Hong Kong

About a week and a half ago, Torie and I had to fly to Hong Kong. My Chinese visa was about to expire, which meant I needed to leave country. So we went to HK and stayed with our dear friends, the Covingtons, while we awaited the processing of my new tourist visa.

We left on a Sunday morning and arrived in HK that same evening. As we walked out of security and into the area where people waited for their loved ones and friends, I was desperately trying to cover up my neck with my hair. For good reason.

I had a pretty large red spot on my neck. It was a sore... ringworm. We had been treating it with this extremely powerful healing shampoo. But instead of making it less obvious, it the shampoo had drawn out the ringworm around the small area and had made the skin around it extremely red. It honestly looked like a large hickey. It wasn't a hickey, but it looked like it. And I did not want people, even people I didn't know, getting the wrong impression. So, out I walked, trying to cover it with my hair (it was mucho painful), and gave Mikayla and Miriah Covington a hug. Of course the first thing that came to Mikayla's mind when she saw it was that it was a hickey. So I had to explain to her before her imagination went wild.

Then as we waited for the bus, they gave Torie and me our Octopus Cards. These cards each had money on them, and were to be used for buses, ferries, and sometimes small stores. After sitting for about ten minutes, we went outside to finish waiting for the bus. Luckily I noticed that my Octopus Card was missing. Miriah and Mikayla started freaking out 'cause they'd put a good amount of money on the card. I'm pretty sure I was more scared than they were though. Miriah went back inside and found it on the floor or on the seat I was sitting in, so all was good.

We rode the Airport Express bus back to the girls' house in their area of Discovery Bay. Then we ate at Subway for dinner. I got a 6-inch sandwich, but I probably could have gone for a foot-long. I had not really eaten all day. I'd had a banana before leaving for the airport, and a Starbuck's caramel frappachino in the Beijing airport. But other than that, I'd not eaten. ...Airplane food is not anywhere close to my list of favorite foods. At all. I'll just go without eating if it means I don't have to eat that food. ;) I did have a roll that was filled with bean-paste that was delicious. So, I finished my sandwich very quickly and filled up the rest of my stomach with two cookies and a cream soda.

About five years ago, Torie, Mikayla, Miriah, and I acted out and filmed our own silly version of "The Phantom of the Opera." It was extremely silly. Well I'd finally finished editing it on my computer, and had made it into a movie. I burned the movie on two discs (one for each of the Covington girls) and brought them with me to Hong Kong. We all decided to watch it that night. What can I say... It was a night full of laughter. Couldn't ask for much better.

The next day we decided to go to Hong Kong Disneyland. We probably would have gone on Wednesday had it not been for the fact that it was a holiday and there were supposed to be about half a billion people coming from Mainland China to Hong Kong. So we decided to go on Monday. The weather was good, so I'm glad we went. We rode all the rides (...all the good rides anyway): Space Mountain (we got the fast passes so we didn't have to wait long in line) twice, Grizzly Gulch, a ride in Toy Story Land, It's A Small World, and Astro Blasters. We also got our picture with Goofy. :D We were able to to go every show... "The Festival of the Lion King" and "The Golden Mickeys" and also an interactive theater show with Stitch. Oh, and we got to see the parade, too. By the time we finished everything, it was about 5:30 pm. This also meant that there was still about 2 1/2 hours before the fireworks and none of us really felt like sitting for 2 1/2 hours. So we just all went back to DB and had dinner.

"It's a Small World"

"The Golden Mickies" show

The parade. :) I loooove Eeyore and Tigger.

Simbaaaaa <3

"The Festival of the Lion King" show <3

On Tuesday we went swimming in the morning and then took a ferry to the main island in the afternoon. It started pouring down rain though, so we didn't stay for very long.

On Wednesday, I'm pretty sure Aunt Brenda and her friends tried to kill us. At 10:00 in the morning, we left on a hiking trip. Thank goodness it was cloudy and looked like rain so we only did the 1 1/2-hour hike instead of the 3-hour one. Unfortunately for me, I'd not been hiking in a very very long time, and this particular hike was pretty much straight up and straight down. Let's just say.. I found out just how out of shape I really was. We rewarded ourselves afterwards with yummy food. ;)

Thursday and Friday were probably the worst days I had in Hong Kong, only because I was sick with a headache and fever. I spent most of Thursday sleeping, and quite a bit of Friday as well. By Saturday, I was feeling a lot better. We watched American Idol auditions all day (...we needed to laugh) and then went to the main island to eat dinner with Miriah's friend Mark and another friend we'd met about four years back, Matthew. Matthew was a counselor at a TCK camp we all attended in 2009. After dinner, we all went up to a place called the Peak. It's pretty much the #1 location tourists go to in Hong Kong.

On Sunday, Counter Clockwise (our 4-girl band consisting of the Covington girls, Torie, and myself) performed a special a cappella song. The rest of the day was spent relaxing... It was our last day with the Covingtons.

All in all, it was a very good trip... I got my visa (though, not the kind I thought I was getting), and we had a wonderful time with the Covingtons. There were up and down moments... Last Fall, the Covingtons' had a loss in their family when their dad and husband passed away. They're still adjusting to their new lifestyle without him, and their grieving process if far from over. But God is giving them the strength to overcome different obstacles as they come. And He's also placed people in their lives who have helped them immensely. It was good to see God working like that in the lives of my friends. :)

Torie and I are now back in Yanji, and the Covingtons are not far behind us. They'll arrive in Yanji in about 2 weeks for Mikayla's graduation. Can't wait to see them again! :)

Hanissa Language

So, Hanissa is a very fast learner. She repeats EVERYTHING she hears. Of course... she doesn't always repeat things correctly.

For example:

1. Correct way: Thumb
    Hanissa way: Tum, dumb, gum


2. Correct way: Bellybutton
    Hanissa way: Bellybutt


3. Correct way: Cat
    Hanissa way: Mee-ow mee-ow

4. Correct way: Big
    Hanissa way: Big, pig


5. Correct way: Pig
    Hanissa way: Big, pig


And then there are those words and phrases she says which... need a translation.


1. "Water play." Translation: Swim.

2.  "Shame on you!" Translation: Rachel is wrong/did something wrong/thought something wrong/....you get the picture. Most often used on moi.

3. "Funny!" Translation: Shame on you! <--- see definition above.



My reaction to most of the things she says: ...You keep saying that word/phrase. I do not think it means what you think it means. :D

You must never misunderstand the child. If you do, you risk the wrath of the Hanissa. Good luck if you endeavor to enter a conversation with her. Yours will be the death that comes from laughing way to hard. May the Force be with you. . . .

Things About MK's/TCK's That Might.... Surprise You

Howdy y'all. So, I realized that I have not written much about MK's (Missionary Kids) or TCK's (Third Culture Kids). And while, in many ways, we are no different than your average kid or teenager, there are some aspects to us that might come as a bit of a surprise.

Some examples:

1. "Where are you from?" ...I don't think people understand just how difficult it is for us to answer that question. Our parents are from one country (and, very possibly 2 different States if they're from the USA); our home church -- if you're in the States -- is very possibly in a totally different State; we live in another country; many of us were born in a different country. And if you include the places where our grandparents live... Oh boy. Not to mention the various other countries in which we might have previously lived. The locations for us to choose from very quickly add up. Honestly, if you ask us this question, you'd better be prepared to listen to our entire life story. A better question to ask would be, "Where have you lived?"

2. We can speak with authority on the subject of airline travel. When it comes to airports and airlines, we all have our favorites. We know the pros and cons. This airline always has "good" food (I put the quotation marks because in my opinion, almost all airplane food is disgusting... not all, but most) and service, while this airline shows free movies. This airport has free WiFi and the security area is easy to get through, while that airport is easy to maneuver around and has excellent restaurants/coffees shops. In my opinion, one of the greatest airports in the world is Incheon International in South Korea because it has all of the above. Not to mention, it has cultural things you can participate in, as well.

3. We have passports before we ever have a driver's license.

4. We know that "knowing how to pack a suitcase" doesn't just mean knowing how to put things in a suitcase. It mostly means that we know what needs to be packed and what will just be extra weight. We also know that many people in our sending countries do not know how to pack a suitcase.

5. We pass geography class with flying colors. You wouldn't believe how many people I know in America who have gotten countries and continents mixed up.

Comments from non-TCK's/MK's: "Africa's a big country." "Where in Africa is Peru?" "...there's such a place as Korea?"

Explanations from TCK's/MK's: "<enter country> is located directly above <enter another country>." "...*hands the other person a globe/map* I live here."

6. We use the phrase, "It has about the same time zone as..."

7. There aren't many questions that people have asked that haven't been answered a hundred times before...in one month. 

8. We have many "Aunts" and "Uncles." These are not our biological aunts and uncles, but rather friends of our parents. We are often closer to these people than we are to our family in our passport country. I love my parents' brothers and sisters to death, but due to living overseas for my entire life, I am closer to people who are non-related. So, though we are not related, they become something like aunts and uncles.

9. We suffer from culture shock on a regular basis. We do not only experience culture shock when visiting our passport country for the first time in three or four years (or more). It is experienced every time a short term team arrives. Music and humor are constantly changing. One style of music and clothing suddenly comes into fashion, and goes out of fashion just quickly. For those of us living overseas, by the time we get accustomed to a certain style, short term teams are coming with humor from the newest movies, TV shows, listening to the newest music, dressing in the newest styles and we feel out of place. We cannot contribute to conversation as easily because we do not understand the humor and even the culture.

10. Most of us would rather move to another foreign country than back to our passport country. I honestly would prefer moving to South America, Africa, or somewhere in Europe than go back to live in the United States. The US is more of a foreign country to me than any other place. Don't get me wrong. I love the US, and support those who fight for it. My family is quite patriotic in that we love and will fight for our passport country, and we pray for our leader. I enjoy going to the States for a few months on visits... but after the third month has passed, I'm ready to come home. Our sending country is not home to us. So many people have asked me, "So, are you happy to be back home with your family?" Excited to visit America? Yes. Excited to see my family? Yes. Is it home? No. Am I excited to go back to China? Yes.


And last but not least...

11. We. Are. Not. Perfect. You may be reading this and thinking, "Of COURSE they're not perfect." But we MK's often get a different vibe. Our parents are Missionaries. The high and mighty Missionaries. So holy. Such good Christians. They can do no wrong. ...you think I'm exaggerating. Our parents are Missionaries, and because of that, people often believe what I wrote up above. That they are more holier, that they are better Christians. Because we are the children of the Missionaries, we are often put upon the same pedestal. Yes, we know... "People look up to us." "We need to be good examples." We don't feel like there is room for us to slip up, even once in a while.

In all reality, cultural differences and titles aside, we MK's and TCK's are just the same as every other average kid, teenager, and adult out there. We have struggles. We hurt. We enjoy life. We enjoy simple things like reading a book... we don't have to be out hunting tigers to have satisfaction in our lives. Sure, we might enjoy different sorts of things than those people in our sending countries, but we're still people like everyone else. We make mistakes. We yell and get into arguments with our parents and siblings. We can be lazy. We can be struggling in keeping up with our personal Quiet Time with God. We might even be at a point where we don't necessarily like or want to do what God is telling us.


So were you surprised by any of the things I've mentioned? There are many other things I could have chosen, but alas, my post would go on and on.

Land of Aloha

Aloha! Yes, yes, I'm back from the nice warm beaches of Hawaii!

We were gone from Yanji for two weeks, and had short stops in Beijing and South Korea on the way to and from Hawaii. So, the time actually spent in Hawaii was really only about a week long. We felt so abused... We were really suffering for Jesus. ;)

One of my favorite things we did in Hawaii was visit Pearl Harbor. My family is really into history, especially the history of our own country, so we were really excited about going. I have to say... I did not expect it to be such an emotional experience...

We first sat through a video with real footage of the attack on Pearl Harbor. I may or may not have shed a few tears, hehe... Then we took a boat out to the USS Arizona Memorial. The ship is now a coral reef, and in the water we could see bright fish swimming around. It felt slightly strange walking above an underwater cemetery...

Another fun thing we did at Pearl Harbor was explore a submarine. Pure awesomeness, right there. ;) I'm still trying to figure out how people moved around quickly on those things...

We also visited beaches. In fact, our guest house was right on the beach, so I was able to wake up every morning to the view of the waves crashing. Our beach adventures included snorkeling, swimming with sea turtles, playing pirate, and Hanissa squealing and shouting, "NAKED NAKED!" every time she saw a woman in a bikini.

...Oh yes... we had to teach her very quickly to keep quiet when she saw something like that... So, in the end, she simple got wide-eyed and pointed. What can I say, though? The child comes from a country where they dress very conservatively. The poor thing had never even seen my family members in tank-tops and shorts (because in Yanji, it's cold during the winter), much less seen people in swimsuits. Needless to say, it was amusing.

Between beaches, Pearl Harbor, shopping, "The Hobbit," and spending time with family, our time in Hawaii was wonderful. It was relaxing and warm and beautiful. I wouldn't have minded staying there an extra week, though I'm happy to be back home in China.