Happy New Year

It has been a while since I have written and quite the 6 months for me, so here’s to a great new year and a new decade.

In June, on the first day of my summer break, my Dad passed away. Although he had been in failing health, this was sudden but the blessing was that it happened quickly and he had been admitted to hospital. This meant that a quick return to Adelaide was needed and I had to cancel my plans to attend a conference in Washington DC and spend a week in New York. Instead, I spent the next 5 weeks in Adelaide to begin the process of dealing with Dad’s affairs and help Mum adjust to the new normal. During this time, Mum was also officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s so this added to the challenge. I did have a few days in Noosa on my way home, and of course, I had some good times with family and friends!

Needless to say, it was a difficult return to Tokyo and at school was tasked with transitioning a new Head of School and Elementary Principal as well as opening a new middle school building.  Let’s just say that there have been a few sleepless nights and it has been a major learning curve for dealing with people who have different values and ways of working.

In October, I made two more trips to Adelaide to move Mum into residential care. This happened quickly as well - another blessing, as her decline was rapid and she was not coping in the house on her own. Being alone for the first time ever in your life at the age of 82 and with Alzheimer’s is not ideal!! So, as much as it was a huge upheaval, it is the best place for her.

Just prior to the break, I again led the school trip to Cambodia, which also had a couple of extra challenges, as two students contracted Influenza A. One was correctly diagnosed whilst we were in Phnom Penh and the other was first diagnosed as Dengue Fever while we were in Sihanoukville. This did not feel right to me from the outset and as the clinic did not have the same level of professionalism/hygiene that we would expect I was keen to get the student back to Phnom Penh as soon as possible. After dealing with several logistic challenges, this eventuated in an overnight ambulance transfer on a very dangerous road and a trip that would normally take 6-8 hours during the day took just 3 hours and 20 minutes. Thank goodness I was not in the ambulance, but instead stayed with the rest of the group. The good news was that the student was immediately diagnosed with Influenza, not Dengue but this still meant that he was not able to fly back with the rest of the group - I stayed on an extra night and flew back with him. This was an example of Cambodian corruption at its best and I am now glad that I had a personal experience with Dengue Fever to assist my decision making.

The next piece in the jigsaw, involves my younger brother Robert and his family moving into Mum and Dad’s house after their house sold and they await the build of their new home. This too happened quickly and involved moving into a full house. My parents had lived in the same house since their wedding night 56 years ago and not much that went into that house came out! So, my Christmas break involved the first major push to clear the garage and the house - all in the consecutive 40 degree days!

 

Life, however, has not been all bad. I continue to enjoy exploring Tokyo and its surrounds - I have had some great times with friends and fabulous meals and I also made it to one game of the Rugby World Cup. I have also decided to sign on for one more year in Tokyo which will take me to July 2021. I have tickets to 5 different events at the Olympics and am looking forward to the year ahead. I hope it is a good one for you and your family too.