Location, Location, Location

Moving again! As of March 31st, this is where you can find me:

Flat 2 2/F
Block F4
Pearl Island Bungalows
9 Tsing Lung Road
Tuen Mun
N.T.
HONG KONG

Its a smaller apartment than where I live now, but its right on the water, which I love. Not sure how Maddie is going to react to the ocean, since she's never seen it, but that should be another adventure. Moving on Sunday, housewarming to follow if I can figure out how to fit more than two people inside a studio apartment!

Cute Maddie is being Cute

Just a quick snapshot of my newest dog. She's almost three now, and quite the sweetheart. And yes, her bed is a giant banana.

Walking Rage

Dear Hong Kong,

Mongkok is hot, Mongkok is crowded, and I might just have to push stupid people into the road if they keep getting in my way!!!!!!! Yes my friends, I have contracted a serious case of walking rage. Similar to the road strain of the same social virus, walking rage involves swearing at the backs of peoples heads, using your purse like a battering ram, and lots of passive-aggressive sighing. Symptoms are only exacerbated by long working hours, consuming enormous cups of coffee, and long commutes. So yes my darlings, if I see you on the street, I still adore you, but please walk at my pace or get the heck out of the way! I will still teach you English, but first I need to get to my office and you are not helping by getting in the way.

Hugs and Kisses,
Me

New Job, New Apartment, New Dog

Today feels like a good day, and its nice to have good days in my life again. Working at the primary school was one of the most difficult things that I've ever had to do, and I kind of fell into a black hole that managed to swallow up a good chunk of my life. I feel like a country emerging from a period of isloationism, like the USA during the early 20th century. The bright point of my life during that black hole was my dearest Maddie-dog. I got her last August from a local shelter, Hong Kong Dog Rescue, which is an amazing organization. If you are looking to adopt in HK, please check them out. So Maddie is almost 2 years old now, and is such a sweetheart-very gentle, very calm, and affectionate. She sleeps right up next to me every night and is very polite about waking me up in the morning, not like Tucker, who attacks your face like its a squirrel. My loyal roomie and I have also moved out of the village of Kam Tin to a bigger apartment down the train line, back in Siu Hong. The complex is really nice and lots of people have dogs that are good company for Maddie.

Also have started another new job at a private tutoring center. I have a variey of students, both in age and ability, which makes life very interesting. Everyday is a little bit different, and I enjoy that, instead of the same old routine of get up, go to work, cry in the bathroom because of stress, come home, make a frozen dinner, go to sleep. (I told you that I fell into a black hole, remember?) Summer is still really hot, the trains are crowded, but I fell very content with my current life. And double-plus bonus- I will be starting a masters degree in athropology program in Septemeber at Chinese University. SO VERY EXCITED!!!!

Another dollar, another day

Year three of teaching in Hong Kong has officially started, and its off with a bang! This is the start of the second week of the semester, and its going really well. The weather has cooled down a bit, the students are excited to be back, and I get to help out with some pretty fun courses- Literature and Adaptation, and Asian Voices in English. I gave my first mini-lecture of the semester on Jane Eyre yesterday, which I enjoyed, but I'm not sure if I convinced any of them to read it, though they should! Its such a great book and I think that they would really like it, given the chance. I love that book.......

So what else is new? I've started up my yoga classes again, and let me tell you, Ashtanga is tough! If you want to challenge yourself at any time, try going to one of these classes. My yoga teacher thought it would be a really great idea to pull me into a backbend on Monday, and my whole body has been sore ever since. I'm a firm believer in the benefits of yoga, so this is going to pay off in the end. I've still got my part time job keeping me occupied, and lots of knitting to do. Life is floating along at a pretty great pace for now. There is talk of me coming back to Baltimore in December for a visit, but right now that is all talk. I'll keep you posted if anything else develops.

My favorite things, red edition

Hand-dyed Yarn
Shoes
Nail Polish
Cookies
Jewelry
Cranberry Juice
Makeup
Scarves

A few of my favorite things that all come in red

Stormy Days!

This is what the sky outside my living room window looks like right now. Add in great rolling peals of thunder and flashes of lightening, and you have one of those days where you don't really go outside, unless you want to get soaked through and through, and/or struck by lightening Oh, another fun fact- this picture was taken at 11ish today, so this might be an all-day storm front. do have plenty of hot coco, so the angry grey Hong Kong skies will be admired from the inside today.

Aside from the stormy weather, the start of the year seems to be picking up with a bang. All 5 of the new tutors are here, and settling in quite nicely. So far, they all seem to be really sweet and fun people, so this year should go pretty smoothly. After all the administrative drama last year, this seems like a go-with-the-flow kind of group, which will make everyone's life easier. I believe that I will be helping out with the Asian Voices in English class, and one other literature class, which means I will get mostly second and third year students. This year looks like its shaping up pretty nicely, and once the heat dies down a little bit, things will be at right about perfect!

So I suppose you all are dying to hear about Europe? In short, it was fantastic! I got to experience my students growing into adulthood and watching their individual personalities flourish! I also go to pack in quite a lot of traveling time, and I feel like I got a lot done for my first trip to Europe. I also can't wait to go back sometime! After all the grand adventures, my best friend from the states, Vira, came for a nice long 3-week visit to HK, where I got to show off my city, and show off my friend. I think that the highlight of that visit was the dolphin-watching trip, because I finally got to see the elusive Chinese dolphin, and they are so pink!!! That is the shortest version of my summer, but that's how it goes sometimes. Now on to prep work, finishing a baby blanket, and rocking out!