From the Land of Tai Chi and Dragon Fruit

As i do my studies every morning, i have the most pleasant view of concrete buildings, drying laundry, and chinese people doing tai chi down below on the roof of the mall below my apartment building. it is the most fascinating thing to watch. This one lady in particular is there every morning doing here daily ritual. She does other exercises that i'm not quite sure what they are, but she moves around a lot and rubs her body and shakes her hands and does a little dance every now and then that makes me laugh. i'm tempted to video it one day. Walking around tracting and finding, there are tons of people in the parks and in large open spaces doing tai chi and playing their music. i've decided that i really like chinese people. Mostly because they make me laugh and they are so small and cute. this one time in an elevator, we ran into a popo (grandma) that was less than half my size and bent over so far her chin almost reached her knees. i could have picked her up with one arm and carried her home with me...:) but they keep on keepin on and i don't know how they do it. there are old people all over the place doing little exercise things outside all the time, so i guess whatever that little dance thing they are doing helps them live forever or something. It's like "sit and be fit" Chinese style. Americans should take note.

I have also concluded that I love Chinese food. People say that there is a lot of strange and weird food here, but i am yet to eat anything i don't like! it is all amazing! They have the coolest fruit i have every seen. My favorite so far being the dragon fruit. It is white with black seeds and almost has the texture of kiwi, but the outer shell is blazing red/pink with cool leaf things coming off of it. it is sooo good! i have also been introduced to gaak jai bengs, which are waffles with peanut butter, sweet and condensed milk and butter. i can't tell you the joy that filled my mouth when i ate it. the scent of them wafts through the mall where we walk to get to the MTR (subway) everyday and reminds me of the memory. they are so amazing though that i decided they can only be eaten every 3 months or so. i have to control myself, or else i will die of a heart attack at age 30. The bread here is also to die for. they fill it with all sorts of good stuff and most the time i can't read what's in it, so i just pick one and get surprised. it reminds me of eaurope and london a lot with all the bread shops and cakes and pastries. The pastries and cakes here are different though. they are very spongey light. i love it! less sugar, but still good. i've discovered many different ways to make oatmeal here that my dad would be proud of. that's pretty much all we ate for breakfast when i was younger, and now i have found ways to expand the amazingness of oatmeal. they put in condensed milk, eggs, cinnamon, peanut butter and all sorts of interestingness. it's almost gourmet sometimes. being limited with food supplies also drives me to invent strange things for meals. it's times like that when i open the fridge and say, what to we have? let's put it all together and eat it! through this process i have invented some of the best omelets i've ever had in my life, thanks to raisins, cheese, eggs and a mystery meat that i'm not sure what it really is still....:) yes, it is good. trust me... The BBQ's here in Hong Kong are also incredible. They cook live clams over the pit and you get to watch them sizzle and squirm to death and then you eat it. yum. you also roast fish balls and other weird meat over the fire and spread this honey bbq sauce over it that makes everything taste good no matter what it is you're eating. if you can't tell, i lvoe the food here. i love hong kong and i love being a missionary. see you next week!

Sister Bird