Hey!
So, I’ve made it to Hong Kong! Things here are crazy- I haven’t even had time to miss people too much. The flights were really long and I think everyone is glad to not have to fly for a little while, but it’s definitely worth it to be here right now. It was strange missing an entire day though because of the time zone difference thing. Once we got here we exchanged some money into HK $, took a bus to the area we’re staying in, and then walked our bags up at least 5 hills before we finally came to our apartment. Our apartment is really small- there are 5 bunk beds (which is 10 beds total) then 2 girls are on mattresses on the ground; there are also 2 girls in 2 of the beds (two of them are cousins, then Nikki and I are sharing the other one). There’s not really much room for anything so everywhere is covered in stuff. I can’t wait until we get to go to Shenzen and sleep in hotel rooms.
While I’ve been here we’ve gone all over the place. The first day (after going to the apartment) we went to Festival Walk which is basically like a giant mall. There are about 7 floors and tons of stores; there’s even an ice rink in there. The food court in there is pretty nice- they even have a McDonalds and a KFC, though it’s still a lot different. I tried asking for some water at McDonalds and the lady didn’t have any idea what I was asking for, so we had to just get pop. There’s also a grocery store in there which is good because we were able to get some food for Sunday there so we didn’t have to buy anything. After going to Festival Walk, we went to the temple at about 5 and met with the 2nd Counselor of the temple presidency in the chapel. Afterward we went down to the baptistry. It was incredible being there! They were telling us that some of the names that they have had work done for there have gone back to at least the time of Lehi or 700BC. Everyone was struggling to stay awake though and we were all glad to get back to the apartments for some sleep. Gail (she’s pretty much amazing- she’s the one that’ll be training us a bit up in Shenzhen in ESL stuff) had us do a spiritual thought and prayer before bed, and it was way awesome. Unfortunately for our exhausted bodies, we got up and went to the temple the next morning at 8:30. After the temple we changed into some normal clothes then took the subway over to downtown Hong Kong where we were let loose to eat lunch. Nikki and I went to the fanciest Pizza Hut I have ever seen in my life. I had a kind of fettuccini carbonnera there and it was really good. Later we went to Ngong Pong and saw the biggest Buddha I’ve ever seen… there were three bodhisattvas surrounding Buddha sitting on an open lotus flower. It was an amazing place there and I got to see a lot about the actual practice of Buddhism. We also hiked up Wisdom Path which had some really cool trees that were cut in half with all of the Sutra of Love written on them in a figure 8 shape. It was a rather foggy day up there, but it made it more magical in a way. Being there was really awesome! Afterward we went home to sleep (which was much needed after a long day of walking). The next morning we got to sleep in (yay!) until 9 or 10 because we didn’t have to leave until 10:30 for the temple. Following the (AMAZING) temple session there we went back to change, went over to Festival Walk for lunch, then took the subway to a different part of Hong Kong where we walked to get in line for the Victoria Peak tram. The entire Victoria Peak trip was amazing and I enjoyed it a lot. I feel like I’ve gone on so many adventures for the three to four days I’ve been here.
Today (Sunday) has been really good; we were able to attend a Cantonese ward in the temple where we were given headphones so we could listen to the sacrament meeting in English. For Sunday School, President Gu (the temple president) talked to us and it was basically the rest of church for us. Tonight we’re going to go see this laser light show that happens on the tops of the buildings in Hong Kong. It’ll be pretty much amazing!
It turns out that facebook is most definitely blocked on the mainland, as is blogger… hopefully I can get a proxy site and update my blog thing though. The problem is that you can’t use it too much or else the government will find it and block it, thus I probably won’t actually get on facebook. Anyway, things here are going really well and I’m loving the time I get to be here. The group I’m with has 26 members in it including Jacob, Gail, and Sam who are kind of the ones “in charge.” Jacob really is in charge and Sam’s just helping him out (he’s here for a second semester), and Gail’s the one in charge of our ESL training and stuff. Actually, Sam is going to be at the school with Nikki and I so that’ll be lots of fun! We’re planning on having movie nights and stuff like that. Nikki’s apartment will be on the 2nd floor, mine’s on the 4th, and his is on the 3rd. I’ll do more about the school later (once I get there probably).
Well, I’d better run- I’ve gotta get ready to go to the laser light show!
Bye for now!
Madi
The day has finally come! I will be leaving for China TODAY! Wow, I almost thought that this day wouldn't ever actually come, but it has. My entire life is about to turn upside down, and I'm excited for it. As far as being able to contact people over there, I hope I'll be able to use this. As far as I know there are a lot of sites going back and forth on the blocked thing including facebook, google (gmail), and even this site. I know for sure that I will be able to skype while over there, so you should add me as your friend. :) My name for that is just madison.reid
This one's going to be rather short because I don't really have much time- I need to make sure I have all my stuff and then spend some time with my family. So, off I go! Good-bye America! :)
I love and miss you all!
-Madi
This one's going to be rather short because I don't really have much time- I need to make sure I have all my stuff and then spend some time with my family. So, off I go! Good-bye America! :)
I love and miss you all!
-Madi
