[IpanemaBikini]

HI there,

Can anyone give me a few tips on how to get a life out here ..I've just moved to HK and after having an intense and terrible work life balance I plan to,in one word live...

Yoga and Madarin classes are the first on my list as I have been tasked with being fluent in 4 months - do you think I can do it? Is there anyone out there that has and wants to help??

Ipanema B

[jayinhongkong]

The language of yoga might take a little longer than 4 months to master....

[NEERAJ]

You've already joined the gang ..so WELCOME and
..yes they do have a lot of yoga and stuff whre people dance in a trance like state with xclnt loud music.

ON a more serious note CHK OUT a place called VIKRAM YOGA in TST..its quite good.

Language training in HK is xtrmly expnsve n the courses are of minimal content.i had joined a institute in hk for three months but i guess i learnt more from living in china than what they taught me..my suggestion to you is buy some good translation books(with cd) for starters and take your time to go through it..then join a class if u need to..mandarin is good language u might be able to pick it up faster than expected.

Good Luck for your stay in HK..

[IpanemaBikini]

Errm.. well I suppose I should thank you Jay for your words of advice, but I wont... Keep up the insighful blogs they're priceless, even if only for entertainment purposes.

Neeraj, cheers for the top yoga tip. I was actually looking at that site the other day so may venture down there for a bit of deep breathing. On the subject of language training, well at least that's good to know as I was about to enrol in a Mandarin course when I return from a Business trip next week...

IB

[Khema]

so you want to 'get a life' and immediately fill up your recently acquired free time (=time for yourself) with 'useful' activities?

why not take it slowly at first, enjoy true freedom when your life is not schedule driven, and every hour after work is another chance to find out what you really like to do?

once you feel there is a void in your free time you might start thinking how to fill it with pleasant (and not necessarily useful) activities?

and IMHO - Mandarine classes if they are for work then i'd consider them part of your work schedule...

just my personal view... and from own experience - my life also tends to be full of activities and timetables, also outside work, and i am struggling to break free from these schedules and from my-highly organised-self

[postpet]

Originally Posted by IpanemaBikini

HI there,

Can anyone give me a few tips on how to get a life out here ..I've just moved to HK and after having an intense and terrible work life balance I plan to,in one word live...

Yoga and Madarin classes are the first on my list as I have been tasked with being fluent in 4 months - do you think I can do it? Is there anyone out there that has and wants to help??

Ipanema B

May be you can join a pop music lesson or especially if learning Mandarine or Cantonese Songs can help you to learn Language in a fast and enjoyable way. Any details or need help in the field can contact my forum below. Wish you enjoy your life in HK soon.

http://www.geoexpat.com/forum/thread11590.html

[Sleuth]

4 months, that would give you 1 month for each tone. If you find a way to become fluent in 4 months, let me know. I work with an Aussie who has been in China for 40 years and he still stumbles with some technical terms, although the Chinese love him. And he can't really read, only speaks.

[laurac]

[quote=Khema]so you want to 'get a life' and immediately fill up your recently acquired free time (=time for yourself) with 'useful' activities?

why not take it slowly at first, enjoy true freedom when your life is not schedule driven, and every hour after work is another chance to find out what you really like to do?

I agree with this. Try to enjoy just relaxing...whether walking around the city, reading a book, having a drink at the local pub...
I think you're falling into the trap that most of us fall into. We forget how to just 'be' and instead we're compelled to do something productive (i.e. mandarin). I'm guilty of this too!

I think as a society, we've forgotten how to relax...think there was a recent article how employees also fail to use all of their vacation days in most countries. Are we going to work ourselves to death?

[geo-seb]

Originally Posted by IpanemaBikini

... Madarin classes are the first on my list as I have been tasked with being fluent in 4 months - do you think I can do it?

No, unless you are some sort of language genius or fluent in another Chinese dialect already.

However, I have met some people in HK who consider your Mandarin as "fluent", if you know how to properly pronunce ni hao and some common business phrases...

[-jC-]

Originally Posted by IpanemaBikini

HI there,

Can anyone give me a few tips on how to get a life out here ..I've just moved to HK and after having an intense and terrible work life balance I plan to,in one word live...

Yoga and Madarin classes are the first on my list as I have been tasked with being fluent in 4 months - do you think I can do it? Is there anyone out there that has and wants to help??

Ipanema B

well 4 months might be really short period, but you can get pretty good at it... i recommend the Language Learning Center down in Wan Chai in the Emperor Group Building/Center thing....I'm doing a course there at the moment and it really makes it easier to learn than most other courses i've seen