Moving to Hong Kong

Tai Chi in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay
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Day One: I am writing to you from the The Excelsior Hotel in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong! Well actually, I am writing to you from the coffee shop next to the hotel (Mix) because internet access is free here and I don't have the right cables to hook up my laptop at the hotel. After the airline confusion in Boston (Cathay Pacific does not fly out of Boston like my eticket stated), the flight went smoothly, about 16 hours from NYC because we flew over the North Pole! It is a 12 hour time difference, not 13 like I read in a HK travel book. I was actually able to get a bit of sleep in on the plane, as much as you can in a chair. They served two meals and complimentary drinks, including wine and beer. We arrived about 20 minutes earlier than expected. I had to go through immigration as a Hong Kong "resident" with the visa the school sent me. My principal was there waiting for me. It was nice to see her smiling face.Another family was on the same plane as me traveling from South Carolina, they are going to work at the high school. My luggage did not arrive with me, never a dull moment. It was still in NYC and should arrive tomorrow morning they say. We have a 9:00 am meeting time with the relocation specialist tomorrow morning. I will be happy to sleep in a bed tonight! Day Two: It is another hot, sunny day in Hong Kong, probably 85 degrees. The Chinese language is everywhere, but luckily for the Americans (and other English speakers), most people speak English, so shopping has been easy. I received my luggage yesterday and had a full day of settling in (bank account, HK ID card, etc.) I woke up early this morning so I went for a walk in Victoria Park next to the hotel. It was so cool to see SO many people out walking or doing Tai Chi. It seemed like no one was just having a lazy morning on a bench with coffee and a newspaper. Everyone was moving; stretching, walking, tennis, jogging, etc. I am shopping today for the many household goods that I need, and a mobile phone. I am moving into my apartment tomorrow.We went to look at it yesterday. Driving from the heavily populated north side of the island to the southern side was wild. They drive on the left side of the road and the roads are narrow and windy on the south. The apartment is very cute, with two small bedrooms on the 4th floor with no elevator. I will be getting my daily exercise on the stairs. I am very happy with the location. The south side of the island is as beautiful as they say. I can walk to the shops, restaurants and the beach (a couple of beaches!). Day Three: "Neih hou ma?" (how are you?) Don't let the subject heading fool you, I haven't made any attempts at learning Chinese. I am very intimidated by the tonal language. Like I said earlier, everyone knows at least some English, but in varying degrees. In the past two days I have gotten a mobile phone, household things at IKEA and SOGO, small appliances at Fortress and a TV with the local voltage, went grocery shopping and just got my internet and cable hooked up. I ended up getting some TV channels when I signed up for the internet because it is cheaper for me to get both internet and cable here compared to just the internet cost at home. I just signed up for a few channels, BBC World, Discovery channels and HBO/Cinemax. I turned it on and all the English speaking channels have automatic Chinese character subtitles! I took a long walk around the Stanley area this morning and took some pictures. I am very close to the beach 5-7 minute walk. "joy ghin!" (good bye!)

Neih hou ma?