Hot? Not that super bikini swimsuit hot but very youthful. And probably the livliest of the bunch.














I did something like this back in high school but I think I should do another one now because....I want people to know me better.

I was born in Hong Kong in a baptist hospital in Kowloon. I lived about three years in Shatin City One and went to Yueng Chung Kintergarten. Yeung Chung has a special place in my heart because I some what see it as my beginning and I received a really good and responsible education there. As I realize later, some of the values and concern I have for the world such as, global warming, well-being of whales and other environmental issues started when I was in Yeung Chung because we were given a monthly newsletter about current events in the world and we also had some discussion about current events. There were also a lot of freedom in kintergarten. We were given a lot of autonomy (if that is the word for it), I can't recall too well now, but what happen would be each of us would be in a group and we rotate through different activities, such as: painting, Chinese dictation, English dictation, homework correction, math quiz, snack, free time and etc. And we move on to the next activity on our own. So for example, I know that after homework correction, I would have to do painting, and after that, I would wash up, get snack, and then have free time before I was called to Chinese dictation. Of course, I remember listening to instruction and lining up, but I don't recall being really being told what to do every step of the way like how students in primary school .

Yeung Chung kindergarten really had its own educationa philosophy and it really made an impact on my life. Things you learned from 3-5 you never forget. They are part of our permanent memory, kind of like the your operation system, or the main softwares that your computer can't do without. We were told about CFC, the ozone layers, whale being trapped by ice in the poles because of strange weather caused by greenhouse effect, the coming of new Hong Kong governor Lord Wilson and we went to plant trees. It really worked on me and I enjoyed it.

I think when I was five, our family moved to Tai Po Market at a two storey condo on the hill looking over the Tai Po Market railway station in a place called New Tong Village. It was a bigger place than our City One apartment and right next to nature. It was a great place to grwo up with. I was blessed to be growing up in really cool places for kids in Hong Kong, City One and New Tong Village.. It was a lovely time. My grandma and my youngest aunt lived below us on the ground floor and my other aunt and his two sons lived a few houses away. For a time, we would eat dinner together and grandma would make us her famous "soy sause chicken" for us. It was delicious. The oldest of my cousin was 2 years younger than I and sometimes we play together.

What was even better was that there were actually a bunch of kids there at our age. There were about 10 of us I think and people were friendly back then. Their parents looked over us and it was like a big family living in the village. There were also old Hakka people in the village who plant vegetable in the field seperating the other side of New Tong Village. The Hakka women would wake up early in the morning to farm and take care of the crops. Most of them were in ther late middle age or older and the Hakka men were friendly too. There was a dark middle aged man who often hang out outside his house and he often chatted casually with our parents and said hi to us, asking us questions. He was kind like the guardian as we go up on our level to our house. He was just always there, like an uncle. Even when we came back years later to visit, he would recognize us and talk to us.

Well, for us the kids, we did several things together, we biked, we played football (soccer), had birthday parties, and played with lanttern together during the mid-autumn festival. It was a very gay time. Sometimes, our parents would send us to another household to borrow things like onions, green onions, tools and etc... It was like living in a big family. Everybody knew one another. Most of us anyway.

After Yeung Chung kindergarten, I went to Lui Ming Choi Primary School, the school my sister went to. I still remember going to the school to take the entrance exam. The school tested how smart we were and put us in the different classes accordingly. I was in C class, 1C. My first primary teacher was Mrs. Jian. She was a tough but also loving teacher. I grew up in the days when teachers could still hit students and gave physical punishment. I did get a few slap from long wooden rules on my palm. But I got off easy, some stupid kids who repeatedly lost their homework and receied F on quizes had their heads banged against the desk and their faces slapped by their own textbooks. Nowadays, those students would probably be put into special classes. But they were just called to be "stupid" back then. They were actually not retarded, as I remember. Because I was moved from my regular seat and sat with them, and they were actually quite normal.