No more white goods! ! !

Sold the washer and fridge… Hooray! To a family member which is always nice. I also don’t have to art with it until I leave.

We are starting to pack up the house a little and going to begin the exitus of stuff in between Christmas and New Year. Yes – it means that we will be living with “not much” for a month but I guess we will get used to even less of the ‘normal’ in China anyway – so what the hell. I used to live in 2 or 3 places for months on end… I know what I need and what I don’t need to be comfortable. It’s not much I tell you, most of it fit into a small backpack.

Actually – putting all the things I don’t use into boxes, that won’t be opened again for a long time makes me wonder in a general way WHY I have SUCH a compulsion to by new things all the time.

There is only 44 days to go. That’s 6 weeks and 2 days.

We reached budget!

Today is a great day for us. Our saving have actually overtaken our expected costs for the trip to China. We may even be able to afford travel insurance ;)

Moving to another country, even for only a year, is quite costly; especially with a low paying job.

Item	Credit	Debit	Total
Plane Tickets	$2,690.00	$2,690.00	$0.00
Car		$2,500.00	$2,500.00
Rent		$800.00	$800.00
Spending Money		$500.00	$500.00
Mobile		$400.00	$400.00
TESOL	$1,595.00	$1,595.00	$0.00
Car Rego	$292.30	$292.30	$0.00
Hotel in Hong Kong	$119.00	$119.00	$0.00
Travel Insurance			$0.00
Back Pack		$129.00	$129.00
Savings	$4,333.21	$0.00	$4,333.21
TOTAL			$4.21

Eeep, and Yay at the same time

YAY – Ahumbleknight is BACK from ten days at the Army, but *sigh* I have to get away for another five up to Toowoomba. I’m not saying I won’t enjoy myself, but I will miss him. I can’t wait for the day we are both in China and have heaps of time to spend together. I am hanging for that day.

We did some organising etc. Got a few photos of the ol’ car (www.stormwarden.org/helen/car) and made a few enquiries about the rear lite – Just under $85 to fix. Had I known it was that cheep I would have fixed it 2 years ago!!! Anyway – that’s great, now the car can sell without any major faults.

But selling it will be a hard task, and probably the most annoying part of this whole process.

Will keeps letting us in on little bits of info (as he thinks of them I assume) and Ahumbleknight and I both love reading anything he has to say about anything to do with China. We are both so excited. (I am also scared shitless, but don’t tell him that!)

We have made our final bookings for the hotels and we know lots about the train system, not so much about busses though. I have learnt the Mandarin words for “Train Ticket” but not the Cantonese words so that’s going to be NO help!

Oh well – I have made a few friends in China already – not that any of them live where I am going – but some of them live somewhere on the way. They all seem very nice, and very interested in learning English so I am heartened and happy.

That’s it for now – no real progress, only that there are only 6 and ½ weeks left! Eeep, and Yay at the same time.

Paranoia can be fun

It’s been a funny week with Jobs being thrown at me! For a short time I thought what I had was not so great, but in speaking to will about it on the phone I am very confident that we have made the right decision.

At work (I work for a group that certifies and sends teachers over all the time) there have been some fiascos with jobs for people and getting some very picky ladies in China out of a sticky situation took up all of my co-workers day some a little bit of mine. Right now I have heaps of schools asking for people RIGHT NOW. I don’t think they realise that the air fairs are SO much cheaper AFTER Christmas.

For a short time I thought Shellshell’s school sounded good, but I am happy with the thought of Gaozhou and happy with the school we are going to.

I was speaking to Will tonight and he was giving me some insight into having 1700+ students and not knowing who they are at all. That is a bit of a daunting idea!!!
I’m very excited and I think I need to call Will more often because if I don’t I get worried.

Does anyone know anyone who wants to buy a car?
and a washing machine?
and a Fridge?
and
and

Reservations for Hong Kong

I have some reservations. I will have by the time I go to Bed tonight ; )

Spending all day searching for maps and hotel info was interesting. The most useful sites for Hong Kong are:
Discover China

Hong Kong Airport
From here you can find Buses, Trains and accommodation.

I made a number of enquiries today, and Anna Black Guest House has come out on top! Its definitely one of the cheapest, but they have direct transfers from the Air Port for only 16 bucks and were the first to get back to me with my email enquiry, so they came in first place!

I think we have found the cheapest place to stay in Honk Kong so that should be an experience in itself.

AhumbleKnight and I have decided to stay in Hong Kong for 2 nights instead of just one because we want to be able to do some exploring.
…..

And If I thought I was having a bit of trouble, Shellshell from Rockhampton is having a shocking time. The horrors of having KIDS!!! It’s Friday night, she flies out on Saturday week (8 days and only 5 of them working days) and one of her two sons has just washed their 3 passports. The pages are shattered and the visas have detached themselves.

She now she has to find a way to get new documents in a VERY sort time. ARGGG!!! Only 5 days to get passports and visas! Can she do it? Or will she have to postpone her flight to Hong Kong? Stay Tuned!!!

China and Beyond - Getting there

Getting to China is a nightmare and getting past the crap that agents throw at you is confusing! Selling my car and packing everything up to move my life is a daunting experience. We still have just under 2 months and I have NO idea if I’m doing this right.