Aqua Luna

Hello Excellent Ones,
Way back when, on the day I turned 51 I took a cruise with a few friends on the Aqua Luna.  The Aqua Luna is a motorized Junk and is a moving landmark of Hong Kong.  Its image is everywhere.  Brochures, stamps, propaganda leaflets…etc.    March 25 in Hong Kong was a little hazy, but that was ok, blistering heat would not have been great on the exposed deck of the Aqua Luna.  Mind you as one of the pictures clearly show you can take shelter in the lovely little tea house built right on the boat.

The cruise followed the shore line of Hong Kong island and we travelled for about an hour and a half.  The sun was nice, the elevator music that they played constantly was actually nice,  the glass of wine  I had was nice, the gentle talking of my friends was nice, the rocking of the boat was nice, the cool sea breeze was nice, the soft comfortable sofa thing I was on was nice, and as a result I could not help but doze off.  That was nice.

So my 51st was a memorable one in that my troubles seemed so far away as I seriously "chilled," and "hung out," with a good group of people who dozed off like me. A guess that is what you call a good time when you get over 50.  A sip of wine, a nice chat, soak in some sun, and a nap.  Getting older ain't too bad at all.

God bless you.

Love adios and peng on!

Dirk

Aqua Luna!

About to board.

Chilling and hanging out on deck.

The on deck teahouse.  Very quaint and nice.

View from the Aqua Luna.

Soccer!

Hello Superb Ones,
Pele, the greatest soccer player in the world, once said soccer was the, "beautiful game."  I agree it is a great game.  It is also the greatest international game as this blog posting will attest to later.  I played for quite a few years in Red Deer and I enjoyed playing on a team, moving the ball around,  watching my teammates score goals, cause I certainly could not, and winning.  Here in HK I don't play anymore, but I pretty well coach year round at my school CAIS.  In the fall I coach 12-14 year old boys and in the spring I coach 16-18 year old boys.  Some noteworthy differences between HK soccer and Red Deer soccer are as follows:
1.  Soccer is played outdoors year round and is very popular among men.  I have yet to see HK woman play.
2.  Hong Kong attracts some big name teams to play exhibition games.  Chelsea came last year.
3.  Pitches here are either cement or artificial turf.  There are very few grass pitches.  At least this is better than Guatemala where they played on volcanic rock, or even Red Deer, hard packed, gopher holed, prarie land.
4.  Games are played late into the night under lights.

My boys team U20 (under 20 years old) are an interesting group.  There is big mouth Joon Wan from Korea, who is very tricky with the ball, Andrew from India who runs like the wind and checks opponents like a hockey player, Ronald and Dom from China who are very talented and strong, Jun from Japan who does not like rain and puts a plastic bag over his head when he has to practise in the rain, this gets plenty of laughs.  Conrad from the USA who is big and strong and what he lacks in skill he makes up for it with heart, Gideon the Chinese Canadian who is everywhere on the pitch like a mosquito,  Raf is a filipino who can run like a sprinter without the ball, but when he gets the ball he slows way down.  Then there is Samad  who is half Chinese/Indian who runs like the wind and has great talent, but is always late to practise and games, ugh, and then there is the goalie, a blond Italian with a mouth as big as Joon Wan.  When those two start blabbing it is hard to stop.  At least for the most part it is entertaining.  Despite these international differences they are united by English, their faith, and love for soccer. We have also done pretty well this season so that is great.   Truly soccer is the beautiful game.

Love adios and peng on!

Dirk

Kunming

Hello Interesting People,
This past Wednesday I took Alf and Helga to the HK airport and bid them aufwiedersehen.  After seeing them off I hung around the airport for another hour and then said hello to an old friend of mine Brent Kirchner from Lethbridge, Alberta.  I have known him since dirt was invented and even though we are quite different in terms of physical size and interests, we do share a mutual  interest in God, travelling, and cultural experiences.  After giving Brent a blitz tour of HK over a day and a half we took a two hour flight to Kunming, China where his wife's relatives live.

Kunming is located near the Vietnam, Thai and Mynmar borders.  It is a midsize Chinese city of about
6 000 000  people!  Seriously.  Kunming is located on a flat plateau at an altitude of about 6000 feet and enjoys a year round mild climate of about 25 degrees and the skies are blue because of a gentle cool breeze that constantly blows.  Lovely.  It is called the city of eternal spring and I agree it is pretty sweet.  Heat without humidity is nice as well.  Yet when I ran I was wheezing quite a bit due to the altitude.  Not enough air!

Here are some highlights of my stay in Kunming:
-spent two days with a "real," Chinese family.  Wan Chi (Brent's brother in law)  and his wife Nancy and daughter Becky were great hosts.
-walked around Green Lake.  Green swamp really.  The ornate archways, the graffiti on the bamboo, and the statue of a guy holding a weedwhacker was interesting.
-had English corner (speaking English with some Chinese) with three native Chinese, Brent, and an American who claimed to have been a prof at UCLA, a millionaire, a car designer for Mazda, owned 40 acres in Michigan, and said his IQ was ranked near the top of all mankind as was his wife's.  More like his nonsense was ranked near the top of all mankind.  He was bizarre and I will always remember his name because it is Kirk.  Still I had a good laugh about it all later.
-went to Walmart.  Terrible.  Way too crowded, but the frozen frogs in the meat section were to die for.  Also the skinned rabbits, head and eyes included, no ears however, (maybe they are found in another section like the chips and snacks department) looked real good. (Gag)
-walked along a canal and was amazed at all the old people playing cards or Ma jong.  Some were dressed in their old Mao suits.  Interesting.
-had a dinner with a Chinese Christian youth group at a restaurant who later were ministered to by a Christian college group from South Africa.  The reason Brent and I were there was because Brent's brother in law and his wife are pastors of a huge church in downtown Kunming and they had invited this group to visit their youth.  The South Africans all spoke English and the group was a mix of white, black, and a mixture of both, (in SA they are called colored.)  I talked for a while with a colored girl about South Africa and apartheid and she said that the younger generation are for the most part mixing and matching without any regard to racial differences.  The group sang great worship songs and it was cool to see how God can unite different races and ethnic backgrounds into a beautiful, encouraging, loving group who care much more about character and helping others along than worrying about race and culture.  Amen.
-went to Brent's brother in law's church and we had a chance to talk to the youth through a translator.  Judging by the reaction of the kids it went well.
-after church Brent and I wandered around a market.  The Chinese are rather cruel to animals.  The poor bunnies were in tiny cages so that was sad.
-we saw some statues which was interesting.  Many people played on them, but I did not see anyone mess with the soldiers.  Hmmmmm
-had ice cold tea lemonade at Starbucks.  Yup Kunming has Mcdonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, you name it all over the place, but always nearby there is a market where you can buy cow entrails, live frogs, etc, etc.  China is certainly an interesting place, but it is dirty and the public toilets, basically holes in the ground, make me a little sick even writing about it.  Hygiene does not seem to be a big issue in China.  Yet Christianity is growing as fast as the buildings they throw up so that is great news.

God bless you all and have a wonderful week.

Love adios and peng on!

Dirk 

O and O

Hello Great Ones,
O and O also known as Oma and Opa, Alf and Helga, Henning und Helga, Mutt and Vat arrived on Wednesday night after spending a week in Beijing and Shanghai.  I have been their personal tour guide and here are the highlights so far:
Thursday- Kowloon Walled City Park, Bird Market, Flower Market, Goldfish Market, Nunnery and Vietnamese restaurant.
Friday- Hike to Amah rock through a jungle, Historical Museum, Ladies Market
Saturday- Big Buddah, Seafood at Sai Kung
Sunday- Easter Sunday service at church.  Guest speaker was a 6'7 290 lbs black preacher from
the US of A who preached up a storm that left us inspired, but exhausted. Then we took a trolly ride through Hong Kong, and rode a boat to my future retirement place:  Lamma island.  We ate rice with seafood and celebrated O and O's 52 anniversary.

So we have done a few things.  I am going at senior speed so O and O don't get too worn out.  As an extra bonus we have been watching Peter Mansbridge and the National, a day late mind you, on the computer, but it has been kind of fun since watching the National is what I do every time I visit O and O in Calgary.  A little taste of Canada is sweet and when we saw the video of the snowfall in Edmonton we all felt a little homesick.  Ha ha ha bad joke.  Not really!  

Alf has taken @ 5000 pictures, I do not jest, and we are always, "patiently," waiting for him on our travels as every five seconds he is taking a picture with either the small camera or the big camera or both.  Helga has complained slightly about her back and knees and calves and pretty well every other muscle, but over the last, almost two weeks, O and O have walked a ton of miles, so I show understanding.   Yeah, yeah I am so good.   It has been nice having O and O and it has been nice to get my toilet seat  fixed and my kitchen has been cleaned to level 5, when before level 1 was good enough for me.

Tomorrow we take it easy and visit an art museum and later we are going to head up to the peak.  The weather has been kind of overcast, a rain patch here and there and it has been only plus 24 for a high.  Yes, please send us notes of sympathy as soon as possible.

Take care and next week due to my not being around on the weekend you will have to wait a few days before the next entry.  Wahhh.  I will be in Kunming with a friend, but the next entry should be a gooder.

Happy Easter everyone and God bless you!

Dirk

Alvin

Hello Fantastic Ones,
The best part of teaching is getting to know the kids.  Kids are great.  They make me laugh and it is great fun when you can witness them accomplishing something wonderful.  I am in the midst of Discovery Days at my school.  DDays happen every year, usually before Easter, and it is a program offered to all the junior and senior high students.  It is a chance for the kids to travel or do something interesting and different in Hong Kong.  This year there are kids going to France, Israel, India, Vietnam, and Japan.  There are also local trips and I am in charge of Hong Kong Outdoor Sports.  So far I have taken my group of 25 kids ranging from grades 7-12 hiking, paintballing, and camping.  Next week I am taking them kayaking, windsurfing, and body boarding.  What a great job I have.

One of the kids on my trip is Alvin.  He is in grade 7, he is a smart kid, and a charming kid.  Very funny and encouraging.  He is however a little vertically challenged and he has found all the hiking and camping activities a little tough.  Yet what is great is that despite his physical dimensions he has been accepted by the older kids and they help him to keep up.  This is awesome to watch.  I am thankful I am in a community where kids take care of the little guys, encourage them along, and accept them into the group.

Alvin will probably end up as a banker some day, but I hope that he will continue being active and never quit.  And I am glad for the encouragers like Alvin who have the ability to make your day a little better.  So in honour of a great guy I dedicate this blog entry to Alvin.  God bless you Alvin, and never forget to smile.

Love adios and peng on!

Dirk