tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51172982011628144422024-02-08T03:52:14.432-08:00Lynn's Hong KongLynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-41937587970816882662011-08-02T12:08:00.000-07:002011-08-02T12:08:09.142-07:00I Just Can't Say Goodbye<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">I have said for some time that when I left Hong Kong I would start a new blog on another blogger website, so that’s what I’m about to do. Here I sit in Austin, starting to feel a little bit settled, at least for now. Hong Kong, Hong Kong…is it rainy and misty now? Probably; it’s getting to be that time of year. Are people scurrying around Central with wet feet and umbrellas? Is the humidity rising precipitously? I can’t really think about it much yet I realize; even though this is my least favorite time of year there (well okay actually May and June are the worst) just writing that sentence gave me a lump in my throat. So, not now. I’m sure there will be time to be sad later.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Right now I’m too busy re-acclimating to Austin. It’s a nice town, very arid compared to HK. There’s so much driving involved in living here; I’ve forgotten about that. I’ve gotten lost twice since we moved into our service apartment. We’re living up by the Arborteum; an area with which I’m unfamiliar, unless I’m going to Z Tejas!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I don’t feel all that strange though, and for the most part I’m enjoying being back in the US. I love being in the same time zone as Sarah and my mother. Last night Sarah was watching Anthony Bourdain and texted me when they started to show an episode on Vietnam so we could turn it on too – how cool is that?!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The US has its own frustrations but I’ll get used to them again. Service people that don’t show up when they say they are going to is my current irritation but what can you do? So in Hong Kong they showed up on time for sure, but then couldn’t speak any English or wouldn’t speak to me because I wasn’t the “primary account holder” or whatever. Wow, I SURE don’t miss that!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So…I have piles of things to post but they are going on my new website once I get it set up. I’m leaving 360 because it is so limited – I want to be able to put pictures directly into my post and I am tired of the glitches in 360 that make a post from a year ago show up sometimes instead of the current one, or that prevent people from commenting when they want to.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My new blog will be at the following website: dreaming-of-asia-in-Texas.blogspot.com. There’s nothing there yet, but there will be soon! I have entries to post about our final travels in Asia, packing and leaving Hong Kong, and what its like to return to the US after living abroad for three years. I thought hard about what to call this blog, because I don’t know….will I still be dreaming of Asia a year or two from now? But I decided it didn’t really matter. It’s a catchy title ;) and Hong Kong and the rest of Asia have become part of me now, so yes, I’ll always carry them with me, in my heart.</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-39959464385572724392011-08-02T12:07:00.000-07:002011-08-02T12:07:23.352-07:00February 8 2009 Hong Kong Half Marathon<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">I’ve been working toward this day for almost five months. Way back in September I started reading and thinking about running a half marathon. Could I really run thirteen miles? Could I do it without getting injured? How hard was it going to be really? I’d run in several 10K races, but I’m pretty slow. I usually have a respectable time for my age but nothing special. How long would it take me to run a half marathon? </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Once I had decided I wanted to work toward this goal, I started telling people about it. I was kind of scared and I figured if I SAID I was going to do it, then I couldn’t back down! As soon as registration opened for the Hong Kong Half Marathon, I went ahead and registered. Now I was committed.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I needed a training plan and I decided to continue to use Jeff Galloway’s run/walk method, but get serious about it. I’ve used run/walk now for several years. It makes distance running much easier and allows me to go farther and faster than I would be able to go otherwise. I figured run/walk will keep me running much longer and older in life than just running.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of the components of the Galloway method is something he calls the “Magic Mile”. Periodically during your training you run a mile as fast as you currently can without completely dying. Then you take that mile pace and multiply it by 1.2. This is your predicted mpm (miles per minute) pace for the half marathon. I used this and came up with a predicted time, but I was skeptical. I really didn’t think I was going to be able to run it that fast!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Day by day, week by week, month by month, I stuck to the Galloway program. My long run distances lengthened and a half marathon started to seem within my reach. Several weeks ago I ran my last long run – fourteen miles – and felt pretty good afterwards. I guess I was ready!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Hong Kong Marathon is HUGE. It consists of several different races, run all over Kowloon, the New Territories and Hong Kong Island. There are three different categories of 10K, two categories of Half Marathon and the Marathon itself. They had 55,000 people signed up for the various races. 33,000 of these were signed up for the 10K races, but there were 13,000 signed up for the half marathons. I’d never run in a race with more than a couple of thousand people. This was really going to be a trip!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My half marathon started at 7:10 AM this morning, in Kowloon on the other side of the harbor. They wanted you to get there around two hours before the race started but that seemed crazy to me. I compromised at an hour and a half early, which turned out to be perfect. I got up at 4 AM, but I’ve been waking up early for several weeks now so that wasn’t that hard. I had my plan; what to eat, how much to drink. A critical issue for me was making sure I was hydrated but not drinking so much water that I would have to pee during the race! I had to experiment a lot in my training to figure out where that threshold was!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After I was warmed up I headed toward the starting line. I was pretty far back in the crowd, but that was fine with me. I was surrounded by Asians. I saw a few western men, but hardly ANY western women. I saw some older-looking men, but almost NO older-looking woman! I felt very unique…I heard no English, which normally I’m totally used to in Hong Kong, but in a race I like to talk to strangers as I’m jogging along and that just wasn’t possible.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As the race started I shuffled forward until I could start running. There were places, especially at the beginning where it was difficult to run because there were so many people. I felt really, really good and my watch said I was running a very good pace. I knew my pace was probably too fast but I’ve always had trouble controlling my pace at the beginning of a race. I’m not trying to set any world records so I didn’t worry about it too much. The harder thing to do is take the walk breaks at the beginning. I always feel like I don’t really need them and I hate it when all these people start passing me when I’m walking, but I KNEW that walk breaks at the beginning of a race translate into better times at the end so I stuck with my run/walk ratio. I knew that if I felt okay I would eliminate the walks at the very end of the race.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We headed out on the road toward the airport. We followed the same path as the marathon but turned around earlier. The complaints about the Hong Kong Marathon are that the route is boring because it goes along highways for much of the time and that portions of it are hilly, making it a tough course. But I was having fun watching the other runners so I didn’t mind the lack of an audience. And I knew the worst hills were on the portion of the marathon course that the half marathon didn’t follow, so I wasn’t too worried about that either. I knew I had trained for hills just by living in Hong Kong!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">These were Asians running in an Asian race, so Asian behaviors abounded. I had been warned that this was the case so I took it in stride, and actually found it pretty amusing. Yes of course people stood too far forward to start. Of course Hong Kongers can’t stand to be in a line without trying to get ahead. The nice thing about this for me was that I got to pass some people right away. That usually doesn’t happen when I race in 10Ks in the US. The other thing was people took pictures as they raced, of themselves, of their friends. It was pretty cute to see someone running along holding their camera in front of them, smiling and taking their own picture. But the thing that REALLY cracked me up was people running along talking on their cell phones! That was hilarious. People also ran with their ipods, which you’re not supposed to do in a race. It can be a little dangerous since you can’t hear what’s going on around you as well.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The half marathoners reached their turning point and headed back toward Hong Kong Island. We could see the elite half marathon runners going the other way before my group got to the turning point. How far back was I? My watch still said my time was really good, but would it last? I finally reached the turning point too. It was fun to turn around and start seeing Hong Kong Island grow closer and closer.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As we ran toward Hong Kong Island we were able to see the elite marathoners heading out toward the airport. All the half marathoners yelled and applauded as they went by. They looked very different from my plodding group of runners. They were going FAST and they didn’t look tired. They looked serious. They looked Nigerian! I got very excited when they flew past us. It’s a good thing that they started an hour after the half marathoners since some of them run a full marathon in the time it would take me to run a half. It was possible that they would pass me! Ha.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The most unique part of the Hong Kong Marathon approached – the Western Tunnel. We got to run under Victoria Harbor, which I thought was pretty darn cool! As we approached the tunnel I could hear the runners up ahead hooting and yelling and making a bunch of noise. That cracked me up.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As soon as I entered the tunnel, my watch lost the satellite signal. Darn! I hadn’t thought about that. It took us a good twenty minutes to get through the tunnel so I knew my watch would not record an accurate time after that. Oh well!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Leaving the tunnel was the first big hill the half marathoners encountered, and it was a long one. I was okay though and it was fun to reach the top and have the race officials announce (in Cantonese, but I knew what they were saying) Welcome to Hong Kong Island! Everyone cheered as they left the tunnel. It suddenly felt like the end of the race was within our reach!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It felt different running on Hong Kong Island. Gradually there were more spectators. People stood along the road with encouraging signs and gave us high fives as we passed. And something else started to happen. I was still following my run/walk plan but really didn’t have a good idea any longer how fast I was running. But I started to pass people, lots of people. Many people were walking and I couldn’t tell if they were following a plan or not. I just kept going and putting people behind me. There were hoards of people in front of me still of course, but for the first time in the race I glanced behind me. There were hoards of people behind me too. COOL! When we got to the 2K remaining sign I ditched the walks and started running as fast as I was still capable of running. This was it!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Things really changed as we approached Causeway Bay and Victoria Park and the finish line. Suddenly there were crowds of people on the sidewalks yelling excitedly. I kind of got a chill. This is what it would be like the whole time if you ran in something like the New York Marathon. It really was very thrilling.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I crossed the finish line and felt good. Of course my legs were stiff but that’s what happens to old people when they act a little crazy. I collected my stuff and called Lee. He had said he would meet me at the end of the race. “Where are you?” he demanded when I called. He had been standing in front of Fashion Walk, trying to get a picture of me racing by but he missed me. Since I was pretty unique looking in that crowd we don’t know how he missed me unless I passed by earlier than either of us expected, which is what we think happened.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">All in all I think I ran a very successful race. My time was a couple of minutes better than my Galloway method predicted time. I was really impressed that his predictor worked so well. I feel VERY satisfied!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m pretty sure I will do this again, but probably not until this fall. I know my body needs to recover first. I’ve got some aches and pains that need to heal before I start training again. As far as running a marathon goes…well I’m not ready to say that I’m definitely going to do that, but it’s a possibility. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Afterward Lee and I went out for a Dim Sum lunch at Maxims. Now I love Dim Sum, but it can be very filling. When it’s just Lee and I we often over-order and can’t finish everything. I didn’t feel THAT hungry when we sat down, but I just ate, and ate, and ate! It just seemed like I couldn’t get full. I think I used up a lot of calories this morning. That’s one of the great things about running. Runners get to eat, almost as much as they want!</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-76736974558693062242011-08-02T12:06:00.001-07:002011-08-02T12:06:13.591-07:00Sunday February 1 2009 Lion Dance in a Shopping Mall<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">This week my friends Susan and Jane and I went up into the New Territories to check out a place that makes amazing shopping bags out of rice sacks, plastic storage materials and fabric scraps. I have one of her shopping bags and it gets comments and compliments all the time. Sarah saw it when she was in Hong Kong and decided that she had to have one also. We’re thinking of making her shop an AWA tour, and since I won’t be here to do it Susan and Jane, who are also enamored with her bags, came along to check it out with me. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Her name is Annalisa and her business is called Bez&Oho. You can look at her bags and jewelry on the web:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://homepage.mac.com/annalisa44/PhotoAlbum10.html">http://homepage.mac.com/annalisa44/PhotoAlbum10.html</a>. She also makes enamel jewelry and teaches enameling classes. AWA is going to take full advantage of her skills!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">She employs women whose lives have been affected by drug addiction. They are either recovering drug addicts themselves, or the mothers, wives or children of drug addicts. She shares the space where she works with an organization in Hong Kong called the Saint Stephens Society. There’s not a lot of information about it on the web, but it’s a charity that’s recognized by the Hong Kong government. The woman that runs it is somewhat unusual: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Pullinger">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Pullinger</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now what does all of this have to do with Lion Dances? Did you think I maybe got the title of this entry wrong? <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span> Well after visiting the beautiful bags it was time for lunch. Since we were up by Kowloon Tong we decided to go to Festival Walk, one of my favorite malls in this city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we walked into the mall, there was some very loud clanging and drumming going on and we soon found out why – there was a Lion Dance happening in the mall! Now this wasn’t just a demonstration for tourists. For one thing, there aren’t any tourists up in Kowloon Tong; its not on the tourist trail. For another, Hong Kongers take this sort of thing seriously. The lion was going from shop to shop. At the top of the doorway of each shop was something green that apparently was lion food. The lion would dance around (it’s a two man contraption, kind of like a horse costume but the lion’s head is very elaborate) and then the lion would rise up on his “hind” legs and “eat” whatever it was that was up there for him. Then he would go to the next shop and the whole thing would be repeated. A small army of drummers accompanied the lion on his rounds, making an unholy racket in the echoing corridors of the mall.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And there wasn’t just one lion, there were two, or maybe three. It’s a large mall and there were a lot of shops to get through!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I wanted to understand better what was going on so I decided to Google “lion dances Hong Kong”. The lion dance is supposed to bring good luck and good fortune to each business the lion visits during Chinese New Year. The following is from Wikipedia: </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">“During the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year" title="Chinese New Year">Chinese New Year</a>, lion dancers from martial art school will visit the store front of businesses to "choi chang" (<span style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";">採青</span> lit. picking the greens). The business would tie a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_envelope" title="Red envelope">red envelope</a> filled with money to a head of lettuce and hang it high above the front door. The lion will approach the lettuce like a curious cat, consume the lettuce and spit out the leaves but not the money. The lion dance is supposed to bring good luck and fortune to the business and the dancers receive the money as reward. The tradition becomes a mutual transaction.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Well I’m all for good luck and good fortune and goodness knows we could all use a little of that right now but I’m telling you that lion dance was LOUD! As the lion grew closer at times we could hardly carry on a conversation! And this is a really nice, fancy mall. The whole experience was a little surreal. The Chinese seemed to take it all in stride. They continued their shopping, eating and ice skating (there’s an ice skating rink in this mall) but when the lion grew close they would drag their children over to get a better view. The kids either liked the lion (think 8 year old boys) or thought it was loud and a bit terrifying (anyone below the age of about 4).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I guess it’s safe to say this is something I won’t be running into when I go to Barton Creek Mall once we’re back in the US!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It’s a beautiful sunny Sunday here in Hong Kong. Its nice outside, and not too hot or too cold. Lee is still in the US, getting the house worked on and visiting our moms in Missouri. I miss him and he won’t be back until Friday night. I ran an easy five miles this morning and then went to pick up my runner’s packet for the Hong Kong Half Marathon next weekend. I’m definitely ready for this race. If my time is anywhere near as good as it was while running today I will be very, very happy. But we’ll see!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-17448504547857715362011-08-02T12:05:00.001-07:002011-08-02T12:05:29.210-07:00January 24 2009 Singapore<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Singapore</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> 1/16-1/20</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Singapore</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> is like a familiar old friend. On my third visit to this country, so Asian and yet so different from Hong Kong, I'm not very interested in sightseeing. Lee and I just want to relax and enjoy the warmth and sunshine.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">This is the cooler season in Singapore. Cooler means slightly lower humidity, lovely breezes, highs in the low 80s, Hawaii weather. I got here Friday evening and as soon as Lee got off work we head to East Coast Seafood to have chili crab. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Chilli crab<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>does not disappoint. It is as delicious as always. My pile of wipes grows as I dig in with my fingers, cracking shells with pliers and occasionally my teeth. I was right; Hong Kong’s version is a meager imitation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The next day I go running. Just 40 minutes, but myomy my acclimation to the heat is gone. I return to the hotel red-faced and sweaty, taking a good 45 minutes to cool down. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We decide to visit a boat show on Sentosa Island, Singapore's Disney-like resort area. The boats are impressive - swift, flat racing hulls resting in Singapore on the 3rd leg of an around the world race. But Sentosa is so hokey and artificial. That's the hard part about Singapore. There's this sense that everything is carefully orchestrated. Clean, safe, sunny. The contrast with the chaos of Hong Kong is almost comical.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I find myself thinking about what it would be like to live here. Most westerners really like it. It’s very easy. But I think at least at first I would have a hard time not comparing it to Hong Kong, with Singapore coming out the loser.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Last night we went over to Frank and Cyndi's for drinks, and then out 4 dinner. Before we got there however, I had a fight with a taxi driver. We get in a cab at our hotel, tell the driver the address and off we go. Only he has no idea where it is or how to get there. He calls some friends, but they don’t know where it is either. I try to call Cyndi but she doesn't answer and we don't have their home number or Frank's mobile with us. Apparently they don't have a dispatcher they can call for directions and this driver doesn't have a GPS or a map. We tell him to take us back to the hotel.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We get back to the hotel and I tell Lee "we're not paying this guy for driving us around the block". Hating a bad scene, Lee scoots out of the cab and says he'll go up to our hotel room to get Frank's number.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We get out of the cab and go back into the lobby. The doorman comes after me anxiously. "He has a charge on his meter" he says to me. I go back outside. "We're not paying you for driving us around the block" I inform him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He protests angrily, speaking the crazy English they speak here known as Singlish. I lose my infamous temper. "Listen. It’s YOUR job to know this city and to be able to figure out how to take your passengers where they want to go," I yell. “YOU'RE the driver, not me! I’m not paying you!" He drove off in a cloud of muttered imprecations, leaving me red-faced and triumphant.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">When Lee came back down to the lobby he had Frank's number and I had gotten directions from Cyndi and was starting to calm down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took me a couple of minutes though!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">A strange and a little disturbing thing happened while we were at dinner. We were seated outside, at an Italian restaurant in an area filled with restaurants. In come soldiers in full regalia, walking down the street, their AK-47s (or whatever they were) at the ready. They kind of made a circle right by our restaurant, scanning the crowds and looking fierce. Frank and Cyndi said things like this happen all the time and they never know why. Cyndi said it made her feel very secure; it made me nervous, but most people didn’t seem to even notice the soldiers. Cyndi talked a bit about the safeness of Singapore and how she feels the shift whenever they go back to the states; how suddenly after they land they are telling their children to stay right there with them and not go to the bathroom by themselves, etc. I have the same sense when I return to the US from Hong Kong. I feel much safer in Hong Kong, both in my apartment and on the street, any time of day or night. It’s something I’ll miss. But in Hong Kong you almost never see soldiers, except occasionally in the airport. You do see policemen, usually on foot, but sometimes on motorcycles or in vehicles. Foot police are much more effective in our crowded city. It’s kind of ridiculous when you see ambulances in Hong Kong, since they are usually stuck in traffic just like everyone else, only they have their sirens blaring.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 0in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The last day I ran one more time, five miles in the heat. It’s really amazing how much it slowed me down. All summer and fall I ran in the hot humid weather in Hong Kong and pooh-poohed Jeff Galloway’s warnings about running in the heat. But now I realize I was simply acclimated and that yes it does slow you down and can be dangerous. We went to the Maxwell hawker stand for lunch and I decided to go stand in one of the long lines and try one of the “very famous” stands. I had something called "Bee Hoon fish soup" that was just incredible. That’s the thing about Singapore, the food is SO GOOD! We even had good Mexican food that night, when we went out to dinner with another one of our Singapore friends. That’s got to be a first in Asia!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-61803030198256314042011-08-02T12:04:00.000-07:002011-08-02T12:04:31.392-07:00January 9 2009 A Week in Hong Kong with Sarah<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">Daniel had to leave to go back to work in Taipei last Sunday, but Sarah has been here all week and we have been having fun. I thought she would start to go a little stir-crazy being with her parents all week, but she is either putting on a good face or decided that a 50’s (age not decade) lifestyle suits her just fine, at least for the short-term.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What have we done this week? Well of course shopping has figured highly on our itinerary. Hong Kong shopping is thrilling for Sarah because everything FITS. She still has some trouble with things being too big (the Chinese are getting bigger, it’s all those McDonald’s fries) but she can find pants that don’t need to be altered. One day we went to Causeway Bay, to the little boutiques on Fashion Walk. My friend Sherry, of wonderful traveling blog fame, was also visiting in Hong Kong, and went with us. Both girls were delighted with the selection and prices in Causeway. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING was heavily discounted. One of my favorite boutiques, Three Ring Circus, had everything marked at a 50% discount. I bought a little summer blouse and Sarah found some jeans that fit perfectly. We found another store that couldn’t really be classified as a boutique because it was huge. It just went on and on, further and further back into this building. I bought scarves; Sarah bought a little blue coat. It was hard to tear ourselves away!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I thought the crowds in Causeway Bay would alarm my guests (they often bug me, even now) but it wasn’t that bad along Fashion Walk. It got intense as we headed for the MTR but it didn’t last that long. I need to go back there more often, especially as we get closer to Chinese New Year, since the sales will only get better. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We ended the day at Happy Foot. We both enjoyed our foot massages. We might even decide to go back one more time. I was getting a lot of foot (and face and body) treatments this summer, but as the economy started melting this fall I pulled back from pampering myself so much. But foot massages don’t really cost that much and they really do feel good, although sometimes I have to tell them to go a little easier on me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On New Years Eve Lee and I went to a party at one of the new 3Mers. We had a good time; this crop of 3M expats is really nice, both and husbands AND the wives. We made it to New Years too, but just barely. Sarah went out with Sherry and her friends, so she didn’t have to hang out with middle-aged engineers and thirteen-year-olds. She went to a party in Lan Kwai Fong and watched the fireworks. She saw them shoot fireworks off of the IFC Tower, which made it look like the building was on fire. When I talked to Daniel yesterday he said they did the same thing in Taipei, shooting fireworks from 101. He said the building looked like it was exploding. I think that’s kind of creepy, although the pictures certainly looked cool.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Yesterday (New Years Day) we decided to go to Lamma Island for a little walk. Apparently so did half of Hong Kong. We’ve never seen that island so crowded. It wasn’t exactly what we expected (a nice, quiet walk on a little island); instead it was a fairly crowded amble on a nice little island. But Sarah (and Sherry’s friend Veronique who joined us) had never been on the inter-island ferries, or to one of the little islands, so they were happy. Also the cool sunny blue-sky weather has returned to Hong Kong so it was a perfect day for a walk, even if that walk was a little more crowded than we were expecting.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We’ve had fancy Chinese food (Lumiere for dinner, Bo Innovations for lunch). We’re going to try the scary dim sum place (aka Lin Hueng Tea House) today for lunch. That’s where Sandy my Cantonese teacher took me several years ago and I ate chicken feet and fish stomach. Its also one of the places Anthony Bourdain tried when he visited Hong Kong on his “No Reservations” TV show. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Today we’re going to go purchase a Tibetan Chest at Horizon Plaza (one of the things Lee and I want before we leave Hong Kong) and possibly go over to Mong Kong and wander through some of the markets. We may even go back to the crazy lingerie store, for nothing else except the chance to watch my daughter be man-handled by the fitters!</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-38713673155331542192011-08-02T12:03:00.000-07:002011-08-02T12:03:00.409-07:00December 27 2008 Christmas in Hong Kong<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">My children are both in Hong Kong. Daniel flew in from Taipei the afternoon of December 23<sup>rd</sup>. Sarah arrived later that night. I am feeling just happy and content and FAT! We haven’t had a Nill Family Christmas Eve, or a Nill Family Christmas morning, or lit the Hanukah candles and said a blessing together for many years, at least since one Christmas in Austin. We are all grown ups now, so it’s not like Christmas or Hanukah when they were little. Nobody is staying up late playing Santa Claus and putting together drum sets and dolls houses. Nobody is waking up at 5 am to see what Santa brought. Nobody is complaining about not getting presents for both Christmas AND Hanukah! Ha.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But some traditions persist. Many of the same ornaments grace our tree. We ransacked Hong Kong for the correct velvet ribbon for our wreath. I made all the requisite cookies and a few new ones too. Our apartment is filled with love and happiness. I am content.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Of course, being in Hong Kong, some things are very different. They do celebrate Christmas here, but for most people it’s not a religious holiday, or even a family holiday. The younger Chinese join their friends on Christmas Eve and go out and party like it was New Years Eve. On Christmas Day many people go out to eat. We were told not to try to go to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After eating our traditional German pancake Christmas morning we decided to take the kids on one of the most famous Hong Kong Island hikes – Dragon’s Back. There were lots of people hiking, since it’s a public holiday and the weather was beautiful (sunny and 60’s). Many of our fellow hikers wished us a “Merry Christmas”! The Minibus driver wore a Santa hat. The MTR was packed and it appeared that most stores were open and people were busy shopping. That seemed very different of course, since in the US everything would be closed on Christmas Day.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Yesterday, the 26<sup>th</sup>, was Boxing Day, another public holiday in Hong Kong. We can’t quite figure out what Boxing Day is, although we know it’s a British Holiday. Lee says it’s when the royalty would box up things they didn’t want and give them to the peasants. Maybe so. We decided to go shopping instead; box things up and give them to ourselves!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">First we went to Wan Chai Computer to buy Daniel a camera, one of his Christmas presents. He decided on a Casio Exlim, in a nice blue color. It has a large LCD and some interesting features, including one where it waits to take a picture until the subject smiles (fortunately this is OPTIONAL). Of course Lee and Daniel had a great time with this, Lee refusing to smile, Daniel with the camera right in Lee’s face. Those boys!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After Wan Chai Computer we took the kids to Nga Trang for lunch. We were all glad to eat something besides turkey and cookies for a change! Then we did a little bin shopping, but neither child was impressed. That’s one way I have really changed. I definitely used to turn up my nose at rummaging around in piles of miscellaneous clothing looking for bargains, but now that I’ve seen the possibilities I’m game. I guess that’s an adjustment that will pay off when I return to the US, since Marshall’s has become one of my favorite haunts!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then the girls and the boys split up – the boys went off to the mall and Zara’s, the girls to Soho and the little boutiques. Here we ran up against Boxing Day – all the British and Australian boutiques were closed, so Sarah and I will have to go back another time. Lots of the locally-owned boutiques were open however, so we had fun browsing around. Of course Sarah hasn’t bought anything yet. She is more like her father and will have to look at everything Hong Kong has to offer before making her purchases.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Last night the kids went to Lan Kwai Fong, after going out to eat with their parents. LKF was VERY quiet; I guess most people were nursing their Christmas Day hangovers! Even the Feathered Boa is closed until the 29<sup>th</sup>. Alas! Sarah and Daniel are still sleeping this morning of course, like any good young adults after a night of adventures in Hong Kong. I’m not sure what we will choose to do today and I don’t really care. I’m just happy that we are together.</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-78557132463225729842011-08-02T12:00:00.000-07:002011-08-02T12:00:46.271-07:00Sunday December 14 2008 From the Stars to the Gutter - Spicy Crab Under the Bridge<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">What a crazy life we seem to be leading lately! A few days ago we were sipping champagne and chatting up the social scene in Hong Kong. Last night we decided to sample the other end of the Hong Kong culinary spectrum.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There’s a restaurant in Hong Kong that sells the Cantonese version of chili crab. Now chili crab is one of the most wonderful foods I’ve ever eaten, but it’s a Singaporean specialty and you pretty much have to go to Singapore to sample the real thing. This restaurant is located in Causeway Bay, on the Canal Street close to Lockhart Road. This is almost to Times Square, just past the girlie district in Wan Chai. From the outside it looks like a million other Hong Kong Dai Pai Dongs – a small place with the kitchen outside, plastic tables inside, and little plastic stools to sit upon - nothing glamorous. The name of the restaurant is “Under the Bridge Spicy Crab”. It used to be a floating restaurant run by people that lived on sampans, but they were forced ashore twenty years ago and there they remain. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Three years ago Lee could probably not have gotten me in that place, but nowadays nothing much scares me. Besides this place is “very famous”, with pictures of Canto-pop stars on the walls, and long lines outside. We got there relatively early (8 pm) so the line wasn’t too bad. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We sat in chairs on the sidewalk waiting our turn. We could watch them sorting the crabs, but couldn’t for the life of us figure out their system. Old vs. new crabs? Big vs. little crabs? They all looked about the same to us. They waved one of the crabs at us, asking if it met our approval. Lee said if we were Chinese we would follow our choice into the kitchen to make sure they didn’t try to pull a “bait-and-switch” but since we’re just trusting gueilos we didn’t bother.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When it was our turn we took our place at a tiny table in the corner. We ordered chili crab, medium spicy, garlic clams and sautéed shrimp with cashews. Oh and beer of course. The menu had English descriptions and pictures so we were okay.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We washed our bowls and chopsticks in hot tea nonchalantly, another action that would have creeped me out several years ago. First the garlic clams arrived at our table. They were pretty good. When the chili crab came it was piled high with fried garlic and spring onions. It turned out to be more like Singaporean pepper crab than real chili crab. It was cracked, but our gueilo status was made obvious by our need for some pliers to speed things along. The locals just crack the shells with their teeth. Lee has progressed to the stage where he can do that to a certain extent, but I still haven’t mastered that technique.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It’s a messy business, eating crab this way. This restaurant provides a roll of toilet paper in a convenient plastic case on your table. That was better than Singapore at least, where they don’t seem to think you need “tissues” to eat this gloppy mess.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This was good crab, but it wasn’t great. I’m glad we had the experience but I don’t know that I would necessarily go back. I’d rather go to East Coast Seafood in Singapore I guess. You know how first loves can be!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But this was fun, and a great contrast to a couple of nights ago. Today we were on a tour up in Sham Shui Po and part of the tour included sampling street food. I finally got to try the little red bean puddings on a stick I see them selling in Central by the Escalator sometimes. We also tried some medicinal Chinese tea that was made with honey and was very, very sweet.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I think my tummy has had enough strange food for a couple of days now. Good thing we had steak soup for dinner tonight! Made in preparation for the kid’s upcoming visit, steak soup is true comfort food for our family. I’ve also made lots of Christmas cookies and decorated the tree today. The tree looks very nice, as long as all of the needles don’t fall off before Christmas! </div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-81280148526179214362011-08-02T11:58:00.000-07:002011-08-02T11:58:15.636-07:00Friday December 12 2008 Lee and Lynn Go Hob-nobbing<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">Remember our adventure at the Chef’s Table at Bo Innovation in September? Well at the time I mentioned that restaurant was up for a Michelin star. Well this week the first Michelin Guide for Hong Kong came out and Bo didn’t get just one star, but two! This is an amazing honor for any restaurant and we couldn’t have been more pleased to find out that one of our favorite restaurants anywhere was recognized in this fashion.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I actually got on their website and sent them a little email, just telling them congratulations. A couple of days later I got a response, which included an invite to a cocktail party celebrating their new location AND their stars! I almost felt like we had received this invitation in error but I still gladly accepted.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I was kind of nervous about this. I’ve hardly ever been to a cocktail party, let along one where it wouldn’t be surprising to run into Hong Kong socialites and business tycoons! The invitations said “dress smart casual with a bit of spice”. Smart casual is the standard Hong Kong dress designation. It means “don’t look like a slob and you’ll probably be okay”. But what was “a bit of spice”? Hmmm…</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So last night was the big night. I decided on jeans, heels and a sparkly top. Lee looked spiffy in a dark jacket and a red silk shirt. Off we went. My first worry was that they would look at their list and refuse to let us in! Maybe it really was a mistake…but no, we walked in, they asked our names and in we went! First off we went to a big board, signed our names and got our pictures taken. Will we end up in the society pages? Who the hell knows!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Next we plunged into the crowd. We shouldn’t have worried about what to wear in Hong Kong…like anywhere else, 90% of the people there were wearing business black. There were a few people dressed resplendently though, including one woman wearing what looked like a gold breastplate with an entire fox draped around her shoulder. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We found a good place to hang out and watch the proceedings. They handed us champagne, and kept our glasses full. The handed out cigars (Alvin Leung the “demon chef” is a big cigar smoker) and soon we were surrounded by wreaths of smoke. Normally I would be annoyed by this, but instead I just kept drinking my champagne. I was going to enjoy this experience no matter what! Lee even took a cigar, although he didn’t light it. I’m not sure what he plans to do with it, save it in a Ziploc bag?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We could see Bo’s awesome canapés going by, and occasionally we could grab one, but it was hard. Lee went over to the bar and got a very minty delicious mohito. I decided to see if I could get one too. I went to the bar and the bartender was making a very mysterious looking martini. First he poured liquid nitrogen in a martini glass and got it very cold. Then he put some milk tea in the martini glass. Finally he poured some crunchy things like dip-n-dots into the milk tea. I decided I had to have one. I’m not sure there was even any alcohol in it, but it was delicious! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Finally Alvin arrived in splendor, beaming and wearing a long black trench coat. He walked around greeting old friends and random guests like us. I said something about being happy for him and wanting to bring our kids there when they visit but it would cost too much so we’ll bring them for lunch (something really dumb right?) and Alvin said “call me when you come and I’ll make sure they have something special”. Gee!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The canapé trays were still drifting out of our reach and we were getting a little drunk. We needed some food or we would have to leave! We moved inside the restaurant (we had been out on the patio to avoid the worst of the smoke) and inched our way closer to the kitchen.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Ah HA! That’s what was going on! As the trays left the kitchen a little horde of foodies stood right there grabbing the canapés before they could make it very far into the crowd. We decided to do the same – yum! We ate little dumplings. We ate tiny sushi rolls made with crunchy rice paper, eggs, garlic and chilies. We ate a little pumpkin squares with lemony foam and a salty taste. We ate little almond cookies with a creamy filling. It was all fantastic, and free!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Finally we decided we’d had enough, party animals that we are. We went home, ate a little bit more to try to absorb some of the alcohol and fell into bed.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">That was certainly an experience I would never have imagined I’d ever have. Now I’ve got to watch the society page in the South China Morning Post for the next couple of weeks and see if we show up!</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-3015782959480645622011-08-02T11:55:00.000-07:002011-08-02T11:55:41.000-07:00Thanksgiving 2008 and Some News<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">Last year on thanksgiving we signed up to have servicemen from a US ship join us for our Thanksgiving Day meal. But China wouldn’t let the USS Kitty Hawk enter Hong Kong waters, so our plans were all for naught. This year we were luckier, as were the servicemen. Chris and Shawn, sailors on the USS Blue Ridge, joined us, as did Beth and Pat Hall, their son Jim, AND their grandson, the adorable Brian!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It was a great thanksgiving. The servicemen were happy to be with us for a home-cooked meal. They even asked if they could request us for next year! And we had so much fun entertaining a 4-year-old. It’s been a long time since I’ve spent very much time with a child that age. Brian brought a little backpack with him that contained his favorite electronic toys, but he much preferred building towers with the Jinga blocks I retrieved from our games closet. He managed to get every one of our guests to build a tower with him, and I took pictures to prove it!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Cooler weather has returned to Hong Kong, and this makes me laugh, since cool right now means lows of around 60 F. But like any long-term Hong Kong resident this has caused me to get out my sweaters and jackets. I’ve even purchased a fur-trimmed sweater recently and wore it out to dinner the other night. I’ve actually looked at the temperatures in Austin, where it sometimes goes down in the 30’s and 40’s and thought “wow, its COLD there!” What will I do if we really end up in St. Paul? I will be hauling out my long underwear I’m sure!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We had planned (and booked) a trip to Thailand for the 10<sup>th</sup> of December; then this week protesters took over the Bangkok International Airport and shut it down. Even though their siege ended today, we’ve still decided to cancel our trip. For one thing there is no guarantee that the airport will open back up in time for us to go. For another, it doesn’t sound like much fun there right now. We’re thinking about trying to go to Beijing or somewhere else this winter. The problem with going to Beijing now is that it’s really cold there in the winter-time. But I guess the rates would probably be really good, and I could get out the above-mentioned underwear and my ski coat, and I’d be fine.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of the reasons we’re considering Beijing is that it looks like we will be returning to the US in March. It would be kind of shameful to have lived in Asia for 3 years and never made it to the Forbidden City! Lee has spent so much time in China for work that the thought of going there for a vacation just never really appeals to him. But maybe now is the time.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’ve been kind of blue, thinking about leaving Hong Kong. I’m not sad to be returning to the US, although I wish our situation wasn’t so uncertain. Its unsettling in this economic downturn to not be sure what Lee’s next job with 3M will be, or where we will live. We’ve gone through all the “what’s the worst thing that could happen” scenarios though, and no matter what that might be, we will be okay. It’s just like Tom Petty says though, “the waiting is the hardest part”.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Even though I’ve known all along that this day would come, and even though it comes at what seems to be the typical length of an expat stay, I’m still sad. I will miss the people that I’ve met. I will miss living in a big city. I will miss having so many different activities to choose from, every day. I will miss the pride I feel in having learned to live comfortably in a foreign country and make it my own. Part of me will always carry a bit of Hong Kong with me, where-ever I go.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m sure I’m going to have more to write on this subject as time goes on. It will take awhile to process it, not to mention that it won’t seem real until we have the official paperwork in hand and some definite dates! In the mean time, life in Hong Kong will go on as normal on one level, while on another I will be silently saying my goodbyes.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I don’t want to do what a lot of people here do, however, and kind of drop out of things before they go. I know why they do it, because the thought of going that way is tempting to me as well. It’s painful to say goodbye. But I’d rather hold my head up proudly, and hug my friends, and not be afraid of my feelings. I’m going to try anyway.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-25103902181641277712011-08-02T11:53:00.002-07:002011-08-02T11:53:55.505-07:00Wednesday November 19 2008 Lynn Eats Spotted Dick<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">I went to a luncheon in Wan Chai today with a group of ladies that meet monthly for lunch, taking turns picking out the restaurant. Its fun; I make new friends, and get to see others that I maybe haven’t seen in awhile, plus trying new places to eat.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We went to a restaurant called The Pawn, in an old, restored building (something of a rarity in tear-it-down-and-reinvent-itself Hong Kong). The restaurant has a British theme. Hong Kong has great deals for lunch which are called “set lunches”. Often you can get a very nice two or three course lunch for around $10 US. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This set lunch’s three course option included dessert. One of the desserts was called, yes, you guessed it, spotted dick! Of course all the American ladies thought this was hilarious, but I was the only one brave enough to order it. The British ladies dining with us were bemused by our ignorant giggles, and informed us politely that it was a sort of bread pudding.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And so it was. I’m including a link to the possible origins of this strangely named dessert. <a href="http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2031/whats-the-origin-of-spotted-dick">http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2031/whats-the-origin-of-spotted-dick</a>. The type I had (which was perfectly yummy by the way) must have been the Irish kind, which is a sweet pastry made from soda bread. It certainly wasn’t a suet pudding, whatever that is. I think of suet as something you would feed to birds, so I had to Google that as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently it is “<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">a hard fat obtained from sheep and cattle and used for making pastry and puddings”, </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and all I can say to THAT is EW!</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-42705655339080576632011-08-02T11:53:00.000-07:002011-08-02T11:53:09.735-07:00November 5 2008 A Historic Election in Hong Kong<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">It’s rare to have something so momentous to write about that I’m almost at a loss for words. I mean, where do I start? I guess I need to focus on my experience here in Hong Kong, since that’s what this blog is supposed to be about. So here goes…</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Yesterday morning I woke with a start a little after 5 am. I needed to be at Election Central at the Hong Kong Club on Chater Road by 6:30 AM, but I couldn’t sleep any longer anyway. All signs pointed to an Obama victory, but still I was nervous. I kept trying to imagine it – a president named Barak Obama. An African American family in the White House. A man of eloquence, intelligence and vision leading our country. Little kids playing on the white house lawn! I shook my head, jumped in the shower, and got dressed.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’d been so nervous about today for so long. For months my kids had been saying “relax mom, he’s going to win!” but they didn’t know, couldn’t remember. They didn’t experience Kennedy, or his death. They weren’t alive for Dr. King’s March on Washington, didn’t stand there amazed as his I Have a Dream speech played over the radio. They didn’t see Dr. King get shot, and then Bobby Kennedy as well. They didn’t watch the 1968 Democratic Convention on TV when Walter Cronkite railed about “Gestapo tactics on the streets of Chicago” and the tear gas wafted over the convention floor. They didn’t vote in their first election for McGovern…I guess I could go on!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Election Central in Hong Kong is run by the American Women’s Association, The Hong Kong Chapter of the League of Women Voters, The American Chamber of Commerce, the US Consulate, Democrats Abroad, and Republicans Abroad. It’s a place for Americans and their friends to gather and watch the election returns. It runs from 7 AM to 2 PM Wednesday morning because that’s Tuesday night in the US. My friends that had been here a long time said it was great fun, even if your candidate lost. I had trouble imagining that I would be having much fun if things didn’t go our way. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The venue was very, very crowded, right from the start. There must have been hundreds of people there most of the morning. The crowd was frankly pretty partisan. As Obama took state after state, loud cheers and applause would ring out. When he took Pennsylvania with room to spare my spirits soared. When Ohio went for Obama an analyst for CNN was asked if there was any way McCain could still win and basically at that point he said “no”. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But nobody left. We stayed to hear Obama declared the winner. We stayed to listen and applaud John McCain’s very gracious concession speech. I’ve always like John McCain. In earlier years I’ve said he was one Republican I would consider voting for. I think he was ill-used by his party, and sacrificed in a year that was almost impossible for a Republican to win.. But that’s over now…</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And then Obama spoke. There was one line in his speech, about the chance to grab the “arc of history and bend it in a new direction” that really resonated with me. What a joy it will be to listen to a president make speeches that one day our children’s children will memorize. How lucky we are to be alive at this moment in history!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Finally it was time to go. I was exhausted, emotionally drained. Driving home in a taxi, listening to the usual Cantonese babble on the radio, all I could here was “….Obama…..Obama….Obama…”. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This morning headlines 2 inches high graced the front page of the South China Morning Post, and Obama’s picture filled the center. While walking down the hill to Bowen Road, I passed some helpers walking their employer’s dogs. They were speaking Tagalog, but the topic was clear: “….Obama….”! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I think this election belongs to my children’s generation. They volunteered; they worked phone banks, knocked on doors. My daughter got up early Election Day and made sure the people in her neighborhood knew where to vote and that they could vote in Minnesota even if they hadn’t registered yet. He really was their candidate.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There is another way Obama belongs to their generation. They are truly colorblind, in a way that my generation would LIKE to be, but isn’t. We are friends with African Americans, but we’re aware of their color as they are aware of ours. Our kids don’t know what the big deal is. They have friends of different races and difference ethnicities and “so what?” they ask us. So what.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When Sarah was very small we went to lunch at McDonalds one day. As we sat there eating our hamburgers an elderly black man was working, clearing off the tables and cleaning up the trash. Sarah observed him. “Mama, dats a man” she piped up clearly. “Yes Sarah, that’s a man”. “Mama, dats a BROWN man” she continued. “Hush Sarah, eat your hamburger” we replied, embarrassed. What would the man think? “Mama, dat man Cosby?” At that the man laughed and so did we, and all was well. No he wasn’t Cosby, but Bill Cosby came into our living room every week. A brown man cleaned the tables at McDonalds. It was no big deal. But now a brown man will be in the white house and it IS a big deal. And yet in a way, by the virtue of this event, it paves the way for it someday to be no big deal at all. Barak Obama will be the first black president, but he won’t be the last. Someday a woman will hold the office, and a Jew, and yes, even a Muslim. And what of it? That’s the promise of America and the thing that makes it a joy and a privilege, and yes, a burden, to be an American. We all are grabbing the arc of history at this point and bending it in a new direction. It’s a historic day indeed.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-39526848706810479512011-08-02T11:50:00.001-07:002011-08-02T11:50:30.069-07:00November 11 2008 Visiting Daniel in Taipei<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">This past weekend we flew to Taipei to visit Daniel. It was so much fun to see our son. Now I can imagine the train when he calls while commuting to work. I know what his room-mates look like; I’ve seen his cute little apartment down an old-fashioned Chinese lane. No expat apartment complex for him! It’s great.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We flew there on Friday morning. It’s SO close to Hong Kong, and there are flights just about every hour because many flights from Taiwan have to go through Hong Kong because of Taiwan’s rather uncertain relationship with the rest of the world, especially China. There were riots there on Thursday because a high-level Chinese envoy visited Taiwan for the first time since the 1940’s. The Taiwanese feel very strongly about keeping their independent status. They are pretty resistant to the “one China” policy as it has been adopted by Hong Kong, but then Taiwan was never a colony of a European power so it’s a different situation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Taipei</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> is a big city. It’s pretty flat, with beautiful mountains in the distance. It has a good public transportation system – trains and buses and cheap taxis – like Hong Kong. The pollution used to be really bad, but it has been much improved since their MRT opened in 2000 (I think that’s the right date).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Daniel met us for a quick lunch on Friday, but then he had to go to work, so we entertained ourselves that afternoon. First we went over to Taipei 101, currently the tallest building in the world, and right next to our hotel. Their elevators were unnerving. Almost 90 floors in about 45 seconds and it doesn’t really feel like you’re moving at all – they’re pressurized. The views were mesmerizing, but unfortunately it was pretty hazy, so we couldn’t see as far in the distance as we would have liked.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">From 101 we decided to brave their MRT system on our own. Although we had been warned that there was much less English in Taipei than in Hong Kong, there were plenty of English signs and their MRT is simple and easy to use. We went to see the Chiang Kai Chek Memorial. It was beautiful – blue-tiled gates, an immense parade ground in front, and a giant temple-like structure with a seated statue of the General inside. I thought from a distance he looked a bit like Lincoln, but when we got closer it was clear that he had what could only be described as a shit-eating grin on his face. Maybe he was thinking about all those Chinese Communists he had out-foxed. Anyway he looked more like a goofy Buddha in a uniform than anything else.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We went to a Chinese/Thai restaurant for dinner off in a little trendy neighborhood. Daniel had a little trouble finding it. He navigates kind of like his dad – they both have an antenna of some sort that eventually gets them where they want to go, but not in a very logical way. Sarah has an almost unfailing sense of direction. I’m not very good until I get to know a place; then I can remember how to get places very well and learn all the best shortcuts. Between the four of us we would be infallible!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Daniel had to work Saturday morning. It had started raining during the night and it rained the rest of the weekend. We just hung out and relaxed in the hotel until Daniel got off work and then we went to the National Museum and gazed at pottery. When that got boring we found a coffee shop in the museum and gazed at each other instead.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We went to a good Japanese restaurant for dinner Saturday night, but the best meal we had by far the entire weekend was our Dim Sum brunch on Sunday. We went to a famous restaurant called Din Tai Fong. There are franchises all over the world, but the one in Taipei is the original. It is by far the very best dim sum I have EVER had. There is one in Hong Kong now at Ocean Terminal and I can’t wait to go check it out. Those dumplings were amazing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Din Tai Fong is so popular that we had to wait almost an hour and a half to be seated, but it was worth it. While waiting we could watch the dumpling-makers at work. They looked like they were making teeny-tiny pizzas at first, even tossing them lightly in the air.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">One funny thing about Taipei, unlike Hong Kong they seem to assume that westerners don’t know anything about Chinese culture. Wherever we went they tried to explain to us what we were eating and how to eat it. Daniel dropped one of his dumplings and our waitress immediately scurried over to ask him if he wanted a fork. He was insulted!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">After brunch we wandered over to the Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art and watched a series of multi-media installations. That sort of thing is all the rage right now in Asia. It was similar to the show Lee and I saw at the Hong Kong Central Police Station several months ago. Then we had our by-now traditional afternoon coffee and just hung out together until it was time to leave for our flight home.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Its too bad it rained because it prevented us from going to the night-markets, which is a big thing in Taipei. The street food there is supposed to be great but it was just too soggy for us to attempt that. Maybe next time. I’d like to venture outside Taipei next time we go. There are supposed to be great resorts up in the mountains with good hot springs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">It was wonderful to see Daniel so confident and happy. It will be interesting to watch him this year continue to adjust to his new environment. He’s only been there about three months, so he’s really just barely settled in. There are so many stages to living in a new country! Three months just is only the beginning.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
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</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-37674293202871889612011-08-02T11:49:00.001-07:002011-08-02T11:49:39.885-07:00November 11 2008 Touring a Landfill<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">This tour actually happened before the election, but I suppose you could say the onrush of history overtook the landfill in my mind! Anyway, I still want to write about this unusual experience.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The Hong Kong Chapter of the League of Women Voters of the United States is a unique group. Not only is it one of the very few League chapters outside the US (it used to be the only one, but now I think there are a few others), it really focuses on both making sure that US expats know how to cast their ballot while living overseas, but also tries to educate its members on the government and political activity in Hong Kong. There are many places and venues in Hong Kong for learning about Chinese culture, but it’s more difficult to discover the intricacies of the government and the different governmental agencies that make life here function. So far this year we have toured Legco (the Legislative Council that governs Hong Kong), and gone on a tour of one of the landfills. Actually this morning I went to a League talk on food safety, so we seem to be covering all angles of consumption!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Anyway, back to the landfill tour. We went way out into the New Territories to tour one of the landfills. This landfill did not look anything like what I expected a landfill to be. It was clean, tidy, efficiently run, well-planned and COVERED! It was also unimaginably huge, which if you consider the population of Hong Kong is to be expected, but it was still mind-blowing. There are three or four other landfills for Hong Kong up in the New Territories and this was the smallest one.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The reason the landfill is covered is that they make synthetic natural gas there. The trash is taken to a section of the landfill, where it is crushed and spread out on a bed of gravel, glass, rock and dirt and then covered with more dirt. When a section is filled it is covered with green plastic held down with old tires and rope. Into the plastic are sent pipes that remove the gas and send it to the machines that turn it into synthetic natural gas, which is sold to Town Gas, the natural gas distributor for Hong Kong. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We learned a lot about recycling in Hong Kong on this tour. It’s different than in the US, because there is a very active middleman enterprise of recycling collection. Even if you don’t put your recyclables into recycling containers, some little old man or woman is going to retrieve that item and sell it to the recycling companies. Any paper, plastic, tin or aluminum cans are going to be recycled. There is no market for recycling glass in Hong Kong, but it still gets used as part of the base for the landfills.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">When we asked why there weren’t more recycling collection centers in Hong Kong our tour guide patiently explained that that would put people out of work. It’s just a different way of thinking about the process than in the US. I actually found that pretty reassuring. My helper was very eager to take my recycling down to the recycling bins in our apartment for me, and now I’m wondering if she really wanted them for herself so that she could resell them. I hope so; she needs all the extra money she can get.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Another thing we learned is the sort of thing that seems to happen so much in China and Hong Kong. The trash from Hong Kong Island is supposed to go to the landfills in the New Territories via boat. To that end there are collection centers on the Island. But it costs money to take trash to the collection centers. So instead, the private trash collectors drive their trash directly to the landfills, wasting fuel and damaging the roads. So why doesn’t the government remove the fee at the collection centers? Good question…with the same answer as so many other questions here – that’s China!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">For some interesting pictures of the landfill go check out my webpage in Flickr.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-56407222863481779672011-08-02T11:48:00.000-07:002011-08-02T11:48:39.199-07:00October 16 2008 Memories of Laura<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">Sunday night while we were in Minneapolis we went to see a new musical about Laura Ingalls Wilder, called aptly enough “Little House on the Prairie”. This musical is based on the books, not the TV show, which I never watched. However, Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura on TV, played Caroline the mom, in the musical.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The musical was at the Guthrie Theatre, overlooking the river in downtown Minneapolis. This is a strangely beautiful, other-worldly building on Minneapolis’ mostly quaint, old-fashioned-looking riverfront. The Mississippi River is a small compact stream up here, so both sides of the river are within waving distance of each other. Its possible to run or walk in a tidy loop of about 3 miles using bridges and the paths on either side of the river, which is mostly lined with restaurants and recently created condos, rehabbed from old warehouses. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then there is the Guthrie. The Guthrie is shiny. It is black and it is strangely shaped. Inside it has dozens of views of the river and the Minneapolis skyline, both straightforward and distorted by the angled glass and rectangular shapes. The building itself is a work of art. You can find out more about the Guthrie at this link: http://www.guthrietheater.org/</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The musical was…fine. It has aspirations to make it to Broadway but Sarah and I agreed that it probably won’t get there. Its fun, it was sold out, but there are no truly hum-able songs and the plot is sweet, but not riveting. Also the ending is a bit hurried. Okay! We’ve got 5 minutes left – let’s get hitched!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But I watched this musical on another totally separate level. I OWN Laura Ingalls. I love her character in the books she wrote, and I’ve read those books so many times I can quote whole passages at the drop of a sun-bonnet. The musical took me back, back, back, to memories of why Laura meant so much to me as a child, and on into my adult years.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Laura was brave, and brave in the best way. She was often frightened, but would go ahead and do what she wanted to do in spite of her fear. I intensely admired that as a child, because I was a fearful child. Laura’s nuclear family was very loving. Her parents didn’t yell, and they all pulled together as a unit. But they weren’t perfect, either. Laura was sometimes disobedient. Mary was a little prig. Caroline and Charles sometimes fought. They were poor, and being poor wasn’t glorified. I appreciated that about the book; she didn’t try to pretend that worrying about money and the future was fun.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There are so many stories that I really loved in those books. One of my favorites has to be when Laura and Carrie were sent home from school because Carrie was unconsciously rocking her seat. The teacher decided to punish Carrie by making her rock the seat until she was tired, but Carrie was too weak and started to get sick. Laura leaped up and said that she would rock the seat instead and the teacher agreed. But Laura was strong and so angry about Carrie being treated unfairly that Laura rocked the seat so hard that it broke loose from the floor and made so much noise that the teacher couldn’t teach, so she sent them home. I loved that Laura lost her temper and acted on it, and I loved the way their parents showed them how what she did was wrong and that two wrongs didn’t make a right. It was stories like this that made me take the Little House on the Prairie books as life lessons in how to behave and as ideals to aspire to, just like Laura aspired to be a better person than she was.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It was funny hearing about Lee and Sarah’s reactions to the musical. I read many of the earlier books out loud at bedtime to Sarah and Daniel, and Sarah said when she remembered the early stories they all were verbal, and the last few books were different to her because she read them herself. Lee said he sat through the musical going “where have I heard this before” because he had forgotten about us reading these stories out loud. He was certain that HE certainly hadn’t read them himself when he was a kid! <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We’ve been having fantasies lately about where we would retire when the time comes (IF the time comes, considering the recent market meltdown). I’ve been an advocate of Minneapolis for a long time, with Lee pulling for Austin. This time Sarah decided to take him on a tour of the neighborhoods and the lakes, and the ethnic restaurants. He started to see why I think Minneapolis is such a neat city, not to mention the possibility that my future grandchildren might be located there! Of course, this is all a long way off, but its fun to dream…</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-11473879432847110332011-08-02T11:46:00.000-07:002011-08-02T11:46:06.435-07:00September 28 2008 Two Beautiful Blogs and a Little Wine<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">I’ve been thinking about my two favorite blogs, why I like them so much and what makes them so special (to me anyway). First of all they are written by friends. One blog is by one of my oldest friends, the other by a fairly new friend, but in both cases their blogs let me know more about them than I ever would otherwise. Secondly, both blogs are very creative. One reads like a novel. I can’t wait for the next post, and think about the most recent post often; wondering what is going to happen next. The other reads like a non-fiction book, but it also has that continuity of purpose, and a consistent storyline, like a good essay. Its entries are more to be savored and studied. I learn things from this blog, on a subject about which I’m not very familiar. Thirdly, they are both beautiful. Both writers are gifted photographers, but one specializes in people, especially children, and the other specializes in flowers, insects, and the natural world.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The first blog is Ottworld, by my friend Sherry Ott. Two years ago Sherry left the corporate rat-race and started traveling around the world, writing and taking photographs as she went. She doesn’t stick to well-traveled paths and she often travels alone. She goes to countries and places where I would be uneasy or downright scared, and experiences both the beautiful and the ugly, the frightening and the mundane. Through it all her abilities as a story-teller and photographer shine through. Earlier this year she returned to the US, but just long enough to tie up some business, give up her apartment in New York City, and find a job teaching English in Vietnam for the coming year. After a two week detour volunteering in a remote Nepalese village, she is now residing in Ho Chi Minh City. Her blog is <a href="http://www.ottsworld.com/">www.ottsworld.com</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The second blog belongs to my dear friend Gail. I have known Gail since college and her friendship has been one of the most constant in the last thirtyfive years of my life. This winter Gail’s mother passed away, and Gail began a blog about her garden in Nashville, Tennessee. It shames me that I could have known Gail for so long and not realized what a WONDERFUL writer she is! Gail’s writing reminds me of Annie Dillard (Pilgrim at Tinker Creek) in some ways. Her stories about her flowers and her yard are often metaphors for whatever is going on in her life at the moment. I learn all sorts of things from Gail’s blog, the scientific names of flowers and bugs, why certain plants do well in the southeastern United States, why she favors some plants that others call weeds. Gail’s blog is <a href="http://www.clayandlimestone.blogspot.com/">www.clayandlimestone.blogspot.com</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sherry is an accomplished photographer. She has gone on a photojournalism adventure in Laos and she has had a show in New York. If you go to her blog it provides links to another blog that is just her photos, which can be purchased. I want to buy one, but I can’t decide which one to buy!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I don’t know if Gail has any photographical training, but her pictures sure look like she does! She can capture the smirk on the face of a caterpillar (really!) like something out of Alice in Wonderland. She can make a field of coneflowers vibrate, and wring the melancholy from a wilting stem of grass. Sometimes I just look at her pictures, and save the writing for another time. Because she is such a good friend, her blog makes me feel like I have been given a special gift.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Oh yes, the wine! Well, on our way to the US for this latest trip we decided to spend a couple of nights in Napa Valley and go on a wine tour while we were there. The wine tour was fun, but I do have a few comments on the experience. First of all it’s really hard to pace oneself when going from one winery to the other and tasting a variety of wines. I started out with my own tastings, but by the end of the afternoon I was sharing with Lee, and I often just took a few sips of a wine before pouring it out. We both liked the small family wineries the best, particularly the Frank Winery and the Graeser Winery (these are both close to Calistoga, which is where we were staying). We both agreed on which wines we wanted to buy at Frank, but I had to take the lead at Graeser, because Lee couldn’t taste anything anymore. By that time he couldn’t decide if everything tasted great or terrible so he let me decide.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So now we have four bottles of wine to drink and share with family and friends. I’m not sure if any of them will make it back to Hong Kong, but that’s okay. If we really like some of them we can order more online.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.frankfamilyvineyards.com/">http://www.frankfamilyvineyards.com/</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.graeserwinery.com/">http://www.graeserwinery.com/</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We also visited a crazy winery where some rich guy had built an exact replica of a castle from the middle ages. The castle was authentic, but just ridiculous. I’ll eventually post pictures of it though. It was just too much!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We dedicated my dad’s headstone today. It was a beautiful clear blue sky September day in Missouri. There were small stones on many graves because Jews put them there as a remembrance when they visit cemeteries and this is the time of year when people visit their relatives graves, right before the Jewish New Year. Once again I am seeing the parallels between Chinese and Jewish culture. Well we’re not making effigies of money and cars and burning them on the graves, but in a sense it’s not that different. We strive to remember those that are gone, and hope that in whatever comes after death they remember us as well. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-11194284890208150432011-08-02T11:43:00.000-07:002011-08-02T11:43:57.808-07:00September 14 2008 Some Large Waves at Shek O Beach<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">On Friday afternoon Lee played hooky and we went to the beach at Shek O. It was a lovely if somewhat hazy and definitely HOT day, perfect for lying under an umbrella at our favorite beach. Lest anyone think my husband was laying down on the job, he works long hours all the time and there is a public holiday in Hong Kong tomorrow that he will miss because he just left on a flight for Singapore. So there!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When we got to Shek O it was just as we hoped. On weekends this beach is very, very crowded, so much so that if you don’t get there early there is no place to park, let alone put your umbrella. By going on a weekday we found a mostly deserted beach with lots of space and some surprisingly large waves. This was unusual. There is one beach in Hong Kong – Big Wave Bay – that boasts of being a “surfer beach” and I actually do know people that go there to surf, but for anyone from California, Australia or Hawaii the waves are laughable. I suppose it’s probably a good place to LEARN to surf, but anyone that really surfs would find it pretty boring. To give you some idea of how boring, there is a real problem with people flocking to the beaches to surf when a typhoon hits Hong Kong. THEN we get some waves!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But on Friday there was no typhoon anywhere near Hong Kong. There was a typhoon up by Taiwan and Japan, but that’s over 600 miles away so it doesn’t seem likely that was the reason for the waves. At any rate we were impressed. It really looked like an ocean and it looked like fun.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m kind of a big chicken when it comes to the ocean. I have a lot of respect for it and treat it with caution, so I went out slowly. The tide was out (I think) and the beach was really, really shallow, with lots of strange currents and a pretty strong undertow. Yes, the warning flags were out on the beach. Lee came in too, but he’s more blasé about these things, and left his hat and sunglasses on.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We made it past the first breakers and started floating happily in water that varied between hitting our thighs and our chests. When a big wave came we jumped up and rode it over. Then a REALLY big wave came. We both misjudged it. I tried to dive under it but didn’t time it right and got summer-salted through the water. I held my breath and stayed calm, and except for a bathing suit top malfunction regained my footing without too much trouble. I did have about a pound of sand in the bottom of my suit, not to mention my ears, eyes and hair, but other than that I was okay. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As I resurfaced I heard a distinctive SHIT! It was Lee. He had lost his very, very expensive prescription sunglasses in the wave. It was just one of those things. Once it happened we both thought we should have known better, but we didn’t really realize how strong the waves were until after we were out there. We searched for the sunglasses for quite awhile, but they were gone.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Lee took it very well. There was nothing he could do about it and he managed to stay pretty calm and philosophical about it. I would have been just furious with myself so I really was proud of him for not beating himself up over something he couldn’t help. What is it about sunglasses? You never lose the cheap junky ones; just the really nice expensive ones. My Kate Spade sunglasses belong to a time-warp continuum of some sort since they are both really nice AND expensive and I’ve had them for years now. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So Lee has left for a business trip and I’m all alone in Hong Kong and I’ve watched all of the 3<sup>rd</sup> season of the West Wing and the 4<sup>th</sup> season is waiting for me in the US and I can’t watch The Wire without Lee. What to do…maybe I should do something wild and crazy like go see Mama Mia by myself! Ha.</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-17610653863043645682011-08-02T11:41:00.000-07:002011-08-02T11:41:31.468-07:00September 7 2008 Dinner at the Chef's Table Bo Innovations<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">Last night Lee and I went to Bo Innovation at their new location in Wan Chai. By some luck of chance or confusion we were seated at the Chef’s Table, so not only did we get to enjoy Bo’s amazing and unusual food, we were at the same time entertained throughout our meal, by Chef Alvin Leung, self-styled “Demon Chef” of Hong Kong.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The food at Bo is Hong Kong Asian Fusion, inspired (as I’ve since read) by the kaiseki “small bite” dinners in Japan. Chef Leung goes to Japan for research frequently as he told us during our meal.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">His food is delicious, but different. Sometimes the descriptions, or the ingredients, don’t initially appeal to me. I’m not big on oysters, but his entry of a French oyster with green onion lime sauce was not only pretty, but tasted divine. His “molecular” entrée, a Shanghai Dumpling made with indescribably thin dough simply evaporated in one’s mouth, leaving only a memory of dumpling heaven. One of the entrees was a century egg, not my favorite food, but in his hand a pickled egg became something spectacular. I had pigeon; it was delicious. We had fried rice, but with saffron, and paired with a dessert wine that made me take a sip-eat a bite-take a sip, over and over, until sadly it was all gone.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the picture above you can see one of the best courses of the evening – a smoked quail egg, toped with caviar and nestled in a crispy toro nest. As Chef Leung admonished us, it was the most expensive thing on the menu so we were ordered to use our fingers and pop it straight in our mouths, lest the use of chopsticks cause an egg to be dropped. It was so good that I was tempted to ask how much a second one would cost, but held my peace.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Chef Leung is a character. He was featured on Anthony Bourdain’s show No Reservations, cooking with a cigar in his mouth (before the smoking ban in Hong Kong!) and regaling his guests with stories about eating in Hong Kong and Asia. In the course of the evening he poured himself a glass of Laphroaig 15 year old scotch, and the chef’s table perked up with interest. One of the ladies at the table said she had taught her children at an early age to share their toys with others. Chef Alvin smiled wickedly at us, but poured us all some of his scotch at the end of the meal. Again, I’m not usually a hard liquor girl, but like everything else we ingested last night the scotch was awesome.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I was relieved that I didn’t have an adverse reaction to the alcohol last night. I was a bit tipsy but neither dizzy nor ill. Whatever happened at the Shangri-La seems to have been an oddity. Maybe Lee DID put something in my drink that night – ha.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Bo Innovations has been visited by the Michelin Star Gods sometime in the past couple of months. They will probably find out sometime this fall if they have been awarded a star. I know The Demon Chef wants one badly, and I don’t wish him any ill, but I sort of hope he doesn’t get his star, at least not before we leave Hong Kong. Once he has a star he will become the darling of the media and the rich and famous of Hong Kong, and then seats at his dinner table will be hard to acquire for simple folks like us.</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-39593360506180096212011-08-01T18:54:00.000-07:002011-08-01T18:54:19.902-07:00Thursday September 4 2008 More on Chinese Culture - Don't Step on that Paper!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">Note: This information is courtesy of my sweet manicurist, Stephanie Chung.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">While I was getting my nails done the other day I complained to Stephanie about not being able to read the Chinese newspapers or understand the Cantonese news. “Why?” asked Stephanie, “What newspaper do you read?” “I read the South China Daily Post,” I replied. “I know I get most of the news, including local news, but I think I miss a chance to understand Chinese culture better.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Stephanie was silent for a moment. Then she said, “Did you read about that tree that fell on that girl in Stanley the other day?” “Yes,” I said, “that was terrible.” “Well, didn’t you think that story was a little strange?” asked Stephanie. “Don’t you think if you heard a big tree falling like that you would get out of the way? Well in the Chinese press, this is what they were saying. You know the Hungry Ghost Festivals they are having all over Hong Kong right now? Well we believe that this time of year is very dangerous, because the ghosts are hungry and they are out at night. They need energy, which is why we feed them. But people have low energy this time of year too. So, we don’t think that the ghosts caused the tree to fall on the girl, but maybe her energy level was low because the ghosts are hungry, which caused her to be less aware of the things going on around her, and less able to respond when the tree started to fall.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I thought about this. This time of year in Hong Kong, it has been so hot and humid for so long. Everyone is dragging. We’re tired of the beach; we’re tired of the pool. The stores are filling up with fall clothing, but no-one can stand the thought of trying on warm clothes. It makes sense to say that our energy levels are low; its true, they are.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Stephanie continued. “You know all the little shrines you see all over Hong Kong. Well you’ve been seeing more of them lately, haven’t you?” I nodded. “Well people are feeding the ghosts, paper food, paper money. Don’t step on that paper!” she said with a smile, “the ghosts won’t like that!”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We laughed, but I went back to thinking about the Chinese culture that surrounds me. I talked to Stephanie a little bit about the paper tigers and the petty people that I posted about last week. The thing that’s cool is that as I researched this tradition further I realized that it really wasn’t like voo-doo at all. They’re not trying to put an evil spell on the people in the pictures; they are trying to reduce the INFLUENCE of the petty people over their lives. To be free of the anger and grief caused by people that have done you harm, well that’s actually comforting and healthy and makes perfect sense. Beat a picture with a shoe? Why not?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Lee told me the other day that a friend of his at work that lived in China for many years said that on the mainland these traditions have almost totally died out. Mao didn’t like these superstition – communists don’t like religion in any form – and discouraged their practice. But the traditions are still strong in Taiwan. I’ll have to ask Daniel if he is seeing little shrines everywhere in Taipei. </div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-1288228295748815532011-08-01T18:51:00.000-07:002011-08-01T18:51:51.705-07:00Saturday August 30 2008 Beating Petty People - Paper Tigers and Poverty in Hong Kong<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">The other day I was in Wan Chai on a back-pack buying quest. I have two backpacks already but one doesn’t have a place for my hydration system tube and I’ve decided the other one is too big. So I went to buy a smaller hydration backpack since the hiking season is starting again in Hong Kong. The store I go to is near Canal Street. Underneath the overpass on Canal Street there is a strange ritual that goes on. Little old Chinese ladies sell these cute paper tigers there. People come and sit on little stools and give the ladies pictures of people they’ve had problems with – their husband’s mistress, an evil ex-boyfriend, their mother-in-law, you get the idea. The ladies put a piece of pork fat on the paper tiger’s head, stick incense in a couple of potato halves, put the pictures on the ground, and then proceed to beat the living tar out of the pictures with a shoe! The ladies are professional beaters. It seems like a type of voo-doo, but there is a definite Chinese ritual behind it.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I couldn’t begin to describe all the intricacies of this ritual so I will provide a link to a couple of blogs that have very complete descriptions you can read. Apparently there is a holiday in March when it is especially auspicious to feed the hungry tigers, but people can do this ritual any time. In fact, the other morning I was walking down to Bowen Road to go run and what should I see on the path but a piece of foil, with a couple of sticks of incense on it and a half-burnt paper tiger. If you get out early enough in the morning it’s not at all unusual to find little impromptu shrines here and there along the street, but this was the first time I’ve seen the little paper tigers at a random place along the way. Maybe I’ve just never really noticed it before. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I understand that according to Chinese tradition there are local gods here and there all over the place so that explains the random shrines; people are just communing with their local gods. But why was the little paper tiger shrine doing right there? Who knows…</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Here are the links: </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://daisann.com/2007/03/07/wake-insects-feed-tiger-beat-little-people-with-shoes.aspx">http://daisann.com/2007/03/07/wake-insects-feed-tiger-beat-little-people-with-shoes.aspx</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.english.cciv.cityu.edu.hk/jiedan/jingzhe.php">http://www.english.cciv.cityu.edu.hk/jiedan/jingzhe.php</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The other interesting thing that happened last week was an encounter with an old man at a bus stop up in the New Territories. I was on a hike with Michael Hansen (<a href="http://www.hansen-hikes.com/">www.hansen-hikes.com</a>) and we were waiting for a bus to take us to the beginning of our hike. Michael knows a fair amount of Cantonese and can communicate with the locals very well. This little old man came up to Michael and asked him for change for the bus fare. I think the fare was $7.60 HKD (about one dollar US). The man was asking for change for one Hong Kong dollar to get the 60 cents. At first Michael didn’t have enough change, so he tried to just GIVE the man a HK dollar (about 13 cents US). The man would NOT take that Hong Kong dollar! Finally I started scrounging around in MY wallet and between the two of us we found enough change for the man. He thanked us profusely and that was that.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But I found myself thinking. Those little 10, 20 and 50 cent HK coins are a pain. To us they seem practically worthless (do the math: 1 US dollar = 7.78 HK dollars). I honestly am tempted to just throw the damn things away sometimes! But to that little old man, maybe that 60 cents was the difference between whether he would eat that night or not. Maybe it made the difference between whether he would be able to take the bus the next day or not. It really gave me pause.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I know there is a lot of poverty in Hong Kong. But it is SO DIFFERENT from the US. And it is different from many of the countries that surround Hong Kong too. In the US we hear about the poor people in the inner cities, or in rural America, all the time. For the most part it seems wrong to us that there should be ANY poor people in the US and we have, to a larger or smaller degree, some sense that we should help poor people improve their lives in one way or another. In many of the countries that surround Hong Kong there are so many poor people, and the poverty is so very extreme and so exposed. Here it is hidden, in neighborhoods that are outside the city centers, where no-one ever has a reason to go except other poor people. And the attitude is different too. There is a great belief in fate here. If you are poor, well that’s your fate. No one thinks its wrong or unfair, it’s just the way it is. Recently there was a minor scandal in Hong Kong because in a particular poor neighborhood a woman threw herself and her children off a balcony in despair. This was shocking because it was unusual that someone didn’t just accept their fate in resignation. Many people are Buddhists and they think there’s a reason they are poor in this life, and maybe if they live right they’ll get a better deal in the next.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Here’s a link to a story about Tin Shui Wai, the “City of Sadness” –</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?Itemid=149&id=934&option=com_content&task=view">http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?Itemid=149&id=934&option=com_content&task=view</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, it’s funny. Ever since that incident with the little old man at the bus stop I’ve been looking at those coins differently. I’m more aware of their worth, as small as it is. I’m trying to at least make the correct change, if a bottle of water costs $6.50 I look for those little coins in my wallet. It just seems disrespectful now to treat those coins with distain!</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-56668489137542503822011-08-01T18:48:00.000-07:002011-08-01T18:48:27.011-07:00Tuesday August 19 2008 Equestrian Olympics Day 4<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">On Monday night, August 18<sup>th</sup> I went to the Team Jumping Finals at the Equestrian Olympics. Lee was in China and it was too late to ask someone else, so I went by myself. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The finals were SO amazing. Those jumps are so huge and the course so demanding I just cringed and held my breath as the riders went around the course. There were huge oxers, a water jump, combination jumps with an odd series of strides in-between, and bending lines that made the horses and riders really pay attention and struggle to get ready for the next jump. The most amazing thing about the evening was – the American Team won the gold medal, beating the Canadians in a jump-off. I’ve never seen a jump-off before and wasn’t sure how they really worked, but now I understand. If you have two riders (or two teams in this case) with the same number of total faults at the end of a competition, then the riders that are tied jump one more course, with time used as a tie-breaker. The riders jump as fast as they can jump without getting a fault. The Canadians were missing a team member which put them at a disadvantage, but the Americans had 3 clear rounds and that was all she wrote.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Then last night (August 21<sup>st</sup>) Lee and I went to the individual jumping finals. The jumps were even bigger and wider for this event. The announcers on the radio said that there were very few horses in the world that can jump clear at this level, and I believe it. I find myself saying that the horses are the athletes, but the riders are too. You’ve got to have that special horse, but if the rider isn’t smart and good and able to ride correctly at this level then it doesn’t matter, so it really is a team effort.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In front of us were a family all decked out in red and white, rooting for the Swiss. I started talking to the mom and it turns out they’ve lived in Hong Kong for 15 years and the two little girls were born here. One little girl goes to the Japanese International School and the other goes to the French School. Those little girls were a picture of two kids “at home in the world”. I told them what the announcers were saying and they shared their pen with me so that I could keep score. The two little girls take riding lessons and are just horse-crazy. I know how they feel. I just love those horses…</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">At the end two riders, one from the Netherlands and one from Canada, were tied with two clear (no penalty) rounds, and 7 riders, including two from the US, were tied with only 4 faults. So, there was a jump-off for gold, silver AND bronze.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The first jump-off, for bronze, was great. The first American rider tried a neat trick, and jumped one of the flower beds as an extra jump to shorten the line and get a faster time. He had an amazing round, but knocked a rail down at the very last jump. The rest of the riders liked his idea so much that they all jumped the flower bed too. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It really looked like a German rider was going to win it, but then the second American rider, Beezie Madden, just went around that course like lightening. It looked like she was barrel-racing around some of the corners. The fact that she was also jumping 6 foot jumps and 5 foot wide oxers at the same time was just mind-blowing. She won the bronze medal for the Americans. Then the riders from the Netherlands and Canada went. The rider from the Netherlands got a fault, so all the Canadian had to do was ride a careful round and they got the gold.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Canadians were SO HAPPY! Canada doesn’t win gold medals every day. I congratulated the people next to me, who were delirious with joy and waving their maple-leaf flags like mad. I like the Canadian national anthem too – its very majestic.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Last night I was so proud of my adopted city. The announcers said that there were a lot of misgivings initially about whether Hong Kong could pull it off, with the weather, the pollution, etc. But they did a great, great job. The weather cooperated too. Typhoon Nuri started approaching Hong Kong last night but waited until this morning to really start blowing. We went from a signal 8 this morning to a signal 9 at 2 pm, today. We’re all stuck at home, nervously watching the rain and the wind. This is supposed to be almost a direct hit, but I think we’re pretty sheltered on this side of the Peak. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We must be experiencing the eye of the typhoon right now because things have gotten very calm. I’m not sure what to expect when the other side of the typhoon reaches us.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-52052425165527935542011-08-01T18:46:00.000-07:002011-08-01T18:46:12.261-07:00Sunday August 17 2008 Equestrian Olympics Day 3<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We FINALLY got things fixed so that we can watch the Olympics locally on TV. We needed a cable, which we bought yesterday, but still couldn’t get any reception. So Lee said “maybe there’s something wrong with the connection in our apartment” so we called the building management and they sent up a technician to and play with things. Fun! Now we can watch on one station and get the Cantonese version of the Olympics, and on another station and get the "British" version. They show different things, and what they show is different from what you see in the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Then last night we went to the Olympics again. This was the second dressage competition. The top 25 riders from the first dressage competition, the Grand Prix, compete in the second one, the Grand Prix Special, which is a harder dressage test. Then the top 15 riders from last night compete in the final dressage competition which is freestyle. We stayed until around 11 PM last<br />
night; long enough to see the two American riders compete. When we left one of the Americans was in first place but I just checked the scores and now he's in 4th. The Germans, Australians and Dutch really dominate the equestrian events. They are the ones with the best crazy<br />
clothing in the stands too!<br />
<br />
It’s been so great to go to these events. I've got two more nights to go, both show-jumping, including the show-jumping finals. I’m not sure how late I will stay Monday night, but I’m telling myself on Thursday night I’m staying for the whole thing! It’s the last night so I want to see the medalists and the victory celebration.</span></div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-30594196897934989662011-08-01T18:44:00.001-07:002011-08-01T18:44:30.752-07:00Saturday August 16 2008 Equestrian Olympics Day 2<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">On Thursday evening, August 14<sup>th</sup>, I went to my second night of the Olympic equestrian games. This time my friend Beth went with me. Unlike Casey on Tuesday night, Beth didn’t know anything about what we were seeing, so it was interesting to watch her reaction to the event. As before, the venue was simply beautiful and very well run. This time I knew the ropes. We found it was no problem to leave about a ½ an hour later than I did on Tuesday. We immediately got in line for our beers, sodas, popcorn and this time a hotdog (for me anyway), grab our score sheets and head for our seats. My seats were a little to the left of where I sat on Tuesday, so they were more centered, and slightly higher (row 10). Unfortunately our view of the arena was partially blocked by the judge’s booths. The judge’s booths were shaped like little Chinese temples. They were adorable, but their roofs were a bit obtrusive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was surprised that more horses didn’t look at them and go YIKES, but only two horses spooked the entire evening and only one horse went off course.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This was the Grand Prix Qualifier. I didn’t really know what I was seeing at the time, but I googled it later. This was a set test of about 6 minutes that included certain specific dressage moves. It determined the team winners and which 25 riders would go on to tonight’s event, the Grand Prix Special. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">As I watched the Grand Prix, all these dressage moves came back to me; laterals, serpentines, flying changes, extended trot, sitting trot, walk on the buckle. Of course I never did anything even close to this level, and I never tried a passage, or a piaffe, or anything like the 9 flying changes they did one diagonal and the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">15 flying changes </b>they had to do the other direction. I mean, one flying change (on purpose anyway) is very hard, I can’t imagine doing 9, let alone 15. I’m just remembering asking for a lead change when we would change directions…we usually would “sit and ask” to quote Colby, and it was hard enough to do that properly.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It wasn’t boring at all, and most of the crowd seemed fascinated. Everyone was very, very quiet, they were all watching so intently. As the night went on we all started to learn the tests, counting the flying changes under our breaths, anticipating the next move. They posted the moves on the video board (which we could see this time) also, which was great.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One thing that was kind of cool. While standing in line to enter the arena, we were introduced to Courtney King’s parents, one of the American riders. At one point the brothers of one of the British rides sat in front of us. One of them had on a jacket made out of the British flag. I asked him if I could take his picture so that’s how we ended up talking to them. And, Casey knew one of the Canadian riders, so I made a video of her test for Casey. Because this venue isn’t really big (18,000 seats) it makes it seem small and intimate, and really gives it a personal feel.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Once again we left around 10 pm, at the start of the second break. This seems like a perfect time to leave. I’m planning on do that again tonight and on Monday, but on Thursday (the show-jumping finals) I’m staying for the WHOLE THING!</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-5694717359566013332011-08-01T18:43:00.002-07:002011-08-01T18:43:48.857-07:00Thursday August 14 2008 Equestrian Olympics Day 1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">On Tuesday, August 12<sup>th</sup> I went with a friend of mine to watch the Eventing Show-Jumping at the Olympic Equestrian games here in Hong Kong. The event was held in Sha Tin, near the racetrack, at a beautiful small stadium built just for this event.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My friend, Casey, is an accomplished rider, so it was great to have her with me for my first time at the Olympics. We left the apartment (she lives in Branksome too) at around 5:15, took a taxi to the Admiralty MTR Station, and from there traveled by MTR to University. From there we hopped on the Olympic shuttle bus and in no time we were at the stadium. It took us about an hour total.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The directions to the stadium were very well marked. The shuttle buses ran frequently so there was very little waiting. The volunteers were well-trained and helpful! It made the first part of our Olympic experience so pleasant! Security moved rapidly, and once through security they gave us an assortment of goodies – a rain poncho, an Olympic flag with a flashing light on top, an Olympic fan, and little cardboard binoculars. I can’t wait to see what kinds of goodies we get when I go to the dressage event tonight!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After going through the gates we entered a large courtyard. There were food and beverage stands, an area where you could get your picture taken with one of the Olympic mascots, and a souvenir store. Except for the store the lines for everything moved quickly. We stood in line to get water, beer (!) and some snacks and then headed for our seats. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">My seats were AMAZING. We were very close (row 6) and could see a couple of the jumps very, very well. The trade-off was that we couldn’t see the whole course and unfortunately we were sitting right in front of the video screen, so we couldn’t see that either. Oh well. My seats are different every night so it will be fun to try out different viewpoints.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Show-jumping involves horses jumping a series of jumps in a set amount of time. They incur penalties for dropping a rail (making a rail fall off of a jump) or for running over the time limit. They have to jump the jumps in a certain order, but they can make choices about what “line” they take to a jump. In some cases there were shorter lines they could take to try to save time, but at the same time often a shorter line meant that it was hard to get a horse “collected” or ready for the jump, so they were in greater danger of dropping a rail. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">There is also always the danger that a horse will refuse a jump, which basically means that they stop in front of the jump and refuse to jump it. One refusal is okay; the rider can ride a circle in front of the jump and try again. Two refusals means the horse is eliminated. I think there was only one elimination in the show-jumping phase during the evening. There were surprisingly few refusals, and no-one fell off or were injured, thank God. I’ve had plenty of refusals in my horseback riding experiences. It’s not unusual if a horse refuses to end up jumping the jump on your own without the horse. Momentum keeps the rider going even when the horse has stopped, not a pleasant experience!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The eventing show-jumping phase has jumps that are at a lower level of difficulty than the show-jumping we will see later on next week. These horses are pretty amazing, since they have to be proficient in both dressage, cross-country AND show-jumping. The dressage and show-jumping horses for the rest of the Olympics are specialists in their particular sport, so the challenges will be greater.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Some highlights for me were:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Listening to the radio commentary over this nifty little attachment I bought for my iPod that turns it into a radio receiver. It was very helpful for me to be able to listen to the commentary.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Watching the American riders. One of them was very good and got the silver in the individual competition.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Watching both the very good riders that rode almost faultless rounds, and the riders that messed up completely. I was in awe of the riders that approached perfection, but I actually think I enjoyed the riders that made mistakes more. At the level that I used to ride, which was MILES below what these riders can do, I’ve done every mistake that they made, and of course many many more. I know how hard it is when a horse refuses not to fall off, to calm down and collect yourself and your horse and try again. I know how easy it is to forget the jump order (none of them did that!) and go off course. I know the sinking feeling if your horse knocks a rail off the jump. And there really is nothing worse than getting a distance to a jump wrong and having your poor horse go ahead and jump the jump anyway, and then because you’re so out of sync, ending up hitting the poor animal in the mouth with your hands (through the bit) or thumping them on their backs with your big fat butt!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Australian and German fans. They were so gung-ho for their horses and their teams, as well they should have been, since their teams took the silver and the gold medals respectively. They painted their faces and their hair with the national colors. They waved their national flags. The Aussies yelled their funny “oi oi oi” cheer. Some Aussie guy bought a huge bag of Aussie baseball caps and threw them to crowd. I got one for Lee!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We left around 10 pm, when there was a break between the team jumping and the individual jumpers. There were medals both for the teams and for the individuals. There was going to be an hour’s break between the two events so it seemed like the perfect time to go. We were home by eleven.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’m going to one of the dressage events tonight. I can’t wait to see the dressage. Some people say dressage is boring, but I’ve never thought so. I’ve never seen a really good dressage event. I’ve watched my teacher in Texas practice on her horse and I thought that was really amazing. I’ve watched the fun dressage show that Colby had for her students, where most of us had a really hard time running our tests, and a couple of the horses just completely freaked out. This will be a whole different animal, if you know what I mean!</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-33568529299695909092011-08-01T18:43:00.000-07:002011-08-01T18:43:03.398-07:00Sunday August 2 2008 Friends<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I've been going to AWA Chat on Thursday mornings the past couple of weeks, since Nicole and Cody left. This is an informal gathering AWA hosts to help expat ladies meet other expats and get to know more people in Hong Kong. I figure it’s a good deed I can do now before I get too busy with other activities. It's reassuring to newbies to hear from ladies that have been in Hong Kong for several (or many) years. It helps them realize that this experience is doable, maybe even enjoyable, maybe even life-changing and mindblowingly amazing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Anyway at lunch after Chat someone asked a newcomer how long she thought she would be in Hong Kong, and the newcomer replied with the standard "a couple of years" answer. Another lady sitting next to her said. "You really shouldn't answer like that. People that have been here a long time are going to shy away from being friends with you, because they don't want to get their hearts broken again."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I know this lady was just speaking for herself, but silently I disagreed with her. There's just no reassurance here that anyone is going to be here next month, let alone next year. I’ve recently seen someone leave suddenly that had been in Hong Kong for seventeen years! They had no idea that they were ever going to leave, until a new business opportunity presented itself to her husband. They had even bought a condo in Thailand. If you're looking for a long term friendship commitment here you might as well stay home.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I'm sad when people I know and have grown to like and love leave HK. But I don't necessarily feel like I've lost them forever, just that our relationship has gone into a new phase. Part of me thinks – “Cool! I have a friend now in Belgium!” And new people show up all the time, maybe one of them will become my friend. Plus, there are all the people I know casually but haven't bothered to get to know better. Maybe I will decide to deepen my friendship with them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">I know part of the difference for me is that I don’t need to have someone to do things with all the time. I like doing things by myself. I enjoy staying home alone. I cherish my friends, but I love my solitude too. Is this something that mothers learn once the nest is empty? We go through so many years of NEVER being alone. Some of us become starved for solitude. It’s like a deficit that needs to be filled.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Friendship is funny. It can be experienced on so many different levels. There the friendships I have with family members, who know me differently than anyone else. There are my old friends - Gail, Eugenie, Cathy, Lee Black, Sally Bass, that have known me so long and so well it’s like they know parts of me that don't even exist anymore. There are our couple friends, the UPT (Texas) ladies, 3M friends. And now I'm learning about expat friends, a whole new category. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 58.5pt; text-autospace: none;"><br />
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</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117298201162814442.post-33684572586084323972011-08-01T18:41:00.000-07:002011-08-01T18:41:23.069-07:00Wednesday July 30 Just Checking In<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/> <w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> <w:Word11KerningPairs/> <w:CachedColBalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">Hey Everyone.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We had a week of blindingly hot and beautiful summer Hong Kong weather. Then a typhoon blew across Taiwan, and pushed hot, murky, polluted air into Hong Kong. It’s still hot and humid, but the views are gone and the air is just nasty. Actually it was a little better today, a little cooler and less polluted. It’s still murky though. It was down-right DARK up on the Peak this morning when I went running.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Speaking of running, in my head I’ve started training to run a ½ marathon this winter. I’m not really training yet; all I’m doing is getting back into running mode. I’m running 3 miles or so 3 days a week, and 5 miles one day. Two other days I’m walking, hiking, lifting weights or going to yoga, although I haven’t been going to yoga lately. I want to get the running well established again and then I’ll add some yoga back in, but just for cross-training. I’m kind of burnt out on yoga right now.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">A ½ marathon is a lot of miles, 13 or so to be exact. That’s more miles than I usually hike. I’m apprehensive about it; I think if I follow the Jeff Galloway run/walk training program I’ll be able to do this. I hope so anyway. It’s kind of nice to have a goal. The race I’m aiming for is the Standard Charter Hong Kong Marathon in February. It will be cooler then anyway!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On the other side of the world…Daniel is busy getting ready to move to Taiwan for a year to teach English. Its nerve-wracking watching him get ready. We’re helping, buying his plane ticket, buying a laptop, probably giving him some cash to tide him over until he starts getting paid in Taiwan. This will be such a great experience for him. He needs some time to grow up a little more and some challenges to help him do that. This will certainly assist him in the growing up department! Now if I could just stop stressing about everything, will he get his visa in time, will the computer get there in time, will we get him the cash he needs in time. Yikes! On the other hand once he gets there and gets settled I’ll actually have a child in the same time zone as me, and only an hour away by plane. I kind of feel sorry for Sarah. All her immediate family members will be on the other side of the world.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I had lunch with Adrienne and Beth yesterday. It was really great to see them and just chat with Hong Kong friends. One thing I really have done right is follow the mandate about having several groups of friends because people come and go so much here. Then today I went on a “recon” trip up to Festival Walk for the AWA tour I’m leading next week. It was good. I’ve actually got that mall oriented in my head now. It can be very confusing, but there are some really good stores there, different stores that you don’t find anywhere else in Hong Kong. I found myself thinking about two years ago when Adrienne took me there for the first time and we were caught in a level 3 typhoon! My how time flies…</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I’ve discovered something that’s not easy to find in Hong Kong – a paper shredder! I guess everyone’s on the honor system here so they’re not needed. It’s peculiar though; you have to look carefully at your credit card receipts because half the time your credit card number is printed out on them in full! Oh well. Its half my life here; searching for objects that must be available somewhere, but where?</div>Lynn Nillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02889149260448218282noreply@blogger.com0