A Typical Day

So it just hit me that most of you don't know what a typical day looks like for me while I'm here in Hong Kong. Here's my best attempt to describe it:

A typical day for me ideally involves me waking up at 6:30 so I can pray and read my Bible. Of course, as the week goes on, I get more and more exhausted, and this time generally moves back a few minutes each day until the start of the next week, when it goes back to 6:30. Around 7:30, I start to get ready for work, and I leave for work around 8. On my way to the tram stop, I stop at the bakery for breakfast. I then take the tram (basically a double-decker cable car) to the bus stop and take a bus from there to work. I arrive at the office at about 8:30. Work starts at 9, so the half hour is usually very quiet in the office. (I don't leave early to be an overachiever. After my roommate had been here a few weeks, I realized I hardly saw him, largely because he was leaving for work at 8 and I was waking up after he left for work. To try to have more time to hang out with him, I decided to leave for work earlier so we can ride together until I get off the tram.) If it looks like a busy day, I will sometimes use the time I'm in the office before work starts to get a head start on my work. Otherwise, this is time for checking email, sports scores, facebook, news updates, or catching up on Bible reading I should have done earlier in the morning but slept through.

Once work starts, I have a number of things I'm responsible for each week. I generally have to prepare a lesson for either the youth group (Shillage) or for Sunday School (Soul Cafe). Nathan prepares the lesson for whichever one I'm not teaching, which means starting November 26, I will have to prepare an extra lesson each week (because Nathan's leaving). I also have to prepare for discipleship group meetings (I have 3 a week). Some weeks, I go do stuff at a Christian School in the area so I can get more interaction with the kids outside of a church environment. I am also responsible for planning events and taking care of whatever else arises throughout the week. Often, I will meet with people for lunch, whether that is students who are free, Nathan to discuss work and life, other youth workers from around Hong Kong, or friends. Work ends at 6 each day.

Each day has its own individual nuances that set it apart from every other day of the week. For example, Monday is my day off. On Mondays, I make an intentional effort to do nothing at all related to work or school. It is a day of rest which involves sleeping in, spending some good time with God, no schedule, and often hanging out with friends. Tuesday nights I have a discipleship group I run that meets at 7, and the games for my Ultimate Frisbee league are at 9. Wednesday mornings I have a discipleship group I run that meets at 8, and Wednesday evenings, the youth band practices for Friday night at 6. I'm supposed to be supervising this, but lately I've actually been leading music for them because the student who typically leads has had to work on Friday nights. Thursday nights, I do English tutoring every other week. And of course, Friday night is youth group.

Every day is busy and exciting, each bringing its own challenges and joys.