We were on our way to Sunday morning English-service church. Now I thought I had experienced all you can experience when it comes to going to Chinese Church, having gone twice with Mel Ho's family and once for my Gong Gong's pastoral thing one time in high school. However, I was very wrong.
To my surprise, we went to an episcopal church here in HK called St Andrews which was pretty much Catholic church all over again. It was led by a British pastor (priest?) who had such a thick accent I could barely understand him. I wish I could say the 2 hours flew by, but I think the most memorable part was listening to Gong Gong sing the songs. If I closed my eyes and listened I would have thought he was an opera singer.
After the guilt ceremony, I mean, church was over (Mr. British pastor/priest said that we should be tithing BEYOND what we can afford) we ate lunch at a place called "Relax For A While" yet another delicious Chinese meal, where Gong Gong got congee, and Poa Poa and I shared thick stir fry noodles and rice. They couldn't believe how much hot sauce I put on my food. To impress 70 year old asians with your spicy tolerance is remarkable.
Afterwards, PoaPoa and I set off for another day of shopping in Tsim Sha Tsui, but not before we stopped to get a famous HK treat that is apparently all the rage. At a small outdoor little stand were these waffle eggshaped dessert things that Poa Poa and I shared. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, I have never tasted anything like it.
I spent awhile at H&M today (I truly am my mother's daughter) and also went into various clothing shops, like In&Out (without the burgers). Then, to my shock and surprise, I received an early 21st birthday present...
It all started when a beautiful heart diamond engageent ring caught the attention of both Poa Poa and I in the window of MaBelle's. We went in to see it and thus exposed my love for heart shaped jewelry. Add in some diamonds and its more like an obsession. I tried on necklaces and rings, all in the shapes of hearts. We went to another Chinese jewelry store and were looking at rings when Poa Poa found a beautiful diamond ring in the shape of a flower. Suddenly, she was haggling with the seller and before I knew it she was buying it for me, claiming it to bemy birthday present. Thus, Jan 3 2010 marks the day I received my first real diamond ring, thanks to my Poa Poa.
She was insistent about finding me a pair of heart shaped diamond earrings, but I told her that the ring was waay more than I needed. Once again, I am way too lucky and blessed.
We went into a 13 story mall that was incredible. The escalators took about 10 minutes to ride. We went to the very top where we sat at a trendy little cafe and had a yogurt mousse thing with chocolate and fruit. It was quite an interesting concoction..
I love walking the streets of HK. The enormous buildings, Chinese signs, interesting people, and various aromas give HK a personality and character all its own. I've learned to become an extremely aggressive walker too, having been nearly knocked over by old chinese women so many times.
The way home consisted of Poa Poa teaching me Cantonese. After an hour long lesson, the only thing I can really remember is how to say "Where is the bathroom?" Clearly I am on my way to becoming bilingual.
For dinner we met at Food Republic, a really nice foodcourt area that has EVERY type of asian food imaginable--korean, thai, indian, japanese, shanghai, singapore, you name it. It was seeing steaming bowls of Laksa that really made me wish that Mom was here with me! We had Haiannan Rice, and I impressed Gong Gong with my new Cantonese skills. I can rest assured that I will always know where the nearest bathroom is if I am ever lost in China.
<3chi-ai
