HK trip: Mongkok and Maryknoll!

With no classes to teach (Monday was a holiday for the Cheung Yeung Festival and FSH is having reading week anyway), I hopped on the ferry Monday afternoon for an overnight trip to HK. I met up with Tatiana in Central and headed to her apartment in Wan Chai - she introduced me to the tram system, which is so easy and way cheaper than the MTR!

Tatiana had warned me beforehand about certain things, like how her apartment building is next to a fish/vegetable market, but I actually found the bustling streets rather homey, similar to the Costa area where I live in Macau. She graciously took me shoe-shopping around Johnston Street, where I picked up a solid pair of Reeboks, then for dinner we got noodles and "steamed milk," a deceptively plain-looking dessert that actually has a lot of subtle flavor and a wonderfully silky texture. Apparently the restaurant is a chain with two branches in Macau, so now I want to go find them =P

Moo...I mean, yum!

Early the next morning, I slipped out and headed up north into Kowloon, getting off at the Prince Edward MTR station and walking the rest of the way to Maryknoll Convent School, a very well-regarded all-girls institution that has been around for over 75 years. I had actually met Sister Rose Duchesne (the MCS principal when Mom a student there) back in August, and she had agreed to give me a tour of the school if I could come back on a weekday, as she was usually busy tutoring on weekends. I got there by 10 AM, so while I was sitting with Sister Rose in the convent parlor, we surprised Mom with a late-evening phone call! I wish I had been able to see Mom's face when she realized her former principal was on the phone, but it was pretty funny from my end too...yay for technology!

Anyway, even if I hadn't been there for the sake of family history, Maryknoll is quite an interesting place, and Sister Rose was an excellent tour guide. Having been there for over fifty years, she could tell me not just what each building and picturesque spot was, but also some interesting tidbits of history either from her own experience or that of other nuns. It was also super-cute to see the primary school students coming in from mid-morning recess, super-bubbly and full of energy, but with everything neatly in order, from their blue uniforms to their class lines. Obviously, the uniforms have probably changed since my mother's time, but I could still imagine her (and my aunt) walking the very same corridors. Some photos below:

Our Blessed Lady in the primary school inner courtyard

The hill going to the upper primary school, which my mom and aunt have often jokingly complained about, but it's nothing compared to the UM hill =P

Part of the original secondary school (there are two relatively new wings), with biology/chemistry labs on the far left

Sister Rose and me at the Maryknoll main entrance

After leaving Maryknoll, I knew I wanted to go flats-shopping on Fa Yuen Street, where I had found my original black pair, but along the way I couldn't resist stopping in the Yuen Po Bird Garden, where dozens of vendors and songbird enthusiasts gather to sell/compare specimens. As might be expected, it was a very noisy place!

The ASPCA would also probably have a fit about the cages that the birds were kept in, but hey, it's Hong Kong...people don't have much space! I have to admit, I was sorely tempted to get a bird because they were so darn cute, but my better judgment intervened =P

Aww, lovebirds ^-^

This macaw really liked his sunflower seeds

Don't worry, that's water in the bowl, not...something stronger

A cheeky little budgie

I did finally make it to Fa Yuen Street, and after going up and down several times, I did find several good pairs of flats before ferrying back home to Macau. Overall, a very successful trip!