Don't worry - I'm not going to inflict an entry on you every day; heaven knows that would be tedious for me, never mind you. But as today is my first day "living" in HK, I thought I'd mark the occasion by writing a little entry. Can you begin to see how tedious my life can be sometimes?* I really must learn to celebrate...
Anyway, I spent today doing - actually very little. Unpacked a bit, took a few phone calls, read a book (it's amazing how the Kindle has completely kickstarted my reading habit) had a shower and slept. A lot. I didn't get much sleep on the plane, unlike the chap sat next to me who was asleep before the wheels left the ground in Heathrow and stayed that way for practically the whole flight. How do people do that? I wish I could learn that skill.
If today was a lazy day, tomorrow will have to be busier: there are bank accounts to sort out, ID cards to organise, mobile phones to transfer and probably a million and one other things that I haven't even thought of yet. One thing at a time, I guess. I'm not going tackle that all in one day - tomorrow I've pencilled in for a trip to the bank. I'm wondering whether that will be as frustrating an experience in HK as it is in the UK because I'd like to talk to an actual human being, which seems to be a rarity in the UK.
The other thing that starts quite soon is I have my first formal Mandarin lesson at the weekend, which I'm quite looking forward to. I've been listening to podcasts and language CDs so I've picked up a few words and phrases but nothing formal or structured. I'll also be interested to see how the tutor goes about the lessons, as I'm thinking about using my TEFL qualification to offer some English lessons.
Jetlag does strange things; last night - well, this morning - I found myself wide awake at 4am so I got up and watched the weather for a while. The sky was lighting up on a regular basis but I couldn't hear any thunder, which was a bit strange. Now, as I remember it, that all feels like a dream although I'm fairly certain that it happened.
Something that definitely did happen is that I got my passport stamped and was given a little sticker, which now entitles me to use the "residents" counter next time I enter Hong Kong. Given the price I've paid, monetarily and otherwise, that felt like quite an emotional moment. I'm being booked for work in the mainland, so I might get the chance to use it in the near future.
One sad thing I've discovered since I got back is that The Boxer has finished. I think I mentioned this TV series in an earlier entry. After watching a few episodes I became completely hooked, even though it was all in Cantonese and so I had no idea what they were saying. Fortunately, the story was simple enough and the acting broad enough that I could get the general idea. I don't know the details but I'm assuming that the bad guys got their just desserts, the good guys came out on top and true love won the day. Sometimes, life's like that...
*if you can't, this entry has probably helped you considerably.
