The Summer of Aileen

Miss Aileen is having a heck of a summer and it all started even before summer started....Aileen was selected for the Taipei European School Year 6 (5th Grade) FOBISSEA Team.  FOBISSEA is a Federation of British Schools in East and Southeast Asia.  Each year FOBISSEA schools across Asia have a sports competition.  Six boys and six girls from Years 4, 5, and 6, are selected to form a school team to compete against teams from other schools in Swimming, Soccer, T-Ball, and Track.  Each year a different school hosts and this year it was the Harrow School in Beijing.  Aileen made the TES team and after a 6 months of practice was set to go.

The hitch was...because we are US diplomats in Taiwan but the US doesn't officially recognize Taiwan and Beijing has certain aspirations for Taiwan, the Chinese government adds a few extra hoops for us to travel to mainland China...in short we have to go in person to Hong Kong to secure a Chinese visa...  SO after working late on a Sunday night, Aileen and I woke up at 0430 for a 0700  flight to Hong Kong .  Once we put the visa requests in we had nothing but time on our hands.  SO I took her and one of her classmates (who was also getting a visa) up to the PEAK overlooking Hong Kong Harbor.  The next afternoon we picked up her visa and it was back to Taipei.

Hong Kong from the PEAK

The PEAK Tram

After the Chinese Visa was secured  Aileen was ready to head to Beijing.  Aileen and the 36 member Taipei European School delegation left on June 6 for three days of competition and an extra day of fun.  Aileen did very well, winning 3 Golds (Freestyle Relay, Soccer, and Shuttle Run), 6 Silver (Long Jump, High Jump, 50 M Freestyle, 50 M Backstroke, Medley Relay, and T-Ball) as well as 2 Bronze (60 M Run, and the Tire Race)  and most important had fun with her school friends...and without Mom and Dad

 

 Within days of getting back from her successful Beijing adventure, Aileen joined the entire family for a trip back home to DC.  Dad had to work but the rest of the gang could catch up with friends and even go to camp.  Aileen went to a week of British Soccer camp and then headed  out to Denver to stay for a week with her Uncle Chip and Aunt Mel an offer they extend to their neices and nephews once they are 10.....hooray for frequent flyer miles...  Aileen had a week to remember ..museums, going up 14,000 foot Mt. Evans, alpine slides, bungee trampolines, classic trains and silver mines, movies, cooking class, playing with the dogs, and holding tarantulas...What a week!!!

 

 

SO the "summer of Aileen" is coming to an end....She is gearing up for middle school (which starts in sixth grade in the British system) ...she just a tough cello placement test ...and because of some issues between the "Embassy" (AIT) and the landlord it looks like we'll be moving from our apartment and its great view  in just a couple weeks...Thank goodness Aileen can look back on the summer of 2012 as one to remember...  Fear not Natalie had plenty of fun and has some in store.