Mac Moments

Wow, another year behind us! Is it just me or do the years go by in a flash now.  2014 ended very quietly for us as we settled into apartment living for three months before our villa became available, moving in at the beginning of March while they were still painting and fixing it. A rather frustrating first couple of months, trying to get through the bureaucracy of the schooling system here.  We at last managed to get Sean back into Doha College and Jess into Compass International School, but a year below where they were, as the SA system for maths, science and English are a year behind. Sean would have had to write exams to get into IGCSE's two months after starting school here and he just would not have caught up in time.  They have both settled in nicely now and are doing well overall. Next year will see Sean having to decide on which subjects to take for GCSE's and ultimately A levels, gulp!  Our doggies joined us in March in the villa and after an extende...

Each year I feel like I say the same thing: whew another year gone too quickly, as usual. It has been a rather busy one for us with loads of changes, fun and growth. TRAVEL We spent Christmas 2009 in Sri Lanka, a country of contrasts, poor yet giving, quiet people yet noisy, beautiful yet devastated. My heart opened up to the beauty of the landscapes, tea and rice plantations, game reserves and spice gardens and in the same breath ached at the stories of the tsunami and great loss that was experienced. We went on a safari and stood on one of the beaches where tourists and guides were having an early morning picnic, all were lost while guides stood further up on the hills, having reached safety and watched as their friends’ lives were taken and there was nothing they could do. There are hundreds of these stories, each of them sadder than the next, it is amazing how the Sri Lankans’ have rebuilt their lives and just how happy they are with how little they have. We spent a long weeken...