Chinese New Year in Macau

Kung Hoi Fat Choi!!!

We celebrated Chinese New Year this year by visiting Macau for a day with the family. First we trained to the Macau Ferry Pier, took the 1 hour Ferry, and then hired a car and driver to take us all around Macau in 2 hours. The whirlwind tour.

We loved it! The downtown area is very European, the stairs reminded me of the Spanish Steps in Rome, and it was nice being away from Hong Kong. But we didn't get to go gambling. We closed the day with dinner with some old friends from Hong Kong, then took the ferry home!

Latin Congo Player in Macau

That could have been me! I had one of those "what could been" moments last week when I answered an ad for a congo player. I got a reply after 15 minutes and went for an audition that night.

The story was that this band, Dos Latinos, had to replace their 3 Filipino backups because the Sands thought there were too many Filipino bands in Macau already. They wanted more diversity. I met with the Dominican Republic people, in the middle of this photograph, and did my best on the djimbe. Latin beats, however, are IMMENSELY more complicated than I had thought. But I made it through and they seemed to like me enough that they would go with me; none of the others came close. So for 2 days I thought I'd be in this band. UNFORTUNATELY, they auditioned one more guy, a Filipino named JoJo, and he was "just a little better", than me! Bye, bye Macau.

But it was fun to dream for a moment...

Naughty Hong Kong Students

I had to laugh. Today we went to a school to do our "Play Day for Sustainable Development" with P4 (3rd Grade) students. There are always a few naughty students, but we normally just separate them and such. But at this school this was how they disciplined their kids, at least on this day. To be kind, these are nice teachers and it seems like a good school. And I'm told most Hong Kong schools don't do this. But I just had to laugh.

A Dream About a Bathtub

last nights dream... I've been gone for several weeks, living in one of those rundown streetside motels, but now I'm coming home, a place that seems foreign to me because I think our apartment is new. As I walk into the building, the hallways are tight and the walls are dark. But I'm not afraid. I move forward. The walls are slowly being painted white by painters. They each look at me strangely as I pass. My anticipation grows. As I continue I hear whispers that my wife has purchased a special bathtub, an antique bathtub. As I round the corner to our apartment, which feels new but old, I walk in and there it is, sitting in the middle of the room, not yet in the bathroom. It is beautiful. Brass fittings. Brass feet... then I wake up...

Interpretation???

A Stubborn Child and Her Bike

Thank God for stubborn children! Did I just say that? It must have been in sarcasm. But really, our stubborn, "I will only do it when I want to", daughter, Maja, now 6, yesterday learned out to ride a bike! Just like that.

It all started on Saturday when we went to buy her a bike. I told her that this time we wouldn't even buy a bike with training wheels because she was too big. So I prepped her. Then after we found the bike and Birgit and Lars were looking at others for themselves, I ran around the area pushing her and giving her the basic tips on riding, i.e. start like this, learn how to stop first, lean and turn the opposite way when you feel like you're going to tip, etc. That was it. We went home and it was dark, no more attempts.

Then yesterday, while I was at church playing bass, Birgit went out with Maja, Maja got on the bike, and without any prompting, "she just took off!" Wow! Finally! A stubborn child made up her mind!!!!

Family Biking

Now that Maja can bike, so can the rest of the family. Lars got a new bike and Birgit borrowed the neighbors. Here they are at the biking area 5 minutes from our house. Hong Kong is hilly and dense, but at least we have this little pedestrian area nearby.