Bible Update

Just wanted to send out a little update about English Bible Exploration…

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You – I am so happy to say that all 15 of the Bibles have been “sponsored” by individuals! Praise God! 

The last Bible Exploration lesson concluded last week – but this upcoming Tuesday, we are having an outreach/Christmas Party, an opportunity for those who have been attending Bible Exploration for the last 2 months, to invite their friends to enjoy Christian fellowship and encourage the students to share their faith. Last week in Bible Exploration we talked about the importance of sharing your faith and the “good news” of the Gospel with others. It has been so great to see the Bible Exploration grow in depth and see everyone become more comfortable in sharing their thoughts about the Bible and Jesus with everyone! Such an encouragement and joy. 

I’ll be sure to have another update about the Christmas Party – fun things are in store! 

Thankful

Being in Hong Kong, in a completely different culture, experiencing life away from everything normal…away from family and friends, experiencing the typical college “dorm” experience – having a roommate, and floor mates…traveling to foreign countries, basically my entire environment and lifestyle for the last 4 months has been everything but normal – nothing I’ve been used to…

And being in a new environment, around so many unfamiliar things, dealing with so many unfamiliar circumstances…it really makes you “thankful” for things you’ve never realized before! So this thanksgiving I give thanks for those things that I didn’t realize I loved and was so thankful for, until having this opportunity to come to Hong Kong…

1.   Friends! I never realized how awesome my friends are until having to make completely new friends! I love my new friends in Hong Kong and am so thankful for them as well – but I am especially thankful for those friends that I have made in college!
2.   Family! It’s been so great to see my family express their love for me as I’m halfway around the world. I’ve loved the cards, e-mails, and even Facebook comments. For all the encouragement and excitement they have showed during this whole experience…
3.   Being a Mountaineer! There is really no school spirit here at Lingnan, and definitely no football games. I miss the Gold&Blue and truly LOVE being a Mountaineer!
4.   My mattress – honestly, I’ve said it before, but I never realized what a necessity a mattress is until sleeping on wood and “foam” for 4 months!
5.   Running and the Rails-to-Trails in Morgantown! I love running and found a running path in Hong Kong, but I never realized how many beautiful and different places there are to run in West Virginia!
6.   Seasons – as much as I love the warm weather, I really enjoy seasons! I like fresh leaves of Fall and beautiful snow of Winter!
 7.  English – the fact that I can speak the “International Language” – this makes my life a lot easier! Unfortunately I still don’t understand any form of Chinese.
8.   My Car – Public Transportation is great, but I now appreciate having the ability to drive, it’s just so much more convenient! 

There are so many more little and funny things that I’ve realized I’m thankful for…like can-openers, air conditioner, Crystal Light packs, ovens, coffee makers…I could truly go on for days! Even when I’m back in America and it’s not Thanksgiving, I hope every day, I can realize all the things I’m thankful for! 

Thanksgiving Week

It is weird to think that it really is November and Thanksgiving was just the other day – the weather is still beautiful here, around 80 degrees every day, there were no funny fall, pilgrim or turkey decorations, no Thanksgiving break, no Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade…

So since there is no official Thanksgiving “day” in Hong Kong - last week I celebrated Thanksgiving ALL week!

To start out my week, on Monday, Lingnan University held a “Thanksgiving Day Gathering” that I attended. It was a Thanksgiving themed dinner – with a slideshow attempting to explain Thanksgiving traditions and history – the slideshow was funny, because Thanksgiving has a great story and history, but in reality it’s a day to give thanks, eat tons of food, spend time with family, and watch football! Then everyone enjoyed trying different Thanksgiving foods! There were over 300 students there, mostly interested students from China who wanted to experience the traditional Thanksgiving Holiday festivities.  I explained to the Korea girls that I sat with that if this was really Thanksgiving dinner, you would eat until you felt like you were going to explode! I have loved sharing my culture (as strange as it may be or sound) with others and making “global” friends!  Then we all made “hand turkeys” and traced our hands and in the middle of the “hand turkeys” wrote what we were thankful for!

To end my Thanksgiving week, last night I was invited to a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner by my exchange friend’s aunt from America! One of my new exchange friends from the Chicago area, Sunny, her aunt and uncle live and work in Hong Kong and they invited us to their apartment for Thanksgiving!

It was so nice to be in a house full of family and friends and kids! Sunny’s cousins are the same age as my brother and sister and seeing them play games, it made me miss my brother and sister so much! It took all of my restraint not to start playing video games with her cousin!

Her aunt made delicious turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes casserole…all the traditional delicious-ness of Thanksgiving. Plus it was really neat to have Thanksgiving in Hong Kong, because there were also delicious “Asian” inspired dishes like curried cauliflower, sesame green beans, and dumplings! Probably my most memorable Thanksgiving ever! 

Shopping, Pizza, & Latte Breaks

How is it that Christmas music always puts you in a good mood? As I walked through a mall today in Hong Kong, I was greeted by Christmas decorations, Santa figurines, and Christmas music! I am sure glad that Hong Kong celebrates and recognizes Christmas, since it does not celebrate Thanksgiving. I sure have missed seeing funny Turkey decorations everywhere!

As another week in Hong Kong comes to a close and as another busy week begins, I am reminded that I now only have a month left in Hong Kong. I fly back to America on December 22^nd, just in time for Christmas!

My week was busy with school work, projects, papers and presentations. This week I have another 4 presentations! I have learned more than I have ever expected about cross-cultural communication, as I am the only native English speaker in all of my groups. Although frustrating at times, it truly has been a great social learning experience.

Breaks this week from studying and school work included going shopping at local Hong Kong markets, going out to eat with exchange friends at a delicious pizza place called “Fat Angelos”, going to church, and finally enjoying a Holiday Toffee Nut Latte at Starbucks.

As always, “Making the Most of Every Opportunity” and Finishing Strong in Hong Kong! 

Hong Kong's Best Dance Crew...

Two girls who live on my floor – Belinda and Fani – asked me to go to their dance performance tonight. They are both on the Lingnan Dance Team, and I thought Belinda and Fani were ballet or jazz dancers – they are both about 5 foot and the cutest girls you’ve ever seen, so sweet…

But the Lingnan Dance Team is not jazz or ballet – it’s hip-hop! So I just went to the most “gangster” hip-hop dance performance! There were tons of students there and dancers/students even came from other campuses around Hong Kong.

Belinda and Fani are hip-hop dancers! I laughed and had a great time as I watched the students dance to crazy hip-hop remixes – they were actually really, really good and I was so impressed with the choreography! 

Day in the Life...

So while I was talking to my mom on Skype last week...some girls knocked on my hostel door (this happens often - many of the student organizations on campus promote their activities by going door to door in the hostels)...

And my mom said, "Sarah - what was that about?" 

And my response was, "I have no idea. Honestly, I never really know what's going on - and I've just become okay with it"

And then I realized that it was so true - life in Hong Kong, all the confusion, and weird activities have become strangely normal to me in the last 3 months...

• I no longer expect anyone to know or understand English, I don't even expect people to talk to me in English, I now find English to be "privilege" not a "right".
  
• If people don't stare at me or take pictures, I think something is wrong. 
• I no longer remember what any food tastes like - all I know is steamed rice and vegetables, and the occasional McDonald's ice cream cone. 
• I now know how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, and actually know about how warm/cold it is when someone says "16 degrees". 
• I have gotten used to the constant back pain caused by my pathetic excuse for a mattress and I actually don't remember what it feels like for my back not to hurt. 
• I know that when someone says "football" they actually mean soccer. 
• I can't imagine living in a space bigger than approximately twice the size of my closet at home - maybe 2o feet long by 12 feet wide. 
• I don't remember life before public transportation and walking everywhere. 
• I am now the master of dividing all prices by 7.7 - trying desperately to mentally convert the price to USD. 
• Sadly, I completely forgot about Thanksgiving coming up, because Thanksgiving is only in America!

And I'm sure that there are so many more strange things that I no longer realize are strange or different! 

So now I'm off to bed - remembering that there is a 13 hour time difference from Hong Kong to America, and that WV is just now starting it's Monday. So have a good Monday, enjoy speaking English, and smile when you see a funny turkey or pilgrim decoration in celebration of Thanksgiving...

Operation Christmas Child

In addition to school work and studying, I am also helping to organize Operation Christmas Child with the English Bible Exploration. This is the first year Operation Christmas Child is collecting shoeboxes in Hong Kong! Check out the link for more info: 

http://www.sp.org.hk/en/operation_christmas_child

All of the shoeboxes collected in Hong Kong will go to children in the Phillipines and Mainland

China!

Macao Trip

This past weekend  I went to Macao - an Island about an hour ferry ride away from Hong Kong. Macao is known as the "Vegas of the East" - gambling, nice hotels, and more gambling! 

I stayed one night in Macao with some of my exchange friends - we hotel/casino hopped...first to the MGM Grand, then to The Sands, then to The Venetian. The Sands Casino was definitely the prettiest - with shining chandeliers that looked like giant icicles, but The Venetian was built with an indoor water canal, which was really neat! 

I think Macao would have been more fun if I actually thought gambling was amusing :/ However, it was a fantastic "get-away" in the middle of hectic weeks filled with final presentations and group projects.

Danielle Bartlett - Making Wishes Come True

English Bible Exploration is continuing to go really well, last night we talked about having an eternal perspective! It is such an encouragement to hear everyone’s questions as we learn more about God’s Word. In addition to the actual Bible lesson, I also gave all the girls the opportunity to write to Danielle Bartlett.

 

Danielle Bartlett is a young girl from Richwood, West Virginia fighting cancer (malignant brain tumor).  She is around 12 years old. Her “wish” for the Make a Wish Foundation, was for one thousand cards to be sent to her. She could have went to Disney World, she could have asked to meet her idol, but no, a thousand cards is what she wanted!

 

The girls from Hong Kong and China who attend Bible Exploration had never heard of the Make a Wish Foundation and were excited to know that such an organization exists and that they could take part in fulfilling a “wish”!

 

All of the girls wrote letters to Danielle and today I sent the packet of letters and pictures to Danielle in the mail! I heard about Danielle through an e-mail that was passed along to me, so I thought I would continue to “spread the word”.

 

If you would like to write Danielle a card - you can! Here is her address:

Danielle Bartlett

260 Country Club Rd

Richwood, WV   26261

 

As I study abroad in Hong Kong and as I reflect on Danielle’s sroty, I am continually reminded of all I have and how fortunate I am even at a young age!

 

If you would like to sign Danielle's guest book or leave her a comment in addition to sending her a card you can do so at: 

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/daniellebartlett

Horse Races and Markets

This week was another full week in Hong  Kong! Wednesday some of my exchange friends and I went to the Horse Races. Horse Racing is one of the only legal types of gambling in Hong Kong, so it is very popular among both locals and tourists. 

We all decided to bet on a race and for healthy competition we all choose different horses! I choose "Victory Conquedor" to win the race, but he only came in second, so I didn't win anything. But one of my friends, Melyssa did win! She bet $20HK and won $27.5HK. Only about $1USD more than she bet, but she was still a winner! We had a ton of fun cheering on the horses and yelling for our favorite jockeys. 

On Friday, I went to another temple in Hong Kong. There are tons of famous temples scattered throughout Hong Kong and the one we went to was about an hour away from campus. A lot of the temples have similarities, like tons and tons of buddhas, burning incense, and the temple is usually accompanied by a shrine and multiple "offerings" like fruit and flowers. But it is really neat to see the differences too - like this temple shrine was very similar to the architecture in Thailand and was covered with glass and mirror mosaic tiles. The inside of the temple was covered with golden buddha and angel figurines that jutted out of the ceiling. 

Then after visiting the temple, we went to "the markets" - the "Fish Market", the "Flower Market", and the "Bird Market" - all three markets are about a 3 minute walk from each other. All of the markets are open air shops, so they are right off the street and the whole front of the store is open - there is no door. All of the dozens of shops are door to door. So fish store, after fish store...all selling tons of assorted fish. It really looked like a carnival - there were just hundreds of plastic bags filled with goldfish, hanging and covering the walls and entrance of the stores! 

Then we went to the bird market, where there were shops were lined with bird cages and birds! My favorite were the bright yellow canaries. 

And the best part about the flower market, was the smell! The fresh smell of flowers smelled so good! The flower market was beautiful, with all the different colorful flowers. I was amazed. 

Unfortunately, I am actually having to do more school work - in the next 6 weeks I have all of my final exams and final projects and papers! So for the next 6 weeks I really will be "studying" abroad....and of course, exploring more of Hong Kong! 

Sponsor A Bible!

Last night was the 5th Week for English Bible Exploration! Last night we talked about “Stepping from Feelings of Unworthiness to Forgiveness” – talking about confession of your sins and knowing that Christ forgives us 100% even though we are 0% perfect! After English Bible Exploration we all made “Hot Pot” together. Hot Pot is where you boil all kinds of dumplings (vegetable, pork, fish), fresh vegetables, and noodles in chicken broth and water! Everyone had so much fun making dinner together!

I was also able to meet up with a local missionary on Sunday and order Chinese/English Bibles for everyone who has been attending English Bible Exploration!

I ordered 15 Bibles. Each Bible is $20 – so if you would like to “Sponsor a Bible” you can send a gift of $20 (check made out to Sarah Perry) to my address (94 Terrace View Drive Morgantown, WV 26508). After sponsoring a Bible, I will send you a biography of the person your Bible is going to, and a “thank-you” letter from them, so you can personally see exactly who and how your offering is changing lives!

Happy Halloween and Happy November

I got back from Thailand a week ago – I can’t believe it, time truly flies! It is November already…and as of today; I only have 49 days left in Hong Kong! I have loved my time studying abroad – traveling, making new friends, experiencing new cultures!

On Halloween a group of exchange student friends and I dressed-up to go to Central – the main city area of Hong Kong. We heard that Central was very crowded on Halloween, but we had no idea what we were about to get ourselves into!

Imagine New York on New Years, but with people all dressed up in crazy Halloween costumes! The police were everywhere and herding people in fenced in cages along the streets! Nearly all of the streets were blocked off – and to get to the main bar district of Central where everyone celebrates Halloween, there was a line that wrapped around 4 or 5 city blocks! Of course, we weren’t going to let a line stop us, and waited in line for just over an hour!

I dressed up as an angel! When I was traveling in Beijing I found angel wings for $1.75USD, and I made my “toga” angel dress out of a white bed sheet! Tons and tons of people were taking pictures of me! It was like the paparazzi like I’ve never experienced before!

Happy Halloween from Hong Kong and Happy November!