The Wonder Fish

When most people come to visit Hong Kong I take them to the typical tourist attractions:
1. The Peak
2. The Markets in Mong Kok
3. High Tea at the Peninsula or Four Seasons
4. A Trip to Stanley Market and the surrounding beaches
5. A stroll through the different neighborhoods like Central, Soho, and the Mid-levels via the worlds longest escalator.

And the list goes on......

When my friend P told me she was coming to visit me (2 weeks before she hopped on the 16 hour plane ride) I knew she would be up for deviating from the "typical" tourist activities.

P is one of my more adventurous friends. I know many of my friends would be up for a massage and a pedicure at a spa any day. P's spa day, however, was on a totally different level.

Last week we took a trip to a spa called Wonderfish. When we arrived at the spa the assistant first prepped P for her pedicure.


Now this wasn't your typical pedicure preformed by a trained technician. This pedicure....was preformed by hundreds of Garra Rufa fish.


Garra Rufa Fish, also called doctor fish, nibble fish, and little dermatologists, suck at the hard, dry skin on your feet. They leave your feet feeling soft and smooth. I was told it feels like hundreds of fish giving you a foot massage. P would beg to differ. If you happen to be ticklish on the bottoms of your feet, like P, this may not be your thing.

After a few minutes of squealing and a few tight squeezes of my hand, P looked like she was in paradise. Actually, she looked like she was ready to kill me for telling her this was a great way to spend 20 minutes.

Never the less, P stepped out of the pool with silky heels, toes, and calves. Now that was some healthy looking skin!

My next visitors are arriving later this week. The spa day is has already been added to the itinerary.

Spring Cleaning

Last Tuesday was a holiday here in Hong Kong. D and I were thrilled because we both were off from work that day. (Yes, I work on Tuesdays!)

So the question was, what holiday were we all celebrating? The Qingming Festival of course. Qingming Festival is also known as All Soul's Day or The Grave Sweeping Holiday. On this day Chinese families visit the tombstones of their ancestors. First they pray and the sweep the tombs clean. Then people pick out the weeds that have grown up near the stones. D and I are expert weed pullers. Every year we plant flowers in my mother's garden for Mother's Day. I'm not quite sure however that we would have blended in with the others in the cemetery.

Families then offer the deceased food, tea, wine, chopsticks, and paper accessories. They burn the food and paper accessories (money) so that their loved ones with have everything they need in the afterlife. I must say I've actually witnessed this paper accessory burning first hand at my friends grandmothers wake. I folded lots of gold paper so that J and V's grandmother would be very wealthy in her next life.


Many children bring flowers to the graveside, especially Chrysanthemums. I was told by some of my students that the holiday also symbolizes Spring and nature. Many modern families have picnics, fly kites and enjoy other outdoor activities.

This holiday really gives a new meaning to the phrase "Spring Cleaning!"

The Chinese Wedding...A 10 Course Meal

Last night D and I attended out first official Chinese Wedding Banquet. When I told people I would be attending this event, friends gave me some advice.

Those who didn't know my eating habits told me to:
1. Wear a dress with an elastic band
2. Skip lunch
3. Bring home my leftovers!

Those who knew my eating habits told me to:
1. Eat dinner before I went to the celebration

When we arrived at the hotel check in, we didn't even have to say our names. "Welcome Mr and Mrs. Fishman" the lady behind the table announced. I guess it wasn't hard to pick me out of the 400 guests who were attending the dinner celebration, since I was the only Caucasian female there.

We walked in to the Lego themed room which was filled with large round tables. There were large screens on every wall of the room flashing photos of the bride and groom. We had entered the dining room of the King and Queen.



When we reached our table, I took a quick glace at the menu. We really were going to be served 10 courses! When I eat out at a restaurant, I can usually only eat half my main and a little dessert. When I do start with an appetizer I usually complain I'm full before my main course even appears in front of me. How was I going to eat 10 courses?

I know most of you are thinking, Marisa won't eat half of the things on that menu. True True. But I must say I had to take each dish from the Lazy Susan in front of me so most things did make it to my place mat...or at least into D's dish. The lady sitting across the table from me was watching me and laughing at my every move. I kept sneaking things onto D's plate. One of my dumplings accidentally popped into D's bowl and then onto the table. D put it back in his bowl. The lady was laughing and explaining what had happened in Chinese to the other guests at the table. At least we provided good entertainment!


Everyone tells me that Shark Fin Soup is a must at a Chinese Wedding, so I got the courage to try a few sips. It actually tasted pretty good, in a sharky kind of way.
By the time dessert rolled around, I had my fair share of traditional Chinese cuisine. Then my hot sweetened red rice and sweet corn cream arrived so I just had to have a few sips. It was actually quite good although a piece of chocolate cake would win out any day.


Overall, our first Chinese Wedding banquet was a great experience. We left with full stomachs and doggie bags of oranges and chocolates. The bride and groom had several outfit changes during the course of the night. We too were ready to change...into something with a little more breathing room!

Polly want a city tour?

As we were walking through Soho one day (the area they called South Of Hollywood Road), my friend J and I noticed a woman a few feet in front of us with a colorful accessory on her left shoulder. Now I've seen some strange fashion accessory choices out here but this one had to be the strangest.

I had to get a closer look so I crept up behind the lady. Did this woman have a live parrot on her shoulder? She sure did. The woman walked through the crowded city streets and the bird stayed propped up on her shoulder. People passed her on the streets and didn't even look twice.

Pet birds are extremely popular here in Hong Kong. There are lots of stores where you can purchase or even adopt them. In Mongkok, there is an entire market dedicated to birds. As you walk through the market you can see a variety of colorful birds, cages and bird paraphernalia.

I heard that some people take their birds to the Yuen Po St. Bird Garden where they "walk" their birds. Elderly local men bring their birds in cages to the garden and walk around with them to get fresh air.

Birds aren't only used for pets here. Ducks and pigeons are specialties in many of the local Chinese restaurants. Apparently so are eggs!


Yes, this dish was served to us at a Chinese restaurant here in Hong Kong.
No, we didn't eat it!
Would you?

A Room With A View

On our recent travels to Shanghai, China, we visited the Shanghai World Financial Center Observatory. We made our way up to the 100th floor Sky Walk, the world's highest observatory. When we got off the elevator we stepped foot on to "the bridge across the sky".

The views were really quite amazing, despite the thick layer of pollution that covered the city. As you walked across the floor of the deck you could look down and see the city directly beneath you. This made me quite dizzy but moving over to the slanted windowed walls only made the room spin more.

The World Financial Center makes up an important piece of the Shanghai city skyline. Many people think the building resembles are giant bottle opener.



Data from: http://www.swfc-shanghai.com

Although the views (and air quality) were "breath taking" from the observatory, I preferred the Sky Arena on the 94th Floor. This floor housed the true room with a view.

That's so last semester...

A new semester...a fresh start.

The new semester at the school where I volunteer was about to start and I was excited to get my new group of girls. Last time, I had no idea what to expect since I had never taught English at the High School level. I had learned a lot from my girls and felt like I knew a lot more about 15 year old girls than I did when I first started.

I walked into the classroom, but down my bag (which my last class said was "cool") and introduced myself. I told the class about my life back in NYC (lots of o's and ahhh's) my family, and my new life in Hong Kong. Then I opened up the floor for them to ask me questions.

Question #1
How old is your brother? (this is an all girls catholic school so many of them have boys on their minds...and many of them don't)

Question #2
Do you have a face book account? (There is no sense lying to them since they are going to find me anyway..I just told them that teachers are not allowed to be "friends" with students while class is in session.)

Question #3
Who is your favorite singer? A smile came to my face as I immediately said, "Justin Bieber!" They all looked at each other and started laughing. A second later they all said "EWWWWWWWW"

EWWWWWW? My last class had worshiped Justin. They talked about him non-stop! I guess I was a little out of the loop because he is no longer "cool" at this school. What is? Japanese and Korean hip hop! If I had only known this a few weeks ago, I would have paid more attention to the music on my trip to Tokyo!

A few weeks have passed and I seemed to have regained my reputation as a "cool" teacher. I told the class that I wouldn't be seeing them next week since I'm taking a trip to Shanghai. As though their response had been planned, they all shouted in unison..."Souvenirs!"

"What type?" I asked. "Food and accessories," they responded. I told them I would see what I could find to bring back. One thing I know I won't be getting....anything related to Justin Bieber.

"I do" in Tokyo

We didn't know what to expect. We just knew that we weren't going to understand a lot of what was happening since the entire ceremony and party was going to be conducted in Japanese.

D's friend had prepared our gift that we would be giving to the bride and groom since everything had to be done in a particular way. The tradition is to give money in an origami like envelope called shugi-bukuro. Our name had to be written in Japanese on the front of it. It's polite to use brand new bills with no folds. We were instructed to hand the envelope to the person at the reception desk when we signed our names in the guest book. They tell us you are not allowed in unless you give a gift!


Before packing for the weekend, I asked D to find out what the other women at the wedding would be wearing since it was called for 10:30 on a Sunday morning. Most significant others were not invited, as is the tradition. D said that one wife was wearing a short daytime cocktail dress. "Gee, Thanks!"

When we arrived, I looked around the room and noticed the women were decked out! I mean Saturday night black tie wedding! EVERY single woman had her hair done up in an updo. EVERY single woman had beautifully painted nails...some with Swarovski crystals. Most woman were wearing black, the ones who weren't, were wearing a traditional Japanese Kimono. I was wearing blue.

The first part of the ceremony was held outside in the garden. It was lovely despite the fact that it was 32 degrees out and I had a short sleeved dress on. I don't think I could have stood any closer to the heater without getting burned.

The bride emerged in a traditional white wedding gown with her groom by her side. This wedding was only for the couples friends and coworkers. Family members and relatives were not included. Japanese words and rings were exchanged and golf balls were hit.


After moving into the warm building, the drinking and bowing started...a lot of it.
The groom and bride were drinking and bowing, the other guests were drinking and bowing, the waiters were (prob drinking during the ceremony) and bowing, and we were drinking and bowing (well one of us was).

A run down of the events:

A toast to the bride and groom (in Japanese)
The menu (in Japanese and French-luckily D was able to tell me what some of the things were that I would be putting into my mouth)
A movie about the bride and groom (in Japanese)
Speeches given by friends (in Japanese) --One speech was given in English because the friend was Chinese.

Then the bride disappeared for the outfit change. The bride came back with a beautiful colorful Japanese dress. Her hair was done in a completely different style.


There is a Japanese tradition to give away a bottle of wine to a lucky winner...who then just has to get married within in the year. The bride holds different pieces of rope in her hand and ties one to the bottle. All of the singles take a piece of rope, pull, and the one who is tied to the bottle wins.




And the desserts....



are just like they are back at home.

Overall, it was a wonderful affair and a great experience....we are ready for our next one.