7 Quick Takes: Long Summer holidays
It's been a long gap since my last post. It's also been a long summer holiday-9 weeks off school! Everyone spoke about summer in Hong Kong when we first arrived, and how unbearable it can be. Many school families vacate Hong Kong for the full stretch, heading back to all parts of the globe. It's the challenge of temperatures around 33C (continuing through day and night), heavy rainfall and humidity levels of 80%-100%, making anything outdoors quite unpleasant. On the other hand, small living space makes endless days at home stretching in different ways. Making our way through the first summer feels like the true Hong Kong test. And sweat test! I cant even remember what it feels like to blow-dry my hair or to wear it down. It's been in a scrunched up ball on the top of my head, hallowed by gorgeous fuzz curls, for the past 3 months.
It is Saturday midday, we have just said goodbye to neighbours who came over for a brunch and I have a rare gap where I find myself for a few moments lying horizontal on my bed, reflecting on these past two months of summer holiday, before we head into a new school year and all it holds. Sierra starts school on Monday and its one more week to go for Shiley. Summer holidays draw to a close but the summer months will stretch into October, bringing more heat, rainfall and most likely one or two typhoons.
Here are some quick takes from these past two months of long summer holidays:
1/ A slice of summer holiday spent in Phuket felt like an oasis. The last few weeks of term, leading up to our time away, couldn't pass quick enough and the realities of living in Hong Kong seemed exaggerated. We were ready for the escape. Travelling out of Hong Kong feels like the equivalent of a weekend in Hermanus (for those living in Cape Town). People travel out of Hong Kong regularly for holiday, and even just for a weekend away. So much so that I found myself saying, 'Oh, we are JUST going to Phuket'. You know, as if we were headed to Kalk Bay rather than Hermanus. I count it a huge privilege to be able to and don't ever want to take it for granted but also realise that it's that much more doable here than it ever would be in South Africa. As a family, we have always valued and prioritised time away as a family for making memories and refreshing our souls and will gladly sacrifice some other things to make it possible. Our time away only reminded us of the necessity of these breaks, even more so, since living in Hong Kong- the crazy city that never sleeps.
A full 12 days in Phuket was valuable for our little family on so many levels, and probably some our best time together ever. We spent hours in the swimming pool, and another good portion of time eating Phad Thai, coconut anything and Mango Sticky Rice. Understandably, returning to Hong Kong felt like quite an adjustment initially. It was our longest stretch away since we landed in December and coming back to Hong Kong as our home, after holiday, was a moment of realisation. This is home and this is where we return after holiday. It was an unexpected mix of emotions but another brick in the building process of adjustment.
2/ We moved the girls into their own bedrooms early on in the holidays. So what was initially a guest room is now Shiley's room. We realised the importance of our girls having their own space at home and it was a very good call. I had thought about it but let the idea slip, and then my mum suggested it, after I mentioned some of the challenges of a small home. You know when someone says something just at the right time? Even though it's not a new idea it suddenly made so much sense and the girls were so ready. I know for myself, I have come to appreciate home and a quiet space more than ever before. The noises, smells, people, traffic, busyness constantly attacking all my senses has lead me to have a lower tolerance for them when I'm in my own space. I need quiet alone space more than I have known myself to need in the past. Home has to be the place to rejuvenate and be refreshed. I think it's been the same for our girls. They are less able to understand and translate those feelings but their need for some personal space when home became evident. I always felt a fresh appreciation for the option of even allowing them to have their own rooms. That is a luxury for many in Hong Kong. It is not at all uncommon here for 3 kids to share one tiny room.
I know we cant always be escaping Hong Kong life to go on exotic holidays but we can make home a space for rest and peace. In all this, I have also felt challenged not to trust in holidays for my rest and peace because, as good as they are when you're in them, the high will come to an end and so something greater has to carry me through the everyday. Something more deeply satisfying, refreshing and trustworthy.
3/ We spent another patch in the holidays house sitting for some friends and we called it our staycation :) Kev worked as normal but we lived with the backdrop of green rolling hills and the convenience of a swimming pool downstairs, a dishwasher in the kitchen and more space in the house than we knew what to do with. It was so interesting to experience some things that were very 'normal' just a year ago, now as luxuries. We even got to take a car out for the day. Oh, my. To drive to a desired location, do what you want to do and then hop back in the car to head home is something I will appreciate from now on and hopefully never take for granted should we have that luxury again one day. Even though we experienced this as an expected normal part of life when living in South Africa, I have been reminded that we were actually a minority in South Africa and so many people don't have the privilege and luxury of a car. Walking, catching transport, navigating tricky weather, unpredictable times and crowds is no joke. If you're in South Africa and can take a moment to verbally acknowledge and appreciate the person, who probably gets up two hours earlier in the morning than you do, to get to work in your home on time, please do. Only now do I really realise a tiny portion of what they navigate in daily life.
4/ We said goodbyes. One of the sad realities of living in Hong Kong is that people leave. Being the end of the school year, June / July is often a time of year when families relocate and even though we haven't been here very long we said goodbye to 5 different couples and families whom we have grown to love and care for this year. Adelaide, Mumbai, London, NYC and Hungary all landed with some amazing people over the summer and each of those places have jumped up on our list of countries to visit one day in the future ;) People leave, but people also come and I'm excited to meet some of them face to face soon. If I could pass on the support and love to others that we were lavished with on our first weeks of arriving, I would be only too pleased.
5/ The in-between days were filled with monopoly deal, ticket to ride, reading, building 'construction' out of recycling, me scavenging for a bit of 'me time', lots of swimming, an awesome week long VBS holiday club held at church and a few play dates with those who did stick around.
6/ Friday was the last day of holidays essentially, before the weekend started. It was a spontaneous decision, but on waking, and thinking how to spend this last day, I remembered a promise we had made to our girls and so I did a quick spot of research. This led me to the SPCA website, and even though they aren't all that appreciated as pets in Hong Kong, there she was, waiting for us. Meet Dumpling:
 
The girls are over the moon with the new arrival. Shiloh wants to hold her all day long and has no concerns about the long 'rough' tail or sharp nails. Sierra, just wants to clean the cage, organise the food, and create systems for this new pet to flourish. So characteristic of both my girls personalities. We look forward to getting to know her better and so pleased to have been able to give her a new home. We love our little dumpling :)
7/ As I reflect on these holidays, we had some really amazing times, mixed with some long days that never seemed to want to end. But more than that, it felt like a pause button was pressed from the treadmill of normal weekly rhymths. I got to process the last 6 months and look ahead at the remainder of the year. When I look ahead, I keep getting a picture of me in the starting block of a running race about to kick off any minute for the next lap to the end of the year, but I don't want to race through it. I am excited for what it holds, and we have been thoughtful about what we give ourselves to. Two things I'm super excited about -we are inviting our whole apartment block (96 apartments) to an Alpha course that we are hosting in our apartment on Monday evenings. Lets see how many turn up! We are also starting a new HK version of M&P (Marriage and Parenting) group with some good friends. We have a church retreat in October, another moms group book study kicking off soon, and some special visitors lined up for later in the year too. It's going to be a busy next few months, but hopefully the kind of busy that when I put my head on my pillow at the end of my day, I can utter these words...
'it is well, it is well, it is well with my soul'
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