Mo May Jing! (and other things)

I'm a bit behind in my postings and now so much has come to pass that I'm not sure where to start... so I'll start with thanking everyone who has sent their well wishes and prayers for me here in Hong Kong and for the extended Hopkins clan during this week of sadness at losing the much loved patriarch of our family (father, Pa and great-grandfather) and also in our celebration of the man he was and the life he lived. Certainly having skype and emails makes the world seem a little bit smaller and all of you to seem a little bit closer so thank you once again!

The panarama above consists of about 7 photographs I took in sequence of the view from Hong Hum ferry pier - very close to where I went to church last Sunday - looking over to Hong Kong Island. If you click on the image hopefully you will find that a bigger version of it appears on your screen.

To some exciting news... the Ranger's Apprentice website that John and I have been working on for some months now is officially UP!! So please go and visit and learn more about our Araluen friends and enemies and other Ranger's Apprentice 'stuff' that you might not have known... eg: what John looks like on his scooter and more! There's a link under "links" to your left or just click here.

Now to "mo may jing!" which means "no MSG!"... Yes, so being a bit 'delicate of stomache' as it is, I was rather effected by a particular meal of which I partook last week in which there was rather a lot of 'may jing'. As the Chinese find no great need to add vegetables to most of their dishes, Kathryn and I decided a plate of broccoli was in order and as it wasn't on the menu we went to great charading lengths to acquire such a thing... It came as requested and it was very green and VERY tasty. I should have read the signs there and then. But no... 2 days of feeling ill and not sleeping later, I had a conversation with DJ in which he retold a story relevant to my case. He went somewhere remote in Hong Kong with 2 people visiting the country and where-ever it was that they were, they stopped at a little eatery and ate some food. Shortly there-after he was calling emergency to come and get his 2 sick friends who apparently had MSG-poisoning and couldn't walk. The ambulance boat had to come and get them from that remote place and take them to hospital. DJ's theory is that since broccoli on it's own is a boring dish, they felt the need to make it brightly coloured and extra flavoursome so probably went all out with the may jing and hence my suffering. So, since that time I've learned the appropriate Cantonese and will be using it when required and eating with a certain caution. Thankfully that quantity of MSG seems to be the exception rather than the rule and in future it may benefit me to stick to the menu and have my vegetables at home.

I have been part of a project the past 2 weeks which has involved turning 7 of our team into a Russian family participating in different family activities for one of the AIDs Life Xperience sets here at Crossroads. You can read more about the AIDs Life Xperience here. There are about 10 photos all up but here are 2 to give you an idea of how they turned out...





Last weekend I had the opportunity to spend the day in Macau which is just an hour's ferry ride from Hong Kong. It was quite strange to have to take my passport for a day's outing as that's not something we do living on the big island of Oz. There were 7 of us and as Kathryn had been to Macau before, she was wisened to the fact that we'd be best off hiring a mini-bus and tour guide to show us around and to make the most of our 5 hours there. So we found Mario!! Turns out he was the most obliging and servant-hearted guide a group could want, showing us the sights, telling us the history and providing us with umbrella's for shelter and banana's for afternoon tea. Check out the "Macau" album under 'My Pics' to see some of what we did and saw... I have a Macau panarama in the making... will try to have it done for my next posting...

A Tribute to Pa – 93 and 3/4 years old...

This is my favourite photo of Pa... Following is the tribute I wrote for his funeral today...

As I reflect on my time living with Pa last year, I realise what a privilege it was to have the chance to get to know him, really for the first time. It was a full and rich year with many challenges, but also so many wonderful moments that I will treasure in my heart with much thankfulness.

What I discovered about Pa - the man he was beyond the aches and pains and moments of confusion or forgetfulness that go with being 93 - was that he was a real gentleman. The "ladies-first, door-opening" kind that is a rare breed now-a-days. He was a kind-hearted and generous man with a wonderful sense of humour. Despite each day being a great effort for him just to rise and deal with a wearing out body and mind, his humour would constantly surprise me and make me laugh.

He had a great collection of sayings. After breakfast each morning he would get up, dust the crumbs off his shirt and announce with satisfaction that "the prisoner ate a hearty meal". Every now and then he would test me and instead of the announcement, it would be a question... "and what did the prisoner do??"

Pa loved to be out and about. Sitting at home all day was only for the worst of weathers. Each morning after a cheery "GOOOOD morning!!" and a hearty breakfast, he would enquire as to what was on the program for the day. As long as it wasn't a boring blood test or doctor's appointment I would receive an approving "good." I think we saw around 60 movies together last year. Pa loved a movie. If I chose a good one, that was a bonus, but if not he saw it as the perfect opportunity for quick nap. As we always went during the day time, we would often have the entire cinema to ourselves, at which point Pa would lean over and whisper in my ear: "glad we booked".

We had a collection of favourite eateries... number one being the Harbord Diggers where they serve the best salmon steak lunch around. Pa would usually polish off the lot, despite declaring half way through that there was way too much and he couldn't possibly eat it all. After which he would wipe the tartare sauce from his lips and say: "take me out and kill me but don't bend me"... which I think just means he was very full.

Shortly after moving to Manly with Pa, I asked him if he missed living at Woy Woy to which he quickly replied, "not even one woy". This had nothing to do with Sandy & Ian because he often spoke fondly of his time there and how well they cared for him, but more because Manly had become part of who he was. Having lived there since 1964 he was deeply attached to his home and to Manly itself. As they say, you could take the Pa out of Manly but you couldn't take the Manly out of Pa.

He loved going on the ferry and would always insist on leading me up the steep flight of stairs to the upper deck and sitting on the hard wooden seats at the back outside, in order to give me the wonderful open view of Manly fading in the distance as we headed to the city. And that was even if I forgot the boney-you-know-what-cushion!

One of my fondest memories of my time with Pa is sitting on the swing with him at home and listening to stories of old... about South Africa, and his parents and siblings, about growing up poor in Eastwood, about being a young man and going dancing at the Trochadero, about being there at the opening of the Harbour Bridge when de Groot rode up and cut the ribbon before it had to be re-tied and officially re-cut, about working as a cutter and later starting his own business... about his love of fishing and his hole-in-one that wasn't recorded... and about a brother-in-law with no nous.

After explaining to me what 'nous' meant, I realised that if anyone had nous, it was Pa. One thing that really struck me over the year with Pa is the way our whole family love and care for him so much, especially his four girls - Sandy, Leonie and Judy-Vicki-whoever-you-are. They made every effort to keep him at home for as long as possible and to make sure he was happy and had all that he needed.I realised one day that that was a real reflection of the person he was. A solid rock in their lives - a real man of nous - steady and constant, a good father and provider who loved them dearly.

I feel so blessed to have an album full of photos of the "things I did with Pa" and that even though he has been taken from us for now, those memories are something I will always treasure.

Lay Ho!

Lay ho means hello in Cantonese. I'm trying my best to learn some of the local lingo as there are times when no-one speaka-de-engrish so good. I can now say: Do you speak English?, Where is the toilet?, How do you say ________ in Chinese? and various other sundry greetings. I tried out the Do you speak English? one at the department store my first weekend here and it worked! Well, at least the lady understood what I said and then said "no" (in Cantonese). So apart from the fact that she was no help what-so-ever, I walked away feeling elated. The local shopping centre in Tuen Mun is 10 minutes away on the bus and is HUGE... encompassing what seems like blocks of shops - vaster than any Westfield I've been to. Thus it's easy to come out at some random exit and be completely and utterly and entirely and possibly hopelessly LOST. I spent the first 1/2 hour of my time trying to find the department store and going around in embarrassingly hopeless circles, past the same bemused guard, getting hot flushes of frustration and very nearly giving up, when I discovered another block of shops connected by walkway to the one that had become my no-exit labrynth and lo! department store! Then I was off, got all the things I needed and felt entirely trimphant at having conquered Tuen Mun Town Plaza...



Last Sunday after church I went to Sham Shui Po (same place as the exhibition last week) to find myself a mobile phone as mine wouldn't work with the new sim card I got... Sham Shui Po is the place for cheap electricals and I got a good deal on a phone for $800HK instead of $950 I saw it for in Tuen Mun. The streets of SSP are lined with stalls selling everything from pots and pans, electic tools, mobile phone accessories, electicals of all descriptions and etc. It's also a very poor area as far as living conditions go. Great for photography...



Yesterday I went for a good long walk with Kathryn (who's a good deal fitter than me) up a very steep hill which mercifully became flat and quiet and beautiful. The first pic at the top of this post is the view a one point looking back down... And here is me:



Today I started working on the menu and posters for the recently opened Silk Road Cafe here at Crossroads. Next I'll be doing banners and other signage and then applying the logo design to cups and other paraphernalia. I also had the privilege of visiting the kids at our little school here to photograph them all with their teacher Miss Helen who is (sadly) leaving at the end of the week. Here they are, a beautiful and multicultural bunch (who REALLY need a replacement teacher - long term - if anyone is inclined to come to Hong Kong to teach voluntarily... anyone??)



Finally, I worked out how to include video on my blog page, so here is the promised clip of Jessie doing the hoola... enjoy! Feel free to leave comments people... the comment facility should work just fine now... looking forward to hearing from you!

Hong Kong!!

Greetings from Honkers! It's my third day in and I've set up my room and feeling settled and very welcomed by everyone here at Crossroads. When I stepped in to my new home (which is the flat I stayed in when I came here last year) with Liz to greet me at the door, I suddenly felt like I'd hardly been away at all and infact that I'd just popped up the road for some milk or something.

I had a good flight with 4 (heavenly) seats to myself as it was a very unfull plane - what a luxury! I was rather surprised to exit the airport and be greeted by a decidedly wintery air. Hong Kong is having an unseasonal 'cold snap' which would actually be rather nice if I had brought my coat and other winter things such as warm socks to wear to bed. The first night was a bit hard but I'm all set now and I'm sure will be wishing it was cold again before we know it, so best to enjoy it while I can.

As it was a very late night on Thursday, I had a slow day on Friday, unpacking and catching up with friends new and old (lots of hugs) and an early night. By Saturday I felt sufficiently rested and ready to go, so it was off to the office to work on some posters for the new AIDS Life Xperience "game". See more about Life Xperience here.

Today I had a big day out on the town with Katrina (who I knew from my church in Rozelle about 4 years ago and who first told me about Crossroads). She took me to her church which meets in a Kowloon Christian school and afterwards we went to a Chinese restaurant of the Peking region and enjoyed some wonderfully tasty morsels of all kinds thanks to one of the girls there being a food person (home ec teacher) and knowing the best things to order (as well as speaking Cantonese which really helps). It was one of those long slow meals in which dishes just keep appearing to surprise you, all rotating around a great big lazy-susan with an endless supply of Chinese tea to sip... as well as great people to share it with. Wonderful!

Katrina and I then went to see a rather unusual 'exhibition' called Our Life in West Kowloon. It was an incredible eye-opener and I was suddenly quite sorry that I decided to leave my camera at home (I know, madness, but my back is a bit sore from heavy luggage and I was determined to take as little as possible thinking to myself that I have plenty of tomorrows coming up for photos)... Anyway, possibly I was able to experience it better without having a camera stuck in front of my face. Basically it was in an old crumbly 8-story building where people are living in unbelievably cramped conditions. We were taken through to a number of the small units where people have temporarily vacated for various reasons and given a real taste of their lives in this place which we all would find completely intolerable. Many are elderly, jobless, mentally ill or new migrants and the exhibition is seeking to be a voice for these voiceless and forgotten people. To put names to faces and tell their stories. On 2 of the floors, single apartments were subdivided by partitions into 7 'units' where individuals and families would each live in a space smaller than my bedroom, most of them without windows, all sharing one toilet and shower and very small kitchen. All their washing is done by hand and hung over the outside landing on prodruding 'clothes lines'. This is one of the families that lived in such conditions and here is a small extract about them:



Fung Pak Wing lives with his wife and two sons in a window-less 40 sq.ft. partitioned room, in a shared-apartment with seven other households. Fung's sons have to study on the back stairs, as they don't have a table at home and their tiny room is stifling. They either construct 'a desk' by putting one plastic chair on top of another with a pillow in between, or simply work on the steps of the back stairwell. All their homework must be finished before sunset, while there's still enough light. However, despite this harsh environment and neighbors' complaints, the two boys study diligently. In school, they are doing well, and getting great results. Only when they're set assignments involving photos or I.T. does homework become a real problem, since they have neither a camera nor a computer. So, although they hope to do well in all their subjects, this may not always be possible.

To read the rest of this story and find out more about the exhibition click here. Hong Kong is a very wealthy country but there is much poverty here and Crossroads supports many of the charities that are helping these needy people. It was a valuable experience to see this sort of poverty first-hand.

On another note, I have uploaded some of the photos I took while Tina and Phillipa were in Sydney the week b'fore last. Check them out at the 'Tina & Phil in Sydney' link under My Pics to your left. It was so fab to get a good top-up of family before I left. I've added some captions to the pics instead of writing all about it here. If you click on the first photo you can then move through them all with captions. Sorry there's no pics of HK yet. Stay tuned.. there'll be plenty to come... Also, mum said she had trouble leaving a comment. I've fiddled with some of the settings... hopefully it will be possible now. If not I'll have another go. Would love to hear from you!

So Long Farewell...

It's less than 2 hours before I have to leave for the airport to fly to Hong Kong and while mum is madly cleaning Pa's place I'm hurriedly catching up on my blog before I go. SO much to do in order to leave the country for a year. What would I do without me mudda...? eg: Are you taking your electric toothbrush? said she. Yeees... Why? said I, thinking it was safely packed in my bag. Because the base of it is here in the bathroom (which she was scrubbing to within an inch of it's life). Oh, says I. Good one mum. And so on. Managed to fit 3 bags worth of clothes into one thanks to Phillipa's fab idea of condensing everything with vacpac bags. Suck out the air with a vac and watch a huge pile become a condensed mass. Unfortunately it only reduces volume and not weight. Maybe that will be the next invention.

So, many of us enjoyed a family fiasco on Saturday to celebrate Phil's 30th birthday and to farewell me. It was the fiasco to beat all fiascos. Some of us were a little overwhelmed by the frenzie of children (namely those of us without children ourselves... eg. me and Kate)... but it was the best and most comprehensive - in terms of attendance - family gathering for quite some time and hence highly special for it's rarity among other things. We, generally speaking as a family, have certainly gone forth and multiplied. The pic above are all the little tuckers we've come forth with (except Dax who was napping... Karen and Tina's wee ones yet to join us, and David's Charlie who was in Melbourne).

One of the highlights of the fiasco was 3 year old Jessie doing her hoola-hooping (sp?)... I happened to get a rather funny (me and Tina thought) little clip of her in action which I will attempt to post on my blog but can't work out how to do it right now. Stay tuned for that. Meanwhile there's lots of photos of the family gathering for you to view... Go to the link under My Pics to your left: A Birthday and Farewell.

There's lots more to report... especially about Phillipa and family visiting from Perth and Tina and family visiting from Bellingen. Should do another album for that too... But gotta go get a plane shortly, so will be coming to you from Hong Kong next posting. Now for a wee bit of mushy stuff: thank you so much to everyone for your love and support for me going to Crossroads. Hope you will stay tuned and keep reading my blog and email me to let me know your news too. Will miss you!!