The Muths – No, We Haven’t Forgotten How To Blog

Hong Kong: Day N’ Night

Here comes the blogger’s lament, when real life has de-prioritized writing and posting photos about real life. With the 5.5-day work week, a plethora of visitors, Anderson going back to school, Liz getting a promotion, trying to get caught up on How I Met Your Mother (a truly great TV show), and the general business of life, and that’s why you’ve been blessed with same post about our no-longer-new dog Joey for the past several months. We’ve done a lot of fun things, and whiled away more than a few nights blissfully doing nothing, finding some sort of balance within our busy lives.

Sharing A Beer (L to R: Liz's Aunt Jean, Liz's Aunt Linda, Liz, Liz's Mom Jane, Anderson)

Special thanks go to all of our wonderful visitors, Blaise and Joe (from Canada via South Korea) early in the summer, Liz’s mother and two of her aunts (from Wisconsin and Alaska) for summer vacation, and more recently some fellow travelers and far more prolific writers, Iain & Claire (from South Africa via China, sorta).

Chillin' With Bruce Lee Atop The Peak

Gettin' Our Gump On With Blaise & Joe

Between all of their visits we’ve seen and done quite a lot in Hong Kong: markets in Stanley, Mong Kok, Prince Edward, Sheung Wan and elsewhere; uber-tourist attractions like the Peak Tram (with Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. drinks and Bruce Lee), the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car and Big Buddha statue on Lantau Island (with freshly brewed Typhoon Brewery beers), Ocean Park amusement park, and the Symphony of Lights show in East Tsim Sha Tsui;

Sunset Near Lamma Island

we’ve ridden boats of all sorts – an all-day party cruise, an afternoon fishing trip, and plenty of ferries; seen cultural events: Dragon Boat racing, traditional Chinese dragons, the Mid-Autumn Festival; we’ve ridden countless subways, buses, mini-buses, taxis and trams; and most importantly we’ve eaten a lot of delicious food: Chinese in a multitude of styles including cha chan tengs, dai pai dongs and yum cha, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Egyptian, Syrian, Belgian, and the list goes on… why not conclude with watching Premiere League football in Hong Kong?

Aston Villa vs. Blackburn

Hong Kong is a city of endless variety, and we’re just getting started. Anderson’s found an amateur football team to play goalkeeper for (it’s a Korean club – Korchina), Liz is still in search of the perfect spa, and we’ve rapidly become regular Sunday lunch customers at our favorite Indian restaurant Ashoka. Carcassone is back – yes, yes, how could it ever have been truly gone? – we’re still cooking massive Asian-fusion stir-fries and curries, and in a rare literary victory we recently got a bunch of cheap English books randomly on the street. We’ve become fast fans of local football club Citizen since Anderson used to teach a few of the players, somewhat regulars at Happy Valley’s Wednesday-night horse races, infrequent (but monthly) hikers, and now finally cyclists again since we just bought folding bicycles!

The Big Buddha On Lantau Island

In our professional lives, which are ever increasing in seriousness and time-consumption (apparently the 30s couldn’t arrive quietly): Anderson continues to work for ME English Learning Centre (now on Facebook! and Twitter!), splitting his work-time between adult group conversation classes and private lessons (primary, secondary, and adults). He’s started a Masters of Education in Learning, Teaching, & Curriculum with an emphasis in Learning & Instruction and a focus in TESOL (TESOL = Teaching English to Students of Other Languages) at the University of Missouri, which he is not only enjoying but also may have the longest degree name imaginable. Since multiple weekly flights to Missouri were going to be expensive and impractical, he’s opted for the less-stressful online/distance learning option, which is quite interesting, flexible, challenging, and applicable. The first two classes, Second Language Acquisition and Language & Culture for Educators, have both been great, with solid and helpful instruction, excellent non-boring course-books, and a good mix of students from across the globe. If you’re interested in a TESOL Masters degree, Missouri offers a competitive program at a great price.

At A Tin Hau Temple Near Repulse Bay

Liz meanwhile, is still working at Tutor Time, however she has been promoted from teacher to Assistant Centre Director. That means she’s switched schools (from Red Hill to Midlevels), now focuses on administration, curriculum, staff development, maintaining enrollment and parental relationships, and the millions of other things that happen every day at a busy international pre-school. She still does occasional teaching when needed, and is still around children all day, but her promotion means her typical workday has changed dramatically. One definite upside is she’s now over her fear of lizards, thanks to Sunny the bearded dragon!

Today’s the end of the Chinese year, so the Lunar New Year celebrations start tomorrow. We’ll be going to the Asian Challenge Cup football tournament to celebrate our break from work,

Peace,

A&E

PS – Anderson now has an awesome music blog highlighting all the musical awesomeness he finds out in cyberspace: The Groove Thief presents…

Here’s your moment of zen: