Nei Hou Maa!

Well I have been in Hong Kong for four full days now!  The Internet isn’t super easy to access, and let’s face it, I don’t have a whole lot of time to be on here.  We are encouraged to stay in Asia, if you know what I mean.  I can’t say I blame them for wanting that for us.

So I’m actually sitting in my room typing this, and will post it when I have access to the Internet.  But welcome to virtual Hong Kong! ;)

I love it here.  It is gorgeous.  We’re staying at a YWCA for training, so I’m rooming with seven other girls currently.  This place is kind of in the middle of nowhere, which has its pros and cons.  A definite pro is the scenery.  You wouldn’t believe the view I have.  Even pictures don’t seem to capture it right.  One bad thing is not having access to buy things like sunscreen and cortisone cream because we’re twenty minutes from anywhere by bus.  We’re only here until Friday, and then we head to the Baptist University, closer to where we teach.

I feel like I have so much to say! Okay, my teammates are great!! If you want to be lifting them up by name, they are:  Emily, Hannah, Anna, Peter, and Ben.  Our team leader is Drew.  We meld really well together, and we learned on the first day that I am the only extravert.  Ha!  But the good news is, they laugh at my bad jokes, and Ben is the punniest person I have ever met.  I have decided that bad jokes (and puns) comprise a love language of mine.  I really think we are going to get along very well.  We spend a lot of time together, and I find that to be incredibly important in bonding.  We eat together, sit together for training, have team meetings, and even spend some of our free time throwing a Frisbee or playing cards together with other teams.  I am very much looking forward to getting to know each of them better.

Training is really good and also somewhat overwhelming.  I am trying to soak in a lot of information fast.  We’re learning about the culture, a few Cantonese words (the only words I learned in the States were Mandarin), how to plan a lesson, how to share our stories and build relationships with our students, how to be good stewards of time and talents, and fun games to play with our students.  I also learned the Cotton-Eyed Joe for the first time here.  It’s a miracle it’s taken me this long. Haha.  Oh, funny thing about learning Cantonese—I started speaking Spanish when I got confused.  Weird.

Let me tell you about the bugs here.  They are all supersized.  All of them.  We call the spiders here “face spiders” because they are literally as big as my face.  They do not look friendly.  I’m not one to be afraid of spiders, but these kinda freak me out.  The snails here are as big as hermit crabs.  The butterflies are also super big.  I have only seen black ones.  They’re pretty, and the Father has used them to speak to me so clearly.  It’s beautiful how He cares for me.  Oh! And random cows are chillin in the street.  And when I say “chillin” I really mean “I’m not quite sure how they’re not hamburgers yet because it’s a million degrees out here.”  Okay, so maybe it’s not a million degrees, but it feels like Louisiana for sure. ;)

We’re going to the beach today to celebrate the Fourth of July and a late Canada Day celebration!  My team signed up for a volleyball tournament, and we are going to have a buffet-style dinner.  It will be a great break from training, and I am very excited to stick my feet back in the Pacific. :)

Speaking of food, it hasn’t been bad at all.  I’m not used to eating with these plastic chopsticks, but hopefully I’ll get the hang of it.  The curry has been especially good in my opinion.  Their egg salad and potato/fruit combo salad was less than desirable, however.  Lotta mayo…and fruit…like papaya and pears and apples mixed in with the potatoes and carrots and cucumbers.  It was odd.  And we get Iceberg lettuce, ham, boxed milk, sugar, cornflakes, boiled eggs, and white bread for breakfast every morning.  I miss peanut butter, but I have really been enjoying my time here so much.

Side note—I caught a little tiny gecko yesterday and named him Alfred.  Our team was very fascinated and distracted by him for a while.  He was so cute!  And he licked his eyeballs, which was weird.  He also didn’t ask if I wanted to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, but I’m okay with that.  I have a hard time saying no after they do the whole sales pitch because they just work so hard!

Anyway…I have been able to exercise every morning.  I took today off since we’re walking to the beach and playing volleyball, but even at home I have a day off every week.  So, this is Katie checking in!  Everything is wonderful, and I know the Father has a good and pleasing and perfect plan for my being here.  I couldn’t be more excited!  Please continue lifting us up to the Father so we can be His hands and feet here.

“The [Father] is on my side; I will not fear…” -David