Vive Les Frenchies!

Things were less than stellar in Hong Kong for the first two months (see On Edge). School was overwhelming and that brought on other worries about my current situation and the future. In the past three weeks things have turned drastically for my favor. I gave up on trying to change things at school and learned how to just show up and have fun with my kids. My friends and I enjoy each other more now that we don’t have dramatic situations at work and instead are strengthening our friendships on other basis. The future looks bright.

This weekend was certainly one of the most enjoyable I can remember thus far. I spent time with my good friends here and even met a great new group of people afaffectionatelyeferred to as 'The Frenchies'. Andrew plays on a few soccer teams in town and on Thursday I met some players from the French team. They are all right at our age and are loads of fun. They fulfill every French stereotype in the book. From ‘ze way dat dey speak’ to the wavy-haired guy from Bordeaux with a sweater tied around his neck.

I haven't spent much, if any, time in my life around the French so my Southern grown ideals about them are certainly askew. I learned something about the real French this weekend and they are one of the most fun groups of people I have ever been around. I laughed so hard with them that I may have developed a hernia.

Most of my new amis will be here the entire time I am in Hong Kong and I am so grateful for so many new friends. I’m sure that there are many great times to come and a plethora of stories to tell.

Macau

Andrew and I took the ferry to Macau this weekend to watch the Grand Prix. Many claim that Macau is on a fast track to replace Las Vegas as the gambling capital of the world. If the Chinese economy keeps growing at this pace, I bet it will be there within ten years.

Saturday night we checked out a few of the new casinos in town including the new Wynn, but couldn't afford to stay there. We ended up at the Sands and lost a little money on black jack before we headed for our cave at the Best Western.

On Sunday morning we had a cold, yet free breakfast at the hotel and headed to the race. We didn't know anything about the event, but thought it would be fun. At noon when we showed up they were racing the BMW's and Opel hatchbacks you might see at the grocery store. Regardless, they were loud and fast. After that there was a classic motorcycle parade, a lion dance and then the F3 race. Those cars were twice as loud and extremely fast.

The race was exciting and we enjoyed ourselves in the stands. I'm not sure if I'll go back to Macau for awhile though. There are many greater cities in Asia and I plan to see most of them.

The Air in Stanley

Coming to Hong Kong, one of the factors I was most concerned about was the climate. I had heard it was hot and humid and I dreaded moving back into a Houston-esque sweatbox. I have been here for almost three months now and the weather is super. The temperature has barely budged from 85 degrees and the humidity is far from overwhelming.

On Sunday, I put on my shorts and T-shirt and pondered the greatness of the weather that day as I set out for the beach. On the other side of Hong Kong Island are some scenic beaches with ex-pat filled luxury apartments looming over them. I headed for a certain area known to the tourists as Stanley Market. It was a typical street market filled with knockoff clothing and souvenir knick-knacks. Along the coast there is a new board walk being built with some nice restaurants lining the strip. Lauren and I had some wine and mussels and watched the sun set over the mountains.

It was another long and pleasant weekend in Hong Kong. They keep saying the air will get cooler soon, but everything feels fine right now.