Christmas in Hong Kong

Merry Christmas from Hong Kong!

First of all, I apologize for taking so long between posts. I think it has been over a month since my last post. Again, I'm sorry. But November and December were very busy for me over here! My mom, Auntie Neenie, and Grandma Joan came to visit me over Thanksgiving. We had a great 'girls trip' and I was sad to see them go. But I quickly got over missing my family because my dad arrived just one day after they left! He visited me for a week also and we had some great father-daughter bonding time :)

I had family here for here for 19 days straight I think. Exhausting! And as soon as I was getting back into my normal routine it was Christmas! My Christmas festivities started about a week before Christmas with a holiday work 'party' where myself, interns Mandy and Eszter, volunteer Andy, and my boss Matthias went from bar to bar in Wan Chai and drank and danced (aka Christmas Pub Crawl). We had lots of fun!

On Christmas eve day I spent the day shopping with a friend from Hong Kong, Linda. You think shopping on Christmas eve day in the states is bad? Causeway Bay rivaled the Miracle of Birth barn at the MN State Fair on a weekend when a birth is happening. yeah, that bad. Christmas Eve I went out to a Thai place for dinner with Linda and her boyfriend, Jon. We had some amazing green and red curry. Nontraditional food but at least we kept with the Christmas color theme.
I spent Christmas morning skying and chatting with family and friends online. It was nice to be able to see and talk to everyone even though I was so far away from home. In the afternoon I headed over to my friend Eszter and her fiance's house. Two other interns, Mandy and Sandra, and one of the dolphin trainers, Ken, joined us. The six of us enjoyed an amazing 3 course Hungarian meal cooked by Eszter, played Wii, ate Christmas cookies, talked, and laughed into the night. I feel blessed to have found such great friends here.

Eszter was kind enough to invite me to spend the night so I didn't have to travel the two hours back to my place so late at night. The next morning we slept in and enjoyed a late breakfast. It was a beautiful day and we decided to take a hike since Eszter's place is very close to some amazing hiking trails. We got a bit of a late start but were convinced we knew where we were headed. After seeing an amazing waterfall at the beginning of the trail, we headed out.

Well after about 15min we ended up back were we started, then came to a dead end after trying a different way. We decided it was time to find a new trail. Finally we got on a nice trail with some beautiful views.

We ended up hiking about a total of 12km over about 5-6hrs (detours included). It was an amazing day. I didn't even feel like I was in Hong Kong anymore. It was so peaceful and quite and the air was fresh and clean. I am used to a busy, crowded, noisy place so it was nice to have some tranquility and time in nature.

We also got luck with the weather because it was raining the day before. The whole time we were hiking it was in the 60s or 70s. I could hardly believe it was the day after Chirstmas!

After our hike we had longs hots showers and some hot soup left over from Christmas dinner. We ere wiped out so we just curled up and watched a movie for the rest of the night. I spent the night at Eszter's again since Monday was a holiday and we didn't have to go into work.

Monday morning we decided to check out the farm across the street from Eszter's apartment complex. The day before we had noticed a large sign with starwberries on it next to entrance (no English on it of course) and lots of people out in the field. We were wondering if it was a 'pick your own' kind of farm. So we headed over there in the late morning with our tupperware containers in hand. We followed the signs (which lucky had arrows) to the front desk (aka old table with change box, basket of scissors, and empty strawberry baskets). Of course no one was at the 'desk', but there was a man out in the field with a large hat so we flagged him down. Of course he didn't speak English. But he held up his fingers and indicated 4 and 1. 4 and 1 what? We asked $4 (holding up money) for 1 basket (pointing to the empty collection baskets)? No, he shook his head. $4 for 1 lb (he pushed on the scale on his table until the needle pointed to one pound). Well that was a great deal we were saying to each other! Normally a small strawberry container in the grocery store here is about $50 (Hong Kong Dollars). And he only wanted $4 Hong Kong dollars for a pound. We were psyched! We pointed to our tupperwear asking if we could just collect the strawberries in these and he nodded yes.
We were so excited. The field was huge, the air smelled sweet like strawberries, and the sun was shinning. We enjoyed ourselves walking up and down the rows, talking, picking strawberries (aka cutting them with kids safety scissors), and enjoying the weather.

The strawberries on these vines were so perfect and red, unlike any in the store, that I decided to go back and fill up other box in addition to the one I brought since they were so cheap. Once we had out boxes over flowing we went back to the register to pay. Eszter went to pay first and she had about 3 pounds total when she put her two boxes on the scale. She prepared to pay $12 when the farmer held up one finger. 1? One what? He pointed to her money. We were so confused. Then he pulled out his cell phone and typed in 100. $100 we asked him, we thought it was 4 per pound, as we held up 4 fingers. He got out his cell phone again and typed in 40. Great, he wanted $40 per pound, not $4.
We were a little pissed off that he didn't just type 40 in his phone before to show us instead of holding up 4 fingers. But we had so much fun picking them and being out side (and they looked so delicious) that Eszter paid her $100 and I ended up getting only one box for $60.
We got home and dug in. They were delicious, but for that price I don't think we will be going back anytime soon. We speculate he may have been charging us more than normal since we looked like tourists (aka 'skin tax' as we like to call it)

After our strawberry adventure I traveled the 2 hours back to home. I finally got a much needed hair cut and spend the night unpacking and getting ready to go back to work.

I can't believe my time here has gone by so fast. I come home in about 3 weeks. Wow. I am so excited to see all my family and friends back home but am going to miss all the friends that I have made here that have been like family.

I promise I will write more often :)
Love, Kels

First Thanksgiving Away from Home

This will be the first Thanksgiving I have not spent in Minnesota in a long time. It is making me a bit home sick. But I am extremely comforted by the fact that I will have family here with me! I am so excited for my mom, Auntie Neenie, and Grandma Joan to come visit me in Hong Kong. We are even trying to go out for a 'Thanksgiving dinner' :)

But, I will still miss the traditional American (Minnesota) Thanksgiving.

The things I will miss the most?

Thanksgiving decorations

Fires in the fireplace - snuggled up in a blanket

 

 

Bundling up in cute jackets and scarves

Cute/warm boots to trudge through the snow

My meat-less turkey

Baking and eating pumpkin pie

Snow (I know MN already has some!)

Being able to see your breath when you walk outside

Although I will be missing some favorite traditions this year, I am very thankful to be in Hong Kong and have this amazing opportunity and to experience a new culture and country. I am also thankful that I have an amazing family, who is willing to travel half way around the world to come visit me! I am truly blessed.

Love, Kels

Shanghai - Part Two

The second half of trip to Shanghai to visit the Sheehan's (my mom's cousins) proved to be just as great as the first!
On Saturday I slept in a bit again, the Kris and I did some site seeing in downtown Shanghai. Neither Kris or Micheal have a car. She said they live so close to the school they both work at and traffic and parking is so bad in the city, it is easier to just bike! So Kris hired a driver to take us around downtown for the day. He was supposed to be an English speaking driver, but turns out he didn't understand a single word Kris was saying when she was telling him where we wanted to go. So we had fun using her iphone translator.

Our first stop was Yuyuan Gardens. The garden was built in 1577 by a government officer of the Ming Dynasty named Pan Yunduan.Yu in Chinese means pleasing and satisfying, and this garden was  built for Pan's parents as a place for them to enjoy a tranquil and happy time in their old age.In the middle there is a Lotus Pool with a zig-zag bridge running through. In the middle of the Lotus pool is the Mid-lake pavilion, which was converted into a very famous tea house. Kris and I went in and had some tea! We tried the lemon grass tea and mint tea which came with tofu squares and quail eggs.

After tea, we got back in the van and our driver took us to The Bund. The Bund is a walkway in the Huanpgu District. It runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River, facing Pudong. The word "bund" means an embankment or an embanked quay. It is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai because the view and skyline are incredible. From the Bund you can see the famous Oriental Pearl Tower, a tv tower that was the tallest building in China until 2007.

From the Bund we went and had some lunch at a restaurant overlooking the city. We then stopped at the Pearl Market to do a little bit of souvenir shopping. After that it was time to relax again. Kris and I went to get an AMAZING foot massage back at the salon at their house, Dragonfly.
Later that night, they got a babysitter for the kids so Kris, Micheal, and I could go out to dinner. We went to an Italian restaurant downtown in a district called the French Concession. It was a great place, and we enjoyed a long dinner of Italian bread, wine, tomatoes with cheese, pasta, and chocolate cake. By the time we got home it was time for bead.

Sunday was another relaxing day of going to the gym, doing some more laundry, and hanging out with the Sheehan family. I discovered they have a love for Lady Gaga. The kids can't get enough of dancing around to her songs :) I had to leave for the airport around 1pm to catch my 3:30pm flight. So I spent most of my Halloween traveling, but I didn't mind.

It was so great to spend time with family. I feel blessed to be so close to my extended Botz family. The Sheehan's were so kind to open their home to me and take me in for the weekend. Even though I am literally halfway around the world from home, it is comforting to know I have family only two hours away willing to put their busy lives on hold so I can come visit. I also enjoyed talking with Kris and Micheal over my time there. Conversations can only go on for so long and get so deep at the cabin over the 4th of July with the large masses of people there and so many activities going on. It was nice to be able to sit down and talk for awhile with Kris and Micheal. i also never really get a chance to hang out with Benjamin and Molly over the 4th since I'm usually hanging out with cousins closer to my age. I enjoyed playing and talking with them as well.

Overall, my trip was perfect. A nice break from the busy, crowded life in Hong Kong with a nice chance to see some family and familiar faces in a place far from home.

Love, Kelsey

Shanghai - Part One

I finally made it to Shanghai. And let me tell you it was not easy. Booking the ticket itself was even hard (a special thanks to Neenie for the ticket for the graduation present!). I learned, the hard way, that booking tickets in anywhere is Asia is not easy. You can't just go to a discount website, book it online, put in your credit number, and print your e-ticket. You have to go through a travel agency no matter what. And if you want to use a credit card you must pay a 6% service charge and fax over a filled out credit card form to the agency. On top of all of this (which I had to do at work where the fax machine was), I had to make sure I flew into the correct airport in Shanghai. Shanghai has two airports, Pudong, the main/large airport, and Hongqiao, the smaller/newer airport. Of course I flew into the smaller and less known airport. The first time around I accidently booked to Pudong. oops! Lucky you don't pay when you book and can cancel before you pay. In addition to the airplane ticket fiasco, I had to get a visa to get into China. Kind of annoying since I already have one for Hong Kong and this China visa would set me back $110 US dollars. yuck. So FINALLY after getting my flight and visa sorted out weeks ago I made it to the airport with HOURS to spare on Thursday afternoon. I gave myself tons of extra time since I was unfamiliar with the airport/was traveling internationally/don't speak cantonese. Turns out it was too much time since my flight was delayed an extra 45 mins. I got to the airport around 3pm and my flight didn't leave until about 7:45pm after all the delays.

Plane ticket and passport visa

However, once I finally got on the plane it was smooth sailing. One thing Asian airlines have on the US airlines, customer service. I was only a 2 hour flight and the stewardess came around with free newspaper at the beginning of the flight (in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English), drinks twice, and a meal! Crazy! Lucky Kris was waiting right at the gate when I got off the plane since my cell phone doesn't work in Shanghai.
Kris and Micheal have an amazing apartment in the Shanghai Raquet Club (SRC) and I feel honored to be the first family member to visit them here! We didn't get to the apartment until late so I said a quick hi to everyone (including the dog Petey) and went to bed. Molly was kind enough to let me have her room for the weekend.

My activities of Friday, although dull to some, were, for me, very much needed. I slept in until 9AM and it felt great. I got up and did laundry! FINALLY! I don't think I've every been so happy to do laundry in an American Style washer and dryer in my life. I spent the morning having real breakfast, doing laundry (although not without their nanny/maid trying to help), and reading. It was amazing. Then I hit the gym at the veryyy nice country club. After the gym I went to the spa (also located in SRC) called Dragonfly for an hour long Chinese massage (thanks Kris!). After that is was back 'home' for a real, i repeat REAL, shower. I didn't think my day could get any better. It's the simple things in life these days . Amazing what living in a hostel for 2 months with no money can do to your perspective on life.
Kris and the kids came home from school around 3:30pm. From there the kids changed into their Halloween costumes and the 4 of us went trick-or-treating around the complex with some of the other families who live in the SRC complex that also work at the school. They passed out candy for the kids and some houses had drinks for the adults. Fun for all ages! Afterward there was a dinner for the ~60 people that were a part of the group. With that we called it a night!

Halloween - Molly is a dog and Benjamin is a skeleton

Tomorrow Kris and I are off to do some site seeing around Shanghai while Benjamin has a swim meet and Molly and Micheal hang out. I'm excited to get out and see the city!

More to come soon!
Love, Kels

Life update

There is not particular topic for this post, just an update on my life the past week!

  Last Friday I met up with some people my age, many new to Hong Kong like myself and a couple Hong Kong natives. We went out to a great Italian place called Pizza Express. Although the name makes it sound like a fast food place, it was actually a really fun, relatively authentic Italian restaurant with great food. Sometimes I think Chinese restaurant owners don't really understand the meaning behind restaurant names they choose here or don't think twice about how the words may be translated. Anyways, after dinner we went for drinks at a bar on the water called McLovins. It was expensive but had a great view and live music.

On Saturday I met up with Eszter and her fiance, Zoltan, to go to the beach. Eszter is a new volunteer at Ocean Park who just moved here from Hungary for Zoltan's job (he is a vet). We went to Clear Water Bay. It was very beautiful. The water was pretty clear and relatively clean and we ended up spending most of the day there swimming and exploring.

On Sunday I met up with my same friends I went out with on Friday, my friends from the GeoExPat website. We went out for brunch at an American type resturant. They serve 'diner' type food 24 hours a day. They name of the place is called The Flying Pan. It was nice to have an American type breakfast since they are hard to find here!

Veggie omelet with toast and fruit

My busy weekend continued into Monday where I met my veggie group for dinner. It is a meet up group I found online which they call 'Meatout Monday'. They meet every Monday at a different vegetarian restaurant in Hong Kong. They meals are usually served family style so you get to try a little bit of everything! This time we went to a 'food stall'. So there is basically this huge food market that is like a food court with a bunch of different stalls. You sit at a table near the stall but are basically mixed in with everyone. This stall was called Kan Kee Vegetarian Stall. It is owned by one women who has two cooks. The food was great and reasonably priced. I even went back tonight (Thurs) for dinner and got some food for take-out. The owner, Elsa, is very friendly and talked with me and wrote down my name, gave me a takeout menu and her cell phone number so I can call my orders in ahead of time. Here are some pictures of the food we had. . .

Fake glazed pork

cooked veggies

bean curd skin with ginger and veggies

On Wednesday night I went to the Happy Vally Racecourse with my GeoExPat friends. They have an Oktoberfest theme every Wednesday in October. So we had fun watching the races and watching the activities at the beer tents.

This week I also got a job at a tutoring agency. I will be tutoring Chinese students (kids in grade school) in conversational English. It will only be for an hour or two on the weekends but I'll be making about the same amount of money I make for a whole day at Ocean Park! So it will be nice to have a little be of extra money!


And last, but certainly not least, everyone here is anticipating 'Super Typhoon Megi'. This typhoon already hit the Philippines and has winds comparable to Hurricane Katrina. Right now the major part of the storm is supposed to hit a bit north of Hong Kong but we are still planning to get lots of wind and rain. Right now Hong Kong is under a T3 warning signal. The order goes T1, T3, T8, and last T10. Why this order? why not just go T1-T4? Because nothing makes sense in Hong Kong, that's why. Anyways, I digress. Right now we are at T3, but businesses and all public transportation close at level T10, which may happen on Friday afternoon. Either way I will try and keep you guys updated. Either way send your prayers, I don't feel like getting stuck in a Hurricane Katrina-like situation over here by myself. . .

the small red star on the coast is Hong Kong

This coming up - I will be visiting my mom's cousin, Kris, and her family in Shanghai next weekend (Oct 28-31)! I am very excited to see mainland China! (but don't even get me started on the process it took me to get my visa to get to China...)

As always, I miss all my family and friends back in that states!
Until next time, Kels xoxo

Dolphin Training

Here are some pictures of me 'training' Ginsan, a 5 year old Indo-Pacific bottle Nose Dolphin. He is the main dolphin we work with in our Match-to-Sample research. Although I am 'training' him, it is more like he is training me because he has been doing these behaviors everyday for the past 5 years. I am the one just learning the behaviors and how to signal him. If he does a behavior wrong, it is usually not his fault, it is most likely because I was unclear on my signaling or messed up. Either way it is always fun getting to know him and spending time with him.

I have done 5 training sessions so far and can't wait to do more!

Belly-up...I like doing this because it gives me the chance to rub his belly, which he enjoys, and build trust

Feeding fish after a correct behavior

Hug

Kiss

Kiss again

Pec present . . . another chance to give him a rub/scratch

Spit water

I can't believe I am actually getting a chance to train dolphins. It seems like I have been wanting to do this since I was in 8th grade. I'm pretty sure it is every kids dream to be a dolphin trainer at some point or another in their life. I am lucky I get to try it at all, even if it is only once a week for a couple of months!

As always, I miss my family and friends back home. But I am getting very excited for my mom, Auntie Neenie, Grandma Joan, and dad to come visit!

Love, Kels

I Love Animals

I am dedicating this post to the animals I have seen so far in Hong Kong. I figured it appropriate I dedicate at least one post to them since, after all, I hope to work with them for the rest of my life!


These first pictures are of wild monkeys in the Hong Kong mountains. I had the opportunity to go with a few of the veterinarians from Ocean Park on a monthly trip they take to go 'Monkey Catching.' During this 'monkey catching' the lure monkeys into a large cage with food. The day I went there were about 40 monkeys in total. Once they are caught they are given anesthesia in order to get their weight, temperature, give them a vaccine, and if they are a mature female they are spayed. This project was created to control the problem of overpopulation of the monkeys in the area as well as vaccinate them against spreading disease.

All the monkeys together about to be released!

Sleeping monkeys waiting to get vaccines

Baby monkeys waiting for mom!

This is one of the Sea Lions from Pacific Pier at Ocean Park

This is Ginsan, one of the dolphins participating in our research project at Ocean Park

Ginsan and I . . . I can't wait to do more training with him!

Red Panda at Ocean Park

Giant Panda at Ocean Park