Sunday 31 August 2014

Settling In

I think it's fair to say that I'd completely forgotten how hard it is to start a new job. It's all going well but at the moment I'm still learning my daily routine, finding my way around the enormous school campus and trying to set up my classroom to my liking. I'm also bringing work home most evenings and the thought of knitting or spinning hasn't really crossed my mind until this weekend when I finally had a day to myself! I only knitted a few rows but it's knitting so I'm happy with that!!

Once I settle fully I'm sure I'll be up to a bit more! It doesn't help that to continue knitting my cardigan I have a 150g skein of fingering weight to wind....by hand! Yuck! Looking back I'm puzzled as to why I didn't wind the ball before I shipped my ball winder!?!? Why did I ever think I would get round to doing it by hand!? Crazy talk!!

From the moment we landed up until Friday 15th it was pretty manic. Lots of people to meet, meetings to go to, planning to do and so on. That weekend itself was a little quieter with a trip into central Jakarta to have a look at the biggest shopping centre in Indonesia. We came back with a bargain TV but started to see how bad the traffic is! This weekend I had to wait in for a sofa, hence some knitting time, but the rest was spent marking or planning. Not very exciting!

Jakarta has been great so far and just the change my husband and I needed from China. The compound we live in is fantastic and I'm trying to get into regular swimming in one of the two lovely pools we are so lucky to have access to. Some of the facilities I won't use but having the option and space to is great. The greenery that surrounds is fantastic too. Seeing butterflies, dragonflies and birds flitting around is still so novel to me and brings me such contentment.  

I'm not sure when I'll be able to blog next and I hope that you will be patient and keep coming back to hear about my adventures here in Indonesia!

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Friday 8 August 2014

New Beginnings

So I'm currently sat in the hotel room having already packed (well...my husband has packed for us both!) for our 4am departure. Our flight leaves in about 12 hours and I'm feeling a little reflective.

China was a great way to start our adventure 3 years ago and I'm thrilled that it will be continuing in Indonesia. Leaving the UK 3 years ago was very difficult. The run up to it was very strange, hectic and somewhat surreal. I hadn't given the job or the move a great deal of thought right up until we left - this may sound strange as it was a monumental move but I was so busy with finishing off the teaching term that I didn't have the time or the energy to really process what I was about to embark on.

As I said goodbye to colleagues and various friends I didn't cry as I thought I would do because it still hadn't hit me that our life was going to be completely different. Saying goodbye to my parents at the airport made it much more real though; walking away from them (my mum and I both crying) was when it finally sunk in. I was moving a long way away from everything I had ever known; I had a one way ticket to a country and a continent that I'd never set foot in; I had no idea when I'd see my friends and family again. It was one of the scariest and hardest things I've ever done. It was hands down the best decision I've ever made.

Now I'm on the edge of another move. Leaving China was sad and soon I'll have to figure out my new workplace, begin to learn the language (I have the numbers 0-5 down!), work out where is good to eat/shop/get my hair done and start making friends again. Has it hit me yet? Sort of...but it's not a complete unknown anymore so perhaps it's going to be easier this time? One thing I can tell you is that right now I'm really excited about it and ready for a new adventure! 

No doubt I'll keep you posted!
 
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Friday 1 August 2014

Singapore Botanical Gardens


As I said it would be last week knitting and spinning is rather thin on the ground this week. I've done a few sets of increases on my cardigan sleeves but that's about it. 

Today though I wanted to show you pictures of the Botanical Gardens. Yesterday my husband and I went for a walk but due to him having hay fever and no antihistamines with us we cut the trip short. Needless to say he wasn't feeling like going back today so I went by myself this afternoon. 

If you're ever in Singapore and you like looking round gardens and seeing lots of amazing flora and fauna then you absolutely must go! The grounds are huge though, so be prepared to either spend a whole day there or to go back over a few days. It's free aside from the Orchid Garden which was only 5S$ - a bargain if you ask me!

There are several different routes you can take and some of them are themed, e.g the rainforest or evolution walks. Areas such as Swan Lake and the Sundial Garden are interspersed throughout the paths and provide something different in each one.

Monitor lizards, birds, butterflies, moths, dragonflies and many other animals can be seen on the various walks although you will need to pay attention as some of them stay hidden amongst the trees and bushes. 



Flower fanatics will be swept away by the grounds as well as the Orchid Garden where there are over 1000 species of orchids to be seen! Inside the Orchid Garden is the Cool House which mimics a tropical highland cloud forest and is home to pitcher plants and other cool climate plants. It provides a welcome break from the heat too so is worth exploring. 




There isn't much more to say about it, but I hope you enjoy the pictures that I took and that they give you some idea of how wonderful a place it is.  




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