A post from Annie

Hi All,

This is Annie. As you all know, us Gallivans are planted in HK for about 3 years now. Life in Hong Kong really isn't that much different than in the U.S. Everyone is kind, welcoming, and pleasant.

At school, all of us have been doing well. Academically and friendship wise. Our School is very large and allows us big opportunities.

A while ago, the time around my birthday, (Feb. 3rd) our dad's parents came to visit while my parents were celebrating my mom's parents' 50th Anniversary. We had lots of fun. We went on something called the Peak Tram which is a tram that tours Victoria Peak, and went on a ferry called the Star Ferry which transports you from HK to Kowloon. One day, when my dad and grandpa went to my classroom to give me cookies, my grandpa started to show my classmates his fake knees and let them ask them questions. My friend asked him if he could still dance, and he said he could do the beetle, but only if I would do it with him. So you can pretty much understand that I had to do it with him. What a daredevil I am! But over all it was a great experience.
The school year is almost over. (Which I am very excited about!) Which means that I am narrowing down the days until our departure of HK. I can not WAIT to come home to visit all of you guys. It will probably be the best summer of my life!

Back to talking about HK, I wanted to tell you about how it feels to live beyond oceans from your family. It is hard, a dramatic change, but then again it is really cool! Hong Kong has so many cool things to do and to see.

It is also really fascinating to learn about Buddhism. On our trips to Bali and Thailand, we visited many temples and went on walks to tour the kind of life these people have.

While on our first year here, we have gone on trips to Bali and Thailand. Bali was nice, although we didn't like it that much because of the pollution. But the places we stayed at were nice and had excellent hospitality. Thailand was really enjoyable, we stayed at this nice villa 50 yards away from the beach with our cousins, the Sneddens. We went on a snorkeling trip which was really cool. The sea life in Thailand was really interesting; but we had to watch out for the sea urchins! Also in Thailand, we went on a night canoeing tour through some bat caves. It was fascinating because at the end of the caves were lagoons with some kinds of cool monkey around. During that boat trip, we also made blessings for the Buddhism god of water. The blessings looked really cool!

I have to go, but I just want to say to everyone that I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE SUMMER!!!! ONLY 6 WEEKS :)

Love,

Annie