Spring is finally here in Hong Kong!

I am here! I assure you, no harm has come to me, I have not died....but, life was a little busy for a small while there in March.

The month was full of report cards, teaching observations, parent teacher conferences, GID trips, beauty and the beast rehearsals...but also a fabulous 5 day trip from my delightful parents, and then a second visit shortly after by a friend from Abu Dhabi! I was so blessed to have guest and visitors, and had a chance to go sightseeing again!

The thing about living in a place is that you are not having adventures all of the time, so it is less likely that I'll have anything to write now that I have my way around the city. But, random things do happen often here....really random, so, it keeps life interesting.

We'll start with the light topic of weather. It was cold for an entire month longer than it should have been. I was thoroughly disappointed by the fact that it simply wouldn't warm up! There would be one promising day, and then it would rain again, or just be icky and cold. Again, when I say cold...it's nothing like what Canadians put up with, but it is still uncomfortable. Praise the Lord that yesterday was a beautiful day....but then today is not as pretty actually, so, I'm not sure when spring or rather, summer (there is no spring, who am I kidding), will get here.

My parents came around the middle of the month as part of a huge month long excursion through austral-asia. It was great to see them, and I am blessed by having parents who ejoy travel, and following dreams. It is inspirational, and I hope to keep having adventures in every part of my life, just like they've been able to do.

We did all of the touristy things, enjoyed eating at my favourite places, and showing them a few new ones too, we went to one of the islands and saw a craft fair with some of the people from my plus group. We had a good time reconnecting in my teeny tiny living room, whose pull out couch served the purpose of being the sleeping quarters. We went up to the peak, and we enjoyed exploring TST and central. I attempted to take them to see the legendary Bobby Taylor, but, as things tend to work out for me, no matter how many times I clarified that it would be just him...he ended up not showing anyway and there was a different "special" band...one night only. So, it was a bust, but we meandered through the now familiar streets of Hong Kong and I impressed them with my directional skills.

Then, after they left I had three days to put things back together, and my friend Jen came to visit. The day that she came we also went to a "gangster" party. It was open to interpretation I think...it was a combined birthday party for two of the teachers at the school, and we rented a city trolley car and simply rode it through all of the tracks in the main city for two hours while listening to music, dancing, chatting, and enjoying the fresh air of the open windows. Of course, a gangster party brings with it costumes. Mine turned out to be more of a Russian maffia then any kind of gangster, but, It was really fun to put on a different look for a while.

Jen and I, during her visit, enjoyed going to the Peak again, and having fun here at home. Most of the days Jen would explore the city on her own, with some guidance from us, maps, and strangers, and then meet back at home or we'd go for dinner. Alicia took her to Macau for a day and they had a great time catching trams, seeing Cirque de Solei, and riding the boats. It was great to have another friend visit. And, in April, Alicia's boyfriend will be here too, so, my house is becoming a real guest house of sorts. It's fine by me!! You should ALL come visit!

Friday at school was April fools day, so I came dressed as "Granny Ritz" who is a character, based on my grandmother. She's quite funny, but the kids guessed right away...but, both my EA and myself, and several other teachers, kept the gag going for so long that many of the students were double guessing themselves. And I think a couple by the end had simply accepted that I was really a Granny.

I haven't been on Facebook for quite a while, as I am fasting from it for lent. It just felt like I needed to get a few other things done. So, I hope you check for this post!

I also can't figure out how to put pictures in the right places, so, bare with me....you'll have to match the picture to the correct story I guess.

Love you all, and I'll see you in July!

Talia