I arrived in Hong Kong on Canada Day and I've spent the last 3 days familiarizing myself. I have been astonished (and continue to be) by the number of people who speak English! I can make my way through the city with total ease - it's so mind boggling!! Most people speak some English and all the signs are in Cantonese AND English. It has made my transition easy, but at times makes me feel guilty and snobby - "I'm from North America and I expect you to be able to speak MY language". Apparently I'm having no trouble getting past the guilt though! ;-)

I've experienced some of the local culture, but mostly I've spent my time reconnectig with three women I haven't seen in 15 years! It's amazing because it's as though no time has passed. Two of them are teaching English in Hong Kong and the third in Korea. They are managing to sell me on the high points of teaching here - it's possible I could be convinced...

The most interesting thing I've found about HK is that there is so much diversity. You can walk for ten minutes an find yourself leaving a less wealthy area to a street with Coach and Louis Vuitton. Then hop on a train only to find yourself leaving sky scrapers behind for beautiful mountains(without much habitation). It's so amazing!

I've also discovered that it's HOT! There is no escaping the humidity - I have resigned myself to being a sweaty mess! Thankfully every building has intense air conditioning which helps to cool me down.

I've eaten some fantastic food since I've been here! One of my friends insisted we try "Hot Pot" and I am so glad that she did! A description will not do it justice, but I can promise you that it's outstanding! We spent several hours at the restaurant cooking vegetables in a pot of boiling, seasoned water in the centre of our table and enjoying the company. A fanastic experience. And today I stumbled on a beautiful vegetarian lunch buffet with fresh veggies and amazing Indian food. Getting food here is NOT a problem. Apparently a large percentage of people eat out in HK because it's so cheap.