Sooo... Hong Kong

Well today I've finally had my first real taste of what it's like here... and more to the point, what it will BE like as my time progresses.

So let's talk about my impressions of the city.

Well I can see why people think there's lots of shopping here. Cause there is. I mean for those of you who haven't been. Picture the Glen including Kings Way, and multiply that by say 3 or 4. That's the average shopping area around the place I'm staying. It's just that theres an area like this in EVERY suburb... and the suburbs are like 1/2 the size of ours! It's like a city of shopping malls, shopfronts, markets and skyscrapers. Really it's like living in the CBD all the time except with less offices and more malls. It's crazy!

There's a lot of walking and public transport here. The roads are filled with trucks, vans, dodgy old taxis and really hot sports cars. Lots of porsches, Nissans and convertibles. Crossing roads is interesting, as are the signs which tell you which way you should be looking when aproaching the street.

The weather is perfect... and it's really quite pleasent to walk about (at least in this current season) as long as there's a good breeze. I'm staying near the harbour and so it's really awesome. I'll hopefully be getting a camera on Wednesday, so pics might be up by the end of the week. The air isn't all that bad, tho it IS more polluted, I think maybe my time in Malaysia has made me slightly more immune to the effects of air pollution.

Food here is actually quite expensive, like all the desserts and stuff. If you go to the local areas, not the cafes and stuff, then it's really cheap though... bakeries for like 3 HK (about 40 Aussie cents) which are decent. So far Dan and Geeta (youth Pastor and his wife) haven't really taken me to any of the seriously local districts, cause niether of them speak chinese or canto... so we'll wait for their friends to come back from some trips. I look forward to it.

As for the church... the adult service is quite big... I was a bit surprised. It reminded me of the churches in Malaysia, cause in Melb, all the churches have buildings of their own and stuff. Here they meet in office blocks (which they DO own) and stuff... it's weird :P I'll put up some pics, but the Youth Hall is awesome :P I like the set up.

The kids are.... shy? They come right on time and leave straight away. A few of the ones who I already know stay for a few more minutes... but not much else. No one hangs out like we do... it's really different. The services are different too... they have a "Sunday School" thing BEFORE their "church" thing.. which is strange to me... but they've been doing it for a while. However I really do like the church and the kids. They are friendly, I can tell, but I'm slightly tall and foreign sounding, so maybe I scare them. Hopefully as the weeks go on, it'll work out. I've decided that my first and most important step is to get to know them... and actually find ways to talk to them. Before even talking about God or prayer or whatever... hanging out is the place to start.

So yeah, this adventure is barely 3 days old, but already the plot thickens, the conflicts grow and the setting is clearer. One part of me seriously wants to just give up and go home... however I'm thankful that's only a tiny voice ;) I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me... and this isn't my church... or my plan... it's his, so he will figure out the details.

I miss ya all heaps already.. I wish all my friends could be here to share some of my experiences.

Come to China in July 08! You can stay after the trip for the olympics :P hehe

Pics coming soon.