Hello!  This is me!  B and I are from Illinois.  Both of us attended the same high school but did not really know each other at the time.  We met after he finished high school.  We were married for over a decade.  We have three fantastic children, Monkey, Bub (or Dude), and Monster.

In about 2010, B and I discussed the option of teaching overseas.  B is a systems administrator and can fix just about anything.  We discussed the pros and cons of such a decision.  In the end, we decided to go for it.  I worked in the same school as my children in Illinois while I worked to secure a job overseas.

Each year, there were interviews and a couple positions, but most were not feasible because of the added cost of schooling for three children.  My position began to make drastic changes in 2016, and B was ready for a change at the end of the 2015-2016 school year.  He applied to a government lab.  We discussed other locations we would be willing to move to in terms of overseas teaching.  I had actually thought the year was done with, but I sent out letters of interest anyway.  I made changes to the important papers in preparation for the next recruiting season in November and December.

At the end of April 2016, I received an email from a school in Hong Kong asking for an interview.  The day after Mothers’ Day, I was offered a position in the international school.  At the same time as my interview process, B was going through his interview process with the lab.  In the end, he was passed over for whatever reason.  After much discussion, we chose to accept the position.  We had about two months (from about June to July) to get our affairs in order.  We flew out from Chicago O’Hare International Airport on July 24, 2016.

It has been a difficult road since leaving my very tight-knit family in the States, but my hope is this experience provides my children with unique experiences they would have not had living in a small rural town in Illinois.

So, here we are living in the New Territories of Hong Kong.  My children once again attend schools run by the company I am employed by.  B started out as a stay-at-home dad and has since entered the workforce in Hong Kong.

Join us on our adventure as we navigate Hong Kong.

 

Update (28 June 2018):  B is working for the same company providing IT support to the five kindergartens.  Monster attends another school in the company that provides intense support due to her special educational needs.  Bub transitioned to secondary school.  Monkey graduated from the MYP (Middle Years Program in the IB) and is going to another school in my company for the BTEC in media production.  I have signed another two-year contract, and Brad is contracted until Christmas time 2018 with the hopes of extending the contract.

 

Update (30 July 2019): B still works in the same place.  Monster will be going to secondary school when school resumes.  Bub is going into year 9 at my school.  Monkey has her last year in the BTEC.  

Tensions in Hong Kong have been rising.  So far, we have been outside the scope of the protests, but violence has been escalating by both protesters and police.  It’s a sad situation because Hong Kong is a wonderful place.  

 

Update (July 2020):  We finished school at the end of June with a period of online schooling that started right after Chinese New Year holiday (beginning of February until mid-May). Monster is going into year 8 in the same special needs program.  Bub will be in year 10.  We just started medication for him in April to manage the ADHD. We haven’t seen a ton of progress yet.  We are hoping with the start of the new school year, we will see some change.  Monkey graduated from the BTEC with honors.  We haven’t sorted out university for her yet because of the situation with Covid-19.  We are hoping she will go to school for the 21-22 school year.  B is still doing the same job.  He is living in Prince Edward still.  He’s been there for almost a year.