If you tie the other team, you must run the race/again. I love it when the girls compete and want to do their best!

Color

This lady really like color. Reminds me of something from the 80's.

I'm sure that this isn't the last time Hannah tries to bury her sister.

Everyone is happy.

How they build

It looks like they are batting ready to renovate this building.

I told a friend from England yesterday that I was getting dumber here. I am finding that I skip words when I write an email or I just completely forget the word all together. She replied that it can't be the case because I had taught her some "Americanisms" here they are:

1. Goldfish. That's right, the little cheddar crackers that we give all the preschoolers.
2. "shut up" - to be used in place of ,"are you kidding me" or " no f'ing way!"
3. There was a new one yesterday, but I forgot what it was.

Fancy

I'm not sure what to think of these yet. One thing is true though, you won't find them in my closet.

Who's up for some ice skating?

Funny things

I saw a T-shirt that said, "My boyfriend is out of town". The person wearing it had a wedding ring on and probably should not have been wearing it.

I sat next to a dad and his baby dagger on the bus today. The old lady showed the baby (who was close to 4 months ) the candy she was eating .... Like the baby was going to ask for it or it was the old lady teasing her. The old lady also enjoyed making clicking sounds t the baby... You know, like the sound you make to get a horse to move.

I saw a weird version of a mullet today. It was all business on the front, right and back and a party on the left side. Huh ....

JC and I had a conversation about language again the other day. We figured out that our English is getting worse the longer we stay here. Good thing we only have 6 months, 3 weeks left.

I love Chinese fashion. This was in the Shanghai airport.

We are on our way to Shanghai. As we walk through immigration - either way- one of things that we can always count on is that they will ask Gabby to pronounce her name. I guess the name Gabrielle is not a common one in the Chinese culture.

Which side of the bully coin were you on?

While flipping through the channels the other day, I saw Dr. Drew and Jenny McCarthy talking about bullying. After listening to them, I started to think about my childhood.

I remember being bullied in school, I also remember being the bully in school. Needless to say, I am not proud of the latter. But it really got me thinking about the things that happen in school, home school and in life. Is being bullied and being a bully part of growing up?

A parent never wants to hear that their child is a bully (at least a decent parent doesn’t). But, one day last year, I was told that my child was. I couldn’t believe my ears. I knew she could be mean, but a bully? (She called someone a fatty)

Fast forward to this past week when I was watching Dr. Drew. I had the girls watch this with me. I let them know that their words actually mean something to someone. These words, that they think will build them up, could actually tear someone else down. I am hoping that having these conversations now, will help in the future.

Here we are today, Wednesday, October 12, 2011. This is the conversation that was relayed to me:

Girl 1: Your too skinny

H: What would you like me to do? This is how I am.

Girl 1: Well, you’re just too skinny

(Just so people know, this too can cause a self-esteem problem just as much as being called fatty)

Girl 2: It’s because your Mom makes you work out all the time

G – No, we like to play sports. Do you like to play sports?

Girl 2: Yes, but ….

I’m very glad that the girls stuck up for themselves (and me). I am also very glad that they were able to do this without calling someone else a name or tearing someone else down.

One of the best books I’ve read and reread is a book called, “How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie. There is now an edition for teenage girls. This is the next book that the girls and I are going to read together. I think that if they understand the fundamentals of this book, they will hopefully be able to by pass some of this stuff.

Looks like a couple letters might be out if place. Do you think that the sign people have proof readers that know English?

My shade of gray

In Hong Kong we live in an area of gray. It is a place where some people don't want to go to. It could be a place where you go out of want. It could be a place to go to out of necessity. It could be a place you go to because you have certain values that you hold dear to your heart. It could be a place you go to because you don't feel like any other environment is "just right".

Home school.

We went around in circles about homeschooling when we were making the decision to come to Hong Kong. Finally it came down to a couple of things. First, what did we want to do while we were here --- did we want to take advantage of all things that we could see in Asia? Second, as most things in life, "show me the money".

So now, I have been on both sides of the coin. And now, more than ever, I am shocked by how people still see school vs home school. Both have their positive and negative points. Each one has a stigma that goes along with them. Is one right and the other wrong? No! You have to do what is best for you and your family. No one should tell you are wrong for doing what is best for you.

August / September

What have we been up to? Well … not blogging and keeping up like we should be.

Here is a quick run down:

August:

Started a bit of school in HK and continued it back in GA

I ordered the girls’ schoolbooks and had them sent to my parents. We started with some things that I new would transfer over. I have to say, I am really happy with the curriculum that I have picked out this year. I wish that I had done more research with what I had picked out last year, so now, all I can do is learn from it and give advice for anyone that wants it!

Flew back to GA:

Here is a bit of what I encountered and learned:

Saw a woman in the HK airport hold a child over the trash can so that child could pee. Yes, you heard me, that woman did NOT take the child to the bathroom (which wasn’t to far away) and let him pee all over the top of the can. Come on lady, this is NOT the Mainland --- we don’t do that in Hong Kong

You should NOT apply anything smelling of biofreeze or icy hot on an airplane.

If you want to tilt the individual screens on the airplane so you can see better (without a glare) all you have to do is push on the top. I watched a woman try to stick her fingernail in the 2mm slit at the bottom and try to pry it open. It really entertained me for a while.

Paying the extra money for economy comfort was worth it on the 15 hour flight from HK to Detroit! That flight still sucks.

Beach+Family=Awesome Time

We had a fantastic time with the Gruenwald’s the Mitchell’s and the Caletrio’s. I’m sorry that more of the family couldn’t be there with us … but babies and weddings will always come first!

Started playing lacrosse

I’m not sure what got me thinking that at 35 I should take up a new sport … but the heck! I sucked beyond suck during the first few practices. I have gotten better, but still suck. My goal’s are not high; it is to learn to catch and throw, so if the girls want to play in GA, I can practice with them.

One of the college aged girls said, “You know there is a league with past college players that you can join when you move back to Atlanta.” Umm, thanks, but I’m pretty sure that I am not there yet … or ever. The thought was nice though.

Anniversary - 14 years

Jonathan got me a new camera for our anniversary. It is a nice fancy one. I don't really understand how the hell it works.

September:

Started school back up again after a 2 week break.

The Big Buddha

We finally made time to see the Big Buddha. We were thinking that we would wait until someone came, but there were always cooler things to do. So finally ....

Ocean Park

KPMG rented out Ocean Park for all the employees. It was a great ! The girls got on a ton of rides over and over again. Jonathan rode one of the roller coasters with them and then commented when he got off, “I’m too old for that”. I couldn’t agree more!

Girls are continuing Rugby

We started out a bit slow, in fact, the first practice back was awful to watch. It wasn’t that they didn’t know what they were doing (because they didn’t) it was that they weren’t trying. This is just one of those things that irritates the crap out of me … not trying. I don’t really care if you succeed, but at least try. You will always fail if you never try.

Work

Jonathan got promoted to Director in the Hong Kong Practice. Other than the promotion title and some more money, we aren’t sure of anything else yet. That’s not true. Jonathan did get better insurance; just him, not the rest of us.

What’s coming?

October – We are off to Shanghai to see the Spengler’s! We are all so excited to see friends again!

November – I think that the girls have some rugby tournaments and hopefully we will head up to China a couple more times. We may also hit Macau one weekend.

December – We are going to Siem Reap Cambodia right after Christmas. We will be spending a week around Angkor Wat.

Shenzhen

We finally get our visa's for China. If you remember, China has some "particulars" when it comes to issuing visa's to American's. The first time you apply for a visa, you apply for a 1 or 2 entry visa, costing $110 USD per person. The next time you apply, you get a 6 month visa, costing $110 per person. Finally, you get a 1 year visa, again, costing $110 per person. Right now, we have the 6 month, so we are trying to use it as much as possible. (So, getting a year visa can cost as much as $330 per person)

Our first trip with this visa, we thought that we would go and see Jake and Tammy. We left on Friday, July 1, took the train to the border then took the metro to the station that was closest to our hotel. I guess it has been a while since our last trip, because I forgot to bring a map of any kind with us. We came out of the station, picked the wrong direction and just started walking. ****4 people that are hungry and a bit lost does NOT make a fun family***** We actually decided to find something to eat, and re-group. This actually helped a lot! We eventually found the JW Marriott and no one got hurt in the process.

We had dinner at the Orion's and then took a walk around their area. It was a great night.

Saturday

Jonathan had gone and worked out, so I opted to go and get the girls some McD's for breakfast. It was just outside the hotel, so it was no big deal. After I got it, I ran in a TON of street vendors. This is one of the things that I really miss. Taiwan had a ton of them, but HK, not so much!

I stood in line at the vendors that had other people waiting in line (because the locals know who's good!). I ended up with some steamed bread, noodles, onion pancakes, and pork buns. It was really awesome and reminded me of my time in Taiwan.

We met up with Tammy and the kids for some time at "Window of the World". It was the Chinese version Epcot!

Gabby decided to see if she still had mad wall climbing skills. She does!

Mexico - check

Archery on near Easter Island - check

Italy - check

Australia

Mt. Rushmore

Tammy and Jake invited us to a party that they were going to for the friend that is below in the Red. (She and her family are moving to Bali -- how awesome is that!) We had a great time!

Jamie's Here

I love it when a plan comes together! Jamie and I had been trying to figure out a way for her come for a visit. Luckily, she works for Intercontinental Hotels and they needed her to do some work in Asia. They, at first, were looking at Singapore or Shanghai. Eventually, they all agreed on Hong Kong!

We got to see Jamie on Tuesday, Friday and then early Saturday morning. We had a great time! I really enjoyed taking her to the Peak and then just some sight seeing around HK. Here are just a few pictures from our time together.