Dear Hong Kong,
Wow, you have already been so good to me! Yesterday we went to Disneyland and it was just so wonderful! I’ll tell you about that later. Right now I want to tell you about the angels I met this morning. Last night we got back from Disneyland and then we wandered for a little while, but upon returning I was informed that instead of the 9:45 devotional time I was to be at the bust at 7:30! Well, let’s just say after the long day I had and in the presence of an early morning, I was not in a happy-go-lucky mood.
I woke up after hanging up on both of my wake-up calls and got ready just in time to go to the bus. Like I sad … still not in a good mood. I couldn’t go to breakfast and I had a slight headache from lack of sleep … but one thing this trip has taught me is how to smile even when I don’t have the energy to breathe. All of this pity party completely disappeared the moment I was told the story of the first school we were going to visit.
Hong Kong does not have a very fair school system and this particular school was for minority international children. We were going to specifically promote higher education because there seems to be a lack of understanding as to the importance of bettering you situation through knowledge. The school was so humble and yet with nothing to give they found something to present. Their stage had completely rotted and collapsed so we performed for them right in front of their chairs. There were so sweet and eager to learn.
After that, we went to a school for the handicapped and learning impaired. Evidently it’s a rarity to find any sort of impaired children in the normal public school system because they are made to go to a separate school. Their schools also are very humble abodes but the people in them and who run them are purely angelic!
From the moment we entered the school you could tell the love the administrators have for their charges. With only 15 people we were able to very easily access the kids and really connect to them. I could have stayed there for ages and ages. I looked around secretly hoping to be caught in one of their attentions. I wanted to be special to them just like they were to me! But the instant I thought that, there was this one girl who was just staring at me and grinning ear to ear! Throughout the whole performance nothing but what seemed to be smiles of delight and encouragement came from her, like she was rooting me on.
When we got to the time where we taught the kids, she started the “Doe a Deer” song and sang with me … I had flashbacks of being Maria in “The Sound of Music” and instantly I felt a click in my brain and switched in to Maria mode. I loved every child in that room and wanted nothing more than to just sit and do whatever they wanted for hours on end. All too suddenly we had to leave … but the good news: off to another school.
This one was on the complete opposite spectrum of the scholastic food chain. This was a school for girls and one of the finest catholic schools in the country. Their facilities made my high school look like a dump! The moment we walked in the door the girls sang us a welcome song and patiently waited for us to assemble ourselves so we could share music. The girls were ranged from 5 to what looked like 12 or 13.
Looking out over them was just a sea of white uniforms and the same shade of ebony black hair. The little girls’ choir got up and sang several songs to welcome us, and then we sang for them. The look and squeals of delight were enough to send my joy meter through the roof!
Afterwards, we begged them to let us go and mingle with the little ones. The principal gave us five minutes. I couldn’t wait to go and hug one of those all too cute girls. I ran over to the middle of the mass and was met by 50 way-to-happy-to-see-me six to eight year olds. Their English was impeccable! We exchanged names they took over the conversation and wouldn’t stop telling me how beautiful and pretty I was. I bent down and they all had to touch my hat, my earring, and mostly my hair, blonde you know.
At one point I told them, “group hug!” Big mistake. They proceeded to push me over and tackle me! It had to have been the funniest looking thing to onlookers because one minute you see a red-clad blonde, next all you see is a pile of giggly squealing girls! Again, all too soon we had to leave and all the way I was bombarded with “you’re so beautiful!” I don’t think I’ve ever smiled wider.
We went to lunch at one point, which was divine by the way with course after course of tastiness topped off with a delightful red bean tapioca soup, mmm. I met the photographer who was hired to follow us while we were in Hong Kong. He and two others heaped compliment after compliment on me about how beautiful and “how much like flower” I am! Most of it was in Cantonese but I was blushing. The flower in question must have been a crimson gerber daisy! He told me he took many, many pictures of me and my face was made for the camera. … Let’s just say I am feeling pretty good right now!
And to top it all off we are currently at the temple and the coolest part is I was doing names that date back some time 1,000 years ago if not more! Now if that isn’t incredible I don’t know what is! I thought 200 was a lot! Next stop the world’s largest free-standing Buddha [statue].
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