HK and BBQ

As usual, we are on the go.  This time around we spent last weekend in Hong Kong.  After having two days of parent-teacher conferences, we packed our bags and headed for the border.

Luo Hu Shopping
Since Dom and Dorys' wedding is coming up very soon, we decided to get our outfits tailor made.  Many of our friends here have suggested that we try using tailors, however the idea just never seemed to intrigue us.  That changed for Pazi when she became frantic about what to wear for the wedding in Guadalajara.  She talked Adan into getting a suit made, while she designed her own dress.

The process was rather simple, but time consuming.  We made our way to the 4th floor of the shopping complex that borders with Hong Kong.  Here we located the tailor that our friend Terese had used the year previous.  Ironically, the woman in the tailor shop, Annie, remember Pazi from a visit she made with Terese when she had something made previously.  She was very helpful and got right down to business.

We spent about thirty minutes talking about the designs of the dress and the suit.  We brought in photos of examples from websites.  These people have years of experience so the process was actually pretty smooth.  They looked at the photos, talked to us about our preferences, and then drew quick sketches for us to approve.  Once this was done we decided on fabrics and materials.

Adan started first.  He wanted a suit that would be formal, yet have the ability to be semi-casual so he decided on a linen suit.  The fabric was actually easy to find.  The dilemma was choosing the color and texture.  The seller had two dozen different colors and textures to choose from.  Ultimately, the choice of a beige, stronger linen was made.

For Pazi to get everything she needed, it took a bit more time.  She wanted a cream dress layered with lace and silk lining.  Since several different materials were needed to make the dress, we had to visit several different sellers for each part.  We bargained with lace vendors, silk sellers, and organza stalls until everything was just right.

Finally, we had our measurements taken.  This took no time at all.  As we did this Annie discussed with us the timeline for completing the clothing.  She told us to anticipate a 7 day wait for the materials to be put together.  Next, we would need to return for a fitting, and then 5-7 more days to put the finishing touches on our dress and suit.  She admitted that this was a bit slower than usual due to the winter season being a busy time of year for tailor shops.

Hong Kong Back Streets
With our tailoring finished, we made our way to Hong Kong.  We decided to take it easy this time around and just get lost in hustle and bustle of the side streets of Hong Kong Central.  Adan thought about putting an agenda together, however we needed to be at the Shekou QSI School on Sunday evening and the time needed to really enjoy other parts of HK was not there. 

We stayed at the Empire Hotel Wan Chai.  This is a great hotel with an even better location right in the heart of Hong Kong Island.  Adan looked a couple of weeks back for special prices and was lucky enough to find a great rate with a international buffet breakfast included.  One other draw for this hotel is the great restaurants and pubs that surround it.  Pazi was dying to have something exotic so this was an obvious choice for us.

Our Saturday began at and around the streets of Li Yuen East and West.  This area is well known for having great market and street vendors selling anything and everything at rock bottom prices.  After all our previous visits to Hong Kong, we had never been here before.  We decided it was time to give it a try.

For the next several hours we shopped finding amazing deals on name brand clothing and great souvenirs for family and friends.  The streets flowed from one to the next with dealers displaying goods in small stalls.  Eventually our wandering lead us to the nearby Lan Kwai Fong Street Carnival.  This annual event celebrates food, drinks, and cultures from around the world.  Vendors sell amazing street food aimed at adults while children can play at carnival game booths with clowns and cartoon characters.

As night drew near, we decided to see the Night Temple Market.  We had seen this famous Hong Kong market in portions, but never in its entirety.  This time, using our guide book, we took a route that would allow us to catch it all.  Interestingly enough, the parts we hadn't seen before were nothing special, mainly trinkets and adult toys.  However, the rest of the market exposed us to Indian textiles, Chinese antiques, paintings, and hundreds of bootleg items.  We did our fair share of buying before getting hungry and heading off.

Finally, we made our way back to Wan Chai.  Pazi really wanted to have Lebanese food at a restaurant called Ebeneezer's.  We found this restaurant the last time we came to Hong Kong and just loved it.  We ended up ordering some delicious kebab wraps with chicken and lamb along with a nice salad.  It was definitely a nice change of pace from our meals in Dongguan and capped off a nice day to our short Hong Kong trip.

Mr. and Mrs Sun's BBQ
Upon returning from Hong Kong and professional development days in Shekou, our school's head guard, Mr. Sun (pronounced soon), stopped Adan to talk to him.  In Mandarin, Mr. Sun invited us to a special barbecue meal for the upcoming Saturday.  We were floored at the invitation because we know something like this is a huge sign of respect in China.

Let us give a little background on Mr. and Mrs. Sun.  We first met them over two years ago when we started working at QSI Dongguan.  Mr. Sun loved it when we began greeting him in Chinese and would always ask us to help him with pronunciation of English words.  He enjoyed having us teach him words like "keys" or "haircut."  As we began to learn more Mandarin, his confidence in speaking to us grew.  Mrs. Sun, one of our school's custodians, connected with us as well.  She always looks after us in a motherly kind of way.  Not a day goes by when she doesn't say hello or check to make sure we have eaten lunch.  The two are great people.

When Saturday finally arrived, we were a little bit nervous.  Never had we gone into an environment where we would need to stay for an extended amount of time and have to rely solely on our Chinese.  However, we knew things would be fine.  At 3:05pm, with flowers and a bottle of wine as gifts, we meet Mr. Sun at the school right on time (so we thought).  We greeted him and asked, "We hope you haven't been waiting long?"  With an honest response he said, "I've been here since 2:40."  This was a great cultural lesson for us about "Chinese" time in comparison to our ideology of "Mexican" time.  In case you were wondering, Mr. Sun said to be at the school at 3:00pm!

For the next four hours, we barbecued like there was no tomorrow.  It was nice to see Mrs. Sun's sister and husband, and Mr. and Mrs. Sun's son and girlfriend join us for the meal.  We ate grilled chicken, beef and pork.  Then we had grilled greens, corn on the cob, and pumpkin.  They also gave us this great peanut sauce for marinating our food.  Throughout the meal we talked about Chinese food, Mexican food, school and work, hobbies, etc.  It was a great time!  After eating, we gathered our things and took a few last pictures together before going home.

We are extremely thankful for having such good friends as Mr. and Mrs. Sun.  Without a doubt they will be coming to our house soon for an authentic Mexican meal.  We think we'll wait until we get back from Mexico during winter vacation.  Then we can return with fresh spices and ingredients for them to enjoy.