Tempest7: Blogger

Caught Up In My Blog

Finally I've caught up in my blog. I've been chasing entries every since I came to Hong Kong, life really has been an adventure here. Sometimes it seem a bit demanding to write entries out in my blog but I really thought this is the best way to share what has been happening to me with everyone I know.

My second month is about over. So far I've survived thought it has been tight. Money has been an issue, I've made it my goal to live off the money I make in HK. Do I have any money saved in Canada? A little bit. My bank account is pretty low since I put most of it in equities (not that I have a lot to put in but of what I do have I put over 90% in equities). My RRSP has had a decent return so far thought it doesn't really make up for the loss I suffered at the hands of Nortel. The main problem I have with money here is that I'm living 2 months off of 1 month's pay. How does that work? Simple When I arrived I brought only about $1000 CAD to start me off. That really wasn't enough and I was getting paid each week that I worked for the first 2 weeks. The first week's pay went to pay my rental deposit, my housing agent fee, and my first month's rent. The second week's pay was the pay I was living off of for the rest of the month. I did a bit of shopping though for new clothes, but most were t-shirts for my brother and a few polos and t-shirts for myself. The rain really soaked my shoes one time so I bought another pair of cheap Converse shoes ($200 HKD) to wear. At the end of the month I was paid the remaining two weeks, and that pay goes to my rent for the 2nd month, and my living for this month. I've developed some habits though due to living this way, I walk home nearly every night (it only takes about 30 minutes) and I take the tram most of the time in the area because it is only $2 HKD. I don't eat out in expensive places except for special occasions like my cousin visiting. I am poor at the moment, and it is difficult but I am surviving. I still have my credit card and even though I've had to dip into my Canadian funds it really is managable. I really appreciate all the people who have offered to wire me money, it means a lot to me that I have so many friends who would trust me with something as sensitive as money. That being said, even my phone was disconnected today. I'm using a PayGo plan through Vodaphone Smartone and they charge a monthly admin fee. My fee date starts on the 28th but a few days without a phone isn't a big deal. I have one more day of class and hopefully I can get paid tomorrow so that I'll have money on Tuesday.

I'm still waiting on my Hong Kong ID at this point as well. I can't really make a decision on what I will do in the near future until I know for certain I can get my HK ID. I'm looking into travelling into China towards the end of August. I know Ming Jian will be in Shanghai until September 9th. Actually that is 2 days before my brother's birthday. I had also thought about dropping by GuangZhou to visit Lou Yan while she is there. Sun Qiang should be gone from China at that point so I don't think I can visit. I'll need to work out my budget from this month's pay.

Today's classes weren't bad. Ada met up with me yesterday to help buy a few materials I needed for my science classes. As long as I have my materials my classes run smoothly. I need to learn to prepare better and of course get to work a bit earlier instead of cutting it so close. Then it will all probably settle in. Teaching two classes with Michael and Ian is still very difficult and tiring. I don't know what it is about those kids. In the future when I have children will I prefer a boy or a girl? Girls in general are much easier to teach at an early age. But the society is still very male oriented and in general the males still seem to be in the role to take care of the family. I remember Connie telling me about the life style of her younger brother. He is given a lot but his life has been really restricted. In terms of teaching though I certainly enjoy teaching girls more than guys, with a few exceptions.

I went to the library after work today to return the books Ada borrowed for me. I hope my video recordings will be enough. I wanted to take Kevin's advice and I headed to the magazine section to find the Economist news magazine. For some reason I didn't find it but I flipped through a couple of other magazines. I found the July issue of Wired particulary good. It had some interesting articles including one on the new IBM-Lenovo. It took me back to thinking about the growing global businesses and about my place in this market. Not that I really have a place now but that I need to decide where I want my place to be. My disadvantage is my Chinese really isn't strong right now. Can I integrate into the local culture and steer my way to finding a place between the two different cultures?

posted by Tempest7 @ 23:33