Off to the Mainland

I will be away from the computer for two weeks, but will resume posting after the first of July.

-Jack

Transitioning to Summer part 2 of 2

Today, the seventh floor was abuzz with activity as all the first- and second-year teachers are moving off campus into their own apartments and simultaneously prepping to scatter to the four corners of the earth for the summer.

Both at the banquet and on the seventh floor this afternoon, we have had to start saying goodbyes. Our eyes tend to glass over at the drop of a hat these days. These last few days, it feels like the last hour of summer camp with people’s possessions piled everywhere and all the goodbyes. And just like summer camp, there are promises to stay in touch and invitations to come and visit.

With just a few more suitcases left to fill, our apartment is essentially all packed up. The rugs have been rolled up and the pictures have been taken off the wall. We had a massive moving sale last week and were able to get rid of everything except for a bunch of small items. We have the advantage of living on campus, so fellow staff members could just come up and browse during their free period. We sold our crock pot, desk lamps, bike helmets, the three-foot Christmas tree, Julie’s hair dryer, the fish tank, our plastic porch furniture, and our clothes drying rack. The few things that didn’t sell went onto the freecycle table in the teachers’ lounge. I kind of feel like I just hit “control/z” on our life. Two years ago, we arrived with our eight suitcases and built a life for ourselves here and accumulate all the necessary material goods to make that possible. Now we have just liquidated everything. We’re back down to eight suitcases.

Tuesday I will formally check out of my classroom and hand over my classroom keys. Wednesday, the four of us head to the mainland for a final whirlwind tour of China. Our first stop will be in Yunnan province near the border of Myanmar (Burma). Then we head up Xi’an for several days to see the terra cotta warriors. From Xi’an, we will take an overnight sleeper train to Beijing.

On July 1, we will fly back to Hong Kong. A week later we will put the girls on a plane to fly back to the States. Julie and I will be staying in Hong Kong for the month of July to teach summer school. She and I will fly out for Chicago the first of August just in time for me to start teaching in Lake Zurich. After teaching sixth grade math for the last fifteen years, I will be moving up to seventh grade in the fall. I will also be teaching one section of world cultures.

Transitioning to Summer part 1 of 2

In violation of my own self-imposed rules for blogging, it is time for a newsy update.

The school year is over. Elise had her fifth-grade graduation ceremony a few days ago. Each fifth-grade teacher identified a character trait that exemplified each child as her or she received his or her diploma. Elise’s teacher recognized Elise for her integrity.

Annika has finished up all her ninth grade exams –passed them all- and has been hanging out with friends non-stop ever since. Most nights I sit down at the dinner table only to realize that Annika’s seat is empty. Again.

The nurse’s office is officially closed for the school year. I am done seeing kids, but I have to finish up writing up my comments that go out to every student on his or her report card.

After students were dismissed at 11:30 on Friday, we had the end-of-the-year banquet for staff at a local hotel. Highlight of the afternoon were the skits, speeches and videos to honor all the teachers who were leaving. This year, we had seven middle school teachers leaving –the perils of an international school. The skits and tributes tend to be pretty funny and border on roasts.

For the seven middle school teachers who are leaving this year, our principal spent the last six or seven weeks going around with his video camera and recording student tributes to the various teachers. They were narrowed down to the 40 or so best clips and then edited into one fourteen-minute presentation. My daughter Annika –as my former student from last year- was part of the video. “He’s funny, he really knows his material, he’s very inspirational. He’s really a great father . . . oh, what? This is supposed to be about Mr. VanNoord? I thought we were talking about Mr. Paine.” Brought the house down. Roasted by my own daughter. I couldn’t be more proud.

Macau

Holy, MaCow

With one forty-minute boat ride, I was able to scratch three cities off my list. Last weekend, we took the high-speed ferry from Hong Kong to Macau.

Macau is a sister city to Hong Kong. Well, kind off. They were both colonies of European powers until they were each handed back to China a few years ago.

But, the similarities stop there. Macau’s history goes back almost 400 years, instead of Hong Kong’s 150. Also, Macau was colonized by the Portuguese, not the British, so it has a slightly different vibe to it. Macau is a fraction of Hong Kong’s size.

And most significantly, Hong Kong has limited its gambling to two large horse tracks and a scattering of Off Track Betting establishments while Macau has decided to go for broke. Macau is attempting to make itself the destination for gambling. So far, its’ working. Macau now surpasses Las Vegas in annual earnings.

The most famous casino in Macau is probably The Venetian. The exterior evokes Venice and comes complete with a full-size Campanile from St. Mark’s Square. But it is the interior of The Venetian that makes it a must-see destination. The casino is a large, multi-level building -it is actually the fifth largest building in the world if measured by square footage. Snaking it’s it way through the interior of the whole complex is an artificial waterway with multiple arched bridges, gondolas, and gondoliers in striped shirts and flat straw hats. For an exorbitant amount, you can actually take a twenty-minute gondola ride through The Venetian.

We settled for some pictures.

Macau: check.
Vegas: check. (ah, close enough)
Venice: check. (my pictures are a little fuzzy -no one will be able to tell the difference)

-Jack

How much did I gamble during our one-day visit to Macau? Not a single pataca.