Lingering New Year and other Celebrations

 

Jennifer, our legal secretary, and Marty, our boss (ALC), received a big SURPRIZE for their March birthdays.  We pulled them from working stations for an afternoon snack and sing.

Elder Homer, of the Area Presidency, enjoys the festivities as he leans on the door frame.  He talks with Sister Blackwell while Elder McAllister and Anna stand at the side.

As the group sings in Cantonese and English note the change from sweet birthday cake:  bread varieties, veggie tray, crackers and dip, and fruit tray (Yes, I prepared the fruit).  This may be due to my influence.  The entire OGC office now embraces more than sweets for celebrations.

Paul and Susan Hansen treated us to a traditional dumpling dinner last Friday.  Paul is the director of temporal affairs and our Branch President.  Note the bamboo baskets of dumplings and the vegetable rice.  Everything tasted delicious!

Sister Ash, Sister Latimer and I visited the Jade Market again.  Sandra and her brother were thrilled to see us.  She continues to offer missionaries special service and the lowest prices imaginable.  We’ve created a unique bond and shed tears as we embraced upon departure.  She invited me to return to Hong Kong again.   I used this opportunity to give her a Book of Mormon.   She warmly received the gift and the accompanying DVD, Meet the Mormons.   I encouraged her to learn more about who we are and what we believe.

These arches, decorated in pink paper roses, line the way to one ferry station on the island.

The “pink” promenade is another sign of Chinese New Year Décor.

The Latimers joined us for a lovely evening on Lee Tong Road, famous for the splendid New Year décor. 

                 The large, delightful butterflies compliment the traditional pink blossoms.

                                     The lanterns glow at dusk.  We enjoy visiting this lovely area.

March 2021 - Odds and Ends

 

                                                                   It looks like a watermelon

The surprise comes when cutting open the fruit.  It tastes “red”, just like the usual melon we know.  The bright yellow color deceives my taste buds.  

 Elder McAllister photographed the process of his apartment A/C  repair.   This shows the opened window with the outside unit.

The bamboo poles create the scaffolding.  This never looks safe to me but has been the method for building and repairing for years.

Notice the bamboo poles fastened together to create a safe area for workers.

                      Voilà!!  Let the A/C repair begin.

      Note this same pattern used on tasks throughout the city.

The larger projects baffle my mind.  

                                         Even tall buildings receive face lifts.

                   We frequently walk beneath ongoing projects and feel perfectly safe.

Last summer we visited the Hong Kong temple (currently undergoing renovations) and found the building wrapped in white plastic with some visible bamboo “shelves” for workers.

Today we begin to see the progress.  Asian members are anxious for the reopening.  Everyone misses attending the temple.

                St. John’s cathedral rests quietly amidst the sky scrapers of the business district.

The rows and rows of white floral displays made me feel they were preparing for a wedding.

                                      Then, the casket arrived – this would be a funeral.

Note the endless rows and rows of gorgeous bouquets.  White represents mourning in many cultures. 

 English is a major language in Hong Kong so we seldom see the humorous “Chinglish” signs we enjoyed in China.  This sign at the Wetlands Park did cause a bit of laughter.  Does it mean the water level will be over one’s head?

We delighted in connecting with family across the ocean to celebrate Grandpa Arlo’s birthday with traditional burgers and shakes.

Outside the Shake Shack we see the ferry awaiting a new load of travelers and the TST clock tower.  Hong Kong is beautiful.  We enjoy serving here.

Ocean Park - March 2021

Our family has always enjoyed parks with sea life.  The only problem with Ocean Park in Hong Kong was our nostalgic feelings made us miss our family on this fun day.  We talked frequently of our memories with kids in SeaWorld and carried on with joy.

Hong Kong residents 65 and older enter the park with FREE admission.  Rick was happy about that.  I made a reservation,  paid, downloaded all the “stuff” and still required 10 extra minutes to enter.  I almost felt penalized for my youth.

The cable cars provided a scenic ride up the mountain.  

Overlooking the ocean and islands on a cloudy day was spectacular.

The yellow seahorse on the mountain was formed with vegetation, what a clever way to highlight the species.

This photo doesn’t accentuate the shape as well as I’d hoped.

We approach the BIG, loop-to-loop roller coaster.  Rick and I look at each other and say, “No way”, while Paul would be smiling and shouting, “Finally!”

We arrived in time for a brief educational instruction on sea lions and seals.  

The Red Panda Rou Rou is really more like a raccoon but his colors were beautiful though his shyness prevented a good picture.

We thrilled at this bird following commands to cross the plaza to the waiting arm of the other trainer.  The spread and color of the wings produced “ahhs” and “oohs” from all spectators.

The floral and green gardens were among my favorite displays in the park.

This dolphin sculpted from bushes seems to defy gravity.

I never tire of the jumping dolphins.  The show reminded me so much of SeaWorld and how our family loved to cheer each time leaping whales or dolphins appears, arching over the blue water.  That gave me one more reason to miss my kids on this outing.

The panda bear ignored the visitors and chewed his dinner.

This panda rests and cares not how many people stare at his body draping over the log structure.

                                    Orchids everywhere!!!!

The “sea life” themed carousel made me smile.  Note the seahorse, turtle, clown fish and other fun fish to ride.

This woman played her role superbly.  Her ‘drama queen’ attitude made it all the more fun to watch her stand and walk on stilts.

Dragon’s Back Hike – February 2021

      Dragon’s Back is the perfect name for this famous hike – listed as one of the 25 best in the world.

            We hiked across the ridge of this mountain top on the south side of Hong Kong Island.

    Every view was breathtaking!  I especially enjoyed the passages were an ocean view was visible on        both sides of the pathway.

       Elder and Sister Sudweeks and Elder and Sister Koeven (of Washington, Utah) joined me for the             adventure as Rick climbed his own mountain of work.

                    We met several wonderful and brave families along the way.

                          Every view was spectacular.  This is looking to the southern islands.

                       Strong winds proved to be an added bonus to the entire experience.

            Sister Sudweeks navigates an easier portion of the uphill trail.

Dongdong and Phoebe joined us early in the hike.  He is from China while she was raised in Hong Kong.  They have been married one year after a six year engagement.  He is in the final year of his PhD program.  We visited for the entire length of the hike.  They had several questions about the church.  We encouraged them to move forward without us but they wanted to stay with our pace.  We parted at day’s end with the promise we’d share photos and emails.  We’ve already heard from them.  Elder Sudweeks continues correspondence with this amazing couple.

The beautiful children hiked and hiked.  They do like Westerners and enjoy practicing their English skills.

Big Wave Beach signaled the end of the hike.  The name is most appropriate.   Our tired bodies watched the big, crashing waves as we waited for the small bus to transport us to the MTR station.