Hong Kong and a convenient noodle

We are back from Hong Kong and I'm pleased to say we are happy to be home.  Don't get me wrong, I loved Hong Kong.  It was clean, well organized, people spoke good English, and it felt very western.  We saw lots of friends from back home.  It felt like a reunion.  We ate good food and talked about our current trials learning the language and culture.  I thought about all of our friends learning chinese back home.  Especially our cantonese speaking friends.  I felt like any minute I would turn a corner and see Nancy or Katherine speaking to a local.  I have a new appreciation for the Cantonese people.  Sam and I noticed that speaking mandarin with the Cantonese was actually easier than with a native mandarin speaker.  They speak slower and use simpler words.   We felt pretty good about our speaking ability....that is, until we got back here.  My only complaint would be that our stay in Hong Kong was too short and the train was too long.  Spending 30 hours on a train to get home is not my idea of a fun way to end a trip.  It took about 24 hours to get to Hong Kong and another 30 hours to come back.  Ugh.  I will spare you the details but lets just say the bathroom situation leaves much to be desired and there is no such thing as a "non-smoking" section even if there is a sign that says so. On the train people eat what we would call back home "cup of noodles" for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Here it is called 方便面 (fang bian mian) which literally means "convenient noodle".  It is very convenient too.  All you need is some hot water and you've got a meal. Because it is so popular here they have a large variety to choose from.  You can even have rice noodles with tofu! I had brought with us beef flavored convenient noodles but by the end I was wishing for my friend's chicken flavored rice noodles.  It was good to be with friends so we could keep ourselves entertained.  We played cards, told stories, and had fun with mad libs.  I was also able to see much of China's countryside.  I can now say for certain that China is a beautiful country...depending on where you go.  I saw so many places that looked like a picture in a travel book.  I only wish the train could have stopped in those areas so I could take some pictures.  I do have some pictures as you can see.  They are of us spending time in Hong Kong and on the train.  Enjoy!