National Day and Language Differences

Happy Fall Friends!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving...we had friends over, squished seven people around our table built for six, and enjoyed the traditional turkey, stuffing, and fall desserts.  We introduced our British friends to pumpkin pie.  We were missing the coloured leaves, but discovered Thanksgiving is more about gathering together and being thankful, and that we did!

October 1st was National Day.  This is the celebration of the communist party taking over China.  This is one of those holidays that Hong Kong did not celebrate prior to it returning to China's control.  Jeff and I were fortunate enough to be invited to a friends house to watch the fireworks down in Victoria Harbour. Their home is on Victoria Peak, so enjoy just a couple of minutes of this 27 minute show!

If you lived on mainland China, you would have enjoyed the whole week following October 1st off from work.  It is known as "The Golden Week", and what that meant for us in Hong Kong was the influx of thousands and thousands of mainlanders touring and shopping in Hong Kong.  Wow, the city was noticeably busier!  Glad they have all gone home again and we are back to just the usual crush of people!

Language differences show up in unexpected ways.  We often take pictures of signs where the English translation is close, but not quite right.  Other signs just have the phrasing in ways that seems slightly incorrect to us.  Enjoy just a few of them: (if you cannot read them, click on them to make them bigger)

Close to how we would phrase it...

How does a Vietnamese sandwich
"Fresh up your life"?

This was outside of a
restaurant selling "sea food"



We have not eaten here...a little afraid of the mystery meat

I was meeting one of the pastors of our church during our first month here, and he brought me here since it is Canadian.  Well, not being from Western Canada, I had never heard of "The White Spot".  Again, who knew I had to come to Hong Kong to experience "A Canadian Legend since 1928" (that is what is says on the bottom of the sign)

Took this for our environmental daughter......a reminder for us all!

All parents, feel free to copy this and send it to your kids!  A good life lesson for all (depending on where the advice is coming from of course)

As you wander the many street markets, you never know what you may see.  Not sure if you get a mango with every cat, or a cat with every mango.  By the look on the cat, I think he is a guard cat making sure no one steals a mango!

It is this kind of thing - the unexpected - that makes Hong Kong such a joy to wander around (well, today it is pouring rain, so my friend and I have cancelled our wandering for today).  You just never know when you will see someone like this amongst the suits and designer clothes walking by:

Proof that Jeff does get
out to enjoy some of
the city.....
contemplating life in
Hong Kong Park

We hope you are enjoying the colours and coolness of the fall.  We are enjoying 'cooler' weather (down to mid to high 20s, not mid 30s!), and are very thankful.      As always, love you all - Linda and Jeff