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So... I'm home, and have been for 3 weeks now, but I felt like this blog needed some kind of ending to tidy it up. I like things to be tidy and organised. I'm hoping that'll be an asset in my new life as a teacher in training but worry that it might be more of a problem when the paperwork and lesson plans and essays get on top of me and end up in a big mess.

I got rid of my bed, approximately 10 minutes before the landlord was meant to come round and check the flat and take my keys. The lady who was meant to collect it last time I wrote cancelled on me. Another man came round and looked at the bed and wardrobe then decided they weren't what he was after. The lady who did eventually take away the bed cancelled because it was raining and then had issues rearranging another collection time, but when she arrived she brought a man with her who had the whole thing dismantled in about 5 minutes (with the help of his power tools!) and carried it all away so I didn't have to assist. Which was great!

The last week in school was quite surreal, like I kept noting the date and that in 'X days and X hours' I'd be back in the UK, but the rest of my brain wasn't registering it. On our last Wednesday we were told we had to come to the lunchtime meaningful task. The whole school was there to say goodbye to us - each form class had prepared a song, a poem, a drama or a speech to say thanks. It was really lovely, although Rich and I were sat right at the front of the hall in full view of EVERYONE so I was determined not to get too emotional! Lots of the classes gave us cards or little gifts - one gave me a bag of home made cookies! Perhaps the strangest thing was going back in to school after all that on Thursday and continuing to have lessons. It seemed like a bit of an anticlimax to quietly slip out the school gate at the end of of my last actual day.

Hong Kong was a great experience. When people ask me what it's like, I never know how to reply. It's a city of contrasts ; the skyscrapers against the rugged hillsides, the smooth designer stores against the bustle of Mong Kok street markets, the huge container ships against the idyllic sandy beaches. I like to think I've captured some of that here. It's a crazy place to live but that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. If you have the money you can experience the best of it all, but you'll have to work hard for it, and I don't think I'm cut out for such a work hard, spend hard lifestyle.

I'm going to finish this with a goodbye message from one of my students...

Ms Owens

Work hard, when you go back your county, if i see you again can you speak in cantonese?

Your student

Jay

Waiting

I'm waiting on a Philipina lady called Julie to come and take away my bed. I've decided I should lie on it until the last possible minute because I'll really miss it when it's gone. Haven't entirely decided where I'm going to sleep next week. Tonight I'm testing out how comfortable my floor is when I pile all my spare bedding, blankets and sarongs on it, on Tuesday I'm staying at Nicole's flat in Tin Shui Wai, and there's always the option of booking into a hostel for a few nights. Thing is, despite moving half way across the world for 9 months, I'm quite a homely person really and the thought of packing up all my stuff and adjusting to living in a different building for a few nights (without my kettle!) doesn't really appeal.

Last Sunday, the company I work for organised an Olympic Fun Day on Cheung Sha Beach on Lantau, which is apparently the longest beach in Hong Kong. The weather was cloudy when we set out in the morning, but by the time we'd taken the ferry to Mui Wo and the bus to the middle of nowhere, things had heated up. Cheung Sha has an Upper Beach and a Lower Beach and as luck would have it, we got off the bus at the wrong one and had to walk almost the full length of the longest beach in Hong Kong in the glaring midday sun with our bare feet burning on the sand. Needless to say this didn't exactly put us in the mood for running relay races with chopsticks and peanuts or creating rivalry between the two teams.

Crazy Relay Races on the longest beach in HK

Emma, Amy and Sarah show off their Kowloon Gold Medals

However, people did get more enthusiastic as the day wore on. I took part in the Tug of War (!) and the boys officially acknowledge that the girls played a much better game of football than them, and at the end of the day, my team (those who live in Kowloon) won! We then had a BBQ as the dusk (and sadly also the mosquitoes) descended and got to see a whole heard of Lantau's famous wild cattle whilst waiting on a bus to take us home.

BBQ at dusk

This week at school I've been getting my S2 classes to make a yearbook. In each class, I assign 2 people to be 'photographers' and try to get a mugshot of everyone. My students are not very fond of being photographed, as you can see from these efforts!

Nicole and Joyce

Roy and Michael and Isaac

Yesterday I took another trip to Clearwater Bay beach for what may be my last swim in the South China Sea. It was lovely to be swimming at 5pm, but the beach was a lot busier than the last time I'd visited. In the evening I went to the Lan Kwai Fong Beer Festival. Lots of people, lots of sweating and yard glasses of beer. A typical Saturday night in Lan Kwai Fong really!

Guangzhou

This time in a fortnight I'll be all packed up and ready to leave Hong Kong. Not entirely sure where everything is going to go. Today, after my last session of Saturday school, I had a sudden urge to go out and by myself Hong Kong things, so I purchased 2 cushion covers (very packable) and a tray with 3 dishes (not so packable) as souvenirs. I'm torn between the ridiculousness of adding MORE stuff to my luggage load at the last minute and the feeling that I may never be back so it's my once in a lifetime opporunity to buy everything I see. Perhaps the best plan is just to stay away from shops but in Hong Kong that is pretty much impossible.

Anyhow... last weekend I went to Guangzhou. I took the train from Hung Hom in Kowloon. It's very easy, costs HK$190 and takes just under 2 hours. You can even buy tickets online at http://www.it3.mtr.com.hk/b2c/frmIndex.asp?strLang=Eng, although you have to collect them at a Hong Kong station so not so good if you're starting in China!

I went with Nicole (who I work with at HLC) and her skills in Cantonese and Putonghua were invaluable in making my weekend chilled out and relaxing. It was great to not have to stress about which restaurant to go in or where we were in relation to a map because, if we needed to, Nicole could always ask someone! Nicole's skills in travelling are, however, not so good so I was still required to read the maps, navigate the underground train network (called the Metro in Guangzhou) and book the hostel. We stayed in the Riverside YHA (http://www.hostelbookers.com/booking/index.cfm?hostel=24428&fuseaction=hosteldetails) which is clean and cheap and is a bit out of the centre of town but right on a waterfront street (Chang Ti Lu) which has been recently redeveloped with a selection of bars, restaurants and neon lights. There's also a Chinese park with crazy exercise machines and a square where we found a guy hiring roller skates!

On our first night, Nicole and I took a 1 hour river cruise from the jetty just outside our hostel. It was nice to see the lights of Guangzhou but the best bit is the fact that all the trees lining the river are lit up with green spotlights, making them look like giant clumps of broccoli. We also had hotpot in the Red Calf restaurant near our hostel which came with delicious herbal tea.

Broccoli trees on the Pearl River Cruise

On Day 2, Rachel arrived on a morning train from Hong Kong and we set off on a ferry across the river to Shamian Island. Shamian Island is where all the foreign traders had to stay, and in the past the bridges were closed at 10pm! The island has the wide avenues of a European city and some pretty looking buildings. We stumbled upon a group of about 8 brides and bridegrooms that we THINK were taking part in a fashion photoshoot! They were much more photogenic than the French church next to them, with it's strangely unreligious neon signs.

Wedding Photoshoot

After a spot of lunch in a Shamian Island restaurant (thanks to Nicole's ordering), me, Rachel, Nicole and a New Zealand girl we'd picked up called Chloe set off to find the Chen Clan Temple. Helpfully, you can find it at the metro station called Chen Clan Academy! The Temple was apparently the home of the Chen Clan for many years, as well as a place to worship ancestors and take imperial examinations. It's a nice building with a lovely courtyard, impressive roofs and a refreshing garden out the back. The Temple/Academy is also now part of the Guangzhou Cultural Museum so has some paintings and fans on display.

Nicole and Rachel at the Chen Clan Temple

From there, we walked towards what someone translated into English as 'Walking Street,' but en route we got distracted by a MASSIVE jade market. The market starts out lining a big square but soon diverges into a multitude of alleyways, all filled with stalls selling hundreds of jade bracelets, pendants and beads. Surprisingly, we made it back out of the warren without buying very much! We headed on towards 'Walking Street' and eventually reached it - a massive pedestrianised strip full of flashing neon brand names. We observed the crowds and took some photos and then, ignoring the McDonalds signs in all directions, headed back out of the pedestrian zone and down a little alleyway full of food stalls to find some dinner. I had a chicken kebab type thing, some coconut milk and an intriguing spiral of crisps. The scorpions didn't really tickle my fancy.

The spacious part of the Jade Market

On our last day in Guangzhou we had to trek out to the East Railway station to book our train tickets back to Hong Kong. There was a rumour that we had to book them 3 hours in advance, so the sensible thing to do it just book them at the same time as your outward ticket! Chloe was heading on to Shenzhen and didn't need to book for that as the trains leave more than once an hour. Having sorted that out, we set off for Yuexiu Park and the Orchid Garden. The metro stop is called Yuexiu Park, and that's the most obvious thing when you come out the station, but the Orchid garden is JUST across the road and is (in my opinion) a much more pleasant place to visit. We, however, found the park first and paid our 10RMB entrance fee so felt we should have a little explore. There is a big, beautiful lake at one corner of which you can feed the fish. The fish are clearly used to this as they gather there in giant swarms as almost leap out the water when they sense someone holding their hand out to drop in some food. Watching this feeding frenzy made us a bit peckish, so we headed out the park and into a restaurant which overlooks it for some tasty dimsum.

Feeding fish

We only just had time to pop in and out of the Orchid garden before heading back to the hostel for our bags. It was much greener than the park, full of lush bamboo forests that block your view and give you the illusion of being in a massive forest when you're only really in a small park. We found a greenhouse full of colourful orchids and a teahouse where you could sit and chill out (if you had the time). I could have stayed there all day.

Nicole and I in the Orchid Garden

However, it was time to return to the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong. Guangzhou seemed to have a much slower pace of life, although we certainly saw plenty of places where skyscrapers are shooting up as well as traffic zooming along highways. I think perhaps it's just that there's more space in Guangzhou, so the hectic parts and skyscrapers are more spread out. Whilst there aren't any major tourist attractions (or at least, not comparable to those in Beijing), there's plenty to look at for a long weekend.

Olympic Torch

Beijing Torch Monument

Last week, the Olympic Torch came to Hong Kong. My school cancelled lessons and held a Torch Relay in the gym hall (it was meant to be outside but the weather was too damp). Some students in each form class had built their own interpretation of the Olympic Torch, and then 8 more students were the relay team that took part in the race. Everyone was issued with a China or Hong Kong flag to wave during the event, but the message from the teachers was (according to our headmaster's translation!) that you can be proud to be Chinese without being proud of everything the Chinese goverment does.

National flag waving

To celebrate this momentous occasion... here are some photographs of Olympic Madness in Hong Kong!

Me and Zoe with our flags

Torches made by the students

Fuwa on the waterfront - The Olympic Mascots

I've also been on a little trip to Guangzhou but you'll have to wait till later for that update as I've got people coming over to my flat in about 10 mins. We're going to order in pizza and have a girly evening, almost like I used to do with my uni flatmates, but without the Charmed and Sex in the City DVDs!!