After our crazy first two weeks, we decided we deserved a lazy weekend. Vivian and Jeff did go to the pool, but just for a little while. On Saturday, they went to the big pool. Jeff swam some laps, and Vivi had a swim lesson. She is definitely getting to be more comfortable in the water. We had a neighborhood pool party on Friday night, and she kept her floaties on her arms for reassurance, but she was swimming around under the water. She has another swim lesson today, and I'm hoping that she's close to independent swimming.
On Saturday night, we experimented with another delivery restaurant called Milano's. It ended up being pretty good "Italian" food. Vivian had the spaghetti with bolognese, I had pizza, and Jeff had chicken satay and grilled pork and veggies. Everyone liked their food, so we deemed it a success.
We did Sunday brunch from Que Pasa again, but the delivery took a really long time. Afterwards, I found out that they had actually tried to deliver our breakfast to a neighbor's house first. She's the one who recommended the restaurant to me, so I guess they're used to going to her house. Luckily, she was a good samaritan and sent them on their way.
As a special weekend treat, Jeff figured out how to stream our favorite HGTV shows. We don't have our TV set up yet, so Jeff, Vivian, and I huddled together on the sofa with the computer propped up on the coffee table in front of us and watched Love It or List It. It was a great way to end the weekend.
Today (Monday) I was planning a trip to the mall to go to Office Pro (read Office Depot), since Vivi is out of colored paper, but just when we were getting ready to leave, the skies opened up, and it hasn't stopped raining since. The golf cart is sunny weather only, so the trip will have to wait. I'm okay with a little more lazy time though.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Friday, July 25, 2014
Toy Museum!
I'm not sure how this keeps happening, but we had another jam packed day today. It started with a repeat play date from last week, a boy who will also be going to 1st grade at ISB. He loves to do dress up and pretend stuff, so he and Vivian are a perfect match. We've already set something up for next Wednesday.
We came back home for lunch and a bit of a rest, and then Vivian's new adopted family with the four girls came to pick us up to take us to a toy museum. When this place was first described to me, I wasn't expecting much. I was told that a Thai family had collected many toys over the years and had finally decided they had so many that they should make a museum out of it. It sounded pretty basic to me. Boy was I wrong. This was the toy collection to end all toy collections. They collected EVERYTHING. Here are some pictures, because words cannot do it justice.
Some of the toys (there was a LOT of Disney and Pixar stuff)
This one totally blew my geek mind. Can you name all the awesomeness in this case?
You would think that would be enough for one day, and I swear I tried to get Vivian to just relax for a while, but our neighbors were outside drawing with chalk, so of course Vivian HAD to go over and play with them.
In the evening, we had a quick dinner and went to the neighborhood pool to meet our new neighbors. It was nice to put some faces with names, and I met someone who had just gotten here yesterday, which made me feel like a veteran. Vivian made friends with the woman's four year old son, so I sense another play date in our future. She also spent an hour and half in the pool, and still managed to pull a jack-in-the-box act at bedtime.
Tomorrow morning, embassy people are coming to take away furniture we don't want and deliver two of the eight additional things we asked for. Of course this is happening at the exact same time as the swimming lesson I scheduled for Vivian. Sigh. Hopefully this is not a sign of how our weekend will go. We're having a great time, but I need some actual rest.
We came back home for lunch and a bit of a rest, and then Vivian's new adopted family with the four girls came to pick us up to take us to a toy museum. When this place was first described to me, I wasn't expecting much. I was told that a Thai family had collected many toys over the years and had finally decided they had so many that they should make a museum out of it. It sounded pretty basic to me. Boy was I wrong. This was the toy collection to end all toy collections. They collected EVERYTHING. Here are some pictures, because words cannot do it justice.
Some of the toys (there was a LOT of Disney and Pixar stuff)
This one totally blew my geek mind. Can you name all the awesomeness in this case?
You would think that would be enough for one day, and I swear I tried to get Vivian to just relax for a while, but our neighbors were outside drawing with chalk, so of course Vivian HAD to go over and play with them.
In the evening, we had a quick dinner and went to the neighborhood pool to meet our new neighbors. It was nice to put some faces with names, and I met someone who had just gotten here yesterday, which made me feel like a veteran. Vivian made friends with the woman's four year old son, so I sense another play date in our future. She also spent an hour and half in the pool, and still managed to pull a jack-in-the-box act at bedtime.
Tomorrow morning, embassy people are coming to take away furniture we don't want and deliver two of the eight additional things we asked for. Of course this is happening at the exact same time as the swimming lesson I scheduled for Vivian. Sigh. Hopefully this is not a sign of how our weekend will go. We're having a great time, but I need some actual rest.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Fun with Friends
Last week we met a family of four girls, which was like heaven for Vivian. In fact, the first time we stopped by their house to pick something up, she didn't want to leave, so I let her stay while I finished running errands and then came back for her an hour later.
Their mom home schools them, and even though the pace is slowed down for the summer, they had an art lesson on Wednesday that they invited us and another family to join them for. It was a really interesting lesson on Vincent Van Gogh, and their mom had a series of activities for them to do to familiarize themselves with one of his paintings, learn about other artists and their styles, and then do some painting of their own. She had a whole painting area set up for them, and she even lent Vivian a smock. Needless to say, Vivian's finished masterpiece is now decorating our fridge.
I took Vivi home for some lunch and a rest, and then she went back to hang out with the girls, while their mom and I went shopping and ran errands. Since I don't have a car yet, it's difficult to get to the stores I need most which are Home Pro (read Home Depot) and Big C (think Wallmart, but the Thai version).
I needed to go to Home Pro to get a bug zapper for the outside laundry area, and I needed shelving for the room off the kitchen that Young and I have decided will be the pantry. The name may sound like Home Depot, and even the store layout looks similar, but the service is SO much better at Home Pro. I found a big outdoor/indoor bug zapper sitting on the shelf, and so I picked it up, but one of the salespeople stopped me, and explained that I didn't want that one because it had been sitting out. She proceeded to enlist two more salespeople with a giant rolling staircase to get me one from the top shelf that was still in the box. To assure me that it worked, they took it out of the box, plugged it in, and one of the men took a pair of scissors and stuck it into the thing, so that I could hear the bzzzt sound that indicated bug destruction. I'm not sure what the expression on my face was as he stuck the metal scissors into the electrified machine, but I made sure to smile back at his proud grin, and say my kop khun ka (thank you in Thai).
The same saleslady helped us find the shelving and recruited more men to get newly boxed ones for us. Then they got another man to push our heavy cart to the cashier and out to the car where he loaded everything in for us. Beautiful.
To cap off our Wednesday, I took Vivian to a Tae Kwan Do class, that three of the four girls attended. I dropped her off at the class, and she was smiling and excited. When I came back an hour later, she was sitting off to the side, and the very nice teacher told me that she had gotten overwhelmed by all the new people a bit into the class, and so he had her just sit to the side and watch for the rest of the time. I felt awful for not staying, and I realized that she had hit her limit on new things she could process.
Today I decided we would have a lazy day. We mostly hung out at the house. I went to a welcome coffee for the local Nichada social group. I was planning to leave Vivian and Elena with Young, but Vivian insisted on coming with me. I thought maybe she was feeling clingy, but once we got there and she saw other kids, she totally ditched me.
The coffee was nice. There were more new people than old people, and I spent most of my time getting to know the other ladies on my street who I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to yet. We stayed for about an hour and then went home for lunch and a nap. In the evening, I let Vivian play for a bit with the neighbors. We put her to bed earlier tonight than we have been doing, so I'm hoping tomorrow will go smoothly.
Their mom home schools them, and even though the pace is slowed down for the summer, they had an art lesson on Wednesday that they invited us and another family to join them for. It was a really interesting lesson on Vincent Van Gogh, and their mom had a series of activities for them to do to familiarize themselves with one of his paintings, learn about other artists and their styles, and then do some painting of their own. She had a whole painting area set up for them, and she even lent Vivian a smock. Needless to say, Vivian's finished masterpiece is now decorating our fridge.
I took Vivi home for some lunch and a rest, and then she went back to hang out with the girls, while their mom and I went shopping and ran errands. Since I don't have a car yet, it's difficult to get to the stores I need most which are Home Pro (read Home Depot) and Big C (think Wallmart, but the Thai version).
I needed to go to Home Pro to get a bug zapper for the outside laundry area, and I needed shelving for the room off the kitchen that Young and I have decided will be the pantry. The name may sound like Home Depot, and even the store layout looks similar, but the service is SO much better at Home Pro. I found a big outdoor/indoor bug zapper sitting on the shelf, and so I picked it up, but one of the salespeople stopped me, and explained that I didn't want that one because it had been sitting out. She proceeded to enlist two more salespeople with a giant rolling staircase to get me one from the top shelf that was still in the box. To assure me that it worked, they took it out of the box, plugged it in, and one of the men took a pair of scissors and stuck it into the thing, so that I could hear the bzzzt sound that indicated bug destruction. I'm not sure what the expression on my face was as he stuck the metal scissors into the electrified machine, but I made sure to smile back at his proud grin, and say my kop khun ka (thank you in Thai).
The same saleslady helped us find the shelving and recruited more men to get newly boxed ones for us. Then they got another man to push our heavy cart to the cashier and out to the car where he loaded everything in for us. Beautiful.
To cap off our Wednesday, I took Vivian to a Tae Kwan Do class, that three of the four girls attended. I dropped her off at the class, and she was smiling and excited. When I came back an hour later, she was sitting off to the side, and the very nice teacher told me that she had gotten overwhelmed by all the new people a bit into the class, and so he had her just sit to the side and watch for the rest of the time. I felt awful for not staying, and I realized that she had hit her limit on new things she could process.
Today I decided we would have a lazy day. We mostly hung out at the house. I went to a welcome coffee for the local Nichada social group. I was planning to leave Vivian and Elena with Young, but Vivian insisted on coming with me. I thought maybe she was feeling clingy, but once we got there and she saw other kids, she totally ditched me.
The coffee was nice. There were more new people than old people, and I spent most of my time getting to know the other ladies on my street who I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to yet. We stayed for about an hour and then went home for lunch and a nap. In the evening, I let Vivian play for a bit with the neighbors. We put her to bed earlier tonight than we have been doing, so I'm hoping tomorrow will go smoothly.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Pancakes, Sky Trains, and Malls
I'm realizing that I really should write each evening, because the days fly by, and we always seem to be busy. Our weekend was relatively calm, but we still managed to find things to do. We called Weera, the golf cart guy, since our cart needs a few cosmetic touches and we decided we wanted to soup up the motor. He came and picked ours up on Saturday and left us a loaner. It was interesting to drive another golf cart, given our very limited golf cart experience. The loaner had extra features like turn signals. Our own golf cart was returned to us on Sunday with newly upholstered seats and an engine with some get up and go to it. Jeff proceeded to drive it around the neighborhood like he stole it and came back with a big grin on his face, so I think it is a success.
Jeff and Vivian got in plenty of pool time this weekend, and we played several times with our next door neighbors who have a three year old girl and an almost two year old boy. Their air freight came on Saturday, so in addition to having more books and toys, they also have an awesome box tunnel to play in. It sounds like the dads on our street are planning an enormous box fort for when everyone's air freight arrives. The boxes are really thick and sturdy, so they could probably build something quite impressive. We'll see what happens . . .
On Sunday morning we were feeling lazy, and Vivian was craving pancakes, so we ordered breakfast from the local Mexican restaurant. Yes, the Mexican restaurant serves pancakes and they deliver at 9:00am. I'm told they'll also deliver margaritas, but I haven't tried that one yet.
On Monday, Jeff headed off to work, and I needed to find something to keep me and Vivian busy. A friend helped me do one more run to the mall in the golf cart, so I felt confident that I could do it on my own. Vivian had her doubts, since the last time we tried to get there we got completely turned around and had to come home, but we made it on Monday with no problems, and she was suitably impressed. We had been told that there was a good kids' play area on the 7th floor, so I was envisioning something along the lines of an indoor playground, but it was pretty much all arcade games and ride on machines that cost at least 10 baht each. I let Vivian go on a couple rides, and then we went to find lunch. I still have not been able to get her to be adventurous and try local food, so we ended up having lunch at Subway. She was happy, so I was happy. We explored the mall some more and found an interesting display on the main floor that we didn't understand, but decided was photo-worthy, and then we headed home.
On Tuesday, our adventure for the day was to take the family shuttle downtown and meet up with a friend who helped us get rabbit cards (like smart cards in D.C.) and then taught us to ride the BTS Sky Train.
Vivi got off to a rough start because the plastic "doors" you go through after scanning your card close really fast. Our friend had warned us, so Vivian scanned her card and ran at it, but she still didn't make it fast enough and bounced right off the closing doors. She was understandably really upset and didn't want to try it again at the other end, so we used the gate for strollers and wheelchairs. On the way back though, we figured out a good system where she went right up to the doors, I scanned the card for her, and she scooted through before they closed. Live and learn.
We went to the MBK Mall downtown, which is totally different from our mall out here in Nichada. MBK is more of a labyrinth, and it's full of little stall type shops. Many of them sell the exact same things, a fact that my highly observant child noticed right away. This makes it even easier to get turned around and lost though, so you really have to be careful or you'll never find your way out. You're also expected to bargain. I don't know that I actually got any good deals, but I always paid less than the first price offered, so I guess that's something.
By the time we got back to the embassy to take the shuttle home, Vivian and I were both exhausted, but I'm really glad we did it. Now I feel like I can navigate public transportation in Bangkok. Our friend also told us about Ocean World which is an aquarium one stop down from the embassy, so I think that may be our next downtown adventure.
Jeff and Vivian got in plenty of pool time this weekend, and we played several times with our next door neighbors who have a three year old girl and an almost two year old boy. Their air freight came on Saturday, so in addition to having more books and toys, they also have an awesome box tunnel to play in. It sounds like the dads on our street are planning an enormous box fort for when everyone's air freight arrives. The boxes are really thick and sturdy, so they could probably build something quite impressive. We'll see what happens . . .
On Sunday morning we were feeling lazy, and Vivian was craving pancakes, so we ordered breakfast from the local Mexican restaurant. Yes, the Mexican restaurant serves pancakes and they deliver at 9:00am. I'm told they'll also deliver margaritas, but I haven't tried that one yet.
On Monday, Jeff headed off to work, and I needed to find something to keep me and Vivian busy. A friend helped me do one more run to the mall in the golf cart, so I felt confident that I could do it on my own. Vivian had her doubts, since the last time we tried to get there we got completely turned around and had to come home, but we made it on Monday with no problems, and she was suitably impressed. We had been told that there was a good kids' play area on the 7th floor, so I was envisioning something along the lines of an indoor playground, but it was pretty much all arcade games and ride on machines that cost at least 10 baht each. I let Vivian go on a couple rides, and then we went to find lunch. I still have not been able to get her to be adventurous and try local food, so we ended up having lunch at Subway. She was happy, so I was happy. We explored the mall some more and found an interesting display on the main floor that we didn't understand, but decided was photo-worthy, and then we headed home.
On Tuesday, our adventure for the day was to take the family shuttle downtown and meet up with a friend who helped us get rabbit cards (like smart cards in D.C.) and then taught us to ride the BTS Sky Train.
Vivi got off to a rough start because the plastic "doors" you go through after scanning your card close really fast. Our friend had warned us, so Vivian scanned her card and ran at it, but she still didn't make it fast enough and bounced right off the closing doors. She was understandably really upset and didn't want to try it again at the other end, so we used the gate for strollers and wheelchairs. On the way back though, we figured out a good system where she went right up to the doors, I scanned the card for her, and she scooted through before they closed. Live and learn.
We went to the MBK Mall downtown, which is totally different from our mall out here in Nichada. MBK is more of a labyrinth, and it's full of little stall type shops. Many of them sell the exact same things, a fact that my highly observant child noticed right away. This makes it even easier to get turned around and lost though, so you really have to be careful or you'll never find your way out. You're also expected to bargain. I don't know that I actually got any good deals, but I always paid less than the first price offered, so I guess that's something.
By the time we got back to the embassy to take the shuttle home, Vivian and I were both exhausted, but I'm really glad we did it. Now I feel like I can navigate public transportation in Bangkok. Our friend also told us about Ocean World which is an aquarium one stop down from the embassy, so I think that may be our next downtown adventure.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Paperwork and Playdates
It's been a crazy first week, but we're starting to feel settled. On Monday we all went downtown to the embassy to check in. Since Monday was a Thai holiday, there was no traffic, so it was a nice first trip. Vivi and I kept looking out the window and pointing out neat things. We drove past a big temple complex, which had Viv bouncing up an down in her seat, but even the regular apartment buildings can be quite decorated. Several were painted in bright colors, and most had plants on the balconies and the roofs.
Once we got closer to downtown we found the traffic, and we slowed down. The basic Thai driving rule seems to be, if your vehicle fits, it's a lane. The shoulder is just a suggestion, and motorbikes with one to two people whiz through wherever they can fit.
The "embassy" is actually spread out over several buildings. We started in the main building, and our work sponsor's wife met us. We definitely couldn't have done it without her, since it's quite a labyrinth. One of the other main buildings is across a very busy street. There'a a footbridge over it, and part of the newcomer briefing is watching a video of people getting hit by cars, because they tried to cross the street instead of using the footbridge. Message received; we will take the footbridge.
This is the temple at one of the embassy buildings.
We managed to get everything done except for our medical check in. We made appointments for those, but because we are using the family shuttle that only runs once a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays we had restrictions on the times we could come in. Apparently, lots of other people have the same restrictions, so we had to make our appointment for a couple weeks later. It looks like this is going to be similar to the States, where I have to call a month ahead for routine check up appointments.
Monday was a long day, but we came home to a clean house and the smells of a delicious dinner of pad see ew being prepared. I think I could get used to this.
Tuesday was Jeff's birthday, so Vivian and I took the family shuttle downtown, caught the end of the newcomer briefing, and then took Jeff out to lunch at Neil's Tavern. It was quite fancy, and the prices were expensive by Thai standards, but they have beef from Australia, so Jeff could have filet mignon for his birthday lunch.
We also fit in a quick stop at the commissary to pick up essentials like Tide and Bounce, which you can't find at the local supermarket. The supermarket has various laundry detergents, but no dryer sheets, since most Thais don't have dryers. They also don't have dishwasher detergent, so we had to get that at the embassy as well. As we're figuring out what we can and can't get here, I'm making lists of things to order online. It seems like most people order from Walmart. Of course, this means that Jeff will need to bring all of these things home on the shuttle. We'll see how it goes.
Wednesday was the beginning of play dates. About half the expats have gone to their respective countries for the summer, but there are still quite a few people here and more show up every day. It's such a welcoming community, that on Thursday, Vivian actually ended up with three play dates in one day. It's been great for me too, since it gives me a chance to talk with people who have been here for a while, ask questions, and get advice.
One of the first pieces of advice I acted on was requesting dehumidifiers for the girls' bedrooms. I was really impressed with the embassy, because we got them the day after we requested them. I have to empty them a few times a day, but it's definitely worth it, because the rooms feel much more comfortable, and I think it's helped the girls sleep through the night.
It's also really interesting to go into houses that all have the same basic floor plan and very similar embassy furniture to see how everyone has set up their space. I'm getting lots of ideas of things to do with our house, which makes me incredibly impatient for our stuff to arrive.
Overall, I don't think we could have asked for a better first week. We've pretty much gotten over our jet lag, and Young is an absolute gift. She's helped us to make this house our home, and I know things are just going to keep getting better.
Once we got closer to downtown we found the traffic, and we slowed down. The basic Thai driving rule seems to be, if your vehicle fits, it's a lane. The shoulder is just a suggestion, and motorbikes with one to two people whiz through wherever they can fit.
The "embassy" is actually spread out over several buildings. We started in the main building, and our work sponsor's wife met us. We definitely couldn't have done it without her, since it's quite a labyrinth. One of the other main buildings is across a very busy street. There'a a footbridge over it, and part of the newcomer briefing is watching a video of people getting hit by cars, because they tried to cross the street instead of using the footbridge. Message received; we will take the footbridge.
This is the temple at one of the embassy buildings.
We managed to get everything done except for our medical check in. We made appointments for those, but because we are using the family shuttle that only runs once a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays we had restrictions on the times we could come in. Apparently, lots of other people have the same restrictions, so we had to make our appointment for a couple weeks later. It looks like this is going to be similar to the States, where I have to call a month ahead for routine check up appointments.
Monday was a long day, but we came home to a clean house and the smells of a delicious dinner of pad see ew being prepared. I think I could get used to this.
Tuesday was Jeff's birthday, so Vivian and I took the family shuttle downtown, caught the end of the newcomer briefing, and then took Jeff out to lunch at Neil's Tavern. It was quite fancy, and the prices were expensive by Thai standards, but they have beef from Australia, so Jeff could have filet mignon for his birthday lunch.
We also fit in a quick stop at the commissary to pick up essentials like Tide and Bounce, which you can't find at the local supermarket. The supermarket has various laundry detergents, but no dryer sheets, since most Thais don't have dryers. They also don't have dishwasher detergent, so we had to get that at the embassy as well. As we're figuring out what we can and can't get here, I'm making lists of things to order online. It seems like most people order from Walmart. Of course, this means that Jeff will need to bring all of these things home on the shuttle. We'll see how it goes.
Wednesday was the beginning of play dates. About half the expats have gone to their respective countries for the summer, but there are still quite a few people here and more show up every day. It's such a welcoming community, that on Thursday, Vivian actually ended up with three play dates in one day. It's been great for me too, since it gives me a chance to talk with people who have been here for a while, ask questions, and get advice.
One of the first pieces of advice I acted on was requesting dehumidifiers for the girls' bedrooms. I was really impressed with the embassy, because we got them the day after we requested them. I have to empty them a few times a day, but it's definitely worth it, because the rooms feel much more comfortable, and I think it's helped the girls sleep through the night.
It's also really interesting to go into houses that all have the same basic floor plan and very similar embassy furniture to see how everyone has set up their space. I'm getting lots of ideas of things to do with our house, which makes me incredibly impatient for our stuff to arrive.
Overall, I don't think we could have asked for a better first week. We've pretty much gotten over our jet lag, and Young is an absolute gift. She's helped us to make this house our home, and I know things are just going to keep getting better.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Golf Cart and Our First Thai Meal
I've learned how to drive a golf cart! The one I got us is relatively tame, which I think is best for now. Apparently, you can get them souped up to reach high speeds, but given the fact that it's a golf cart, I think 20-25 mph is just fine. It needs a few cosmetic touches, but it's already come in really handy, since we don't have our car yet.
Jeff and Vivi took the golf cart for its first test run around the neighborhood. Nichada Thani is actually quite large, and we're still working on figuring out where everything is and how to get there. There's a Starbucks that I think we're going to try and hit today, because apparently they have Starbucks Thailand coffee mugs which we feel we must own. There's also a club with a gym and a beautiful lap pool that Jeff is excited about.
My big golf cart adventure was on Saturday. Khun Young, our housekeeper, came on Saturday, and we need several things for her room, the kitchen, and the rest of the house, so our social sponsor suggested taking the golf cart to the mall a few miles outside Nichada. She also asked if I wanted to drive. With a jet lagged laced sense of bravado, I said sure. So my first golf cart driving experience was also my first left hand side of the road in Thailand where two way streets are not necessarily wide enough for two cars driving experience. The golf cart's small size actually came in very handy for this because I could fit between the car parked in what should have been my lane and the oncoming traffic quite easily.
My sponsor told me where to go and pointed out stores and restaurants along the way, but I know I'm going to need her to go over it all again, since I was so focused on my driving.
The mall was insane. First of all, there's a special section for golf cart parking right near the door, which just cracked me up. The mall itself is seven stories high, and there's an ice skating rink in the basement. You could probably buy anything you could think of in that mall. We went to a department store that is almost impossible to describe. There were also tons of salespeople everywhere to help you. We bought a rice maker, and they plugged it in and turned it on to show us that it worked. My sponsor was looking at different hair styling irons, and one of the sales ladies took her over to a counter with mirrors and chairs and did her hair, so that she could see if she liked how it worked. It was unlike any other shopping experience I have ever had, and I've shopped all over the world. I definitely have to go back when I'm less jet lagged and less shaky from my crazy golf cart driving experience.
In the evening, Young made us our first meal in our new home (we ordered delivery the night before). The whole house smelled wonderful and the food was delicious. I think we're going to be very happy here.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Pororo, the Korean Penguin
First off, I want to give a shout-out to Korean Air. In spite of the panic inducing idiocy of the ticket, Korean Air managed to pull off fantastic customer service, starting with the check in process at Dulles. We got there really early because I was freaking out about the tickets for the second leg of our flight, but they had already seated us all together. We had a little snafu with the bags, because Korean Air allows two bags per person, but Delta only allows one, and since our tickets were through Delta, and we had six suitcases, we had to pay for the two extra. Yet another reason that this whole co-chair thing is ridiculous. The Korean Air staff were extremely apologetic and very helpful in getting us through the process.
We got lucky and there wasn't a line for the passport and security check, so we got through it as quickly as a group of four people with a baby in a stroller can. That baby came in handy at boarding time though. We were some of the first people on the plane after checking the stroller at the gate, so we had plenty of time to sort out our carry on items. We put Elena in her car seat, facing forward, and the regular seat belt fit over her. She seemed very happy with the arrangement. The Korean Air flight attendants came to check about Vivi's child meal and to see if we needed anything for the baby. There were several other babies and small children on the flight, and the flight attendants were great with them.
The girls both did really well. We didn't have any serious meltdowns on either leg of the flight, and they both managed to sleep quite a bit. The food was about as good as economy class airplane food can be, and the in flight entertainment had lots of choices. When Elena got fussy, we put on the Korean cartoon Pororo. She didn't even need the sound; she was mesmerized. Pororo was also all over the kid meals Vivi got and the little kid gifts both girls got on the flights. Apparently he is the Korean equivalent of Mickey Mouse or Hello Kitty. Not really sure how they ended up with a penguin though . . .
Jeff's work sponsor met us in the Bangkok airport as soon as we got off the plane. He had an embassy driver with him, and the two of them helped us through security, baggage claim and customs. All of our stuff showed up, which was a huge relief. It took us about thirty minutes to drive to our new house. It was a strange sensation to be driving "home" to a place we'd never seen.
Once we got there, Vivi ran around checking everything out. We got her and Elena to bed pretty quickly, but Jeff and I stayed up talking and planning. Our new house is lovely in many ways and incredibly strange in others. Some of the design choices defy logic. The Thai think of "farang" (westerners) as tall, but parts of this house were designed for giants. The tubs are so huge that Vivi can't climb into them without a step stool, and half of the cupboard storage is so high that even the step stool falls short. One of our neighbors told us that the woman who works for her climbs up on the counter to get to the top storage. We'll figure out how to make it work for us eventually. For now we're just so happy we made it.
We got lucky and there wasn't a line for the passport and security check, so we got through it as quickly as a group of four people with a baby in a stroller can. That baby came in handy at boarding time though. We were some of the first people on the plane after checking the stroller at the gate, so we had plenty of time to sort out our carry on items. We put Elena in her car seat, facing forward, and the regular seat belt fit over her. She seemed very happy with the arrangement. The Korean Air flight attendants came to check about Vivi's child meal and to see if we needed anything for the baby. There were several other babies and small children on the flight, and the flight attendants were great with them.
The girls both did really well. We didn't have any serious meltdowns on either leg of the flight, and they both managed to sleep quite a bit. The food was about as good as economy class airplane food can be, and the in flight entertainment had lots of choices. When Elena got fussy, we put on the Korean cartoon Pororo. She didn't even need the sound; she was mesmerized. Pororo was also all over the kid meals Vivi got and the little kid gifts both girls got on the flights. Apparently he is the Korean equivalent of Mickey Mouse or Hello Kitty. Not really sure how they ended up with a penguin though . . .
Jeff's work sponsor met us in the Bangkok airport as soon as we got off the plane. He had an embassy driver with him, and the two of them helped us through security, baggage claim and customs. All of our stuff showed up, which was a huge relief. It took us about thirty minutes to drive to our new house. It was a strange sensation to be driving "home" to a place we'd never seen.
Once we got there, Vivi ran around checking everything out. We got her and Elena to bed pretty quickly, but Jeff and I stayed up talking and planning. Our new house is lovely in many ways and incredibly strange in others. Some of the design choices defy logic. The Thai think of "farang" (westerners) as tall, but parts of this house were designed for giants. The tubs are so huge that Vivi can't climb into them without a step stool, and half of the cupboard storage is so high that even the step stool falls short. One of our neighbors told us that the woman who works for her climbs up on the counter to get to the top storage. We'll figure out how to make it work for us eventually. For now we're just so happy we made it.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Limbo
We started moving out of our house two weeks ago. During the three days of packing and moving, we stayed at my parents' house. Then we went to Staunton for the weekend and stayed in a hotel. Then we came back to Arlington and stayed in another hotel. Today is our tenth day at the Homewood Suites, which has become our limbo home. We have a good sized room with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two living room areas, and a kitchenette. They gave us a crib for Elena which we put in the second bathroom, so that we could close the door during nap time. The crib has institutional white bars, and she just can't resist looking around if she's left out in the open. She also likes to kick her legs through the bars and spin herself around to a sideways position, which lets me know a bumper is a top purchase priority once we get to Thailand.
One of the nicest features of the hotel is that they provide complimentary breakfast seven days a week and a complimentary dinner four nights a week. Our room is right off the lobby, so we've been able to roll out for meals with very little fuss. Vivi has been in marital arts summer camp since school ended, so she still has a routine to her days, and we added swimming lessons to help get her ready for living in eternal summer. Overall, we've managed to reach some semblance of a normal life.
It's interesting, the kinds of people you meet in a hotel like this. At breakfast Vivi impressed an older couple with her friendliness and her conversational skills. As we chatted, they told us that they were staying here because their air conditioner broke, and it was ninety degrees in their house. A few days later, I struck up a conversation with another baby mom at the coffee station. Turns out, her family was at the hotel because their house had burned down. There are also lots of families on vacation and business people here, but I think it's interesting that we seem to end up talking to the people who are in a similar state of limbo.
Today we enter our final limbo phase, the flight that lasts all day. I tried to check us in online last night, and discovered yet another idiocy in our Fly America, co-chaired flight. Our tickets are through Delta, but we're actually flying on Korean Air Lines. However, we can't check in online through either airline. Also, since our ticket is technically through Delta, Korean Air didn't contact us to tell us that they changed the type of plane they're using between Seoul and Bangkok, so we have to get seats for that leg of the flight once we get to the airport this morning. I'm trying not to envision the battle that will ensue if they try to scatter the four of us in middle seats throughout the plane for the six hour flight.
The cherry on top of all of this is that the kids meal I requested for Vivi over a month ago is still "pending" for the D.C. to Seoul portion of the flight because neither Delta nor Korean Air seem to know who's responsible for making sure it happens. This, at least, I can prepare for. I've used up all the jam and hamburger buns we have left to pack her five jam sandwiches (her favorite meal), so I know for sure she will have something to eat in addition to all the snacks we've packed. I've also packed five bottles filled with water for the baby. We'll see if the water makes it through security.
At about five this morning, I gave up on the idea of sleep, got some coffee, and sat down to write. I'm hoping this will help me get to that Zen place of just accepting how the day goes. The light at the end of the tunnel is our beautiful new home in Thailand and all the adventures that we will have there. I just need to focus on the light.
One of the nicest features of the hotel is that they provide complimentary breakfast seven days a week and a complimentary dinner four nights a week. Our room is right off the lobby, so we've been able to roll out for meals with very little fuss. Vivi has been in marital arts summer camp since school ended, so she still has a routine to her days, and we added swimming lessons to help get her ready for living in eternal summer. Overall, we've managed to reach some semblance of a normal life.
It's interesting, the kinds of people you meet in a hotel like this. At breakfast Vivi impressed an older couple with her friendliness and her conversational skills. As we chatted, they told us that they were staying here because their air conditioner broke, and it was ninety degrees in their house. A few days later, I struck up a conversation with another baby mom at the coffee station. Turns out, her family was at the hotel because their house had burned down. There are also lots of families on vacation and business people here, but I think it's interesting that we seem to end up talking to the people who are in a similar state of limbo.
Today we enter our final limbo phase, the flight that lasts all day. I tried to check us in online last night, and discovered yet another idiocy in our Fly America, co-chaired flight. Our tickets are through Delta, but we're actually flying on Korean Air Lines. However, we can't check in online through either airline. Also, since our ticket is technically through Delta, Korean Air didn't contact us to tell us that they changed the type of plane they're using between Seoul and Bangkok, so we have to get seats for that leg of the flight once we get to the airport this morning. I'm trying not to envision the battle that will ensue if they try to scatter the four of us in middle seats throughout the plane for the six hour flight.
The cherry on top of all of this is that the kids meal I requested for Vivi over a month ago is still "pending" for the D.C. to Seoul portion of the flight because neither Delta nor Korean Air seem to know who's responsible for making sure it happens. This, at least, I can prepare for. I've used up all the jam and hamburger buns we have left to pack her five jam sandwiches (her favorite meal), so I know for sure she will have something to eat in addition to all the snacks we've packed. I've also packed five bottles filled with water for the baby. We'll see if the water makes it through security.
At about five this morning, I gave up on the idea of sleep, got some coffee, and sat down to write. I'm hoping this will help me get to that Zen place of just accepting how the day goes. The light at the end of the tunnel is our beautiful new home in Thailand and all the adventures that we will have there. I just need to focus on the light.
Friday, July 4, 2014
HGTV
Our family has become addicted to HGTV. It's all my mother-in-law's fault. She came to visit a few weeks ago and exposed us to her favorite show Love It or List It. This is a show where people with ridiculous amounts of money have a renovation budget for their current home and another budget for buying a new home. The show's hosts are a designer and a realtor, so the one remodels the current house into fabulousness, while the other takes them around to look at three other fantastic houses. At the end, the family has to decide whether they're going to love their remodel and stay, or list their current house (which has dramatically increased in value) and buy one of the new ones they've seen. It is dangerously addictive.
For those of you not familiar with HGTV's programming style, they do a marathon of a different show each day, so when you finish one episode it immediately jumps into another one, leading to binge watching. It also leads to another phenomenon. Let's say Love It or List It is the Monday show, but it's Wednesday, and you need a fix. When you turn on HGTV, you discover another similar type of show which is also running a marathon. At this point we have also gotten sucked into Fixer Upper and Property Brothers. I'm almost afraid to turn on HGTV now.
In some ways though, this is the perfect new addiction for our family in transit. Since we're living in a hotel, looking at beautiful houses is soothing and helps us get excited for our new home. HGTV is also appropriate for all members of the family, which works well when there's one main television area. Jeff's other addiction, Law and Order, is definitely not family friendly.
One of the most hilarious parts is that Vivian has gotten really into HGTV and has definite opinions about whether a family should love or list their current property. Pretty soon she's going to start spouting design and real estate jargon. Jeff's first homework assignment once he gets our technology set up in Thailand is going to be figuring out how to get us our new favorite shows. Now I have to go, Beachfront Bargain Hunt is on, and I'm going to take a vicarious trip to the beach!
For those of you not familiar with HGTV's programming style, they do a marathon of a different show each day, so when you finish one episode it immediately jumps into another one, leading to binge watching. It also leads to another phenomenon. Let's say Love It or List It is the Monday show, but it's Wednesday, and you need a fix. When you turn on HGTV, you discover another similar type of show which is also running a marathon. At this point we have also gotten sucked into Fixer Upper and Property Brothers. I'm almost afraid to turn on HGTV now.
In some ways though, this is the perfect new addiction for our family in transit. Since we're living in a hotel, looking at beautiful houses is soothing and helps us get excited for our new home. HGTV is also appropriate for all members of the family, which works well when there's one main television area. Jeff's other addiction, Law and Order, is definitely not family friendly.
One of the most hilarious parts is that Vivian has gotten really into HGTV and has definite opinions about whether a family should love or list their current property. Pretty soon she's going to start spouting design and real estate jargon. Jeff's first homework assignment once he gets our technology set up in Thailand is going to be figuring out how to get us our new favorite shows. Now I have to go, Beachfront Bargain Hunt is on, and I'm going to take a vicarious trip to the beach!
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Packers and Movers
Before last week, I hadn't given much thought to the difference between packers and movers. In fact, I'm pretty sure I used the words interchangeably. But now I understand that being a packer is very different from being a mover.
The packers came first, two women and a man. Their goal was to pack everything in our house in one day, and then the next day the movers would come and take it out of the house. We thought this was a pretty ambitious goal for three people, but we figured we weren't the experts, so we would see how it went. One woman went to the basement to start packing our wall of books, and the other went to the kitchen to start packing dishes. The guy stuck with us and packed our air freight which I had piled up in our dining room after selling the dining room furniture.
We managed to get almost everything we wanted in the air freight, but the awkwardly shaped baby items definitely required some packing ingenuity. That took most of the morning. Then the guy went upstairs to start packing the bedrooms.
We ordered pizza, but, to their credit, the packers barely stopped to eat. As the afternoon wore on though, it became obvious that they were not going to finish packing our house. Jeff went to my parents' house to take care of the girls, and I stayed while they packed and packed. Finally, at 9pm their supervisor told them to call it a day. The plan was that the next day would be packing in the morning and moving in the afternoon.
When four guys showed up the next morning, I was optimistic, but again, the morning wore on and there was still so much left to pack. When someone from the moving company came by to check on us half way through the day, we pleaded for more people. Well, be careful what you wish for. At 6pm, the army arrived, six more big, loud packers/movers. They swarmed through the house, and we had ten people packing, moving, shouting between floors, and walking in and out. It was crazy, but by 8pm, everything was loaded onto the truck, and I watched my worldly belongings drive away.
More movers and packers came for our storage items the next day. Painters came the day after that, and the cleaning crew the next day. By Sunday I was walking through my clean, empty house. It was actually really sad. I'm so excited about our coming adventures, but I love my house, and I will be happy when we're back in it again after three years.
The packers came first, two women and a man. Their goal was to pack everything in our house in one day, and then the next day the movers would come and take it out of the house. We thought this was a pretty ambitious goal for three people, but we figured we weren't the experts, so we would see how it went. One woman went to the basement to start packing our wall of books, and the other went to the kitchen to start packing dishes. The guy stuck with us and packed our air freight which I had piled up in our dining room after selling the dining room furniture.
We managed to get almost everything we wanted in the air freight, but the awkwardly shaped baby items definitely required some packing ingenuity. That took most of the morning. Then the guy went upstairs to start packing the bedrooms.
We ordered pizza, but, to their credit, the packers barely stopped to eat. As the afternoon wore on though, it became obvious that they were not going to finish packing our house. Jeff went to my parents' house to take care of the girls, and I stayed while they packed and packed. Finally, at 9pm their supervisor told them to call it a day. The plan was that the next day would be packing in the morning and moving in the afternoon.
When four guys showed up the next morning, I was optimistic, but again, the morning wore on and there was still so much left to pack. When someone from the moving company came by to check on us half way through the day, we pleaded for more people. Well, be careful what you wish for. At 6pm, the army arrived, six more big, loud packers/movers. They swarmed through the house, and we had ten people packing, moving, shouting between floors, and walking in and out. It was crazy, but by 8pm, everything was loaded onto the truck, and I watched my worldly belongings drive away.
More movers and packers came for our storage items the next day. Painters came the day after that, and the cleaning crew the next day. By Sunday I was walking through my clean, empty house. It was actually really sad. I'm so excited about our coming adventures, but I love my house, and I will be happy when we're back in it again after three years.
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