I have sent all required documents to Hong Kong. I will be leaving for Hong Kong on August 25.

Hi folks!!

Well it has been exactly a month that I have been in Hong Kong now. My employers are the best, treating me like royalty. They have supported me tremendously in setting up my apartment and supplying me with a vacuum cleaner, a rice steamer, a couch and other necessities. They are kind and very helpful.

My apartment is located in Aberdeen, which is an old fishing village on the southern tip of Hong Kong island. As with all apartments in Hong Kong, it's not very big. About 200 sq. feet to be exact, but a comfortable apartment. I have a large window, with a view of Aberdeen Harbour. At night, it's spectacular. Strange thing about apartment buildings Hong Kong is that they have too many bad luck numbers. Number13 is bad luck, but so is any number having the number 4. So when I'm in the elevator, there's no 4 th floor, 13 th floor, 14 th floor, 24 th floor. Being on the 22 nd floor however doesn't guarantee immunity from those pesky roaches. Roaches the size of my thumb. Holly crap!!! They scare the hell out of me!!! Fast little jerks too! So I immediately went into kill mode and bought several roach traps. It has now been two weeks since I've seen any of my little friends.

My apartment is really cozy...my employers even bought me a TV. I sometimes watch a Montreal show early Sunday mornings...Just for Laughs candid camera...pretty funny and strange to see Montreal on Hong Kong TV. I don't have cable, but i can get at least 8 channels, three of which are in English.

I'm just starting to get accustomed to the differences between Canada and this exciting city. The food is cheap, but I must be diligent in what I buy. I can't buy any food from street vendors 'cause they're simply unhygienic, and I'd be sick like a dog. Beef dangling on hooks, near side walks, while it's over 30 Celsius...ummm tasty! Also, seafood aquariums have also been tested for cholera!! Cholera!!! What next? The plague!! So when i buy my food, it's always from the super market. Beware when you open your bag from the supermarket! Those damn roaches love to hitch a ride!

The weather...damn it's hot!!! The humidity levels are high, and at night it never dips below 26 Celsius. Thank god for air conditioning. My friends have told me that it will get better and start cooling off in October.

Hey all!!

Last week was pretty busy!!! Both Wednesday and Friday were national holidays. Wednesday being autumn moon (celebrating harvest season) and last Friday (October 1st) was China¡¦s national day. 55 years since the birth of the people republic of China.

I might have had two days off¡Kbut I was still busy. On Tuesday night I was invited by one of the teachers at my school, for a BBQ on a fishing boat. WOW¡Kwhat a culture shock!!! It was great¡KI went with Jeff and Raymond, and had to take a small sampan to reach this huge fishing boat anchored in the middle of Aberdeen Harbor. What an experience!!! Chinese BBQ was great¡Kand it felt as if I was in a different time¡Kin a different world. I was among the boat people and shared in their celebration.

The following day I was invited by another teacher to join her and her family for Dim Sum. Then that evening, she also invited me to celebrate the festivities with her family, and we had meal fit for a king! Chinese fondue!!! WOW¡K I had a lot of fun!!

Went to see the fireworks for the celebration of China¡¦s birthday¡Kthat was cool, but I think Montreal has better fireworks. Yesterday (Sunday) I spent the day on Lama Island. I call it the hippie island, ¡¥cause I never seen so many backpacking westerners. Great place for western food and great bars. It¡¦s a fusion between Europe and Asia¡K The weather is now really comfortable¡Kit¡¦s strange¡Kafter the autumn moon¡Kthe weather changed drastically. Humidity is now hovering at 50% and now the temperature ranges between 22 and 26c. It¡¦s great!!!!!!!

Hey les amies!!

Here in Hong Kong... I'm losing energy... these little critters sap all your remaining energy. I never thought that teaching pre-school would be difficult, but there's actually a lot of work. I spend the whole day playing games and repeating words, that at the end... I end up losing my voice. When i get home... I nap for about 1 hour then I cook a meal... then spend at least 3 hours, preparing for the next day. So it's not a walk in the park...and I'm not the only one! The other teachers complain about the same thing... no energy.

Cooking my meal... that's an experience... I was at a local supermarket (I obviously don't shop at the local street market) and bought something that I thought was Chicken. Hummm... it's written in Chinese...but it sure looks like chicken. So I brought it home...marinade it in brown sugar, soya sauce and oyster sauce. Looks good. When I cooked the damn thing...it began to shrivel!!! I tasted it... and it had some sort of rubbery texture. I still don't know what it is...but I believe it's cartilage from some sort of animal. Dumped the meal and went to McDonald's down stairs. By the way... McD's is half the price of what it is in Montreal. For a Double Cheese Burger Trio...costs about 3.20$ Canadian. Not bad eh! Food is cheap here in Hong Kong.