Finished

Finally it's here, that day that teachers, parents and students all love - the first day of holidays. I am sitting in a very quiet house at the moment everyone is sound asleep, even the street is quiet this morning - the only sound is our fan whirring in the background but that for us, is a milestone, we have grown so accustomed to the heat we no longer need the air conditioner on all the time.

But back to today. How to explain the emotions I am feeling! I guess all I can come up with is 'we made it'. We have finished our first Semester as expats. Someone told me yesterday that the first semester is always the hardest - they were speaking of teaching in a new school but I can translate that to life in a new country.

This past semester everything was new, yes everything was exciting as well but exhausting at the same time. We had new schools, new job (for me), new friends, new academic curriculum, new food, new house .... and the list can go on - but even though we have been here only 5 months we can say we life has begun to become familiar and predicatable.

But again 'we made it'. This past week has been a busy week. The kids all had end of Semester exams, and exams wherever you are can be stressful it also meant for the girls different pick ups and drop offs for school - thank goodness for Khan. I had a field trip to Dai Nam, though it was wonderful it's about 1 and a half to two hours away which made for a very long and noisy bus trip, not to mention a day of walking around a zoo and a fun park. Matthew had an invitation to the opening of a new company at the airport which we all were invited to - thankfully exams had finished. We also had the Winter formal, which I think will be a completely different blog. Josh had a sports day and I had a work Christmas party, this unfortunately was the one that just didn't make it but there's always next time.

This is why the kids are still sleeping, Matthew is sleeping and I am making the most of a quiet moment.

Christmas is now just around the corner and for a country that is not a christian country - they certainly make an enormous effort to be festive. The house across the road is decorated with lights, lights and more lights, a huge Christmas tree at their front and a navity scene to revile the ones in church. But it's still not home. We are all feeling a little bit homesick, christmas is a time for family and it was made all the harder this week with many of our teachers being really excited about going home for Christmas - but I am sure we will have a wonderful time in Hoi An, which we leave for on the 23rd December but more importantly we have the 21st which is the day Zander flies in. Matthew has asked me a number of times why, in writing this blog, I have never mentioned Zander leaving but I just couldn't, I wasn't ready to share the emotions attached to sending one of your children to the other side of the world for the next four years. However on Tuesday my family will once again be a complete family and I can't wait, and even though it won't be for long and we will have to say good bye again it's all worth it.

Reading back over this entry - it really is just ramblings - but I think ramblings are important they provide a sneak peek into the lives of others - that's my excuse and it sounds logical to me. I am heading off this morning to try and do a spot of christmas shopping but if it is like our attempts to shoe shop in a country of tiny feet - I am in for an exciting day.