update...

so that typhoon 8 we had?  escalated to typhoon 9 - the first time in 5 years that the T9 has been called by the HK observatory.  cool.  we had a direct hit by typhoon nuri.  now as exciting as this could have been, it was a bit of a letdown, we felt.  i think our last typhoon 8 felt much windier and rainier overall.  still, pretty cool to have a day off work and school.  a bunch of teachers came over to our flat for lunch, olympics, nerts, and hang out time.  

speaking of olympics [digression begins here]... i'm very sad they're over.  nothing left on TV to watch and discuss!  i also have a really mixed perspective on this year's.  on one hand, there were some AWESOME events, athletes, etc to follow.  and really, china did pull them off without a tactical or organizational hitch (except having swimming and gymnastics during the work day... boo NBC).  at the same time, i read a lot of the news articles surrounding some of the human rights issues with the olympics, protesters, volunteers, etc.  and that then makes me sad.  maybe it's the western, individual culture side of me that says "each person should have their basic rights" whereas china views the overall group/state/government as more important.  i don't know.  but some of it was pure showmanship.  "sure, we'll have protest zones.  look, nobody is using them!... did we mention that we hadn't approved any of the protest applications?"  

so am i against the olympics?  no way.  i think china did a heck of a job, but at what cost?  (a yahoo article).

back to actual life in hong kong: probably the best thing about the typhoon was saturday's weather: cool, low humidity, and absolutely stunning views because of the air clarity.  in other words, a great day for each disc, dinner in the plaza, and a night out in soho with the new teachers (and some old ones).

i love weekends!!

T-8

I think this is our 3rd T-8 this summer.  I'm excited.

[Clarification: T-8 means there are high winds because there's a typhoon in the neighborhood.  Everything shuts down, you're not required to go to work, etc.]

Grant's even more excited.  He had a late night last night at Back-to-School night, and now he gets to sleep in!

Rumor has it, there may be a direct hit on HK tonight.  Could be exciting!!!

a week of superlatives in hong kong

saturday, august 3 = most perfect summer day

 we woke up early and went wakeboarding for our first time with john and lily.  (wakeboarding = snowboarding on water)  very very fun.  grant got up relatively quickly, and i'd had a tiny bit of practice one other time, so i had no problems, until i would try to go outside the wake, and then i would fall.  can't wait to try again! 

we stopped by lily and jon's flat, then changed clothes for a day out on a junk trip.  junks are pleasure boats that people take out for a day (either renting or owning), stock up on food and drinks, and drive out to a bay somewhere around the many (200) islands of Hong Kong.  our boat had about 45 people on it, was paired up with another boat of the same number, and i knew about 15 :-)  good times.  lots of sun, diving into the water, trying to catch frisbees while diving, diving through inner tubes, etc etc.  in other words, a perfect summer day.  here's a picture of michele and me towards the end of the day.

 

Wednesday = Craziest weather

it was a typhoon 8 day!  where we live, nothing too exciting happens, but windspeeds in parts of hong kong reached 150km/hour.  however, it meant that grant's first day back to work was cancelled, i didn't go into the office, and we stayed home and watched the three Bourne movies. 

Friday = awesome Olympics opening

i'm an olympic junkie.  i'll admit it without shame.  every four years, i get very excited in the sports i don't follow the rest of the time - gymnastics, diving, swimming, even volleyball and basketball!  so when the opening ceremonies come on, i try to watch the whole thing, and i love the pageantry and showiness of it all.  this year's was amazing.  we'll give china some props for that.  my personal favorite? the little 9 year old carrying the flags next to yao ming from china.  

Saturday = best beach ultimate

every saturday (almost) we play beach ultimate in the summer.  this week was my favorite.  we went to a beach that grant and i hadn't been to yet called shek o.  the sand was super soft and didn't hurt my feet, the water was clean (or as clean as it gets in HK) when you wanted to cool off, and there was a great thai restaurant nearby.  

Sunday = best food day

dim sum for lunch, and sushi for dinner.  could it get any better?  no, no it couldn't.