A three bedroom apartment in Taipa that has been home base for the Leonardos family
When Jenny Karabelas Leonardos bought her 5th floor apartment in Chong Fok Garden, Taipa, she’d looked at a wide range of potential properties. This was back in 2007 when Nova City was brand new; “I loved the building but it was just beyond my budget” she explains. “But when I walked into this apartment it immediately felt right, it felt comfortable, cosy, a place that I could really make a home for me and my two young children.”
Located up the hill towards the old Macau University campus, and tucked behind the New Century hotel, the apartment is an easy 3 minute walk to the main public transport route running between Coloane and Macau, and a 10 minute stroll into central Taipa. “We enjoy the neighbourhood, its close enough to the shops and restaurants but far enough away from the hustle and bustle of down town, so we have a sense of quiet and open views”.
Jenny’s parents originate from Greece, and moved to Melbourne, Australia in the mid-60s. One of four girls, she was hesitant at first to leave her close knit extended family and a beautiful home, so she moved to Macau in 2004 with some trepidation. “The children, Niki and Kosta, (named after their Greek grandparents) were only 5 and 8 then. Things in Macau were hugely different than they are today; “there was no CoTai strip, no Venetian, and life was quite a culture shock” for the newly arrived expat single mum. “Even shopping and getting around was a challenge; less English was spoken for a start. But we tried to look at it all as an adventure”.
The process of buying the apartment was a whole new experience for Jenny. “Exchanging papers, signing in front of the owners at the lawyer’s office, having the documents re
ad out in Portuguese and Chinese and then translated into English. It was all so new and quite nerve wracking!”
Macau soon became home. The International School played a crucial role in helping them get established. “It was excellent for my kids in so many ways, scholastically and hugely supportive emotionally at the time my husband and I separated. Secondary Principal David Spreadbury and School head Howard Stribbell were both so kind.” Niki and Kosta thrived at TIS and so this was a big help in getting the family settled.
Needing to earn a living to keep the mortgage and bills paid, Jenny worked as an English teacher for a couple of 
local language centers. As an English Educator her role was being seconded to various schools for an hour here, 2 hours there. “There’s not many local schools that I don’t know or haven’t been to!” she exclaims. “I taught 6 days a week for 8 years. Weekends, after school hours,
public holidays – it was hard but I loved it. I grew with the children. Some started with me as young as 3 years old so by the time they’d reached 11 years old I was considered virtually part of their families,” she smiles.
“Then I was posted to corporate work, going into the casinos and teaching front line staff. Most of my students were Mainland Chinese, and we started from the very basics like ‘Good morning’. It was very nurturing, very rewarding, they were so eager to learn.”
And for Jenny, her apartment became somewhat of a refuge from the grueling work hours she was keeping. Because of budget constraints she did little by way of renovating the 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom space. “Apart from the TV and the sofa, we kept nearly all the other furniture.
We painted throughout, put up new ceiling lights and I got some new curtains from IKEA and a new sofa from a little shop in Macau. Kosta originally had a bunk bed which he outgrew so we changed it to a double bed. We did fix up the kitchen and put in an oven and some overhead cabinets. But we kept things like the dining table and chairs. And we’d buy a few things from other expats who were leaving.”
Je
nny is justly proud of her achievements: “There were some tough times but I got through them.” 
Her children are a credit to her resilience: Niki is at Monash University, Melbourne, studying Commerce with Mandarin. Kosta, an award-winning student, is still at TIS, and now lives with his father in Zhuhai commuting to school each day.
So when Jenny met a new man in her life she decided to follow her heart on another exploration, this time to Manila, Philippines.
Sad to leave her friends and life in Macau, she’s philosophical about moving on. She’s rented out the apartment and put it on the market for sale. “Its been our home, and a wonderful home at that”, but for Jenny, home is where the heart is, “so with the children grown up and starting their own life journeys, its time”.
Article for the Macau Closer Magazine, January 2016 issue. Photographs by Antonio Mil-Homens
