April, May and June...Wow!

As I sit here and stare at this blinking screen I am wondering how it is I can sum up my last few months here in China. It’s difficult to put into words the emotions that have been felt and give the proper amount of detail to events that have taken place. It’s rather like taking a picture; the viewer gets a taste but the photo can never really do the experience justice, can it? Alas, here it goes...

I suppose I should begin by saying that it’s safe to say that, although I had every intention of keeping this blog up-to-date on a regular basis when I left Canada back in August, I have failed (yet again) and will not be adding ‘Respectable Blogger’ to my CV. I suppose I can come up with a million excuses as to why I couldn’t seem to find the time to sit down and write about the Shenzhen Happenings but quite simply, I have been busy living. There is no one word that I can use to sum up these last few months here in China; wonderful, fun, enlightening, confusing, happy, sad, etc… Amazing what that ‘simple’ decision that I made back in March, to make a change, did for my life. I got back to me and it has felt so refreshing and so good.

Life has been Good these last few months; the people that I have met, the places that I have explored, the evenings that have been had, the food and drinks that have been consumed, the stomach laughter that has been enjoyed and the dances that have been danced have all been absolutely brilliant. It does make me quite sad to think that I’ve only just met these incredible people in these last few months (why couldn’t we have met sooner) but I suppose that’s the way things were meant to play out. I know that it’s always better to leave a place wanting more than desperately wanting out; but it still makes me a little sad to think that it’s all ending so soon.

Some Events that have taken place in -- April, May and June

Manis and Pedis

Peninsula Living

Dinner Dates

Pool Lounges

Tunnel Raves

Beach Weekend Rave

Tapinyaki visits

School trips

Boardwalk workouts

Getting Cheeky at the Cheeky Monkey

Attended Mom’s 50^th Birthday over Skype

More Peninsula Living

Rain Storms

Back problems

Spontaneous weekend in HK for the Dragon Boat Festival

Sarah’s Bachelorette (Hen do) –High Tea

End of the Year Staff Party

March/April & Now it's May!? Wow..

Well…it may as well be summer; March is over and having just looked at the calendar, May is well under way. I guess I blinked a couple of times…

March continued on to be a truly wonderful month! Fun was had, money was spent, good food was eaten, drinks were enjoyed and I remain a very poor individual with a ton of memories (as my parents like to remind me)! Hahaha

The past couple of months included a reunion at the highest bar in the world in HK with Natasha Hai (a beautiful friend who I haven’t seen in years), a reunion with my wonderful cousin Dylan and his lovely fiancé Sally and the HK7’s with three wonderful ladies (Katrina, Jess O and Jill). What a time they both were!! There were also a number of Terrace and Viva visits, late night dance parties, the pool opened AND I have been able to get running again … which makes me Love March and April that much more.

 April started off right with a long weekend that turned out to include a lot of fun and not a lot of sleep (which I plan to do when I’m dead). I tried hot pot for the first time (yes, I have been living in China for 2 years and hadn’t tried it.. oops), spent a Saturday drinking with Mom, Dad and ML over Skype, bowled a few strings, found the best Thai food outside of Thailand, and have truly enjoyed Shenzhen life off campus. Being able to get off campus on evenings and weekends is like a vacation; it’s freedom and happiness. This was made possible because of two extremely generous and kind friends, Claude and Claudine from France. The French school had a week off and they insisted on leaving me their gorgeous apartment in The Peninsula. I moved in for a week and had the best time! Life is Good. 

A close friend also happens to live in the building next door which has been a treat; we’ve been able to go for walks along the boardwalk, make delicious meals, watch some good movies and enjoy the pool; all without having to worry about a long trek home to campus! Not only was I able to stay at their beautiful place for the week but for the long weekend just afterward while they headed out on another vacation...amazing. 

I was able to have Mariya, Karen and Nicole over to the Peninsula for an evening – it was truly wonderful!! I adore living in a nice place where I can host evenings with food and wine – we ended up spending hours eating, drinking and chatting. Perfection.

OH! I have also become an Active member of Search Associates; let the international job hunt for next year begin!!

It truly is March Madness♡

Mariya and I decided to begin the month right with manis and pedis; how can a month go wrong with fresh hands and feet? I spent March’s first week in HK with Gina and Mariya. We ate at Mariya and my favorite restaurant (Life) and spent some time puttering around the Ladies Market before doing some Wedding shoe shopping for Gina. Late on we met up with Ross, Joel and Nicole for dinner and drinks to celebrate Gina’s acceptance into her Masters program; I haven’t seen someone so truly happy, excited and surprised in a very long time. After dinner, we got some drinks and hunkered down to watch Jasen’s hockey team kill it before heading back home across the 24/hr border. It was a Wonderfully full HK day – one of those days that make me wonder why I don’t go there more often (I Love HK haha)!

In the world of school things have been very busy! We recently celebrated RASK (Random Acts of Student Kindness) week and are now gearing up for Heritage Fair (a fair focused on celebrating the different cultures that are represented here at ISNS). We’re studying Spain for the fair and the kids are very excited about learning some fun Spanish words. Our RASK project was to create hearts with kind words/comments on them and to deliver them to all teachers at ISNS as well as give everyone a hug – it was adorable. Who doesn’t love a good hug (especially from a sweet grade 2 student)!?

This past weekend will forever be ranked as one of my top weekends of the year here in Shenzhen– it completely caught me off guard in a great way:) I had spent the week thinking that I would have a nice and relaxing weekend; one that would include cooking some nice meals, watching some movies, doing some work, pinteresting and catching up on some sleep (and of course visiting with Mariya and probably going to the gym). I did none of those things (Mariya and I visited through texting haha)! Hahaha This weekend included dinner on the ship in Shekou, drinks and dancing, walks and talks, my first tunnel rave and Laurie’s baby shower. It was a mixed bag of goodness and a weekend that has me still smiling almost a week later hahaha

Life is Good.

                    

The Month of Love

This February was quite a month! Not only is February The Month of Love and My Birthday Month but it has also been the Month of the Winter Olympics! All of which are, in my mind cause for celebration. Although, if you know me at all, you know that I love celebrations and will celebrate just about anything. Do I enjoy celebrating with people? Naturally. Do I celebrate things that others believe aren’t ‘celebration worthy’? Absolutely! I just do that celebrating with a good song and dance in my room, alone (sometimes with a glass of wine and/or on Skype with my family back home…which can’t be too painful for them as they continue to answer my calls).

I digress….

All-in-All, February has been a pretty great month. If I’m being honest, I struggled with my return to China after enjoying my much-needed 2 weeks spent with Family and Friends back in the Ice Box that is Canada. Who wouldn’t! Canada is so clean, the people are so friendly, the food isn’t pretending to be something that it’s not (to any of you asking ‘Where’s the fun in that!?’ I say, ‘Mystery books are fun! Mystery meat is just Not Ok’) and I had a House instead of a cell sized room to spend time in! Hahaha Despite the fact that what I have just said is all-true, now that I am settled back in with China Family things are beginning to look up! Mariya and Ross have played a huge part in this…my goodness I love them. I’m extremely thankful for my China Family!

100th Day of School = Cause for
a big sticker and celebration!!!!!!

This month saw the 100^th Day of School, Valentines Day, my birthday and the Winter Olympics…it has been a big month!

 

Valentines Day in Shenzhen was a day filled with love in Grade 2H. The kids were very sweet and it was so much fun watching them hand out their care-o-grams, flowers and chocolates! I was even treated to some delicious chocolates sent to me by Mariya <3 It was a Great day J       

¼ of a century…

I have taken a page from the Dax Hooper Birthday Play Book this year and apparently I am to celebrate my birthday until June. Daxy normally celebrates a Birthday Month and I thought I was going big with a Birthday Week. That was until Daxy explained the Birthday Month. Her celebrations simply continue until she has been able to celebrate with everyone closest to her, which normally takes about a month (makes sense, doesn’t it!?). For this reason, it has been decided that my 25^th birthday will not end until we have a ¼ century party when I’m back in The Hamptons this summer. It didn’t take much convincing to get me on board! Haha On the Wednesday (19^th) I was treated to a delicious Mexican feast with some friends in Shekou, which was, a real treat! The mango margarita was also to die for. At the beginning of the week Mariya and I had made ‘date’ plans for my actual birthday on Thursday the 20^th and all week I was very excited! When the day arrived we headed into Shekeou after school to have our nails done at the new Bolyn Nails (I went with red while Mariya went with a pretty bronzed color). It was lovely! I’m convinced their lazy boys are 100% more comfortable then my bed here in China, which doesn’t seem right BUT does make for the whole experience to be that much more luxurious! Although we were very pleased with our nails, our hands were Freezing and our stomachs were hungry so we quickly setout to find our dinner spot. We ended up going to La Maison, a little French restaurant; a spot that some friends had spoken very highly of. It was perfect and quickly became one of my favorite places here in Shenzhen! Mariya treated us to a truly delicious bottle of wine, some cheese, the most amazing salad you have ever seen, soup and a steak; we relaxed, drank, and chatted. It was the perfect evening and a wonderful way to end my 25^th birthday day <3

On Friday a group of us went for Tapinyaki after a workout (it’s all about balance, right?), dressed in our Canadian jerseys so that we would be ready for the Big Game that was playing at 1am at McCawleys J It was great fun! 

After the meal that our personal chef created for us and having a sufficient amount of wine, Katrina, Nicole, Angela and I headed to Viva for a drink and a good dance party before meeting everyone for the game. I haven’t had such a great time out dancing in a very long time! We went, we danced and we left all in the span of roughly and hour and a half (perfect). Nicole and I didn’t make it to the end, we were exhausted, but heading home we were confidant that Canada would take the win – check!

On Saturday morning Mariya and Ross had Karen, Leon, Gina, Jasen and myself over for the most scrumptious piece of gluten free chocolate cake that has ever touched my lips. That with a coffee and baileys with my China Family really was icing on the cake of a wonderful 25^th birthday <3 That afternoon I went for brunch with Katrina and Nicole which included yummy food and some Olympics before grabbing some things at Charlie’s (the international store) and the entire set of Friends…I don’t think I have to tell you what I did next.

Our Balloon Friend got lots of attention

After enjoying a lazy Sunday morning with a nice breakfast in bed, coffee, some chocolates and movies(…I Love Sundays) I headed over to Michael and Josh’s for some day drinks and games in celebration of Michael’s birthday. This was followed by a jaunt over to The Tavern for some food and a drink before the 8:00 Gold Medal Game J It was another Wonderful day/night but it did make for a less than ideal Monday morning wake-up call.

Late night Vday lattes and
chocolates with the Terrace
Band - what great people:)

Of course there were other happenings in February but these were the highlights! It’s hard to believe that March has already begun – very exciting!! Not that I’m wishing my time here in Shenzhen away, I’m not. Not really. Well, maybe I am a little….BUT I am feeling better and am enjoying my time with those I care about and that care about me. 

Home

I find words fail me when trying to express my deep appreciation for this holiday and trip. I will never know just how to thank Barrett or my Parents for all of their efforts in getting me back to the Land of the Cold for a much needed Home Retreat.

The travel both to and from Canada proved to be a challenge; I was stuck on crutches due to a strained Achilles with a partial tear and had flight delays, cancellations and re-routes like it was the airports’ job to make life for all fliers difficult (haha oh winter travel). Looking back I find myself able to laugh and shake my head at the whole thing but at the time it was a painful and exhausting experience. Reflecting on the traveling part of my trip home I am reminded of a particular conversation that I had with my dad while sitting, defeated on the Seattle Airport floor (an airport I was never supposed to be in) with my leg the size of a tree trunk up and resting on my pack, with tears in my eyes. I remember him saying that the difficulty of this trip was exactly what I needed. At that time my mouth agreed (knowing he was probably right) but my heart hurt, tears fell with pain and exhaustion and my eyes rolled while my head thought Enough is Enough. Although I agreed with him, I didn’t yet know the meaning of this statement. It wasn’t until the traveling section of my trip back to 'China home', when I was feeling more like myself, that I understood what Dad had meant on the phone that night. January had been a very difficult month and it had left me feeling unlike myself; I had lost sight of some very important things that I had to be reminded of. 

Some of which I posted in my January post of quotes. Looking back, yes I had flight problems. I had flight delays, was re-routed to different airports and even to a country that my airline doesn’t fly to; I had flight cancellations, had to change airports, and went many days with no sleep. Through all of this I now know that my Dad knew that I would survive and would see the beauty in the challenge; Human Kindness. He was right. My heart grew two sizes on this journey both to and from Canada; of this I’m sure. 

The kindness of strangers throughout the journey was overwhelming. From people carrying my bags, to bringing me a coffee because they thought I could use one, to pushing me to the front of lines so I wouldn’t have to wait, to having wheel chairs waiting for me at each airport, to someone working with a Delta employee to sort out my flights so I wouldn’t have to stand. People brought me into Delta lounges where I could eat and shower while others offered a kind word or an empathetic smile. Did I mention that I was also given First Class seating for every flight I was on!? I don’t consider myself a needy person; I’m independent and can take care of myself. BUT my word my heart and soul felt deeply appreciative for the love and kindness that I was shown. The kind words and help that I received was refreshing and all of these strangers have no idea what their kind acts meant to me. 

While the journey both to and from Canada proved to be challenging (and rewarding) my time home was heartwarmingly perfect. It was exactly what I needed. It was so nice to relax, to sit in my sunroom on a warm couch surrounded by laughing family and friends while looking out at our beautiful view. Sitting by the fire or in my hot tub during a snowstorm, breathing fresh air and making snow angels with my family in flip-flops and socks was absolute bliss. To be with my family and visit friends was a true treat. Being able to spend a couple of days with my Mom in her classroom was so much fun and being home to greet Daxy and Dad after work was always entertaining. Sarah was even in town and was able to pop in for visits, what a riot she can be! Having the Hooper clan together again was quite something…I do adore my family. 

The weekend festivities were a definite highlight of my visit. Having everyone over to the Hooper Residence was, as always, a night to be remembered (in bits and pieces); I woke up with cheeks that hurt from smiling, a stomach that hurt from so much laughter, legs that were sore from trying to dance on my ankle and a throat that told me I had howled sufficiently loud for an extended period of time. Nice to know that something’s never change – it was a perfect night! Hahaha A house full of love, laughter and fun <3  

I had been so looking forward to getting home to be with my family and friends, to breath fresh air, drink tap water, eat delicious food, drink homemade wine and get some much needed physio for my ankle, among other things. I was able to check all of the above off of my list and although I was far from ready to leave I knew that I had to stop putting check marks next to ‘eat delicious food’ and ‘drink homemade wine’!! hahaha 

I'm not back in China with my China Family (I don't know what I would do without them) and things seem to be coming together. My ankle is feeling Much better, the weather is warming up and I just got the word that the gym has finally re-opened!! 

Hugs to my Family and Friends, I’m truly appreciative of you and can't wait to see all of you this summer <3