So I've lost my voice. It is terrible. Everyone thinks I'm horribly diseased. No, I don't have bird flu, please believe me! Ugh, considering I teach kids how to speak English by speaking English, my job has suddenly become almost impossible. Alas, this too shall pass.
This weekend was cool, had a nice potluck Thanksgiving celebration. I think that it was was one of the best meals that I have had in Hong Kong! Kuddos to the pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, and cookie makers! Those were difficult items to recreate in Hong Kong.....especially since no one has an oven! The turkey was purchased already roasted.
On Sunday I went on an adventure. After the customary Sunday brunch at Taco Truck (ahh Mexican Food!), I was playing Scategories with my apartment mate, Becci, and my friend, Peter, when we decided to go on an adventure. We hopped on a ferry to Kowloon City and explored an older section of the city. We were headed vaguely in the direction of the Walled City Garden, but we never made it. We happened to stumble upon the Cattle Depot which is an artists' village. After cautiously approaching, we were waved in by the door man. Even though the compound had a weird, creepy feeling to it and the architecture reminded Becci and Peter of Auschwitz, we checked out the premises and saw some cool sculptures, plants, and a cat. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any photos. After a bit of wandering, we happened on a small film festival exhibit and watched some short Taiwanese films. They were weird but cool.
Later, after we returned to the apartment, Becci and I googled the village. Turns out that it isn't actually open to the public and we were lucky to have a chance to see it! Also, the weird, creepy feeling stemmed from the fact that the area was where all of the cow slaughterings went on in the early twentieth century.
Yeah for random adventures!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Steep Incline
Few! This has been a hectic week! I had an excellent weekend to start it off: I attended the Hong Kong finals of the Battle of the Bands and I went to Tai Po to enjoy a lovely afternoon in a country park with the Chatteris organization.
But before I say anything else....here are some snap shots of Halloween!
The Battle of the Bands was super awesome! It was really nice to see a live show and it only cost me about $15 American. Plus, I got a free light up pen from the sponsor, what more can you ask for? There were nine bands that played all sorts of music from borderline hardcore to gut-wrenching indie. Most of the music was in English so that was great. There first band that we saw was called Paranoid; I had to ask if they were dudes, drag was their image.
On Sunday, I joined the rest of the Chatteris employees on a trip to Tai Po. I knew that there would be food there so I didn’t bother eating lunch. However, I didn’t know that there was going to be a two hour trip involved. Needless to say I was very hungry when I arrived and the man selling ice cream by the bus stop is lucky that I didn’t buy his complete stash. After I got settled and had some real lunch, the activities began. We could choose from row boating, kite flying, a scenic walk, or a scenic bike ride. I chose to go row boating. A lot of my friends also went on bike rides…I was too busy eating more food! The row boating was really cool and, of course, someone started a splash war with the inevitable conclusion of soggy clothes. Not a problem until the sun set and we ate dinner in an air-conditioned restaurant. Brrrr.
Check out how far Tai Po is from North Point...this is why I missed a skype date (sorry Mom!)
See it's practically in China! @_@ Traffic makes for a long journey!
School life has really been kicked into high gear. I was totally wrong about things calming down after exams. Next week marks the beginning of the English Speech Festival in Hong Kong. I’m training fifteen students and I have to meet with each of them ten times! Craziness. I’m always running around trying to find them. In fact, the whole English department is going insane. So. Many. Poems! They have to learn how to pronounce, memorize, and deliver a poem in English. Oh yeah, and it also has to have feeling. That means that I have to explain the meaning behind a lot of poems, I don’t know how the students know what is going on because the meaning of some of the poems is over my head.
On top of that, I’m planning an open day event, a Thanksgiving party, and a Christmas party. For the open day the school has to look extra special because primary school students and their parents will be coming to view the school and decide if they want to attend. I will be the MC for the event once again. The students will also be performing High School Musical for the visitors followed by “English Language Games.” Still figuring that out. The Thanksgiving party will be a mash-up of hand turkeys, pies, scavenger hunts, and games. Christmas is TBD.
PS There are some sick waterfall hikes in the New Territories. Check it out.
But before I say anything else....here are some snap shots of Halloween!
The Battle of the Bands was super awesome! It was really nice to see a live show and it only cost me about $15 American. Plus, I got a free light up pen from the sponsor, what more can you ask for? There were nine bands that played all sorts of music from borderline hardcore to gut-wrenching indie. Most of the music was in English so that was great. There first band that we saw was called Paranoid; I had to ask if they were dudes, drag was their image.
On Sunday, I joined the rest of the Chatteris employees on a trip to Tai Po. I knew that there would be food there so I didn’t bother eating lunch. However, I didn’t know that there was going to be a two hour trip involved. Needless to say I was very hungry when I arrived and the man selling ice cream by the bus stop is lucky that I didn’t buy his complete stash. After I got settled and had some real lunch, the activities began. We could choose from row boating, kite flying, a scenic walk, or a scenic bike ride. I chose to go row boating. A lot of my friends also went on bike rides…I was too busy eating more food! The row boating was really cool and, of course, someone started a splash war with the inevitable conclusion of soggy clothes. Not a problem until the sun set and we ate dinner in an air-conditioned restaurant. Brrrr.
Check out how far Tai Po is from North Point...this is why I missed a skype date (sorry Mom!)
See it's practically in China! @_@ Traffic makes for a long journey!
School life has really been kicked into high gear. I was totally wrong about things calming down after exams. Next week marks the beginning of the English Speech Festival in Hong Kong. I’m training fifteen students and I have to meet with each of them ten times! Craziness. I’m always running around trying to find them. In fact, the whole English department is going insane. So. Many. Poems! They have to learn how to pronounce, memorize, and deliver a poem in English. Oh yeah, and it also has to have feeling. That means that I have to explain the meaning behind a lot of poems, I don’t know how the students know what is going on because the meaning of some of the poems is over my head.
On top of that, I’m planning an open day event, a Thanksgiving party, and a Christmas party. For the open day the school has to look extra special because primary school students and their parents will be coming to view the school and decide if they want to attend. I will be the MC for the event once again. The students will also be performing High School Musical for the visitors followed by “English Language Games.” Still figuring that out. The Thanksgiving party will be a mash-up of hand turkeys, pies, scavenger hunts, and games. Christmas is TBD.
PS There are some sick waterfall hikes in the New Territories. Check it out.
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