Hong Kong Chronicles

More pictures of Manila

2006-11-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

More pictures of Manila!

Philippines

2006-11-04T17:33:00.000-08:00

Mac and I went to Manila in the Philippines October 26th - 30th to visit some friends of ours; Fiaz (pronounced Fez), Nerisa, and their daughter Nedine. We had a great time and are looking forward to going back. Manila doesn't get many tourists since most people bypass the city and go directly to the beaches of Boracay and Cebu. Therefore shopping and food are really cheap. Although for our next visit we are hoping to make it to the beaches! The pictures showing the Flilpino chef is from a restuarant we went to called "Singing Chefs and Waiters" and everyone working in the restuarant sings - surprisingly most Filipinos are great singers! The pictures that look like a lake is actually a lake with an active volcano in the middle of it - the air was really cool and fresh here about 90 minutes outside of Manila!

Great Wall of China, Beijing

2006-10-03T00:20:00.000-07:00

Pictures of my trip to Beijing in May. We went to The Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Summer Palace and Tiananmen Square. I went with the two Lisa's. Beijing was also good for shopping as they don't have any copyright laws fake designer goods are readily avaliable and very cheap.

Engagement!

2006-09-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

Well 3 weeks ago Mac popped the question. He was here in Hong Kong visiting for the weekend and we went out to a jazz club in the Grand Hyatt that was hosting a jazz band from New Orleans. During the evening the band started playing a song "will you marry" and the manager came out with the ring on a serving tray, I was oblivious as to what was going on until I seen Mac down on one knee. Of course I said yessssss!

We are slowly making wedding arrangments. Firstly, we are having two weddings because of the distance and the different religions we figured it would be easier this way. We will have a Muslim ceremony in Thailand in February when mom and dad come over to visit. Mac's immidiate family and friends will be there as well as two of my girlfriends from Hong Kong. Then we will have another ceremony in Nova Scotia on August 24th at the Inverary Resort in Baddeck so mark your calenders.

I will keep everyone updated with the wedding plans and I will post some new pictures when I have them such as our engagement ceremony in Pakistan this coming December.Here is a picture of Mac in case anyone didn't get to meet him this summer when he was in Nova Scotia.

Update

2006-09-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hello all you blog readers out there, I must say it has been a while since my last post and I have a lot of news to share with you. I am not back in Hong Kong teaching at the same school as last year. Although, this year the school opened its' doors to "non-chinese" students so we have one class of mixed students from Thailand, Pakistan, India, Nepal etc. (Not Westerns) and they are speak English rather fluently. So I am teaching them English as a subject, not a language as well as French, yes French. So it is really great this year as I can have a rapport with my students since we both speak the same langauge. French is challenging needless to say but it is a good challenge and keeps me busy. Also this year there is about 13 new Chinese teachers at the school who are all young and fresh out of University and are all really nice. I am glad some of the old foggies left since they didn't talk to me anyways. So far the school year is going well.

I am living in the same building as last year but a different apartment. I live with Lisa (the mother whose picture is on the blog somewhere), she is from Cape Breton but lived 25 years in Colombia with her husband. We get along really well and I am happy that we decided to live together. The new apartment is nice and a little bigger than last year, more expensive of course but well worth it.

I will post some new pictures as soon as I can right now I've been very busy getting the school year organized so next month I should have more time to update regularly (GISELLE!)

Hong Kong moment

2006-05-04T00:44:00.000-07:00

Luckily there are no pictures to go with this post to remind me of the frustrating day I've had. Remember the picture I posted of my co-workers desk that is next to mine? The infamous "Henry". While there must have been a change in wind direction in the staff room today because his huge pile of papers and other "shit" fell over onto my desk that knocked over my cup of fresh tea all over me and my marking book I was writing in! I was sooooooooooo pissed off...I marched into his class and got him - he was so apologetic and cleaned up everything...well except me of course! I hope it finally teaches him to tidy his desk because if my tea had of been hot I could have gotten burned!

More Singapore pictures

2006-05-01T05:02:00.000-07:00

More pictures from the cruise

Singapore and Star Cruise

2006-05-01T04:38:00.000-07:00

Over Easter I flew to Singapore for a few days then boarded Star Crusie ship called "the Virgo" which sailed to a Malaysian Island called Palau Redang...great fun!

The picture of Jenny and I is in Pattaya, Thailand...it is actually two males not females in the picture with us.

More Hong Kong pictures

2006-04-08T02:03:00.000-07:00

These pictures include me shopping for shoes at a local market ,(great deals) and a picture of my desk at work (the tidy one) and my Chinese co-worker. For some reason they like to collect paper, sometimes I cannot even open my desk as his papers are covering my desk drawers.

Yes we really are in Hong Kong

2006-04-08T01:58:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures I took on my lunch break this week. Most of them are taken around my work in Kwun Tong, that is in Kowloon not where we live. Where I work is a lower income area then where we live although most of the pictures are typical. Note the hanging meet markets and the bamboo scaffolding.

Update

2006-04-06T00:24:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone...it's been a while since we have last posted on the blog. So I thought I would give everyone a little update about what's going on in our wonderful lives in Hong Kong!
While Jenny's boyfriend, Nick, is still staying with us, it is almost 3 months since he decided to pick up and leave Nova Scotia to come all the way over to Hong Kong. That's dedication! Things seem to be going well with he and Jenny, I think they are heading to Vietnam and Cambodia next week before Nick has to return to Nova Scotia. Jenny continues to count the days until she can also return home!
I on the other hand have decided to stay on another year, I don't love it here but I can tolerate it...I make pretty good money and I love having the oppourtunity to travel. I am heading to Singapore and Malayasia for my Easter holiday! I hope I will survive next year as some of the friends I have made are leaving...ekk!
Jenny, Nick and I met up with John the son of a friend of our fathers. He is travelling throughout Asia. We went to dinner and took him to the market. It was nice to be able to meet someone from home.
My birthday also just passed, my first birthday away from home...now the big 2-7! It was pretty good...I hate the fact I am slowly reaching 30 though.
If anyone is interested in teaching English over here I think there is still a great need...my shampoo the other day rather than say "massage" into head told me to "message" into my head.
Oh those Hong Kong moments are the ones we'll always remember!
Upwards and onwards until next time!

New Years Eve in Sydney 2005!

2006-02-10T04:35:00.000-08:00

Bondi Beach - Australia's most famous beach

2006-02-10T04:29:00.000-08:00

Jenny and I travelled over an hour on a non air-conditioned bus just to see the famous Bondi beach. Did I mention it was 44 degrees celsius that day? There was no shade and no breeze it was the hottest I ever felt in my life! Bondi is most famous for surfing and the amazing strip of graffti that lines the wall along the beach.

Manly Beach - across the harbour from downtown Sydney

2006-02-10T04:24:00.000-08:00

Tarongo Zoon, Australia

2006-02-10T04:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas Vacation to Syndey Australia

2006-02-10T03:50:00.000-08:00

During the Christmas holiday a begruding Jenny and I took the 9 hour flight from Hong Kong to Sydney with a brief stopover in Singpore (if anyone ever has the chance to travel with Singapore Air do it they are an exception airline). We arrived in Sydney the morning of December 22nd. We stayed with the Patterson family. Jenny and Sam worked together at TLC camp in New York a few years ago. The family was very welcoming and made us feel at home, especially as it was our first Christmas away. Sydney was a very modern and clean city and it was exciting to be in a city that hosted the Olympics only a few years ago. It was also nice to be in a country where everyone could speak English. We did alot of shopping, caught some movies (in English), went to the beach, went shopping again, got tanned, and rang in the New Year overlooking the famous Sydney Opera House and Sydney Bridge. Unfortunetly I was not brave enough to try surfing, most Aussie's favorite pass time. Everyone there really is tanned, blond and calls you "mate". Great country, good experience. Since we lost many of our pictures when our computer crashed there will not be a large selection. Oh yeah we seen real live koala bears, dingos and kangaroos, oh my!

Thailand pictures = Phi Phi Island

2006-02-10T03:41:00.000-08:00

Phi Phi Island was a one hour boat ride from Phuket. It is a little bigger than a football field. There was not much left there after the tsunami except the beautiful landscape.

Thailand picture = Phuket nightlife

2006-02-10T03:33:00.000-08:00

There were some interesting bars in Phuket as you can see from the photos. The band are from Africa but played Carribbean music, they were visiting our resort for the week and Lisa and I danced up a storm.

Thailand Pictures = Phuket, Patong Beach

2006-02-10T03:21:00.000-08:00

Patong is the biggest and busiest beach in Phuket therefore a lot of money has gone into repairing the area since the tsunami. The water is actually torquoise and the sand is actually white. The picture of the boat is a local fishing boat, the hottie in in the white swimsuit is me(LOL) and the kids are local children playing in the ocean.

Thailand Pictures = Bangkok

2006-02-10T03:12:00.000-08:00

Bangkok is the capital of Thailand. We stayed here for 2 days at the beginning of our holiday and two days at the end. The first picture is from a "sketchy" street that comes alive during the evening. Mostly filled with Thai prostitutes, Western men looking for their company, and the occasional elephant. Picture number two is our cosy hotel, the Top Inn. The third and fourth pictures are of Thai transportation, a Tuk Tuk and the Skytrain.

Thailand Vacation

2006-02-06T00:12:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone...
sorry it has been a while since our last update but our computer crashed and we were not able to post our Australian pictures from Christmas as we lost all of our information. We are just finishing up our Chinese new Year holidays now. We both went to Thailand but not together. Jenny went with Nick (her boyfriend) and I went with a lady from here named Lisa (she is originally from Cape Breton). Therefore all the pictures here are from my trip and Jenny will post hers eventually.
I first went to Bangkok where are the locals thought I was "Natalie" Miss Universe as she is from Canada and has dark hair and blue eyes. That was a big esteem booster! The Miss Universe pagent was held in Thailand this year that is why they are so familiar with it.

Then we flew 1 hour to Phuket which should be famous now from the tsunami last year. The beach we stayed on, Patong, is one of the most popular and biggest beaches therefore it was hard to tell there was ever any destruction as they rebuilt it very quickly. We travelled to another smaller island called Phi Phi (pronounced PP) which is where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. This island much smaller and unfortnetly barely any money or effort was put into restoring it.

For all the Thai people have been through they are very happy and content people. I would definetly recommend you all start saving your pennies and make a journey to this wonderful place, if only for the delicious Thai food alone.

Chi Lin Pictures

2005-12-03T04:56:00.000-08:00

Chi Lin Nunnery

2005-12-03T04:47:00.000-08:00

I went exploring today to the Chi Lin Nunnery. It was a beautiful spot although picture taking was limited because it was considered a sacred area. The design is considered traditional feng shui and was built without using any nails at all. It is put together with 95,000 pieces of lumber mostly imported from Canada.

More Arnold

2005-11-19T01:56:00.000-08:00

I'll be back!

2005-11-19T01:47:00.000-08:00

So today I actually got to see the "terminator" in the flesh. He was here in Hong Kong promoting the State of California and healthy eating? I don't know why he would come to Hong Kong for htat reason but whether floats your boat and hey its American tax money he is spending not Canadian so who cares...I wish I could have gotten a picture with he and I together but unfortunetly the security was pretty tight. He ended his specch with "I'll be back", I think it was the only part the mainly Chinese crowd understood!

More Karaoke Pictures

2005-11-15T03:16:00.000-08:00

Karaoke Night

2005-11-15T03:12:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! This post is mostly for Uncle Jack as it is our big karaoke night....this is our second time going to karaoke here it is hugh, I don't think I've gone this often ever but it is so fun because you get your own private room so you don't have to feel shy about your singing abilities...Enjoy! (She bangs She bangs livin' la vida loca)

Nicolles Sports Day

2005-11-12T01:27:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, just a few pictures of some of my students. Not quite as small and as cute as Jenny's students but these are a few of my favorites none the less. They are from sports day at school, notice the purple uniforms, I think the people of Hong Kong love purple as it is the color of Jenny's school uniform as well.

Beachy weather

2005-10-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

As much as we are missing the beautiful Autumn weather at home, we are loving the beach weather we are having here. Yesterday Jenny and I went to Repulse Bay beach, it was lovely, not overcrowded and the water was nice, not super warm but warmer than home. Although we didn't swim too much as the "shark" nets surrounding the swimming area freaked us out a little.
Hope you enjoy the pictures! Missing everyone!

Pictures of Shenzhen---Lisa, Lisa, Ashley and Me!

2005-10-10T23:07:00.000-07:00

Shenzhen!

2005-10-10T22:58:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
This Sunday I took a day trip to Mainland China, it is very separate from Hong Kong still even since the handover from England in 1997. We had to get a travelers visa and get our passports stamped and everything. The Mainland area we went to was fairly poor, many sweatshops there unfrotunetly but that is where everyone goes for the good shopping deals. It was a fun day. We even went to a Spa (like $6 Canadian for a one hour massage) the scene was like the scene in Rush Hour with Jackie Chan. It was one huge room with all these Chinese men in pink , yes pink jogging suits giving massages. It was definetly an experience!

Mid-Autumn Festival

2005-09-18T23:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a long week-end due to the some Mid-Autumn Festival, which is when Chinese people stay up very late on during the 9th lunar cycle or something like that. Anyways, the moon is suppose to be at its fullest...so they go out at night, light lanterns and have picnics to celebrate something...not sure what...look it up on the internet maybe I'm good for nothing. Anyways, it was raining here so most outdoor activities were cancelled. We went to dinner at the "Steak Expert" and to a kareoke lounge instead. Here are a few pictures of Nicolle and myself...and some of Nicolle's future prospects! ha

Our apartment

2005-09-18T23:25:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of our apartment, it is small but it serves its purpose. We have yet to really make it "homey", so our walls are still a little bare, but eventually we will have it looking the way we want.

Zoological & Botanical Gardens

2005-09-10T23:10:00.000-07:00

The Peak

2005-09-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

We have internet people!

2005-09-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

Hello all, Jenny here...it's about time I got my paws on this rubber baby buggy blogger! Someone from the internet company ICable came today to see why our internet wasn't working. So anyways, he's taking a looksy and hits ONE button on the back of our modem and presto, we have internet! So simple...

So anyways....for an update, we're pretty much all settled into our small apartment...and when I say small, I mean Nicolle and I have to time share the kitchen and the bathroom....blimey!

As for "teaching"....I'm more of a glorified babysitter. I am with two and three year olds, some of which wear diapers.....yes Aunt Cathy (the warped one), I said diapers...and no, I don't touch the shitty ones! My "students" cry a lot....especially when I ignore them...oh, and they throw up from time to time, which I really enjoy by the way.

Nicolle is having a better time if you want to classify it as better. She teaches different classes (meaning she has classes with different aged students). Anyways, she was convinced that some naughty students in her Friday class were talking about her boobs............................................

Anyways, we went out last night with one of Nicolle's friends from Acadia. There was this party on Lamma Island, which he invited us to.....which turned out to be only okay. We were the only new teachers there, so everyone else was already acclumated to being in Hong Kong...and teaching...and already had groups of friends established...so it was a tad awkward. However, we did end up meeting a select few new people whom were very nice...so hopefully we'll get together with them again in the future.

Okay, I've posted a few pictures for your viewing pleasure....some of my students (don't be fooled by their adorable exterior)...some of our trip to The Peak (which is a look off point where you can see the skyline of Hong Kong on a clear day)...and some of the Zoological and Bontanical Gardens...including pink flamingos!!! Enjoy.

No internet

2005-09-08T03:51:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Jenny and I have tons of new pictures to show you but unfortunetly we are having trouble accessing the internet in our apartment to upload our photos, we will send out an email as soon as we get some new photos on there.

Everything else is going well, we are not "loving" our jobs, I dont know why we expected Chinese students to be so well-behaved but that is not the case, they are just as "naughty" as our Canadian students except that they speak Chinese so who knows what horrible names they are calling us, and we just smile and nod!

Pictures of Week One

2005-08-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

This week when we went to Macau we visited a Buddhist temple, a church from the 15th century and ate lunch in a traditional Portugese restuarant.

We Survived Week One!

2005-08-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

After an excrutiatingly long plane ride Jenny and I arrived in Hong Kong in August 20th at 6:30 am. The airport is beautiful it was just built in 1998, I believe. So we went through the airport quickly and got a shuttle it our hotel. The rooms at the hotel are really really small but supply a comfy bed after a long plane ride. We quickly met some other Canadian that were staying in the hotel too so it was great to be able to socialize with other Westerners. We spent the week trying to find an apartment, find our way around, get cellphones (thats what everyone uses here), locate our schools, eat, open bank accounts, get our work visa and squeeze eating in there. It was a very long week but we got everything done and we move into our apartment this week. Jenny starts school tomorrow and I start on September 1st.

Today we travelled to the Island of Macau (pronouned Ma-cow) it is Portugese and was about an hour away by Turbo Jet...a really fast boat. We had to go there to get our work visas stamped. It was a long, hot day but the Island was really nice with a lot less people the Hong Kong which was a nice break. We will have to go back and stay in a resort for a holiday!