4.5 Weeks In...

We are in the middle of Week 5 of being here and Week 3 of teaching.  I feel like at least in the teaching sense that I am finally settling into a rhythm and pattern.  The amount of beginning of the year things is starting to wane (such as instrument rentals, inventory, auditions, etc) and it is exciting to finally start making the transition to the music.  I have four orchestras and team teach two choirs with Tim.  I have a 5th grade orchestra (beginners), Middle School Chamber Group, Middle School String Orchestra and a High School Chamber group.

I feel like I have learned so much in my time here so far.  I think the biggest thing that has stuck out to me the past few days is that students from different halves of the planet can be sooooo similar at times :)  Here are some familiar phrases that some of you might recognize:

Student: "Someone stole my instrument (any other object that might be needed for class can be swapped out here - music, book, backpack, etc)"
Me: "I have it - you left it after rehearsal"
Student: "Oh"

"Do we need our instruments today?" (in orchestra class)

"Are we singing today?" (in choir class)

"Can I go to the toilet?!?!?!?" 10 seconds AFTER the bell rings right before tuning or starting class)  (The toilet is the official name of the bathroom or washroom here)

There have been many times that I just start chuckling to myself because while I am officially on the opposite side of the planet from where I live, the questions and quirky things that students say and do are so similar here.  I know it would be different in a developing country or even in a public school here (and not a private international school run like a Western school), but the students that are saying these things are all from here!  Its great :)  I really enjoy my students and it is fun to get to know them more every day (or every other day since that is how often I have).

Tim and Luke Hiking

Other life happenings...
This past weekend was good.  On Friday I got to go to Monkey Mountain and watched them scream and chase each other around and then saw 50 monkeys screeching running across the road from a giant wild boar that was next to the bus stop we needed to get back home.  I didn't get many pics since it was getting dark and I plan on returning with Tim sometime in the near future and will get many more pics of Monkeys in the daytime.  It was so crazy!  I got off of the bus and they were RIGHT THERE!  The group of us then headed to the Festival Walk mall so that we could get some dinner and go shopping and I then met up with Tim (who had Elementary Back to School Night) and we walked around some more there.  It has 7 floors and sooo many reflective escalators!  I then got to talk to my family for awhile and that was really nice :)

Eat Me!!! 

Sunset over Sai Kung

Sunset in Sai Kung

Saturday we slept in a bit and then the parent association had a dim sum lunch for the new teachers.  We sat at a table with some parents and a student and had some good conversations while enjoying some really delicious dim sum!  After that we headed back to ICS to figure out what and where to go next.  We hemmed and hawed a bit with our neighbors and then decided on going to Sai Kung to see what we could see and hike a little bit.  We went hiking and then found a fresh seafood place.  It was SO DELICIOUS!  We had 5 of us and we got a 4 person set and then a few sides thinking that the sides would ensure that we had enough for all 5 of us.  We had SO MUCH food!  Smiles for everyone that night!

We ate at the same place as Jackie Chan!

Sunday we went to church and there were some really cool moments.  We have been attending a church which is held in a small chapel about 20-30 minutes from here (train and walking up a hill).  There are about 30ish people who go and I think all or almost all of us are from places other than Hong Kong.  The singing is really spirit filled and quite powerful.  After that we headed down to meet up with our neighbors  and we headed to the south part of the island to explore that area.  I realized I don't do a very good job of chilling and relaxing here since there is so much to see and do (after a day of getting things done at school) and so we had a day at the Big Wave Bay beach.  We swam in the ocean (not sure if the South China Sea is officially part of the Indian or Pacific since its beween the two- any Geography buffs want to help with that?), played in the waves, basked in the sun, ate some corn on the cob (missing the Minnesota State Fair's corn - ours weren't quite as good), napped in the shade of our umbrella and had a wonderful day relaxing :)  Our neighbors met up with us and we headed back together.  I could get used to this relaxing beach thing!

The Lifeguard Stand

Big Wave Bay!

This week has been a good one but jumbled!  Monday was a Monday, Tuesday was Elementary picture day and the fire alarm went off in the middle of pictures :/  Today was picture day for the Middle School and I got my picture over and done with at 8am - I was second in line!  I think it turned out well - results will be posted here later :)  Lots of projects to try and finish up by the end of the week.   I am looking forward to adventuring this weekend too!

After one month - I can safely say I really like it here in Hong Kong :)

Update from the Baumanns! (written on Monday, August 20th)

As I sit down to write this blog, I am thinking of all of the fun things that have been going on here in Hong Kong over the past week and I am thankful that we can be here to experience them.  This has been an amazing adventure that has been filled with lots of new experiences, lots of "different" experiences, and lots of wonderful caring people in our lives.

The highlight of the past week was...the TYPHOON!!!!!  It sounds much more exotic and cool to say than it actually was, but heck, how many people can say they have lived through a...TYPHOON!!!!!!  The Hong Kong Weather Observatory rates typhoons (big rain storms with lots of wind for our American friends) on a scale from T1-T10.  T1 means that there is a typhoon in the Pacific that is approaching land.  T10 means "in case you have not figured it out by now, we are in the middle of a typhoon and you had better take cover."  Our Thursday was spent at T3 and just before we went to bed, the level was elevated to a T8.  T3 is the level when the Kindergarten school is cancelled and T8 is the level where school is cancelled for all the other kids.  Then in the morning the T8 was moved back to a T3 at about 6:30am, meaning that school was on and our first official "Typhoon Day" would have to wait until later.  Christine's epic Weather Channel video was postponed.

Other adventures of the week:

Llama sign, Lamma Store

1)  The island of Lamma-  The island of Lamma is just a ferry ride away to the southwest of Hong Kong Island.  It is pronounced just the North American "llama", and just like it's cousin, the doubled consonant is completely useless.  The island is known for having no vehicles.  We ferried in with good friends, shared delicious fresh seafood at one of the many seafood restaurants, and then hiked a 4km trek across the island.  The hike was hot and steep, but the beach at the end was well worth the toils:)  From there it was a ferry ride back to the island.

Fresh Sweet and Sour Shrimp

View in Lamma village

Lamma hiking path

You have no idea how sweaty we were in this picture:)

First day!!

2)  We made it through our first week of school-  Both Christine and I are now expected to know exactly what we are doing in our new school.  The training wheels are officially off.  We both love our new students and faculty while at the same time missing our former students and colleagues.  We hope they are all doing well as they get ready to start their upcoming school year.

Victoria Park Archway

3)  Hip-hop Dance Class-  You read that correctly.  On Saturday we went to a free hip-hop dance class held at a store on the island.  We both pushed each other to take the class because as Eleanor Roosevelt once said "We must do one thing a day that scares us."  Well, consider us scared:) (or maybe scary...)  We fought aggressively for our spot at the back of the store and were thankful that there were no mirrors and then we channeled our best Justin Bieber and danced our hearts out.  At least it was a good workout and it took us right next to Victoria Park, the giant public park with all sorts of beautiful walking trails!

4)  Wonderful transit system-  I am continually amazed at the mass transit system in Hong Kong.  It is clean, efficient, orderly, and fun all at the same time.  The only tradeoff is that you must become ok with the idea of having someone's face in your armpit due to the high density of people running at specific times.

Christine has even learned the Asian photo symbol:)

Tim is a little bit tall...

5) Angry Birds and "Spongey"-  Angry Birds and "Spongey" (Sponge Bob Square Pants) are all the rage here.  Malls have huge set ups of each and nobody can seem to get enough pictures, poses, and memorabilia.

6)  Fresh fruit and vegetables all the time for very reasonable prices- Enough said.

That is all from here.  Grocery shopping is up next on the evening docket.  Hugs to all.  Please know that we are thinking of you all!

Love,
Tim and Christine

Sunset over Hong Kong Harbour

First Day of School! (Written on Monday, August 13th)

We have now been here for 2 weeks!

Last week the rest of the teachers came back to work.  I worked on a lot of projects such as doing an instrument inventory to see what we had and realizing that I need 5 more cellos for the students to be in orchestra!  It is a good problem to have.  :)  I have 1 beginning orchestra (5th grade), 2 middle school orchestras (an intermediate and advanced) and one high school orchestra right now.  It seems to be manageable numbers (88 total).  I wish I had a violist in high school and a bassist at other levels but this program is really new and things will balance out eventually.  Like Tim Gunn, I'll "Make it work." :)

Temple Street Night Market

This past weekend was an awesome one full of adventures!  Friday night we went to the Temple Street Night Market and tried some spicy and sour stuff and that was bad news!  It was soooooooo hot our lips were burning and then when Tim was slurping up some noodles the sauce splashed in his eye and ruined his contact.  It was pretty intense.  The night was cut sort of short and thankfully by the time we made it home Tim's eye was feeling better.

Saturday we got to move to our own apartment (not the temporary one we have been in the past two weeks).  This is sooner than we thought it would be and it was nice to get it done before school started. We slept in until about 11am!! and then got the news we could move after noon.  We just kind of hung out and had a slow morning and afternoon and it was great and much needed.  We then went with our neighbors to go explore Ma On Shan which is a shopping center a few stops up the line from where we live.  We spent HOURS there exploring and seeing all that there is to see!  The malls here are ridiculous!  They just keep going into other malls and generally are organized in sections such as clothing stores, electronic stores, home furnishing stores, accessory stores, etc.  About the only type of store that is sprinkled around malls is a grocery store or convenience store.  I got matching scarves with a friend and then we explored the Wellcome grocery store and stocked up on water and other groceries.

Big Buddha

Sunday was a big adventure day!  We went to the same church as last week and enjoyed it and then met up with friends once again to go see Lantau Island and the Po Lin Monastery that is on top of the mountains there.  We were originally going to take the cable car but it was a crazy long line to get to the cable car so we hopped on a bus right away.  The bus ride reminded us of roller coasters.  There were times where you could hear the engine groan and we were barely making it up the mountain side and then as soon as we got to the top it was a crazy almost free fall to the bottom.  These bus drivers all make me think of the Knight Bus from Harry Potter!  Once we got to the top Big Buddha was sitting up there.  It was 250 steps up to get to Big Buddha and then 250 down to get to the bottom.  It was quite the hike but thankfully the wind was blowing and it was a cooler day :)  We also had dinner at the Vegetarian Restaurant run by the Monastery and ate some ice cream while exploring.  The weather was kind of strange and because we were so high up the clouds were going all around us and everything around us was shrouded in mist which made it seem more mysterious.  It was sooooo awesome.  There were also lots of wild dogs that just hung out and didn't pay any attention to humans.  That was strange to see.  We went back down the mountain on the bus and it avoided all of the wild cows that just roam across the road :)  We then got some dinner and headed back home ready to go to bed and have:

The First Day of School!!
(I am sure this is the part you all were dying to hear about)

The mountain road

Well the first day was much like any other first day of school I have ever experienced.  There was confusion about where to go, what comes next, Tim and I took forever to figure out how the lunch line worked, my room was double booked (but its now fixed).  We got through the day and got through it well!  I think it is going to be a good year - different than others that I have experienced - but a good year overall.  All of my orchestra classes are held in the Chapel and it overlooks a beautiful mountain scene :)  Its hard to believe that is my room for the year.  My students all seem really nice and I am excited to see them in action in a week or so.  The classes in Middle and High school are on a 6 day rotation and I see them every other day for orchestra :)

I am excited to see how the rest of the week goes! :)

Ok here is Tim's 2 cents:
I finally found my first squatting toilet.  I was really surprised when I found it and then I couldn't decide whether to flush it with my hand or my foot.  So I didn't flush...don't judge...

Much love and warm wishes to all our friends and family.  We smile a lot when we think of you all or stumble across a fun candid photo.

Love,
Christine and Tim

A sleepy puppy at Po Lin

We were in the clouds!

Wild Cows!!!

We Have Internet!!!

Hello everyone!

I can't believe it has already been one week since we arrived!  Things have been going well for us here in Hong Kong.  The school takes really good care of us!  The first week we went with the other first year teachers in groups to get our Hong Kong ID cards, set up bank accounts, apply for credit cards and get cell phones.  We have also been exploring quite a few places in the area and eating new foods too!

Simba came with on the plane:)

We just landed.  Not bad for staying up all night!!

Today was a big day today!  The rest of the faculty came for the first day so we got to meet our colleagues in the music department, our new iPhone's sim card kicked in and we got the internet installed in our apartment!  We will be moving apartments in about two weeks because our actual apartment's air conditioning is getting replaced.  (Thankfully the move will only be two rooms down and across the hall so not a big deal).

A good story from today - Tim went into our actual apartment (705) to grab something.  We have been going in and out of there quite a bit to get supplies or check and see if we have something (wall clock). Today for some reason the key card decided that it wouldn't work (after it had been used 3+ times today) and now there is a piercing alarm going off and they can't get it to shut off (I wrote that at 6:15pm)  Hopefully that will be fixed soon :)

Oh goodness what to write about???  There have been so many new things that we have experienced this past week its hard to remember them!  Here are a few snippets of what we have learned:

-Napkins and toilet paper are not always provided for you.  You can purchase small packets of napkin/tp things to take with you wherever you go

-In the MTR (train) station people walk on the left to go up and down stairs.  Escalators are just like the states where you stay to the right if you are stationary and you use the left if you are walking through.  Don't be an esce-lefter!  Everywhere else I'm not too sure what side to walk on - it seems like a free for all

-Mom and pop noodle shops are usually the best way to go for cheap (and very tasty) meals.  You don't always know exactly what will come out of the kitchen but it is worth it!

One set to serve with and the other to eat with!

-Lemon Tea and Milk Tea are the two best things ever!

-Portions are actually quite large for noodle dishes.  If you eat at a local place be sure to leave some behind to show that you are full.  Apparently if you finish your plate completely they might bring you more.

-The streets and trains are very clean!  They are much cleaner than any other big city that I have been to.

-There are two main options for purchasing things - 1. The markets (wet market, electronics market, clothing market, etc) and 2. Stores in malls.  The malls are HUGE and are thankfully well air conditioned!

-McDonalds delivers!  We haven't eaten much western food since we arrived but since Tim's experiment in cooking didn't go so hot, we ordered some McDonalds to be delivered just because we could :)

-Exploring the city is awesome because you walk around everywhere!  I am looking forward to doing some more exploring as the years go by :)

View of Hong Kong Island from Tsim Sham Tsui.

-Black flip flops are hard to find!  I bought a new pair at Superstore in Brandon just before coming here and when we were in a mall a kid stepped on it and it now looks like it is starting to die.  Thankfully I found some in about the millionth store that we went to but I might be asking people coming from Canada to pick up another pair when (note I'm not saying if :) ) they visit.

-Life in Hong Kong can be so similar to life back home in the states and so different at the same time.  I also find myself seeing people that look like friends from back home :)

-You can watch the olympics in English every night on the tv - you just need to push enough buttons to get there :)

First day of orientation!

Much love to you all!  We now have regular internet service on our own laptop and the iPhone turned on today.  If you would like to chat we have Whatsapp and Skype - please let us know :)  I'll try and get some pics on facebook in the next two days.  We have a Cantonese lesson/get together tomorrow night with some other people on our floor :)

Christine (and Tim)

ps we are 13 hours ahead of Central Time!

ps #2 I came back after dinner to finish this post and as of now (9:05pm) the alarm is STILL going off. Here is the solution the security company came up with :)

(Yes, that is a sock taped over the alarm...)

ps #3 At 9:45 it is still going off!!!

:)

We made it safely to Hong Kong on Sunday night!  We will be writing more in the next few days - lots of good experiences so far :)  We will have a phone and internet in our apartment by Tuesday - yay! :)