Hong Kong Brother

Each month I will keep a running list of news items, including info on my schedule, etc. It's in order from LATEST entry at the top on down to the OLDEST entry at the bottom. I can't promise how often I'll add things, but I'll try as often as I can.

Here are the "News" archives, feel free to browse them for some interesting tidbits:

Well, the last few days have been kind of wild, mostly due to a sudden illness which hit me during the night on Saturday night. I went to bed on Saturday feeling fine, but woke up about 3:30am, maybe 4, feeling suddenly VERY sick to my stomach. It steadily got worse and worse until about 7am Sunday morning, when I was supposed to get ready to leave for a special day-camp with about 15 of our students -- well, there was no WAY I was going to be able to make it, so I called the other teacher and told her I couldn't come. Now, remember, I was feeling very, very sick -- so sick, in fact, that I really couldn't talk on the phone for fear of ultimately placing part of my previous day's lunch in the mouthpiece, if you catch my drift; but she was REALLY upset with me ("Who's going to take the photos?!"). So on top of being all sick she somehow managed to make me feel GUILTY, too!

Anyway, so about 30 minutes after I hung up with her it got WORSE, and I told someone that I believe the phrase "kicking it out both ends at once" pretty much sums up my experience, though perhaps it gives you too much detail -- sorry about that, but I'm just trying to let you know that it was BAD.

Well, it got very bad by about noon on Sunday, and I was feeling that sort of desperate lonely feeling that you get when you are in Hong Kong and you live by yourself and you know you have people you can call in an emergency "but is this really an emergency or just sick?" and so you don't want to call them and bother them, but then again you are like, "Geez, I'm so miserable and sick, and I feel like I'm all by myself on the other side of the planet and I wish someone else just KNEW about it."

Okay, so by Sunday night I already started feeling more "stable," let's say, and I even drank some water with good (non-illness) results.

Monday comes, and I knew I had to go to school. I didn't feel like going, but if you don't go then they want you to bring in this stupid note from the doctor, like some idiot little kid (talk about STUPID -- should I get my Mommy to sign it, too?!?), but anyway I wasn't ABOUT to go to a doctor. I mean, I was already feeling better, not "good" but better, and going to see a doctor was going to be a WASTE -- or so I felt. If I feel okay enough to walk to the doctor, why couldn't I just walk to school, you know? So I just toughed it out, got dressed, and walked to school.

I felt miserable, of course. As soon as I got there I went up to an empty room and went right to sleep, what an idiot. I should have gotten up right then and said, "I'm gone, folks" -- but I had these lessons and I felt I really needed to teach them, and so I promised myself I'd stay WAY away from the kids and all, and just be Mr. Superman and stay.

Fortunately, things got better throughout the day, I was happy to see, and by suppertime Monday night I was actually feeling hungry a bit. So I made myself some soup and it all went well and I would love to say that's the end of the story. HOWEVER, last night (Tuesday night) in the middle of the night I awoke with the EXACT same feeling in my innards (the technical term).

And so that's it -- I'm going to see a doctor later today. I feel "okay" but my stomach is VERY uneasy again and I know I can't eat anything at ALL... So let's see what ole Doc Chang has to say... (I can't remember his name, actually, I just made up that name)...

But there are a few things I'll say about this episode so far. If you are one of the ones who knew I was sick and you've been praying for me, THANKS, and please keep it up for a few more days -- I'M NOT OVER THIS YET!! But I really felt your concern, and it means a LOT. I really was feeling like I was all alone over here, and that's MY fault because I had this weird thing where it's like I have 20 people here I can call but I felt like a wuss calling them, so instead I sat here and groaned and felt horrible and lonely and wished I had someone to just sit there and KNOW I was sick. I know that in fact that makes me MORE of a wuss, the whole "having people to call but wishing I didn't feel like a wuss calling them" thing... But anyway, that's what happened, and I'm just saying THANKS for praying for me if you were, because I appreciate it.

The next thing I'll say is that my friends here have been GREAT. I said I didn't tell anyone here in HK about being sick, but I did send an e-mail to my pastor from Xi Lin CPC, William Yeung, and he called me on Monday and said, "Wow, Glenn, sorry I just got your message, are you okay?" and we talked for a while and of course by then I was feeling much better anyway, so it really made me feel good. I guess he and some others spread the word around and by now (Wednesday morning) I've had several people call to ask if I'm okay. I AM VERY THANKFUL FOR MY FRIENDS HERE IN HONG KONG!!!

Another thing I'll say is a bit of advice. If you are ever sick in this way, in the "all of the organs in your body are trying to come OUT of your body" way, I have one word for you: CANDLES. My cousin is one of the regional/international gurus of Party Lite candles in Louisville. You may know this company or their products, I don't know, but our family is WAY into them because they are great candles and she has built a fabulous business out of distributing them. My mom even worked for her (part-time) a few years until my niece Madelyne was born last August. But she sent me some candles for Christmas, and it is one of the best gifts I could imagine. Now I'm not sure how that makes me sound -- a single, 36-year-old guy saying, "I like candles." It's like, for heaven's sake, what's next, bubble bath?!? But I don't want anyone getting any funny ideas, see? Or I'll come bash your head, see? But I'm just telling you, lighting those candles and how nice they made this place smell -- the DIFFERENCE they made, from the sick and the gross and the blah blah blah, ... well, it was somehow so "homey" and reassuring for me to lie down, feeling totally sick, and to see that candle light flickering in the next room. Yeah, it made me feel safe somehow, isn't that weird? So I'm already trying to figure how I can get a suitcase of these things back over here next time I'm home...

And the one last thing I'll say for now is just to mention that the teacher I was supposed to help on Sunday is still pretty mad at me. Now, I can't figure this one out, actually, because we are pretty good friends, at least I think so, and all I can guess is that she just for whatever reason didn't believe I was really sick, and thought I was just plain old ditching her or something. OR, she felt that me not going caused her SO MUCH inconvenience ("Who's going to take the photos?!") that it doesn't matter my guts were coming out my mouth, it was still horrible for her and she hasn't yet recovered (ha ha). I'm trying to be light-hearted about it, but of course in fact I hope I can figure out what's going on and smooth things over after the holidays.

Lunar New Year
WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE NEXT ITEM: today is the first day of our Lunar New Year holiday! "But Glenn, didn't you just HAVE two weeks of holiday for Christmas?" -- YES, my poor friend, and now I begin another 8 or 9 days of it. The difference is that THIS time, I really do think I'll have some free time. The previous months I've felt so busy I've had to use all the "holidays" to just "catch up"... So this next week and a half are full of promise for getting things done -- FINALLY -- assuming I can get over this illness more completely.

You should note that Lunar New Year, which this time comes on Saturday, February 1st, is by far the biggest holiday of Chinese culture. The way kids in the States feel about Christmas, you can take that feeling and I honestly think ratchet it up a few notches and then multiply it by 1.5 billion Chinese people and that's how big this holiday is. For the first three days of the year, the entire nation of China pretty much grinds to a complete halt, at least that's the tradition. Okay, it's not as much as in the past, now there are shopping malls open some, and stuff like that... It's like how a few years ago stores in the States started staying open on Christmas Day and we were all like, "Whoa! That's wild and modern and commercial!" and that's the way it goes here for Lunar New Year.

One interesting thing, you know how WE always call it "Chinese" New Year, right? So my gut just tells me that in China, you can't call it "Chinese" New Year, you know? It's like, you're in CHINA, how can you call it "Chinese" New Year? But actually, HK people (at least) do in fact call it Chinese New Year (in English) many times -- not always, but often.

Corinna's Mom
My friend Corinna has just e-mailed us to say her mother passed away peacefully this morning (Tuesday night for the States). I know her whole family is feeling very sad, and all of us are also with "heavy hearts"... If you are a praying person then please remember her and her family these next few weeks. I don't know for sure, but because of the Lunar New Year holiday, they will probably not have the cremation and/or memorial service for several weeks -- in Chinese culture they don't want to do such "negative" things for the first few days of the new year, it's just a cultural tradition, so the facilities in HK are all booked up with everyone trying to "rush" things through before Saturday (New Year's Day). So the next few weeks, in all the festivities, I think Corinna may have some sad times, I wish them all to have peace and comfort in their grief.

It may sound like a nutty thing to do -- a "walk on the wild side" -- but the point of this seminar is to show you how to use the game of Scrabble to advance students' learning and grasp of English. Okay, sounds good enough, the "target" is primary school teachers, and the seminar is free, so I'll try it, right?

But the fact is that when I went to sign up yesterday, I was already a LITTLE bit -- I mean just slightly -- ticked off by the whole deal. The thing is, when I looked at their website it said basically NOTHING about the seminar, just, "Oh, it will help you and your students, fun fun fun" and blah blah blah, and then at the bottom of the page it says, "For inquiries, contact Miss so-and-so at this e-mail: xxxxx" -- so I sent an e-mail saying, "Okay, I want to know about it, how do I sign up and all that."

So a couple days later she sends me BACK an e-mail saying, and I mean this is ALL it says, is, "Thanks for your inquiry, see our site for info"!!... I'm like, "Sister, if you had the info on your site, then WHY would I have needed to e-mail you just now?!?!"

Okay, fine, I go back to the site using her link, and YES they've updated it -- "my bad," as we said in 5th grade... they are still working it all out and I just jumped the gun, I guess. And I see that after their overhaul/update of the site they actually have an online registration option -- "GOOD, I'll try it," I thought...

So I fill out the form, my name, my phone number, and my e-mail address, right? Then there are two questions they want you to answer. The first one says, "Check here if you are a parent," and then you have "Yes" and "No" options from which to choose. Easy question (I know this one!) -- "No," I confidently replied with a click of my mouse...

Then the NEXT question is, "If you ARE a parent, will you bring your children?" -- (and there's another "yes" and "no" option).

Okay, all easy enough. But I hit the "submit button", and it rejects my info because "you must enter a number between 0-9"... I'm like, uh, WHAT? But I notice that it has kicked the cursor back up to the phone number field, so I'm like, "Okay, they must want the phone number NOT written like EVERY PERSON IN THE WORLD writes their phone number, like 9357-2476 (here in HK we have 8 numbers) -- but they want it ALL NUMBERS, with NO DASH." Again, this goes against ALL logic, but fine, I get it, okay, I delete the dash and hit "submit" again.

THIS TIME, and by now I'm getting steamed, but THIS time it rejects my info because I didn't say whether I was bringing my children or not -- "You must choose 'Yes' or 'No'"...

EXCUSE ME?!? I just TOLD you, by my obvious choosing of the "NO, I'M NOT A PARENT" button, that I don't even HAVE children. How is there a possibility that I might bring them -- my non-existent kids -- to this stupid seminar?!? But you're telling me that despite having told you I don't even HAVE kids, you STILL need me to tell you that I won't bring them to the seminar?!?

Now you probably think this is totally anal for me to get ticked off about it, and I guess it is pretty anal, but geez, I used to work in the bidness world, right? And all I know is that THIS TYPE OF AMATEURISH CRAP is what really ticks guys off, you know? Maybe I was just grumpy from being sick and all. But I mean, c'mon, if you need the phone number without any "-" or spaces, then SAY that!!! DON'T make me hit submit and be rejected and THEN have to figure out that's what you meant!!! ... And why did you ask if I was a parent if you THEN weren't even going to pay any attention? Why not just ask, "Are you bringing your children?" -- and give me a "yes" or "no" option?!?!?

THINK, PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean, this is web programming that a first-grade kid could do these days... Geez...

So FINE, whatever, I checked, "NO, I won't bring my children!" (the "!" comes from the force with which I clicked the mouse), and I hit "submit" for the third time -- and it took my info, FINALLY...

OH, and HERE's the kicker... After it finally "took" my info, it gives a big screen that says:

"Your application to the seminar is accepted -- PENDING APPROVAL BY MATTEL."

And I'm like, "OH, NO!!" because I'm thinking, "What kind of dirt are those Mattel private investigators going to dig up on me?!? What are the skeletons in my closet that might keep the 'Mattel Scrabble Seminar Approval Board' from accepting my application?!?!?"

THUG #2: "Did you hate me? Your parents are owner of whore house! Your face is not enough to be gigolo!!"

Thought I'd take tonight to tell you about some cool things that have been going on at our school.

If you are familiar with the things I've talked about over the last months, then you know that our school is located in one of the most difficult areas of Hong Kong, way up north right at the border with the mainland. Most of our students come from families that are newly immigrated from China and have much lower education and income levels than is traditionally the case in HK -- and generally speaking they face limited prospects compared to the majority of HK's youth. In this challenging environment, and facing an uphill battle, our school is attempting to nonetheless create something special -- to give our students a chance to catch a vision of life (and their own futures) that is greater than what they would probably have otherwise.

To that end, we've tried several unique projects. One is having "yours truly" at the school -- not that I'm any great asset, but it's VERY unusual for a normal (non-private, non-international) primary school in HK to have a full-time native English teacher. And this year under the government's Native English Teacher scheme we even added another half-time teacher from the U.K. (shared with another primary school). We've also worked on some really fun music projects, recording a CD of our students singing songs in English (see the webpage HERE).

But one of the big projects that is getting our school attention all over HK is the stress we've put on "health and the environment." In a sea of asphalt and barren concrete, our school is an oasis of greenery; in a community that is home to the "smoking-est" element of the HK population, our school is boldly advertising our "smoke-free" campus. It makes a difference in our students' attitudes toward these issues, but even more striking has been the spotlight that this emphasis on better living has thrown on our efforts.

So that's a VERY brief look at our "green spot" in HK. I'm really proud of what our teachers have been doing -- remember, I don't do much myself, but instead go around "cheerleading" and trying to support them in the real work. But still, it's a huge challenge and with God's help I believe we are making a difference in our kids' lives and in this community...

On a more personal note, I got an e-mail from Audrey and Lauren (the girls in the photo from yesterday's news posting -- see below, the entry for 22 January 2003). I didn't ask them if I could show you what they wrote but here it is:

Isn't that great? It sounds like the big move of the computer into the living room is a very important development, everyone's REALLY happy about that one, aren't they?!? And I guess there's going to be LOTS of crying in the Smith household in the coming weeks...

Corinna's Mom -- "URGENT"
The deal is that we really misunderstood the situation with my friend Corinna's mom. It turns out that her stroke was very serious and in fact as of tonight, she has been unconscious for about 10 or 11 days. She is NOT expected to recover in any way. This is a time for lots of heavy hearts. Our small group (of which Corinna is a vital part) went to visit with her on Monday night, and spent some time with Corinna and her brother, finally praying over her mom before leaving. It was a very meaningful time, I thought, I don't know if it really let Corinna know how much we are "behind" her in this, but in the situation I'm not sure what more to do, actually. Anyway, for all you Jesus people, I wish you'd take 30 seconds and pray for Corinna and her family. Also pray for Corinna's mom. She is not visibly conscious, but we feel it's possible she can still hear what people say. She probably doesn't have much time -- so please think about them for few seconds, and just pray God's peace and comfort on the whole situation.

Allen Hom
My buddy Allen Hom is here from the States, he showed up by surprise Sunday morning -- he has a habit of doing stuff like that, he usually sends an e-mail but then on Sunday I look up and there he is!! He works for United Airlines so it's easy for him to decide to come to HK on a whim (must be nice!). So it was cool to see him and have lunch with him and Corinna, we spent quite a good while chatting and catching up. I first met him when we both went on a trip to China back in '99 with the guys from the San Francisco CP Church, and he goes on lots of work trips with John Lovelace, for all those CP Church people who know "Brother Love"... Allen should be here for another week, I think.

I also heard from my good friend Matt McDonald yesterday. He told me about his "McBlog" (ha ha) at http://www.smattmc.blogspot.com -- I haven't really talked to Matt much since before I left for HK 18 months ago, so it was GREAT to hear from him, I really miss him.

HOWEVER, I got all sad out of it. This is for two reasons. FIRST, Matt is a great musician, and just hearing from him brought home the fact that I am not really getting to play music at all. He used to lead the music at one of the churches I went to in the States, and I'm telling you, it seems like YEARS ago now, but that was my "golden age" for playing -- the band at Forest Park that Matt led was the best church band I've ever heard, and I even got to play with them some, on bass and even sax. I MISS IT SO MUCH IT HURTS MY STOMACH.

The SECOND reason I got all sad was I started reading Matt's blog. But I not only read his blog, but also all the blogs he links to, those of his friends and all. They don't have sad blogs, duh, that's not what I mean. No, the reason THAT made me sad was because his is all DEEP!! He talks about philosophy and books he's reading, stuff like that -- and he ain't reading COMIC BOOKS, my friends. So I just have been sitting here the last 24 hours wondering how come all the garbage I write here is so useless?!? I mean, it's like all these guys are talking about God and Kierkegaard and post-modernity and living in community and new models of what it means to be "church" and "making it real" and all this, and my website just talks about, "Oh, yeah, today I had a sandwich!" -- I'm like, geez, it just makes me realize how un-deep I am. I don't want to say, "I'm shallow" or anything, so yeah, I'm "un-deep" -- at least in what I end up writing about here.

I guess my ego hurt seeing how meaningful and introspective these guys' inner lives are. I know Matt probably will be bummed I'm talking like this, sorry, Matt, it's not your fault! -- but really, seeing in black and white the comparison to the dribble I write here made me feel totally "not mature" or something. It's like I ought to be thinking and writing more about the bigger issues of life and relationships and the Universe, rather than, "do I wash two loads of clothes tonight, or just one?"

So I totally wish that I could smack you guys upside the head with a more erudite thang, but it ain't gonna happen. Instead you'll continue to get up-to-the-minute news on what I had for lunch and whether I had time for a nap or not... (D-R-I-B-B-L-E)...

Speaking of sad, I have been sad many days since I moved to HK, obviously all the "lonely" and "missing-home" sad days and nights, you know what I mean. But today I had one of the saddest days of my "career" as a teacher.

She was in class 1B, and she sits in the middle group, on the left. It was the end of class and I was asking everyone "what is your name?" and "how do you come to school?" and "what is this?" -- and giving out stickers to everyone who raised their hand and at least tried. It was just a time-filler and some practice from the things they were supposed to remember from last term, all the way before Christmas.

Well, this girl, I've never noticed her before in my life, but she raised her hand and so I picked her, and she stood up and I asked, "What is this?" and held up a chair. She answered, (I think), with: "a chair" -- but she was supposed to say the full sentence, "It is a chair" and also, she said it so softly I think I can almost say that she was just MOUTHING it, no sound was coming out of her mouth. Anyway, so I put my hand to my ear to get her to say it again, and still she just MOUTHS it, no sound. So I smile and say in Chinese, "More loudly" -- and now she starts to look panicked. So I look at the teacher, and we are like, "uh, oh" ... and within about 10 seconds this little girl -- this adorable, totally cute little kid -- just sort of melts into a heap. It happened so slowly, as she just realized she wasn't sure what to say, and that I was looking at her, and now the teacher is next to her, and her eyes just water up, and her mouth distorts into a little frown, and her face turns red, and her shoulders slump over as she hangs her head in shame, and then the water in her eyes wells up and down come the tears. Still no sound, and she is trying to hold her face together, but she stood there, looking back up at me with those eyes, her lip shaking, and the tears just come down -- one, then another.

And the bell rang and so I ran out of class and I don't want you getting all judgmental on me but I'm telling you, I just CRIED, dude. I'm serious -- not because I did anything wrong or because I pushed her too hard, or anything -- it was just that those tears, for some reason, just tore right through me.

Only one other time in my life have I felt something like that -- it was when I went with my friend Chris to take his son Peter to the doctor. He had to get some shots, so Chris said, "Okay, Glenn, you hold his arms above his head and I'll hold his legs, and the doctor will give him the shot." Okay, no big deal. So I'm holding Peter and smiling at him and trying to make him laugh, and then the doc sticks him with the needle, and it's like the look on his face, as the tears came and he started to cry -- it hurt him -- and here I was holding him down. And he looks up at me, and I felt so low, I almost lost it -- it's like his eyes were screaming, "Ummo, how could you betray me like this?!?"

But even that wasn't as bad as today. Today it was all ME. And I can't even talk to that kid, to put my arm around her and tell her I love her and that I don't ever want her to feel scared like that again, that I would NEVER do anything to hurt her or make her feel silly in front of the class. I can't even tell her I'm sorry for making her feel sad, and that I didn't mean it.

Okay, ANOTHER sad thing, a friend of mine just e-mailed me and told me that when they telephoned me from the States back over Christmas it cost them -- are you sitting down?!? -- it cost them $155.

I can not believe it, I'm shocked, I'm outraged, and I feel guilty as all get-out. Hearing them on the phone was an amazing gift, but now it seems all spoiled and horrible.

Here's a shot of my dear little friends, Audrey (left) and Lauren, daughters of Bobby and Denise. Actually it's a photo from last summer but I'm just now seeing it. Now, tell me they're not cute -- YOU CAN'T!! You can't tell me that...

GEEZ, I love these girls, and I miss them so much. I'm so afraid they'll grow up never understanding that, you know?

OH, I know another funny thing. I wrote my friend Sherri and asked her what was up with her husband Vince. So she goes, "Oh, just type in "Vince Luney" in a search engine and you'll see what he's up to"... So I'm like, yeah, okay, whatever....

DUDE, it came back with like SEVENTY listings! And I'm not talking about "The Vince Luney Society" as if there are hundreds of Vince's out there making waves -- NO, they were really about HIM!!!

He's one of the head guys at the Louisville, KY emergency "911" call center, and so the press interviews him a lot, PLUS he's had a few "heroic" exploits that have been news in town.

I went to a really great Japanese restaurant the other night, and two of the menu items caught my eye. Let me suggest that if you come visit me in HK we go to this restaurant to have their "grilled ebb plant" -- but don't eat too much, because I want you to save some room for their specialty:

This is getting to be a bad habit, my waiting and waiting before updating the news -- this time a whole WEEK. But see, this is the thing about bad habits, they are VERY easy to cultivate... and SO hard to drop...

Anyway, I'm still 36-years-old, basically middle-aged, I suppose one could say. I was hoping that the snake soup I ate last week would have some sort of "rejuvenating" effect so I'd feel like a kid again, but when I asked the waiter about that they just sniffed and walked away. So don't eat any snake soup trying to feel younger, you're wasting your time. You'll just make the waiter think you're a dork.

Benjamin Hayes
My friends Chris and Michele Hayes have e-mailed me that their son Benjamin, who is the 1-year-old brother to my godson Peter, has officially been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, along with an undetermined genetic disorder that "may or may not be progressive." This is the worst news we could have expected. I feel crushed by it, and I know Chris and Michele feel that way, too. Michele told me that at the end of their 3-hour meeting with the doctor she asked him, "So, might Ben walk and talk?" -- and the doctor replied, "It could happen. I admire your optimism."

I'm asking anyone and everyone who is of a praying persuasion to please think about these guys. This is tough news, and I'm concerned that it's easy to see this kind of bombshell as the "end of the world" -- when it isn't, not yet, anyway. There's still no telling how Ben might develop, how far he'll go -- I know kids with C.P. who were not supposed to walk or talk and I'm telling you, if you made them mad they'd beat you up!

So I wish I could really beg you to pray for this family, my dearly loved friends -- they don't need charity or anything, but they need peace and strength and hope. PRAY FOR THOSE THINGS FOR THEM...

Corinna's Mom
My friend Corinna's mom has been in the hospital recently. Corinna, from the Xi Lin CP church here in HK, e-mailed and said her mom's "blood vessels exploded in her head" but she wrote back a few days later to say that things are better, it's not life-threatening -- BUT half her body is paralyzed. So I ask you to pray for Corinna's mom, too, if you're in the mood, as well as the whole family who now must face the tough recovery and/or special care that her mom may need in the next few months at least...

My Goings On
I had a big day last Saturday. I went with some of my friends from the Shatin CP church -- my small group from there, including Thomas, Michael, and Barry -- to see a unique anatomical exhibition in Wanchai. It was pretty unusual, and in fact a very similar exhibition just like this one has recently been banned in England. I've written a little thing about it, if you want to check it out HERE...

After the exhibit we messed around a while -- Thomas wanted to buy some Adidas because he had a coupon to get 10% off. Man, they make some K-R-A-Z-Y shoes these days -- do you know that?!? I'm talking some totally NUTS shoes, Converse high-tops that go up over your knee (the shoe laces on those MUST be like 10 feet long), athletic shoes that have stopwatches built in to the top where the laces are supposed to go (and then they use velcro instead)... And the color jobs on these things, yikes. I mean, the old "flames-down-the-side" design is cool, where it's like your shoes look like hot-rods (though it always makes ME think that it looks like you have athlete's foot), but wow, they've got some funky shoes on the market. Maybe I really AM getting old, that I don't know what's hip anymore...

Finally we decided on dinner, and went to a GREAT sushi place that has 5 chairs. Seriously, the whole restaurant is about 2 feet deep and 6 feet across, with 5 stools stuck in there up against the counter. You order what you want and the two chefs whip it all together while you watch -- amazingly good, but we really laughed at eating sushi after having seen an exhibit about anatomy... It takes a real meat eater to do that, I think.

Then on Sunday night I had dinner with my friends Brother Wing and his wife, Jessica -- again a Japanese restaurant, and also very good. We had a great time, I did, anyway... NOT just because they paid, ha ha... Then I went to see the new Lord Of The Rings movie on a whim. I don't know why, but I came out of the restaurant and thought, "Man, I wonder when it's showing?" and it turns out it was showing in 2 minutes -- so I went.

Saturday I'm supposed to go with the Xi Lin CP Church Boys Brigade group on a nice long hike over Hong Kong side, that should be fun. And then on Monday I'm back into the full swing of teaching at my old schedule. I'm a little concerned about getting back into the groove, so I'm praying about that fairly hard about now...

Yeah, so like, I guess today's my birthday and all, and, I suppose I'm "36" now. Isn't that a really good year? I mean, aren't really GREAT things supposed to happen when you're 36 years old?!? I think I remember a Sinatra song about a "girl from up the stairs" or something (or was that supposed to happen this year I just finished?!)... Or wait, maybe it's in the book of Proverbs in the Bible, something about, "Yea, thou shalt really rocketh and rolleth in thine year of 30 and 6"... right?

Well, that's what I'm counting on, anyway -- a really big year -- so watch out, Hong Kong...

In celebration of my getting older but not necessarily wiser, a big bunch of teachers went to lunch with me today from school. I'd say it was about 30 or maybe 35 of us, we took 3 big tables at the Maxim's restaurant near the school. It wasn't really a party per se, since we were just in the restaurant with everybody else, and with that many people I really didn't even speak to most, just the guys at my table. But they had a couple of cakes and sang "Happy Birthday" (the one we know in English as well as the Chinese song which is the equivalent of "Happy Birthday")... so it was really fun, and I felt TOTALLY awkward about the whole thing but whatever, I appreciated it terribly. They are so nice to me, and they shouldn't be, I'm not exactly "worth" all that, trust me...

Continuing with the food discussion, yesterday a friend of mine and I went to lunch and had (among other things) snake soup. That's not a funny name for "bean soup" -- it's really snake soup. And it's good, too. It's supposed to be a very "warm" food so it's usually served in winter. Whatever, I just wanted all you guys who have been eating McDonald's to see how exotic my diet is...

(Which is hysterical that I said that because I had McDonald's, like, two days ago)...

On Tuesday I started my Cantonese course over in Causeway Bay, and I want to tell two things about it. First, the teacher, who is a native Cantonese speaker, is WAY cute. Forgive me for noticing but there you are. And she speaks 8 languages fluently, maybe I should mention that, too. Second, there was this really, truly funny moment that I want to try and describe. You see, the teacher was going over some basic conversational phrases, and was drilling us on the question and answer, "Where do you come from?" and "I come from _____." She had given us a sheet of different countries and the way to say it in Cantonese, and then was going around asking us all, "Where do you come from?" in Chinese, and we were supposed to answer in Chinese.

So there are five students (I'm the only American, by the way), and just before me (I'm the last one) she gets to this girl in the back. The teacher says, "Where do you come from?" and the girl answers with what I think I can type as: "I come from qowiejasdo" (meaning the country name was jibberish). Now, of course, I didn't know it was jibberish, because I don't speak Chinese -- it's ALL jibberish to me!! But the teacher couldn't understand it, either. So the teacher says, "Oh, I'm sorry, can you say that again?"... and the girl says, "Okay, I come from w*#&(H*e" -- and the teacher obviously is still totally not understanding and says, "Huh? Say again, please"... and the girl says it again, "nmcvpauwp"... and what happened, if you can picture this in your mind, was there was this 5 or 10 seconds of the teacher trying to understand what the girl was saying, and the girl keeps repeating the country name (but saying it differently every time, even I can hear that), and the teacher STILL doesn't understand her, and the girl is actually getting mad at the teacher for not understanding her, and it's like it just instantly escalated into almost an argument as far as the girl was concerned. It was obviously a word she felt she had "learned" before, but here she was and the teacher couldn't even understand her!

But this is what absolutely killed me: At one point -- and remember this all happened in a matter of a few seconds -- but at one point, the girl (who is absolutely butchering this word) is totally angry at the teacher, and blurts out, "Don't you understand Chinese?!?"

Some friends of mine are coming over to visit in about 6 weeks, and in anticipation I went to check the website of the hotel they will be staying at. This was part of the text on the main home page of the hotel:

So you're saying I bought these garlic necklaces for no reason?!? (Sorry, I'm making fun -- which is kind of weird coming from a missionary, I guess)...

Anyway, I'm not complaining -- as long as we don't have to worry about the evil spirits or the existing spirits, things should work out just fine...

I just received word that my friend Russell McCubbin has died -- this is just 3 weeks after being diagnosed with lung cancer. I feel so surprised about it as I didn't understand that he was in such pain and so close to passing, so it just seems rather shocking. That's part of what one misses when you can only pick up snippets of news from home... I'm quite sad about Russell being gone, but he told our pastor just a few days ago that he was "tired and ready to go"... I'll really miss him...

Let's see, let me do some more catching up on the "news"... This past Monday and Tuesday (30th and 31st Dec.) I went to two concerts put on by an organization known as ACM -- it's the Hong Kong Association of Christian Music Ministries. They had these two concerts and I spent a LOT of money to go to them because the tickets were about $15 (U.S.) each, and then I also spent at least $10 each night on transportation (trains and taxis) to get to the theater. But it was worth it, I think, meaning I'm glad I went. The artists on the bill were all local HK Christian singers and musicians, so I was terribly anxious to hear what people are doing here and I must say it was an education. At the very least I got an idea of some local folks that I will try to contact in the future about music and playing...

Then another fine time was had on Friday when I and some of the teachers from school went over to Stanley Bay for some fresh air and fun. Here are some photos of the day, click on any for a LARGER version:

If you are in HK, and if you go to Ruby Tuesday's restaurant, and if you order a hamburger, they will stick an American flag on it -- you know the kind, where it's wrapped on a toothpick, and which they stick in the top of the bun as if a little 2-inch man conquered your sandwich like Everest. Or maybe a "2-inch burger astronaut" is a more appropriate analogy, because -- like the flag they stuck in the moon -- this little toothpick flag is stiff (though it begs the question that if your burger flag looks like it's waving in the wind, is your burger really there or is it just a secret cover-up by NASA to make you think you have a burger?)...

Anyway, I've been thinking about how the guy who does that (the flag sticking guy) probably doesn't know that you're only supposed to do that on the so-called "All-American" burger -- I mean if I order a plain old bacon cheeseburger or a mushroom-and-swiss burger, why would you stick an American flag on it?!? And I've been thinking about how that guy -- the person who sticks the flags on the burgers at Ruby Tuesday's in Hong Kong -- really can't help it, since he has absolutely NO CONCEPT of sticking flags in food, and no knowledge of the proper protocol of such a task (as clearly evidenced by his doing it willy-nilly on every burger he sees passing by on the conveyor belt). And I've been wondering if other cultures do that -- stick their national flag on any food, I mean -- and then I've ALSO been wondering if it should be seen as a sign of incredible hubris to stick your national flag on a greasy burger, OR, if it's a sign of incredible boorishness (I suspect the latter, I'm afraid). And I've been wondering -- at ANY rate -- why do they do it in Hong Kong... ?!? Does it add some "authenticity" to the burger, meaning does it somehow imbue the experience of eating the burger with "American-ness"? Or is it supposed to make me think it's imported, USA prime beef in that burger? And if an American soldier in uniform goes to Ruby Tuesday's do they have to salute the burger flag or something? I'm NOT making fun, trust me, I'm really asking. Can they just throw it on the table like everyone else, or do they have to stick it in their pickle so it's upright and doesn't touch the ground? Or do the protocols of the flag not count when the flag is stuck on a toothpick?!?

And I've also been wondering why I feel -- ever so slightly -- like I'm being mocked whenever I am sitting in Hong Kong and they bring me a burger and it has an American flag stuck in it... ?

Not that you care, but I've been listening to some AMAZING records lately. The first is a Chinese CD called Overdos by a local Christian artist here in HK named Frances Chiu -- it's very good and by FAR the best Canto-Christian CD I've heard yet. Very contemporary and it sounds great, I can't stop listening to it!! If you speak Cantonese GET IT, you will love it. And either way, listen to the .mp3's (links below, or poke around her website to find more) and then send her an e-mail at frances@franceschiu.com and tell her I told you she's great. Maybe she'll get enough e-mails from my friends saying you dig her music that she'll hire me to be her bass player, which I would do in a second, she's that good... (I'm being serious)... Besides, any girl who wears Doc Martens is a friend of mine... (NOTE: I'm putting these .mp3 links on here ONLY because you probably don't read Chinese and wouldn't find them on her site):
--Caffeine Overdose.mp3 - approx. 1.2MB download
--Sweet Sweet Life.mp3 - approx. 750kB download

Next is John Mayer's Room For Squares which I think a lot of people have slammed because they think it's too, ... something. But I really dig it. His voice is perfect, maybe it's too perfect for some people, maybe his songs are too direct for some people, and yeah, maybe after another week or two of this I'll get sick of it. But any guy who could write "Love Song For No One" is a friend of mine...

The other record is 5 Star Motel by Andy Stochansky. I would LOVE to make a record like this one, it rocks, it's subtle, it's dark and light at the same time -- he has that rare ability to make just his voice and a guitar sound huge and somehow epic. I first heard of him (like many people did) as the drummer for Ani DiFranco, and (like many people did) I thought he was a great drummer for that context, and the perfect "foil" (or should I say "fuel"?) for Ani's on-stage banter. But sit down, he is a much BETTER singer and songwriter than he is drummer. Turns out he's always been making his own records but stupid me, I never knew. I keep thinking of Dave Grohl and how I've been equally blown away by Stochansky's ability to be sickeningly good on drums AND guitar PLUS singing/song-writing... Some guys get all the luck...

1) "Is America the Germany of 1939??" -- posted by bluey, followed by his comparisons of "Germany/Poland" to "USA/Iraq"...

(Okay, whatever, you had to see it in context I guess, but that last one really cracks me up)...

Well, school starts back tomorrow after a GREAT holiday. I've got quite a bit of preparations to do this next week, and I still have a lot of appointments to keep. So it's back to WORK.

I will also begin a Cantonese course over in Causeway Bay on Tuesday night -- it's a beginning course and to be honest I don't think it will help me at ALL, but maybe I can at least get some practice in. Learning more Chinese is one of my Top 3 priorities for 2003. And since you are all clamoring, "Glenn! Tell us all your priorities for 2003!" -- well, settle down, kids, I'll tell you soon enough. But not now, it's midnight and I'm going to bed...

Can you believe it's a new year?!? I can't... I really can't. It seems like just last week I was recovering from LAST year's holiday busy-ness, and here we are heading again into another 12 months. I think I feel like I'm supposed to say something dramatic about "the circle of life" or something about how thankful I am to be here still kicking and all, but everything I think of to type just sounds dorky, so forget it. You can make your own sappy sentiments about it being a new year, and I'll spare you mine...

I'm sorry that I've had to be offline for several weeks, since before Christmas, actually. But I'm finally re-connected to set up things here and so here goes. I had LOTS of plans of things to update and fix on this site over the holidays, but being offline means I got none of it done. So now I'm rushing through to do as much as I can before school starts back on Monday. I'll start with doing some "catching up" on all the news and happenings from before Christmas. There are a LOT of photos here, if you have a slow connection then please go have a sandwich and by the time you finish they should all be downloaded nicely. Maybe have a pickle and some chips, and fix yourself a piece of cake for dessert, too -- I don't want you to rush the sandwich and then you come back and call me a liar because not all the pictures are done downloading...

Teachers' Christmas Party
On Thursday, 19th of December, all the teachers at the school had a Christmas party, and it was pretty fun just hanging out with everyone since we're normally so busy we can't do that. But especially good was the FOOD -- it was pot luck, plus they ordered a few pizzas (the pizza was NOT my idea, by the way). But yeah, great food, good times, if we'd just had some beer it would've been like a commercial.... (little "missionary teetotaler" joke there)...

Here's the food, just moments before the chowing began.	Yeah, Hong Kong's the kind of place where you can have two turkeys delivered to you when you really need turkey in a box...	...but actually, these were GREAT turkeys!! I'm serious, they were really good and juicy...
Everyone crowds around for the so-called "gift exchange"...	Here are some teachers with the gifts they received. The rule was to buy a gift for about $20, which works out to about $2.50 U.S., which in turn means most gifts were worth less than the box that they came in... (ha ha)	This is Fi with his gift -- a toy fishing set. (I know that's REALLY gonna come in handy down the road, Fi)...
Heidi is demonstrating this gift, though I'm not sure if it's hers or not. Anyway, it's a tiny dog that "when you speak it will react by barking" or whatever. Basically, it has a senser that it "reacts" to any noise. So then everyone tried barking and howling to make it move...	After the meal it was time for dessert, which was this huge vat (it was bigger than a pot so I'm calling it a "vat") but it was this big vat of bean curd something or other (I think). It's kind of soupy, kind of solid, it's fun for everyone! Shown here, they are using the big flat spoon to scrape off layers on top and put in their bowl.	This was AFTER the party, when we had all gone back up to the staff room. A few folks were still hanging around and started taking photos, so here's one that I took. From L to R are Vianna, Ah Ping, Emily, Ann, Cindy, Brother Wing, and then bending over is Ah Dong. This was Ann's last day before her extended leave to give birth (uh, she's pregnant in this photo). I sure will miss her for the next month or however long it is that she'll be gone...

The Kids' Last Day Before Christmas
Okay, so then on 20th December we had the parties and special activities for the kids...

The festive mood in the Hall was really fun!

There was one thing that happened that was pretty exciting, and I'll try to explain the way it all played out. You see, we had two assemblies that day, one for the lower forms (P1 - P3) and one for the upper forms (P4 - P6). They sang some songs and also played some games -- and with the decorations and everyone being excited about it being the last day before the holidays, there really was a festive mood in the air.

Adding to the atmosphere was the fact that for the kids who won the games or gave correct answers, they got some pretty big prizes, as the photo at right shows. I'm not joking, every single time they brought out another prize the whole crowd would go, "Whoa!!" ... they just couldn't believe they had a chance to win such great gifts!

The Tao Hsien drama team

After the crazy jumping around and singing took place, a Christian drama group presented a special program that they had written. It was colorful and interesting, and meaningful, too. After the play, a pastor came out and spoke to the kids about the true meaning of Christmas -- I mean, the whole "why we celebrate Christmas in the first place" thing. After her talk, she asked the kids if they wanted to follow Jesus, if they wanted to know more about Him and to make Him the person in charge in their lives. Now I know some of you who aren't believers will feel weird about this, but hear me out and try to understand what happened when she said that.

She asked the kids to show their decision by coming out to the front of the room, near the stage, explaining it was important to be open about their decision -- and the response just about floored us all.

Basically, the entire room full of kids got up and rushed to the stage. If you click on the photos at right you will see that there were HUNDREDS of our students responding, and in fact only a few stayed in their seats. And this happened in BOTH assemblies, the one for the young kids (the top photo) AND the one for the older kids (bottom photo) -- and our older kids do NOT like having to stand in front of people, trust me...

So what does it mean? Do we now have 800 little angels (our estimate of the number responding) to look forward to when we return to school after the holiday? Of course not. But of all the things that one might say about this event, at the very LEAST we must acknowledge is that this sets a great precedent for our students. The pastor of one of our churches put it best, I think, when he said, "You know, Glenn, the main thing is that this will really shape the culture of that school over the next few years"...

We may not know how these kids' lives will change either now or later, or whether they will really make decisions which will lead them into a greater experience of God or not. But the stage is set, and now, as always, there is lots of work for us to do... Please PRAY for us and our students...

Well, after the assemblies it was basically Party Time, a task at which our kids seem to truly excel. As always, I made the rounds of the school and here are some photos for you.

*This is Mary, one of the cute girls in our "elite" P3 class*	*Moon (the teacher in far right of photo) wanted her P2 class to tell everyone, "Merry Christmas!"*	*This is Wing, another girl from the "elite" P3 class -- I just loved the way she had her hat cocked to the side of her head...*	*I have no idea why, but it seems like this girl always sticks her tongue out when I'm taking her photo*
*I call this guy "Mr. Chips"...*	*...so this girl is "Miss Chips"*	*I'm not sure, but I think they are trying to strike a hip hop pose, booiiieeeeee!*	*A couple of cute elves share a laugh over a cracker...*
*I didn't even try to explain that no self-respectin' cowboy would ride in a freakin' PINK wagon!!*	*"Little pink cowboys, for you and me"... isn't that a John Cougar song?!? Or maybe Wham!..?*	*The party was great, but now it's time to go home -- here they're waiting for the school bus...*	Merry Christmas!! 2002

Exactly What I'm Missing...
This holiday season just finished was a lot harder than the holidays last year. I've been thinking about that a good bit, trying to figure out why, and I guess it's not so complicated, actually. For one thing, last year (my first Christmas in HK) everything was still so new and exotic and exciting, I didn't have time to think about being homesick or missing family or whatever. Another thing is that last year everyone was "looking out for me" so I got invited to do a lot of stuff, whereas this year they all must figure I'm an old pro, so they don't need to invite me anymore (sniff, sniff). And another thing is that I really don't have any money this time around, but I won't talk about that...

Anyway, so it's all gone together to make this holiday break from school slightly bittersweet, as I have really FELT like I was on the other side of the planet from home for a change.

But my sister and brother-in-law have finally gotten a digital camera and they've been posting photos for me to see, and so I'm gonna make you look at them so you can see exactly all the cool things I missed...

*My mom and dad's Christmas Tree*
*My mom, sister, dad, and little niece Madelyne*		This is a photo from the big Watts family Christmas gathering. This isn't the whole gang at ALL, several are missing from this photo, but it gives you an idea of what a great time I missed... The arrow is pointing at my Aunt Betty's shoulder, we have all had a good laugh about how she somehow got blocked in the photo!! (click for a LARGER view)

(Just to clarify, I wouldn't trade being here in HK for ANYTHING. Well, I might trade it for a cute girl to fall for -- but other than that, I wouldn't trade it at all, I love being here... I just don't want you thinking that my "missing home" feelings mean "I don't want to be HERE" -- because that's not true at all)...

The Weather
The weather has been quite up and down the last few weeks, since I last checked in on the subject. It had been unseasonably warm (even by HK standards) for most of the month of December, but on one particular Sunday late in the month there was a record-breaking drop in the temperature. I left the house for church that morning wearing just a t-shirt (and sweating, by the way), but by the time church was over it was freezing cold and raining (not really "freezing" but the HK version of it). It was the largest single-day drop in temperature in HK in something like 51 years, and it was pretty dramatic, trust me. Anyway, it was really cold for a few days, then warmed up again Christmas, then got REALLY cold, as in it was actually below freezing in some places in HK -- now that is COLD for here, and people just freaked out. They don't often get that kind of weather in Honkey Kong, at most only 2 or 3 days a year, if that much. Well, anyway, now it's warmed up a bit again, and it's not so cold...

Russell McCubbin
One of the great guys of my church life has been Russell McCubbin, but he was diagnosed the week of Christmas with lung cancer. It is in both lungs so surgery is not an option, but other treatment will begin immediately. The main thing is that he seems to be feeling quite down and discouraged, so if you have a second and don't mind helping out, please pray for Russell. I sure do have a lot of memories of Russell and the others from when I was younger, it seemed in my eyes that they were those guys who were always there and always taking care of business. They may not have had a lot to say, but they got the job done, whether it was doing work around the church building or showing up every Monday night to play dartball or being the ushers on Sunday morning. He sure means a lot to me and I hate to hear this latest news of his illness.

Celeste and David have a girl
My friends Dr. Celeste Yuen and "soon-to-be-Dr." David Eason from Xi Lin church had their little girl, Shalome, on the 28th of December -- she was 6lbs, 7oz. They will stay in the U.K. where she was born (David is British) for another month before returning to HK. Man, I really miss them and can't WAIT for them to come back, the holidays sure were different for me this year without David around...

Patricia Butler
My good friend Patricia is still recovering from her surgery, she has begun cardiac-therapy and though still tiring easily she is feeling stronger every day. Thank Heaven.

I'm Number One!!!
I had a really funny experience a few days ago, I mean it almost freaked me out a little because it was spooky, but then when I thought about it, it really cracked me up.

It was Christmas Eve and a bunch of us from church we're going to try and go to a late movie. The problem was, we couldn't figure out when the last show was, and whether or not we'd have time to make it (especially since seeing movies is a HUGE holiday activity in HK, and the last showing might have already sold out). So when we got back to Tin Shui Wai, the girls went to my friend Fonna's place (where they were going to spend the night) and I went to my apartment with the assignment of "get on the internet and see if you can find out about the movie."

Well, I've never tried to find out about movie times or anything on the net, so I wasn't sure what to do. I jumped onto Yahoo! and sat there for a moment thinking about what keywords I should search for. I knew the theater chain that operates the cinema in Tin Shui Wai was the Broadway Circuit chain (as opposed to UA -- United Artists -- which is the other main cinema chain in HK)... So after a moment of consideration I typed in the words: "broadway movies hong kong"

And guess what the number one response to that query was? ME!!!!! This very website was the number one listing... I figured there must be a mistake, so I typed the keywords in again and hit "Search"... Same thing, hongkongbrother.com was the top result returned...

I just sat there and stared at the screen for a few moments, it was so unexpected and unbelievable. I mean, it's not like I just won the Grammy or anything, but I'm just saying, it was BEYOND weird to be searching for something totally different and end up getting a link to THIS website...

Why did it come up? Well, I guess I have this page about the Shao Lin Monks coming to Hong Kong last March where I say it's a "Broadway-like" production or something like that, and then later on I talk about the movie "Shao Lin Soccer" -- so that was the reason, a page that used all four words: "broadway -- movies -- hong -- kong"

Of course I think the ULTIMATE kicker is that I haven't been able to get it to come back up since that night! I don't know how the rankings are made, but they must be somehow dynamic because even the next morning I couldn't even get my site to come up at ALL under that query -- which somehow makes it all the more spooky...

The Ultimate Death-Match!!!
I have cable and it really is nice for getting the news and, of course, watching the Simpsons.

But the other day there was an ESPN ad (on the Discovery Channel) that began: "It's Judgment Day in Singapore!!!" Of course the announcer's voice was all deep and dramatic, and he was yelling it out the way those voices on the radio announce the Carl Casper Custom Auto Shows... "The Batmobile!!! Da da duh duh DAT! Duuhhhhhhhhh! The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders!!! Da da duh duh DAT! Duuhhhhhhhhh!" etc., etc....

Anyway, so can you guess what sporting event they were advertising as occasioning the arrival of "Judgment Day" in Singapore? I mean, what sporting event is so vicious that it reminds you of the fiery storm of sulfur and ash that fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah? What would be the very "Armageddon" of sporting events -- an event so fearsome and bloodthirsty that one could only compare it to the End Times?!?

(I added the words to these photos to simulate the violence of professional bowling -- actual bowlers may not be so violent)...

April/May 2002 Archive	October 2002 Archive
June 2002 Archive	November 2002 Archive
July 2002 Archive	December 2002 Archive
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February 2003 Archive	July/August 2003 Archive
March 2003 Archive	Sept/October/Nov 2003 Archive
April 2003 Archive	December 2003 Archive
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May 2004 Archive

	This week, one of the major economic papers in HK did a FULL-PAGE feature on our school -- this is a Chinese-language paper that (I'm told) is read by many of the high-flyers in the HK business community, and to have such a glowing and spectacular feature is VERY exciting! It raises our school's profile immeasurably, and suddenly a school that society expects to be full of "throw-away" kids -- new immigrants who "can't possibly compete" with others -- is making some waves. Well, maybe it's more like "ripples" than waves, but you get the idea. You can see from the image at the left that I unfortunately have not had the time or ability to scan the article properly -- this is just a photo of the paper. But if you click on the image you'll see a larger version, and I think it's a high enough resolution that if you can read Chinese you'll even be able to read the article. I'm told it begins by discussing a HK-wide media campaign for the environment and then segues to discuss our school's programs...

My sister Lisa, her husband Bob, and little Madelyne
My niece Madelyne: Day #2 of the Sleep Deprivation Project