1 Year in Asia

Hello Again!

A few weekends ago Ryan and I celebrated being in Asia together for 1 year. This past year has really solidified the meaning to me of, "Time goes by fast when you're having fun." We've been to 6 different countries, had hundreds of stamps added into our passport (mostly Ryan with at least 4 a week from China) and added one small dog to our family. This past year has been life changing to say the least.

Oddly enough, over our 1 year anniversary weekend, we were traveling to Xian, China. Ryan was there during the week to do recruiting at some local universities so we decided to meet up and travel over the weekend. Luckily for us we were joined with some of Ryan's co-workers who were amazing tour guides and translators for us throughout our trip.

Ryan ready to recruit some more engineers! 

Our first stop was to visit the Terracotta Army. The Terracotta Army was built for Emperor Qin as a protective army for his afterlife. Building began in 246 BC and took 700,000 workers to complete over the Emperor's lifetime. It wasn't until a farmer was trying to dig a well in 1974 that the Army would later be discovered. Only a small fraction of the tombs are currently open and the majority of the army still remains buried. 

The farmer who discovered the Terracotta Army

The largest tomb uncovered so far

Portions of the tomb currently being excavated

Partial warriors being currently placed together 

In front of Qin's main tomb which has yet to be touched

The next day after a trip to the Xian History Museum, we headed over to the Xian City Wall. The wall is a 14 km square that centers around the heart of Xian. It was used to protect the citizens from attack when Xian was the capitol of China. 

The popular thing to do is rent bicycles and ride the entire loop of the wall. Ryan talked me into a tandem bike saying, 'When are we ever going to get to ride a tandem bike again?' Well...I think we are happy we took our opportunity and not eagerly search out another one again. It took us a bit but we managed to get the hang of the bike and enjoy a nice little ridge on a 2,000 year old wall. 

The beginning of our trip- all smiles

Once we got the hang of it we moved onto take selfies 

The wall at night

That night we were able to slip away for dinner and some light-seeing on our own. Some things you just have to see twice- once in the day and once at night. Plus, Ryan promised me there was a Dairy Queen nearby and I can never pass up a chance to get a Blizzard, espcially since Hong Kong doesn't have one yet! 

The ceiling of the mall was a large screen that played a video of changing seasons

Ryan and I have had an amazing year living in Hong Kong and we can't wait to see what the next year brings! We can't thank everyone enough for their wonderful support and love that we feel from the other side of the world- if it weren't for that it would be a lot more difficult to live so far away; thank you. 

- Kirby 

Checking more off the bucket list...

Hello everyone!

The summer is finally coming to a close in Hong Kong and the temperatures are dropping. We recently had my parents visit us over the Chinese National Day. It was great to have them come to Asia for the first time and we also got in some traveling of our own.

Chinese National Day is celebrated on October 1st and signifies the day that the Peoples Republic of China was formed. Luckily for us, Ryan's company shuts down for 7 days and we are able to use that time for travel.

My parents first met us in Beijing where we spent a few days touring around. Our first stop was Nanluoguxiang, a long alleyway filled with shops, bars and restaurants. It has an 800 year history, which is strange to see a Starbucks sitting in the middle of. For dinner that night we decided to introduce my parents to Peking Duck, one of our favorite Chinese dishes and a Beijing specialty. Peking duck is typically served by having the chef prepare the duck table side; first by slicing off the crispy skin which is then put into a rice wrap (similar to tortillas) along with plum sauce and onion. Then the remainder of the duck chopped up and prepared however you like. Mom managed to survive her first full animal being served at the table and they both used chopsticks (for as long as they could handle)!

Nanluoguxiang Street

Peking duck preparation 

The next day, which was Chinese National Day, we started off by walking towards Tiananmen Square. We quickly realized that everyone in Beijing seemed to have the same idea, which was even more difficult as everyone was using an umbrella to protect from the rain. As we got closer to the square, we became aware that it was closed for the morning due to a ceremony, so we started off towards the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City was beyond what any of us expected...and we were told only 30% of it is open to the public and we didn't even see all of that! The Forbidden City opened in 1420 and was the imperial palace to emperors from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty until it became under the care of the Palace Museum in 1925.

Forbidden City 

We walked from building to building, each one seeming larger or more opulent than the next. There were large stone carvings, gardens filled with trees hundreds of years old and intricate details throughout the outside and inside of the halls.

After lunch we walked around Jingshan Park, which after a small (though if you ask Steve it was the size of Everest) hill we were able to get a great overlook of the Forbidden City. Luckily for us, the rain had stopped and cleared out the sky (the air quality levels were beyond what is considered 'toxic' when we had arrived the previous day) and beyond our belief we saw blue skies in Beijing!

View of the Forbidden City from Jingshan Park 

Our next stop was to Beihai Park where we ended up renting a small boat and driving around for an hour, relaxing and enjoying the random waves and 'hello' from people passing by. We then walked to a nearby bar and restaurant area and relaxed even more with a few drinks.

The next day we had hired a tour guide to take us to the Great Wall at Mutianyu. This section is a restored part of the wall, but compared to another popular section called Badaling, it is less touristy which was very necessary since we were going during such a busy time. After an hour ride, we arrived and took a cable car to the top. We walked along the wall for awhile, before my parents decided to rest and Ryan and I hiked up one of the last steep sections. It's pretty crazy to be up there and see it continue on and on forever (and luckily it was still clear enough that we could)! The section we were on was also very steep, making it unimaginable how they made such a huge wall at a time without most of the equipment we have today.

Finally at the Great Wall!  

Narrow paths with no rails were common

It just goes on forever

Another check off the bucket list! 

View from the highest point we made it to 

On our way home we pulled over to see the Beijing National Stadium (Bird's Nest) and the National Aquatics Center (Water Cube) used during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The best view we could get of both sites

That night we walked over to Tiananmen Square to see the area. Tiananmen Square is a large city square that is located along one of the gates of the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the location of many military ceremonies, previous government protests and gatherings of citizens during holidays.

Crowds gather in Tiananmen Square

Monument to the People's Heroes

Tiananmen gate to the Forbidden City

After dinner that night we ventured down to a popular tourist area nicknamed 'Snack Street'. Here you can find just about anything you can think of cooked on a stick. No, this is not the type of stick foods we get excited about every year at the Wisconsin State Fair...they're more of the creepy, crawly type.

Not kissing that mouth for awhile! 

Scorpions

Our last day we toured The Temple of Heaven and several other smaller temples before heading to the airport for my parents next part of their vacation...Hong Kong!

Temple of Heaven 

No longer just a housewife...

Hello everyone! 

It's been awhile since my last post and as you've seen since then I have began working in Hong Kong as a physiotherapist (still not used to that work in my vocabulary). I was recommended a clinic in the neighboring district by a friend from church who forwarded my resume on to the manager. Fast forward to now and I'm in my third week of work and adjusting back to working pretty well. It's been quite a change for me since I haven't been working in an outpatient clinic since a clinical in college but I'm learning a lot in the process. 

I work part-time, Monday/Wednesday/Friday for 6 hours a day. It's enough to give me something to do away from the apartment but not too much that we need to get somebody to take care of Ahri while I'm away. It also gives me the flexibility to travel with Ryan whenever the opportunity is there for us. 

My patients have been a mix of local Hong Kong residents and expats from all over the world. I've learned how to phrase my normal questions differently and to not be shocked by some answers (did not expect 'black magic' to be a form of prior treatment a patient may try). The main sport I am seeing injuries from is rugby (do NOT try to compare it to American football...they just laugh at you) and I continue to learn more each day from some past and current rugby players I work with. The other big cause for patient's coming in is bad posture from sitting at a desk for long periods of time. Now I thought the cubicle life in the US was bad but I've spoken to some people who are working 12 hours a day and not getting up for lunch. The corporate world here in Hong Kong is a lot more intense mentally and physically!  One of the big differences I noticed right away with working here in Hong Kong is that I work on a commission basis for each patient I see. It's a lot different than the hourly pay I was used to in the US hospital system but is nice for flexibility if I don't have any patients scheduled. 

It's been fun to make relationships with co-workers from all over the world and compare backgrounds on training and such. Some people have asked if we do any Eastern medicine in our clinic and the answer is 'a little'. 2 of the physios are trained in acupuncture and use it fairly regularly with patients. I've been told the training in Hong Kong is 2 years and is mostly in Chinese, so very few expat physios are qualified. The other main difference I have found in our clinic is the use of clinical pilates and pilates machines for treatment. Luckily I've had a few slow days and have been able to test it out and begin using it with patients! 

It's been a great first few weeks and I look forward to continuing to learn more from my co-workers and patients. I've been very fortunate for this opportunity to finally come around and can't wait to see what the future holds! 

PS- Happy early 1 year wedding anniversary to my wonderful husband, Ryan. Thank you for supporting our little family in Hong Kong during the past almost year. I know it was stressful and uncertain week to week, but you always were so supportive and had such a positive outlook to help get me through. I love you so much and can't wait to see you when you return home next week! 

Ahri says hi! 

Extreme Rafting in China

Hello!

Ahri and I are stuck inside all day waiting out Typhoon Utor. Everything is literally shut down; schools, public transportation, businesses. We went for our morning walk in between rain showers and it was a ghost town. So far the weather hasn't seemed too bad, some strong winds here and there, but nothing like what I was expecting to have even our building's gym closed. 

Before all this crazy weather hit, Ryan and I joined a group of his co-workers for another short trip in China this past weekend. It's fun to see what $15 can get you for a day trip. We boarded a bus early Saturday morning and after a couple hour drive, we stopped in Qingyuan. We visited a couple of tourist locations before going rafting that afternoon to make it a full day. Our first stop was to a bamboo and aloe 'farm'. I use the word 'farm' loosely because it mainly ended up being a tourist trap. We were shown a couple of aloe and bamboo plants in a garden and then brought into a classroom where they began showing all the different products made from the plants (at least I assume, it was all in Mandarin). Then after the class, we conveniently had to walk through a store with all the products we were just shown to exit! 

After a quick stop at a lookout (which no one walked up to due to the heat) and lunch, we were off to a deer farm. Yep, nothing like 2 country kids from Iowa living all the way in China and going to see deer living in a cage. After seeing a few deer, we were brought into yet another classroom and shown more products made from various parts of the deer (once again, from what I can assume). They had some things such as oils that were similar to IcyHot or Bengay to provide a cooling effect. 

After the deer farm we were off for some rafting, or drifting, as it is called in China. We weren't sure if it was going to be the same type of rafting we had done back in the states, but we were excited to try it out. When we got to the actual rapids we found it was a 2 person raft without paddles. The best way to describe it was a water-slide on steroids with lazy rivers in-between. Everyone was also given buckets, which caused mass-chaos of water fights during the lazy river portions. Ryan and I ended up being the targets frequently since we seemed to be the only white people in the whole city. We had a great time experiencing something new in China!