Exciting Times Abound!

So here I am, sitting in my living room, eating brownies, drinking wine, avoiding the all holy mess that is my room, which can only mean one thing:  I'm finished with classes!!  Yes, that lovely day I have been looking forward to has arrived, and to be honest, I'm a little sad to be leaving our class!  Our teacher Terry is one of the funniest teachers I've ever had (I spent at least 1/4 of every class laughing hysterically), and I really enjoyed spending time with all of the people in our class.  Ngoh hou jung yi Terry sin saang tungh ngohdeih baan!  I think the final exam went decently well, and I managed to understand all of the questions on the oral exam, so that in and of itself is a triumph!

This weekend was just about everything you could hope for in a Hong Kong weekend.  On Saturday, Camille and I decided that we needed to reward ourselves for getting through the last full week of Cantonese classes, so we met up with her friend Pablo and ventured out to Cheung Chau Island, one of the small outlying islands in HK.  The town was just precious, just what you would expect of a laid-back beach town; though it turns out, the island is known historically for being a pirate hang-out, which makes it definitively bad-ass, don't you think?  After a bit of a trek, we managed to find the beach and spend the next four hours lounging there.  After that exhausting day, we dined at this little seafood restaurant overlooking Cheung Chau's harbour that had the most spectacular view of the sunset behind the mountains.  Check out Camille's photos on Facebook, if you get a chance!  The seafood we had at the end of the day was so, so fresh and delicious (scallops with black beans, lobster & garlic, fresh crab and ginger) - but then again, it should be fresh, given that the decor of the restaurant was the giant tanks that housed the fish and crustaceans we were about to eat.  

Sunday was just as eventful as Saturday, as I met up with good family friend Denver!  He was in town on business but luckily had a day to spare so we could go explore HK.  Now I have to say, as of now, I am a pretty lousy tour guide of the city, given that I have not had the chance to see much of it in this past month (a wrong I hope to right in these next few weeks), so I was a bit nervous when I thought I would be called upon to show off the city.  But luckily (!), Denver had been here a few times before, so it turned out that he was the one showing me around!  We ventured into Central and then took a cab to Stanley, on the south end of Hong Kong Island.  Stanley is known for its lively market as well as scenic views overlooking the sea, and it was definitely a sight!  Every time we thought we had seen all of the shops, it seemed like dozens more sprang up out of nowhere in another pathway or alley we hadn't been down yet.  And yet, with all of this, I have yet to go on a shopping spree in HK, for which I think my self-control deserves a gold star.  After Stanley, we hopped on a bus back to Central and (after a long, slow, painful hour of essentially sitting in traffic), made it back to grab the MTR to go to Mong Kok!  I have to say, I think Mong Kok is becoming one of my favorites spots in HK, it's always so lively and entertaining.  We managed to find the restaurant that I ate at with the girls several weeks ago (with the best BBQ pork buns ever, OMG) and had dim sum.  I was able to put my fledging Cantonese skills to use here, though to mixed results.    I actually knew enough Cantonese to ask if they were serving beer though!  This is truly a triumph - also a sign that they taught us the essentials in our class.   I promised Denver that he would get a shout-out in the blog, but I thought I would do one better and also include photographic evidence of the day in HK:

True, we didn't get much scenery behind us, but I guess the walls of the Mong Kok East MTR station will have to do.  

The past few days have not been as eventful as the weekend, given that a tropical depression decided to plop itself down over Hong Kong for the past 48 hours.  Boo.  It's totally harshing on my free time here - but it's supposed to clear up by tomorrow, meaning that I can go all tourist-y on this town!  Hopefully I'll have some fun excursions to report on in the next couple of days!   And just think, if I get in any trouble and get thrown in jail, at least we know now Bill Clinton can always come bail me out!  

Have a good one!

Jenny Mc