Macau

It was an early start today, as we all had to meet Maggie to get the ferry to Macau. We had entered Hong Kong as visitors, which meant that we had to leave again and then re enter in order to activate our working visas, and obtain residency. Macau is around an hours ferry ride from Hong Kong Island, and is known as the Las Vegas of Asia. We thought that if we were going to visit Macau, we might as well spend the whole day there, and explore the island. It used to be owned by the Portuguese until 1999, so there is still a lot of Portuguese architecture to see, and restaurants to visit.

We planned to leave really early, to get the 10am ferry over to the island. Not knowing your way around a city, can drastically affect how swimmingly plans go! We managed to make it to the port, and boarded a little later at 10:30am. The boat ride over was an experience! I was not expecting the ferry to travel at such a fast speed as it did, which made me feel uneasy (I think the early morning didn’t help!).

When we’d reached Macau, the queue at immigration was incredibly long, and took around an hour to get through. Once we had finally passed through immigration, we boarded one of the many free buses outside the port, and headed to one of the casinos for a buffet lunch. I would of preferred to sample some of Portuguese food, but at the time a buffet with a lot of variety, also appealed to my hungry tummy! There majority of Macau has been taken over by big, flash, casinos, but there is a section of the city that still has the remains of old Portuguese ruins and narrow cobbled streets, packed with touristy shops and Portuguese restaurants.

After our meal, we all headed to the old area of the city. It was such a hot day, and crowds of people filled the narrow streets. It was great to see some remains of the Portuguese architecture, and experience the more historical part of the island. Macau is also famous for the world’s highest jump from the Macau sky tower. This was something I had heard about and was keen to see what all the fuss was about. A few of us headed to the tower, although we didn’t see anyone attempt the 764 feet jump that day, it was nice to have a cool drink in the tower and admire the views of the city.

By 6pm, Jack and I were exhausted. We caught a ferry back with two of the other teachers, and went for a cheap chicken curry, locally. It was great to visit Macau, and escape the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong. I just wish I had more money to gamble with the mainlanders!

My School

Here’s a quick update:-

I finally got to visit my school this week. I went in on Monday to meet the principle an be shown around, and again on Wednesday, just so I know I can get there independently, without getting lost!

It is a Buddhist school, and relevantly small, but caters for the whole neighborhood! It was sooo much more colourful than I imagined, and the teachers defiantly go all out on decorations! The thing that kind of spooked me out was the smell when I first walked through the doors; it was so reminiscent of the smell from my old primary school, and brought back so many childhood memories! The co-teachers are very friendly, and the principle is lovely too! I also get my own classroom and desk, which I think is pretty cool. Unfortunately there were no children around, so I will have to wait until next Wednesday to meet them all!

Photographs to come….

Settling in to City Life

A lot has happened over the past couple of days… I have met all the other teachers and we all went to a local restaurant where we live, for a cheap meal (£2 each), then onto a bar, and back to ours for a game of cards, afterwards. There is a great mix of people, some with a lot of experience in teaching, others with none at all. There are a few Americans, but mostly Brits. Everyone is really lovely and I can’t wait to spend more time with everybody.

Jack and I went for a walk around our local area the other day, and ended up in Mong Kok, which means “prosperous corner” in Chinese. There are a lot of markets and shops in this area. We ended up walking around the popular ladies market, where venders sell a lot of bags, shoes, clothes, and jewelry. There is a great opportunity to barter with the stall owners, and get a real bargain!

Mong Kok is also a great place to sample the local fast food, whether it be the sticky tofu or the squid on a stick, you can sample it all at a very cheap price. I opted for the meatballs on a stick, and Jack had the squid on a stick, and we shared them both. We also bought a smoothie from one of the many smoothie venders; it was a bit bizarre with loads of little chewy, tapioca balls at the bottom. I later found out that it was a Taiwanese beverage; Pearl Milk Tea, which is really popular with the Hong Kong locals, although I’m not too keen.

We have been settling in at our new apartment over the last few days, moving things around, to suit our living. It will feel a lot more homely when we buy some cushions and wall art to decorate the place, although that will have to wait until we get paid. Jack cooked a lovely Chinese beef curry a few nights ago, it was our first of many meals in our new apartment, and it was delicious!

Next week will be busy, with a lot to look forward to. We will be visiting our schools and receiving our timetables on Monday! I can’t wait to see where I will be spending the next year working! I will keep you updated…

A Turn for the Worse...

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted, I haven’t had the best first few days in Hong Kong. I fell ill on the night we arrived and was rushed to hospital. My legs became very swollen and I had trouble breathing. The doctor at the hospital decided to keep me in to conduct tests and record my progress. The main concern was that I had DVT (deep vein thrombosis) due to the excessive amount of traveling and long-hall flights. Everyone was really nice at the hospital, and majority of the doctors and nurses spoke a very good level of English. It was very daunting being in hospital in a foreign country, I was the only Caucasian on my ward, and probably in the entire hospital!

The doctors and nurses were very thorough; they x rayed my chest and my leg, conducted two ultra sounds, and took a lot of blood! The nurses were really lovely, and chatted to me while checking my blood pressure an heart rate on many occasions, throughout the day. The hospital was very clean and the food was also not too bad! It was all very healthy, with a balance of steamed vegetables, rice, and a meat dish with every meal.

After the third day, I began feeling quite depressed and found it difficult to be at the hospital. Visiting hours we just two hour a day, and Jack couldn’t make it a lot of the time, due to the training he had to attend. I felt quite alone and fed up, not having anything productive to do, and any one to talk to. The room I was in was shared with seven other patients, many of them elderly ladies. The lady on the bed opposite mine, was moaning all morning, and sounded like she was in a lot of pain. I remember being woken up by her screaming in the afternoon, only to find at the foot of my bed, her whole family, crowded around. The sound of her screams were so unbearable, all I wanted to do was leave the room, although I felt I was trapped as her family blocked the doorway. All of a sudden, the screams stopped and there was silence. The family stood with their heads to the ground. It was an horrific sight and a must have been an awful ordeal for the family. I found a gap in the crowd and crept out of the room, to give the family some space. I had never experienced anyone die in front of me before, I felt like I was in a very awkward situation, not being familiar with their culture and language, and not knowing how to react. This made me feel even more alone, all I wanted to do was walk out of the hospital.

The next day, I was feeling a lot better, and to my relief, I was given the all clear and was aloud to leave the hospital. I was so relieved, and couldn’t wait to catch up with all the other teachers, begin my training, and settle into my lovely new apartment. Being in hospital made me realise just how fortunate I am to be young, and somewhat, healthy. I was also very lucky to have been looked after so well, and have doctors and nurses that I could also communicate with and rely on. The hospital was the last place I expect to spend my first few days in a new country, but it just goes to show, you never know what life can throw at you at the best of times.

Hello Hong Kong

7:55am looking over Hong Kong, the view of tall buildings, water, and incredible mountains. As we descended from the clouds, we landed among a lot more greenery than I was expecting. After picking up our baggage and passing immigration, we were met at the arrival gates by our sponsor, Maggie, and her husband, Sash. They then drove us to our new apartment, which was around half and hour’s drive from the airport. Both Jack and I were already feeling the jet lag, with just around 8 hours sleep between us, over the last two days. Luckily, the blast of freezing air from the car air con, was enough to keep us alert for the journey.

Maggie mentioned on the walk to our living complex, that we would unfortunately have a different apartment to the one in which she emailed us images of. We were meant to have two bedrooms, one each, although only had one. The kitchen and bathroom were also a lot smaller, but the living and dinning areas made up for this. She explained that we were the only couple out of the group, and that everyone else would require their own room, hence why we only had the one bedroom to share. This wasn’t an issue for us. We were not expecting a palace, and are more than happy with our delightful quaint apartment.

After dropping off our luggage, and a quick tour of our complex, we made our way into town on the metro. It is relevantly cheap and easy to get around the city using the metro, and definitely the best mode of transport. I’m sure there are so many words I could use to describe my first impressions of Hong Kong, but to sum them all up, I would have to say speechless! The humidity was overwhelming, the smells were intense, and the sights were incredible. Hong Kong is extremely diverse; there is so much to take in. As we walked through the concrete jungle, we were bombarded by an overload of Chinese advertisements and signs, masking the buildings, like colourful decorations. The street stalls spilled out onto the road, selling an array of treasures. The aroma of fish, and stinky tofu, lingered under my nose as we walked past the multitude of corner food stalls. The closest place I can think of that has similar characteristics to Hong Kong, would be New York. The atmosphere is quite similar, but there are so much more to take in from a westerner’s point of view, here in Hong Kong. Maggie and Sash took us to a restaurant for food, which was a great opportunity to brush up on my chop stick skills, and learn from an expert. The menu was in Cantonese, so Maggie translated some of her recommendations. A lot of the food we ordered was very slimy and doughy, something unlike I’d ever tasted before. The waitress than brought out a whole peaking duck (not for the squeamish), cooked and marinated. The duck was then calved by our waitress and we made duck pan cakes. I had tried duck before, but never liked it, although the duck we had that day was yummy!

After we had finished eating, we hit the streets in search of sim cards, a wireless router, and Internet package. The Internet package here was pretty much the same cost as back home, and as our phones were unblocked, we only needed to buy cheap sim cards in order to keep in contact with everyone. With all that business sorted out, Maggie and Sash took us to an electrical market, which was in an arcade. We were amazed by many different varieties of electrical related items that they sold, but even more amazed by the costs! After a lot of price comparing, we found a found a wireless router, just like the one Jack had back home, only half the price!

We headed back to our new home, after a long day and a lot of walking around town. It was a relief to know we had the most important thing set up; a connection with the rest of the world.

The atmosphere of the city is incredible, there are many words to describe the place, but this is a place you need to experience for yourself.

London - India - Hong Kong

Tickets? Check. Money? Check. Passport? Check...

We arrived at Heathrow slightly later than planned, due to two accidents on the motorway, and a lot of traffic. Never the less we checked in all in good time, and even had time for a quick leaving coffee with Jack’s parents, before saying our final goodbyes. The departure lounge in the airport was very busy and everyone seemed to be rushing around. We were flying with Kingfisher airlines, which is an Indian airline, in which we hadn’t heard of before we had booked our tickets! We boarded the plane at around 7:45pm, but didn’t reach the runway until 9:15pm, due to traffic at the airport.

The service we received with Kingfisher airlines was superb. We were well fed with a traditional Indian super, well watered with the choice of unlimited drinks (alcoholic and non), and we were kept entertained with a wide range of in-flight entertainment. There were a large variety of films available to watch, from the latest blockbusters, to the classic Bollywood films. There were also games, radio stations and even a live sat navigation system, and built in cameras to watch, filming the outside of the plane!

Sipping on red wine on the plane.

My Korean style meal with Kimchee!

Jack's spicy Indian meal.

We proceeded to land in Mumbai at around 11am local time. As we glided down through the cotton wool clouds, amazing greenery and mountains greeted us. Approaching closer to the airport, a sea of blue tarpolin, appeared below. These were shanty houses, even spilling over the runway of the airport. by the time we had received our bags, it was 12:30pm. Before we left home, we decided that we would apply for a transit visa, this meant that we would not have to wait in the airport for at least 12 hours for our change over flight. It was an additional cost, and a little bit of hassle to obtain, but defiantly worth it! We hired a taxi and a driver for the day for only 1,500 rupees (around £20)! It was a crazy drive into Mumbai, the majority of cars on the road were taxis, many of them tuk tuks! Photograph to come!

You can’t really escape the sound of horns honking and people shouting in Mumbai. The poverty in the city is rife, and was certainty something we hadn’t prepared ourselves for before we had arrived. If it wasn’t apparent enough from the skies, it was defiantly a smack in the face when you landed back down to earth! Families had set up home on the sides of roads, using tarpolin and pieces of scrap metal, as the main material of their houses. There were children on the streets and knocking on car doors, begging for food and money. Stray dogs, cats, goats, and cows, wondered the roads searching for scraps of food. The majority of buildings were extremely run down, and falling apart. Although, I did notice a change in the surroundings as we ventured further into the centre of the city; a massive contrast between the buildings began appearing, designer shops and world banks began popping up in the oddest places alone, looking alien-like among their run down surroundings. Jack and I found this extraordinary, as there didn’t seem as though there was any logic to this. It was obvious example of how the rich get richer, and the poor remain poor in this world.

Our driver didn’t speak any English, but thanks to the joys of charades, we managed to communicate very well with one another. He drove us trough the city, pointing out famous landmarks, including the gate to India. He than parked up and waited with all our bags and the car, while Jack and I went off for some food. We did invite him to join, although he made it clear that he was working and his job was to guard the car and all our belongings.

When searching for a place to eat in Bombay, we were advised to either chouse a top expensive restaurant, or somewhere packed with locals. We came across a typical local eatery, selling various curry dishes, and overflowing with locals. We entered to find children eating the left over on the tables; little did we know that they would soon be the children to take our order! We chose a chicken tikka masala, rice, a sort of spicy coleslaw salad, accompanied by pita bread to soak it all up. Jack loved the fact that eating with his hands was more than acceptable during the meal. I didn’t feel as confident as him, and could feel people staring at us, being the only Caucasian people in the restaurant! The meal came to a total of 105 rupees (around £2.00) which we were properly over charged for, and we were both stuffed!

We met back up with our driver, and stopped off at the Indian gateway, before making the noisy journey, back to the airport. India is the first Asian country I have ever visited. The humidity of Bombay, mixed with the various scents lingering throughout the city, will always stay with me, and will remain a pleasant memory of the beginning of an amazing journey through Asia.

It’s around 6:30pm here at Mumbai, which means it is around 2:00pm in the UK.

We are currently waiting for our departure gates to open, so we can check in and then board, for the final leg of our travels for a while; Hong Kong! J

Goodbye Home!

The time has finally come, we leave for Hong Kong today, so I'd imagine I'll be offline for a little while. Jack found this awesome time-lapse video of Hong Kong, and I'd love to share it with you. The music is also pretty cool, check out the artist's other stuff, too! I can't download it, so here is the link.

Goodbye for now!

Saying Goodbye is never easy to do...

Just three days to go until I will be on my way to the Fragrant Harbour! To an extent it feels like I have already left… I caught my train to Jack's hometown yesterday, just two and a half hours up the track. I couldn't wait to leave my home town, although the more the time crept closer to me leaving, the more and more I found myself reminiscing about the place and people I will miss.

Spending time with my family and friends was great, it was lovely to catch up on what I had missed out on, while I had been away. The time I spent there made me realise how the place didn't really change. OK, yes, there were a few new buildings, shops had closed down, and new ones had opened, but that was about it. This makes me realise why I am so keen to live away. My hometown will never really change to a large extent, so why not discover other parts of the world.

There is something quite exciting about moving across the world; not knowing exactly what to expect from where you are going, wondering whether or not you'll fit in with the locals, and generally feeling apprehensive about what is to come. Not all of these feelings are positive, and the amount of hurdles you have to jump in order to get to the finish line, sometimes makes you wonder whether or not the race is actually worth it. What we are not told, is that the time you take to run to the finish line, is actually the bit that makes it worth it. Knowing that all your hard work and preparation, will finally pay off. One thing is for sure, come good or bad, when I’m laying on my death bed, at least I won't be asking the question “what if?”. I don’t want an opportunity to pass me by, no matter what the risks may be. I want to meet people, learn about different places and customs, and totally immerse myself in different cultures.

Home will always be home, and my true friends and family will always be there for me, no matter where I am in the world. It's just a shame I can’t pack them in a bag and take them with me!

TEFL - Qualified!

We have completed our course and are now qualified efl teachers! We had a great time and met some very interesting people, who I hope we will keep in touch with. The last two days got a bit intense, learning about grammar and different tenses (past/present/participle/continuous, etc...), which was an eye-opener! It’s funny how you take your native language for granted, not ever really needing to break down the structure and principles of that language. The sad thing is, many of us never learnt in detail, how to actually structure the language! It never seemed to be an essential part of the curriculum when I was at school, which I find ridiculous. Just because it comes natural to us, doesn’t mean we know exactly how it works.

We were also given the opportunity to practice our own teaching techniques, by having free rein to conduct our own lessons. Efl teaching is so very practical compared to traditional teaching techniques, I find this extremely refreshing. Efl teaching also suits my approach of being creative in the classroom, and incorporating games into lesson plans. I excelled more in practical subjects at school, such as design and technology, and drama. My perception of teaching and learning was very different before I began the TEFL course. It was always that the teacher would be dictating to the class, and the students recording the teacher’s words in their workbooks. I now realise why I lost interest in learning at school, which makes it extremely frustrating.

Now I have learnt that the best way to teach is to constantly stimulate and interact with your students, incorporating games, songs, and movement, into your lesson plans. You learn from experiences, by doing things, rather than listening to how things are done. The TEFL course has provided me with a lot more confidence, and I can’t wait to use it in a classroom, full of children.

Our Shoe Box in the Sky ☺

Hi Guys, just a quick post! I’m in Cambridge now, studying for my TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) certificate. It’s great to catch up with Jack, and have a change of scenery. It's also great to have my bike back, I've missed cycling! Everyone seems to cycle everywhere in Cambridge, it’s extremely bike friendly, like a miniature Amsterdam!

Our course began today, and it was surprisingly easy-going, compared to what we had in mind. Met some really lovely people and participated in some interesting classroom tasks. It was a very long day, but we both came away with a great sense of accomplishment.

I have homework to attend to now, so I will leave you with some images we were sent from our sponsor, Maggie, it's our new apartment…