Had a lazy weekend, doing very little. Oh - except Friday we had a staff Thanksgiving dinner at our friend's Elisa & Ernesto's house. 16 of us stuffing ourselves with turkey and all the trimmings. Very nice evening. And they bought a birthday cake for me to share with Ernesto (the other Grade 5 teacher) which was lovely!
Annalise had her ballet class on Saturday morning and has her first concert on the 7th - very excited for her! It's going to be at a mall down in the south of Jakarta so will be a day out for us!
Then, yesterday we decided to bite the bullet and buy a camera so we went to the mall and bought a cheapish video camera that has relatively good still photo capabilities. I bought a Sony cybershot camera on ebay for us for Xmas that has been sent to OZ so this will do for now. And as we left our video camera at Anne-marie's in the Summer, we thought we better get something to use for now until we get that back.
So, I will be posting photos again shortly! Yay!
Had some sort of, not sure really, bad news this week - our school campus' lease is up in January 2009 and the board of governors are battling with the government over trying to buy the land. Shades of the Dubai Country Club a little.
The deal apparently 20 years ago when they were leased the land was that after 20 years, they would be offered first bids in purchasing the land or extending the lease. Well, the government do not want to extend the lease as they want to build on it but have offered the land at a price - 3 times the price of the land which the school of course won't pay and so no one is sure what is going to happen. They are deep within negotiation. The board wrote a letter to staff saying that the school WILL be open for the whole of the 2009 2010 year, but whether it continues past that is uncertain at this time. They will probably not know until August of next year. There is no other land to build on, nor the money to build and as the school is only small, there is no extra money to build so things aren't looking completely hopeful for us being here long term which is what we really want as we love the school.
Andrew and other senior staff and the Head's plans of bringing AP & IB in next year have also been squashed as the board cannot guarantee that the school will be open long enough to see the kids through the first exams so the current plan of having grade 11'as next year (year 12 in the British system) have been postponed.
Andrew is feeling depressed.
The ever optimist, 'Me', is thinking that all will be OK and that the negotiations will work and the school will continue on and we can stay indefinitely. Or someone rich (maybe a parent?) will just buy the school outright.
I just can't even consider moving on to pastures new in a year and a half - especially for the girls. The transition here for Annalise has been just too hard. I couldn't do that to her again.
Anyway. It could all work out. I do so hope it does. For our futures, though, it means there's lots of uncertainty. We could be in another new country in August 2010.
On other brighter news, I was MSNing Daddy today and he told me he'd lost 6 kilos on his Wii fit so Andrew went out and bought me a Wii console for Christmas - it's being delivered to Australia (from ebay). So I will be buying the Wii fit ASAP! Anyone recommend anything else I should get?
I am still running twice a week - only about 3 KM each time but have so far not lost any weight,. I am much fitter, but I still have all my blubber. My legs are muscly but my tummy is still quivering in a rather astonishingly ugly way! Maybe this'll help.
Andrew said he would buy me the Wii as he was going to buy me a treadmill, but that was going to cost twice the price and he could also play games on the Wii so win win all round!
Whilst on Xmas presents, just so family and friends who have asked about gifts and are thinking about what to get the girls know what they're getting from us and Santa: We have bought the girls Baby Alive Dolls (Annalise has the 'potty training' one that talks and poos and wees and drinks and eats - a bit like Tiny Tears dolls - remember we had them, AM? And we bought Juliette a little boy baby that drinks milk and wees in his nappy - Annalise decided that she needed a boy doll. No idea why, but I went for it anyway!) They're both being sent to OZ.
As well as a Leap Frog Leappad console (interactive book thingy) for Annalise and some 'Little People' for Juliette . Will wait to get to Oz for the rest of their gifts.
Annalise is into anything girly - makeup and fancy dress, barbies, Disney princess etc. If you get her clothes, she'll probably fit 5 year old things.
Juliette loves anything to do with 'The Wiggles' and all things animals and she loves to sing. She fits into size appropriate things - 2 - 3 years.
We have put our Christmas tree up and the girls have being doing so many Christmas crafts - we are up to our ears in glittery Santas and Reindeers and angels! I will take photos soon.
Then, yesterday we decided to bite the bullet and buy a camera so we went to the mall and bought a cheapish video camera that has relatively good still photo capabilities. I bought a Sony cybershot camera on ebay for us for Xmas that has been sent to OZ so this will do for now. And as we left our video camera at Anne-marie's in the Summer, we thought we better get something to use for now until we get that back.
So, I will be posting photos again shortly! Yay!
Had some sort of, not sure really, bad news this week - our school campus' lease is up in January 2009 and the board of governors are battling with the government over trying to buy the land. Shades of the Dubai Country Club a little.
The deal apparently 20 years ago when they were leased the land was that after 20 years, they would be offered first bids in purchasing the land or extending the lease. Well, the government do not want to extend the lease as they want to build on it but have offered the land at a price - 3 times the price of the land which the school of course won't pay and so no one is sure what is going to happen. They are deep within negotiation. The board wrote a letter to staff saying that the school WILL be open for the whole of the 2009 2010 year, but whether it continues past that is uncertain at this time. They will probably not know until August of next year. There is no other land to build on, nor the money to build and as the school is only small, there is no extra money to build so things aren't looking completely hopeful for us being here long term which is what we really want as we love the school.
Andrew and other senior staff and the Head's plans of bringing AP & IB in next year have also been squashed as the board cannot guarantee that the school will be open long enough to see the kids through the first exams so the current plan of having grade 11'as next year (year 12 in the British system) have been postponed.
Andrew is feeling depressed.
The ever optimist, 'Me', is thinking that all will be OK and that the negotiations will work and the school will continue on and we can stay indefinitely. Or someone rich (maybe a parent?) will just buy the school outright.
I just can't even consider moving on to pastures new in a year and a half - especially for the girls. The transition here for Annalise has been just too hard. I couldn't do that to her again.
Anyway. It could all work out. I do so hope it does. For our futures, though, it means there's lots of uncertainty. We could be in another new country in August 2010.
On other brighter news, I was MSNing Daddy today and he told me he'd lost 6 kilos on his Wii fit so Andrew went out and bought me a Wii console for Christmas - it's being delivered to Australia (from ebay). So I will be buying the Wii fit ASAP! Anyone recommend anything else I should get?
I am still running twice a week - only about 3 KM each time but have so far not lost any weight,. I am much fitter, but I still have all my blubber. My legs are muscly but my tummy is still quivering in a rather astonishingly ugly way! Maybe this'll help.
Andrew said he would buy me the Wii as he was going to buy me a treadmill, but that was going to cost twice the price and he could also play games on the Wii so win win all round!
Whilst on Xmas presents, just so family and friends who have asked about gifts and are thinking about what to get the girls know what they're getting from us and Santa: We have bought the girls Baby Alive Dolls (Annalise has the 'potty training' one that talks and poos and wees and drinks and eats - a bit like Tiny Tears dolls - remember we had them, AM? And we bought Juliette a little boy baby that drinks milk and wees in his nappy - Annalise decided that she needed a boy doll. No idea why, but I went for it anyway!) They're both being sent to OZ.
As well as a Leap Frog Leappad console (interactive book thingy) for Annalise and some 'Little People' for Juliette . Will wait to get to Oz for the rest of their gifts.
Annalise is into anything girly - makeup and fancy dress, barbies, Disney princess etc. If you get her clothes, she'll probably fit 5 year old things.
Juliette loves anything to do with 'The Wiggles' and all things animals and she loves to sing. She fits into size appropriate things - 2 - 3 years.
We have put our Christmas tree up and the girls have being doing so many Christmas crafts - we are up to our ears in glittery Santas and Reindeers and angels! I will take photos soon.
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