The attack of swine flu

Yes, it happened...all 4 kids got the swine flu.  Seamus fell first (last Monday) then Riley, then Annie and finally Conor.  Seamus and Annie were hit the hardest with 103 fevers and terrible aches and pains.  Riley came in 3rd and Bubba seemed to fair the best.  Now the kids are all better and I am on the couch ailing with a bad head cold!  Swine is extremely contagious, HKIS closed the middle school because the spread was getting out of control.  I'm waiting to see if the upper primary and lower primary will close as well.  With everyone home last week, not a whole lot happened....other than lots of running back and forth to kids' rooms dispensing motrin and cold towels.  We did venture out yesterday to a fishing village about 30 minutes away.  Walking along the waterfront was a thrill, fishermen sit in their boats with their live catch ready to sell.  The kids were in awe of the exotic looking fish, shellfish and shrimp.  We stopped at an open air restaurant, picked out a lobster to eat and enjoyed...well Rich, Seamus and Conor enjoyed the lobster.  We didn't stay too long in the town as the humidity in HK is at an all time high...the air is so thick you can slice it.  In the evening we attended mass at St. Anne's in Stanley...mass was outside due to some mild repairs being done in the main church.  It took about all the energy we had left in our bodies to sit still and not let the heat crush us.  After mass we went to a pub in downtown Stanley with another new family, we call ourselves "newbies"  Tammy and Andrew are from Chapel Hill, NC, they have 2 boys; Sean is Seamus' age and Shane is Bubba's age.  Well, this is all for now.  Rich is trying to find the lighter so he can BBQ our hamburgers.  I suppose I should get off the computer and offer some assistance.

Much love,

Mary

Recap of Week 2

Hi family and friends,

As I write this it is late morning in Hong Kong. Rich and I started the day with a 1 1/2 hour hike with Ginger. We explored our local trails and are eager to conquer some more challenging ones tomorrow. It is 33 degrees C with about 70-80% humidity, not bad. Three of the four kids are playing with friends right now; Seamus is at his buddy Hugh's (Australian that lives down the road), Annie is floating between our house and our neighbor's house visiting with her friend Ilya (Indian-American from San Francisco) and Conor is at Riley's house across the driveway (yes, a boy Riley his age from Australia). Riley is relaxing in her room waiting to go shopping in a town called Causeway Bay, she and I are going to find her some clothes to wear to school and hopefully some soccer cleets. There is no Valley Fair or Stanford Shopping Center here, instead you have to find each individual shop, each in different towns, this should be an adventure!

Some highlights from our first week:

1. The kids love riding to school in the air conditioned buses that pull up right in front of our compound. Yes, that easy, no driving to school for Mary

2. Conor's assigned class buddy is named Guinness Chen, I got a kick out of that. Conor seems very happy in school, lots of new friends and a nice teacher from Australia named Mr Newcombe. Conor will start rugby next Sunday, tries out for swim team today and will play community baseball which starts in a week or so. Sounds kinda busy but rugby is Sunday's only, baseball is Saturday's and swimming is 2x a week.

3. Annie is the tallest person in her class and says that everyone follows her...I guess no big surprise there. Annie's teacher Mr Mernin is from Boston, he has a heavy accent and loves Annie. Annie has made lots of friends and will start percussion one day a week after school (Conor as well). Annie also hoping to get into the after school drama class.

4. Seamus is probably having the easiest transition in the family. He has a handful of friends, loves school, loves his new independence (got a cell phone and texts' me now), he will play on the boys volleyball team, play rugby on Sunday's and is drumming in the band at school...life is good for Seamus.

5. Riley Jayne....if Rich and I told Riley she could fly back to California tonight she would go. Life is great here for Riley but her heart is still in California, especially St. Nick's. Riley has made new friends, has an awesome school schedule; algebra, theater, choir, etc..she will decide this week if she will play on the school soccer team or school volleyball team. Soccer is more advanced here than volleyball, Riley is eager to find a competitive team outside of school...I have started looking and am optimistic we will find something. Riley is her lovely, happy go lucky self but she would be the first to tell you that she doesn't want to be here....

6. Richie....Rich is loving life here. Power walking 2-3 miles every morning with Ginger and then heading into work. Rich is happy at work and eager to really sink his teeth in Hong Kong. I am not allowed to tell anyone that he is the (former) lead singer of one of the hottest Dad bands in California...let's see how long I can keep that inside!

7. And me...super happy. My helper and driver are a huge help. The house is in order, I know my way around and I have friends! To add, I am going to try out some kick boxing here as well as tennis. The house does need some attention, shelves, rugs etc..but I am not in any hurry to get this done. I operate here much like I did at home-get the kids and Rich out the door in the morning, get some exercise, run errands, schedule a get together with a friend so I don't feel isolated and then return home to greet the kids. Homework hasn't heated up yet so the energy in the house is still calm. Having a helper and a driver is surreal. Mae, our helper, helps me keep the house in order, cooks all our meals (if we choose) and takes Ginger to her old building every night to play with other dogs. Eric, our driver, takes Rich to work and then takes me wherever I need to go. I will admit this is a HUGE perk. If anything, this may entice you all to visit us :)

Well, I have to go. I hope this blog finds you healthy and happy.

Thank you again for supporting us on this adventure.

Much love,

Mary

Sea shipment has arrived

Ok, here goes, a blog from Hong Kong!

I'm sitting on top of boxes in our office.  Four small truck loads of stuff arrived today, not bad considering my neighbor across the driveway had 12!  Let's hope everything fits.  Seamus and Rich are having lunch at at Thai restaurant in our town (repulse bay).  No our town is not repulsive, it is actually quite beautiful much like any small town on the water.  Riley, Annie and Conor are with our Australian neighbors having lunch in a town called Checko...this is a fun beach town in the southern part of the island, about 20 min's by car.  And me?  I'm nodding and smiling at the movers as I try to tell them where to put things...think I better learn some Cantonese!

And Ginger...she has been at the groomer's today, can't wait to see how she looks.  I think Ginger likes it here..each day Rich and I take her for a walk to the beach at the end of our road, about 3 miles round trip.  The road is lovely, lots of lush vegetation growing on the hillsides, feels like we are in the tropics...well I guess we sort of are!  The beach is clean, I swam in the water yesterday with Riley, so far no strange skin lesions or sickness.  And the typhoon?  Fortunately we have been spared.  Several light showers throughout the day with thunderstorms and lightening at night, pretty cool to watch out of our windows.  Our windows, I must get curtains!!  Gotta go.

Thanks for checking in.  So far we are healthy and happy.  Orientation for Riley and Seamus is Friday and for Annie and Conor Monday.  It will be nice to see them start school and get involved with kids here.

Mary