One month in, and I feel like I’m grasping at all the little bits of string holding our family together.  They slip through my fingers until everything just lays in tatters at my feet.  If this is one month, what will the other 23 look like?

Monkey is happy here.  She loves that we are seeing things and going places.  She loves the amount of freedom Hong Kong affords her.  I worry about her though because she is not interested in the people around her.  She isn’t making friends (though I knew that was a possibility).

Dude is not happy here.  He has found a sort of refuge in the nurse’s office.  That woman is such a calming presence in all of this turbulence.  Both Monster and Dude gravitate to her.  The positive side is Dude is finding friends.  He has a few people in his class who he gets along with.  He seems to be more social now than he was in the US.  He is struggling though being away from our family.

So this brings us to today.  An email from Dude’s teacher requested a meeting.

I went into school early to meet with him. He had concerns because Dude has been feeling sad about leaving family. We also got some really great news, but we will not be in the States for the event. He also discovered he would actually have to TRY on schoolwork. *gasp* Dude is a smart kid. He reads a lot and is just generally very sharp. Well, we are in a completely different curriculum and teaching environment. We (obviously) come from the States. If you are familiar with the education system there, (and on the off chance you are also familiar with IB) you will know there is a big difference. Add to that, we came from a VERY small school(200). This school is ten times the size. Well, yeah, need I say more…

Dude also had a breakdown with his teacher when they spoke. It broke my heart to hear, but it also killed me to hear because he’s so unhappy. I did have grand delusions (briefly) that we would settle much quicker here. Monkey and I seem to have settled the quickest. Love, Dude, and Monster, not so much.

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They are going to keep an eye on him to be sure he was okay emotionally. They do have services to offer if he needs them. I spoke with Dude about it afterwards to see where he was. I spoke to both Monster and Dude about making the most of the situation because there really isn’t a way for us to go home until the 2 years are up. I am hoping we can save money enough to go home at least once to see everyone, but I don’t know how likely that will be. We are unfortunately in a situation right now where we have to watch every Hong Kong dollar we use until next school year. We had a few expenses that popped up on us. That has made things interesting.

I will say, I have questioned our decision a few times in the last week or so. Actually, I would say in the last few days. Each time I question it though, I look out our balcony or bedroom window, or I leave a classroom and am greeted by the amazing mountains and harbor. That alone makes me incredibly happy. I love my job. I love who I work with. I love where we are leaving. I love just about everything about Hong Kong (except for the housing prices).