A tapir at the sanctuary, one of the stops on the Grade 5 field trip.The past few weeks have flown by as we knew they would as we approach the end of the school year. Every thing gets more frenetic as the year begins to come to end. Definitely no ‘winding down’ only a quickened pace followed(June 6) by a dead stop. I’ll work backwards to the last blog entry.
I’m sitting on a ‘school bus’ right now on our way home from Penang. One thing about Malaysia and some other countries is that bus travel is a far sight better than home. Reclining seats, TV, clean and comfortable, we even have our own ‘tour guide’ on board (although I really haven’t quite figured out his role yet other than keep the driver company). We went to Penang for a tournament with Maureen’s Jr. boys basketball team. A male chaperone was needed and I got the call. I guess there are some advantages to having both of us at the same school. The school hosting the tournament is located right on the ocean and so the setting was quite spectacular. We even managed to sneak into visit into Georgetown, Malaysia’s first UNESCO World Heritage site.
We spent just enough time to realize that we need to come back for a longer and closer look.
The architecture, colours on the streets, and shops are a feast for the eyes in Georgetown.School has been and will continue to be busy with end of the year concerts, ceremonies, student led conference prep, report card writing, fun day planning etc., etc.. One reality of an international school is that it becomes a focal point for students, their families, and staff as one place of belonging in a city and culture so different and far away from our own families, friends, and familiarity. As a result many things are planned, celebrated, and well attended. While we don’t catch everything we do make it to most events.
We have managed to establish a couple nice regular interludes during the week. After our weekly Wednesday staff meeting we try to head out for dinner with our friends, Christian, Cindy, and Laura. We’ve also been getting in a regular tennis match with Melanie and Malcolm. The games are quite competitive and the level of play is improving as we are now playing on a regular basis.
Last weekend was relatively quiet for us. We hosted Geoff Bullen and his girl friend, Mazi, on their lay-over from Indonesia to Thailand. Friday night we headed out with them to listen to one of our teachers’ bands play its last gig. Tricia has landed a job in Madrid and will heading off as soon as school ends in June. On Saturday night we prepared a ‘home cooked’ meal for our guests and watched a movie. I let Maureen spend Mother's Day going the a ballet with some friends. I couldn't get too excited about seeing 'Men in Tutus'.
Maureen and Laura cavorting with the dancers from 'Men in Tutus'.The weekend before this was the Malaysian Labour Day weekend and we headed off to Kapas Island again to enjoy the beach and snorkeling. We stayed at the Dutch resort again and I’m sure we came home a few pounds heavier after enjoying a few days of Sylvie’s cooking. On the trip home we found out why it isn’t such a good idea to travel out of the city on a civic long weekend. We ended up in a traffic jam about 150 kilometers out of the city and had to settle for 40 kph crawl back home at that point.
The walkway to the snorkeling beach at Kapas. The island in the distance is called Gem Island.The week before the trip to Kapas we took 80 Grade 5's on an overnight trip. We visited an orchard, tapir sanctuary, rice farm, watched the fireflies, hiked in a mangrove reserve, and visited a traditional fishing village. The kids had a blast kite flying and fishing. Everything was busy and chaotic as only elementary field trips can be but we all had safe and fun trip.
Checking out the dragon fruit on the orchard tour.
Kite flying was a rather chaotic event. 80 kids running down a narrow little road trying to get their kites up. Amazingly most did.
Fishing in the 'crick'. The kids caught dozens of little 2 to 3 inchers (the same ones again and again, I think) and had a ball.
