Stop 2: Melbourne

Just really quickly to say:

-We went to the MCG this morning! Yay!

-I have self appointed myself to be the navigator as Lynsey and Caroline took about 20 minutes to find the internet place they had been too twice already.

More soon, maybe photos too.

Stop 1: Hong Kong

If you've ever been to Asia, you've got to admit it, they know how to do airports in this part of the world. Atlanta and Heathrow should take note. Free wireless is the way forward.

Anyway I spent the weekend in Hong Kong. I think their tagline should be 'Like Singapore, but different.'

Although skylines don't compare. Mind you, despite all this, Singapore is still more densely populated. So yo!

Yesterday we went to Macau which used to be a Portuguese colony so it was all European looking.

See.

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I know my eyes are nearly closed but I put this one on here just to show that I did in fact have a tan. Just so as when you see me after I have wintered in America you'll not comment on how white I am.

Every night they do this sound and light show. This video doesn't really do it justice, because it was amazing! I smiled the whole way through it. Actually I had one of those moments where I just couldn't believe where I was and what I was doing.

Anyway, I think it's about time I made my way to the gate. Missing a plane would put a right dampner on stop 2, Melbourne.

Hold the phone

I think this may be some sort of world record:

I am packed and ready to go over 24 hours before I leave.

I mean, sure, it's mostly because the movers are coming, but still. This never happens. Ever.

Stress

After the emotion of last week, it is now time to get down to the hard work of leaving. Today I cleared my classroom. I find it consistently amazing how much stuff one person can accumulate. This fact will be drawn out to me again and again over the next few days I think.

I actually have so much stuff to do I don't know where to start. Let's review, shall we? ('It's too late for 'shall we''.)

1. I have left my job.
2. I am moving house.
3. I am going on a trip.

All three of those are bad enough, but let's add in these facts:

a. I have no future job.
b. I am moving across continents.
c. My trip lasts nearly three months, around the world
in all weathers.

Any one part of 1-3 are enough to give anyone a nervous breakdown, but simultaneously and adding a-c and...well you can imagine.

I will be cutting my internet soon so this may be the last you hear from me for a while, which is a shame as I've done some pretty cool things recently. Gutted I'm sure.

Mixed

Tomorrow is my 30th June. It's the last day of term and I am totally mixed up and all over the place. On one hand I'm excited about the trip and I'm excited about coming home but on the other I can't believe that tomorrow is the last time I will see my students. I'm very very tired. Lynsey and Caroline have arrived and I have oodles to do before I leave. And everyone knows what happens when I'm tired and emotional...I cry.

So tomorrow is my last day. I think there will be tears. In fact they may have already started.

One and I'm not impressed, two and I'm annoyed

But twenty five is just taking the piss, quite frankly.


I know, it's not nice to see (even without the bites) but you had to see them to believe them.

This is why I go on about mosquito bites. But I don't think I've had as many as this since summer camp in 2001. Today I went to the pool (to reenact the soothing waters of the lake at camp) and two girls stared at me like a was a leper. I don't blame them. They are hideous.

I've got my responses down pat now 'They are all individual bites'...'Yeah, mosquito bites'...'No, I promise I didn't scratch them'...'Yes, maybe I do have some sort of allergic reaction...'No Tiger Balm doesn't help mine.'

Annoyingly it gives a whole set of new people to use the line 'sweet Irish blood'. So help me, I nearly went for them.

So yes, this weekend we were in Malaysia on a staff conference. I enjoyed all of it, except the mosquito bites. We were right on the coast of the South China Sea which was beautiful.


Our hotel was right on the beach.

Sadly though, what I am going to remember most is being driven to distraction by the little beasts.

Making an effort

I'm tired. I have already fallen asleep twice since I got home but have things to do so I am still awake.

Anyway I know it's been a while, and I have a shedload of things to tell you and photos to show you but I'm tired (see above) so I will keep this short.

Quite in contrast to last week, I have had a good week. Today it was all capped off with two of my students getting two, count them, two of the three Year 1 prizes for the end of the year. One of them wasn't that much of a surprise (although I am pleased for him obviously). But the other one? The other one nearly made me cry.

I might have told you this story, not on here, in an email or face to face but if not I'll give you the highlights. A bad wee rip of a boy got transferred from another class to my class back in March. I wasn't impressed. Actually I made a pretty strong case as to why he shouldn't be moved to my class. He threatened to upset the carefully crafted balance.

But just like a cheesey Hollywood movie, he has turned himself around, improved his grades and as a result is the proud winner of most improved effort prize. I don't claim to be the difference (aside from anything else, sometimes he can still be far from the perfect student!) He is the difference. He did it, they are his grades.

But sometimes I love my job.

Just to clarify

He didn't sign 'you're going!'. I doubt he knew sign language, although now I can't ask him.

He'd sigh 'you're going!'.

An 'h' not an 'n'. They're not even on the same row. Very similar looking though. Yes, alright not in capitals. Snut up.

Sometimes he'd even sign 'you're going!'

We used to have a lovely smiley security guard in my condo. He used to see me coming up the little hill and give me this big wave and smile and welcome me home.

Some days he even used to cry (with joy I might add) 'You're back!!!'

I never knew his name (he was called Smiley Security Guard Man in my head), and I hadn't seen him in a while so today I asked where he had gone. It turns out he left to go work somewhere else.

Today was such a pisser of a day I could have done with a nice cheery 'You're back!!!'