Busy Days

It's been over two weeks since I last updated, and overall there is not much to update. We have been so busy at work, it's unbelievable! Our travel home from Boracay was long as expected, but we got home as planned with a few hiccups along the way. Luckily all the pieces fell into place, and we were home by 8pm after starting our travel at 5am.

Sunday was spent prepping for the week, and trying to catch up on some sleep, and we hit the ground running on Monday. The week we returned to work was basically a blur, highlighted by Friday, which was Valentine's Day. I really don't pay much attention to Valentine's Day for a few reasons, one being it's kind of silly. You really don't need another day to celebrate the love of a significant other, your anniversary is for that. I think it's mostly a day for middle schoolers to act silly and giggle when the topic in class is 'Carbon-14 Dating.' Also, since my birthday is around the corner, and my anniversary with Donnie, it seems a little superfluous. But my Valentine didn't think so, he bought me a new digital camera. :) I've been taking phone pictures for over a year now, so it was time to take real pictures again. It's a super cool Samsung camera, which can be linked over wifi to upload pictures. It's pretty sweet, so I spent the walk home that day testing it out (see the pictures below).

The weekend was restful, with a fun Saturday evening with Z and H talking and laughing. The week started again too soon, and it was Monday again.

Unfortunately, last week week has been less of a blur and more of a huge hurdle. The days have been full with work and we had to spend Saturday here at school for professional development all day. Not only just as learners, but both Donnie and I had to make presentations. It was a really long week, but we were both successful, so at least it ended on a good note.

Our only day off was spent trying to rest and playing with Paul. He's been unusually grumpy the past few days, I'm hoping it's just a really short phase, and that it doesn't last much longer. He makes it extremely difficult to do anything he doesn't want to do, i.e. showers, going to bed, eating. Like I said, I'm hoping it passes soon. We did have incredible weather on Sunday, so we were able to play in the park for a while, which was fantastic.

Speaking of the weather, the past few weeks have been freakishly cold here, dropping down into the low 40's. It doesn't really compare to the cold spells they are having in the States, but in a land with no heaters it's hard. I've never spent so many days just being cold, only warm for a few minutes in the shower and in bed right before I fall asleep. I'm grateful for the last two days, which have been warmer. Unfortunately, the next few days are scheduled to be cold again. :(

Eek, sorry for the downer tone of this post! There is good news! Dad arrives in Shenzhen tomorrow. I'm so looking forward to seeing him, and showing him how we live here in China. He's never been to mainland China, so it'll be fun to see his reactions to all the craziness we now consider normal. ;) Can't wait to see you, Dad.




Trying out my new camera on our walk home, starting from leaving school, stopping at our favorite international grocery store, and on to our home in Garden City. :) Enjoy:

I Heart Boracay

So I think it's been about a week since my last post, but I'm not quite sure. The days have blurred together here on the island, but I do know that tomorrow is the day we leave Boracay. It's been such an amazing stay, filled with sunshine, amazing white sand beaches and fabulous food.

Since I'm not sure which day is which, I'll give a general recap of our stay here in Boracay. We are staying at a resort about a 15 minute drive from the main area of the island called d'mall. Our resort treats us very well, the room service is cheap and delicious, they love Paul, and they have a free shuttle down to d'mall once an hour. So we've been filling our days traveling to d'mall and swimming in the beautiful pool here at the hotel.



some awesome pad thai

Yesterday, we finally got everything together and took a sailing trip around the whole island. It's such a small place, that the tour was only about 2 hours, but we stopped to hang out for an hour at a secluded beach called Puka Beach. Turns out you can reach it by taxi, but it was stunning to arrive by sailboat. Paul was a champ on the boat, we had to sit on the wings of it, and it was rough for about a half hour, but he loved the big waves. We had such a great time that we arranged for another ride today where we spent our last day.

It's hard to describe the beauty of this place. The clear blue water is stunning, the white sand that doesn't even burn your feet, the calm waves, all play a part in it's charm. But it's not all beauty. We wandered around the area where the locals lived (by accident) and we found such poverty that it was shocking. People here struggle through such hardship, but are ceaselessly friendly and helpful. I truly appreciate all that we've been blessed with, including getting to come to this incredible place.

From here on we don't have more than a day or two off at a time. It's going to be a long haul to summer, but with this refreshing vacation and another trip planned in May with the Bates', perhaps we'll pull through.

On the other hand, I'm really looking forward to going home to Shenzhen. Right now, it seems like home, which is an awesome feeling. :)


A few more amazing views:

Love to all.