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M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
We made it back! It was a great trip - WARM - and very enjoyable. We used every major form of transportation and managed to find our way around the city pretty well. We flew out on Tuesday, took the train to Hong Kong on Wednesday and explored Lantau Island that afternoon. There’s a giant buddha statue in the middle of the island, and a fishing village on the north side. We got our fill of sweet & sour, tried to see white dolphins, and watched the sun set over the Pacific.
Disney was a blast!! We took the special "Disneyland Resort line" of the MTR to get there, and it was quite the experience from the start! They really have done a great job of engulfing you in the "world of Disney" the minute you step on the train. The park itself was very fun - smaller than either park in the states, but still enough for a day trip. They have a Lion King Broadway-esque show which was fabulous! Dan got to shake Mickey’s hand, so the day was made. 
Friday afternoon was spent on Hong Kong island - in the city itself. We were hopping on and off the MTR, walking through lots of very expensive malls, and feeling as though we were back in the States by the Starbucks on every other corner. That evening, we found the venue for the Cirque de Soleil, and amazingly enough, were able to purchase tickets a half hour before the show - Merry Christmas to us!! It was a very enjoyable show and a great way to end our trip.
Now we’re back in COLD Chengdu… No sun… COLD… did I mention that it was 75 degrees and sunny in Hong Kong? Ahhh…
Sunday Afternoon
I’m taking it easy this afternoon… Sarah’s cooking a turkey for our early Thanksgiving at another apartment that has a larger oven, and I’m getting some grading done. This weekend has been full of fun and American food! Let me enlighten you…
Friday night was poker night with the boys. I hosted it here and made my first attempt at frying up chicken wings using the sauce my parents sent me from the states. They turned out wonderful. Let me just toss in a little plug for Frank’s Red Hot Sauce: It’s great. You should get some. So I didn’t win at poker, but everyone had good wings. Sarah made some cookies and we had Starbucks’ coffee, so we were all happy!
Saturday was a rest day. We had Pizza Hut for dinner. It was tasty.
We did the music at fellowship this morning; it was a good time of worship. This brings us up to now, with me eagerly waiting for the wonderful turkey and trimmings. Oh, I’m salivating. Excuse me.
New Website!
Apparently, the hosting company has changed the format of the website a bit. I’m not complaining - now there are more toys for me to play with! Also, it gives you, our wonderful readers, the opportunity to leave a comment on the site! You should try it out…
Last night was a basketball game for our HS team. This was essentially street ball - people lining a court with two slightly bent net-less hoops. Our team was playing another Chinese team. Their coach was also the ref, which was clearly seen in the reffing. We still won, though - 32-30. Go Pandas! (Yes, that is our mascot.)
New pics!!
We’ve got new pictures up! Look in album 3 to see the progress on the new school building and our future apartment comlex. Check out album 5 for a recap of our time in China so far. Album 4 will always contain the most recent events - like our upcoming trip to Hong Kong! - while album 5 will give you highlights. We’re planning an early Thanksgiving dinner for next Sunday afternoon. Dan gets a kick out of the double meaning for "early" - it is before Thanksgiving Day, but we’ll be eating at the Early’s home. The Lemans, Earlys and we will be splitting up the menu between our limited ovens. If you have any turkey tips, let me know!
We’re on a roll..
We just updated pics of our apartment and area in album three - who knows what will come next! (Now if I could only get caught up on all that grading…) Check it out!
Sunday!
Hello all! The weekend went by quick. Sarah and I didn’t get to do much together, as the guy’s retreat was going on until noon today, but we still kept ourselves busy. It’s amazing the similarities to home that one can aquire in China. Sure, we have the commercialized McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, etc., but there’s more than that. One of the games the guys were playing yesterday required me to be a checkpoint at a restaurant. So there I was, grading papers and eating all of my "Chinese" food: chili and tortilla chips, finished off with apple pie and coffee! Tonight Sarah and I went out to a nice Mediterranean place. My risotto was tasty, and Sarah’s salmon ravioli wasn’t half bad either. In short, there’s good western food in China. Though I am still figuring out how to organize everything to make the best use of the limited space I have, there are now more pictures online for your viewing pleasure! The new album has pictures from our recent book character day. Enjoy!
Friday Night
Hi! Busy week, but time to update… The planning for the upper school Christmas Play was rushed into fruition this week as auditions were held on Monday and Tuesday, and the first read-through was today after school. We have 5 weeks until performance! It’s going to go by quickly, but the kids will do fine. If I keep my sanity, I’ll do alright too! Right now, "Soul Hunters," a retreat of sorts for the High School men is going on. It’s good to hang out with the kids outside of school. I’m helping with the devo’s, but not staying the night with them. I’ll leave that to more… willing hands. 
We recently found out that we aren’t going to Thailand for Thanksgiving break like previously expected, so Sarah has been booking flights and hotels for us to spend the break in Hong Kong! I’m excited - especially about Disney Land. (I feel like a little kid, I’m so happy!) We’ve got lots of pictures… I’ve just been pretty behind in getting them uploaded. I’ll try to do better. Really. Hopefully this weekend. Hope all is well where ever you are reading this!