Life After Kuwait…
Off to the States for the summer via Hong Kong. The aim of the latter was to find ourselves somewhere to live, and hopefully beat the rush of July when most expats arrive. It didn’t “quite” turn out as we had hoped, as we were greeted with the news that housing/accommodation prices had risen 15% in the time since we had negotiated our contracts and allowance. Hmm, challenging to say the least, and we ended up going quite a bit over our budget – again! We had pretty much determined that we would definitely live on HK Island (as that is where the majority of expats live, and hence more western conveniences, products etc are available. Not to mention that it just makes it easier to meet people. We have both always liked the South side of the island too, and while this meant a longer commute to school, as the school will be moving in a couple of years, we didn’t let that figure too much into the equation, and decided that lifestyle came first.

The end result? A “house” (as they call it here –although to us it is a co-join villa in a complex of 19) in Stanley. House hunting proved a real challenge, not just because of the increased prices, but because we were determined to have some sort of reasonable outside space, and a pool. They kept on taking us to these huge complexes made up of 6 – 16 towers with handkerchief balconies, and more often than not, on the 30th (even up to the 60th) floor. Thousands of people living in the one complex - despite the fact that many had great facilities (including supermarkets!) - was just a little overwhelming to us, and way too much like living in a city within a city. Moving house here, too, is quite an ordeal (with all the high-rise, steps, hills, and the complications that they bring – most movers and deliverers of furniture and the such charge an amount ‘per floor’)! So all in all we knew we had to make a good decision.

Banyan Villas – our new home – seems to meet most of our criteria, although getting a flowing living space, in addition to our above criteria, proved to be just a little too challenging. The place then, reminds us in many ways of houses in Vietnam…Wedding cake style – we have 6 (yes you read correctly) 6 floors!! Basically one room per floor – although it is hard to visualize without seeing it. BUT, the rooms were all a decent size (many we looked at wouldn’t even fit our beds!), it had great built in wardrobes in the bedrooms, the bathrooms had all been renovated, and the kitchen - while certainly minute in comparison to what I have become used to (but then the last one was humongous) – was workable, modern, and had western fittings. Many here only have 2 gas ring burners, and no oven at all.




The main selling points, though, were the roof top (yet to be converted into a “respite”). A front and a back courtyard, very pretty communal gardens, and a nice swimming pool which gives you the feel of being in an intimate little resort. Even better, it is only a 6 -7 minute walk to the Stanley Village where there is pretty much everything you need – not to mention one of my favorite “markets” in the world. There really is a village feel to it which is making settling into a huge city much easier. But more on that later…

In retrospect we definitely tried to do too much in too short a time period during the summer – but then it would have been difficult to know what to cut out as well! So from HK we headed to the US.

We arrived in New York, and managed to drive out and find our way – relatively uneventfully – to a little place called “North Wales” (no – we didn’t do a quick trip back to the UK), in Pennsylvania. We finally ended up in a really cute little town, with an equally cute inn…More importantly for me, it was pretty close to a whole heap of shopping areas. You can probably guess what Sidhonie and I did the next day while Andy worked (Academy of International School Heads Strategic Planning meeting). Actually we did very little damage - perhaps helped by the fact that Sidhonie put a hole in the knee of her “most favorite” (at the time) pants, and so we spent quite a while tracking down some pretty (and of course, matching) patches for her knees.

The next day we drove out in the pouring rain to catch a flight to – the BIG surprise for Sidhonie – Orlando - where we spent 4 days at Disneyworld. I don’t think she really believed us until we arrived at the hotel and she saw Mickey and other characters around. It wasn’t a straightforward trip however…One delay led to another, and another, and another, then a flight change, and thankfully then our final flight change. Instead of arriving in Orlando at 11.00 in the morning, we finally got there at 9 pm that night. A very long day to say the least! Amazingly the passengers (and that included a ‘heap’ of kids) remained very patient during the whole saga. I am sure that wouldn’t have been the case had we been on a more ‘business oriented’ flight, rather than the ‘holiday mode’.

Followed by – 2 very busy and hectic days madly running around “Magic Kingdom”. I have to say that Sidhonie was great! She was very patient about all of the lining up that had to be done, and just struck up conversations with anyone who would talk to her while we waited (surprise, surprise!). Of course it was also the middle of summer, so very hot, but she coped really well with that as well… We did (after the first few hours) finally cotton on to the “new to us” fast track system. Basically you grab a pass from a machine, which allows you to use the “fast” line within a certain time period specified on the pass. The catch is that you cannot get another fast pass until the first has been used. Once we got used to the system it worked well for us – Sidhonie and I would line up in a “slow” line, while Andy took off to one of the rides that had the longest waiting times to get us a fast pass for later use – then re-joined us.

Our child is definitely a thrill seeker! She totally loves fast and scary rides, and the only thing she didn’t enjoy was the haunted house. Andy refused to go on the teacups with us, but she and I had a wonderful time spinning ourselves around and around – and around and around...Thankfully she ‘just’ made the height for pretty much all of the rides – so it all worked out beautifully!

Sidhonie also learned about ‘autographs’ and really got into the whole thing. She spent a heap of time getting her picture taken with characters around all of the parks, and getting their autographs…Not always inspiring for her parents, but, after all, the trip was really more for her than us (I think?…).


Donie and "Flick" from the movie "Ants"


The next two days were spent at MGM, and Animal Kingdom (we decided to give Epcot a miss as many of the attractions there are more interesting to ‘older” folks).
AND…finally, totally exhausted after 4 very long days, we all got back in to our “mustang convertible” (Andy decided it would be a nice change – and after all, it was the same price as the ‘other’ more boring cars). 2 hours later we arrived in our old stomping ground from doctoral study days – Siesta Key (Sarasota). We even stayed in one of the apartments we had used during our five summers there! By the way, Sidhonie loved the car – until – she realized what a mess it made of her hair!! Is she her mother’s daughter or what?

It (Sarasota) hadn’t changed, and we still love it there. Caught up with some friends, enjoyed the beautiful beach (probably one of the few we have seen elsewhere in the world to rival our great Aussie beaches), shopped, ATE, and rested. Our good friend Brian came to join us for a few days while we were there, and a good time was had by all…But not long enough – we definitely needed 2 weeks there instead of 1.



Back to Orlando again, where we hopped on a plane to return to Pennsylvania, and this time our car (ordinary variety this time) took us to Bethlehem – supposedly the “Christmas City” of the states (gee, wonder why they make that claim?). It even has a HUGE star of Bethlehem blazing on one of the surrounding hills (just so that you are aware of the magnitude of the ‘writer’s’ totally useless ability to take in facts that will have no relevance or further use to her in later life – the star actually has 246 light bulbs in it…Enough said).

SO – for the next 9 days or so, Andy worked, and Sidhonie and I found places to play. Actually, he mostly only worked mornings, so we often set off on family outings during the afternoons. The city of Bethlehem was really quite quaint. Lots of lovely old buildings, and while the area around the university has obviously been the ‘poorer’ end of town (big steelworks city until about 10 years ago – they even produced the steel for the Golden Gate Bridge – another of my useless, never to be forgotten facts!!), the actual campus of Lehigh is absolutely gorgeous. Such a profusion of beautiful old buildings set in amongst quite picturesque grounds. We spent quite a bit of time picnicking with squirrels (I know our American and Canadian friends think they are a nuisance, but we still think they’re cute), watching fireflies, and wandering around the area.

The highlight for Sidhonie was our visit to the nearby Crayola factory. She and I had a great day just going from activity to activity, and she ended up with lots of “things” to bring home. It really was probably the most ‘child-friendly’ and educational “visit” I have ever done, and she still tells Andy how much fun he missed out on that day.

Next, off to Virginia – Newport News – where our friends, the Pucketts, have moved after 10 years overseas. A couple of lovely days exploring their new world, and we set off again. This time we ended up in a little place called Cape May, Rhode Island -another very historic part of the states with just row after row of beautifully (although sometimes gaudily) restored houses. We splurged on a “just okay” b & b (which made us aware of the fact that we needed to splurge quite a bit more to get a good one), spent a little time on the “pay” beach (that was a new one for us – you actually had to ‘pay’ to go on/use the beach!!), rode a “family bicycle” (which Sidhonie thought was great fun as we had to do all the work while she rang the bell), and tried to relax a bit.

Sidhonie and Seth Puckett


And off again…Back on a plane from New York to the final destination for our break, Canada. We basically spent the next 9 days ‘on the road’, and once again, we fell in love with the beautiful Canadian Rockies. The drive from Vancouver to Calgary, and then back down from Edmonton, through Jasper, is truly magnificent with ‘postcard’ scenery around every bend in the road. The driving is super easy, and the people very laid back and friendly. We weren’t quite as fortunate as we had been on our previous drive (18 years ago) with our animal spotting, but still managed to see quite a deal of wildlife – just no bears! Had to resort to a zoo just outside Vancouver to show Sidhonie the bears we had been constantly looking for. We did have a great time catching up with Andy’s relatives though (and Gwen, Sidhonie has been asking when you are coming to visit), as well as our friend Glenis. Also managed to fit in a horse-ride, a walk on a glacier, and definitely Andy’s highlight – a trip to the “Enchanted Forest” (slight dose of sarcasm there) that Sidhonie certainly enjoyed. Some last minute shopping for “supplies” – school shoes and the like, and our time had come to an end. And so, on with our next transition….


Andy and Sidhonie at Lake Louise, and our little lady on Athabasca Glacier








Hong Kong! It was certainly a spectacular start! We arrived in the middle of a typhoon, and boy was that a never to be forgotten experience! We were warned as we approached Hong Kong that the typhoon warning had been lifted to 3. Now for those of you who are not in the know – this may not seem bad, but here is the breakdown:
• 1 = strong winds and possible rain
• 3 = gale force winds and driving rain
• 8 (yes that’s right – we jump straight to 8) = typhoon alert – all businesses, schools and public transport close down.
• 10 = well you don’t want to be around for 10 I guess!
The pilot was pretty honest (as we circled for an hour waiting for a break in the weather) and stated that no planes had successfully landed yet that morning, but that he would give it a go if he thought he could. He did – try that is, and I have to admit that in my window seat position, and with the amount of flying we have done, I really didn’t think we were going to be too successful. The seas were amazing, and we were being jostled all over the place (in a jumbo!). But the sudden plummet (it felt like a long way, but it probably wasn’t) obviously made him change his mind, as he pulled straight out of there, and off we went to some place in China for a few pleasant (sic) hours spent sitting on the tarmac. So much for HK and China relations – they wouldn’t let anyone off the plane as we didn’t have Chinese visas. Hmmm.

Three hours later we set off for another try. Quite an interesting approach as he obviously tried a different tactic and came in very (and I mean very) low over the sea for quite some distance, obviously trying to avoid the heavier winds. Still a great deal of buffeting to be had, (Sidhonie thought it was great – just like the roller coasters at Disneyland! Other passengers didn’t seem quite as taken with the experience – I probably don’t need to go into any further detail on that score), but the pilot did a great job. We found out later that we were the only plane to land that day. I decided that there should be a system to ‘tip’ the pilot under such circumstances.

It then took 2 days to clear the air traffic as so many planes had to be diverted, and flights cancelled. We were very lucky only being delayed for 5 hours total. One of our new teachers ended up being delayed for 30 hours! 20 of those were spend sitting on the tarmac of another Chinese destination – same problem – China wouldn’t let them off the plane, and the weather got so bad there, they couldn’t take off again! When they did – they flew back to Singapore!!

The weather wasn’t much better on the ground, and even the taxi ride in was extremely “interesting”. Later in the day (we had an appointment to sign the lease on our house) our excursion promised more excitement. I don’t think I have ever seen such driving rain, and things were blowing all over the place…Can’t imagine what it must be like at “8”!

Anyway – enough of that drama – we soon found out there would be more. The shipment arrived at the house 3 days after we arrived back…And so began the process of trying to make things fit. Now, 4 weeks later, there are still days when I feel as though we have made little progress. It certainly made us aware of the amount of “stuff’ we cart around the world with us (not made any easier by a little lady that is one of the biggest collectors of “stuff” I have ever come across. I throw it out, she finds it and “rescues” it, in a never ending cycle). Dealing with single rooms instead of flowing spaces with our existing furniture and “bits and pieces” has certainly challenged my interior decorating skills. Not to mention that in the past we have always had ‘some’ school furniture to fill spaces as needed. Not the case here – which sort of doesn’t bother me as I have always hated having to deal with other people’s tastes (or lack of), but it certainly made for a busier start to life here as we scrambled out and about on shopping sprees to fill the gaps.

I had never realized how big our lounge suite was – until it was ‘confined’ in a single room. Ah well, some things can be re-considered down the track. We are getting there, but it is slow progress. I do, however, appreciate our decision whenever I look out the window and see a beautiful expanse of water with islands dotted around, ships in the distance, and water skiers, windsurfers and kayakers making their way around Stanley Beach Bay. At night it is equally as pretty, with the lights of the buildings reflecting in the water from around the Bay.

And, within our little complex, there are 8 other 6 and 7 year olds – 6 of them girls!! So Sidhonie has been very busy, and I am having to adapt to coming home to the noises of several little girls in the house – not to mention their mothers…We have about 4 Dutch families in the complex, who. I have discovered, are a very social bunch, and who just “pop” in…Something I am definitely not used, to, and after turning around in the lounge room a couple of times to see one of them coming up the steps, I reviewed the situation, and promptly put a set of bells on the back door to give me some warning when I have “visitors” approaching. I can’t be negative though, none of these ladies work (and are amazed that I do), and were a great help with Sidhonie when we first went back to work and she was still at home.

CeCe – our new “helper”, as they call them here, will be okay “I think”. There have been a few glitches (she had a little difficulty understanding that it wasn’t appropriate to leave Sidhonie and the 4 year old from next door on their own while she popped down to the shop to get some things – thankfully we arrived home as she was heading out the door). She is very hard working, and has a nice way with Sidhonie, and is very good at helping her with her homework (she was trained as a primary school teacher in the Philippines but couldn’t get work) but – as is generally the problem – finds it very difficult to be “tough” with our little lady. Similarly, she has never been a helper before, and so we are having to teach her everything from scratch. Things from how to use a toilet brush, to how to clean the filter on the drier – things we take forgranted, but that we forget are not part of everybody’s life. Frustrating when we have so many other things on our plates, but in some ways, better than trying to teach an “old dog new tricks”. Try as I might, I just cannot get used to having a live in helper, but it is so much cheaper to do it that way here, and easier than having to find babysitters whenever we have to go out or are late home. It is just something I will have to bear with I guess.

I am not sure where to start with school. It has been a challenge thus far, and there is no sign of it abating. The promised middle school premises had not eventuated, and while there was a lease that had just been acquired when we arrived, it all seemed to be caught up in a heap of bureaucracy and red tape… It has been a heck of a challenge.
Currently the Middle School is “hanging out” in the assembly room, which can be divided into 2 classrooms. We have one full group of Gr 6, and a very small group of Gr 7…Okay, considering it was never advertised, and despite our pleas before we arrived, the website and all documentation still says “Primary School”. Something we are currently changing.

We now have access to the ‘new’ building, but it will be at least another week before we get in – the rooms are almost ready, but the air conditioning, phones, and internet still need to go in…Then comes the fun of determining what supplies we still need to get in – pronto!! So, just what do you need to order or an empty science lab? Thankfully, the kids and parents have been great, and all are being very patient (including us). The teachers are also a great bunch, so despite the problems, and unknowns with the board and its organization (more so than we had anticipated) we are persevering.

On the positive side, the school community is amazing… So welcoming, supportive, and so “into” the school. We get almost daily messages of support and thanks from parents who make it very clear that they know we are in tough positions at the moment, and who constantly offer help in many forms. This truly is a community school! The kids are also great, and while we have already imposed and changed many things, the staff also seem appreciative of the changes, and the school is buzzing despite all of the internal problems. To be honest, they just all seem happy to finally have one person calling the shots. The place has sooo much potential, if we can ride the ‘waves” to get it there!

And Hong Kong thus far? While it is taking some getting used to (as all new places do), there is just soooo much to see and do here. We have had no time to even consider it yet – but we will get there. We did make a trip (with 4 little ladies in tow) to Ocean Park for Sidhonie’s 7th birthday. We seemed to manage to pick one of the hottest days of the summer (and remember we are back to high humidity here), but I think a good time was had by all. After spending quite a bit of time on the “little rides” which suited us fine, and a very quick trip through the pandas (I could have watched them all day – but that is not the way of little people I guess), they decided we needed some more excitement and so we headed on the amazing cable car over to the other side of the park to go on the “raging river”…Actually, the wet look that resulted was just what the doctor ordered, and at that juncture we decided to head home for cake and a swim.


Catherine (redhead), Mackenzie (blond), Yuji (self explanatory), and 2 little neighbors with the penguin cake, and the 4 girls with a dance troupe at Ocean Park

And of course, much time has been spent addressing our storage and display issues – a little money spent, and – definitely a positive – things in HK work!! No more enshallah, if they say it will be delivered, or someone will come between 4 & 6 on a given day – that is exactly what happens! The public transportation is great, and there is pretty much nothing you can’t get if you know, or can find out, where to look. I still crave something like a Kmart or Target (sort of a one stop for almost anything type place) but I am told that there is a “woolworths” just over the border – something (and somewhere) yet to be explored. Oh, and the postal system is extremely efficient. It took just 4 days for some mail to arrive from Aus!! You never know, I might just get my act together and start sending birthday cards to the nearest and dearest again!

We visit our kitties once a week, and they are doing okay, although, I am not sure whether Biscuit (our timid little girl) will ever forgive us or get over this experience entirely. They are certainly healthy, and better kept than I expected, but of course they are not getting the handling that they have been used to, and Biscuit, in particular, is reluctant to be held and petted. Cookie has grown to a HUGE size, and has us a bit worried as we were reading an article while in the US that suggested that Main Coon cats can continue to grow until they are 3 – 4 years old… Cookie has just turned 2, and is already bigger than many small dogs! We are due to pick them up in 1 more week, which I guess will soon pass. As we have a dog on one side as a neighbor, and 2 cats on the other, it will be interesting to see what our kitties make of it. Biscuit will probably just hide for a few weeks.

Cookie and Biscuit outside their "room" at the quarantine station.

Steps! One thing that you just have to learn to live with here are steps! Between the house, and the school (84 steps to get up to the entrance, and that isn’t counting the 6 floors of the school once you are there – there will be more for the middle school too), one would think that we would be getting quite fit, but it sure doesn’t seem that way.
I was initially quite happy as we had EATEN a little too much over the break (and beforehand, and so badly needed some exercise, but typically, while my husbands weight is coming off, my ‘excess’ seems to be stuck like glue! It appears that my muscular legs are coming back to their prime, and that my body is just too busy making muscle to recognize that it should be losing weight!! EEEK! One can only hope that patience will take care of it, as I certainly feel as though life here should be helping the figure somewhat. Someone told us recently that you can tell how long a person has lived in HK from the definition of their leg muscles – before too much longer I think I will look like a lifer!!

Donie has settled quite well into school, and seems to be enjoying it, although, at least once a week she gets out the ASK yearbook and points out all of the people and things she misses. And we do miss people and things – no doubt about it! One of the many challenges of being in a small school is that you have a limited number of people you come into contact with. We haven’t had time to really get out and about to meet new people yet, and so haven’t had time to ponder it too much, but there is no replacing good friends, just more to be made I guess. Anyway, we truly miss everyone from everywhere that have become special to us over the years. Another of my pleas...PLEASE keep in contact!!!

So, in conclusion, we think of you all often, and when the dust settles, hope that some of you will come to check out the most organized room in our house – the guest room ((king size bed, ensuite bathroom, and rooftop access included free of charge)!

We are new to this blogging caper, but think it may be a better way to keep in touch, and - more importantly - forward the photos that I never seem to get around to sharing!! I will try to keep this updated fairly regularly (I think it is already out of date!!) and hope that many of you will take the time to "check in on us".

At the risk of sounding like a broken record - but do keep in touch…It gets a bit boring when the communication becomes too one sided.

Love from us all
Merris, Andy and Sidhonie