Wordless Wednesday

The New Me

I LOVE making baby food! It has become one of my new passions in life. My super sister- in- law recomended the book "Super Babyfood" to me and I have been inspired. It feels so good to feed Josiah his "Super Porridge" each morning packed with awesome nutrients for his little body. I have also been forming new healthy habits for Jason and I in the process. Here are new foods that we are now eating; brown rice, millet, flax seed, brewers yeast(ok- actually only Josiah eats this, yuck!), pumpkin seeds, barley, bran, kelp, split peas, lentils, and oatmeal. I just find it so fun to soak, cook, steam, grind, and freeze the food. We are also trying to substitute beans and whole grains for meat which is helping our budget.
Before you get too excited (or worried) about the new and improved me, I should confess to the fact that I am eating sour candy as I type this, mmmm (some habits may take longer to change).

Wordless Wednesday

Cantonese Tones

The other night my friends Mandy and Joey (HK locals)were over for dinner. Here is our converstaion

J: Yau mo tong? (do you want soup)
C: What is tong?
J: soup
C:Isn't 'tong' also sugar?
M and J: Ha, ha Christine, you're so funny! No that's a totally different word.
C: Well, whats the word for sugar?
M: tong
C: Ai- ya!

Having a Ball

Our estate, Granville Garden, has a playroom that is just perfect for Josiah right now. Everything is carpeted, padded, and frequently sterilized- allowing me to relax a bit when I bring him down. Just about everyday we visit the playroom to crawl, walk, go down the slide and watch the "big kids" play (his favorite). Since we moved in the ball pit has been empty, but just last week they filled it up- yeah! Josiah was not quite sure what to do at first when we put him in the pit. For a while, he just sat and stared at the sea of colorful balls. After a while he picked up two and banged them together. He was very serious about the whole experience. We could not get him to smile, but I think the pictures are still pretty cute. (:

Injustice

For those of you who check our blog to see pictures of our little man (Grandma) I promise more are coming. But now I have some thoughts to get off my chest. Yesterday I visited our friend Galant, a refugee from the Congo. He has been trying so hard to follow the rules imposed upon him by the government, learn English, go to church and basically survive in the hostile environment of Hong Kong. Yesterday he was feeling discouraged and run down at how difficult life is. After escaping Congo with nothing more than his life and cousin, he has been greeted in HK with imprisonment, slow bureaucracy,discrimination, and language/ cultural barriers. Apart from the help our church gives him, Galant is given around $100 a month and is forbidden to work. Survival in this expensive city is just not possible on that.

After hanging out with Galant, I skipped off to my job where I am filling in teaching a couple classes at my friend's dance studio. It struck me on the train that in 2 hours of twirling and skipping around with three year olds I can earn what Galant is given in month. How wrong is that! The only reason I can get paid so well in this job is because I am a "native English speaker" and the only reason Galant is in his position is because he is from the Congo. The injustice truly breaks my heart. Well, I guess those are all my scrambled thoughts for now. Tell me what you think. . . .

Wordless Wednesday

I still laugh every time I pass by