For Those Of You Who've Been Waiting

Ok, so some of you have been pestering me for an update. My apologies for the lack of posting. Life here has finally slowed a little bit and I am now able to invest some time in providing my dedicated followers with an update on my life.
School life has been really good and really busy. Teaching in a private Christian school in Hong Kong has been great. I am quite glad to say that working (teaching gr. 4 - 12 art) with the staff and students has been nothing shy of great.
Much of this last month was spent in a mad scramble trying to pull together semi-cohesive long-range, mid-range, and short term plans (lessons and units) for each of the grades. I'd like to think that after a month of being here I now have a fairly good handle on things as far as teaching goes.
Due to the fact that I've been at school and working late most nights I've found myself dining out most nights. A decent meal will run you about 35 - 40 HK$ (5$ Canadian). The best bargain I've found so far has been at a small local place called The Dumpling King. For 38 HK$ I can get a big bowl of noodle soup, 5 fried dumplings, a plate of veggies and a Coke. Sometimes some of the food that is served at the local noodle shops can be a little suspect. One day I ordered a Rice and Shrimp dish at one of the noodle shops next to the school and was served a big plate of rice with shrimp, pieces of deli meat, chopped up hotdogs and a mysterious (and slightly spicy) red sauce. It looked like something I would have made when I was 16 and my parents weren't home. Needless to say there was a violent surprise Shrimp and Rice encore at 3 am that same night. I have been a little more discerning in my meal choices since then. Recently I saw "Explodes the hors d'oeuvre" as a translated option on a menu outside of a Thai noodle shop.
I am continually amazed at the incredible pace of this city. Every day of the week things are going full tilt. At the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum the pace seems to be one of necessity and survival. If you're higher than 'survival' status a person's high speed work pace seems to be based on a materialistic/$ fixation. For one reason or another everyone in this city seems to be chasing money. However, I have never seen such a diverse mix and interaction of class in one place. It is not uncommon to see a rich person pull up in their Bentley or Porsche, get out of their car (double parked of course), walk over to the 'hole-in-the-wall' juice stand and buy a drink. There are upscale cake and pastery shops immediatley next to scrap metal shops where shirtless men can be found welding. It is an amazing sight to see a 'truely' free market society in action. In some ways I think the close physical proximity and frequent interactions between rich and poor here actually helps make this such a safe city. I am still amazed at how safe it is here. 
Recently I purchased a visa that allows me entry into China. Apparently it's the place to go if I want reasonably priced custom tailored clothing. Shopping malls around here are rediculous. Armani, CK, Ralph Lauren, etc. are the primary clothing stores in the local shopping malls. I don't know who can afford it. I certainly can't. Apparently though, there's enough of a market here that every high end brand name that ever existed has to have a store in every shopping mall. It's actually quite amazing because you'll see people shopping at these places. Lots of people. ALL THE TIME. It's the same thing with jewelery stores. 2 in the afternoon on a Tuesday and your local Swarovski will have 12 people in it buying diamonds or things that are more expensive than diamonds. Rediculous.
Here are some pics.
I'll have some pics of my 'hood posted soon.
I promise.
Enjoy.

1. While cleaning my classroom at the start of the school year I got into a turf war.

2. My classroom



3. Night view from the 53rd floor.

4. During the day.

Greetings From The Future

Ok, so I've been in HK for a little over a week already. Apologies for not posting anything sooner. Here's a recap of life during the last 10 days.

1. The Flight from Wpg. To HK.

Dad and I said goodbye to mum (dad came along to do some vacationing/touring with me before my school year starts) and jumped on a flight from Wpg to Vancouver. It had been about 2 and a half years since I'd flown anywhere. It was good to be back up in the air knowing that I was heading somewhere.

2. Vancouver.

Killing 3 and a half hours in the departure lounge in the airport is never a fun time. It's even less fun when your 3 and a half hours starts at 11:00 pm and you have to try to remain conscious enough to hear your boarding call so you don't miss your flight.
Although the wait was entirely uneventful I was struck by the odd circumstance that an airport waiting lounge can create. At 1:00 am I realized that I was part of a large group of people who, for the sake of comfort and rest, had abandoned the tradiditons of public etiquette and decided to use chairs, suitcases and the floor as makeshift beds. I relize that althoug this experience isn't uncommon it may be the only one where large groups of strangers gather together in a giant room and try to catch some Zzzzs fully clothed without the aid of a bed.

3. Vancouver to HK.

I hate long flights. While I'm sitting in economy class with no room for my legs some 11 year old twerp in 1st class gets a bed. Not fair. I don't care how rich your parents are, you don't need that much room. Thankfully I did have an aisle seat and was able to stretch my legs while in the seated position. Sleeping sitting down has never worked for me. Some people can manage it. I can't. Eventually my weariness overcame my discomfort and I was able to fall asleep. However, after about 20 - 30 min. of sleep one of the flight attendants accidentally rammed a serving cart into my knee at full speed. Apparently, while I was asleep my body decided that my legs would be more comfortable if my right knee was allowed to stick out into the aisle. Out of fear that my knee would be subject to more mafia style torture I wasn't able to fall back asleep for several hours.

4. HK.

Landed in HK at 6:00 am HK time. Picked up at the airport by my dad's cousin Marylou (She and her husband Dave have been living and teaching in HK for the last 4 years) and were driven by taxi to her appartment. It's very hard to describe HK. Words can't do it justice. The vast majority of people live in appartment buildings that are 30 - 40 floors high. Pictures really don't do HK justice either. You can really only appreciate the massive physicallity of the infrastucture by being in HK. The taxi ride from the airport to appartment was nothing less than eye-opening. Even now after 10 days of being here I am still in awe of the number of massive buildings that seem to grow up out of the landscape. At times it feels like the buildings are actually giant animals that were grazing on the hillsides, but like startled animals have frozen in place and are silently watching you as you move among them.

5. HK

Much of the last 10 days has been a blur. The following are a number of highlights and observations:

- There are alot of Chinese people here. That may sound rediculous considering that I'm living in China but it, like the infrastructure here, can't really be appreciated until you've ridden on the subway and realized that you are not Chinese an that everyone else is.

- Had a tour of Crossroads Global Distribution (www.crossroads.org.hk/) in HK and participated in a refugee simulation. Fantastic organization. Check out the website.

- Toured a bit of the financial district on Hong Kong island.

- Have managed to use almost all of the modes of public transportation available in HK. The minibus system has by far been my favorite. Think Formula 1 racing meets a 20 passenger van/bus. Simply brillilant.

- Although this city is big and way more Chinese in its identity than say a place like Winkler, it is also increadibly managable. All the road signs and public signage is in both English and Cantonese, all announcements on the subway are in both English and Cantonese, and there is basically no crime to speak of. I have never felt safer among so many people.

- It's hot. It hovers around 33 degrees during the day and drops to about 27 degrees at night. Plus, the humidity level is always a bajillion per cent. I love it.

- Stores will often have their air-con's on to the max because they leave their doors to the street open. It's a fantasitc waste of eneregy but kinda neat to be walking along the street in the unbelievable heat and get blasted by cold air that is escaping some random streetfront store.

- There are so many Chinese people here.

- Spent an evening at the White Stag. The White Stag is an English style pub on HK island that serves decent pub food and decent pub beverages.

- The Octopus card. Best invention ever. It's like a 'speed-pass' at Esso except you use it for public transport and groceries, and maybe some other things too. I don't think I've discovered all its uses yet.

- I've signed a lease and will be moving into an appartment on Monday the 16th. It's just over 600 sq ft. with 2 'bedrooms' and is on the 53rd floor of the building. I had a choice between the 26th floor and the 53rd. It was a no-brainer.

My prep week starts at school on Monday. Lots of adventures still to come. Enjoy the pics.

1. The view from Marylou and Dave's appartment.

2. Typical appartments

3. Took the tram up to "The Peak". Hiked around and looked down on HK. Quite the view.

4. Giant shopping mall with skating rink. Of course, why not.

5. Fish market.

6. Lost in translation.

Post 1.

Ok, so I have a blog. If you're reading this it means that you probably know me and are wondering what the heck my life is like in Hong Kong. If I can maintain some sort of discipline there should be a 'steady' stream of posts that hopefully give you some insight into the adventure that is my life. As for now... well, I'm still in Winkler wondering what the heck I got myself into this time. 21 days till departure... 21 days...