Kindergarten Graduation in Hong Kong

My heart is full and my mind is too active so I'm going to blog about this right away. Tonight was our kindergarten graduation. It's a big deal - in the theater on the stage - full on graduation. Everything short of caps and gowns. My two classes - R2B and R2D have been practicing our two songs - Hosanna and You've Got a Friend in Me for almost two months now. We talked about expectations and yesterday had a full rehearsal. I had a new outfit made from China. I wanted to look the part of the professional teacher. Everything was set. I knew just what was going to happen. The students showed up dressed in their best. We gathered backstage in the band room. Mrs. Wong's classes - R2A and R2C were first so we had some time to kill. I got them all lined up and sitting on the floor and read to them. We were all calm. The kids were angels. But my heart was pounding. Then it was time. They listened so well and tiptoed on stage. While Mrs. Wong's parent was speaking a few words of appreciation we were getting up on the risers backstage. Then the curtains opened. My kids stood there perfectly. Then Mrs. Zhou, the Mandarin teacher did her song with them. Then it was my turn. They did perfect! They didn't go too fast or too slow. They watched me. For You've Got a Friend in Me they had to link arms and sway a few times. A quick prayer in my head to do well and not all down. They did perfect. It was great. Okay, now time for the certificates. One at a time - we had it perfectly choreographed. A short prayer here and there that no-one would trip and that I wouldn't drop all the perfect ordered certificates. Okay - we got through that - I was so proud of my kids! Then they were off stage and I was to go sit down in front and listen to my parent's appreciation. Well, she spoke for a few minutes about watching their babies grow up and then she showed a video that she had put together of photos of the whole year and then me talking to the camera about my classes (she had asked me to say a few words one day for the kids and I had no idea we'd watch it there). And the song! Oh! I admit it - I cried!!! Then all the kids and parents wrote me notes and she put some of them in the video. It was amazing and in the theater full of people! Then I had to go on stage and two of my kids presented me with flowers almost bigger then me! It was unreal. I can't believe all the praise they gave me and I pass that right on to my Lord Jesus. For all the short prayers I whispered during the days of teaching at a new school in a new country. All the challenges I was up against this year - it was all worth it in that moment. Faith, Hope and Love and the greatest of these is Love! I loved those kids and I will never forget my first classes in Hong Kong. And then after - I don't think the winner of American Idol had as many pictures taken of them as I did tonight! I don't think I had that many pictures at my wedding. My cheeks hurt! Wow! It was a very special night and I'm glad it's over now and that it went so beyond well! We have school tomorrow (Wednesday), then Thursday and Friday and the we have Monday off (Dragon Boat Races) and then the students come Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday is our end of the year party at school and then Wednesday after school I attend a party at a parents house - the party afterparty I guess! Then Michele comes that night. Thursday I have a few conferences and clean up. Friday I check out and then it's the farewell luncheon and I'm finally free!!! What a year!

Housing in Hong Kong

So the long journey of "apartment" hunting may finally be at an end. Looking for a place to live in Hong Kong when you're from America is a challenging thing. We were blessed to live in the school's apartment for the first year because it's spacious, open and bright. The bathroom is the size of many of the bedrooms we've seen in other places...so when we decided to start looking to see what there is we were faced with many obstacles. There are really 3 options that we've learned about: Option 1: A serviced apartment. This is an apartment that is like living in a hotel suite. It's furnished and ready to go. That was our first inclination however the more we looked into it the more we changed our minds. The one we had in mind has a kitchenette for a kitchen and you cannot move or change the furniture. Also it was too expensive. Option 2: an apartment in an estate. I liken that to an apartment complex. Instead of a sprawling complex they go straight up! Maybe 30+ floors. They are tiny and narrow (unless you want to pay many thousands of dollars US a month then you might get something more normal sized). We've been in some beautiful apartments but they were our whole housing allowance. You say - what's wrong with that? But since we're trying to pay off student loan debt we want to save if possible. Also, having lived on the ground floor all my life pretty much (maybe the second floor once) until this year Ernie and I aren't fond of living 20 floors up. Option 3: A village house. They are buildings with usually 3 floors and each floor is a unit with the top one including the rooftop. They tend to be larger and cheaper. The drawback - "village life" as they call it. It can appear very helter skelter and 3rd world. While some of the village houses we've seen have been nice the villages weren't. They sometimes have shacks inside as you wind through and some are a bit trashy. Some are nice but too far away for us to want to commute. Some we looked at were nasty. But the price was often right. So we were feeling frustrated. We have until July to find a place to live because we are house-sitting but still the option didn't look good. Either we were going to pay a lot more then we wanted and be comfortable maybe or cheap and miserable. Needless to say I was feeling a bit stressed. Then I decided I wasn't going to stress - I was going to give it to God. He led us here, He's got a purpose for us here and hasn't He taken care of us every single step of the journey? So I took a deep breath and let it go. I knew we'd find the place that was right for us. I know - big step for me!
Since we're house-sitting until Mid-July we've got time to look so I just shelved it and went about my business. The day before yesterday a teacher at school told Ernie that they were moving out of their place. Funny story - they bought these 10 foot paddle boards but they have no way to transport them to the beach and back so they are moving to the beach! They actually found a place and signed papers. So they wanted to know if we wanted to see their current place. That's the cool thing here - everyone helps everyone - it's such a nice "community." So we said yes. It's in Tai Wai which is a district here. We currently live in the district Shek Mun. I know that means nothing to you. Well, I go through Tai Wai every day and am not impressed. So I'm thinking village house in Tai Wai. Probably won't like it (this is based on what I've seen and what I know). Boy was I wrong!!! It's up on a hill called Tung Lo Wan Hill Road. It's BEAUTIFUL up there! We got there ahead of them so we just walked around the neighborhood. It's so nice - everything is landscaped and so pretty. There's a beautiful mountain right there with hiking trails and it's walking distance from where we'll be house-sitting. It's this quiet beautiful little place. Their unit is the third floor with rooftop on the corner!!! Okay, so I have this little mental checklist in my head of what I'm looking for and what's necessary to me. This place met them all and more. First off - it's three bedrooms. Okay - the bedrooms are small but just remember I'm looking at this through Hong Kong lenses where space is limited. It's got a lovely entrance into the apartment and the living area is quite large! The kitchen is tiny (and I mean TINY) but comparable to what we've seen. It has a little window. The bathroom is small but I've had similar bathrooms back home. The kitchen has gas burners - yay! Okay - let me say that Hong Kong apartments don't have ovens (actually the one we're housesitting in has a full sized oven - the first we've seen in Hong Kong). It's really really rare. So that's a score. The "master" bedroom is big enough to have a bed you can walk around. Yay!! So many places we've seen you can just fit a bed and that's all. I didn't want to have to crawl over Ernie all the time to get out of the room! It has two pretty balconies off the bedroom and livingroom. The other two bedrooms are small but good for storage. One has a built in wardrobe and we'll probably put the other wardrobe in there and that will be our room for clothes (rarely can you keep your clothes in your bedroom here). Oh and there's hot water in the kitchen - another thing on my mental checklist. Some places (estate or not) don't have hot water in the kitchen. It amazes me that things are this way in such a clean, modern city. It's just interesting. So I wanted a bedroom I could walk around the bed, balconies for plants and hot water in the kitchen. Check, check, check. That it's 3 bedrooms and a rooftop is a plus. So the rooftop - the stairs are in the unit to go to the roof. Sometimes the stairs are external so anyone could go to the roof even though technically the top floor gets the roof. But these stairs are internal so it's all us! It's a beautiful rooftop. From the livingroom, bedroom and roof you have a beautiful view of the mountain. That was another thing on my mental checklist. What do you see when you look out? Are you looking directly into someone else place? (not uncommon). This is right on the end of the village and so it feels open. The village is nice and small and not like the others. There are potted flowers and plants all along the walkways and it's in a higher end area. But it's not expensive. Not super cheap either but right where we were hoping to pay. There is a table and lounge chair that stay there (yay!) and I was just saying to Ernie - we're getting a dryer from our friend but we don't have a washer - we'll have to get a washer. Guess what - the place has a washer! Wow! After seeing this place we just can't say no! And knowing the people who lived there the past few years helps. Another thing I was worried about was bugs. I didn't want to move somewhere that had a cockroach problem and we didn't know. They say they've never seen any bugs and the mosquitos aren't a problem (often an issue in villages). This doesn't feel like a village. So we have to say yes! It's not a done deal - we have to meet with the landlords but they are supposedly very nice and attentive - they take care of problems quickly (another point on my checklist - some people can't even get a hold of their landlords). They like renting to ICS teachers because I guess they have a good reputation and so that's perfect! Check, check, check!!! If this happens we'd start our lease July 1 and we have to be out of our house-sitting assignment on July 15th so we'll have time to clean and set up our place and then just move in - stress free! So pray that it continues to go smoothly because we really like this place!!!

Other news - well, we are busy with end of school year business - I have kindergarten graduation on Tuesday night and report cards to do and Ernie has IEP meetings so we'll be pretty busy. But hopefully I can blog again soon! Until then - God bless!