short interruption

sorry there haven't been any blog posts.

for those who know, i have herniated/bulging discs in my back.

while i've had nominal pain the past few weeks, on monday the pain intensified and i went to lay in my bed. i have been in bed for the past 2 days, only getting up to go to the bathroom and eat food.

pray that the pain would subside. i am taking the meds i got before leaving, but if i continue to take full dosage, they will run out soon.

if it keeps up this way, a visit to the hospital might be in the near future. please pray!

i'll update as i can.
thanks,
sarah

week #2 - done!

This is the class from Week Two.



We lost one, but added two others.
This week a few leave, and this weekend Sheryl Vasso arrives to teach a curriculum class.

This is Week Two...in action:

hong kong....at night

Last night, as I said we may, we (Mark, Corinna, and I) went to Hong Kong Island. We traveled on the MTR.

This was our route:

Shek Mun to Tai Wai (end of line)
Switch lines and go from Tai Wai to Hung Hom (end of line)
Go from Hung Hom to East Tsim Sha Tsui.
Walk from East Tsim Sha Tsui to Tsim Sha Tsui (they have those walking paths that make you feel like you're walking faster...like a flat escalator, for those who don't know what I'm talking about)
Then from Tsim Sha Tsui to Central on the Tsuen Wan line.

Along the way (IN the MTR station, we found Debbie and Holly, coming back from a trip to the jeweler. So we added Holly to the group, so she could see Hong Kong Island before she leaves on Monday for the States).

And....we've reached out destination. We walked outside to more people than we're used to in Shek Mun, but imagine - for those of you who can - walking out of NYC's Penn Station onto the street.

The sun was just about set, but I managed to get a few pictures. Oh, how I wish I already had my Hallmark training. I'd know how to get clearer pictures :)

For now, this is the best I could get:













By this time, it was 8:15pm. Mark, Corinna and I had not yet had dinner, so we (1) were hungry; (2) were hot; and (3) just wanted to sit down somewhere. We went to a mall we had seen and found this noodle place to eat. We had about a 20 min. wait, but when seated, realized we'd dine well. This was our table before we were served:



And THIS is Mark and Corinna (finally, faces to go with the names):



I had stir-fry noodles with beef - delicious! We left the restaurant around 9:40pm and made it back to ICS by 10:40pm. All in all, another wonderful night with wonderful new friends! I slept so well, I even OVERSLEPT a few minutes this morning, but still made it down on time to make morning coffee for everyone and get set up.

do you know the [baker] man?

One of the things I've loved doing - but may not be all that wise for maintaining a good diet - is going to the bakery.

Today Corinna and I braved the HEAT outside and went to two bakeries. One is more "authentic" and the other - A-1 Bakery - is a chain around here.

I like the A-1 b/c they have a lot more of a selection, and my fav - the chocolate croissant. I was going to take a pic of it, but ate it before remembering. I'm sure I'll have another before I leave, so I'll be sure to take a pic soon.

But here are some other yummy items we picked up...

This one is called chocolate brothers:





This one - a sweet roll - has a coconut and cream-cheese flavor:

Mutarica

When I was in Thailand in 2008, the asst. director was this gal Mutarica.
We'd write back and forth about details of the school, housing accommodations, peoples' flight itineraries, and such, all the while not knowing how old she was, or what she looked like. We were business penpals for a short time.

I finally wrote and asked how old she was, just to get a sense. I soon realized through further emails that we'd be fast friends.

As soon as I got over there, we talked about life - friends, interests, PBU, ICS (the school we used in Thailand), etc. We went to night markets, the mall, massages, the airport (to pick others up), and enjoyed cruising around in her car.

I felt truly blessed to have her...to know she spoke the language when I didn't know what to say. She told me the places to see and took me to church with her each week.

I had found a friend.

But then the tricky part ensued....would we stay in touch when I left? Would we write? Would we always have that summer to recall memories, but not much after that?
We emailed back and forth, and then I got a postcard from her, and realized, "Why have I not been sending her snail mail?" I love sending people notes...why had I not thought of that?? So just within the last few months, we wrote a few handwritten notes back and forth too.

We always talked about seeing each other again. I didn't think I'd come back this way for a long time, if ever. But here I am, just a few hours away (by flight). And, I am SO SO excited to say, Mutarica is coming TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!! She is going to spend the weekend and we're going to wreak havoc (for you, Kay) in Hong Kong.

I am sure we'll laugh a lot, and pick up right where we left off two years ago.

I'll be sure to post some pics of our time together; for now, this is my friend:

new shoes, and a few other newsy items

I took a picture of one of the shops at the market the other day - a shoe store.
My sister and I were skyping this morning and she commented on the shoes in the pics, telling me which she liked.

We went to City One for lunch today and lo and behold, they had the sandals and in the exact colors she and I were talking about.



I got an identical pair in black too...


And this was my AH-MAZING lunch today (rice bowl with pork):



And this is the Hong Kong version of our Dollar Store in the States - the $7.80 store:



And Debbie and I went to the mall last night for dinner. We decided to be true Americans and eat at Ruby Tuesdays. While I was in great company, I could have been spared the food. It wasn't all that great. I got salmon (one of my fav meals) with rice and veggies. The rice tasted like they had microwaved it. And I didn't even touch the veggies - they looked like wax.

Then we went to City Super, the supermarket I've mentioned before. We watched the women cook the custard dessert I was telling you about earlier. These pictures aren't that great, but at least you can see what I was talking about. Then, of course, I HAD to get a hot custard one. It was as delicious as the first one.







Here it is....oh, the deliciousness. The custard is on the inside.



After class tonight, we MAY try and venture to Hong Kong Island, where the lights and touristy places are....will update in the AM!