When Canadians Melanie Andrews and her husband Tom Rabbitt moved to Macau 11 years ago, they were excited about the prospect of living in Asia for the first time, and the adventure of experiencing a totally new culture.
They originally met at the University of Victoria where Melanie earned her Art History Degree and then her Bachelor of Education. She and a girlfriend saw a notice at the university saying that jobs were opening for primary teachers in Macau. They Googled Macau to find out more, and after making further enquiries and applications, they soon had contracts to come and work here at The International School (TIS).
Tom at the time was providing counseling support services for construction training and felt ready for a change, so he agreed to follow Melanie, half expecting that he’d take some time off to travel and pursue his love of surfing in exotic locations around Asia. ‘No rest for the wicked’ as the saying goes, and within a short while he was also recruited by TIS!
Both now are full-time with the school; Melanie is a Grade 3 teacher and Tom the English Language Learning Coordinator for Kindergarten to Grade 12.
“What we enjoy about being in Macau,” explains Melanie “is finding things that are interesting, different. We love exploring the lanes, the nooks and crannies and finding treasures. Tom in particular has really embraced the local food; the fish balls, the noodles, he even has a favorite black bean sauce that friends bring him from Zhuhai!”
Originally they were renting in Old Taipa Village, but when Melanie became pregnant with their first son, Caleb, now six, they decided that the village was perhaps not the most suitable place to bring up a young child, so they turned their attention to Hellene Garden because of its more rural location and comparative peace and quiet. They rented first, and then, when an upstairs apartment came up for sale, they bought and set about giving it a total upgrade.
“The apartment was in its original finish, with a simple Chinese style kitchen, parquet wood flooring that was buckled and weather beaten, cheap aluminum frame windows, and very dated bathrooms”.
They began renovation work in September 2010, and moved in just three months later. “In record speed!” exclaims Melanie. “Our contractor was well organized and paid great attention to detail, so this helped speed things along”.
For the floors throughout the whole apartment, they chose a chocolate brown striated tile with matching grouting (not white grouting which is strangely so often seen used in Macau with dark tiles). Door-frames, doors and floor skirting are in an elegant dark chocolate brown wood. Ceilings and ceiling moldings are painted in stark white, and the walls in mushroom.
“We tried to pick natural colours.” The sofa, from IKEA, is dark grey and there’s a handsome wool rug in grey, chocolate, cream and pale blue stripes.
Off the living room is a small balcony; floor tiles are in “muddy green” and the original metal bars have been replaced with glass.
The whole apartment is light and bright, made all the more so by the new white framed windows, which were installed in every room. They certainly take good advantage of the lovely green views of the Coloane hills at the back and side of the property.
The chocolate brown colour scheme continues into the master bedroom; Roman window blinds, (from local go-to curtain and upholstery lady Fiona), floor-to-ceiling, custom-made, built-in wardrobes and a large, very heavy Balinese teak wood bed which came from City Square in Macau, with the mattress from IKEA. A much-loved wooden dragon (once a section from the end of a Chinese roof) and an old bench came from visits across the border to Zhuhai.
Since living in Hellene Gardens, Tom and Melanie have had a second son, Cooper, now three. The boys’ bedroom is enchanting; neat as a pin, with two single beds and matching bedspreads, pea-green Roman blinds and floor rug, and IKEA green fabric leaf shades suspended from the head of the bed.
“I use these in school”, explains Melanie, “they’re very useful to give young children a sense of private space to sit and read or play”.
The third bedroom in this home is the playroom – filled with lots of children’s toys and games – which doubles as a guest room when family are visiting. Sky-blue-turquoise is the colour scheme here and there is a tan-beige pull-out sofa bed.
Much effort has been spent in making the two bathrooms modern and comfortable. Over-sized, built-in chocolate brown-framed mirrors over the vanity units and custom cabinets underneath were made by the contractor, to Melanie and Tom’s design specifications.
Lighting in the home comes from either IKEA or the Ou Mei Furniture store on the MacDonald’s roundabout in Taipa. The dining table and chairs and the coffee table were made in Macau by one of the shops at the foot of the Ruins of St. Paul’s steps, now long gone.
Moving into the kitchen area, to the immediate right is a walk in pantry, lined with shelves for storage of tinned and dry goods. “I grew up with a mum who did canning”, says Melanie, “so I appreciate having plenty of food storage space!”
Kitchen cabinets are in dark grey with stainless steel handles. Corian countertops are in natural beige with black and cream specks. The kitchen has been extended into what used to be a balcony; again lovely new white framed sliding windows can be thrown right back to let in fresh air, natural light and glorious green views.
“We really like how quiet it is here,” says Tom, “we can open the windows and hear the birds sing. We love being close to the beach and there’s plenty of park area for the boys to run around in”.
Relaxing on the sofa looking out at green hills and picture perfect blue skies, Melanie agrees that Macau has been good for them as a family in many ways. “I started teaching Grade 2 students and now my first class is graduating. We’re happy here; we’re both permanent Macau ID holders, we consider this our home. There are so many opportunities to travel and explore places within just a short distance away,” she says.
“We’ve made lots of friends from all different parts of the world. And with very young children and both of us working, it’s a joy to be able to have a nanny that you can trust and rely on. She has become part of the family, and when we get ready to leave for work, the nanny arrives and there’s a seamless transition between us and her for the boys, no dramas.”
Tom and Melanie are keen to stay in Macau but hope one day when the children are older to go travelling for a few years.
“We’re not ready to go back to Canada, we have so many options; we can keep our home here and rent it out, or sell and buy elsewhere. Let’s see where life takes us!”