The First Week!

Greetings, family and friends! I have now been in Hong Kong since Tuesday afternoon (it's Sunday night) and I apologize for not blogging sooner! Tripp and I hit the ground running the minute our boss Maggie and her husband Sash picked us up at the airport with another teacher and fast friend, Rebecca from London. Since then we have been running all over the city, setting up camp in one of the most populated cities in the world! Tonight is the first time I have really been able to sit down in my extremely cramped apartment to fill yall in on what is sure to be the adventure of a lifetime!

First off, my cell phone!! Most of you know until now I have resisted converting to the wildly popular PDA type smart phone, as the cell phone my friend Trent got me works great in the States. For the moment at least, our purchasing power is pretty strong over here. We are paying less for goods and services than we would back home, and the exchange rate is currently running about $1 USD to 7.7 HKD. With the incredible difference in the price of electronics in the street market and Maggie's Cantonese haggling skills, I am the proud new owner of a "Phone"-- it's the Chinese rip-off of the iPhone-- with all the capability of the brand new iPhone3GS, complete with a Clemson orange hard case-- for US $57!! Can you believe?! In fact, all the teachers here have purchased them with reloadable SIM cards. Wonder if these bad boys would work in the US... if so, might be a great Christmas for yall! :)

Speaking of calling, Dad has done some "G-2ing" as he would say, and discovered two fabulous features of the already amazing Skype! The first is call forwarding, which will bounce your call (Skype or otherwise) to my Chinese cell phone if I am not at my laptop. The other involves me purchasing a local US number that you can call and will charge you only as a local number but will ring my cell here in Hong Kong! Incredible! Am still working on getting that number and will post as soon as I test it out! If you haven't joined Skype, I highly encourage it as a way to cut down on local phone bills, as well as give you and I a way to talk for free! Go to skype.com and become a believer today!

Tripp was not exaggerating the size of our apartments, but Liza is a great roommate and I am so glad she and Tripp are here! The three of us went to dinner last night after our teaching orientation at a Japanese sushi place where the chefs place rolls on a conveyer belt that circles around the bar. You just pick off it what you want to eat and price is determined according to the color of the plate! We enjoyed the works of a large meal with drinks and appetizers at a beautiful place that only set us back the cost of one California roll back home.

We have easily bonded with the other teachers here and have been spending time in our new group. Today we went via ferry to Macau, now a part of China but previously under Portuguese rule, to leave Hong Kong and re-enter in order to validate our working visas. We wandered the sprawling casino at the Venetian and loved the gondolas that floated down the rivers inside the resort. Maggie and Sash treated us to a traditional Portuguese lunch at the well known Restorante Fernando. After wading in the ocean then sweating through the crowded downtown streets to see the historic ruins of St. Paul's, we went to the top of the Macau Tower for a breathtaking view of the island and of the adrenaline junkies swan-diving off the top for the highest bungy jump in the world!

There have been so many interesting and challenging situations already this week, and I will do my best to keep you updated on them! Tomorrow early morning, we are applying for Hong Kong Resident ID's, which will grant us coverage for the heavily subsidized government insurance, and grant us the same privileges residents have. Should be exciting!

Look forward to catching up with everyone! Skype me anytime (sara.beth.baxley) and email me: sara.beth.baxley@gmail.com if you can't find me on there (I had to edit my settings to keep only known friends on my contact list) or just to say hi! xoxox Sara Beth