There's an Ancestor on My Stoep

On my first train ride through the Hong Kong countryside I saw this nesstled in the mountains:

The Teletubbies live in Hong Kong? A bombshelter maybe? On closer inspection, I saw this:

Still, I was confused. Until a local clarified it for me, "It's a tomb".

A TOMB! Eeeek! And they are EVERYWHERE!

Ancestors are a big thing in Hong Kong (and most other far east countries). My local friend told me a lot of effort goes into honnoring the ancestors. But from a more objective point of view, I can see it's a bit more than honnor these people show their ancestors. It's fear.

Hong Kong and Chinese people are very scared of ghosts and most of their "religion" is about protecting themselves so the ghosts will leave them alone. Every time I see someone practicing a superstition I ask them why, and the answer is always "to keep the ghosts away..."

Ancestors even have their own public holiday, Ching Ming day (5 April). On Ching Ming day people visit these tombs and "apease" the ancestors with decorations, fireworks (the neighbourhood can get pretty noisy on this day) and burning "gifts".

I find the latter of the apeasing formalities facinating! The chinese believe they can "send gifts to the afterlife". They burn paper gifts as offering to the ghosts that have come from the gates of hell to keep them happy and away. These paper gifts they buy at supermarkets and burn them at the tombs. So what kind of gifts do they send? Well... they can send anything the shop sells, from shoes and hats to money and McDonalds(I wouldn't have believed it if I didnt see it myself). Anything to satisfy the grumpy ghost so he doesn't come haunt me in my house. No employment opportunities for the Ghostbusters in Hong Kong then.

(Paper McDonalds Offering)

My Breakfast

Each morning I share my first coffee of the day with a dose of Joyce Meyer. A sip for my body and a sip for my soul. I watch her teachings online at her website.

Makes me think of how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. It's all about being available and having faith. As a child my English teacher told me I was a lost cause. My handwriting was horrible and I was the worst student she's ever had. She barely let me pass the exam. A few years later and I won a national poetry writing contest, worked as a newspaper columnist and published an article in a magazine. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Mrs English Teacher!

The only ones who really can define you is yourself and God. But too often we care about what other people think of us. And if you let people define you, you will limit your life. I don't want to live a limited life! I don't want to end up one day saying "I could have... should have... would have...". So I packed up everything and moved to Hong Kong because I choose my own limits. Thanks to God my life will always be the best it can be. I hope yours will be too.

Pedis

Surprise, surprise one thing that’s NOT a myth about the far East: you have to take off your shoes when you enter someone’s home. Of course I had to learn this custom the hard way because on the day that my smelly toes look like I chewed them through a stressful school exam, I had to enter someone’s home and bare all. Little did I know my je ne sais quoi could not save me from the horrible humiliation that lurked at the end of my feet... I tried my best to hide them but my attempts just snowballed and I felt like one of those sitcom characters people cringe for as they keep unraveling in an incredibly embarrassing situation.

And as my fate has it I am fortunate enough to enter honkies’ homes at least three times a week. So now you will find me buffing, scuffing and varnishing away on my bedroom floor  so my toes can look a little more decent when I enter someone’s door. And let me tell you, renovating your piglets is not the easiest thing in the world. Never mind three times a week. So now pedicures have moved into my no. 2 spot of "things to splurge my moolah on when my gravy train arrives" (no.1 being Ben and Jerry’s ice cream of course). And so much effort for grooming something that spends most of its time under layers of leather and cotton! But I have to admit, it feels pretty nice to whip out those pretty little polished toe’lettes instead of the old smelly ones :-)

The White Watch

I thought this was an urban myth. The white watch... the new status symbol of posh upper class women. Until I came to Hong Kong...
I first saw this phenomenon on the arm of Sandra Bullock in her latest movie “The Blind Side” where she plays a posh upper class American house wife. I’ve also seen this watch in a few advertisements and magazines, but never seen someone wear it in real life. Until I spent an afternoon in Central Hong Kong. And yes, there it was, flaunting away on the wrist of posh ladies waltzing from shop to shop. I also spotted it in Macau! On the wrists of decadently dressed ladies playing the slots in fancy Casino hotel lobbies.


So it’s true. It does exist, and here is the price if you’re interested:

Chanel J12 White Ceramic Watch H2181

PRICE: US$6,995.00

AMAZON.COM

Michele Women's Tahitian Ceramic White Diamond Watch
PRICE: US$1,995.00
BLOOMINGDALES

Of course it also comes in plastic to fit our little people's pockets.

Skin Deep

“Say what?!” I thought to myself after I saw this in the skin care isle of our local cosmetic shop. And once again I realise I’m living in upside-down world. Growing up in South Africa I was surrounded by girls cemented to the side of the swimming pool trying their best to create the perfect tropical sun kissed tanned skin. Poor little white skinned me had to face the fact that my skin will always be second best because I’m too white. Little did I know in a land far, far away lived a country full of people dying to have their skin white as snow.

Skin whitening creams. At first I did not understand what the creams where for until I asked one of my local friends about this. She told me that since the dawn of time the eastern people have regarded white skin very highly. It represents a lifestyle that does not need to labour away in the sun to earn its bread and butter. Traditionally rice water – which is the left over water after washing your rice – was used by Japanese women to whiten their complexion. In fact, in some families parents will often favour the children with the whiter skins (shame...). So they bleach their skins with these whitening creams to create the perfect flawless complexion. Well it’s good to know somewhere in the world there’s a place that my pale little skin is appreciated too.

Monday my Sunday

When I was 6 years old my brother and I dug a hole to China in our parent’s back yard. Someone told us on the other side of the world everything will be upside down, so off course our curiosity got the better of us. Little did I know I would eventually arrive in China, thanks to an airplane ticket instead of two spades and my brother's digging motivation. And what did I find? Indeed, things where upside down... I work on Sunday, and Monday is my weekend. Weird.

 

It sounds quite nice, but I find it quite difficult to get used to. I get really bored... Maybe it's cause our brains have been programmed to work on Mondays, and therefore we dread Mondays... and now the day I usually dread is my new fun day... but my brain can only programme "work" on Mondays and now it doesn’t want to let me enjoy "fun" on Mondays... Just thinking about it confuses me!

 

Anyway, so I've made some progress. I found a new TV series on Mondays and I love it! It's called FlashForward. It's on the HBO channel  Monday evenings "back to back" - which is American for  "two episodes after each other". Off course Americans can make watching TV for two hours in a row sound so much more exciting than it is. Maybe you aren’t into Science Fiction like I am, but I think anyone would enjoy this show. Especially if you enjoyed the TV series Lost.

 

So this is the plot: On 6 October 2009, a mysterious event causes everyone on the planet to simultaneously lose consciousness for two minutes and seventeen seconds. During this "blackout" people see visions of their lives on 29 April 2010 - themselves in the future - and this is called a global "flashforward." Some flashforwards are wonderful, but others are quite distrubing... And our hero, Joseph Fiennes investigates this phenomenon while secret agents try to stop him... will all the flasforwards come true? will our hero find out the truth? will my Mondays get better than being addicted to a TV show? dum dum dummm!

Come On Summa' Summa'

I quite like living in the Northern Hemisphere now. For once I'm actually insinc with the runway fashion trends I read about all the time and dont need to wait a whole two seasons to be able to wear it. But there is something else I'm very excited about having... SUMMER BREAK!

And so with Summer break on the horison, it is also time for the best movies of the year to be released. Love it! And in Hong Kong cinemas you can see all of them in 3D... or even 4D. LOVE IT AND IM READY WITH MY POPCORN AND EXTRA LARGE COKE! Here is this summer's fantastic movie line up you all have to go see:

Iron Man 2. I confess, I havent seen the first one yet... but I'm seeing it this weekend so I can join in the Iron Man craze. It has been acclaimed the best super hero film addaption so far. That's quite some shoes to fill. Better go see it!

Robin Hood. This is a remake of the old version starring Russel Crowe, our favourite fighting machine. I've seen the preview and it REALLY looks good... think it's possible to kick the old one's ass.

Shrek 4. The last one (reaally last one) of our favourite animation film. With enhanced 3D graphics this one will be quite a treat.

Prince of Persia. This is Disney's latest project. Something between Pirates of the Carribean and Indiana Jones, it seems to be something movie goers are looking forward to. This might be a hit or mis though.

The A-Team. How long has this movie been overdue? At last! Thousands of fans have been waiting for this show to be resurrected and come to the big screen. Let's just hold thumbs it will meet expectations... and yes, Wicus van der Merwe is playing Murdock... "those blerrie prawns!"

Toy Story 3. Another sequel of the best animation of all time. I will definitely go see this in 3D.

Sex and the City 2. Another 2 hours of fabulous fashion. And this time Carrie Bradshaw is married. I love stories with characters that evolve. Sounds promissing.

Eclipse, the Twilight Saga. This is also very much overdue. I was so obsessed with this story that I've allready finished reading all four books last year because I just couldnt wait to know what will happen. So now I know exactly what will happen, but I'm still thrilled to see the movie. Infact, I'm quite looking forward to the fourth film "Breaking Dawn" because I'm curious to know how they will do it... something like Benjamin Button probably.

The Diet Challenge

This is not a sight to complain about all the eastern things I struggle with. In fact, there are a lot of very positive things in Hong Kong and this is one of them: Health. In case you haven’t noticed, the Hong Kong women are VERY skinny! They have stunning hair and beautiful skin. And what is their secret? Or is this just good genes? Of course there’s a secret! And it’s not eating dogs or cats or nothing at all. They eat a lot. Trust me. The secret is in what they drink. Green Tea.

Lots of the things the Chinese believe are a lot of willy nilly, but I found this one to be true. Drinking green tea before and after meals improves digestion and it is also a great detoxer to flush all those yukkies out. So I will take up this green tea challenge and replace all of my fluids (except water) with a glass of green tea. Remember, no sugar or milk. You can also drink Jasmine, Monkey, or any other form of green tea. Bring it on.

PS. as jou can see, they went a little overboard with the "green tea is good for you" thing...

Jenny From The Block

Chinese are best known for their innovative thinking.
How about this one:

Better known as the toilet-shower. Take a moment and have your laugh. Well, this is my shower, I use it every day. Don’t feel sorry for me, oh no. This is my Jenny-from-the-block moment. One day when I am rich and famous and living on Hong Kong Island in my penthouse overlooking Victoria harbour, I will remember this toilet-shower and where I came from. But for now, I’m still Jenny from Yuen Long.

I Want A Pet

So after living in Hong Kong for a while, I found out no one here eats dogs or cats. Why don’t you know! The one thing my friends and family warned me about is a myth (well at least in Hong Kong). What I actually DID find was how much Hong Kong’ese people love their pets. Every day and night you see people walking their pets and picking up their doodoos all over town. There are pet shops and veterinarians on every street corner. And I do love pet shops... so I can’t keep myself out of them! And these are the cutie pies I fell in love with. I WANT ONE!

This is a Standard Poodle Puppy. This WILL BE my pet soon. I love this dog SO much! Because of the long coat, they don't give off any hair. So no mess on your furniture or clothes, and people with allergies wont be affected. All together an awesome dog to have!

I love this guy! Isnt he adorable? When I saw him in the pet shop the first time, he freaked my mind. Little rodenty guy that bounced around like he downed a couple of red bulls a second ago. Because I dont speak Cantonese I couldnt find out what he is called and had to go look through some animal books to find him. Yes, indeed, this is a ChinChilla! And I want one! I got to think though... if he jumps like a croney on acid, where do you keep him so he wont fly away? And then I found this:

A ChinChilla cage. How cool is this! You don't only have a totally awesome pet, but part of the deal is building a totally awesome cage! Who doesn't want one now!

My New Shades

These are my new babies. I love Ray Bans. But there’s a story behind these. My husband bought them for me last week, but I’ve been looking for them since beginning of last year. It all started after I watched one of my favourite films for the hundredth time. Breakfast At Tiffany’s. I’ve bought Audrey’s little black dress at Marks and Spencer at it fits perfectly. I’ve bought the pearl set on Ebay and it’s even the real deal. And all I had left to find was the magnificent sunglasses she pulls of so perfectly. So the research started...

I found out it was indeed a set of Ray Bans called “Wayfarer” which was custom made for her character. Wide large rim, straight faced, tortoise shell, green black lenses. Unfortunately for me, Ray Ban discontinued this range soon after the film was released. And now I had to find a look-a-like. Half way through my search something TERRIBLE happend... October 2009 Wayfarers suddenly became popular... and now I wasn’t alone in my search anymore. Prices suddenly skyrocketed, every shop suddenly made wayfarers, and EVERYONE started wearing MY SUNGLASSES! There goes my original idea out the window. But luckily for me, the new Wayfarer brand was based on the 50’s JFK version and NOT the Audrey Hepburn version. I still had some hope. The closest I came to the real deal was the latest release Fold-up Ray Ban. But I don’t like a fold-up. Until a Saturday afternoon stroll through Yuen Long centre... I saw them, they saw me, it was love at first sight! And now I'm wearing them, thanks so my husband’s wallet. Dankie Janneman!

Public Transport

Something I have been looking forward to most when moving to Hong Kong. At last I can save some petrol and monthly car payments and use public transport! But now I am typing this from the pavement of the grocery store bus stop waiting for my bus that was supposed to be here 20 minutes ago... with an old Chinese lady in purple leopard print spandex blowing her cigarette smoke in my face... and being a little more thankful for the car I had back in SA. Don’t get me wrong, I still love using safe public transport here in the East. Trains are marvellous things, but it’s the bus that is the end of me. They are supposed to come every 15 minutes, but you always end up waiting with your heavy bag of groceries, sore feet and no place to sit for at least 15 minutes longer than the scheduled time. It doesn’t sound very long but before you know it time adds up and your whole morning has suddenly disappeared by the time you enter your front door after only stepping out to get a carton of milk. Note to myself: My next house will be close to a MTR train station and busses will only be for emergencies!

Chinese Take Aways

Yes! We all love Chinese take aways. And our favourite Chinese take away has to be Egg Fried Rice. So recently one of my Hong Kong dreams came true when I received a cooking lesson from a Hong Kong local. What was on the menu? Of course, Egg Fried Rice.

So now I've been making Egg Fried Rice every day for the past month. Am I bored? Of course not! I am a master :-) And this is how we do it:

1. Prepare your rice in advance. To be truly authentic you should use rice left in the fridge from the day before. This will add to the sticky texture. The best rice to use is Thai rice - its a eastern luxury - but any rice will do.

2. Heat some oil in a pan and add some chopped ginger and an onion. Fry until onion is see through.

3. Lower heat and add some frozen veggie mix. It's best to use the pea, corn and carrot mix. Put the lid on stir occassionally untill cooked.

4. Add a few eggs. Scramble.

4. Lower the heat and add the rice. Mix and warm the rice. Add some chopped green onion - yummy! - and a tea spoon of sesame oil.

5. Remove and serve with some soy sauce as seasoning. Enjoy!

This is the very basic recipe for Egg Fried Rice. I have a few more complex versions as well. If you want some, send me your email. Bon Appetite!

Game Night

Friday evening is the treat of the week. It's game night at Elger's house! With some lovely wine and great company we play the night away... and running for the last bus home. So here are the local games we play on game night :

Monopoly Deal: This is a great adapted version of good old Monopoly. Everyone loves Monopoly but rarely plays it anymore because it never seems to end! So now there is a shortened card version available. And it rocks! Be careful, this is highly addictive.

Mahjong: A very well known traditional eastern game as old as time itself. We've only just started playing this game as I am still a beginner and learning the basics. But a game that has been around for hundreds of years and still keeps its popularity has raised my interest. After my first few games I have discovered its not as complicated as it looks. The effort goes into getting familiar with the chinese characters and set values. There after its just up to skill and a little luck. Or if you are chinese you would say Feng Shui!