Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

Well, hello friend and reader! It's been uh...six months...since I wrote here. I hope most of you have known to read my food writing blog, Peas On Moss. If not, you should check it out too.

Anyway, 2011 was quite a year.

In January, Josh and I traveled to Hong Kong and volunteered at Mother's Choice. We had a chance to discover my roots and to learn something about the Cantonese culture. It was great fun.

I resumed classes at the end of March and completed the second quarter of the culinary arts program. I also picked up a full time job cooking at Stopsky's Delicatessen, a Jewish restaurant on Mercer Island. Josh resumed working at REI, and he also started working for my dad's business, World Touch Media, in shipping and client management.

I also took an expenses-paid trip to visit the Green Giant Valley in Minnesota and got to connect with family while I was there. Here's a pro shot of my trip and then here's my family. 

When the fall started, I cut my hours back at the restaurant, and I entered 3rd quarter. This is where students are actually responsible for feeding the public (yah, yikes!). We ran a bistro and served traditional dishes, like trout meuniere and steak frites.  That quarter ended the second week of December.

Because I was dedicating myself to school, I had cut back my hours at Stopsky's, and I gave up my shifts there. My chef was very understanding about my availability but needed someone who could cover more hours. At the same time of becoming unemployed, an alumna of the culinary program helped me get into Tom Douglas Restaurants for their holiday catering. I was able to pick up a few shifts at the beginning of December.

I have recently been hired as a culinary research assistant at a lab doing recipe research in Bellevue, WA. I am actually going to be taking time off of school to work, because it's a temporary job working on a (top secret) specific project. It's pretty fun, but it has a steep learning curve. I haven't had to be so precise in my knife skills or scaling (using a scale to measure rather than volume measures) in a long time (since nutrition and chemistry labs). I plan to resume classes once the contract ends.

Josh transferred within REI from the clothing department to Ski and Kayak. Obviously, since it's December, the department is focusing on skiing and snow boarding. He's got his eyes set on a specific set of ski boots and hopes to get some ski trips in this year. We also celebrated Josh's thirtieth birthday this year. In anticipation of turning 30, Josh and close friends conquered Mt. Rainier. Not too shabby!

Josh has continued taking on more responsibilities with World Touch Media. The business has been busy this year, and I'm excited that he gets to work with my dad and brother. It's funny to hear their voices over skype talking about work though!  I hope Josh gets to travel with the company someday, but for now, it's a great organization and has a lot going on. 

We welcomed our first nephew into the Schaub family this year, and he's adorable. No, we won't be adding to the collection in 2012, but Everest has certainly been a wonderful blessing to all the family.

We spent Christmas in Seattle this year, and we were so happy to have cousins from California come up. We had a great time with family this year.  Here's a shot of our little cousin/niece. I am going to turn her into a chef yet! 

I hope you have also had a great year and joyful holiday season. Here's to a strong end to the year and a great start to next year! 

Hehe

Gluten-free Mountaineering up Mt. Rainier

Josh and several friends are climbing Mt. Rainier this summer. Mountaineering is about training your body for the physical demands you'll put on it and for providing it with the nutrients it needs to meet those demands. Because of my nutrition background and burgeoning culinary expertise, it was an interesting challenge for me to determine how many calories he needs, but it became more interesting because we had to design a mountaineering diet that was both light weight and gluten-free.

Most of the recommendations we've found for setting up a menu for backpacking include packing foods like oatmeal, bagels, or dehydrated meals like "beef stroganoff" or "chicken alfredo." Some sites also recommended consuming sports bars, energy bites, oatmeal, or crackers. These all make sense, because they're light weight and high in calories. On the other hand, they're off the menu for those with food allergies, particularly to those with gluten allergies. So, for us, we had to start from scratch. The other challenge is that since I've been working and taking classes full time, I haven't had time to dehydrate meals like I've done before. So, we had to plan his menu around the items that could all be purchased.

The first step in determining the menu for his gluten-free backpacking trip was to determine how many calories he would need. We estimated that he would need about 3000 calories per day, and over a four-day period, he would need about 12,000 calories total. This is based on the calorie needs calculator that can be found on the USDA website, ChooseMyPlate.gov.  We input his weight, height, and activity level, and it gives an estimate of the number of calories he would use up. Once we figured that out, then we started looking at dehydrated food options that were available at REI, because Josh works there.

After determining his caloric needs, we decided on a menu plan for Josh. He doesn't like to have a full stomach when he exercises or hikes, so we determined that he would eat just two full meals per day - at breakfast and at dinner. For lunch, he would eat a high energy bar and plan on snacking through the day. Because he needs about 3000 calories, I wanted to get him to eat as close to 1000 calories per meal and then to consume about 1000 calories in snacks. To do so, he has to eat two servings per meal, or the whole package of each dehydrated meal packet.

Breakfast - 600-900 calories
Lunch - 400 -600 calories
Dinner - 600-900 calories
Snacks - 900-1000 calories

Breakfast was challenging, because Josh can't eat oatmeal. You may think, well, there's always cream of rice. That's true. There are gluten-free hot cereals, but Josh doesn't particularly care for them. So, we opted for a gluten-free granola that we purchased from Whole Foods. We were remarkably impressed by the selection of gluten-free granola cereals at Whole Foods, which included Udis, Bakery on Main, Glutenfreeda, and Enjoy Life. There were also great flavors, such as peanut butter, cranberry orange, and chocolate. Josh selected Flax4Life's Hawaiian Pineapple, Coconut, and Mango. In addition to eating granola, Josh is also going to drink hot chocolate. This is to make up for the warming effects that enjoying a bowl of oatmeal would have.

1 cup granola - 420 calories
1/2 cup milk (rehydrated powdered milk) - 40 calories
hot chocolate - 130 calories

For lunch and snacks, Josh is going to eat several servings of
trail mix (700 calories per cup)
Clif Shot Bloks (200 calories per package)
Clif Shot Roks (270 calories)
Luna protein bars (190 alories)
Accel-gel (100 calories)
ready-to-eat salmon in pouches (234 calories)

I also regularly make protein cookies for Josh (containing vanilla whey protein, approximately 100 calories each), and he is taking a few of those, too.

We had to carefully read the labels, because there are hidden sources of gluten. Since there are varying levels of sensitivity to gluten and wheat, you should carefully investigate what foods are safe. One really good source for information about celiac disease is the University of Chicago website.

Dinner was also going to be interesting, because the hikers are relying on dehydrated meals. Well, fortunately, following a gluten-free diet isn't as foreign as it used to be, and there are now more foods available on the market. We were glad to see that there are even dehydrated meals made without wheat, though most of them are not certified gluten-free, unless you order them online. At REI, there were a few meals available, most of which were Natural High brand. Backpacker's Pantry had a few items too. The particular challenge was that even if the food itself wasn't a wheat food, such as a pasta, soy sauce and vegetable protein were often included in the ingredients. As a result, we couldn't choose them. We did find a few items: Himalyan lentils and rice, honey lime chicken, BBQ chicken and rice, and Louisiana beans and rice. These items are relatively low in calories - about 600 for the entire package - but they would be enough and probably be pretty filling, given the fiber. One challenge in using packaged dehydrated meals is that the sodium content is extremely high. It was pretty difficult to compensate for that, so we did our best to choose flavors that didn't have as much sodium but were still wheat and gluten-free.

Josh and his team should be pretty well set up for meals. It will be interesting to see how they do. The food weighed just over 5 lbs, and Josh divided them into resealable bags according to how he would use them. He plans on unpacking most of the food at the base camp, in favor of simply carrying the snacks when the team attempts the summit.

Hobnobs

Kim and Josh went to World Market the other day. 

Kim, noticing a package of Hobnobs on the shelf: "Oh great! They sell Hobnobs here! Now I can eat them as much as I want, and I won't have to ration them!" Kim thought that she could only buy those delectable bites in the UK, and her mother-in-law even picked some up for her when she was in Canada. 

Josh, looking at Kim's profile, one eyebrow raised: "Nope, you should still ration them." 

from World Market

Homeward Journey

With very little adventure, Josh and I have returned home and are easing back into the lives we'd put on hold for a few weeks. Although there were public statements explaining that Tokyo's airport was flying mostly on time on Sunday and Monday, we didn't want to add to the stress and struggle that the airport staff was undoubtedly feeling. Delta Airlines and several others were allowing passengers that were flying to or through Tokyo and other Japanese airports to change their flights without any additional fees, so we took advantage of that and departed for Seoul instead. We were so grateful to the individuals who helped us contact Delta and other agencies and get those changed.

Getting through Hong Kong's ticket counters wasn't difficult at all, and we had plenty of time to spare in the airport. I strongly considered getting one more dim sum for the road, but I had enjoyed such a delicious dim sum lunch on Sunday that I didn't want to spoil the memory. The dim sum at the airports was still served in the little bamboo baskets, and it looked really good. However, if you're flying into Hong Kong and planning on staying a while, just wait to get dim sum at a quality restaurant rather than the cafes. If you're flying through Hong Kong and need a dim sum fix, then it might be all right. The shops also offered wonton noodles (mien), milk tea, bubble teas, mango pudding, and cha siu pork buns. They appeared to accept both HKD and USD, but I would probably try exchange some money rather than bank on that.

Hong Kong's terminal felt more like a glamorous mall, filled with high end stores, like Prada and another Louis Vuitton. The LV Flagship store resides at the Landmark shopping centre in Central District. The only thing that felt out of place in my luxury mall experience were that the signs pointed to gates and departure notices. The gleaming floors reflected the brightly adorned window showcases that showed off the expertly designed and assembled designer purses and clothes. Occasionally, a recorded announcement explaining that you should keep an eye on your belongings and that you should give extra time in the security queues would play in two or three languages, one of them English.

The airport was really easy to navigate, because there were signs pointing out the directions you needed to go in order to reach certain gates. Are there any poorly designed, confusing airports? I'm sure there are, but Hong Kong's made perfect sense. I had never been to this airport, because we still flew into Kai Tak Airport when I was younger. The reclaimed portion of Lantau Island upon which this gleaming, new airport stands was just a collection of islands then. Now it's a bustling region with high rise apartments, businesses, another mall over the MTR, and a sophisticated-looking bus and taxi terminus. It's really nice to fly into Lantau, because it's picturesque and spacious. It's a little less excited than feeling like you're flying in between the high rise flats, but it's probably easier for the pilots. If you haven't seen those flying adventures, you can check out Lawrence Lai's photos. He captured some good shots before the airport was closed, and framed reprints of his pictures were available in several galleries and bookstores throughout HK.

Seoul's airport was equally impressive. Where we happened to disembark the airplane, after passing through security, we found the Korean Cultural Center at the Airport. It featured some history, some art, and some re-enactment actors (is that what they're called?) who were wearing some traditional Korean clothes, including jeogoris, chimas, and paji. I think the actors were depicting royalty, because they marched around the terminal in a special procession, and then they posed for pictures outside the Center. That was nice, except for all the people trying to get past the crowd that had assembled. We found ourselves quickly caught in the flow of annoyed passengers trying to reach their gates through the gauntlet of a gathering seeking to take pictures, read maps, and gawk. When we finally emerged on the other side of the bottleneck surrounding the Center, we were relieved to find that we were close to our gate.

Something that I find amusing about exchanging money is how rich you feel the minute the teller exchanges your US cash for the local currency. Immediately after thinking, "Wow, I have 4,000 won," you realize that one 8-oz latte will cost you 8,000 won. Dang it. Back to being poor again, just with different currency. We had chosen to exchange our HKD for USD, but we had to go through Korean Won to get there. So, the teller returned a crisp 5 USD and a 1,000 won bill to me. I was confused, but then I realized she'd given me about ninety cents in Korean cash. Grg. So, armed with a bill worth less than 1 USD, I tried to find something to spend it on. After walking in and out of three cafe-shops, I settled on a bottle of water for 800 won and donated my remaining 200 won to the UNICEF box on the counter. It will probably cost the staff more to retrieve the bills from that case.

Besides our short layover in Korea, we spent our flight enjoying the rather gracious and attentive service of Korean Air, a partner of Delta. I'm so glad Korean Air was flying us. The airplane we were on was new, the in-seat tellies were new, the cup holders on the back of the tray-tables were whole, and the windows lacked the usual scratches and smudges of older airlines. The headphone jacks were also normal input holes rather than those over-large plastic dual-holes. The attendants handed out little disposable wet cloths with which we could remove airport grime. Haagen-Dazs ice cream was served in between our Korean-style dinner of Bibimbap and breakfast. Water, tea, coffee, and wine were also offered periodically throughout the flight.

We attempted to sleep, but apparently sitting in an airplane seat has the opposite effect of lulling me to sleep. I am instantly wide awake, filled with enough energy to embark on "the next great book." Instead, I satisfied myself by watching some recent hits, including "Black Swan" and "King's Speech." Not a bad trade-off.  One minus to the especially attentive staff of Korean Air is that every time the airline experienced turbulence, which was minor and not really noticeable initially, the pilot would implement the fasten-seat belt-sign and the attendants would announce the change - in Korean, in Chinese, and in English.

We arrived in Seattle just after lunch. Our bodies thought it was 4:00am. We attempted some conversation with Joshua's mom, who had left work early to pick us up. We even attempted to wash our clothing. While we waited for it to wash, we laid down next to the Schaub's basement fireplace to rest a little. About an hour later, we managed to drag ourselves to the washer and dryer and start to pack our clothes into our bag again so we could head back to Seattle. We were going pretty slowly, but our nap had revitalized us a bit. At least it wasn't a long drive.

These past few days have involved getting used to Seattle again. Josh commented yesterday that he had never thought of Seattle as a small city - until he saw what a big city could be like. Hong Kong has redefined what busy, packed, rush-hour, and other adjectives for densely populated regions. Two million people pales in comparison to nearly 7 million in roughly the same amount of space.

Hong Kong was enchanting, and now it feels like it was 100 years ago. I almost feel like I never went, because our friends and family welcomed us back so completely that we didn't really feel like we'd left.

I guess maybe one friend's hair has grown out, and our nephew-to-come is getting more and more ready to arrive in May, but other than that, everything is the same. Top Pot still bakes its intoxicating donuts, which we can smell as we walk home. The rain still drizzles down, covering the streets in a glowing, reflective sheen. Buses still glide back and forth on Third. Ambulances and fire-trucks still blare their sirens as the zoom by beneath our window.

I walked to catch the bus this morning to go to Capitol Hill at 8 am, about the top commuting time. I probably walked with about twenty people. Nobody jostled me or squeezed in front of me at the intersection as we awaited the green light. No hand trucks or trolleys were barreling down the street, fighting for space between the red taxis that appear determined to squeeze between pedestrians. Nope. Just orderly, jegging-clad, Ipod-wearing commuters walking swiftly to their offices. All the same. All predictable. Comforting, familiar, and usual.

But I know that Josh and I are different, touched and changed, even just a little. I already find myself yearning for the bustle and startle of walking through such a packed city that serves as home for so many different people. Seattle almost feels homogeneous compared to Hong Kong, and yet Hong Kong was definitely overwhelmingly Chinese. Maybe being surrounded by a "minority" made it feel diverse. We have already gone to the International District to see if we could find some of the treats we had enjoyed in HK. We found some, but not all. We recognized a few idiosyncrasies that were unique to the Chinese culture that we had missed in our past days of walking through the ID. But it certainly wasn't the same. We miss HK already, but we know our place is in Seattle...for now.

Last Day in Hong Kong

It's 9:00 am on Sunday for us, so it's about 5pm for Seattle. I am reflecting on our last day in Hong Kong, and I can't help but have some mixed feelings. Joshua and I came to HK knowing that the experience would change our perspectives and perhaps the future in the sense of career choices and home selections. Even knowing that, it has been interesting to realize that I have developed a sense of identity that I hadn't fully realized was missing.

When we first arrived in Hong Kong, I was struck by the rather immediate realization that I look exactly like everyone else. It's not like I don't have similarities to the Chinese and other Asians in Seattle, but when I came here, I looked like a native. Oh wait, I am technically a native. When I would walk through Wan Chai, Central, or Admiralty districts, without Josh, nobody gave me a second glance. Unless I pulled out a map or opened my mouth to say anything. It was so odd to be completely and totally invisible. But when I reflected on it, it totally made sense that I became part of the crowd so easily. But sometimes, even today, I have to really think about it. I used to try to make "you're one of us" eye-contact with other white people, but for some reason, they would only give those glances to Josh. Oh yeah. I am a native, a local, a daughter of this land. Weird. And cool.

I also found out that I am not petite or small in Hong Kong. Nay my shopping friends. Kimberly is an average sized woman. Medium. Don't even look at the small sizes, girlie. I was at G2000, a trendy yet inexpensive store akin to H&M, and I was trying on a poofy mini skirt to wear with nylons. I picked out the 34 - which I don't think indicates my waist size, though I'm not sure after all the dim sum, Chiu Chow, and Pekingese food I've been gobbling. I was modeling it for Josh, who was eying it skeptically. The changing room attendant turns to me while I'm twirling in front of the mirror and say, "I will get you a larger size." And she stalks away on her twiggy legs.

Vanity aside, I have experienced ethnic pride for the first time in my life. While I think the world is indebted to China for the invention of paper (okay, papyrus probably had a leg up, but you can fold this stuff) or fireworks, but I never really felt part of it. It's similar to how German Americans might feel about the invention of the printing press. Okay, you acknowledge an ethnic connection, but it doesn't feel like your own. When I walked around Hong Kong, marveling at the city, its people, its colorful and political history, and its resilience, I am struck by how I am technically part of this history and culture. I am more part of this city's history than that of Colorado Springs, which I have considered home, or that of Seattle, though I want to be part of that future.

Because I was born in Hong Kong and am ethnically Hong Kong Chinese, I qualify for a Hong Kong Identification Card. I just have to bring my birth certificate. Hong Kongers then can receive certain benefits, such as medical care and employability without visas. I can also travel more easily within Asia. Once a friend told us that, I realized that it was a privilege to have been born the way I have. In some ways, I have the best of both worlds. I am proudly an American citizen, enjoying the benefits and recognizing the responsibilities thereto, and I am also ethnically Chinese, benefiting from the apparent additional rights for those individuals. I haven't applied for the card, but I probably will when we come back to Hong Kong in the future.

I have been surrounded by dear old friends who have loved and supported my childhood and now adulthood. They loved and balanced my parents, and they have now shown a similar love and support for us. We weren't able to connect with all of them or as much or long with each of them as we would have liked, but the memories, the laughter, and the new connections flowed easily. It was such a joy to have them meet Joshua and to show them into what type of person I have become. I hope they liked (most) of what they saw.

I am sad to leave Hong Kong. The bustle and hustle of the city during its normal routine is amazing and intoxicating. It could also be toxic to some. We realized that while I love the deep city and the crowds that pack into every nook and crannie, we also love the silence and presence of nature. Uncle Leo took us on a hike from Kowloon Peak into Sai Kung, a smaller town to the east and north of Kowloon, and we were surrounded by nature. It was really nice. I loved that we were less than thirty minutes from a HUGE city, and I think Josh was happy to be away from it. The accessibility of nature, a metropolis, and  international culture are just amazing and unrivaled by other cities in which I have lived.

We are also eager to leave and get back into the Seattle activities that we've set up for ourselves. Joshua's family lives in Seattle, and we are close to them. His brother and wife are expecting their first baby, and all of us are happily preparing for our nephew's arrival. (I am now much better at nappie changing, so I hope I can babysit occasionally!) We have some very close friends from Pepperdine living in Issaquah, less than thirty minutes from Seattle. I am taking on the Pepperdine Alumni Association Seattle Chapter when we return, so I am excited to return and start contributing again. I am in the middle of culinary school, and I love it. I try to soak up as much as I can while I'm there. Josh works a great job with REI and enjoys the type of work, the co-workers, and the mission of the company. We are supported and cared for by a church that has encouraged us. My parents also have good friends in Seattle, and we cannot wait to see them again. There are many reasons to be excited to return.

Our visit to Hong Kong and our volunteer work at Mother's Choice has been life defining. I wish it hadn't taken so long to visit Hong Kong and explore my roots - both ethnically and adoptive. At the same time, I may not have had the maturity or wisdom to do this before. Taking this trip with Joshua has been so meaningful. I am sure we'll have lots of time to reflect and share with each other. We are now curious about working overseas, particularly in Asia, and we are thrilled that this was such a positive and pleasurable trip. Thank you to our friends who supported us and kept it real while we were here. See you in Seattle!

*We changed our flight to pass through Seoul rather than Tokyo in order to avoid the tragedy and chaos that Japan is struggling through. We still return on the 14th, just a little later in the day.

Summary of Working for Wee Care

Gretchen Ryan with us

We have been working 4 and 5 day shifts at Wee Care for these past few weeks. While working 5 days is hardly impressive, it seems to be particularly exhausting, because we're just getting the hang of the schedule. For the most part, we wait until the shift leaders tell us what to do. We're slightly more useful than the "off the street" volunteers, because we can change nappies, bathe, and medicate the kids, as needed.

 

You can see some pictures of the facility of Wee Care here

http://jkschaub.blogspot.com/2011/02/mothers-choice-wee-care.html 

Childcare is so interesting. Honestly, neither of us have had to do much caring for children, other than cuddling the dear babies in our lives. We had to be "evaluated" in each step of childcare before the caretakers would let us do the tasks on our own. It's especially intimidating to have someone lecturing you while you're bathing a child. Some of the kids have particular needs, such as hypoallergenic soaps or specialized techniques in bathing, so it's important that we received the appropriate training.

 

We have both gotten better at changing nappies, but I have not escaped without mishap. Fortunately, there haven't been any projectile presents, but a few kids have "poured us a cup of tea" when we've removed the old nappie and have moved to replace it with the new one. Sometimes, I have to replace the latter with another, since it is now also used. I have also marveled at how completely and deeply "BO" can become stuck into every crevasse. I have also been horrified to find out how difficult it is to clean -- from the body, from clothing, and from changing pads. We spray our pads with a sanitizing alcohol solution after each child, and sometimes, I soak that thing! 

 

I have had a time learning to dress a moving subject. Their arms and legs - and torsos and heads - move rather quickly, and I usually end up with a bunched up article of clothing and a child rapidly scooting to the other side of the changing mat. I have found that the kids love looking at themselves in the mirror, and if you can distract them, then you can quickly pop the shirt over their heads. I haven't mastered the pant legs part, and the kids usually have the legs of the pants twisted around their ankles a few times before I can coax it up their legs.

 

Feeding the kids is a marathon in patience. Several of the children have different abilities in swallowing, and their meals are softened and pureed according to their abilities to eat the items. Sometimes the foods appear amazingly unappetizing. The foods the kids eat are mostly Chinese-style with lots of rice, rice porridge (called Congee), fish, mushrooms, and some chicken. The foods are prepared with much less soy sauce and marinades than you would find in a corresponding adult meal, so they fit within the general nutrition guidelines for children. I've had the opportunity over the last couple of days to look at the menus, but honestly, the menu is so different than the ones I've consulted and created that it's challenging to make suggestions.

 

We've really started attaching to some of the kids. Natalie, who has now been at MC about 7 weeks, has made some amazing improvements. She seeks out walking, and she leans against the wall and claps her hands. I wear the same maroon fleece every day, and she actually looks at me and away from her caretaker-du-jour to see what I'm doing. 

The full time OT has started introducing oral feeding, and she hopes that Natalie will be able to eat soft food soon. I sat in on one session with Natalie, and it's amazing to see how far she's come. Now, she won't always cringe away from you, and if you talk to her loudly in soothing tones, she tends to respond to you. She loves the pat-a-cake rhyme and will grasp my hands to clap them together if I stop chanting the rhyme. Yesterday, when I did pat-a-cake for the last time, she put her hands to the ground during the "pat it" part, and placed her hands next to each other when I said "put it in the oven." Then, when I said "for baby and meeeeee," I caught a quick but very broad grin from her. Sometimes, when I started the rhyme, she would quirk one corner of her lip into a small smile. I hope she thrives while she is at MC, and I hope a family is matched to her soon. 

 

Joel is still a very active - arguably hyperactive - boy with lots of strength and energy. The weather had improved a little over the last few weeks, so we were able to take the kids outdoors. It's great to see him running around. He likes to carry books around, so even though we were at the park, he was still clutching a book to his chest. Yesterday, he poured his water on his book, which resulted in my rather swift reaction of returning him to his stroller, since we were on an outing, to which he responded by thrashing. I got really close to him and said he could either sit properly at the table or sit in the stroller for lunch. He calmed down and went back to his chair. He does all right when he is given choices, but what we've learned - and Josh is much better than I about this - is that he needs consistent and calm, yet firm, response to his actions. Sometimes, I have to just sit down and let someone else take over. I would like to scold him, but I know he can't really understand me, understand the issue, or really change. Despite my frustrations with him, I have learned so much about caring for a child even when his behavioral challenges seem insurmountable at times. He can be so tender and loving, and I know that he just needs affection. It will be good for him if he can move to a program that engages him a bit more -- something designed for older children with special needs. He is almost five, is much larger than some of the kids, and does really well when you've exercised him or personally continually engaged him. 

 

Tanya still falls asleep when you feed her. She's really cute. She smiles so widely that her eyes squish into crescents, and you can almost count her baby teeth. She loves her reflection and does a gleeful, giggly bouncing when she sits in front of the mirror. She does this funny sucking thing, which from the speech therapy perspective is not good, that looks like she's rolled her tongue and is sticking it out and sucking on it. Because her tongue gets in the way of eating, it takes a long time for her to move food to the back of her throat to swallow. Her food is usually pureed to the texture of mashed bananas, and sometimes it looks extremely unappetizing. 

Ryan is another boy with soft foods. He really likes to feed himself, but he's not really coordinated enough. He mostly stabs the spoon into his bowl, causing the contents to slosh over my hand, if the food is liquid. After feeding him, I usually have to go to the washroom and pick out pieces of food from my hair, eyebrows, and cheek. My pants, given to me by MC, have permanent food crusts on the knee and upper quads area, because we sort of straddle the high chairs, which are set low to the ground. I fed him one day while others were moving about, so he kept looking all around. I had just put a spoon to his lip, when he suddenly turned his head. The food went across his face, and a good amount of it went into his ear. Yeeech!  Apparently, I was planning on bathing him after lunch. 

 

We gained a new boy, too. Kevin came from one of the hospitals, and he is really a sweet baby. He had a cleft lip, but the surgeons did a fantastic job with him. He eats about 6 or 8 oz of food at each meal and does great. He also has really large eyes... not quite like an anime cartoon, but along those lines. He really loves being held, so when you lay him down to nap, he'll scream pretty thoroughly. We had a hard time getting him to sleep on Wednesday -- one volunteer spent a whole hour with him, and by the time he fell asleep, it was snack time, and a staff member roused him. He recommenced his screaming for about 15 minutes. It was a little bit frustrating that they didn't let him sleep, but the volunteer (also a "foreigner") and I agreed that it was probably because they had to keep the kids on the schedule. When he's awake and happy, he does this little squeaky "eh-heh!" sound often. It's really adorable. He's fun to carry, but he gets heavy, as does anything about 20lbs when it's held for 15 min or more. 

 

Josh gave his presentation on Thursday. He presented on "Family Relationships" a very vague term. He chose to talk about the purpose of the family, the functions, properties of dysfunctional families, a comparison between Chinese and American family culture, and some positive ways to improve family relationships. He did a good job. A few of the pregnant girls from the hostel came to the presentation, too. I think it was good for them to hear, even if they did not all want to be there. We also had an interesting discussion with the group about the difference between punishing your child so he does better (on exams in the future) or encouraging her to do better. A few of the Chinese participants explained that their parents would punish them - yell, discipline, force them to study rather than do other activities, or even spank - when they did not produce the results expected. That's pretty different than America... but is it wrong?

We have gotten to where we recognize the kids' cries and laughs, and I can actually tell if the kids are just making a scene or are hurting. I can actually tell if Yonah (Jonas) is crying by listening to the monitoring system in the main room when he is in the other room. He can sometimes be a bit of a cry-baby, because he knows that volunteers will pick up a crying child and cuddle him. Sometimes, I wonder if we should let them cry for a minute longer just so they don't think we'll pick them up within 5 seconds of the first wail. It's hard to respond appropriately, because the volunteer staff and full time staff are numerous and change daily, so the kids receive a different response every time they do something. For Joel, he can find himself scolded thoroughly or coddled for doing the same behavior. The inconsistency isn't the greatest for the kids, but we're so pleased to see that there are so many volunteers who want to help these kids and love them for the times they're here.

 

We've had the wonderful opportunity to meet some of the people my parents have worked with over the years. It has been so special to see the positive impact my parents have had on the community and the churches here. It was also fun to share with them about the things my family has done since leaving HK. And it was such a joy to introduce Josh to them and to share our adult lives with them. Gretchen, a social worker who has worked with MC for years, pointed out that my mom was one of the founding women of the Adopted Families of Hong Kong (called the Adoption Support Group then). The organization now is run by three women, including Gretchen, and exists to support other adoptive families in their trials and triumphs. We attended a guest speaker event about ADHD and Attachment Disorder in kids. The speaker was trying to share the differences between ADHD and symptoms of attachment issues in adopted kids. It was educational and interesting to think that some of the diagnoses for disorders may actually be symptoms of other seemingly unrelated conditions. 

Our last day of work was yesterday, Saturday, and it was surprisingly difficult and easy to leave. I think the difficulty comes from having a genuine care for what happens to the children. We visited the Adoption Services office in Tsim Sha Tsui (think t-soy) and had a chance to speak with one of the social workers who works on the adoptions. She showed us pictures of families that have adopted kids from MC. The organization really prefers that the western families adopt special needs children, and most of the pictures we saw were of families from America. There were a few from Washington state, but really, the families came from all over. Some of them had grown or older children, some of them already had a child with special needs, and for some, the babies they adopted were their first. A few notable families returned to adopt a second or third child from MC. 

While we can fool ourselves into thinking that the babies and young children who are adopted are overwhelmed with gratitude and are sure to be well behaved, we know that any adopted child and family has to go through the experience of adjusting to new lives and lifestyles. Some of the kids have an easier time than others. Even knowing the potential challenges that the forever families will face, it is such a joy to see the children moving to homes where they will be given forever identities. I have been following a blog of a mom who recently adopted a three-year-old, and her stories about the pleasures and some of the pains of older adoption are poignant but joyful at the same time.  You're struck by her deep love for her daughter and the determination to help her along in her adjustment period. The pain in her writing is underscored by the knowledge that the situation will get better and that the little girl will become close to them. I am moved by the families that choose to adopt... and I am struck by a new sense of wonder and love for my family. I don't know how my adjustment period was -- my parents think I glommed pretty quickly and that my "countenance changed" from sad to happy, I assume, "within a week." 

We have just one week left in Hong Kong. We're not working for that week, so we hope to return to a few places we enjoyed touring. I'm also giving a presentation at the Union Church about nutrition. I have also agreed to be on a "panel" for teens who have questions about adoption. So... during our week off, Kimberly has already volunteered to do all sorts of stuff! Does that surprise anyone?

Central District and reclaimed land, Hong Kong

We are looking forward to our return to Seattle. Josh mentioned yesterday that it would be weird to be back in Seattle. We have gotten so adjusted here. I will miss the bustle and crowds. The tall buildings and tiny spaces are somewhat familiar to me, and I will miss that. I agree with a few of our family-friends here: Hong Kong is my birthplace and I am a Hongkonger.  At the same time, we have dear family and friends in Seattle whom we're anticipating spending time with and from whom we will receive lots of gifts (just checking to see who's reading). I also want to finish my culinary arts program, because it is extremely interesting and so much fun (and hard work). I have been itching to get a job at a restaurant and maybe get involved in some other things, too. Josh wants to get back to REI and start training for his climb of Mt. Ranier. 

Seattle

 

Thanks for following our journey into Hong Kong. I will continue writing a few things about HK when we get back, mostly about the food. Read those posts on Peas On Moss.  Thanks also for your emotional and financial support while we work at MC and connect with a little piece of my past. See you in the Emerald City soon!

Mother's Choice Wee Care

While the kids were napping, we took some pictures of the facility and the staff. I'm not sure why Disney is the theme, but it might have something to do with donations. It's a cute little place. Welcome to our virtual tour. (that's me in the pink, you know, Chinese girl, about 5'4" not too slim, not too wide..., narrow eyes, black hair with caramel highlights)

This is our view of the Mid-levels above Central District. 

Automatic hand sanitizers are all over the facility, and we use them often. 

These are some of the staff at Wee Care. They've served as shift leaders for the other full time volunteers (us) and are the trainers for the new staff and volunteers. Left to right: Lee, Pui (think Poy), and Carman (with an a). These women work with the kids the most often and display incredible amounts of grace and patience with the kids. 

They think it's hilarious that we're trying to learn some Cantonese phrases. The other day, I told Josh, "Sik Fan!" "Eat Lunch!" and Pui thought it was so funny that she told another co-worker later that day. 

Carman is trying to teach me Cantonese. She is also the small group leader when we sing songs, read stories, and glue papers onto other papers (I'm sure there's some cool Kindergarten teacher term for this). She taught us the Gong Xi song for new years, because she had a little red packet that she had the kids pass around. 

We have our own laundry facility to wash the kids' clothes, bedding, outer garments, towels, wash cloths, and everything else. 

The "catering" comes from this kitchen. Thomas is a talented cook who has produced some tasty stir fries. He has two burners, onto which only one wok fits, an extra large rice cooker (about twice the size as the one we use in school), and about the same amount of work-top space as I have in my galley-style kitchen. He cooks for about 25 staff each time. Lunch and dinner. 

This is the announcement board for volunteers. Sylvia is looking at a recent email from some "forever families" with their kids, who had been at Wee Care. It is great that some of the families have written and shown the staff where the kids are and how they're doing. It is somewhat bittersweet, because the staff miss the children, but of course, they're in a much better situation now. 

We have several refrigerators all over for the various foods that the staff prepare for the kids and for the staff food. The foods are kept separate for food safety reasons. 

Prepared baby food is stored in this reach-in. The foods are prepared the same day as they are consumed, and leftovers are discarded. Foods are heated either in a immersion heater or in the microwave until boiling or nearly boiling -- a bit more than necessary but definitely safe! 

Kids have customized medicine and therapy packets. They do some oromotor therapy before they eat. Some of them have little rubber tubes they chew on, some have whistles or flutes they blow into, and some have little spongy brushes that are used to stimulate the tongue and teach them to swallow or move the tongue around the mouth. 

Signs for proper preparation, sanitation, or storage are posted all over. These signs are in the baby food preparation kitchenette. 

The baby food preparation kitchenette. Only certain staff prepare the food, so portion control and preparation are carefully monitored. 

Our refrigerators. 

The volunteer check-in station. You pick up an apron and sign. There is a sign discussing health -- if the volunteer does not feel well or has a sick family member, the staff asks that he/she goes home. 

Pui with a cleaning staff lady. These ladies are indispensible. They empty the laundry, the trash, the nappy bin. They also mop, wipe, sweep, and fix things after our kids have gone through. And not a word of complaint!

Each volunteer has a velcro tag that he or she wears to identify her/himself. 

Our nappy changing station is thoroughly equipped. 

We separate our rubbish into nappies and general rubbish. Nappies with BO in them are placed in mini plastic bags and then disposed. The large bin is for dirty clothing and towels. The bin on the right is for soiled clothing, etc. 

Our nappy selection. S-XL. We also have trainers. 

Shower accoutrements 

The kids' clothes are hung on their name-tags, which are attached to this bar. 

Certain kids are placed into these high chairs so we can feed them. The older ones sit at a short table with short chairs. We feed the younger ones in the high chairs and then the older ones at the table. 

The play room

We try to teach the kids sign language (ASL)

IEP materials (below)

IEP boxes are assigned to the children. We have a checklist which we go through for each kid.