Settling in to my new life

Now that our furniture has arrived and 99% of all the stuff we shipped now has a new home, there is a new challenge to be had. What do I do now? Lets just recap. I don't have a job and without a work visa, I don't intend to get one in the coming year. I don't have any friends here, any family or a support system in general, excluding my lovely husband of course, who is obviously otherwise engaged during the week and indeed, currently most evenings too. I need a plan. It's not that I am yet climbing the walls or anything, or desperately lonely, over all I am dealing pretty well with the situation but I am aware that I need to find something to occupy my time, to give me a purpose, even some goals because all I really seem to be focusing on right now is trying to keep up with the usual household chores and let me tell you, this apartment (and I suspect this is not unique to our apartment here!) gets so very dusty! After the vacuum-sealed house in Ottawa, this place seems to manufacture dust. Of course the continuous construction outside will not help..nor the pollution in general. Canadians, take a moment to be very grateful for your beautiful clean air!!

It's not that I'm simply saying that I'm bored with housework, although that in itself might be a valid statement. Neither am I about to do what (apparently) most Brits do here and hire a maid to remove the burden. However, there is no doubt that this is an opportunity to have an adventure and whilst stuff does have to be done around the place and bills have to be paid here, back in Canada and even in the UK and that alone is capable of causing regular confusion, and a degree of attention, there is more to life...at least to this life, right here, right now and if I am not careful the PA and the Capricorn (aka very practical person) inside of me will somehow manage to make a full time job out of it and my year off will be over before I've finished the ironing pile!

So...I need that plan and I need it now!

We have a list of Things To Do while we are here - places to visit, things to see etc and with the weather currently perfect for hiking we are doing our best to get out and about at the weekends on the trails and we are slowly exploring new areas and trying to get fit again. Having spent the best part of November in hotels, eating out and over-indulging in general both my waistline and energy levels are suffering! It's definitely time to re-engage with my yoga practice (again) and maybe even make regular use of the gym facilities downstairs. Maybe.

I have also just joined an "expat group" which is made up of other newcomers to Hong Kong from all over the world, but I suspect mainly the US and the UK. It seems to be the way to go here. Making friends can take time, especially with the advancing years and the absence of children and there is no time to waste given our small window of opportunity here. My first outing with the group is on Wednesday. I'm off on another hike...did I mention it's a great time of year for hiking? :-)

So, we have a list of things to do together in our leisure time and I have been proactive about meeting some women who find themselves in a similar situation to me...time will tell how that goes. But I need more...I feel the need to be creative in some way. This in itself is relatively new for me. A few years ago, if anyone ever dared suggest anything I did was creative, I'd have strongly denied that it was even possible and that I simply was NOT creative. Then I did my yoga teacher training and I did finally acknowledge that I had at least some creative bones in my body. No pun intended.

What might evolve, remains to be seen. I have a few thoughts, a few ideas but nothing I am ready to broadcast just yet. For now I have my blog...which I'm enjoying. It's fun to do and it helps me to organise my thoughts...sort through them even and decide whether they should be filed, left on the pending pile or brought forward to be actioned.