Time with Sanwa's family:
Sister-in-law Sanwa
flew to Hong Kong, to enable us to meet her family and see her home-town. Incredible it was!
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| Sanwa Overholtzer |
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| We spent 12 days exploring Hong Kong and Macau with Sanwa, her sister from Toronto (Edith), and her Hong Kong family. The weather was perfect the whole time....windows open (without screens...no need!) all the time! |
They made us feel wonderfully welcome.
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| Sally and Andy are Sanwa's niece and nephew, who speak English quite well. Sally was often our translator. |
One day, we just did temple and garden tours, all in the midst of the skyscrapers!
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| The food of Hong Kong was more like what we (Americans) think of as "Chinese food." There were plenty of Cantonese sweet-and-sour dishes at the canteen (restaurant) owned by Sanwa's family. |
We ate at the canteen many times. Our favorite food was "French Toast Breakfast" (though not pictured here.)
They also served the "best fried rice on the planet", loaded with fresh vegetables.
Sanwa's brothers and mother own and operate the canteen, working up to 16 hours EVERY day!
It was refreshing to be in a city with sanitation and food preparation rules and regulations.
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| Because it was Chinese New Year, we visited multiple flower markets to buy traditional flowers (as gifts.) |
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| The mandarin orange tree, for good luck and good fortune, headed for the canteen. |
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| We decorated the tree with ornaments and red "money envelopes." |
Orchids for A-Kay
A-Kay was a most enthusiastic hostess, giving us her children's bedroom for 12 nights, providing a wonderfully clean place to stay (on the 13th floor of a 20-floor building), escorting us around the city, and cooking the most incredible meals. Hopefully she and her family will come to visit us in America someday, so that we can return the favor!
Dinner with another brother and his family. Each brother seemed to take a turn at investing time in getting to know us.......so nice!
The teenagers of this Hong Kong family get to live at home with their parents, and be transported to high school each day by school bus....so wonderful, when compared to students at our school in Chongqing, who must live in dormitories and eat cafeteria food.
This family had just returned from SCUBA-diving in Australia.
Breakfast with A-Kay and her friends:
****They took the time to explain the different kinds of teas and the specialty foods of Hong Kong.
As usual, we brought children's books:
Tikki Tikki Tembo and The Story about Ping,
for the children.
(We also shopped at a Hong Kong bookstore, buying 10 children's books, in Mandarin, for our grandchildren back home.
"Learning Chinese is Fun" series)
Basketball with Sally and Andy:
The apartment complex is huge, with 30 residential buildings of 20 stories each and 8 NICE 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartments per level. There are several playgrounds, a sports center, all kinds of shops, restaurants, and grocery stores, located within a secured enclosure. And, this is just one such residential compound in the Kowloon-Hong Kong metropolitan area!
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| Many of Sanwa's family members. |
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| Because it was Chinese New Year, A LOT of money was given out as gifts. Of course, we gave it all back!.......(but it was fun to hold, for just a little while.) "Easy Come, Easy Go!" |
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| We had one family dinner at the most famous sea-food restaurant in Kowloon district. Presentation was extraordinary! |
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| A Platter of LOBSTER |
It was a most memorable meal,
with the wonderful family of Sanwa!
Thanks again, Sanwa, for making the trip to Hong Kong!
Heading back home, Andy is thankful for a shoulder-ride from "Uncle Chris."
Thank you, Sanwa, for including us in your Hong Kong family's Chinese New Year celebration 2011!
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| Yet another breakfast, with another sister-in-law and a niece (who has recently graduated from a university near Toronto, and is looking for a job in Singapore!) |
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| We met so many family members!! Every-once-in-awhile, I NEED to hold a baby, thinking about (and missing) my little Veronica, back home. |
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| Fried radish cakes, with sausage, a must for Chinese New Year Breakfast! |
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