a month of posts - day two

Dad was in Hong Kong and China for three weeks in September. Someone gave him a gift box of individually packed 龍鬚糖 dragon beard candy! Dad had no idea what he brought back, just knew it was edible! haha My entire family (except dad) was in awe that 1) omg we had dragon beard candy!!! 2) in Perth 3) they were in small packs like back in the days when we had them in little trays fresh off the vendor stands 4) and tastes even better refrigerated beforehand... Dragon beard candy is a Chinese delicacy/confectionery made of finely spun strands of sugar and has crushed peanuts and sesame in it, and looks like fairy floss a silkworm cocoon. I remember growing up in Hong Kong, every now and then we would spot a vendor who would create this candy from scratch, and we would just stand in front of the stand mesmerised by how it's all done. I reckon it's a dying art form as it's now often made by machines.

me taste testing a dragon beard candy (verdict: yum!)

Currently loving:
- Scrabble on facebook
- receiving good news... I got back home today to find out I had received a letter from my city council inviting me to attend my citizenship ceremony. Slight hiccup however... as I will be out of town on the day of the ceremony. I'll talk to the council about this small glitch, but I'm so grateful that the citizenship application process has gone so smoothly! yippee!

another month of posts - day eight

I heart China 中國. The country had been on my heart for almost a decade now. Something in me gets really excited when I think of the place. And I'm thrilled that everyone's getting geared up for the Beijing Olympics in August... I can still remember the day (back in July 2001) when it was announced that Beijing was going to host the 2008 Olympics, I was living in Beijing at the time and the whole city was just going nuts over the news. Everyone started buying up English language learning books, the city was being transformed landscape-wise each day, so much so that roadworks could look extremely different within just one day. I love the country's diversity... languages, foods, ethnic groups, geography, architecture, history, etc. It's been weird me living in Perth, and feeling that it's home, yet I'm still drawn to China. Guess I'll keep praying and see how it all pans out. In the meantime I'm getting ready for the Games. I'll definitely be watching the women's hockey as one of my friends will be competing! So proud of her woot woot! I'm currently fascinated and mesmerised by the Beijing National Aquatics Center (北京國家游泳中心) aka the Water Cube (水立方), the building is not only aesthetically whimsical (it was inspired and based on the structured of soap bubbles) but also has incorporated water saving and environment conscious features. A special feature of the building is the 'Bubble Bar' where visitors can touch the bubble membrane of the building... too awesome!

(Photos from Beijing 2008)