Christmas Morning

It was a frenzy Christmas morning as the kids (and adults) tore into the many presents that were under the tree. Some of the hi-lites included: clothes for Mel, perfume and an i-pod for Jackie, a piano (from Auntie Marlene) and a webkin for Emily, and a paint set and a webkin for Danielle. Both girls received numerous items of clothing as well. More Christmas shopping is to come in Thailand as we are looking for a hat for my dad. Mom will choose a purse of her liking when we do cross-border shopping in China in the new year.

Visitors from Canada!!

On December 18th, my parents arrived in Macau for a three-week visit. They were remarkably perky considering the long flight but may-be they were excited to see us all. We had a welcome dinner at a local restaurant the first evening to celebrate their arrival. We have been busy showing them the sites of Macau the past few days and this weekend I will take them to see Hong Kong.

Golf ... in December

One of the positive things about living in a sub-tropical climate is that you can golf year-round. I bought a one-year golf membership at the Orient Golf Course in Macau. There are only two courses in Macau which limits golf opportunities and makes permanent memberships very expensive. Two students from my school are aspiring golf pros so I have golfed with them on two occasions. These young ladies are only in grade ten yet they consistently shoot in the 70's and I can barely out-drive them from the tee. On our first round together, I managed to shoot an all-time best 76 while Demi shot a 75 and Ginger shot a 79. The second time we played, Demi shot a 78, Ginger 80 and I followed up with a sparkling 89. Friends that I golf with will understand how that happened. Needless to say, it is a lot of fun golfing in December!

TIS walk-a-thon

Last Thursday the school held its annual walk-a-thon to raise money for various programs at the school. The primary students walked from 9:30 to 10:30 and the secondary students walked from 11:00 to 12:00. Emily walked a total of 10 laps around the 400m track and Danielle walked 8 laps.

Trip to Hong Kong

The last week in October was "fall break" for all students at TIS. We did a number of things during the break but the hi-lite was a four day trip to Hong Kong. We arrived Tuesday and after checking in we were off to Hong Kong Park in the central area of Hong Kong. The park itself winds its way amongst the skyscrapers and in it one can find botanical gardens and an enclosed aviary that has an amazing display of birds. Day two saw us travel to Ocean Park via a double decker bus; the ride allowed us to see so much of Hong Kong Island on route. Ocean Park is a combination of Sea World and a large amusement park. Memorable moments included the four giant pandas, feeding sea lions, the shark tank and the gondola ride over the mountain. Day three had us traveling to Stanley Market for some shopping. This market is located on the southern tip of Hong Kong Island and it has incredible shopping. Before we return to Canada much money will be spent here. Upon returning to the city center we went up the the 55th floor of the IFC-2 building (fourth tallest in the world) for a view of Hong Kong and Victoria Harbor. The day ended with a ferry ride across the harbor to Kowloon for dinner and the 8:00 p.m.laser light show courtesy of many skyscrapers in the city center.
The last day was quiet, we spent the morning wandering through a local market before we left to catch our ferry back to Macau.

Our Apartment

A number of people have asked what are new home is like in Macau so a blog entry seemed like a good way to answer that question. We are living in a 3-bedroom apartment in a 35-floor building in Flower City. We have approx. 1500 square feet of living space. Besides the bedroom we have two bathroom, a kitchen and a living/dining room. The building is quite new and it has a swimming pool (open May - Sept) and a playground for the kids. Considering that we had almost double the living space in Edmonton we have all adapted well to our new home.

Turtle Temple and Ah-Ma Statue

On the island of Coloane you can hike up (or ride a bus) to the top of a large hill where you can find two places of interest. The first is the Turtle Temple (not sure if this is correct but that is what we call it). The second is the Ah-Ma statue which was carved to commemorate the handover of Macau from Portugal to China. Emily and her father hiked to the top one day and then the four of us took the bus to the top on the second trip. From the Turtle Temple it is a short walk up to the very top where the Ah-Ma statue is found. Great views of Macau and the South China Sea can be had from the top.

Cheoc Van Beach & Pool

Cheoc Van Beach and the public swimming pool that is located there has become one of our favorites spots in Macau. The beach is located on Coloane Island and it is a 15-minute bus ride from where we live. Coloane is very unpopulated which makes it a great place to go to get away from the noise and the many people one would find in Taipa or Macau. After swimming, the girls usually do some beach combing (they have a large collection of shells) and then we will have a bite to eat at a local restaurant overlooking the water.

The Tooth Fairy Visits ... Again

Emily lost another tooth last weekend; this was the third tooth since arriving in Macau. She has only four front teeth now; good thing she eats a lot of rice and noodles! The tooth fairy has been very kind though; the last tooth was worth 20 patacas! Emily used some of this money to buy a smoothie at lunch time.

Macau Tower

A few weeks ago, we all took a trip to the Macau Tower. It is the 10th tallest tower in the world and it offers great views of Macau, Taipa (where we live), and of mainland China. There are indoor and outdoor observation decks from which to gaze out from and on the outdoor observation deck you can bungy jump or go for a sky walk down to the ground. If you really like heights you can also pay to do a "mast climb". This entails climbing from the outdoor observation deck up the mast (needle) to the very top of the tower almost 400m above the ground.

The International School

The International School of Macao (TIS as it is commonly called) is where all of us spend our day. It is a very young school compared to most and it has been in it's current building for only one year. There are approx. 700 students from JK to grade 11; 55% of students come from Macau, Hong Kong or China, the remaining 45% come from thirty different countries (the majority coming from Australia).
Classes tend to be smaller than in Canada with class sizes usually between 14 and 19 students. Students are required to wear a dress uniform in class and a PE uniform on PE days.
Staff come from around the world. The majority are Canadian but others come from Australia, Romania, UK, and the U.S.A.

Danielle's Birthday

Danielle had her fifth birthday on Saturday September 15th. Ten guests came over to our apartment to help celebrate her special day. Balloons, chocolate cake and gifts from friends and family made it memorable for all.
Danielle spent part of the afternoon showing guests her room and her stuffed animals. Another highlight of the day occurred in the morning when Danielle was able to visit with her Grandma and Grandpa in Lamont via the internet (using Skype). It was great for all of us to talk and see one another.

First Day of School

Monday September 3rd was the first day of school for Emily and Danielle. Emily is in class 3-2 with Ms. Windsor and Danielle is in class SK-2 with Mrs. Joanne. The whole family traveled to school together in the morning via a taxi (Jackie has a job at the school as well) which made the day even more special. The girls have three types of uniforms to choose from: a summer dress uniform, a winter dress uniform and a PE uniform.

Emily the "shutterbug"

Emily was promised a camera when we arrived in Macau so that she could send photos to her friends at home. Since she got her own digital camera, she has been taking numerous photos whenever we go out. Here is just a small sample of some of her photos.

Lou Lim Leoc Garden

If you watched the last season of the amazing race, you would have seen Lou Lim Leoc Garden. This urban oasis is right in the middle of the Macau peninsula. It is full of tropical vegetation, ponds and informative displays for visitors. The ponds are full of fish and turtles that Emily and Danielle love to watch (and take pictures of). Many locals will go to the park to visit, rest or do tai-chi. The park also has a tea museum that has on display tea pots and cups that are hundreds of years old.

Beautiful Senado Square

Our first foray out was to beautiful Senado Square. We took the bus from Taipa (where we live) across the Pearl RIver/South China Sea to the Macau peninsula where Senado Square is located. The Square is Macau's urban centre and it is home to many pastel-colored buildings. The many shops and cafes offer amazing selection in a Mediterranean setting.

The Varga's take to the air!

After weeks of packing and preparation it was finally time to head to the airport to start our journey. The first leg took us from Edmonton to Vancouver via Air Canada (lousy service). During our four hour layover in Vancouver we all caught some sleep in the terminal prior to boarding. The next leg had us fly from Vancouver to Taiwan via EVA Air (awesome service and comfort for the 12 hour flight) where we had another four hour layover. We toured the very beautiful terminal and even had our first taste of asian cuisine before we departed to Macau again on EVA air. We arrived in Macau at 10:30 a.m. and were greeted by the school assistant-principal and the school driver. We were taken to our temporary apartment where we all fell asleep by 5:30 p.m.