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! 

Jipps in the USA

Hi Everyone!!

I didn't realize how long it had been since I had written! Ryan and I recently made a quick trip back to the states to see some family and friends and escape the Hong Kong heat. We only were able to stay for a little over a week which meant we didn't have much time to visit outside of Milwaukee. It was a jam packed trip with time with many family and friends and lots of fun!

We flew in on a Friday afternoon and after renting a car, drove up to Milwaukee from Chicago. Even though this is only our second trip back from Hong Kong, we already have a tradition of stopping off at the Lake Park Oasis and grabbing some Taco Bell. There's nothing quite like a cheesy gordita crunch to welcome you back to the USA.

After 16 hours on a plane, this is heaven

Immediately we were welcomed by friends and family and quickly got down to celebrating our return home. The following day we attended our favorite Milwaukee Brewfest. I was pretty excited when we realized we would be back in time for it. This will be the 3rd year we have attended and I am happy that we did not end that streak by living away.

The Brewfest crew

Tents full of beer at Brewfest

Mom & Steve- and the Easy-Cheese

The next day we invited friends over to the house for a barbeque. We were so happy to see so many of our friends come out for the afternoon and to catch up with them. Nothing is better than good friends, good weather, good food and some good beer.

Throughout the week Ryan went to work and I spent my days, well, going to Target. I enjoyed a day of shopping with some friends and then throughout the week got us stocked up on some essentials we wanted to bring back to Hong Kong. We've been able to find most of the essentials we like here in Hong Kong, however, there are still some things we like to pick up in the states.

The other main thing I did while home...was eat. I had a list of the restaurants I wanted to visit and I would say I hit 75% of them. It was so enjoyable to eat some of my favorite foods while back, though it defiantly wasn't part of any healthy diet! 

Cheese curds and a butter burger are a must in Wisconsin

What Milwaukee does best...bloody marys

Wings and ranch...my weakness

After a week of shopping, eating and seeing our friends and family, we wrapped it up with another visit from my Mom and a night out with friends. It was such a great time being back in the states and though it was short, we are very thankful for what we were able to accomplish (and no Ryan, I'm not talking about staining the deck).

Wine night with Mom

Only a few hours before we headed to the airport...nothing like enjoying every last minute

We know we weren't able to see everyone that we wish we could have, but we promise we will be back again and hope to see more people then. Thank you also to all of our friends and family who made our time back in the states a memorable week. We are so grateful for those who are able to pick up with us where we left off as if hasn't been over 6 months since we've been together. Coming back to Hong Kong made me realize that though it may not have all the comforts that we are used to back in the states, this is our home for now and we will love it till the next phase of our lives.

Guilin Trip

We continue to slowly check off destinations off our wish list! This past weekend we joined our friends from back home, Andy and Allison, for a weekend trip to Guilin. Andy and Allison are currently in the middle of a multi-stop trip around Asia and we joined them for a little bit of it here in Hong Kong and then later on this past weekend. The great thing about Ryan working for the same company here in China as back in Milwaukee is that we continue to see friends/co-workers of his that come over for work. Doesn't seem that a month will go by without seeing a familiar face from home, which is always a welcomed event.

I met up with the others in Houjie, the city where Ryan's factory is located, before we flew to Guilin. I'm getting more comfortable with doing the Hong Kong to China trip on my own but I always get pretty nervous crossing the border and feeling in a completely different place. You would be surprised how different everything seems the moment you leave Hong Kong (little English, different toilets and worst...no cell phone coverage!)

Ryan had previously been to Guilin with a few co-workers but wanted to take me sometime when the weather was warmer. Guilin is known for its beautiful landscape of interesting mountains surround river valleys. I had seen pictures from Ryan's previous trip and was very excited to see it myself. It was also an opportunity for Ryan to practice his Mandarin skills as he was the only one able to speak it out of the group. I have to say, I was quite impressed and he managed to plan an amazing weekend for us.

We started off on Saturday morning by taking a small boat down the Li River to see the Elephant Trunk Hill.

Elephant Trunk Hill..see it? 

After our short boat ride, we hopped in the car and headed off for another boat ride. This time we boarded a smaller boat for 4 people that appeared to be a bamboo look-a-like material and headed down the Li Jiang river. The river was surrounded by beautiful mountains and filled with other boats of tourists. At a stop at a riverfront along the way we picked up some beer and headed back up the river.

Mountains along the Li Jiang River

Andy and Allison enjoying the sun and water...until we hit waves and the water was all over

Another selfie by Mr. Jipp! 

After getting swarmed by women selling beer to us...we kind of stuck out as tourists everywhere we went

This felt more natural...being on a boat with a beer in our hand 

After this we headed off to the Yu Long Jiang river for some more rafting. This time the boats were actually made of bamboo with no motors and were only made for 2 people. We had a guide who pushed the boat down the river with a bamboo pole (reminded me of my failed attempt at punting in England...Mom, Steve, Erica & Grandma will remember pushing their way out from under a willow tree) but luckily we just got to sit back and relax. And of course there were the women on their own rafts along the way with cold refreshments for us!

We're on another boat! 

All the boats waiting for tourists 

Andy and Allison on their raft

You may not be able to tell but those are computer stations... in the middle of the river. They would take your picture and you could stop and have it printed out for you like you just went down a roller coaster at Disneyland! 

A very relaxing ride...until we were hit with water guns by a neighboring group

At the end of our rafting trip it began to rain so we stopped by another mountain viewing site quickly and headed home. 

Moon Mountain

For our second day we started off heading to a local tea plantation to see how it is grown, picked, prepared and of course tasting it! This was a last minute stop our tour guide threw in for free and it was really great. I never realized that all tea comes from the same plant, it is just differentiated by which leaves are picked and how it is treated afterwards. Plus I had never seen a traditional tea ceremony...makes throwing a tea bag in a cup of warm water seem pretty lazy! 

Tea plantation 

Wearing our awesome hats...which were incredibly difficult to balance on our heads

Tea processing

Sitting down for a traditional tea ceremony

Our last stop was out into the country to see the Longji Terraces which is an area of terraced rice villages built into the mountains that are hundreds of years old. Our trip seemed to hit a dead end when we came upon an area of the road covered in boulders after a planned explosion, however, our driver was awesome and got us to another area of the terraces. The area was so beautiful to see so I'm very thankful our driver had a backup plan! 

The village we visited in the terraces. These were scattered around the mountains for the people who farm the rice paddies.

A terrace up close that was within the village

Our trip was amazing and one of the more beautiful places I have ever seen. We're not quite sure where our next adventure will take us but I will be sure to keep you updated! 

The In-Laws Visit Hong Kong!!

Last week we had our first week-long visitors come to Hong Kong. Ryan's mom, Deb, and his brother, Eric, flew in from Chicago to stay in Hong Kong for the week. We were fortunate enough that Ryan had a few days off for Dragon Boat Festival so that we were all able to tour around Hong Kong together. 

We had a great time with them in town for the week. We packed in as much stuff as we could while they were here and I think we are probably all still feeling exhausted from it all. Many great memories were made but some of the ultimate highlights of the trip were: 

1) Seeing the giant rubber duck in Victoria Harbour on its last day in Hong Kong
2) Having Ryan haggle with street vendors on ridiculous t-shirts for Eric (tigers, cats and bears eating fish)
3) Deb being a great sport while both of her sons continued to teach her how to use chopsticks - she was a pro when she left! 
4) Watching Ahri go from being afraid of the strangers in her apartment to jumping up and licking their faces 
5) Seeing pandas not once but twice throughout the week 
6) Spending our overnight trip to Macau with Deb & Eric at the Venetian Hotel
7) Introducing Deb & Eric to our favorite Portuguese restaurant in Macau, Fernando's, and the sangria! 
8) Seeing the Big Buddha (one of the largest sitting buddhas in the world) for the first time myself
9) Dim sum at Maxim's City Hall and fending off all the crazy dim sum cart ladies 
10) Seafood lunch in Sai Kung after our hike was rained out (and Ahri hiding under the table) 

Deb's learner chopsticks 

T-shirt finds at the market

Panda at Ocean Park 

Deb's dream carousel ride

Venetian Hotel, Macau 

The stairs up to the Big Buddha 

Family picture on our last day in Sai Kung 

We had a great time with the family and can't wait for more visitors to come see us!