Things You Don't See Everyday...

but we do!

   After my last post, I figured it would probably be a good idea to lighten it up a bit so enjoy!

      

 Coconuts anyone?? 

What's inside the giant purple pod?

Bananas!  There are banana tree's all over here in Nichada.  I can see some out our windows and it makes me want to pick and eat them. 

We saw this guy headed somewhere in a hurry.  It reminded me of the movie Turbo that we recently watched.  These snails are huge, the picture does not show its size very well. 

Look closely...What do you see? I see two toads going for a piggy back ride. The kids thought this was the funniest thing ever.  They are not 'humping' as Justice originally thought...I know...where did he hear 'humping,'  that's not the point.  We saw several pairs of these on an evening walk.  It was quite hilarious to watch the poor toad on the bottom trying to jump with a fat toad on top of him. 

Science lesson of the day. Don't pick a lizard up by its tail.  If you do, the tail will detach from lizards body and continue to wiggle for several minutes like a disgusting worm.  The boys had very mixed feelings on this one.  They wanted to laugh, but they were also concerned, and disgusted. 

The Thai's were so excited about 'western' food that they took two of America's favorites and combined them into one.  The Hotdog Pizza.  I had to try it.  Pizza part good, hotdog definitely wasn't an Oscar Mayer. Glad I tried it but will leave that one for the locals.

Lastly, one more thing that you don't get to see everyday, but I do, my three beautiful boys, Arcadian, Justice, and Brosnan.   

Hope you enjoyed!

-JP

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.   

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.