LTS Retreat on Cheung Chau Island

The tradition at LTS is for the faculty and students to gather for a retreat before the start of the new academic year. The retreat has been held on the outlying island of Cheung Chau for several years- to our great joy! For those of you who haven't looked at a good map of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region lately, the 'territory' is made of up numerous islands and a chunk of mainland (the New Territories- that's where LTS is located and where we live!).

Cheung Chau is a beautiful little island famous for its exclusively pedestrian streets (well, in truth there are tiny three-wheelers that are permitted for certain types of businesses- and they are a domineering force on the sidewalks!). The place we stayed, a Catholic retreat center, was absolutely lovely. It had a nice tropical feel, with palm trees and a beautiful view overlooking the ocean. I recommend it, if any of your congregations are getting tired of the same old center you've been visiting for years...

















The retreat itself was an exciting experience but also exhausting. The faculty met for a day before the students arrived, and it was a nice opportunity to meet the other professors and lecturers. Suddenly, we were working! Up until this point, we hadn't really started in our new positions, and were spending a great deal of time just settling into our new lives here.


It was thrilling to be on the 'other' side of things, getting the faculty perspective on academic life. The students' arrival brought an onslaught of Cantonese into our world, and we found ourselves worshiping through headphones and translators! It was like being at the United Nations except we had church services three times a day! Actually, it was like the UN meets Confirmation camp meets Sailor Moon!

















The students were full of life and musical talent. We were able to meet many of our future students and the international students who would be in our 'family' group at the Seminary. This family unit meets every month for activities and gives students a close group for support- Ryan and I are 'parents' (as we are teachers) in one of the two international student family groups. We have students from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Germany (the classic friendly exchange student), Thailand, Bangladesh, Scotland, and Nepal studying at LTS, as well as students from mainland China. The seminary is unique in that it operates in three languages: classes are held in Cantonese, English and Mandarin. Worship services are in one language or mixed, depending on the speaker, preacher, etc. This is very special and allows the international students to study here without any Cantonese language. We are all very proud of this fact.

We were sad to leave after a few days on the waterfront, but glad for the weekend break before the official convocation ceremony and start of the school year. The retreat was intense, and we all needed to get some sleep! (And get back to our lesson planning!)


More pictures to come, as well as the news of our English classes....

Day Trip - Macau

In order to activate our work visas, we had to leave Hong Kong. On the advice of our friends and our guidebooks, we chose to go to Macau. We hopped on a ferry and after about an hour and a half of rough seas, we were there.

We walked around for a little while, mostly past the casinos, before stopping for lunch. The casinos didn't seem that impressive, but, to be fair, we never went in any of them. They seemed like the kind you'd find in Henderson (just outside of Las Vegas). They were building a new one. It looked like a fifty story turnip (with the greens gracefully billowing into the sky).

Since we weren't impressed, we went to lunch at a Portuguese restaurant. Either the Portuguese have horrible food, or those who settled Macau had horrible taste. Everything was either stewed in its own blood or stuffed with sausages and its own blood. The french fries were fabulous, though. [Katrina adds here: after much debate, and turning down the blood, I opted for the rice and seafood dish which was like a Spanish Paella. Fabulous, and since it was already 3pm by the time we ate, I devoured it. All sorts of fun tentacle bits and a tasty Mediterranean-tomato sauce. I was assured, no soy sauce and no pork!]

We found the historic district after lunch. This was the fun part of the day. The Largo do Senado (Pictured to the left) was beautiful. They've kept up the old buildings and kept the original street (if it's new, they kept the old style). It still had the feel of an old colonial main street, with the imposing buildings lining the street with their names carved in the stone above the grand entryways. [By far, the most picturesque part of Macau!]

We found our way to the Ruinas de Sao Paulo next (see left ). This is the front facade of the oldest church in Macau. The architecture was impressive. The rest of the church burnt down some time ago, and so did the building that they built after that. Now, they have parts of the original foundation on display under glass.

The sight of the ruins with the construction of casinos off in the distance is rather an interesting sight (and commentary!). I wonder if any of the casinos have a replica of these ruins built inside them so the tourists don't have to leave the tables to see the sights of Macau?

- Ryan