Certainly a different life here. When Oli is not at school he is out playing football, exploring the campus, or swimming in the pool with his new friends. My only rules are:
- be back by dark
- only swim when there is an adult there (other teacher parents are always around).
He is out in the fresh air and sunshine. I no longer worry about pollution (instead, I worry about malaria and dengue!).
He comes back intermittently for food (!).
He seems like a completely different (and much happier) human already. The 'panda-eyes' have almost completely faded.
He sleeps very, very well - ten hours per night, usually more.
Moving to Africa was a GOOD thing.
There is certainly more to life than getting good grades and finishing homework (IST is a homework-free zone - YES!). It's like we have stepped back from the rat-race and taking time to enjoy just BEING. So incredibly important, yet so easy to forget.
I'm not pretending that this was an easy move. Living in Africa has its challenges for sure. But I relish challenge. It brings me alive. HK was way too easy and I definitely stopped growing there. I do not miss it (HK, the place) one bit.
Who knows how long we will be in Africa. I have no idea about that right now (except that for sure I will finish this two year contract!). What I do know is that every time I leave the bubble of school campus, I see something new and interesting and I'm excited by it. And that is a very, very good thing.
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