Fontaine's Musings - I'm Going To Be A Grandmother!
Sunday, 31 January 2010 12:27
July 18, 2009 - This was my 2nd day in Austin Texas; Marcus and I were alone cooking in the kitchen. He blurted out “Mom, if everything has gone normal, you would have become a grandmother already.” Keeping my composure (God was holding back my tears because I am the emotional type that cry even at Disney movies) I responded calmly by saying God has different plans for different families.
August 27, 2009 – While I was getting ready to go to San Francisco airport to fly back to Hong Kong, Marcus called. Instead of a simple “have a safe trip home, mom” he told me they thought they were pregnant and would confirm with a doctor in the next few days. Marcus and Jocelin were very excited of the pregnancy but I had mixed emotions. I was happy but I was also quite concerned. I started crying because I didn’t know what to expect...
Last night Pei and I had dinner at a restaurant and the statement came out to be HK $199. We gave the waitress a $500 bill. Instead of giving us 3@$100 bills and one dollar as change, she gave us 2@$100, 4@$20, 1@$10, 2@$5 and one $1 coin.
Sun Nin Fai Lok! (Cantonese) or Xin Nian Kuai Le !(Putonghua) or Happy Chinese New Year. the year of the rat. The only adorable rat obviously is Ratatouille ah ha!!
To us living in Asia, this is a time of feasting, red envelopes and holidays; to those of you living in the States, it may be just another regular day (except in San Francisco, where my daughter lives, where the city has declared Chinese New Year as a city holiday!). Regardless, each new day is a gift from God as no one can guarantee being able to wake up the next day.
May this Easter greetings find you well.Though this was intended to be 06' X'mas greetings,it never made its way to the screen. Anyway it's better late than never, right?! Life in Hong KOng is never uneventful. Food has always been an issue in 2006. Chicken/Bird Flu on and off has been the greatest fear. Salted egg, mostly imported from China, was found to have an ingredient in its yolk that may cause cancer. Then Oil Fish, for whatever reason has been sold as Cod Fish, brought about unpleasant diarrhea to many folks. It's still very vivid in my mind that regular eggs from America were sold U.S.$4.00 a dozen at a time when eggs from China was a concern. So what do we eat? How come Pei and I haven't shed any pounds? On the other hand during these 4 1/2 years in HOng Kong I have eaten so many more folds of Lychee, Lun-Yen, Mangoes, Mooncakes and Xiaolunbao than all the 34 years in the States. The first four are my favorites and the last is Pei's. It's Pei's research project to scout all restaurants that serve up the best Xiaolunbao. My heart's delight is the plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables. Hong KOng's economy,according to the government,has bounced back to a certain degree. Food and consumer goods have gone up in prices as well. A baked BBQ bun used to cost HK$4.30,then $4.50,then $4.80, now is &5.80. We need to switch eating something else.
In Hong Kong people walk quite fast especially during rush hours. Time is such a precious commodity here. Many even try to dash in the subway the very last second before the door closes. When I moved to Hong Kong four years ago, I was extremely irritated by people frequently cutting into my path on the streets, in the mall, basically everywhere.
I love travelling and truly enjoy visiting friends and sightseeing. Lately I notice my "packing" pattern has changed. In the past what I was concerned about most was what to wear during the trip plus all the accessories that will make me look beautiful, ah ha!
Several weeks ago I flew to San Franciso from Austin and believe it or not, I had three toddlers less than two years old sitting one on my left, one on my right and one in front. Except the latter, these baby boys were travelling with their moms alone.
The name of the church where Pei is serving is Evangelical Free Yan Fook (YF) Church whose senior pastor, Patrick So, started our church in Arlington, Texas in 1981. He came back to Hong Kong (HK) in 1986 and with a humble beginning of about 100 people has now an average Sunday attendance of about 7000 babies to elderly inclusive.
People in Hong Kong have never heard of a name like “Fontaine”. They think it’s very different and unusual; but that’s exactly the reason I like it sooooooo much. Having lived in the east for a few years now, I have never come across names like Drew, Chandler, Blair, Dimitri, Benji, Travis, Vernon, Harriet, Lindsey, Donyelle, Alisha in Hong Kong but likewise there are names used here that you seldom see, at least not anyone I know of, in the States. Following is the list that I have collected so far:
Having lived in the States for so long and now living in Hong
Kong, I have witnessed many differences in the East-West
philosophy, culture, mentality, practice, custom etc., and they are quite
interesting. Following is one of the many.
July 18, 2009 - This was my 2nd day in Austin Texas; Marcus and I were alone cooking in the kitchen. He blurted out “Mom, if everything has gone normal, you would have become a grandmother already.” Keeping my composure (God was holding back my tears because I am the emotional type that cry even at Disney movies) I responded calmly by saying God has different plans for different families.
Last night Pei and I had dinner at a restaurant and the statement came out to be HK $199. We gave the waitress a $500 bill. Instead of giving us 3@$100 bills and one dollar as change, she gave us 2@$100, 4@$20, 1@$10, 2@$5 and one $1 coin.
May this Easter greetings find you well.Though this was intended to be 06' X'mas greetings,it never made its way to the screen. Anyway it's better late than never, right?! Life in Hong KOng is never uneventful. Food has always been an issue in 2006. Chicken/Bird Flu on and off has been the greatest fear. Salted egg, mostly imported from China, was found to have an ingredient in its yolk that may cause cancer. Then Oil Fish, for whatever reason has been sold as Cod Fish, brought about unpleasant diarrhea to many folks. It's still very vivid in my mind that regular eggs from America were sold U.S.$4.00 a dozen at a time when eggs from China was a concern. So what do we eat? How come Pei and I haven't shed any pounds? On the other hand during these 4 1/2 years in HOng Kong I have eaten so many more folds of Lychee, Lun-Yen, Mangoes, Mooncakes and Xiaolunbao than all the 34 years in the States. The first four are my favorites and the last is Pei's. It's Pei's research project to scout all restaurants that serve up the best Xiaolunbao. My heart's delight is the plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables. Hong KOng's economy,according to the government,has bounced back to a certain degree. Food and consumer goods have gone up in prices as well. A baked BBQ bun used to cost HK$4.30,then $4.50,then $4.80, now is &5.80. We need to switch eating something else.
In Hong Kong people walk quite fast especially during rush hours. Time is such a precious commodity here. Many even try to dash in the subway the very last second before the door closes. When I moved to Hong Kong four years ago, I was extremely irritated by people frequently cutting into my path on the streets, in the mall, basically everywhere.
I love travelling and truly enjoy visiting friends and sightseeing. Lately I notice my "packing" pattern has changed. In the past what I was concerned about most was what to wear during the trip plus all the accessories that will make me look beautiful, ah ha!
Several weeks ago I flew to San Franciso from Austin and believe it or not, I had three toddlers less than two years old sitting one on my left, one on my right and one in front. Except the latter, these baby boys were travelling with their moms alone.
The name of the church where Pei is serving is Evangelical Free Yan Fook (YF) Church whose senior pastor, Patrick So, started our church in Arlington, Texas in 1981. He came back to Hong Kong (HK) in 1986 and with a humble beginning of about 100 people has now an average Sunday attendance of about 7000 babies to elderly inclusive.
People in Hong Kong have never heard of a name like “Fontaine”. They think it’s very different and unusual; but that’s exactly the reason I like it sooooooo much. Having lived in the east for a few years now, I have never come across names like Drew, Chandler, Blair, Dimitri, Benji, Travis, Vernon, Harriet, Lindsey, Donyelle, Alisha in Hong Kong but likewise there are names used here that you seldom see, at least not anyone I know of, in the States. Following is the list that I have collected so far:
Having lived in the States for so long and now living in Hong
Kong, I have witnessed many differences in the East-West
philosophy, culture, mentality, practice, custom etc., and they are quite
interesting. Following is one of the many.