Back in the US of A

It really has been great being home.  For those of you who don't know, I surprised my Mom for Christmas which was the most awesome and nerve-wracking experience of. my. life.  Let me tell you that keeping that type of secret is not easy! But that'll be another blog post.

One of the strangest things about living abroad is coming home.  There are so many weird things about being in the US, especially coming from Hong Kong.  My life there is very different from my life in the US was, but is probably the polar opposite of the life my parents live. They live in a very small (~3,000 people) town in North Texas.  So there has been ample opportunity for comparisons.  I have been taking pictures of things my Hong Kong friends would find amusing, and let me tell you, there are certainly a few choice things.

 

To start with, Texans LOVE Texas.  I am a Texan, so of course, I too love Texas, but it is really interesting seeing the level of Texas devotion present.  Take for example this.  Why yes, this is cheese in the shape of Texas.  I saw it at a grocery store in Austin.  Why does one need cheese in the shape of Texas?  One will never know, but there it is.  Perhaps there is no Hong Kong shaped cheese because with all the outlying islands, it would just end up looking like a mess (and costing $298347827394 dollars, thank you, HK cheese prices). 

My parents were given this as a gift by someone at their church the other day.  I flipped through it and it is apparently an ode to everything Texas.  Could also be titled "Why Texas is Awesome".  True enough for the most part.

 

Additionally, Texans love guns.  It has been interesting to be abroad and especially in a place like HK where guns are illegal during this whole Newtown tragedy.  But, welcome back to Texas! You can visit a variety of gun stores, including ones just for girls.  

On a related note, see this segment on the news.  I made my parents pause.  Keep in mind that this is Texas, but still I was surprised at some of these stats. 

Moving on to something less controversial, I discovered to my dismay that my room in Hong Kong is the size of my parents' bed.  Literally.  

 

Why yes, this Hot Chocolate mix is large enough to last you through the zombie apocalypse. It didn't occur to me that the reason that everything comes in small quantities in HK is that nobody has any room for large things. You should have seen me in Sam's club. I was on complete overload.  And it finally occurred to me that perhaps the reason many Americans are incapable of making decisions is because we have so many choices.  I was telling my parents that often in the HK grocery store, there are two cereal choices - corn flakes or mystery Chinese brand.  In the grocery store here there are 9837 choices for cereal.  How does one ever decide?!

 

This is one of the churches my Dad serves.  It is literally in the middle of nowhere.  There is a lot of open land here in North Texas which has been a welcome reprieve from the multitude of skyscrapers in HK.  

 

Last but not least, I discovered something fascinating.  My dad can do the Asian Squat!  I spied him doing this the other day and was completely astounded (and of course immediately had to take a picture).  I have been consistently trying to do this since I moved to Hong Kong and can honestly say I am no closer today than I was when I started.  He'll fit in just fine when my parents come to visit. 

 This is short, but nonetheless will give you a little glimpse into my temporary re-entry to US life.  I'll blog more on the surprise later, but for now, Happy New Year! May 2013 be full of adventures! 

-The Adventurer

2012 in Review

I've been having peripheral guilt about not sending out a Christmas card.  It's something that I've wanted to do for the past two years, and this year I PROMISED myself that I'd send them out.  I even made the "here's what's been going on with me" letter to put inside, but just never got the cards bought, stamped and sent.  So I guess this will have to suffice.  It is truly crazy to me that this year is almost over.  I feel like this has been a year full of life-changing decisions.  Here's my year in a few paragraphs...


 I woke up on January 1 in Ruidoso, NM after having skied the day before with some great friends. 
I was also still getting my feet wet with Elementary Ministry.  My family gathered together to be with my Grandfather as he passed away.  It was incredibly sad, yet to know the fullness of his life and to hear about the generosity that he displayed to friends and strangers alike was extremely inspiring.

Skiing with the Moores.  That guy on the right is a New Mexico State Senator now!

In February, I returned to Denmark! From the moment I booked my tickets in November of 2011, I was excited.  Denmark is so much a part of my story and has contributed so much to the person that I am today that I was excited to re-visit.  I was so glad to visit my host family and to see Chase's host family, and spent equal time with both.  I could talk about the things I saw or ate, but the real reason I love Denmark so much are the people that I met while there.  It was like a breath of fresh air that I desperately needed (especially because I was starting to mull over what my next move might be, sorting through some complicated relationship issues and just in general feeling overwhelmed).  I left at the worst possible time for the rink, though, as there was a very serious fire in the compressor room that forced us to close down for two weeks right before I left.

With my host sister! <3 br="br">

Maggie and Me in Helsingør

March brought a lot of BFF time.  Sara and I did a lot of things together from attending a friend's wedding on St. Patrick's day to setting up one crazy night for an experiential worship service she was doing for her kids on Palm Sunday.

Me and the French girls!

April was when I finally got my act together on applying to churches in Hong Kong.  I felt pretty strongly that I might be feeling a call to move abroad but had no idea what that meant.  April started off with a bang, as on April 1, Palm Sunday, we walked into our holding area for the palms to discover that they had been out of the refrigerator for about 48 hours thus rotting and falling apart for the most part.  Most of the people on my staff went into damage control mode and pulled out the few usable palms.  The rest of April was a whirlwind! I celebrated my birthday with both a surprise party and a party with some of my good friends thrown by Sara.

Birthday surprise!

I can honestly say that I remember very little of May.  Grace, the church I worked at in Houston puts on a massive VBS each year and this consumed most of May for me.  I did get a great piece of relaxation when Sara and I took a few days to go to Aunt Becca's ranch at the end of the month.  My move to HK was looking more and more possible, so I savored those moments with her for sure.

Elementary Ministry summed up in one picture

Amazing time at the ranch

June was also nuts.  In addition to running VBS, we had an in town mission trip that week.  It's no secret that I love youth ministry, so in addition to my role in VBS, I also stayed the night at the church each day and participated in their activities and nighttime worship each evening.  By the end of the week, I was a complete and total zombie.  I also got my very first intern!  It was a lot of fun learning how to supervise him and help him pursue his calling to ministry! Possibly the most exciting thing that happened in June was that the Woodlands (north Houston) got a Trader Joes.  I'm not even kidding when I say that I shed a tear in the parking lot.  I LOVE Trader Joes.  Oh, and on June 29th, my church here offered me the job.  And I cried.  On Skype.  With my future bosses.  Haha.  Now that I think of it, that was obviously the most exciting thing that happened.

A horrendous picture but you can see the highlight of my week - shooting off a confetti cannon!

In July, I went on a cruise with two fabulous friends from college, Jordin and Meleah.  They were some of the first people to know that I had officially accepted the position and would be moving to Hong Kong.  It was a great time to relax and recuperate from the craziness of June.  We went to the Bahamas, St. Maarten and St. Thomas.  Jordin and I even went parasailing in Nassau! It was a really great trip.  Almost immediately after returning from the cruise, I got on a plane to New Mexico to join our family at our cabin in Colorado to spread my grandfather's ashes.  "The Cabin" is my favorite place on earth, hands down.  It was great to get to enjoy it one more time before my family sells it.  Once I got back, the reality that I would be moving in just 6 short weeks hit me.  And it was go time.  I began sorting through my stuff, letting all my jobs know that I'd be moving, and doing a lot of secret crying.  I was excited, but terrified, too.

St. Thomas

 

My BFF and me at the cabin

No more gorgeous place on earth

At the beginning of August, I ran up to my parents' house for a goodbye visit before I moved.  It was a great few days where I got to spend a LOT of time with my precious nephew.  I adore this child.  It was also great to see my parents and get to have a lot of quality time and conversation with them.  Sara was in Germany at a teen conference, and the reality of what it would be like for us to be apart for a long amount of time really started to sink in.  I finally got my tickets booked (a 36 hour long flight that I would not recommend), bought new suitcases, and cleaned out every nook and cranny in my house.  I sold most of what I owned packing everything into three suitcases and a backpack (and storing 8-10 boxes at my parents' house).  On August 21, I left Houston forever...  Okay, okay, not forever.  Just for a while. And I arrived in Hong Kong.

In September, I did a lot of sweating.  Yes, it's true.  If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you'll know how I loathe sweating.  There were about 17 days in September where I thought to myself, what the heck did I get myself into?!  It is literally that hot in Hong Kong.  But I did also start to settle into my job, I lived in a fabulous 23rd floor apartment with a gorgeous view of the HK skyline from both my bedroom and bathroom, I did a lot of hiking, visiting of beaches and making new friends.  Which is exactly as it should be when you move to a new place.  We also had a lock-in where I feel like I got to know the kids much better.  Additionally, my work visa was approved and so I had to head to Macau for the day to go out of the country and come back again. 

Church façade in Macau

October brought more travel.  I headed to Vietnam over Chinese Mid-Autumn festival with my friend Lillian and have blogged in detail about that.  If you'd like to read more you can head on over to blog posts "Vietnam 1 and Vietnam 2".  It was really fantastic to get away if only for a few days.  

Crazy Motor Bikes in Vietnam

November brought yet another move.  I moved into my cozy apartment in Wanchai in the middle of sketchy-ville.  It's true that I do live above a strip club, but actually I love my neighborhood.  It has grown on me even more the longer I've lived here (and the craziness is really contained in a very small area).  We also took our Junior students on a retreat and did the best poverty simulation I've ever participated in with an organization called Crossroads.  I went kayaking with some youth worker friends, cooked two thanksgiving dinners, was invited to a third (and attended) and spent the majority of Thanksgiving day crying.  It was an intense month.  Luckily, my staff is awesome and gave me lots of grace in my homesick state.  And my dad even sent me flowers on Thanksgiving.  What a winner.

Thanksgiving shopping craziness

And now it's December! One of my two roommates moved a couple of weeks ago, and we've got a new roommate, Melody.  Things seem to be working great in that department.  I've been scouring the markets for great unique Christmas presents and enjoying the colder weather.  My friend Katie have kept up our weekly ritual of having dinner, but since our go-to Downton Abbey is finished for the season, we switched to Christmas movies.  To top it off, my young adult group had a Christmas party on a tram this last week where we sang Christmas carols and acted like lunatics.  I loved it.

Christmas party on the tram

I'll post more on the rest of December later, but I hope that wherever you are that you're having a Merry Christmas!

Maybe I'll get those Christmas cards out next year...

-Til next time,
The Adventurer

In defense of the "Independent Woman"

Alright, I had to lure you in somehow with a catchy title.  Let me say on the front side that this article is NOT a feminist commentary.  This isn’t a guy-bashing article either.  It’s just my attempt to process some things that have happened recently (and to solicit advice, too).  What has really gotten me thinking about this is that we’re starting a new series on Identity in my youth group in the spring. As I’ve prayed and thought about it, I really have decided that I need to get to the core of my identity so that I can be vulnerable and honest with my students. 

So here’s the back-story.  First and foremost, over the past few years I have had next to no guy friends.  I’ve had acquaintances at work or guys I interact with on a periodic basis, but no real guy friends.  Here in Hong Kong, it’s a whole new ball game.  Most of the people that I’ve become good friends with happen to be guys.  Which is awesome.  I can truly say that I love these guys.  They’re upstanding, good, Jesus-loving men.  But it has brought to the front of my mind that there are some fundamental differences between guys and girls.  I’m not here to create an argument on whether this is due to culture or birth, but let’s just settle on the idea that my guy friends and I are different from each other.

We’re different in the way we approach things, in the way we respond to things, and in our attitudes.  And this is a very good thing.  I love hearing other perspectives, and often leave conversations with them challenged to think about my opinions.  They’re smart and opinionated and it keeps me on my toes.

So here’s my most current issue.  A few weeks ago, I was at coffee with two guy friends and a female friend.  At the end of the night, one of the guys offered to pick up the check (for everyone, not just me).  Almost immediately, I responded that I could get my check – that he didn’t need to do that, as nice as the offer was.  I think I also made a quick quip saying something to the effect of “if this was a date, I’d let you pick up the check, but since it isn’t, I can get my own!” I meant it to be funny. He insisted, and we got into a debate during which my level of passion surprised even me.  We went back and forth with him asking why I wouldn’t let him get the check, and I said because I made plenty of money and was just fine paying for my own coffee.  Even as I type this, I can see that it came out more harshly than I meant.  Eventually we settled and he paid the check. 

As he and I walked back to our neighborhood, I was very happy that he asked me a few more questions about why I wouldn’t let him pay.  I was glad to have the opportunity to debrief the incident a little more.  Because what I realized in that moment is that I came across as some feminist, independent, “don’t need a man” type.  I had to ask myself if that was my honest attitude.  As we talked, it became clear to me that the reason I didn’t want him (or anyone for that matter) to pay is because I worry about inconveniencing other people, not out of some gender power struggle.  Something else that I realized during our walk is that I am very conscious of taking care of myself.  This is also a derivative of this desire to not inconvenience anyone.  I have always been self-motivated, responsible, and had a strong desire to be self-sufficient.  I think this comes more from a desire to not be a burden on anyone than to prove that I don’t need a man.  I was never the kid who thought, oh, hey, if my life post-college doesn’t work out, I’ll just move back in with my parents.  In fact, I found myself in that exact situation and did literally everything possible to avoid it.   

I felt a lot better about things after our chat and thought I had moved on.

Last week, though, I returned from having dinner with another friend to my house for my roommate’s going away party.  As the group sat around chatting, my roommate mentioned that I had met a friend of hers.  She said that her friend told her about how I was “one of those independent women” and recounted the coffee shop story to her.  I couldn’t place this friend of a friend, and in fact have since come to realize that I have never, in fact met this person.  I’m not sure what the story is there, but I can safely assure you that her friend was not there for the coffee shop incident.  So what I finally figured out is that at a “guys night” my two guy friends who were at the coffee shop apparently talked about it with their friends and my roommate’s friend heard what happened.  Which doesn’t bother me.  What does bother me, however, is that now, an entire group of people, without knowing me, have stereotyped me as being something that I’m not. 

I am probably more sensitive about this than most people because I feel like being a woman working in a church keeps me on the defensive a lot of the time.  Thankfully, in the walls of my church I am accepted, loved, and my ministry is validated.  But often times outside of the church, I meet people (normally well-meaning guys) who seem to think my ministry is a joke, or worse, unbiblical.  I am often typecast because of the kind of church I work in and therefore my theological opinions are assumed to be “feminist”.  And this is without people knowing anything about me.  I feel like I do a lot to NOT become one of those angry women working in churches.  The ones with a chip on their shoulder.  I find a lot of joy in my job.  I love the ministry I do. I’ve been on staff with women who are more interested in pushing their feminist doctrine than the doctrine of the good news of Jesus Christ and this is the opposite of what I want to be.

So then, what is it that I want? 

I think this is the core question of this whole issue.  I want to be who I am.  I believe that we each have our personality for a reason, even if there are some challenges that come along with it.  I know I wouldn’t be as effective in ministry if I didn’t have my personality.  But on the other side of the coin, I want people to be able to see beyond my desire for independence and self-sufficiency.  I want to be able to be vulnerable with them.  I want them to see the softer side of me, to see the side of me that would give up the shoes on my feet for someone else.  I want people to see that I am nurturing and I love kids and I am probably the most loyal friend you will have.  I want people to see that I have a touch of whimsy, a bit of mischievousness, and a love for life. That I am adventurous and inquisitive and that these are the parts of my personality I love even more than my independence.

So here’s the summary.  Being “independent” which by my definition means being able to function, make decisions, and form opinions on ones own (caveat: not ALWAYS on one’s own) is not a bad thing.  But somehow, when a woman is independent, we typecast her as being hard or unfeeling or feminist.  What can be very good things are all of the sudden turned into negatives.  I struggle with this because I am both independent and yet deeply desire warm relationships.  Often when people don’t know what to do with someone who doesn’t fit into the mold they expect, they will fit them into another mold.  Hence, typecasting.  But at the end of the day, instead of trying to fit people into prescribed molds, wouldn’t it be healthier to accept each person with their unique mix of gifts and talents and see their identity in Christ? To see their personality and gifts as part of God’s plan for their lives? 

I can tell you that I don’t have all the answers.  This issue has got me thinking a lot about how I come across to people and whether that aligns with who I am at the core.  But it also has me thinking about how I relate to other people.  How I might be guilty of the same thing – of typecasting people into molds that exist in MY mind.  I deal with people all the time from teenagers to adults who are asking these same questions.  Who am I?  Is my identity derived from what people say about me, what I say about myself, or what God says about me?  How can I be a mix of things that seem paradoxical?  But the truth is, I believe, that we are all paradoxical beings in a way.  That God has given us the perfect blend of traits and characteristics for the adventures he has called us into.  It’s messy, but it is also strange and beautiful. 

-Til next time, 

 The adventurer

 

Hong Kong Disneyland

One thing that you probably should know about me is that I LOVE Disney.  I have been to a Disney park almost every year since I was in second grade.  And now, I can say that I’ve been to Disney parks on three continents, which is also pretty awesome.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  I have been wanting to visit Hong Kong Disneyland since I got to Hong Kong, but it has been so horrendously hot outside that I knew I’d just be sweaty and miserable, so I wanted to wait until things cooled down.  This past Monday, I knew the weather would be downright freezing for Hong Kong standards, so I thought it might be a great time to go.  I put out a poll on facebook on Sunday night about whether I should go to Disneyland or get and decorate a Christmas tree and Disney was the overwhelming winner.  Thanks, friends!

Beyond my desire to go to Disney for my own interest, I also really needed to go to get some Christmas presents.  My parents collect Disney trading pins and I knew I wanted them to have some from Hong Kong.  The really unfortunate part is that unlike the Disney parks in the US, there is no shopping area outside the park, so you pretty much have to enter the parks to do any kind of shopping (for future reference, I did find out later that the resort hotels have small shopping areas, so I suppose I could have gone that route…)

Loved the Disneyland Resort Line.  So creative!

In any case, when I woke up on Monday morning, I saw a bunch of comments on facebook including one from a friend from college who works for HK Disney offering to walk me in the park for free.  Um, yes.  Decision made.

More good theming

One of the things I love most about Hong Kong is how easy it is to get around.  In about 45 minutes from my house, I arrived at the Sunny Bay MTR (metro) station.  One of the really brilliant things the HK government did when bidding for Disney is plan a devoted extension to the MTR that would service Disneyland.  So all you have to do is take the normal MTR line out to Lantau Island (where Disneyland is located) and switch to the Disneyland resort line.  I love unexpected touches, and I was actually quite surprised to see that the Disney theming had already started when the MTR cars pulled into the station.  The cars were definitely standard-issue MTR cars, but they were retrofitted with Mickey-shaped windows, blue couches instead of metal benches, Mickey Mouse shaped handholds and characters throughout.  It was a really great touch. 

I met my friend at the front gates and we caught up a little bit on what had been going on over the past few years.  It was so surreal to see someone from home here.  So far, everyone I know here I’ve met here, so it was definitely a strange feeling.  We hung out for a few more minutes before he had to go to a meeting and rehearsal, then I headed out to explore the park. 

The only Disney park with an actual mountain behind the castle.

So, first for a couple of observations:

People told me that Hong Kong Disney is much smaller than other parks.   This is true.  It is missing Frontierland completely and lots of the other lands have different and/or missing rides from the other parks.

Extra HK addition at It's a Small World

A cold December day was the perfect time to go.  The park was extremely empty.  I never waited more than 5 minutes for anything, which was awesome.  And the park was decked out for Christmas with carols blaring on Main Street.  I couldn’t help being in a festive mood!

There were a LOT of mainlanders.  I try to avoid talking about this in my blog because it’s a very polarizing issue here in Hong Kong.  But I can say that unfortunately, a lot of the stereotypes are true.  In queue lines that were not nearly full, people would cram up against you trying to push ahead, and people would take any advantage to slip in front of you.  Or in a show where there is a large queue and the theatre or whatever venue is opened and everyone is supposed to walk in at the same time, people literally sprint to get ahead (though there are not many people in line at all).  It’s strange, really, because this is so contrary to the way I was raised.  I vividly remember my mom scolding me in a Target one time because I was in the personal space of a lady in front of us.  It’s just a different mentality.

My very, very talented friend in Festival of the Lion King

I also had a little girl come up to me, reaching for my hair saying “Cinderella!!” It was very funny.  Yep, the truth is out, I’m Cinderella incognito wearing jeans instead of a ball gown! They asked for a picture and though I tried to convince her in Mandarin that I wasn’t Cinderella, she wasn’t buying it.

I skyped Sara during this show.  Yep, the whole thing... haha!

So, all of those initial observations aside, I had a really great time.  HK Disney does have some of my favorites including Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Festival of the Lion King (in which my friend is a lead performer), Mickey’s Philharmagic, and a couple of new favorites including Toy Story Land and Golden Mickey show which is possibly one of the best Disney shows I have ever seen.  It was also great to see “snow” on Main Street and to see the fireworks. 

Not a great pic, but some cute little princesses

Finished with fireworks.

It was truly exactly what I needed on Monday.  Christmas is without a doubt my most favorite time of year, but it is strange being away from home and trying to establish new traditions, etc.  It was nice to be in a Christmas explosion!

On another note, I have been in the best mood this week.  I don’t know if it’s the weather, or Christmas, or the fact that I’m not sweating, but everything has been really, really, good this week.  It started off with a dinner for about 10 people at my apartment on Sunday night, Disney Monday, and has just kept getting more awesome. 

On that note, I will leave you with yet another funny chinglish o the day.  It’s great because many of my blog readers and friends are now aware that I do this and have started helping me snap pictures of funny signs.  This is from one of our youth group parents!  Enjoy!

Til next time, The Adventurer