A Hong Kong Day

Greetings from China,

I just finished the first full day. We started out the day at the hotel buffet for breakfast. Very nice. I am making breakfast my big meal of the day. Lots of yummy choices. I had breakfast with a very nice family that is with CCAI also. They have their wonderful 11 year old daughter with them. She is a skinny minnie but ate lots! Not sure where she put it all? We met up with another CCAI family and headed out by the metro to meet up with the tour group. We had a little fun trying to figure out where exactly we needed to go to get there but made it just fine. We went to the highest peak in Hong Kong by tram. Very nice ride to the top. It was a little steep to say the least but we made it! The air quality in Hong Kong is pretty poor today. My pictures look blurry but they are not. It is the smog, etc. So you will have to take my word for it that it was an amazing view. I had a funny encounter with a rick shaw driver. I have the pictures to prove it! I was worried for a minute but it ended up being funny! We also went to a jewelry factory. Very nice but VERY expensive jewelry. I did not buy anything. I just window shopped. All the work is done by hand and impressive. Next we went to the harbor and some people went on a boat ride around the harbor. I opted out due to the choppiness of the water so I could avoid any motion sickness issues. I am doing okay so far by taking meds but did not want to risk it! There are fishermen and their families that live on their boats. Kind of like a floating house. They pay about $1,000 a year to have their boat in the harbor instead of over $1,000 a month for an apartment and the boat is larger than the apartment they would get. We also went to an outdoor market.
Here is a list of the top things that I learned about Hong Kong today (disclaimer: I am going on memory and the info of my tour guide!):
#1) Population of Hong Kong is about 7 million.
#2) Hong Kong consists of islands and a peninsula.
#3) Hong Kong has a government separate from Mainland China.
#4) Hong Kong was turned back over to China in 1997 from Great Britain.
#5) Unemployment rate is only about 4.2% and they do NOT have unemployment insurance.
#6) Hong Kong has lost a lot of its manufacturing to China due to cheaper labor costs but the more high tech and final details, and packing are done in Hong Kong.
#7) Hong Kong is #4 in the world for producing fine gem stone jewelry.
#8) Hong Kong is VERY clean.
#9) The official languages in Hong Kong are Cantonese and English.
#10) Hong Kong has tons and tons of Palm trees!
#11) The Space Museum is full of the US Space history info.
#12) A 2 bedroom apartment that is about 500 square feet (for a family of 4) costs over $1,000 US dollars a month and a small apartment to buy is over $400,000 in US dollars!
#13) Hong Kong DOES NOT have the one child policy but according to our guide, with the size of apartments they are having smaller families compared to their parents who had 4-6 children.
#14) There are tons of smokers in Hong Kong! That along with the pollution is a little tough on the lungs.
#15) $20.00 HK money is worth about $3.00 US and $100.00 HK money is worth about $14.00 US.
#16) Most things cost more in Hong Kong than China.
#17) There are little side walks with pebbles imbedded in them to massage your feet while you walk but have lots of warnings?
#18) The subway is called the Metro and was very clean and easy to use.
#19) The people from Mainland China have to get special permission from the government to come to Hong Kong and must return to China.
#20) It has some type of government run health care and if a legal resident goes to the hospital for anything even an operation, they pay $100.00 HK dollars BUT if a non resident does the same it costs them over $3,000 HK dollars.
#22) They were quite a few people walking their dogs today. I never saw one dog in Beijing or any other city last time.
#23) Cab rides in Hong Kong are SCARY!!!!!!!
My favorite sight in Hong Kong today..... Lots and lots of beautiful children! Got me thinking about why I am really here and that would be Sarah!

In less than 24 hours I will be united with Fu Chuan Xin- Sarah Lan Stevens! I leave the hotel around 9am for the airport and arrive in Nanchang around 1:40pm. Not quite sure what time they bring Sarah to me but I am hoping I have a few minutes to get settled in.

I am very glad I have spent this time in Hong Kong and am so happy to have met the families I hung out with today! There are a few kiddos about to get themselves some wonderful parents on Monday!

Please pray for Sarah and her transition over the next few days. Please also pray that I will be exactly who she needs me to be for her. I feel prepared for whatever may come but am praying for a smooth and easy transition for her......

There will be one less orphan in the world tomorrow and there will be one new Stevens family member... Isn't it amazing how this all works.....
Next stop Nanchang, Jinagxi
Blessings,
Brenda