Hong Kong & China

Despite being chinese, until just last week, i had never actually even been to China. So i was pretty excited when mum and dad asked if i wanted to go to Hong Kong and China with them for a trip with my aunties and uncle to visit my grandfathers old town, the church my great great grandmother had helped start, plus an uncle who had been imprisoned 3 times for his beliefs. I had always wanted to go visit the village my grandfather had come from, as i had been told stories of it since i was a little kid. So to go back to the village with all dad's sisters and brother (plus another new found distant relative) was just an awesome opportunity that i couldn't pass up. I thought i was just going to go visit the village, see the church and the grave site of my great great grandmother, then meet this uncle - but i ended up with HEAPS more then i was expecting. Not only did i get to do those things, i also got to see the house and room that my grandfather was born in, meet all sorts of relatives i never knew i had, find out stories about our family's past that i had no idea about, go visit a street that belonged to our family, see a 'mountain' that used to belong to our family before it was taken back by the government, eat heaps and heaps and heaps of new foods i never knew existed and find out some of the most encouraging stories first had from people who had been persecuted for their beliefs and stayed strong in their faith despite the circumstances. It was awesome! Everyday was just jam packed with meeting relo's, travelling, sight seeing - but none of it was the usual 'tours', it was like our own personal family tour. It's a trip i'll really treasure forever. Hopefully one day i'll get to tell you some of the stories about our family in person. too much to write on a blog. But here are a few photos of the trip.

the view of Hong Kong from The Peak


with mum and dad


the Bubba Gump restaurant


meeting my grandfathers 2 younger sisters for the first time


crazy toilet sign in a restaurant


all happy on the train to china - before we got lost...


meeting long 'lost' relos i never knew i had


the 'new' building of the church my great great grandmother helped start


at the grave of my great great grandmother


The outside of the house my grandfather was born in


outside the room that my grandfather was born in


Our family 'street' in Swatow, China


standing in our family street with all the relo's who went on the trip


the house of my great great grandparents


outside the massive church that my great great grandparents went to


inside the church! Check out the 2 grand piano's in there!

Some of the crazy foods we ate

Flying Squirrel

While my sister has been away, i've had the job of babysitting her 2 flying squirrels. I was actually quite excited about it at first, until they refused to come out of the cage, then one of them started biting really hard and the other became so scared, it just ran from me. Not to mention how much they smell as well, or how much wee and poo they leave when running around the house. So what turned out as an exciting couple of weeks of babysitting has turned into a slightly longer feeling 2 weeks.

Both Kim and I have been bitten really hard by one of the squirrels ('Skip'). Unfortunately i didn't have any bandaids in the house, so Kim had to settle for a home made bandaid, consisting of rolled up tissue and rubber band.



Anyway, last night i was feeling a bit sorry for the squirrels having been stuck in the cage, so thought i'd let them out for a run. Usually they just run around the furniture and don't do much, but last night, one of the squirrels decided to go up on the curtain rack and do cool jumps from there to the ground. I actually managed to get the camera out in time to catch it doing it for the second time, so though it'd share it with you. It almost makes them cool pets again....almost.

Deb in another dress? is it possible?

Yes, can you believe that I have been to another wedding and worn yet ANOTHER dress. And there is photographic evidence to prove it as well. It's never ceased to amaze me how many weddings and funerals i've managed to go to over here when only 2 years ago, i didn't know anyone over here apart from my sister and a few other misso's working over here. So it's nuts to think that i've been to 5 weddings in 2 years with one more to go next January. Last weekend, i was able to go to the wedding of a cousin of my good friend where my friend was the bridesmaid. It was really encouraging to hear and finally understand a good proportion of what was going on and the message that was given that day. I still remember the first wedding that i went to here where i had to help with the music and i had absolutely NO idea what was going on. So to compare back to that time, i feel like i've managed to come a long way with language which is nice. I was also able to help translate what was going on to a few other foreigners who have only been here for a few months and had no idea what was happening.

Anyway, thought i'd share a few photos from the day. There is still something about Thai weddings and decorations that i think is ingenious! if i am to ever get married, there are some things i reckon are definitely the way to go, and others that i think better to steer clear of.

The wedding car

In the church

In the church

Nong Dao, my friends 'pseudo adopted' daughter

me and Dao

with Jai, Mac and a couple of the kids from church

those of us in green or borrowed apparel from Jai

with the bride and groom (and other friends)

the boquet - who needs real flowers when you can use chocolates? ingenious!