Fall 2010 Title pending

Travels, continued: HONG KONG

Returning for August, it was time to prepare for teaching, and also a quick trip for my ASIA 101 experience with Bill from September 6 - 13. While Kevin and Jen Castle were here in June, they gave some recommendations as we tracked some amazing rates for a vacation package to Hong Kong on Korean Air. Since Helen and Charlie Goo were still at the HK Temple, it would be a good opportunity to do some concentrated time in the temple, enjoy the sites and our alumni, and attend a wedding reception of Brian Chan, a former student researcher of Bill's.

MONDAY Bill and I departed for the 7-day experience on Labor Day. So, while the annual gathering was held in our backyard, we were on board for our flight to Seoul.

TUESDAY evening--crossed the INT. DATE LINE-- We were greeted in Korea by PJ Rogers, our "son/little brother" and we stayed at his home in Seoul. Enjoyed his family so much, sweet 3 gorgeous daughters and handsome son and beautiful Lori. We ate at the Mad Garlic restaurant, a nice walk from their high-rise apt. building.

WEDNESDAY Then in the morning, we made it to HK. What a site to see from the air-- all those buildings looking like they rose from the teeny islands below! We traveled from the airport by train, with Stanley Fong greeting us and becoming our excellent, attentive tour guide for 5 days while in this populated, multi-island nation.

We obtained our Octopus cards, then headed for our central location at the Cityview Hotel. It proved to be a good spot, adjacent to the MRT station for either red or green line. We used both lines during our stay.

Shortly after we arrived, we rested briefly following a quick light lunch at Spaghetti House, then headed to the HK Temple on Cornwall. It was up the road about 3.5 miles from our Hotel situated on Waterloo Road in Kowloon. We were near a busy street, Nathan Road, where much happens. Good location for our visit! Enjoyed a snack with the Goos following our session, and went home in a taxi since it was POURING rain and a noisy thunderstorm, too!

THURSDAY We slept well, then woke to meet Stanley in our hotel lobby. We traveled via bus then Star Ferry to the real Hong Kong Island, on to Stanley Market. We didn't shop much, but enjoyed the bus rides at the front of the double decker. After a quick Goo lunch, I then went to shop in ShinShamPo with Helen [it was where she was raised as a young girl]and found the strawberry shopping bags- :) while Stanley and Bill headed for the music store to check out trumpets. I'm not much of a shopper, but enjoyed the cultural exposure all the same. We all got back in time so Bill and I could enjoy another session at the temple. And they had trumpet success! A wonderful salmon dinner with the Goos...she loves to serve others and loves to cook. She blesses the lives of many with this expression of her talents!

Final arrangements were made for the Friday night gathering with Alumni to meet at the Wanchai Chapel in HK. We did some odds and ends food shopping at the 7-11 across from our hotel.

FRIDAY Dim sum for breakfast...then we took the MRT to HK island to ride the cogwheel lift to Victoria Peak. So steep! It was a medium day, so we were grateful it didn't rain. Our mile walk around at the top was so wonderful! Great exercise and being able to see 360 degrees of this paradise. So many palm trees...and the bamboo scaffoldings...we saw much from this vantage point.

Naps were in order following a little shopping in Ladies Market, and we then gathered our souvenirs for the alumni to take with us. MRT again, and we found the high rise building, 9 stories for our chapel, and offices of the HK area.

It was a delight, an absolute highlight, to see our former ward members and BYUH alumni who had gathered to see us. We found out about them, enjoyed some snacks, and watched a video with them, huddled on the floor around Bill's computer to see the latest recruitment video. Some of the former students brought their soon to enter BYUH children!!!! The invisible connections to each other in that room, due to BYUH were evident, so very strong in that room. Seeing Kitty Tong, our eighth ward RS president at one time, was a memory to make and cherish. It had been nearly 20 years since we had seen her, but she still looked so young, the same! So many others I recalled, and Bill clearly knew. Seeing Sherry and Jones Lai, both recent graduates, was also a wonderful meeting. Sherry took my research class twice, and still is involved in FH plus a counselor in RS. David O. McKay's vision is living and evident with these strong church members. Each misses BYUH, the spirit of the campus. So glad, so very glad, we spent this cherished evening with them. They gave us a cloisonne plaque of the HK temple as a souvenir. We posted the photos on Facebook and added some additional "Facebook friends."

Another downpour met us as we exited the gathering, so, up to the MRT we walked in tunnels, sidewalks, intended to connect HK island.

SATURDAY Plans were revamped due to the rain. No hikes today, so we went once again to the temple! 3X in one week--a new record for us. Following that, we met and ate with more BYUH alums. Cora Wong, Candy Lau, her husband, and daughters and Stanley all gathered at a high-rise mall where we ate at a fine restaurant on the 14th floor. I used a fork. Too intimidating for me to eat with chopstocks!

At night, we took the bus to the harbor to catch part of the symphony of Lights. We caught it just in time. Then, we walked back through some of the large shopping areas and enjoyed some gelati, a custom in new places that Bill especially enjoys.

SUNDAY We got out for a little neighborhood walk then got ready for church. We attended with Cora and it was a ward with mostly sisters from the Philippines who serve as nannies. Very humble, and very female! Cora gave a lovely RS lesson, and we later got to meet her husband at the hotel. He'd been serving an audit during church time, so missed him at the building.

This was our night to attend the wedding reception for Brian. Stanley was invaluable in maneuvering us up to the north of New Territories for that. He was in new areas too, so an adventure for all. About an hour of train rides, and we were there. Brian seemed so happy that we would come. We had special photos taken with him. We also were in the company of other BYUH alums. These 4 seemed to be struggling some with being so far away from influence of the spirit. They sorely missed, it seemed, and wanted so badly to return to an atmosphere where the spirit could be strong. We didn't stay for all 9 courses of the meal, but enjoyed the experience of the 3 we participated in. I'm glad we brought the umbrellas!

MONDAY We awoke to the best day weather-wise of our travels, and of course that would be our day to bid farewell! We took the special bus to the airport train, then on to the terminal. Stanley was meeting Tod Sibley there. We traveled over Japan to Korea once again, with reservations to stay near the Incheon airport due to our early departure the next morning. We arrived near dark, and a Rogers Greeting Committee awaited us and ran out to greet us. Sweet! PJ steered us to a very local restaurant across the street, and we tried about 12 authentic dishes. Little Leah kept bringing me napkins. Yup, I guess this was messy food for me! She, Jaida, and Maya are precious. Can't remember if baby was there or not . . . Lori had school activities still, so didn't attend. IT is great to see PJ in this daddy role.

TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY We left on a Wednesday, crossing the dateline once again, and arrived in Honolulu on a Tuesday at 11 at night. SOOOOoooo nice once again to be home, but grateful for a unique and memorable adventure. As expected, the food was the hardest for me. But I was also surprised that HK which understood English so well, was still so . . . Chinese! Expected to hear more English spoken. We even used earphones for English translation in the temple, so that was a surprise.

I'm so very glad we went, but know now how strange our culture must seem to our Asian students who come to BYUH for 4 years. No wonder homesickness is so prevalent early in the semesters. It is different everywhere, but important, to go to their homelands to understand more how to assist these students when they arrive here. Reviewing in my mind the connections with alumni on those several occasions helps me realize once again we live in a unique place with a very special mission. How blessed for anyone to come here to school!