Hong Kong Trip -- Surprise Boodle Fight

Ben and I agree that the most influential part of our visit was meeting the sisters in Mum and Dad's branch -- the Peninsula 2nd branch.  This is a very unique branch because it has 8 men and 97 sisters.  Most of the men are called to be in the ward so that there is priesthood leadership.  The sisters are all domestic workers who come to Hong Kong from other countries (mostly the Philippines and Indonesia) to earn more money than they could back home.  They use the money to support their families far away.  Many of them are married with husbands and children.  All of them leave for years at a time.  I met one sister who had been away from home for 20 years.  To say that Ben and I were in awe when we met these sisters is an understatement.

The day after we arrived in Hong Kong was a national holiday, so by law all of these sisters had the day off.  Whenever this happens they typically have ward activities since they are each other's family away from home.  They told us we would be hiking a waterfall and to only bring rice and drink.  It took us a while to get up to the beautiful mountains in the New Territories (all of our transportation on the trip was public transportation), and once we arrived we found the sisters hard at work grilling food.

A while before Ben and I left for Hong Kong, the sisters wanted to put on a "boodle fight" for Mum and Dad as a wedding anniversary gift.  A boodle fight is a traditional Filipino feast where banana leaves are spread over a table like a table cloth, and all the food is laid out artistically on top of it.  Then everyone sits down and eats with their hands.  Mum asked the sisters if they would wait to do the boodle fight until Ben and I were visiting.  They agreed.  But then right before we left we found out that President Russell M. Nelson would be visiting Hong Kong when we were and that he would be having a fireside during the time the boodle fight was scheduled.  Obviously we were excited about being able to listen to President Nelson, but we were disappointed about missing the boodle fight.

So when we showed up for the branch activity and they started putting banana leaves down on the table, and then rice, and then noodles and vegetables, and then meat, we started getting suspicious.  Sure enough, they had all come together to surprise us with a boodle fight!  It was awesome!

One of my favorite parts of the trip was meeting all the senior missionary couples that work with Mum and Dad in the Area office. The Chamberlains also attended the boodle fight and they are a riot.

Rice, noodles, purple sweet potatoes, corn, cucumbers, sausages, squid balls, okra, fish, pork, chicken wings, and hard boiled eggs.

They also made a chocolate cake for Mum and Dad.  I can't really emphasize enough how much these sisters love Mum and Dad and vice versa.  So many of them came up to me to tell me that Mum and Dad are like their second set of parents.

One of the serious learning curve I had to go through as the cliche American tourist was learning what different cultures consider to be dessert.  In Hong Kong, a lot of treats are made up out of black sesame seeds or red beans.  The Filipino sisters consider bread and butter to be dessert.  They also topped it with egg salad.

Before our hike, the sisters encouraged me to go use the bathroom with them.  "We brought toilet paper so you should come with us," they said. I came to learn that not all public restrooms provide toilet paper, although most do.  I also came to learn that a lot of public restrooms have squat toilets. I was happy to be able to say that  I had experienced it once, but unfortunately that wasn't my only experience having to use a squat toilet on the trip.  :)

I also came to realize on the trip that many women in Hong Kong opt not to use toilet seats, and instead use regular toilets as squat toilets.

You're welcome for that little tidbit of information. :)

Bridal Pool was crowded that day since it was a holiday.  We got to see people of all nationalities and religions.

I thought Americans were terrible with the numbers of selfies taken.  Americans can't even compare to Asians.  They seem to take all of their electronic devices everywhere and always have a selfie stick on hand.

The boodle fight was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.  I am so grateful the sisters surprised us with it!