recap

I'm happy to announce that we have made it through our second year in Hong Kong! School has officially ended and we are now ready to begin our eight weeks of summer holidays.  I know...it is pretty ridiculous that we get eight weeks off, but let me say that this is not normal and we will pay for it next summer. :)

Overall, I would have to say that this second year in HK has been a great one.

On a personal level, this has been a truly fantastic year.  The best thing of course is that we got ENGAGED this year.  Matt and I were able to take some awesome holidays outside of HK mentioned here and here.  All of our folks were able to visit us in HK this year...yes, that was a positive thing! :) We moved (more on that on a later date) to Mongkok, which has opened up our lives in a big way.  We also spent a lot of time having fun with friends and cultivating all of the wonderful relationships that we've made in HK.  Seriously, I have some amazing friends here and feel so lucky to have these people in my life!

On the work front, if I'm honest, this year has not been an easy one.  This year caused me a lot of stress and anxiety...to the point where I was getting really ill and even considered moving schools.  Instead of being social and enjoying the school environment, I chose to just put my head down and stay in my classroom.  My focus this year was on my students and doing my best to teach them well.  I tried not to get sucked into all the negativity, which trust me, wasn't always easy.  That said, I've gotten through it and hopefully I'm wiser (and definitely have thicker skin) because of it.  It wasn't all bad though! I thankfully had (and will continue to have) a wonderful partner teacher.  We worked really well together this year and got a lot accomplished in our second grade program.  I also have some fantastic friends at my school and they made things all the more bearable! :D

All of this to say...I've made it! Now I'm off to enjoy the summer!