The Year of Covid

It’s safe to say that no one saw this one coming. This post was originally planned as “The Summer of Covid” but now that we are wrapping up 2020, I figured it may as well be the year in review. Covid-19 hit every country and each one reacted differently. Since Asia was hit first, we were the first to scramble and try to figure out how to move forward with daily life which included school. Our school was already on break for Chinese New Year at the very end of January when the news of Covid’s impact hit China. Our holiday was then extended for a week so the government could come up with a plan. Once the decision was made to start online teaching indefinitely, many teachers left for North America and Thailand thinking other countries were safer. When the casinos in Macau shut down, we went to Taiwan for nine days to buy some time and to explore our options. Eventually we realized that things were stable and just safer in Macau.

Our online teaching format evolved to include live online lessons. Each time we became comfortable with the format, things would change and the number of live lessons increased. We were all on Zoom well before this fully hit the U.S. and Canada. Spring break trips were cancelled, students’ experience week in various countries were cancelled, and we soon discovered that we were not allowed to leave Macau; well, if we did, we couldn’t return. If you were a permanent resident of Macau and you could manage the quarantines on either end of your trip, then you could travel. We were stuck in Macau for the hottest and most humid months of the year.

My weekly calls to my parents became Zoom calls. While everyone here is upset they can’t travel, it’s the inability to see family that is the most devastating.

Most flights were cancelled.

Popular tourist spots were empty.

During the year we explored more of Macau, celebrated Maeve’s high school graduation, went on hikes, enjoyed the views, celebrated birthdays and anniversaries, went to festivals, ate at great restaurants and swilled drinks at lovely bars, went to the horse races, visited an art exhibit, weathered a storm and enjoyed a couple of ‘staycations’ in some lavish hotels. We are well aware that we were able to do more than many others, and we were grateful while we made the most of it. We are proud of the accomplishments achieved as we finished 2020. Maeve completed her first term of university online with amazing success. Michael finished a passion project as he edited and published his father’s memoirs. Liam and I successfully completed another term at the international school and we are happy that we can still safely attend in person.

These are the highlights of 2020. There was certainly a lot of down time and l didn’t include pictures of teaching in pajamas online…mainly because there are none.

Here’s hoping 2021 brings health and the reunions of family and friends. Cheers.

Macau, SAR China

Macau is one of the most remarkable places in the world, but you might not have ever heard of it. I thought it was about time that I post some information (pre-Covid) about Macau. Check out some of these facts.

• The GDP per capita of Macau is higher than the GDP per capita of any other country in the world making Macau the richest country. You may have known they have casinos here, but its gambling industry is seven times larger than Las Vegas!

• Macau residents are not just wealthier, but they are also healthier. They live longer than almost any other population in the world (ranked fourth).

• Macau is a tiny peninsula. Technically, it is a “special administrative region” (SAR) of China. It used to be a major player in colonial trade. Now it is the world’s top gambling destination.

• Macau is only 40 miles west of Hong Kong, and it includes the islands of Taipa and Coloane. We live in Taipa.

• Macau is a relatively small land mass with a high population. It is actually the most densely populated place on earth. They also have the world’s lowest birth rate.

• Macau shares a land border with mainland China, but that border is only two city blocks long. Most of the country’s border is the 25 miles of coastal border.

• It is the only Asian country where the official language is Portuguese along with Chinese (specifically Cantonese).

• Two thirds of the land area in Macau is reclaimed from the sea.

• 25 percent of the people working in Macau are immigrants from China. There are a significant number of workers from the Philippines as well.

Macau is quite small.

View of Macau from Taipa at night. The bridge to the right connects Taipa and Macau.

Here are some pictures of Macau taken pre-Covid and post-Covid. The virus has been eliminated here through containment, testing and tracking. (Click on the photos to see more.)

History of Macau

Here is a bit of history on Macau and how it went from an unsettled peninsula in the 15th century to the world’s premier gambling destination.

In 1513, a Portuguese explorer, Jorge Alvarez, had a mission to discover trade routes and riches. At that time, Portugal was the world leader in sailing, navigation, and cartography technology. Alvarez and his crew became the first Europeans to reach this part of the world by ship.

When they arrived in what is now Macau, it appeared deserted. To the east or to the west, there were communities of people who had been settled there for centuries. They claimed the peninsula and its neighboring islands in the name of Portugal and it became a permanent settlement.

Eventually, the Portuguese encountered the Chinese, who were not thrilled that these foreigners with their strange language were claiming a large portion of their land. Alvarez and his men fought a brief war with Imperial Chinese troops. China and Portugal eventually reached an agreement. The Portuguese were allowed to stay but only to make port in the waters near the peninsula. They were not allowed to build permanent shelters or settlements. Diplomacy eventually won out, though, and in 1553, the Portuguese were granted permission to build and settle permanently.

The Portuguese paid annual rent for over 300 years in order to maintain their settlements which was a win-win situation. By 1633, the Chinese had restricted all trade in this part of China to the Portuguese and themselves. For Portugal, it was like having the exclusive right to deal with Southern China.

The immigrant population of Macau was underpaid and overworked. This forced Portugal and China to address Macau’s autonomy as a country. It took over 200 years and plenty more friction before the two countries came to any kind of agreement. A worldwide demand for opium brought the two countries together. China gave Portugal complete control over Macau with the understanding that Macau was required to fully cooperate with the smuggling of opium from India.

It was then business as usual for another 50 years. In 1974 there was an anti-colonialist movement called the Carnation Revolution. In 1976, the Portuguese government in Lisbon redefined Macau as a “Chinese territory under Portuguese administration.” Essentially, the Carnation Revolution resulted in a reversal of the rental agreement that had been in place for over 300 years.

Finally, in December of 1999, Portugal and China both got out of the way and granted Macau status as an independent territory. Chinese national law does not generally apply in this region. Macau is now responsible for its own political parties, legislature, legal system, police force, financial system, postal service and educational system.

Macau rapidly urbanized and constructed large-scale infrastructure projects, including Macau International Airport and a new container port. Macau was transferred to China on December 20, 1999 after 442 years of Portuguese rule.

In 2002, the new Macau government ended the state monopoly on gambling. Macau became the gambling hub of Southeast Asia almost overnight. The development of the Cotai (named for combining the areas of Coloane and Taipa) strip has been instrumental in the establishment of Macau as a major gambling center. The idea was to imitate the Vegas Strip—only bigger.

By 2007, resorts started popping up on the Cotai strip. Billions of dollars have been spent developing this thin part of the peninsula into a gambling hot spot. This new stream of revenue encouraged Macau to grant more gambling licenses. Unemployment in the area dropped to less than 1%. The local tourist economy exploded. In 2007, Macau forecast a need for new housing in the area. This construction continues even now that over 10,000 apartment units have been built for the employees of the new tourist industry. That said, there are many public housing apartment buildings and many tin shacks spread throughout the city.

Macau loosened restrictions on its casino industry (previously operating under a government-licensed monopoly) to allow foreign investors. The regional economy grew by a double-digit annual growth rate from 2002 to 2014, making Macau one of the richest economies in the world on a per capita basis. Political debates have focused on the region's jurisdictional independence and the central government's adherence of "one country, two systems". While issues such as national security legislation have been controversial, most Macanese residents have had fairly high levels of trust in the government and affinity for the Chinese identity.

Food, Culture and Cars

As a result of the Portuguese history here, Macau has a fascinating combination of specific western and Eastern influences rarely found anywhere else. When you walk down the streets you can see the Portuguese influence throughout Macau from the restaurants to the tiles and mosaics. A perfect example of the combination of food influences is the egg tart. These are found in Cantonese menus, but derive from the English custard tart and Portuguese pastel de nata. It is a fascinating combination. However, finding general vegetarian meal options can be challenging.

While Macau is rather small with limited places to park, some folks will still flex their wealth with some pretty expensive cars. It is not unusual to see a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley, Porsche or Maserati cruising down the streets. There are no highways here, so you’d have to go to mainland China to drive fast. Also, parking spaces at apartment buildings are quite expensive costing around $500 a month. It is certainly better to rent than to buy a spot. Recently, a parking spot sold for about a million dollars. Selling parking spots can be a lucrative business.

We’ve enjoyed exploring Macau so far. We would prefer to travel more, but unfortunately that is not possible at the moment. We are hopeful that this situation changes soon. Until then, we will keep checking out new places to explore in Macau including the casinos. Stay well.

https://www.gamblingsites.org/casino/destinations/history-of-macau/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau

The Amazing Race - Macau Edition

Full disclosure….I haven’t actually ever watched a full episode of The Amazing Race, but I’m familiar with the premise. Our first days in Macau certainly felt like we were participants in this type of reality show.

Background information:

I accepted a teaching position at an international school in Macau. We had several months to wrap up our lives in Newfoundland and prepare for our move. By the end of June, we felt we were as prepared as possible. We took the summer to visit a university of interest for Maeve in Toronto, hang out with family in Chicago and vacation in Taiwan, Bali and Singapore. We then landed in Macau and were tasked with finding an apartment to live in for at least the next year.

We were not allowed to arrive more than one week before I started new teacher orientation. We were told this was to ensure that the government had the most time to process our paperwork and visas.

Day 1

Our flight landed in Macau at about 5 p.m. It was raining and there were thunderstorms. We were told to wait on the plane until the weather cleared because ground crews could not operate. So we waited about another hour.

The Macau International Airport is quite small. There are no gates outside. Planes just seem to land and park in a large lot while you wait for the mobile stairs in order to exit the plane. A shuttle bus takes you to the terminal. Despite the no-smoking signs, the airport itself reeked of cigarette smoke. I found it difficult to breathe. The immigration line was long and we knew a staff member was waiting for us once we were cleared.

I think the administrator who met us was as frustrated as we were. It was hot and late. We were just happy to see someone there for us. Accommodations had been arranged for us. We were able to stay in another staff member’s vacant apartment for a week while we looked for our own apartment. This was a great arrangement as we were immersed into a different culture immediately.

We arrived at the apartment by 7:30 p.m. and were ready to find a place to eat by 8 p.m. Luckily, there was a Portuguese restaurant very close to this apartment. We were all hungry and cranky. It’s probably not worth going into too many details about the rest of the night. After eating, we settled in as best as possible and went to bed.

The sign on the door waiting for us

The view from our temporary accommodations. Mainland China across the water.

Day 2

We planned ahead and scheduled apartment viewings with a real estate agent for the morning after we arrived. She had about eight viewings scheduled and the agent picked us up at about 10:30 a.m. to start the process. I took pictures and wrote notes on each apartment. We now felt like we were in another reality show….House Hunters International.

Most of the apartments were unfurnished. To furnish one, we’d need to spend thousands. However, we’d probably make up the difference in rent payments in less than a year. We had made it through four years in Newfoundland without buying furniture and I wasn’t keen on purchasing any now. In addition to the cost, it would cause quite a problem when we left as we’d have a heck of a time selling or unloading all the furniture and accessories purchased. We had to keep an open mind and deal with what we were shown.

Many of the older apartments had mold. The newest buildings were certainly clean, but they were quite small and more expensive. We also needed to consider our location (I’ll get into that more in another blog post). After a few hours of viewing apartments, our realtor dropped us off at a restaurant she recommended for lunch. We visited the phone store to figure out how to get a data plan. Michael and Liam needed new phones, but that would happen at a later time. Maeve and I bought SIM chips so we could have an internet connection.

We had no idea where we were and had no plan to figure out how to get back to our accommodations. It was more than 90 degrees with humidity to match. We couldn’t figure out the bus system despite the restaurant owner recording our desired location for us in Cantonese. There were too many bus routes and we didn’t know which one to get. This is another part where it’s best not to get into too many details. Following the limited data we had in Google Maps, we walked back to our apartment. It was about a 30 minute walk. We were soaked and exhausted. After cooling off, I went off to purchase some groceries so we could prepare dinner and discuss the apartments we saw earlier.

Day 3

We scheduled additional apartment viewings with a different realtor. We thought it would be better to have more than one realtor. We later found out that all the realtors here have access to the same inventory. We did let this realtor know that we had already seen some apartments, but we still wasted time viewing a number of uninhabitable apartments. Some were filthy while some reeked of bleach. There was one that was decent, but the couple would not be moving out for a few weeks. We had to keep in mind that we needed to be able to move into this place within the next five days. We also didn’t have much time to deal with issues that would take awhile to address. We were warned that some owners might not even address our desired changes after the lease was signed.

Similarly to the prior day, we saw about eight apartments. We saw one apartment that was decently furnished in that the furniture matched, unlike any of the other apartments. It had more of a hotel feel to it, but it was the best we had seen. Up until that point, we were feeling that we would have to get an unfurnished apartment. Once we finished our viewings, we made sure that the realtor took us back to our apartment. We did not want to wander around in the heat again.

After lunch we thought we would visit the new school to pick up my first paycheck which we would convert to cash. I would be reimbursed for my flight and for about one box that we had shipped here. We definitely needed the cash money because in order to sign a lease, we needed four months of rent in Hong Kong dollars cash and the ATMs had small daily limits. See Michael’s blog for additional information on this. We still hadn’t sorted out the buses and we knew taxis were cheap, so a taxi ride it was.

What we hadn’t planned on was that the majority of taxi drivers do not speak English (although that mistake was clearly ours). The school had given us a ring of small, laminated cards containing important place names written on them in Mandarin and Cantonese….I left them in the apartment. The door man had called the taxi, but did not tell him where we were going. Needless to say, we drove around for a while stopping at different schools. It didn’t end up costing much, it was just frustrating. Rookie mistake.

We were excited to see the new school. I was able to get the check easily and told them about the taxi problem. The HR staff called for a taxi to take us back. Unfortunately, it arrived too quickly so we weren’t able to tour the school that day.

All in all, it was a successful day. We had seen as many apartments as we could and we had the remainder of our cash for rent.

Day 4

Decision time. Our second realtor called and said that there was a three bedroom apartment that was larger and was furnished in the same building we liked. We ran out to see it, but it was poorly furnished…two large dining room tables and no chairs. The couch was old and the place, while bigger, was just odd. It seemed we knew which apartment we would choose. We liked this building and the location. The building gym and pool were free for residents - we’d have to pay every time we went at the other buildings. The location was central to almost everything….walking distance to the school and near a ton of restaurants. This location cost a bit more, but with two teens and our love of restaurants, it seemed ideal. We decided to make an offer on the one we saw the day before.

Day 5

Negotiations began. We submitted a list of requirements which included a bed for the third bedroom. The apartments here have wardrobes as opposed to closets. The third bedroom had four and the second had none. The wardrobes were massive and needed to be moved. There were several other things that needed to be done, but most were not necessary changes before moving in, but they needed to happen.

The rest of our day was spent obtaining bus cards for everyone and figuring out the bus routes and apps. The kids were quite lazy and stayed in their rooms, which was fine because we still had a lot to do.

Day 6

Negotiations continued. The actual owners lived in Europe and it took a while to communicate with the time difference. They agreed to get a bed and move the wardrobe. We needed to settle on a price.

Day 7

We agreed on a price and set a move in date for day 9. We had two days of wiggle room since the staff member who let us stay in her place would not return for two more days. We paid her for the extra night and were set to move into our new apartment on day 9.

Later we went to a scheduled dinner for all new staff and their families. We had a heck of a time getting there because our bus just stopped mid trip and we were forced to get out. We weren’t familiar with the routes yet and I’m still not sure what happened, but we were directed to another bus and finally made it to the restaurant. It was great to meet some of my new colleagues. The food was delicious and they even had a vegetarian menu. Everyone was super friendly. I met another girl who was staying near us and we planned to meet at the stop so we could go to school together for our first day.

Day 8 - First day of work

My first day at the school. I was glad to have someone to meet at the bus stop. We were so confused and didn’t know on which side of the street we should catch the bus. It all worked out in the end. When school starts, a designated bus would pick us up near our apartment. The day went well. We had breakfast and general informational meetings. There was a lot to learn, especially when moving here with a family.

Maeve had also arranged to meet a girl that she had been corresponding with from Newfoundland. They met at one of the casino malls. Maeve was excited to actually meet another student so she wouldn’t start without knowing anyone.

Day 9 - Move in

Day 2 of orientation also included a full school tour for new family members. Michael, Maeve and Liam returned back to our accommodations and I met them afterwords. I made sure everyone was packed and ready to go. Our realtor and her husband picked us up at 5:30 p.m. I’m not sure how we crammed 6 people, 3 large suitcases, two carry-ons, two large backpacks, three small backpacks, and some groceries into their SUV, but we did.

Our new apartment is on the 30th floor and the elevator is quite slow. We unloaded everything into the apartment, but then we had to sort through the lease and payment for four months in cash. Once that was settled, we had to get water and bedding. Our realtor and her husband were kind enough to drive us around to collect those things. Everyone has a water cooler. The water is okay here. It tends to be the pipes in the older buildings that are the problem. We bought 100 jugs which entitled us to the cooler. We would have never been able to set this up on our own. The facility was like a warehouse in a store front on the street. Our realtor helped make the arrangements. Michael gave them his phone number. Several five gallon jugs would be delivered. When you run out, you text and some guy shows up about an hour later with replacement jugs.

It was a late night, but we made it. I had to get up early for another day of orientation, but we were ready for our next adventure.