Home Thoughts From Abroad

Our first week back has been a flurry of actvity, not the least of which was our move to a new apartment.  It was not a long move as it only involved going from Tower One to Tower Two of our complex.  With Steve back at work, I managed this move using a large suitcase on wheels.  I must have made forty trips but fortunately was able to vary my route somewhat so that people would not think that I had completely lost my mind.

Here we rent our apartments “furnished” and each landlord has their own definition of furnished.  So although the actual apartment structure is identical, this one comes with a full kitchen, built in cupboards with drawers, sofas that are actually comfortable to sit on and a dining table that seats more than two.  Thanks to our friends Bill and Kim, who lived here last year, it also comes with some added touches that make it feel very comfortable and bring back memories of some wonderful evenings spent here with them.

On Saturday night we had five people over for dinner and actually sat at the table together over a home cooked meal.  After a year of cooking only with a microwave, it felt wonderful to be able to entertain again.  Cooking is still a little tricky as ovens are not widely used but at least a stove top offers many new options.

Gosh, it is good to be back in Malaysia. My two thoughts on going back to Canada were: 1) It’s cold here! and 2) Where is everybody? The country is empty! Malaysia is not crowded like Bangladesh, but it is lively, and the streets are always full of people. Funny what you get used to.

Speaking of people, we got together at the Boulevard last night for a barbeque. It was a get-to-know-you for the new staff, all thirteen of them. Along with the eleven hold-overs from last year that makes two dozen ex-pats in this program. That is still a shade less than the 80% called for by the Ontario Ministry of Education, but probably close enough to pass certification for this year.

They are a pretty interesting bunch. Sandra was hired out of Oman where she had been teaching, Craig and Beth out of China, Farshad out of Korea where he and his family had been for four years. Gary and Kveta, who joined us in January were hired out of Papua New Guinea. Getting together with this bunch is like doing a verbal tour of Asia!

Even those who come from Canada have pretty interesting stories. Colin went to school in Mexico and has travelled extensively in South America. An amateur photographer, his photos of Peru and Bolivia are about to go up in a gallery in Toronto. His aunt is the famous Canadian guitarist Liona Boyd and his mother, Vivian, and I were in the school orchestra together at Kipling Collegiate. What a small world!