Nikon D60 = Sweet!

It's been a busy 24 hours for us. After school on Friday, Jamie and I stayed after to get some work done. We then went immediately to a co-workers apartment for some fellowship. We stated for a couple of hours and then I went to play poker. Ended up doing pretty well.

Saturday morning we decided to take a different route to Hong Kong. To make an extremely long and complicated story short, we took a cab for about $3, a bus for $3, a metro line for $3, and another metro line for $1. Total time of the trip, including going through customs ended up being about 2 hours. It only takes about 45 minutes to go via the ferry. Now, we went at the busiest time period and went as a large crowd, so that slowed us down. I think we might go this way more because it is so much cheaper, especially if you can split the cab ride. The picture above is at the customs crossing from Hong Kong and China. I once again got in trouble for using my camera. Turned out pretty good though.

We decided to go ahead the try and get the camera that I wanted. I had done my research and was prepared for what I thought might be a decent deal. Not really any to be found, but I did decide on the Nikon D60, which is a DSLR camera. So far, I love it! Came with a nifty bag and I'm charging it now so it'll be ready to go! I am excited about taking it on the trip to Cambodia at the end of the month.

Jamie and I found an English bookstore where we spent entirely too much money, but it was well worth it. We also found the Hard Rock Cafe and I've put some pictures in the Hong Kong slideshow below of it. Not too many though. Hong Kong was rainly and cloudy today, so pictures were somewhat out of the question.

We rode the Star Ferry across the bay from Kowloon to Hong Kong central. What is neat about this little 10 minute ride is that you get to see the entire Hong Kong skyline on one side of the ferry and the entire Kowloon skyline on the other side. Once again, no pictures because it was getting dark plus it was cloudy. I'll get some great ones on a clear day.

We have come back and collapsed for the evening. Jamie had thought about going for a massage, but she has turned in instead. The massages here are semi ful body and they really concentrate on your feet. Massage lasts about 45 minutes and total cost I believe is around $7. I don't let people touch my feet, so I'm not going to do it although Jamie is trying to talk me into it. We'll see.

Sorry for the short post. Sure does seem like we saw and did quite a bit today yet I have said much. A little birdy told me I should talk more about school and my students and the differences some of the issues I face with that. I think I will start doing that and fill you all in what Jamie and I deal with every day.

All for now, I'm loving my new camera, books, and adventure into Kowloon! Great day. Trying to find the Bulldogs on the internet, but having difficulty finding a radio feed.

Don't forget!!! Become a follower of the blog by clicking the link at the upper right hand corner. Also, if you are just joining our little party here, please feel free to browse the pictures at the bottom of the page as well as the archives to the right. I post every day, I think so far, and try to make it entertaining. You can comment on that too at the bottom of each post.

Thanks for reading!

Hard Rock Cafe Hong Kong

This one is for you Melania Floyd! Jamie is seen here drinking an Alabama Slammer. I refused to drink it thinking it would dull my senses and intellect. We were at Hard Rock Cafe in Hong Kong. Good old Western food of chicken wings, grilled chicken salad, and a hamburger and fries. This meal, unlike the ones in China, did not cost us $1.20.

Shout Out for the Bumpshack

This one is for all the former Bumpshackers. We found this little journal type thing a rather large ENGLISH bookstore in Hong Kong (Kowloon). Thought Holmes would like it. I got in trouble for taking it in the bookstore, but they didn't slam my camera into the wall so I guess its ok. Second time today I was asked not to take pictures of something.

He's Gonna Get Tough, Just You Wait and See

This one is for dear ol' dad! Jamie found this in Kowloon today while we were walking around. The Chinese seem to like American cartoons as we see them everywhere over here on T-shirts and stuff. Enjoy!

Bones Season Premier

Great new season of Bones premiered last night. Jamie and I are huge Bones fans and used Slingbox to record the 2 hour episode. We watched it as soon as we returned from school. Jamie fixed a great dinner tonight of fried rice, chicken, snap peas, baby corn, carrots, and bell pepper. It was yummy! Amazingly, the cost of this was probably 3 times as much as if we were to go out and eat the same thing. Cooking in is nice though and we have left overs. Not sure about going to Kowloon this weekend as it is supposed to rain but we'll see. Not much news. Kids are still doing well and the week has flown by quite nicely. We are settling into our groove of classes and were actually able to leave on time today. Of course, we are still getting there any time between 6:30 and 7:00 each morning.

We joined a new gym down the road. They gave a great group discount for the teachers, so we are only paying around $12 per month each. My side and back are still bruised, so I'll go check it out and probably just walk or something. Still hurts to run but I can now at least sleep on my right side. Our prediction of losing weight has not really come true. I probably lost some the first couple of weeks, but the food is great, plenty of it, and its cheap. Dangerous combination. Maybe the gym will keep us in shape.

All the news for tonight. We listened to Palin's speech online, and we have too many Republican friends to tell you how we really feel. Nonetheless, she gave a good speech. That is all I'm saying about it.

Don't forget to sign up to be a follower. Just put your name in there, but a picture would be nice. Congrats to my parents, Charles and Jewel, for becoming the first followers! Well, I was my own follower, but I wanted to see how it worked. I hardly ever check and see how the site looks anyhow. I took those world clocks, national geographic pics of the day, and other things off because I thought they weren't working. If they were in the states and you like them, let me know and I can put them back on.

Ok, all for now I promise. Sign up for followers and I'll be happy!

Drink the Kool Aid!

As a way to keep tabs on the people reading this blog and support Big Brother policy, I have added Blogspot's newest feature to our site. You'll find it at the top right corner of the screen. It's simply a way of seeing who is reading. Most of you email me anyway with comments and such. I have an early goal of 50 followers although that might be "pie in the sky." We'll see. So, if you are reading this now, go ahead and find the Followers tab at the top of the screen and follow the instructions. Go ahead, Drink the Kool Aid! Drink it! Drink it Now!

Busy Busy

Jamie and I are teaching away! Sorry I haven't posted in more than 24 hours. We were exhausted yesterday and went to bed at 8:00. I guess the weekend caught up to us. It is Wednesday morning here, and we are ready for the weekend. I think we are going back onto the ferry but taking a trip to Kowloon. Kowloon is a city right across the bay from Hong Kong. I should be able to take some great pictures of the Hong Kong skyline. We've been told to go to Kowloon for electronics and English books. I'm still looking for a camera and think I might can find one there. I might also buy a projector for my classroom/Slingbox. The connection here for the Slingbox is too choppy. Not sure why because the connection is 10 times faster than that at our apartment. I had to choppily watch my Vols lose to a team they should've beat by a million. That's the way the football bounces (get it, footballs bounce crazy ways because of their funny shape. If you don't get it, please see the picture of the football above). Illustrations are always best.

We are awaiting the arrival of packages that Kathy has sent us. They say that they have been attempted to deliver, which makes no sense considering there is someone at the front desk of the school 24 hours per day. Our principal has told us to give detailed instructions to the Chinese workers at the school and have them go find it. We've learned the Chinese post office isn't very reliable.

Well, that is about it. Classes are going well and it seems to have settled down a little bit. Gary and Kathy are officially coming to China now! They've booked their tickets are coming at the end of January for Chinese New Year. Pretty cool!

Have a great night America!