no "stay-cations" needed in Hong Kong!

let me start off by saying that I HATE - mean mean LOATHE - the word "stay-cation". Maybe it's because it implies that only real vacations occur when you go away somewhere; most of my vacations growing up were at home and they were fine. Or perhaps I hate it simply because it sounds trendy and/or pretentious. Anyhow, that's the last time you'll ever see me use it, unless, of course, it's to mock it again.

What I mean by the title, is that one doesn't need to leave the country of Hong Kong, or even commute any farther than, say 30min, to enter an area that feels utterly unlike the bustling city of the northern coast. The east coast and southern coast are dotted with various beaches which are well maintained for the most part and, perhaps more importantly, have a very small-town, beachy feel to them. There are no (or very few) high rises blotting out the sun, there is a warmish breeze and everything's a bit more laid back. That's how I spent my afternoon on Saturday. I also spent it under the protection of 60SPF sunscreen and a beach umbrella. Sure, I maybe geeky, but at least I'm cancer-free.

The roomies (Alicia and Tracy - I'll get to that bit after) came too and we ended up meeting a bunch of returning teachers there. It was nice to hang out outside of the work place. Although - such is the way with teachers - there was a bit a of shop talk, but that's fine. The only downside to the trip was that the water was dirty. I'm not talking about regular sea filth, I would've much preferred that. There was an abundance of garbage floating around, of various sizes and stages of decomposition. Oh yes, people were still swimming, and I even went in a couple of times, but after about 10 minutes, I'd reached my limit, got out and promptly showered in the outside shower area. We'll try a different beach next time.

The rest of the weekend has been quite nice, but uneventful. Instead of boring life details, like how I did laundry and prepared some food for lunch tomorrow, why don't I fill y'all in on what has happened AFTER my first 24 hours here...

PART 1 - Flat Hunting
In a (made up) word: unfun. Seriously. There was a big push from admin to get it done within the first two days, and at the latest, by the end of our first weekend. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough (in my humble opinion) support from admin in helping us achieve this goal. The result? A wee bit of stress. And bit "Wee" I mean I woke up at 3am (yeah, yeah, jetlag, blah blah) and had heart palpitations for a few hours worrying about it. I had resigned myself to room mates, but hadn't yet solidified who that would be. It was so awkward then, because most conversations had an undercurrent of: do I want to live with this person? Has she already found a room mates? I haven't shared a place with someone since university... no one will compare to my first/only/awesome roomie from uni... *sigh* anyway, as people went their ways, things fell into to place, the group got smaller and I ended up roaming around with Tracy and Alicia. They both seemed laid back enough to be good roomies, so it just kind of happened that we all got a place together. I think it will work out splendidly.

The process of finding a flat is somewhat tiresome as well. You go to an area that you think you may want to live in, you walk around until you find a property agent. You see if this person can speak English. You tell them what you're looking for and your price range. They find some places and take you around to see them. Quite often the places they take you to only follow your criteria to a small degree or not at all. For example, a flat may be listed as "Furnished" when in fact, all there is a wardrobe and perhaps a bed frame. Unfortunately once you agree to go out with the agent, you HAVE to see everything they've picked out, even if it's clear that they are not on the same page as you.

Anyway, many many many flats later, the three of us found ourselves in Wan Chai, a very busy district and a place where, initially anyway, we didn't think we'd be into. Turns out, we like it. Hustle and bustle. The apartment we ended up choosing is not perfect, but it's home for the next 10 months, so I like it. An interesting tidbit about Wan Chai: it's home to the red light district. Guess where our flat is? Right outside it. It doesn't really bug me all that much - I never walk in that direction, and I'm rarely out late enough to notice unsavory goings-on.

Part 2 - Work Orientation and Setting Up Our Flat
Our new home preoccupied most of our lives and thoughts for the next week and into the weekend. Curing the day we'd be in various meetings, then in the evening we'd be out prepared our flat. We stayed in the IBIS hotel until our very last "Free" night, then hauled all our bags to the new pad. After scrubbing floors, walls and cupboards like maniacs, we sat down for a well-deserved brewsky and enjoyed our palace. It wasn't quite complete (as we had furniture left behind by a teacher to pick up and drag over here...that was a task for the weekend).

Our second weekend in Hong Kong was eaten up by flat-y things, like furniture moving and food buying. We also went to IKEA and a cheaper version called Priceright to order other furniture and get households like bedding. This was a bit more enjoyable than the flat-hunting part.

We are now more or less settled, but still waiting on the furniture delivery.

PART 3 - First Days of Work
As a program teacher (music, I don't have a homeroom class), the first days of the year are slightly less stressful. The first day was a half day, and I didn't have any classes (oh, memories of being an ESL teacher in Korea...). The rest of the week, I had a reduced schedule because the intermediate grades (7&8) were doing workshops in their homerooms. So, I only say the grade 5s, 6s and senior kindergarten. All told, I'll be teaching 17 different classes. Yeah, this place is a large international school. The first classes went well for the most part. I always knew this, but it kinda sucks being a music teacher and not being able to play the piano. To remedy this, however, I bought a book and will start practicing again. The other music teacher, Monique, is delightful. She very supportive and helpful with my millions of questions (and need for approval - "Hey Monique, what do you think about this? Will it work? Is it good?"). I'm sure as I truck through the year, I'll hit my stride, find my groove, get into the swing of things, or whatever other idiom you can apply to my particular situation.

Anyway, that about brings us up to date. Oh! I also joined a fitness center near my flat (like, a 1.5 minute walk, literally. nice-uh). I've been twice. Paid for a personal trainer. Man, they are hardcore. I learned some new things, was really sore the next day. Perhaps I'll describe it more in a following entry.

until next time!

ps - I won't be posting pic here for the time being. If you want to see what few pictures I've taken, you'll have to find me on Facebook.