Christmas was spent in Hong Kong with our good friends Paul and Dina and their 2 kids Charlie and Lizzie and their 3 four legged kids Bruce, Toby and Lucy. They live in a very serene and beautiful part of Hong Kong called Sai Kung. The landscape is very hilly and green with lots of hiking trails surrounded by the sea and reminds me of the New South Wales Central Coast except greener. It's a 45 min to an hour trip into town by public transport. We really had a wonderful time with lots of good company, good food and wine. We even managed to catch up with a few of our cousins during our visit and squeeze in a brief shopping trip in the city. Though I must say the trip wasn't entirely without some misadventures, but mostly there were lots of fun and excitement. Matthew caught a really bad cough while we were there which in turn made Duncan and I sick. The New Year came and went without much fanfare for us as we declined all social invitations over the last week to recover at home. Because of illness, Matthew missed his entire first week at school. I'm glad to say that the worse seems to be now over and we are all back on the road to recovery - YIPPEE.
Matthew had his first day at school yesterday, and admittedly I was anxious about leaving him in the care of his teachers. When we arrived at the school we were greeted by a staff member who did a check of Matthew's temperature and a once over of his hands and feet. (Foot and mouth disease is just as big problem here in Singapore as it is in Australia) We where then shown Matthew's classroom and cubbyhole where he could leave his schoolbag. His teacher, Ms Jesslyn then did a run through with me about what would happen over the course of the morning. After that Duncan and I said our goodbyes to Matthew as he was ushered through the gates of his room to be with the 6 other children there (about half of them were crying). It was only as I was waving to him through the gate and saying my final goodbyes that it dawned on him that we were leaving him there...
The plan had been to drop our little guy off at 830am and pick him up early at 11am (we are only sending him for a half day) to ease him gently into his new routine without Mum. When I returned to pick him up, Gwen the principal informed me that though he cried at the beginning, he still participated in all the class activities and was playing very well at the moment and suggested that he's stayed till after he'd had his lunch with the other children.
Matthew never fails to surprise and remind us how resilient and independent he can be. The report back from his teachers yesterday was that he did really well. This morning when we dropped him off, he walked right into the music class to join his teacher and other children without a backward glance at Mum or Dad :(
January and upcoming travel and visitors....
I might as well add that it's going to be a busy few months ahead for travel, Duncan is extremely busy at the moment as his counterparts from all over the globe has descended upon Singapore to keep him occupied for a while. Once that's over, I'm sure something else will crop up as it always does. In early February, Duncan will be flying to Sydney to attend our good friends, Josh & Bec's wedding as Best Man. I'm still undecided as to whether I'll make the journey home with Matthew to visit for a week, especially now that Matthew is enrolled at school. Sometime in March and possibly into April, we are planning a family trip away, most likely to Europe. We are also expecting visitors from Perth and my parents to visit us again during April which will be very fun. We are planning a trip away to Phuket in early May and possibly a trip to Hong Kong again or Tokyo for Matthew's 2nd birthday on the 28th. That's what's on the cards for now. Will update with firmer plans as the dates approach...
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