Rainbows in Thailand

Just thought I would share with you a few rainbow sunset photos from a few months ago.   Very beautiful.

Why International School Bangkok (ISB) is an Awesome School

Look at me go, two posts in one day...  Well all the kids are in bed and the husband went to sleep early too.  I still have some residual coffee caffeine floating in my veins so here I am.  On Monday, the 18th of November, 2013 I was able to chaperon a field trip of 8 kindergartners. They are beginning a unit in science on wood, or something like that, so they decided to take a field trip to a local lumber yard.  At 9 am, 8 kids, 4 parents and 1 teacher got in a 15 passenger van and headed out of Nichada to Samakee Road.  Samakee Road is where we go to get gas for the golf cart, go to the bicycle shop, and get photos custom framed.   I am sure there is plenty of other stuff on Samakee Road but I have yet to look or to follow it to the other end.  Once we got to the Lumber Yard there were two Thai's that worked there ready to meet us.  They walked us around and explained the difference between hard and soft wood, showed us bamboo, wood from papaya trees, eucalyptus wood, teak (and an actual teak tree), particle board, and several other types of wood.

   
       In addition to showing us the different types of wood, they also showed the kids different methods of cutting (chainsaw, handsaw, and a bamboo splitter).  They demonstrated what happens to young leaves from a teak tree when you squish them, they turn red, and are used to make a dye, and also explained that the cutting of teak tree's is now government regulated. We were at the lumber yard for about an hour.  Right before we got back on the bus each kid was given a digital camera to use to take photos around the yard.  Then, one of the hosts (I believe his name was Kuhn M) gave each kid two pieces of bamboo.  One is to be used as a piggy bank, the other can be used for a pencil holder.   Then, we got back on the bus and headed back to ISB.
    So, why do I think ISB is an Awesome school?  Because they take the possibilities and turn them into reality.  Maybe it's a Thailand thing, maybe it's a private school thing, I'm not sure because this is the first time I have experienced either, but I just don't see a short field trip this this happening at a public school in the states.  I was also shocked by the idea of handing a 5 or 6 year old a digital camera and saying go, take pictures of whatever you want.  The kids all knew how to use them and were pretty comfortable with them so it seems like it was not their first time.  Their teacher said that in addition to the field trip, they will be making particle board later on as part of their science unit.   I have heard of other schools saying that they take a hands on approach to science and learning but ISB follows through with it.

   Apparently field trips are a pretty common thing at ISB.  Next week I am accompanying 1st graders to Ko Kret, a local island for them to get hands on with their rocks and silt unit and I believe Justice's teacher said that they will be going to the snake farm in downtown Bangkok at some point.  Other elementary school grades have done overnight trips...and it's only November.
    On November 8th, ISB had their first "Passion Day".  Basically someone said what if we asked all the kids "if they could do or learn anything what would it be?" Then all the teachers and staff got together to come up with ways to make those passions become realities for a day.  This must have been a HUGE undertaking for the school as there were many activities that the kids went to that were off campus, like wakeboarding and scuba diving.  It was a bit more controlled for the younger kids but still very elaborate.  Arcadian, my kindergartner, went to learn about Marine life.  The teacher contacted a fish store that was able to bring in aquariums with baby sharks and misc. touchable creatures.  The children were able to put on goggles and snorkels and stick their heads in the water to watch the animals.  Brosnan attended a cooking class where they made chocolate chip cookies from start to finish, and Justice went to a computer gaming class.  ISB teamed up with places all around Bangkok including local colleges where some students were able to go to learn about things like fashion design.  The kids came home happy and excited!
     Its the big things coupled with all the small touches of ISB that I know makes the kids enjoy school and makes me happy that they have this opportunity of a lifetime.

-JP

What We do in Thailand

   The weeks are very busy for all of us and although we would like to sit at home and relax, I fear that in 3 years when we return to the states and people ask what we did, I won't have anything to tell them.  Or, the last 3 months of our time in Thailand will be spent running around like crazy people exhausting ourselves trying to do all the sightseeing we should have done over the last 3 years.   So, we do try and do things when we can and we force ourselves to leave the house at 5pm on Sunday to experience a Thai festival, or we brave the heat and humidity to see what a Thai Safari park looks like, or go to a snake farm to see what the local snakes look like (eww).   So, I am going to spend some time working backwards to show you some of those things that we have done.

Loy Krathong

Justice and Arcadian and their Loy Krathongs made at school. 

        According to Wikipedia,  Loi or Loy Krathong (Loy means to float, while Krathong is the name of the thing being floated) is a Thai holiday in which people make (or buy) decorative floats to put in the rivers.  The floats are usually made out of banana tree, banana leaves, flowers, and have incense and candles placed on them.  The Krathong, "candle venerates the Buddha with light, while the krathong's floating symbolizes letting go of all of one's hatred, anger, and defilements." 

    The date of the festival changes every year as it coincides with the evening of the full moon in the 12th month of the traditional Thai lunar calendar, generally November for us Westerners.  This year it was on the 17th of November.  There was a live band, Western and Thai food, games, and a traditional Thai costume contest.

Loy Krathongs in Nichada Lake, the boys' are in there somewhere

 In addition to the Krathongs, there were also Lanterns for sale.  Also according to Wikipedia Loy Krathong coincides with Yi Peng where Sky Lanterns are lit and sent off in the sky like hot air balloons.  While I was taking photos the boys lit the lantern until it was full of hot air and let it sail off into the sky.   Seems a big dangerous to me, especially when a few burnt about halfway up and begin falling to the ground in a flame of fire.  The news reports I get through my email confirmed the dangers of this tradition as there were several fires throughout the country that burned homes to the ground due to these beautiful lanterns.  

Despite the heat and humidity and large crowd, it was a good night.  Maybe next year we will venture out of Nichada for the festival and go to the actual river with the locals.

One Month Down!

   We have been living in Bangkok for 1 month now and things are going quite well.  Justice has been in Quantico, Virginia for almost two weeks now for training on how to do his new job.  The boys and I have been hanging out at the house, swimming, and spending time with new friends.  Our express shipment (supposed to arrive within 30 days) has finally arrived in Bangkok, but has about another 3 weeks supposedly before it clears customs and will end up at our house.  Our household goods shipment (HHG) is ...well somewhere between here and Yuma, Arizona.  We have only the  items that we packed in our luggage and brought on the plane with us.  Thankfully we brought a television and the Xbox.  The kids have been playing WAY to many video games, but they have read most of the books we brought and their workbooks only hold their attention for so long.   They will be going into withdrawals in a few weeks when school starts!  I have been reading some books, surfing the web, and playing the horribly addictive game CandyCrush.  I love to hate that stupid game.  I am getting bored, but not really motivated enough to go downtown with the kids and do any sightseeing.  I need to do more research to find things that would really interest them.  I wish we had either of our shipments so at least I could be unpacking or something!

     We did go downtown last Sunday and went to see the kids movie "Turbo" and then out to dinner. We went with two of my husbands co-workers wives and their kids.   There were 8 kids in all.  We looked more like a daycare walking the streets then some friends out for an evening. We saw some more Thailand wildlife as we passed two GIANT RATS wandering the streets of Bangkok.   This was the second outing with these new friends and it felt very good to have some adult conversations with some friendly, down to earth women.  I am looking forward to future adventures with them!

     My goal lately has been trying to find domestic help.  Apparently everyone has a Nanny and/or maid.  It is ridiculously cheap (12,000-15,000 baht = $400-$500 USD)  to have full-time help either live at your house or live-out and work 6 days / week.   I read today that Thailand's minimum wage is like 300 baht / day which is roughly $10. USD.   So apparently a maid in our area is doing pretty well for themselves.   I have interviewed around 8 prospective workers now.  We have been going back and forth on whether we want full-time/ part-time, live in- or live out.  All have their positive and negatives.   I have interviewed Thais, Burmese, and Filipinos.  There are a few possibilities but I am just so undecided on exactly what I want.  I was thinking a live out would be sufficient, but then I started looking at the children's extra-curricular activities (3 kids, 3 different soccer teams, 3 different practice days/times, cub scouts and anything else they decide to get involved with), and then I started thinking about doing all of that alone because Justice is traveling or not home from work yet.... I started getting tired just thinking about it.   I went back to the idea that a live-in that has more flexibility and ability to help with making sure all the kids are where they need to be and have someone there to watch them.  So I don't know....  Still contemplating all of that I guess.    It is kind of crazy though,  people just call or ring my doorbell saying they heard I was looking for help.
 
       Other dilemma's relating to hired help is making sure that someone understands Brosnan and his diabetes.  I want/need someone that I can trust with him so that Justice and I can go out and enjoy some of Thailand's night life without worrying about the lives of the kids we left at home.  Thankfully, the Embassy's medical clinic has said that they will 'train' our help and explain to them what to watch for and how to care for him.  I want to find one reliable person to watch the kids whenever we need them to, so that I don't have to have multiple people responsible for controlling his diabetes.
   
        And then there is the culture aspect.  There is a Burmese girl (actually from Nepal), that I like and she was excited about there being smaller kids in the house, but she doesn't speak much Thai.  The way I view it is if we are going to have someone in our house all day long and caring for our children, I would like to also be able to get the cultural aspect from it.  I want someone that can cook us Thai food, help us understand Thai, and be able to communicate with other Thais when necessary.    Then there is still the part of me that thinks about how long I went with doing everything by myself. I don't need help.  I would much rather take the money and put it towards paying off bills...but when in Rome....   As my husband pointed out, I likely won't have the option to have help like this again. And I don't like to clean and this house is big....  and the idea of not having to cook if I don't want to....

   Anyways, that is what is going on right now.   I am to lazy to post any new pictures so next time I promise I will!

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!
-JP

   

2 weeks here... A few things we've encountered

สวัสดี

According to google translate that is "Hello"

     We have made it through our first two weeks in Thailand and so far we are adjusting well.   Our first few days were spent waking up super early (3-4am) and going to bed super early (6pm) thanks to jet lag.   We are now on our usual sleeping schedule and spend our days hanging out at the house, at one of the pools, or at a mall.

    So, what are some of the things that we have encountered that we have found odd or different in our new country??
    How about cereal- Fruit Loops-  The outside of the box looks the same as it did in the US, but when we opened it and poured the first bowl this is what we found. 

Fruit loops-  Not the same color and looks like bugs have been in the bag eating holes through all the pieces.   Thankfully it tastes the same (or close enough) to what the kids are used to.

       The embassy provides a "hospitality or survival" kit that contained basic household items, linens, dishes, pots & pans, and some basic cleaning tools.   This is the broom that was provided.   I have never seen a broom so shiny and pretty.   Also never heard of a company that makes cleaning supplies called, "The Black Man."  Not really sure if that would go over as being politically correct in the states. 

 

While we are the subject of politically correct, I found this restaurant that delivers Mexican, American, Italian, and Thai food.  We have ordered from there a few times and the food is decent.  When looking at the menu, I noticed the logo, "support your local wetback."  Not sure if you would see an advertisement in the states with that specific wording.

   This picture was taken on the window of a Taxi Cab.   Interpret how you wish.  It could represent a number of things.  I have not spent much time in cabs, probably rode in more in the last two weeks then I have in my entire life, but I don't recall seeing this photo.  No wrestling, no fighting, no???  It is Bangkok after all :-)  

    This is our new "car."  This is how most residents in Nichada Thani get around.   There is even special "golf cart" parking reserved for us at the near by mall, Central Plaza (Chaengwattana).  

     This is our new favorite past time.   Driving remote control monster truck over 5 year old being held down by his older brother and dad.  

Wild Life-
   When driving above golf-cart home from the store, Justice X (the young one) and I saw one of these run across the road.  It was at least 12-18 inches from head to toe.  I would have stopped to take a photo but did not want to get hit by the drivers behind us.

Those things moving around in the water are fish.  Some are huge.   The kids like to feed them. I am pretty sure they would eat a  person if a person decide to swim in that particular lake.  

The lake in Nichada where the fish from above live.  

  
 That's enough for now.  I will have to kidnap Justice's (the big one's) phone to get some other strange photos off it.   Apparently there is a big Komodo dragon / water monitor (lizard) that hangs out at the Embassy complex.  He took some pictures of it.   

Our First Overseas PCS (permanent change of station)

****This was written a couple weeks ago and I tried to post, but only this part of it saved.  There was a lot more that I had written detailing the week before our move.  I refuse to go back and add any more info to it...  Moving forward, not backwards, but I wanted to at least get this out there***


When I last posted, we had just found out that we were moving to Bangkok, Thailand. Now, 5 months later we are days away from boarding a plane and heading to our new home. The last few weeks have probably...no, they HAVE been, the most stressful weeks of my life. Short version for now, but on May 30, my middle son Brosnan (6) was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. He was immediately admitted to Yuma Regional Medical Center. Three days later after we were released from the hospital we went home to begin our new life of needles, insulin, glucose monitors, and finger pricks. I will elaborate on that whole story later. Right now lets focus on the move...

Our original scheduled departure date was June 15th, 17 days after B was diagnosed. There are several factors that go into allowing a service member and their family to move overseas. One major factor is the families health (physical, educational, mental, etc.). Every member of the family is screened through the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) to determine if there are any concerns that can not be adequately treated at the next duty station. We were approved a few months ago but with Brosnans new diagnosis we had to start over with him. The original response we received was basically, "sorry, you can't move to Thailand." Thankfully, my husband is not one to take no for an answer so we began doing our own research, making sure that there are pediatric endocrinologists and medicine available. After lots of emails and phone calls my husband had finally received a verbal yes from all the necessary parties, next step was to get all those parties to say yes to each other. So we proceeded as planned with the movers, keeping our fingers crossed that everything would come together.

Which brings us to Friday, June 7th.
Last day of school for Justice, my mom was visiting from Washington state and we were preparing for a garage sale. Saturday morning we woke early and started selling.
Two days and a few hundred dollars later the garage sale was over. We loaded the car with remaining items and donated to the family readiness officer (FRO) to give to young Marines and their families. Sunday night was a mad dash to figure out and separate any and all items that we wanted the movers to take the next day in our express shipment.

We made it to Thailand!!

We made it to Bangkok!

Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, Thailand

My husband pretty much summed up the last few weeks via a facebook post during our travels.: 

"5 people, 15 checked bags, 11 carry ons, 5 medical and dental clearances and one re-cleared, 1 top secret clearance, 5 diplomatic passports, 5 regular passports, 5 diplomatic visas, 1 vehicle totaled, 1 vehicle traded in, 1 vehicle shipped overseas, 10 weeks with a rental car, 8 days in a hotel, 3 kids enrolled in the international school, 1 shipment of household goods to arrive in 30 days, 1 shipment of household goods to arrive in 90 days, 1 shipment of storage for the next 3 years, and 1 house in Thailand waiting for us. Just a 20 hour flight to go."

    We are finally here.  The stress of all of the above is behind us and we are now living a more relaxed life.  Still some stress exists  of trying to find our place in a brand new culture but it is fun and exciting.   Now we wait for our Express Shipment, Household goods, and our car to arrive. 

     The above picture was taken at about 11:30 pm Bangkok time which was 9:30 am, Yuma, Arizona time.  That equates to almost 30 hours after we left our hotel at MCAS Yuma. We are all pretty tired.  The excitement wore off pretty quick during the airplane rides.  Our flight from Yuma to LAX was about an hour long. 

Yuma International Airport, 6ish am June 22, 2013

When we boarded the plan everyone was happy and energetic!













       Shortly after we boarded the plane from Tokyo, Japan to Bangkok all of the boys (including the husband) were passed out.  Luckily it was not a full flight so they all had a little bit of room to stretch out.

Arcadian

Justice

Brosnan

 All-in-all, traveling went smooth.  The kids behaved themselves as much as expected considering the length of the flights, we arrived safely, no delays, and with all of our luggage waiting for us!   Our Sponsor, and Justice's co-worker, Captain Green, met us at the airport and helped coordinate a van to take us to our new home.

    Our house is in a community called Nichada Thani, rumored to be the nicest housing area in all of Thailand.   It is a gated community with several sub-divisions each with their own security guard.   I feel very comfortable living here as far as security is concerned.  Our house is the first on our street in Premier Place 2.  We live right next to the community pool (each sub-division has one, and there is also an olympic sized pool at the clubhouse about a mile away). There is a small playground directly behind our house.  
       The house itself is pretty big.  There are 3 living areas, 4 bedrooms, and 5 bathrooms.  The kids are all pretty excited to have their very own bathrooms!  There is not much of a yard, but there is a small patch of grass in the front.

Front Yard

Family Room (kids TV room)

Downstairs bathroom

Dining Room

Kitchen

Living room

Den Area

Ceiling in Living room

Looking down the stairs into living room

Justice's bedroom

Green outside Justice's window

Brosnan's Bathroom

Master bedroom

Master Closet

Master Bath

Master Bath

Looking down the street

Other direction / Security guard station

Front of House

Main Living room

    I think that is enough for now.   I will write again soon with how life has been since we arrived.