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.