Charlotte's first day of school

Friday was Charlotte's turn to start school.  Normally, when Charlotte wakes up in the morning, she likes to get in our bed and cuddle with us for a little bit.  On Friday morning she didn't want to cuddle, she wanted to get ready for school right away.  She emerged a few minutes later completely dressed, including her shoes.  Then it was time for breakfast.  Charlotte normally has a large appetite, but she said she only wanted yogurt so she wouldn't be late for school.  We still had more than 30 minutes before we had to leave and  I convinced her to eat more than yogurt, but she still didn't eat as much as normal.  Finally, it was time to go.

We dropped off Tommy with his teacher and then walked her to her classroom.  She eagerly greeted her teacher and went into her classroom without any hesitation.  She happily sat on the rug to look at a book with the rest of her class.

When I picked her up she was all smiles and said she had a good day.  She also got a good report from her teacher.

When we were walking home, I noticed she was wearing different socks.  Then, I noticed her shoes looked like they were pretty worn considering it was the first day she had worn them.  I figured she must have switched socks and shoes with someone by accident.  I asked her and she was very adamant she had not taken her shoes off that day and those were her shoes.  Luckily, the moms (or mums) in her class have a chat group, so I asked if anyone else came home with different socks and shoes and figured out whose shoes we had.  Now I know I need to label everything the kids wear to school.  I guess that is one downside to everyone wearing the same thing.  :)  Overall, it was a great start to the school year.

Tommy's first day of school!

Finally, it was the first day of school!  For Charlotte's class, since they are younger, half start on Thursday and the other half start on Friday to help make the first day a little easier.  Charlotte was scheduled to start on Friday.  So, on Thursday, we all walked Tommy to school.  His school has a very strict uniform.  We have to buy all his shirts and shorts from the uniform shop and they specify all white socks and all black shoes with no markings.  He also has to have the school bookbag.  He has a different white uniform he wears on gym days along with the all white (no markings) shoes he has to have.  On swimming days, he will have to change into his school swimsuit (swim trunks and a rasher) as well as use his school robe.  Here he is in the morning all ready to go. 

He was nervous, but excited to go to school and I think it made him feel a little more grown up that he was starting the first day and Charlotte had to wait a day.  We walked Tommy up to his class and while his teacher was greeting him, Chloe, the little girl who lives next door, came over and told her teacher she knew Tommy and offered to show him where to put his things.  At pickup, his teacher told me they each have a lunch buddy who they eat with every day at a specific table along with 2 students from the other 3 classes eating at that time.  Chloe picked Tommy to be his lunch buddy right away.  I think it was really good for Tommy to have a familiar face.

Charlotte and I had a fun girls' day.  We went shopping to buy her some new white shoes.  Then we went out for dim sum for lunch.  Charlotte likes eating all the Chinese food here where Tommy prefers to eat familiar things from back home.  I went to a restaurant where they didn't speak English.  I just pointed to the dishes that other people had that I wanted to order.  I thought one of the things was just a bowl of rice with a little chicken or pork.  The man that was eating it was about half finished.  When it arrived, it had 2 fried chicken feet on top.  I gave one to Charlotte and she happily ate it.  I ate a couple bites of mine to try it and was finished.  Charlotte asked if she could have the rest of mine.  :)  We did a little more shopping and went home and I painted Charlotte's nails.  We played a little and then it was time to go get Tommy. 

He was smiling and seemed to have a good day when we picked him up.  He said he had a good day.  He was excited they had stations today and he got to play with Legos for a little bit.  :)

Tommy's class getting their bookbags at the end of the day.

We had popsicles after school and had a special dinner to celebrate.  Overall, it was a good day.

Trio Beach

Today we decided to go to the beach.  We decided to go in the late afternoon to help avoid the heat. 

I had read Trio Beach was good if you have young kids. A lot of the beaches include taking public transportation or a car to a certain point and then a 30-45 minute hike to the beach.  To get there, we had to take the shuttle from our neighborhood to the train station, 2 trains, a bus (a minibus or "public light bus" with only 16 seats--Tommy has been wanting to ride one of these), then we walked to the pier and we took a boat to the beach.  It took us almost 2 hours to get there.

Our boat to the beach

Trio Beach

When we first got there, the kids play in the sand underneath our umbrella for a while.  They quickly got to work building roads and train tracks and a lake for the trains and cars to go around.

Then we had fun playing in the water for a while.  It was the kids first time in salt water and their first time playing in the waves.

Tom throwing Charlotte in the air.

After we played back in the sand for a while longer, we got changed and rode the boat back to the pier and ate dinner at a Thai restaurant.  We were all very hungry and it was delicious.  By this time, it was 7:30 and we were all very tired.  We went to catch the minibus back to the train station.  Unfortunately, Sunday evening is a popular time for people to be traveling, so buses kept passing us that were full or only had 1 seat open.  After about 5 or 6 buses went by, Tom looked up a double-decker bus we could take instead. (It allows you to stand so rarely is too full for them to stop.)  It was much slower, but we got where we needed to go.  By the time we got home, it was almost 10 and we were all very tired.  It had been a long, but fun day!

Zoo!

Today we decided to go to the Hong Kong Zoo which is officially called the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.  I wanted to have a day in Central to celebrate Charlotte's birthday and when I gave her several options of things to do, she picked the zoo.  We decided if we got ready early we could ride most of the way with Tom to work.  The kids were really excited about being about to ride with Daddy in the morning.  I looked up possible routes, and found what looked like a decent one that included riding on one of the buses Tom can take to the office.  This route had a 15 minute walk after we got off the bus, but I didn't think that was a big deal and the other options included several buses and still at least a 5 minute walk.
We got off the bus and started walking.  After a couple minutes, I got worried.  Pretty much our entire walk was straight uphill.  We were in a part of Hong Kong called the Mid-Levels which is VERY steep.  The Mid Levels have the world's longest covered outdoor escalator (around half a mile.  It was built to help commuters handle the steep terrain.  About 2/3 of the way there, Charlotte stopped and told me she didn't think she could make it.  The map showed a food kiosk, so I told them we could get something to eat when we got there, possibly ice cream.  (Maybe bribery isn't the best method, but it was hot and very steep and I definitely didn't want to have to carry her the rest of the way.)  At one point, we got to the top of a big hill and came to an intersection.  One way continued straight up, the other was flat and curved around.  Tommy started walking in the flat direction and told me there was no way he was going up the hill.  Luckily, it led into the entrance of the zoo.  :)

The zoo was nice, but very small.  Much smaller than what we are used to.  It is combined with the Botanical Gardens, so there are lots of trees and plants.  It was nice because the trees were big and most of the walkways were shaded.  It took us a while before we found any animals.  First, we saw some tortoises. 

There were 2 enclosures with tortoises, and then another long walkway with plants and trees.  Then, we came to a big cage with monkeys in it.  The kids liked watching the monkeys.  Unfortunately, the cages were surrounded by several feet of grassy area, then a fence and walkway.  It was hard to really get a good look at them from that far away.  There were also a few other mammals in cages on the other side.

Then we started to look for the food stand.  The map showed it being really close to where we were, but we kept walking in different directions and couldn't find it.  The area is really hilly with a lot of big trees, so you can't see too far in any direction.  We finally asked someone, and she told us we had to go through this underground tunnel to get to the lower section of the zoo with the food stand.  I wish they would make that more clear on the map!  We finally found it and indeed they did have ice cream.  Both kids picked a chocolate drumstick.  :)

Then we walked through the greenhouse and by the birds (Charlotte liked the flamingos).  I think we saw pretty much all the animals they had at the zoo, even though we had only seen a handful.  We found a taxi and took it to Tom's office so we could all have lunch.  (We were not going to attempt to walk the 15 minutes to his office, even if it should have been downhill.)  We ate at a pizza place in the Mid-Levels (and rode part of the escalator).  Then the kids and I took the bus, train, and shuttle back to our house.  Overall, it was a fun and busy day.

Charlotte's 4th birthday!

Today was Charlotte's birthday.  It is hard to believe she is 4 years old already.  Originally, I wanted to take her to Disneyland for her birthday, but it is so hot here and I kept reading reviews talking about the long lines without any shade and decided that it wouldn't be the best idea.  I am really glad we didn't try it, because there were thunderstorms this morning and I had also read reviews about how they close all the outdoor rides for hours if there is a thunderstorm warning.

Charlotte's pose this morning when I asked to take her picture.  She really wanted to wear her leggings today, even though it was in the 90s.

 I was a little concerned about trying to make a cake in my toaster oven, so I asked Charlotte if she wanted to get a cake at the bakery.  We had several conversations about how we were going to go to the bakery so she could pick out the kind she wanted.  This morning, I was cooking something in the kitchen and Charlotte asked when I was going to make her cake.  I reminded her we were going to get it at the bakery.  She matter-of-factly told me that I was going to make her cake, she didn't want to get it at the bakery.  So, instead of a trip to town to go to the bakery, we walked to the store to buy a cake mix.  I also had to borrow a mixer from the neighbor.  The toaster oven worked great and the cake was really good. I am glad she changed her mind.  :)

We had either planned on Tom taking the day off and us doing something as a family, or the kids and I going to the island to do something fun and Tom meeting us for lunch.  Tom ended up having to make his first trip to China today for some meetings, so we will go to the island and meet him for lunch tomorrow.

After lunch, I made some "Frozen" snow from a recipe my mother-in-law sent me.  Charlotte had a lot of fun playing with her dolls. Cinderella and Ariel had to stand in for Elsa and Anna. 

Then, Charlotte had ballet and we stopped and got a treat at the bakery on the way home (the local bakery, not the one where we were going to get the cake.)  We played at home until Tom got back from work, then we went up to the country club for dinner.  After dinner, we had cake (and ice cream) and Charlotte opened her presents (we bought a few presents here and several of our family members had sent presents with us when we left). 

We had a little time to play with her new presents, then it was time to get showers and finish the night with the birthday tradition of Tom reading Happy Birthday to You! by Dr. Seuss (or Birthday Bird as we call it in our house.)

Overall, it was a good day. We love her so much and can't believe how fast she is growing up. 

First trip to China!

Today was  my first trip to China to visit the Tencent office.  I've never seen an office dedicated to publishing such a wide variety of games - it was fantastic!

After double checking that I really would "eat anything" I was treated to a nice lunch, including chicken and pig feet, cow stomach, various pork and ribs, duck neck and goose egg.  I also had my first exposure to Chinese Coke.

I'll be visiting the Shenzhen often so I look forward to many more great trips!

The border.  Last stop on the Hong Kong MTR is in building on the left, China is on the right.

Electric-powered Taxis!

Mascots!

Wonderful lunch - the food kept on coming.

Our Shipment!

Our shipment arrived!  We were so excited to see our things again.  It had been 7 1/2 weeks since they had loaded everything into the container in St. Louis. 

All packed up in St. Louis

Arriving in Hong Kong

 First, they unloaded all the boxes from the truck and put them in the garage.  They didn't use a walkway to  bring the items down, they just lifted everything.  Every item had been marked with a number and the inspector checked every item off his list.  (We had 116 items).  They unboxed or unwrapped all the furniture and single items before they brought them inside.  Luckily part of their service was taking all the boxes and wrapping with them. 

Garage with all the empty boxes and paper.

It has been a very busy last few days.  I have been working on organizing everything and figuring out where everything should go.  It has been 2 days and I have the kids' rooms and the kitchen finished.  The kitchen was quite a project. 
Here are the before pictures right after the boxes were unpacked.

 And the after pictures:

I need to finish our bedroom and the kids' playroom.  The playroom will be quite a project.  I underestimated the amount of toys they have and overestimated the size of the playroom.  The kids have been kept pretty busy playing with all their new (old) toys.

Tommy and Charlotte playing Legos before the moving men had even left.

We are glad to have all our things, but here is what we were most excited to get:

Tom-his clothes.  He only brought 1 pair of jeans because the weather is so hot, but his office is freezing, so he prefers to wear jeans.  Another good reason he works from home 2 days a week.

Jenneke-My kitchen things, especially my spices, kitchen utensils, and glass storage containers.

Tommy-his Legos!

Charlotte-her dolls, accessories, and more art supplies.

I have started a box of items we shouldn't have brought that will go into our storage area.  There isn't too much in it right now, 2 cookie sheets that won't fit in my oven, my magic bullet and accessories (I misread the voltage and thought it would work with an adapter), and my dryer balls (I don't have a dryer).  But overall, we are happy with what we have.  Tom was lamenting he didn't bring ALL his tools.  Our garage is pretty empty, and you never know when you are going to need a miter saw, nail gun or a drywall lift... 

Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping has its differences in Hong Kong.  The grocery store where we do most of our shopping, called International, is part of a huge Park N' Shop chain with stores all over Hong Kong.  Our store just services our neighborhood, so it is pretty small.

One of the main differences, for me, has been the prices.  Groceries are not something I spent a lot of money on in St. Louis.  I would try to combine sales and coupons and spend less than $50/week.  Our food budget has increased dramatically in Hong Kong.  

Many of the items, definitely all the meat and dairy, are clearly marked with what country it is from.  Most of the chicken is from China, which I try to stay away from, they sell a lot of pork, and this seems to be the most reasonably priced meat.  We get most of our pork from Brazil.  (Brazil and China are usually the only options.)  There is also very little beef (I haven't seen any from China).  It is mainly from Australia and Canada and usually very expensive.  (Around $7-10USD/lb for ground beef or thinly sliced strips.)  They also sell lamb and fish.  There is a butcher counter, but I haven't bought anything from there.  Those items are even more expensive.

Beef package from Australia

Dairy is also VERY expensive.  I paid around $10USD for a 1 lb bag of cheese.  That was the value package!  Milk is about $2.50 for a quart (so $8/gallon equivalent), on sale.  Regular yogurts are at least $1 each and greek yogurt is around $2.  They do discount the yogurt occasionally, often a week or more before the sell by date, so I have picked up some better deals.

Produce prices are actually pretty similar to prices in the US.  Just like you would expect, in season items are cheaper, and if you want specialty fruit imported from the other side of the world, it will cost more.  Some items are cheaper at the open air markets, but not all.  For example, oranges are about the same, but they both have Sunkist stickers on them and are probably from the same source.  Items that are grown locally are often much cheaper in the market.

Our store has a pretty small selection of items.  There are usually only a few choices of brand for different items.  Most items have a store brand.  If items don't have a store brand (like tortillas), they are usually pretty expensive (Almost $4USD for a pack of 8).  I am assuming the Chinese don't eat many tortillas and it is considered a specialty item.  Of course there are a few items that have a large selection.  I wanted to buy some soy sauce and they have a whole section.  I never knew there were so many different varieties. 

Soy sauce

They also have quite a selection of rice.  Of course, you can't buy it in a 12 oz. box like in the US.  Most people buy it in a 5 kg (around 11 lbs.) bag.

rice

There are a few basics I have not been able to find, like baking soda.  I will have to look at a bigger store to see if I can find it there.