CLC Youth in Hong Kong: Tuesday, June 24

After a rather late wake-up from pure exhaustion, the California team greeted the incoming students to begin the work for the day. It appears that post-Monday stupor and tiredness is ubiquitous across all borders, as many Chinese students gave us many lackluster high-fives and "good mornings" in greeting. After taking a little time to get our power up, our day went smoothly. The Creation lesson is clearly well rehearsed and runs like clock work. We worked with older children today at the school, thereby forcing our craft to change from simple, symbolic beaded necklaces to more complex beaded key chains, which they really enjoyed. Our work finished, we jumped aboard the wonderful Hong Kong bus system and went to a lunch of various Asian cuisines at one of the local malls. Our hunger satiated, we met up with more high school-aged Chinese student who desired to improve their English and guide us on a sight-seeing tour. We once again used the Hong Kong transit system, this time adding a train to the mix. As a Valley Centerite, this public transportation was all new to me. I am very impressed by its efficiency and in awe of how long the train was we rode on. It's also a marvel to me how these students knew how to tool us around Hong Kong and navigate various train changes. Our sightseeing was a walking tour of various temples that the students had never previously visited as many detours needed to be taken and Google Maps conferred with more than a few times. Our tour ended early and we divided off into different after-activities. These ranged from dessert eating to Bow Ling (how it was written on a sign), which Hunter, Haley, Allen, and myself went to. Not only was it across the street from our living quarters, but it was American style AMF bowling. Hunter and I represented Team USA well, going undefeated in our bowling lane, continuing Team USA's wins over foreign countries on mission trips. Our dinner was filled with many Chinese dishes, all new to me and mostly new to the rest of us. We ate lots of foods that stared back at us, including goose, fish, and shrimp. Our tastes were definitely stretched with new foods, especially Sarah staring fear right in the eye and saying "Yum!" as she gobbled a fish eye, and an adventurous Hunter devouring his second eyeball and kissing a goose head (we have pictures and video, don't worry parents.). Our day tomorrow is an early one. A 5:30 a.m. wake up with an hour and a half bus ride to start our day. It will be a good one knowing that good ol' McDonald's is for dinner as our taste buds tire of the Chinese cuisine. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we reach the middle of trip where exhaustion becomes commonplace. Know we our having a great time filled with new experiences and memories that will last a lifetime. We love you all.

-Kyle Stroud