Looking forward to the heat

It is a balmy 52 degrees today and looks like rain here in Ilkley. It is 82 degrees in Hong Kong and while it looks like it might be raining there as well, somehow 82 and rainy seems so much better. I am a bit tired of being cold.

Quite a bit has happened since my last post. Things are beginning to fall into place. For example, we have sold our house, thought I hesitate to say this as the contracts have not been exchanged yet so things could still go wrong. I think we may have gotten lucky with that as there seemed to be a bit of a flurry of activity in the housing market in April and then it slowed down again around the election. Unfortunately the buyers do not want the refrigerator, so I have to figure out how to get rid of that before we move. Small price to pay if it all goes through.

I also have been granted leave of absence from my job starting in the winter term next year. This is a huge relief as it holds my job for me for 18 months. Related to that it looks like I will be granted Adjunct status at Hong Kong University in Geography. This visiting status is quite an honour as the university has quite high status on the world stage. In addition to being ranked the top university in Asia, it is ranked 24 on the world stage (for reference Sheffield is 82, Leeds is 99, and Columbia is 11). I will also be able to do a bit of teaching and postgraduate supervision, as well as use it as a base for writing and doing research. I am very excited at the opportunity for doing some food research in Hong Kong. I am working on a book prospectus at the moment and writing time will be really useful--I have got to be careful not to pack in too much though as I do really want to spend some time enjoying the region, taking photographs, and learning Cantonese.

I have been trying to learn a bit more about the culture as well as get the kids excited. We have discovered that our new favorite breakfast food is Nan Wong Bao (a steamed dumpling with coconut filling). They are really good with strawberries and a bit of bacon on the side. The salt of the bacon and the tarness of the berries offset the sweet coconut inside the Bao. I have dreams about eating this. I have also purchased a number of films by Wan Kar Wai, who is a favorite of Quentin Tarantino. The films are not the usual Jacki Chan kind of film that one usually thinks of with regard to Hong Kong Cinema. We also have the film Infernal Affairs, which is what The Departed is an American copy. It is pretty good. We've also been listening to the music of Faye Wong. She does a cover of a Cranberries song that is absolutely lovely. I prefer it. Of course I have also been reading everything I can get my hands on about Hong Kong. There is a book by McDonogh and Wong (2005) called Global Hong Kong, that is informative, though not without its flaws. The first aim is seceding, the second not so much.

Finally, we got word the other day that our visa's have been approved and are on their way in the post. Lets hope things continue to progress as they have been!