Santa: It's a Kind of Magic!

Sorry, for the delay in posts but I just returned from Christmas holiday in Hong Kong.

And what was special about this Christmas? Well, it's the last Christmas (most likely) that my 10 year old son Gabriel (Who just turned 11 this week) will be looking to Santa Claus to bring his presents.

Granted, he has had his doubts the last year or so. But something magic happens at Christmas...and he wants to believe. A couple days before Christmas, we went to Disneyland. When Gabriel saw the Santa Claus there and the long line of children waiting to sit on his lap, he said, "Papa, that's not the real Santa Claus." I thought, "Wow, he really does believe."

On Christmas Eve Tammy and I were with a group of friends enjoying a wonderful dinner party with good wine and good conversation. About 11:30 PM my son came up and tugged on my sleeve, "Papa, we need to get home or Santa is not going to come to our house." I told him he was right and we soon made our way by cab across Hong Kong to our lodging. Gabriel kept looking out at the Hong Kong skyline (which is one of the most beautiful in the world) looking to see if Santa's sleigh filled the moon light.


We were staying at a friend's apartment while they were away in South Africa and Tammy had arranged a small Christmas tree on the kitchen table along with some stockings and decorations. The cab arrived at the apartment complex and I hurredly paid the driver and rushed with Tammy and Gabriel to get to our temporary home before Santa did. (It's so cool that Santa always knows where we are).

Gabriel had been sleeping on the couch but tonight we insisted that he sleep with us in our bedroom as he couldn't be out in the living room when Santa came.
I watched Gabriel carefully prepare the plate of cookies and milk for Santa not forgetting a carrot for Rudolf.

And then it hit me...

This would be the last Christmas my son would go to sleep knowing Santa Claus was on his way. Yes, he was 10 years old and had begun to question the notion...but tonight was Christmas Eve...and at 10 years old there was just a little magic still left in the air...and because of that, tonight, for one last time

... Santa Claus was coming to town!!

Christmas Party in the dorms

Our last night in the dorms before the Christmas holidays was a fun one. Two of our dorm students will not be returning when school starts again so we decided to do something special for Mike and Tom on their last night with us.

The meals in the dorm are prepared by a local restaraunt and although enjoyable, can get a little routine. The boys love hamburgers so we decided to do a "hamburger bar" party with all the fixings. I cooked up bacon, we had different cheeses, and our regular restauraunt provider sent over a huge tub of potato salad.


Afterwards we had card games going and good fun. Tammy and I felt a little guilty as we are still getting used to having a live-in maid or ayi who provides all the cleaning. We feel a little spoiled having a big party and someone else doing the dishes afterwards :)

Sailing Race

Gabriel had his first sailing race as part of the sailing club he is in. Although it's getting pretty cold, we were blessed with a sunny day. It was a lot of fun but I have to admit to being one of "those" dads who was getting frustrated when Gabriel got stuck at one point.

"In irons" it is called when the wind comes head on and is difficult to catch. I was yelling instructions to Gabriel (who was to far out to hear me) and needed to calm down...and did with a "nudge" from Tammy. Gabriel came in 4th overall and he really loves sailing so we look forward to his continuing in the spring.

Anniversary

I'm going to take a break from our stories in China to mark a special anniversary for Tammy and I. It's not our wedding anniversary, or one of our birthdays. No...on Dec. 8 1991, Tammy and I fell in love. Our relationship went from a friendship to realizing we were going to get married.

We were at a mutual friends wedding in Chicago. Perhaps it was the romance in the air...but we kissed...then prayed and asked for God's direction and blessing. One week later I flew down to Louisiana and asked her to marry me.

We never dated!. We literally went from being platonic friends to engagement. Would totally recommend it. I married my best friend.


Seventeen years later, we're still here. Loving God, loving each other, loving others!

So for all you guys or girls who secretly pine for that "friend". There is hope! :)

Beijing with Gabriel

I needed to return to Beijing to pick up my passport. Gabriel has been begging to visit Beijing sometime so although I would only be there a short time, my little boy came along. We had SO much fun!! After leaving the embassy (Gabriel thought it was so cool we were on U.S. soil) we went to Tiananmen Square.

It was SO cold!! The wind was howling and sliced right through our clothing. Despite that there were many people out on the square. Not much had changed since my visits there many years ago other than you now have to pass through a security point to get onto the square. From there we went to the Imperial Palace, otherwise known as the Forbidden City. We chose to take the audio tour so as you walk around this immense city / palace the audio device picks up where you are in the city and begins explaining in your ear the different details and history.

Because much of the Forbidden City is outside, we kept ducking into souvenir shops to have hot chocolate and escape the brutal cold. We then paid a cab to take us to a shopping center but it turned out to be a motorcycles with a two seat, jury rigged, passenger area hanging out the back with a little metal box over you to break most of the wind. We must have looked funny zooming through the streets of Beijing on the back of this contraption.

Beijing has changed so much since I was a student there in 1991. Back then if you wanted western food you needed to go to a hotel and the food was "hit or miss". Either that, or there were three Kentucky Fried Chicken's in the city. Now, there is a plethora of familiar names such as Hard Rock cafe, TGIF's, and Outback Steakhouse. I was all for Outback but when Gabriel heard there was a Papa John's Pizza, that ended the discussion.

We stopped at a special grocery store with imported groceries from the U.S. and Europe. Won't bore you with the details of all the "Oh my gosh, they have..." moments other than to say that when Gabriel saw A & W rootbeer I thought he was going to lose it. He started hugging a can right in the aisle and muttering, "I love Beijing, I love Beijing."

When we got to security at the airport they stopped Gabriel who had a can of A & W in his back pack. They wouldn't let him through and were going to confiscate it. Obviously they have never dealt with Gabriel. He took the can, opened it, and starts chugging it down on the spot. He downed it so fast that a huge involuntary belch erupted out of him. I know its bad, but I could not stop laughing.

In the end, Gabriel and I had a great father - son bonding time.

Thanksgiving

Unfortunately for us, the International School we work for is not American based so the Hackmans had to work on Thanksgiving. We were a little jealous of some of the teachers from church who work at the American International School as they DID have the day off for a big feast.

However, a newly opened Western restaurant here in Huangdao advertised that they were doing Thanksgiving dinners complete with turkey, pork loin, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, and pie. Because our responsibilities require us to be with the dorm students on weeknights, I got the OK from the school to take them all out with us for a "cultural" experience.

Before the dinner, we all took turns going around the table saying something they are "thankful" for...and then we plowed in.

When we asked for out pie, the waiter replied, "no". Living in China you learn that hospitality standards are...a little bit different. To be fair, you can't go from the Cultural Revolution to a "service" culture without hitting a few speed bumps. When we explained that pie was included in the price of the meal he said, "No, you must pay more".

Don't worry, the Scottish manager came over and sorted us all out with fresh peach pie and banana fosters.

The only thing missing for our Thanksgiving, besides our families :( was a little football!

Beijing

My passport is going to expire in March and with a Christmas planned in Hong Kong I thought I'd better get it renewed. Ten years ago I could not get checked in to a flight for Singapore because I needed six months left on my passport and I only had five. Was not going to let that happen again!

Unfortunately, I needed to go to Beijing, where the U.S. Embassy is located. This involved flying there, taking a taxi into the city, dropping off the passport application, taking a taxi back to the airport, and flying home. Lots of fun!

Some interesting things happened along the way. First of all, I could not believe how much Beijing has changed. I lived there in 1991 for 6 months and have not visited there since 1994. First of all the airport had transformed from a hick, backward structure to a 21st Century ultra modern facility. The airport even had a Burger King. I don't eat much fast food anymore but after 4 months in Qingdao, when I saw it, I wanted to cry. Great Wall? Been there (13 times). Forbidden City? Been done... Tiananamen Square? Have led tours. Not one of those things could be as fulfilling in that moment as a Double Beef Whopper with Cheese, Fries, and a Coke made my way . :)

The city has also transformed from a city that gets around by bike, to a city that gets around by car. Huge new roads and avenues ring the city but that still didn't stop me from getting stuck in traffic as heavy as any L.A.freeway.




Because my flight was not until later in the evening, I had a chance to visit an old friend of mine who runs a business outside of Beijing. Because of the company's Christian roots they also operate a children's foster agency called New Day Foster Home. The foster home takes in children who are "special need". Often the children are abandoned because of their handicap and the fortunate ones end up at New Day. I heard the stories of many of these precious children which often involved many life saving surgeries to repair hearts, stomachs, deformities and the like. My heart went out, not only for these precious children, but for the many volunteers, and to the parents who adopt these kids into their home. Jesus' quote, "Whatever you do for the least of my brethren, you have done it for me" was never so appropriate than in this foster home.

The trip to Beijing lasted less than 12 hours but my time at New Day will be with me much, much longer.