Blue Skies Over Beijing

Because Beijing is not known for its blue skies and fresh air, we were taken by surprise when we arrived to a beautiful sunny spring day! We were so anxious to get out and see the sights that, despite having woke up at 4 a.m. to catch our 8 a.m. flight, we spent a short time catching our breath after arriving at our hotel, and then it was in a taxi through the congested streets to the Forbidden City, which is more commonly known as the Palace Museum in Beijing, and the adjacent Tienanmen Square.
Unfortunately for us, there were many buildings under renovation, no doubt trying to get as many done before the Olympics this summer. It was nice to be able to see those that had already been completed, all the bright and vibrant colors and the intricate designs. They are really beautiful. There are about 1000 buildings in the Complex, with around 9,000 rooms! The Emporer obviously lived in splendor, along with the Empress and his many concubines and servants who catered to his every whim, to say the least. . . up until about 1912, that is.
This location needs no description. It's a bit surreal to physically be present in a place you have seen on T.V. so many times.
I wonder how many people can say they cart-wheeled their way around Tiananmen Square?! You can't help but think about what took place here in this large open area in June of 1989. Not to put a downer on Zoe's happy and funny antics, but there was a lot of blood shed here by very young people.

Happy Easter and we're off to Beijing . . .

Just wanted to share a few pictures with you. We were in Central the other day and just happened to be heading back to the ferry at my favorite time of day (not) and that's lunchtime!! Hungry office workers trying to find something to eat and maybe run a quick errand before heading back to their offices - a dangerous bunch to contend with. I hold Zoe's hand very tightly walking through this crowd. You can't really make it out, but there's a rather wide street in the middle of the throng.
Guess how old Brad is now - as of February 25 - a big 4-3! Unbelievable. He's holdin' up pretty well, though.
This is what you want to see when you are looking for a taxi - no cue and plenty of red!!!!

Not sure if this is a sign for an American hippie-type wig place or just a simple play on words. We all need some "hair peace" around here with all the pollution and humidty, that's for sure.

We are looking forward to taking off for Beijing on Monday the 24th. It's been the first time we've all been on a holiday since getting back from summer break in August. That's a long time. If you lived here, you'd know just how long it was too.

Everyone we have spoken to that has been to Beijing said that it's really as incredible as you think it will be to stand on the Great Wall. And we hopefully will be doing that on Tuesday. The Kelley family and Retta's parents will be coming in on Thursday afternoon and we are all staying at the same hotel and are going to an acrobat and dinner show Thursday night and then we take off for Hong Kong the next day, so unfortunately we won't be spending very much time together on this trip.

I'll hopefully come backwith some incredible pictures to post so you can share in our trip as well.

Zoe and Friends

Zoe is at her happiest with a bunch of her friends around. Last night we had the Kelley and Christensen families over for dinner and the kids piled into Zoe's small bedroom to play for awhile before heading down to the park right beneath our building as the rowdiness got too much for our "adult" ears.
Here's Zoe and two classmates, Kiki and Khali, giving each other pedicures.

I couldn't resist adding this picture I just took yesterday. When we go into the city, Zoe usually has her earphones on to help with the ferry ride, but thankfully her motion sickness is getting better and she takes less medication for it.

Ellen's no-homework weekend!

Poor Ellen, she usually is so busy on the weekend she never has time to just completely relax because of a heavy load of homework, and this is what happened when she did this past Saturday - her naptime was cut short, however, when the pounding began from the continuing renovation on the flat above us. . . at which point we all left the flat because it was so loud! It was a beautiful day, though, and we ended up having lunch with a group of friends at the Plaza.
Ellen's friend, Chloe, came all the way over from Hong Kong Island, (that's the way people think who live on Hong Kong Island) a mere three miles away, to have a sleepover. Her parents were a bit uncomfortable with her traveling all the way out here by herself, so Ellen took the ferry over and met her at the Central ferry pier and came right back with her. But it was worth it because they had a lot of fun and here Ellen is showing Chloe the DVD of her Farmingville Graduation, to show her what going to school in the United States is like. At one point in the video there's a picture of a yellow school bus and that was unique for Chloe to see, as was all those "blue-eyed" kids.
This is Chloe, Ellen and Alicia. Alicia is also a school chum of Ellen's who lives nearby and she attends our church. Ellen was very excited about Chloe spending the weekend with her because it was the first time she had ever attended church.
And last but not least, is a picture of Zoe in the skit her Sunday school class performed about Palm Sunday. Unfortunately, she was not able to completely memorize her lines, thus the "cheat sheet" she is holding. But she spoke very clearly and did a great job and everyone enjoyed the play.

'worth a thousand words'

We had such a fun trip on this "junk" boat to Lamma Island, an outlying island about 30 minutes from Hong Kong. It was a very relaxing time as we sat up on the top and took in the sights. This is a big tourist spot, yet is also very popular with the Chinese crowd because of the seafood that is farmed in the waters right around the island. I have never had seafood cooked in the Chinese style, and now I can say I have had it and have no desire to ever have it again.

But it was wonderful to see "old glory" flying in the breeze from this boat, as one of the owners is originally from Vernon, Connecticut! All of these buildings are seafood restaurants and they have big tanks that hold the bounty from the sea for you to choose from, so you know it's very fresh.

I'm a blogger!!!!

Greetings from Discovery Bay, Hong Kong!

(That's Zoe and Retta's son, Jack, just hangin' out at the playground)

My friend, Retta, told me that I could do this all by myself, and here it is - a place for friends and family, who are oh so far away, to keep track of the four Hicks here on the other side of the world. I know that Retta has fun posting pictures and writing about their family's experiences, and I am looking forward to sharing with you the crazy world we find ourselves living in at times. . . The latest development in our lives, the one pressing in on us the most, is the fact we must move within the next month. The owners of our flat, who are now living in Seoul, Korea, have sold this 1,000 sq. ft apartment for a cool $1 million (yes, that's U.S.). The owners are not investors, unfortnately, and they are eager to move in, so we are on the flat-hunt again today. My sister heard me doing the dishes the other day while we were talking on the phone and she said, "Are you doing the dishes?" I said, "Yes." And she said, "You mean that flat is worth $1 million and it doesn't have a dishwasher?" I said, "Yes, Welcome to Hong Kong!" The really negative part for us is that rents have shot through the roof, so we are more likely than not going to be moving into something smaller and not so newly renovated. Well, the consolation is there are so many in the same boat. Although it's a very, very small consolation. But, as my sister-in-law has been known to say, "It is what it is," so we have to find something here pretty quickly.

On a brighter note, we had a wonderful time having dinner at The Peak last night with friends from Ridgefield, who now live in the U.K. We took the Peak Tram up and back and the food was delivious, the views spectacular and we had a lot of fun catching up and sharing our experiences with friends. In fact, I may head out to "help" them find the Jade Market so they can do some Hong Kong shopping - okay, I know it's a sacrifice on my part, but that's just the kind of person I am. . .

I will post more pictures after I upload them from my camera. Stay tuned, folks!!



Carol