I'm here :)

Mike and I have finally arrived beautiful, sticky, humid, typhoon Hong Kong! Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers before our flight out. It was one long flight but God really met us in a huge way on our way over Russia. I could go on about our flight and the baby who wouldn't stop crying but I think I'd want to update you guys more about my recent thoughts and my first day out with Mike. (http://mikelausadventures.blogspot.com)

My first two days consisted of running around busy Hong Kong with my aunt. We went to the immigration center to apply for my visa and work out some other logistical things then we were off to Mid-Levels to her home. The next day we went to so many places - it was strange being immersed back to the highly materialistic and rich world of parts of Hong Kong. Afterall, it's been 8-9 years since I've been back and my lifestyle and even perspectives in life have completely changed. It was very overwhelming at first and pretenious at first - the allure of being rich and beautiful is all to prevalent. There are signs promoting just how fair skinned you can get and how thin you can become - it's pretty ridiculous!

But all these thoughts have led me to appreciate the simple things in life so much more. I'm thankful that God has given me a new perspective especially in a dog eat dog world such as HK - the last shall be first and the humbled shall be exalted.

One thing that He's been teaching me about is not being apathetic nor ignorant to what happens outside this 'bubble of affluence'. On almost every street corner there is a panhandler or a person with a disability sleeping. It's very overwhelming as the homeless situation here is much more visable and greater than Toronto. I pray I never grow desensitized or into a state of inaction...

In any case, today Mike and I spent the day on the MTR which is HK's subway station. It cannot even compare to TTC - it's beautiful! It's air-conditioned and you can even make phone calls! It's surprisingly sterile and clean as well! We went to Pacific Place - an upscale mall just to walk around. I'm still getting used to seeing prices like $19 for juice. (divide it by 7 without tax would be the Canadian equivalent). We took a stroll through Island Shangrila (a beautiful 5 star hotel) to visit the washroom (hah!) and then we went outside to the imfamous Hong Kong Park. A perfect place for taking pictures. I will upload some pictures when I have time.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a brief update - more solid and meaningful thoughts will come when it's more convinent to be online. I'm at Pacific Coffee Shop which is like a Starbucks but with free computer and internet use. The limit is usually 15 minutes but I've been on for almost an hour! Until next time...take care everyone. I miss you guys so much!