited at this point, it's working out!!!! With all this excitement, I realized I was starving. I walked by a Starbucks and popped my head in. They were serving mango chicken wraps that looked great. I also tried to order my usual coffee, white mocha americano, but I don't think Hong Kong uses white mocha. The HK airport three weeks ago didn't have it either. I sat down in the AC a while and texted my mom the exciting news. I had to tell someone!

Off I went with Starbucks in hand, to the MTR (subway) station nearby. My next destination was across the harbor in the Mon Tok district to buy a camera and go to the "Ladies Market." I found my way in the subway station, used my Octopus card to get through and I was good to go. By this time, I was feeling a lot more confident about traveling around... I had already used 3 different forms of transportation that day. I walked down the street where they have good buys on electronic equipment. I wanted to buy a Canon, so I looked for a Canon store, yet I was unsuccessful. I came to the end of the street where there was an air-conditioned mall. I stepped inside and used my phone to google "Cannon stores in Mon Tok". I wasn't confident that I would find anything, but there was a site in which someone else had asked that same question on "Yahoo Answers" or something, and someone else had responded. I then had a list of places to try out. You've gotta love internet on your phone! I walked back down the street, looking for these places. A few of them were pretty small and only had a few cameras. I went to Broadway, an electronic department store, and ended up buying a camera there. Success!

With new camera in hand, I went a street over to walk the "Ladies Market" which sold everything fake you could possibly want. It had all the regular trinkets, "copy watches," "copy handbags," t-shirts, Chinese souvenirs, and just a lot of junk. People inside their areas would come out when I passed by and said, "Copy watches, copy handbags, many colors, many sizes." I would just smile. I don't wear a watch and didn't want the purses they were selling. They were the very expensive brands like, Coach.... and others that I don't know. I walked once down the market and thought, "I have to buy something here!" I made my way back down the market, since I had to go that way anyway and found a very nice leather bound journal for $10. One market owner saw me looking at some handbags, as one had caught my eye, and said that she had many more in a showroom "1-minute away." Many people had said this, but I decided, against my better judgement to follow her. We went behind the market and took a right into a dirty, dark stairwell leading up to the 2nd floor. I kept thinking about episodes of Alias, where Sydney (the main character) is walking up a similar stairwell and is jumped by a bunch of Chinese and held hostage. I PRAYED! We arrived in the showroom, saw that they didn't have what I wanted and I left. I think I was out of that building before the woman had locked up the door. I just wanted out of there. Dad, I will not do that again!

Upon leaving the "Ladies Market" I was parched. I stopped at the nearest 7-Eleven (they are everywhere) and bought a water (I had already drank one Nalgene and not needed to go to the bathroom) and my favorite Chinese drink - Lychee juice!!! I was so excited, it was one that I had never tried. It was a lychee pop... or so I thought. I cracked it open and took a long drink. I love lychee! It was sweet, but the after taste was weird. I instantly burped and thought it tasted like a beer burp.... what?! I looked at the can, nothing on it insinuated it was a beer. I looked at the ingredients and in the middle it said, 'barley hops' and who manufactures it? A Guangzhou brewery! It was a lychee beer!!!! And I was drinking it on the sidewalk like it was pop. I instantly threw it in the garbage. 1 - I don't like beer. 2 - Last thing I need is to get a buzz from "lychee juice" and become more dehydrated. 3 - Isn't that illegal to drink on the street? Anyways, I stopped at the next 7-Eleven and bought a REAL lychee juice. This one was a boxed drink for kids, so I knew it was safe.

I headed a few blocks south to the Jade market. You could find anything Jade that you wanted. I laughed a few times as the women would block my path in order to force me to look at their merchandise. They did have some great, cheap things there.

Still moving south, I found a local market selling meat, vegetables and fruit. This market was more typical Chinese as I found pig head, pig feet, pig heart, cow brain, and fish head. Dinner was not appetizing, through this market.

The main street running North and South in Kowloon is Nathan Road. It has a lot of shopping, people and traffic, perfect for Hong Kong. I was getting hungry so I tried to find a typical Chinese restaurant, yet one that was safe to eat. I found a Shanghai restaurant that was a story below the street. It was actually pretty nice. I ordered pork dumplings (dim sum) and a Chinese noodle soup with chicken. I was most thankful to be sitting for an extended period of time in the air-conditioned room... I didn't realize how tired my body felt until I sat down.... or stood back up.

Still going south on Nathan Road, I knew the YMCA was getting close. This was actually only a hotel that my family stayed in, when we lived in China and made our frequent trips to Hong Kong to buy supplies such as groceries and get our McDonald's fix. Now, 19 years later, it looked different, more modern. The Starbucks directly kiddy-corner helped out a lot. I stopped in as I felt I was dragging and tried their Mocha Jelly Frappuccino. This is a typical Frappuccino but has coffee flavored tapioca jellies on the bottom. I ordered it just to try it, and it was actually pretty good! Heading over to the YMCA, the back entrance looked very familiar. I entered the lobby and found that it is still mostly a hotel but also has a workout center similar to our American Ys.

I headed across the street, via the underground subway walkway, over to the Avenue of the Stars. This is right on the waterfront where they have a promenade and stars (like our Hollywood) from famous Asians. I saw Jackie Chan's and Bruce Lee's. I then took my spot along the promenade to watch the light show at 8pm. Every night they have a light show in which Hong Kong Island sky scrapers light up, either the physical building or lasers on top, in sync to music. The same man that choreographed the 2008 Beijing Olympic Opening Ceremonies, choreographed this, so my expectations were a little high - remembering how over the top it was. It was neat that the buildings lit up in sync with music, and I'd see it again, but it wasn't anything to "wow" over. The music was funny, and it had the typical Chinese gaudiness to it.. Walking to the Star Ferry (the famous, and old ferry system) I had a better view of the skate board museum. It's not actually a skate board museum, but the building looks like a good, huge skate board ramp. So 21 years ago, when we arrived in Hong Kong for the first time, that's what it was named by us Aune teenagers. I think it's actually a space museum. Prior to boarding the The Starr Ferry I saw a sign for a typhoon warning. It was level one, but I didn't know what it meant. At 8:45pm it was still hot and muggy for all I was concerned. The ferry was fun, more empty than I remember, but mostly filled with foreigners.

What a fun, and FULL day! I felt like I saw a lot, it was very exciting!!!

Seattle to Bohol, Philippines

Wow, what an ending of the school year! My last school day was Friday, June 19th. With my teaching partner, we quickly cleaned up (stuffing things into cupboards to be organized later) and left school by 3 (the kids left at 11). Running 8 last minute errands proved to take longer than anticipated as my cell phone decided to die that morning. So one errand was getting a new cell phone. The previous night I had dinner with my family and it was there my dad made the frightening realization (only to him) that I would be traveling and vacationing in Hong Kong by myself. Even the family that I would be staying with would not be there. So, to ease my father's mind and have a little more sense of security myself, I upgraded to a cell phone with international capabilities... so the phone dying was actually a blessing, right Dad?

As per my previous blog, I didn't get much sleep that night. It always takes longer than anticipated to pack to be gone for a month, making sure I'm packing the necessary toiletries. Three hours of sleep was alright though, as I had a 3 hour flight to San Francisco and a 14 hour flight to Hong Kong. Every international plane in the past few years has had individual TVs on the back of each seat so you can pick from the plethora of movies and shows. When I got on the plane in San Francisco I was bummed as this plane did not have individual TVs, therefore I'd have to succumb to the schedule of the airlines to watch movies, like back in the old days.... 20 years ago. Then the captain made this announcement: "Ladies and gentleman, we are prepared to leave soon for the 14 hour flight to Hong Kong. We don't anticipate any weather issues until we come closer to Hong Kong. Right now they are experiencing a typhoon and we hope that it smooths out prior to our arrival." YIKES! Yah, I pray that it smooths out! It did. I arrived with the sun out and a little wind and a lot of humidity.

I arrived in the new Hong Kong airport. Remembering 20 years ago, an old, dirty, dark, non-air-conditioned typical Chinese grey building in which we landed for all our flights... I was amazed at the new airport. It was built on a man-made island, built for the airport as Hong Kong already doesn't have a lot of extra land. It was beautiful! Twenty years ago, we would stand in that concrete walled room for hours waiting to go through customs. I was dreading it. It took me 15 minutes and the reason it took so long was because I had to walk to get my bag, which was waiting there, and then walk to customs and then declaration. It was clean, air-conditioned, bright, new, and VERY organized! I've never experienced a more smooth process of going through customs.

I took the Airport Shuttle (train) to Hong Kong Island and again, was amazed at the process of it all. I went to the money changer directly after customs and as I changed my money to Hong Kong dollars, I was able to buy a round-trip ticket for the shuttle. I walked out and there it was: clean, fast, and air-conditioned. I arrived on Hong Kong Island in 27 minutes and from there walked out to get a taxi while recovering from the initial humidity blast from walking outside. Those of you who have been to Hong Kong know what this is... walking from air-conditioning outside you get blasted with thick, humid, and pollution filled air... it almost takes your breath away. The taxi took me to my friends house which is on the southern side of The Peak. We basically drove behind all the tall skyscrapers on the island and then drove switch-backs up The Peak to get to their house. I arrived and had wonderful conversation with the family as well as four other Consulate workers who were there for dinner. In Hong Kong, it's the expectation that people have "helpers" who cook and clean for them, like a maid. This family, the Shulls, have a helper named Lilet, who is actually from the Philippines. When I return to Hong Kong in July, the Shulls will actually be in the States. But I was thankful that Lilet was going to be here for one day when I come back. After a full night of fun conversation and catching up on 20 years, I fell asleep hard.

My flight was an early one, so I headed out as soon as I could in the morning. With the short taxi drive to the Airport Shuttle I did make one interesting comparison from 20 years ago. Hong Kong has McDonald's everywhere and as a 12 year old, loved that! However, in that 15 minutes I did not see any McDonald's... but I did see three Starbucks! There was even a Starbucks in the airport, imagine that?! I love that! I flew from Hong Kong to Manila and had a 4 hour layover there. My snack every year in the Manila airport is hum bow, a sweet bread filled with a sweet pork... they are so yummy! I also splurged and got a 1/2 hour massage for $5... little more expensive than the Bohol beaches, but definitely worth it!

I then flew from Manila to Bohol, which took an hour, where Joshua, the team leader, picked me up and drove me to the house. I found the team eating dinner, pancit - my favorite! After a full day of travel I was exhausted. We had a team meeting and I floated off to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a full day, a long drive to a Deaf school.