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!