No matter
what god we worship or if you don't. We all
still hope for a healthy, happy life and our dreams to come true. Man Mo Temple in Hong Kong was built in 1848 in
the early days of British Rule. Man Mo means
'civil' and 'military'. It was a temple to
settle disputes when British Law could not, dating back to Qing Dynasty legal system.
Where a ceremony was preformed and promise
made to the gods. If it was broken by either
one a curse would prevail on the one who broke it. Now people come and light incense and lanterns
for all sorts of hopes and dreams, read fortune sticks. The world is made up of many similar things, just
speak different languages, and culture by-lines. If we were all the same where would the adventure
be?
It was sad to say 'see ya' to my Chinese
family and friends and leave Kunming via the new US3 billion dollar airport
that has just opened. Impressive. All good things come to an end, a new
adventure is only just around the corner.
Well it was when Israeli girl next to me freaked out at the turbulence
whilst coming into Hong Kong. All ended
well, arh, it added some excitement. Hong
Kong is currently on Typhoon watch, at present no. 1. So the rain has set in, and at night it puts a
different spin on all the amazing pockets of Hong Kong. You can go from the bright as day night spots of
Central, to the just lit alley's from Sheung Wan train station great place to explore.
There is no other
way to put it but Friday at 1pm at camp always sux's. As the buses pull away, you wave goodbye amidst tears and smiles;
totally physically and emotionally drained.
Then you think back at the awesome week you've had and a smile starts
very slowly to come back. These kids are
never far from your thoughts, and their precious smiles. So when you explore the city of Kunming in
the afternoon and evening, it's time to discover new hidden treasures, and time
old traditions of this amazing culture.
In the back streets sits one of many tea houses. Welcomed with open arms we settled in to try
all the teas. Pretty much like a wine
tasting; although by all we tasted we would have been pretty much pickled, so
glad wasn't wine. Although would have
given it a good go, be un-Australian if I didn't! :)
By the time
Thursday comes around at camp, exhaustion slowly starts to creep in. Even though you try not to think about it
tomorrow is the day you say goodbye to these remarkable kids. When you see them smiling and laughing at all
the 'silly' things we do, you hope they carry that smile back with them and it
lasts for a while. The thing is you
really don't know. So Thursday at camp
is a big day to kick that exhaustion or whatever else ails you; keep smiling
and laughing and make the most of the couple of days you have left creating
happy memories. Let the rainbows shine.
It wouldn't be China
if you didn't see red lanterns. The
beauty they hold when at night the soft light glows down on the rainy streets,
says yep I'm in China. Back in Ancient
China they were developed to keep the open flames from blowing out, and burning
longer. Today they take on more a form
of symbolism of art. At festivals and
still homes today riddles appear on the lanterns for people to ignite the old
grey matter and figure out. Me, I think
I'd be there for a while!
First meet Rachel in
2010, that year at camp I had her younger sister Kate. One of the special and lucky things about
coming back to the same camp is to see how these kids grow. What happiness just a week at camp they hold
dear to their hearts, the smiles, love it brings. Yes,
I guess like many I thought what good does one week do? Believe me it makes a huge
transformation. Now having visited camp
three times, seeing first hand a difference this week makes to these kids is
amazing. Rachel's dream is to be a
doctor, and with her kind heart and many other plus' she will make an
incredible one. School and success are
so important to these kids, it certainly is a pressure pack to carry around.
