As expected December was a long month but a lot has happened. My good friend JP visited to begin the month and I was fortunate to get together with him twice. Always nice to have someone from home to share our China experience.
Before and during his visit I had been communicating with Maple Leaf Schools. They are the largest International School company and have purchased the old GCC site in Brockville and are to open a school Sept. 2020. I reached out and at this point am one approval step away from the Head of School position. It was not an easy task as I had to update my cover letter, resume and prepare for my interview. I as always reached out to others for guidance and assistance. My brother Paul was a champion and he took the time to prepare me for the interview in a detailed step by step manner. His guidance was key to me being in the position I am in now. Thanks so much Paul. Hopefully I hear soon from Stuart McIlmoyle with a proposed contract. I will keep my fingers crossed.
During the month of December Wendy pulled together her love of pictures and painting with a childhood story of her life. This book about Felicity the Mouse is not complete but she was able to share it with everyone back home for Christmas. Once completed we will publish it. A lot of work but the final product will be amazing. Below are a few pictures from the book.
We ended our December with the YGQ Christmas Gala and staff luncheon. A great way to celebrate the Season with colleagues and Wendy.
The luncheon was a potluck so I made Wendy’s meatballs and as a foreign and Chinese staff we all sang, played games and celebrated together. A very nice end to our December and start to our New Year holiday.
With the work festivities behind us we visited the beautiful city of Xi’an. After a comfortable ride on the high speed train we taxied to the hotel and spent 4 days and 3 nights enjoying this amazing city. The pictures do not do justice to what we saw and experienced.
It would have been easy to fill this blog with pictures. The Terracotta Warriors was our big outing. A must see when visiting Xian. Wendy and I met a young Chinese man when biking the Wall that surrounds the inner city. Roy assisted us in purchasing tickets that included an English guide with small tour group. We were picked up at our hotel at 9 AM and dropped off around 4 PM. An awesome day!
We ended our holiday with a day at home, January 1st 2020. We biked to our new park the Elk Park that we discovered in early December. It was a cool bike ride but once there we were surrounded by water, ducks and a serene escape from the city. Beijing has so many spots for people to get away and enjoy nature. Wendy has been my rock and has done so much to settle me and get us through this adventure I began more than a year ago. I will leave this blog and my New Year post with a picture of the person that has made all the difference.