Apologies for not posting…been too busy. And lately because I’ve been icky sick. But I can’t sleep tonight as I slept all day so I thought I’d entertain myself with writing and hopefully not bore you with my late-night ramblings.

School is about to get started. Monday is new parent orientation day, class lists are posted, and we put on a big ice cream social for new and returning families. Sounds like a grand day. Tuesday is the first day of class for grades Prep Senior (aka kindergarten) to grade 5. Prep Senior only goes half a day for the first week. Wednesday is the first day for our little ones…Prep Junior (4 year olds) and Prep Reception (3 year olds) Finally this lovely building of ours will become a school.

There is something about that first day. The rooms are all decorated. Kids arrive with a combination of excitement and trepidation…..all decked-out in new outfits, ribbons in hair, super white tennis shoes, supplies bursting the seams of their backpacks. And smiles…those funny kindergarten or first grade grins with teeth missing in front. Seeing old friends for the first time in months. Laughter, squeals of delight. The new kid wondering whether he’ll fit in, hoping she’ll find a friend, praying they can find their room. And all the parents, kids in tow. Shepherding them to their classrooms. Some linger, others dart out for some of that almost forgotten alone time. The teachers welcoming each and every child…a new beginning, a new group of charges….and away we go!!!!

Teachers here do not arrive several weeks ahead of time to prepare their rooms. Instead they are globe-trotting around the four corners of the world. Everyone returns right before the start of school with tales of family, of adventure, of romance. Listening at the first get-together you would think you were at a travel agent reunion…”Sri Lanka is amazing…go there before it gets tainted with tourists”; “spent 16 days trekking up to Everest Basecamp”; “Kangaroo Island is as good as it gets”; “Scotland for a week, Canada to visit family, Bali for myself”…it goes on and on. It is definitely an adventurous group, an independent, confident group. The average stay at our school is longer than most as it is a top-tiered school and much sought after….but many teachers are ready to seek another post after 5 to 8 years, some longer, some shorter. I spoke to someone who let me know this was to be his last year, his sixth year. He’s ready to try somewhere else in the world, somewhere that looks interesting, somewhere where he’ll continue to grow as a professional. He left the USA 15 years ago to try a two year stint in China. That turned into 4 years, then to Morocco, Columbia, Turkey and Malaysia…where to next??? See where the winds blows him.
Many of the staff are here as married couples…sometimes both are teachers, sometimes one is a “trailing spouse”. Quite a few have children. I was surprised at the number who come alone, men and women. Being so far from home, living in a foreign land…the faculty becomes your family. Socializing is big. There are all kinds of outings planned…hikes, frisbee golf, concerts. Meetings at the pub, dinners, nightclubs, shopping. It is a tight-knit group, a family.

Changing the subject…..as the keeper of the blog that is my prerogative…Heidi has been the diligent nurse to me the past few days as I have been flat on my back….but today she escaped and went shopping with Allie to Suria KLCC…one of the big malls near our home. Now we were told again and again that we wouldn’t be able to find clothing our size here…well, that turned out to be a myth. She found “cute outfits” (can you hear Heidi saying that?) at Banana Republic, the Gap and a great store called British India. She returned with the biggest grin!!!! And then I had to make an emergency fund transfer!!!! 🙂

We received our shipment a couple of weeks ago….it arrived early and our maid let them in. When we arrived home all our tubs were distributed in the appropriate room based on our labeling….and our BED arrived…no more sleeping with my feet hanging off the end. We had to laugh when we opened our tubs…inside we would find things like 15 bottles of deodorant, 10 tubes of toothpaste, 9 bottles of saline solution, 16 toothbrushes, bottles of shampoo, conditioner, etc…..did we think we were coming to some third world country??? We had a good laugh as we searched for storage for all these “essentials”. If we had it to do over we would have left much at home and brought a few more things like pictures and furniture…live and learn.

Tomorrow we are going to seek out this cool shop, Peter Hoe and Beyond. It’s a one of a kind shop filled with home decorating items from all over the world. It is hidden somewhere in Chinatown and we aim to find it. I’m beginning to feel better, still have intestinal distress (a kinder word for diarrhea) and muscle aches, but I’m cabin feverish and just have to get about.

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