Robertson Tribe Updates

We went on an impromptu outing this past week to see the endangered pink dolphins.  Yes.  Pink Dolphins.  Take a moment now and  please refer to the title of my post.

There really are pink dolphins here in China.  To be more specific, they are white and they blush to a pink color.  They aren’t exactly sure why they are pink, but think it has something to do with regulating their body temps; similar to our faces flushing when we exert ourselves.  It could be the horrid pollution in the water, but hey, who asks ME?

We did have many sightings, including one who danced for us and a mother and baby combination that was fun to watch.  Many of them were close to the surface prior to coming up for air, which allowed us to get the kids looking in the right direction in the middle of an ocean.  That was a trick, let me tell you. 

The actual boat was lovely, so we had a wonderful ride out and back, even without the dolphin sightings.  It was a perfect HKG day, with a nice breeze, so it was a great time.  Then we treated the kids (ok, and us) to lunch at TGI Fridays before making the trip back home.

Fun memories to add to the HKG experience….yay!!

Yes, there was a big earthquake in China, but we are fine. Absolutely fine.

No worries.

Edited to add: It registered on the equipment that’s used to monitor this type of thing, but no, we didn’t actually feel it. We are closer to the area than many other places/countries that did feel it, so I’m not sure why that is. Guess I should have paid better attention in science class; something about fault lines…..

I suspect that the black gecko that lives in my bathroom met the tan gecko that lives in my pantry, because now I have a creamy white itty, bitty gecko that lives in my kitchen.

I guess sharing my discouragement and sadness was a mistake judging by the responses I’ve gotten. Let me clear some things up right now.

1. I am not so despondent I’m going to jump off the roof of my apartment building.
2. I am not angry at hubby for bringing me here.
3. I will not demand we go home now.
4. I don’t hate it here.
5. I will be fine.

Please stop freaking out everyone. Only positive, upbeat posts from me from now on, ok?

B got a video camera for her birthday. She has wanted one for 4 or 5 years now. She went ballistic when she opened it in April. Since then, any poor unsuspecting person could find themselves being video taped.

This video clip is worth sharing. We were at a local park here in HKG, and L was trying to swing by herself. Often, older ladies at the park will come over and take her down, thinking she’s too small. GRRRRRR! The day this was filmed, there weren’t any ladies there, so she got to stay on. This was the first time she figured out how to pump her legs to keep herself going. She was beaming as she did it, very proud of herself. You can hear B in the background, as well as R (who got her started and is in the background for a second or two), encouraging her. Toward the end, you can catch glimpses of D next to her in a red shirt and gray pants. Please remember, this was taped by an 8 year old…be warned of erratic angles, ha ha ha. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr0JUBoXwig

The second video is of the Tea Cup ride at HKG Disney, with interesting narration by Daddy. The three oldest ventured on with Daddy, while L and I watched from the sidelines and tried not to be ill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsf_3md1IXA You catch a glimpse of L and I watching outside the fence at one point, if you’re not sick from watching it. UGH.

Enjoy.

If you convert liters to gallons, then convert HKD to USD, we pay $7.50 per gallon for gas over here.

Quityerbellyachin’

Allen came to our home for breakfast Saturday morning. We were having pancakes with REAL maple syrup (brought over in our shipment, ). Allen had never had pancakes and was ready to try them. He’s a great sport about trying anything. We fed him all sorts of new things when he came to see us in the US. Anyway, we served it to him, and he picked it up in his hands and started eating. The kids sort of looked at him funny, as they waited for their butter, syrup and a fork. He liked it just fine plain and wonders why everything we eat is so sweet.

He finished his pancakes and was staring intently at L, who is 3. I had cut her pancake up into pieces and she was carefully stabbing a piece, dipping it in her syrup and happily munching away. He said, “How old is she? She uses a fork?!” I told him how old she was and yes, she used a fork. She’d been using a fork for a while. Was that strange to him? He was shocked! He said children in China are only given spoons to use until they are older. He was 6 before he was allowed to use a fork! (He never mentioned chopsticks, so I don’t know, to answer the question you are all asking in your head).
Allen kept worrying that she would hurt herself and was concerned that we would let her have a fork. He said to hubby, “Aren’t you worried she will poke herself in the mouth?” Hubby said, “Nope. If she sticks herself in the cheek, she’ll pull.the.fork.out. She’s very self-regulating that way.” (How’s that for engineer speak. See what I deal with? )

This whole thing shed a little light on why we are always stared at as we eat in restaurants. They must think we are horrible parents for giving our children utensils! It also explains why the children’s utensils get whisked away as soon as we sit down and toddler utensils (which are dull and useless as far as our kids are concerned) are brought back to us. We are western, we have four children, they all have blue eyes like Daddy, and we use forks. Yup, we’re pretty strange all right.

Allen, a Chinese co-worker of hubby’s has always wanted to come to HKG. He’s lived in China all his life, and while he has traveled to the USA, he’s never been to HKG. For business related reasons, it worked out that he could come this weekend. He has been so excited and asking hubby lots of questions, making all kinds of plans. He also amassed a shopping list for himself and friends; things that aren’t easily attainable in China.  He was ready to take the city by storm.

After a flight delay, he and hubby finally landed Friday night and hailed a cab to get to our apartment. They hopped in and the taxi driver looked at the two of them before speaking.  Then he began speaking to Allen in Cantonese (only used in HKG) to see where they wanted to go, rather than asking hubby, who is clearly not Chinese. Allen, who only speaks Mandarin (the language of mainland China) and looks very Chinese, looked at hubby and said, “What did he say?”

Hubby was still laughing about it when they got home.

Time for a light hearted post, so I pulled out some questions that you all asked a while back and decided to answer them. Feel free to ask more!

Are Bento boxes easy to find? Yes, they are, but it’s more of a Japanese thing. You can find some neat sets in most department stores, complete with chopsticks. If you don’t know what bento boxes are, they are divided containers used to pack single portions of things to combine into a lunch. Each section is a little different in size and it usually all fits together in a neat package. They can range from pink plastic Hello Kitty ones, to lacquered and gorgeous ones with everything in between. It’s great for leftovers. You put a dab of something in one section, a bit of something else in another, rice in the big section (standard here), a handful of nuts in another….it’s quite fun.

What do you guys eat in an average day? Well, there aren’t many average days. We eat much of the same things we ate in the states, but the goal is to eat more of the local or Asian type food. It’s much cheaper to eat that way. We eat quite a bit of Fillipino food, including Pancid and spring rolls, both of which we love, love, love. We eat Chinese food, but we don’t usually make it here at home. We go out to get it because it’s so cheap. There are a few chains here so you can get American type food when you just can’t stand it any more. In fact, a week or two ago, I found a Krispy Kreme fairly close to my house (thanks to my friend B) and brought home the treat to the family. Man, was I popular!!!

Do you get to vote in the election? Yes, by absentee ballot.
Are you able to catch up on news about the States or do you even care? With the internet, we can always catch up. Do we? Nope. We both have headlines from Foxnews or CNN on our homepage, so if something major happens, we see it. Otherwise, we are blissfully unaware of what Paris Hilton has done lately, or if Brittney Spears has embarrassed herself again. That part is awesome! Be assured, however, that all that news makes it to the other side of the world. The people here are well aware of all that, and it’s one time I’m embarrassed to be from the US.
What do you miss the most so far? Here are a few things… family size appliances, my own vehicle, wide open spaces, Target, having a yard, ordering online and not having to pay astronomical shipping charges, marshmallow fluff, being able to read all the signs, craft stores, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, seeing people that look like me, and grass.

PS Can any homeschooljournal bloggers out there tell me why some of my paragraphs are spaced properly and others aren’t? I tried using return, but it didn’t work. Can someone help?

The total number of families leaving HKG before the summer is over is climbing. We are up to 7 families now, and that includes the pastor of our new church home.

Make.

it.

stop.