...Back in Hong Kong, that is.
Yesterday morning I got to talk about Red Butterfly at International Christian School (ICS), where I attended 10th through 12th grade.
My sister is a middle school science teacher at ICS now, and my mom works in the HR department.
ICS has changed a lot since I went there. The school is housed in a beautiful, huge campus in Sha Tin now. Quite a difference from the tiny facilities we rented near Kai Tak Airport as a fledgling school in the 1990's. But I felt so welcomed by the students and staff.
And it's great to be back in Hong Kong. Four years ago, I brought my oldest daughter, Olivia. Two years ago, I brought my son, Gabe. And this time it's my daughter Anna's turn.
Everything is familiar here. Even though my parents have moved from the flat where I lived in high school, Hong Kong feels the same. The koel birds still call from the trees. The sidewalks are patched and uneven in a uniquely Hong Kong way. The smells are the same--the pungent white flowers in the muggy air. My parents live in Tai Po in the New Territories. The clouds are low on the hills covered in jungle and old-growth forest. Everything is alive. It's such a change from the desert.
Today we have a day off, so we're taking a ferry to the island of Cheung Chau with my parents and sister. I want to show Anna the pirate caves that fascinated me as a child.
It's good to be home.
