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After learning field hockey at St Margarets School in Chile, Aliya has picked up another new sport at CDNIS in Hong Kong – Netball! Aliya is a proud member of the Timberwolves. Here is her first game in which she played against ISF. Aliya really …
With seven times more revenue than Vegas, Macau is the new, clean, high-end, high stakes Vegas! Friday afternoon after school, we hopped on a ferry and rode 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Hong Kong to the island of Macau. Macau has a rich unique …
We have only been in Hong Kong for 5 weeks and Asher & Aliya have been lucky enough to go to Ocean Park two times! Ocean Park, the largest theme park in all of Asia is a mix of Six Flags and Sea World with an absolutely breathtaking view.
The first time we went to the park, we went with our good friends Natasha, Bianca, and Sheryl Vincent. Our first ride was the Bamboo shoot, which was heaps of fun. The kids loved the Pirate Ship ride and managed to convince me to go on the Polar Express, where I screamed throughout the whole ride.
The four kids (Aliya, Asher, Natasha, and Bianca) had a blast in the shark exhibit, taking photos of the sharks, rays and other fish.
Without a doubt, the best way to get from one side of the park to the other is riding the cable car.
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The second time we went to Ocean Park was with Ben. We rode over on the cable cars and then went to the bumper cars.
Asher managed to convince Ben to ride with him on the Polar Express. Check out Asher’s arms in the air. You can also spot Aliya in her pink sweatshirt in front of them.
We went on a few more rides, including the carousel
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And then saw an acrobatic show
After stopping by the light display, we saw the fire and water closing show before going home to go to bed.
After staying a week with our wonderful friends the Vincents in Kowloon and another week at the Meir serviced apartments, we finally moved into our Hong Kong home way up high, on the 39th floor! We mainly chose our new apartment because of the amazing …
So, I guess I’m not adept at chopsticks or I don’t quite get some of the local cuisine. But how on earth are you supposed to eat all those bones?!?!?! Ben and I went out for lunch and ordered BBQ pork ribs and this is …
Ever wondered what it would like like if you were doing your homework in Hong Kong? Check out the view behind Asher & Aliya, who were doing their homework from the first day of school at the Canadian International School in Hong Kong (CDNIS). We definitely aren’t in Vina del Mar or Lexington, anymore!
This photo was taken at the home of Matt, Sheryl, Bianca & Natasha Vincent, who graciously hosted us in their apartment in Kowloon for our first week in Hong Kong.
Asher and Aliya had a great first week at the Canadian International School (CDNIS) in Aberdeen, Hong Kong. They started the week getting all new uniforms. This will be the year for uniforms: a summer uniform, a winter uniform and a sports uniform for CDNIS (as well as for St. Margarets in Concon, Chile and Mackay in Renaca, Chile). One great year: 9 different uniforms!!! (+ one Old Macks Rugby uniform)
One main difference about CDNIS is that it is 14 stories tall. Aliya is on the 14th floor and Asher is on the 13th floor. So, they are getting some good exercise when they have to go down 10 flights of stairs (and then back up again) when they have gym on the 3rd floor (or even more stairs to get to swimming on the 1st floor).
The other difference is that they have Mandarin every day. To help them with their Mandarin, they were given a very cool “Ting” Pen, which reads in Mandarin when they point the pen to the words on their homework.
“This is the best Christmas ever!” exclaimed Asher while we were riding horses at the Cerro Frias Ranch outside of El Calafate, Argentina on Christmas Day. On Vasco (Asher), on Picasso (Aliya), on Darth Vader (Ben), on Rubio (Raquel) we rode up and down the …
One of the most amazing things we did in all of our South American adventures was strapping on cramp-ons to hike the Perito Moreno Glacier! The Perito Moreno Glacier was declared an UNESCO world heritage site in 1981. While most glaciers are receding due to …
Our first full day back in El Calafate, Argentina, we took a boat tour of the massive glaciers – Upsala & Spegazzini – and the icebergs that broke away during the calving of the glaciers.
I loved seeing the icebergs – shining blue and white in the sun’s rays, uniquely formed by wind and water.
Layers of swirls, peek-holes of ice, blues and whites melting and crystalizing, shaped by the winds, hit by our wake, and formed by the calving of the glaciers up the lake!
Some pieces looked tiny enough to fit in a cup. Others were bigger than our 3 level ship!
Each one unique to that time . . . to that place . . . to that moment!
The crew of the ship managed to wrangle an iceberg onto the ships deck so that we could feel what it was like. (Mainly, they picked it up out of Argentina Lake so that they could take pictures with it as well as break it up for selling as a drink with whiskey.) We took our own pictures with it.
It was truly breathtaking: the site, sound and sensation of the ice wall splitting off, roaring with its collapse, crumbling down into a powdery puff of snowy ice pushing forward toward our ship.
The glacier was so enormous that it made a passing ship look tiny:
After battling the winds, the glacial lake spray, the cold airy and the pushy tourists, Ben was lulled into a restful nap by the warmth of the cabin seats and the rock of the waves.
We had a spectacular 4 days of comfy-chic yurts, amazing hikes, delicious picnics, intense wind, unique wildlife, early morning snow, Hanukkah celebrations, and spectacular vistas in Torres del Paine, a Chilean national park in Patagonia. Our exciting Torres del Paine adventure began on our drive …