Teacher Getting Hit By Culture: Getting to Know Hong Kong & The Countdown

Hello blog readers,

After spending what seemed like an eternity unloading all of my marking, things have become a little less frantic for me. Things haven't been quiet around Macau and around me though. Last week, school was cancelled in the morning for students because of something called a black rainstorm. Some areas of Macau experienced some significant flooding and with the rain still pounding down, the local "school board" gave students a morning free from school. Sadly, teachers still had to trek in to school, though luckily for me, there wasn't any flooding around my apartment. A grand total of 11 students from the entire middle school showed up that morning. School was suppose to return to normal in the afternoon but predictably, most students found an excuse to not make it in.

On that very day, I also had a special dinner with the family of a student I taught last year. Normally, this might be an offer I would turn down, especially with the long list of things teachers can't do if I were teaching in Canada. However, this was a student who's parents I really got along well with and had worked with their daughter as a teacher (and will again be her teacher next year), coach for volleyball and tennis, as well as looking after her during youth group from church. It was a great dinner, and I very much enjoyed learning about their family in substantially more detail than I knew from before. Despite teaching abroad, it can be strange how close people can be to one another. This family apparently made regular trips to Toronto and have some relatives there too. We had an evening of interesting conversation but nothing worth sharing here..

During the past weekend, I had made yet another trip into Hong Kong. This time, I was meeting up with my cousin, along with her husband and close friend who were coming to China and Japan for a vacation. We started the day with some traditional Dim Sum before I took the group to the waterfront view of Hong Kong Island followed by a tour up the heart of Kowloon through the various traditional Chinese street markets. Despite it not being the most comfortable weather for outdoor shopping, it was a rare and exciting opportunity to meet family. Being a rather independent person, I don't yearn over family and friends I don't get to see on a regular basis (not saying I don't miss them) but it was really good to see some familiar faces who I didn't meet from Macau.

The past and upcoming few weeks are chalk full of little events at school that signal the end of the year. This past week, the grade 12s had their graduation ceremony. I was in attendance this year, as I did know a few of them having taken them on their trip to Pattaya earlier in April. During the ceremony, I was hit with the realization that while as a teacher, we are sometimes frozen in time. We go through most of the same routines year after year, see something like graduation regularly, yet to the students, they can only experience things like graduation once. This realization provided me with an opportunity to reflect upon the past 7 years from my high school graduation to the present. It shocked me to realize how quickly the past 7 years have passed. So much has changed about me and once again I was filled with a sense of grateful for all the good and yes even the bad that took me here. Without uttering a word, I hoped that the next 7 years for these tremendous kids would also bring such revelations and clear directions in their lives too.

As for the things upcoming, we will shortly be having our athletics banquet, as well as the awards assembly. Picking award recipients is always a little difficult but the students that I've picked for the subject awards, and the girls I gave my vote to, for the volleyball individual awards are at the pinnacle of individual achievement. It an amazing feat, as personally I was rarely ever placed in such an echelon of success. We are also slated to have yet another grade swap day with the grade 6s coming up to experience life as a secondary school student for a day. This year though, I go into this event that looks ahead to next year with the realization that I won't get the chance to teach this group. It is a minorly disheartening fact, tempered by the excitement of teaching the group that was my first group of students ever. We also wrap up youth group from church in a couple of weeks. For the time being, it seems as though I will be the only youth leader next year so I'm definitely in prayer, looking for some resolution to that situation.

While there isn't an opportunity for a major trip during the remainder of the year, I am hoping to finally visit my teaching friend in Guangzhou. As you may recall, her and a small group of other international school teachers from Guangzhou came to Macau for a visit earlier in March. It'll be trip 6 into China this year, so I've really put my multi-entry Chinese visa to good use.

Well this is yet another blog entry that turned out to be much longer than I had anticipated. Apparently, there are more stories to tell than simply the trips throughout the year. Expect a few more entries and pictures before the end of the year. Thanks for stopping by, and we'll see you soon!

The perks of Teaching Abroad:
So coming back from Hong Kong, not only was I able to pick up discounted ferry tickets, but it turned out that those discounted tickets, were for first class (at discounted economy class prices)! It might not seem like a big deal but I never receive ANY luck based perks, so it was special to me. I thoroughly enjoyed by complimentary pop and cup noodles, along with the spacious and extra comfortable chairs. Maybe I should visit Hong Kong more often...