Money Matters

Okay, I'm sure you know from the title that this post is from the male side of the equation. I thought I'd share a comparison between the US and our new country. I was expecting things to be a lot cheaper, and in some cases that is certainly true. You can take a taxi anywhere for about $1 ($2 max). Eating out at a nice local restaurant will run a family of 5 around $8 and that is ordering more food than we can eat (no tipping allowed). Even KFC and McD will be around $2.75 for a value meal (under $2 for a breakfast value meal). Pizza hut is probably around the same as in the US. You can get a cold 20oz Pepsi for about $0.30 and fruit on the street is incredibly cheap (about $0.35 for a whole pineapple peeled and ready to eat).

Regarding our apartment, we negotiated a deal where we would pay a lower rent over 3-4 years (about $250/month for a 1500 ft^2, fairly new in a nice location) in exchange for 1) buying the floor, 2) kitchen cabinents, cupboard, countertops, 3) 4 A/C units and the hot water heater. If we had not provided these things, we would have no idea what things they would purchase, and our rent would have been around $410/month or so. Therefore, over 4 years, we will save around $7500 (and I don't foresee us moving anytime soon). The wood floor cost around $1700 installed and everything, 4 A/C units around $2000, hot water heater around $195, and the kitchen should run around $800 or so. I think cheaper than US, but I'm not sure since many of those items typically come with the house/apt. One interesting note, you typically pay the full year's rent when you start the lease and this occurs annually.

On the more expensive side, we purchased a microwave (average one) for about $70, a washer/dryer combo (not two separate machines but one that does both) was $800, everything technology is more expensive, the only oven we can find in the whole city cost over $1000, and it is small compared to US ovens (no burners with that)...pray for us here, we're not sure what to do. Nice/decent couches will cost a minimum of about $700, kitchen tables and chairs around $700, etc. Of course, you can spend any amount of money you want to, but this is for what we would consider decent, new furniture. I'm thankful that our company did provide us with an 'outfit allowance' which will cover most of these costs. Additionally, we will probably have some savings every month so we could always use that for these purchases. But all in all, these bigger items were more expensive, probably because the demand over here is not as high for them. Maybe they are considered luxuries, although more and more the general population is aquiring them.

To conclude, we are struggling somewhat between making our home 'comfortable' for us and still living at the level of the people we are seeking to reach. Part of that problem is that we really don't know what 'their level' is, and as I understand it, it varies quite dramatically. I think we are about on track but in time, hopefully we will realize any mistakes we are making and be able to correct it at that point.

Fun times!

Well, it's been a few days since I posted many pics, so I thought I'd give you a glimpse of a couple of the parks our kids have been excited to find. Parks in our world are not nearly as easy to come by here as they are in the US. (I guess space is such a premium, that a park seems like a waste.) But, we are thankful that our new apt. is near such a rariety! To your left, Savannah is sitting on a rock at a "pay-park" a block or two down the street from our future home. A one month membership costs about $4 for our entire family. And, thankfully, today (April 27) they let us purchase a May membership. This park is full of flowers, water fountains, and ponds. It is super pretty this time of year! It also has swimming pool that look like lots of fun. (I assume it will open in a month or two), and a mini-amuesment park with several kiddie rides. My boys were so excited to get to ride on a choo-choo train!!

Also, in our apt. complex, across a parking lot from our building, there is another "park" as my kids refer to it. It actually is a cement playgound area. Although the concrete is a little rough on the knees, they seem to love playing there. I foresee that being a great place to get to know neighbors, when I can talk, that is! Clearly, my boys haven't quite mastered the see-saw yet!

Savannah on a "treadmill"!

True Confessions of a Coffee Snob

Since we arrived in our "new home" as my boys are constantly calling our hotel room, I have not had a good cup of coffee. As a matter of fact, I have not even had a "real" cup of coffee (not instant) out side of McDs. But, those of you who know me, know that coffee is not optional in my world. It's right up there with air and water when it comes to life's necessities. But, I'm happy to report that last night my wonderful husband found and bought us a 12 cup coffee pot! So, as I write this I am sipping wonderful, imported (in my carry-on) Starbucks coffee. Oh, how delightful!

Other news in our world, we are making progress in preparing our apartment. Saturday and Sunday the painters came and painted all our walls. Monday Brad took the first steps in getting our kitchen created. (Right now it's totally bare ~ one plastic sink is all that's there.) He also bought our frig. Tuesday, the floor people came in to lay our hardwood floors (carpet is not available here). And last night (Tuesday night) we spent over 4 hours in an appliance store purchasing 4 AC units, a hot water heater, a washer and dryer (it's one machine that functions as both) and a coffee pot!

Clearly we still have a long way to go, but I'm thankful for the progress we've made! Ideally we'll be in there (without furniture) on Friday or Saturday!

Brad's 800 words

Amy here again. I hope you're not overwhelmed by our blog! Between me and Brad we are posting a ton! As life here settles and becomes more routine, I'm sure the number of posts per week will be cut down drastically! But, until then, we'll write on for the few that are interested....

A few months ago, I had the privilege of visiting a club in Colorado. When I was speaking to a group of women, I shared that Brad had spent 2 years studying our new language and had acquired about an 800 word vocab. That seemed funny to many as 400 words a year doesn't seem like much. And, in the grand scheme of things, it's not. (I hope to acquire more than 400 words in my first year here!) But let me tell you what a blessing those 800 words have been! I'm amazed as I see Brad talk to taxi drivers. Not only is he usually able to communicate our destination, but he often tries to talk with them and ask them questions. (Now, a few times we have had to call people because he just couldn't quite communicate. And one time he even called our hotel and handed the phone to our driver. It was funny, but worked!) He is doing a great job! I'm so thankful for the 100s and 100s of hours he spent studying this language before we got here. I can't imagine both of us being as ignorant as I am!

So much to say....

Amy here.... Over the last few days I have seen so many new and exciting things that I have so much to share! First of all, I'm so thankful for how well my kids are doing. One of my biggest concerns about moving here was how my kids would respond to being surrounded, touched, held, and photographed by locals who had never seen American kids, especially twins. Now, I realize we haven't even been here a week yet, but my children are doing wonderfully! They are quick to smile (Alex usually yells, "Cheese!") when the cameras come out. They have fun saying hello again and again in their new language, and even Peter has been OK when a local picks him up and has even been seen running in to the arms of a person squatting down with arms open wide. Shocker!

This was about the 15th pic that my kids had posed for in this one shop. At the moment Alex is around the corner yelling, "BUG!" while laughing and stomping!

Another really fun thing about our city is the quick and cheap snacks that are available around every corner. There are tons of little shops that sell bottled water ($.12), soda ($.25), and pineapple ($.12 for a quarter of a pineapple on a stick.) That's what Savannah is eating to the right. And, I'm happy to report that there are several pineapple vendors right across the street from our new apartment. Unfortunately, they don't have napkins next to the pineapple, so we get pretty creative in wiping off sticky juice as it runs down our chins!

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I had my first experience with local food recently. I will confess that I ate and extra large breakfast that morning, just in case I couldn't handle it. But, I was so pleasantly surprised. It was really yummy!! We even ate something that resembled fajitas, one of my all time favorite foods. It was pork that was cut in strips, cooked and seasoned in a wok, that you eat wrapped in a "tortilla" that has been made out of egg. Sounds a little strange, but actually quite tasty! There were several other dishes served as well, all of which were good! I left the table quite full! Unfortunately, we didn't make a note of the names of those yummy dishes so last night when we went to the restaurant in our hotel by ourselves, we were lost! But, there was a guy sitting near us that spoke English. He was very helpful. Both dishes he ordered for us were OK. One had a more bones than we'd like, but the other our kids devoured! We made sure we got the name of that one.

Well, I have many more experiences and photos to share, but they'll have to wait for another day. We promised our kids McD's for breakfast, so we're about to head out the door!

Honeymoon?

Brad here. No we are not exactly considering this a second honeymoon, however, those who study the experience of crossing cultures note that many who do so begin with a 'honeymoon' experience with their new culture. Amy and I concluded over supper tonight that we feel that way right now. We seem to enjoy having people laugh at us and misunderstand us. I was (all by myself) attempting to deal with my painter today (who speaks no English) and discuss the area which needed to be painted (and thus charged). He wrote down a figure of 225 square meters. I told him my measurement was closer to 200. He then proceeded to say a phrase I didn't understand. So I pulled out my phone, typed in one word he used and the dictionary said the word is oftentimes used to communicate the following, "You do things your way, I'll do things in mine." My response was to laugh, and to call my bilingual friend who (after talking with him) found out that was not the meaning of my painter.

A taxi driver looked at us like we were crazy when we hopped in his taxi and told him to take us to our hotel (in a city of 3-5 million...there are lots of hotels). Typically I have the business card of the hotel for them to use, but I had lost the card. Therefore, all I could really say was my hotel...near my school (which has a few campuses around the city). Thankfully I had called the hotel earlier in the day and had the number saved in my phone. I called my hotel and handed the phone to my driver who was still wondering what he had gotten himself into. Then, right as we pull up to the correct hotel, I decided that I needed to visit the ATM machine (not too far away). So I tell him "no, no, straight" pointing the way. Again, confused as can be, he proceeded to drive about 5 mph on the shoulder of the road wondering where the in world I wanted to go. It took a little while, but I did get to the ATM and back to the hotel. He got his money and probably resolved to drive past foreigners the next time he spots them.

Thanks for lifting us up. I was especially asking for Him to give us a 'honeymoon' experience (which apparently doesn't always happen). We feel so blessed to be here.

An Entry from the Other Half

Okay, what else does one do at 5:20 AM after he’s already spent an hour working on language and the kids are watching a movie while their mother sleeps? Here’s some initial thoughts:

I love my Treo I brought. Within about 24 hours of being here I had a cell phone b/c I brought an unlocked GSM Treo phone here. I bought a SIM card for 50 cents with about 500 minutes for $10. I was able to call, surf, email, etc. Also, I put a powerful language program on it to where I can consult my device whenever I need that missing word or cannot recognize a certain character. Very helpful.

Speaking of language, things are not as intimidating as I suspected they might be. Yes, my listening skills are extremely poor, but I can often mutter out a word or two which helps me to communicate to them. However, this is not always effective. Yesterday we went to a store that sells and installs floors for you apt. The salesman politely gave my wife and I small cup of purified hot water (on a fairly hot day). Although I’m happy to adapt to my new culture and drink such things, in this situation I was the customer and they (I suspect) would be completely happy to serve me the cold water which was right next to the hot option. After a couple minutes of shopping in this store and after drinking a little hot water, I gave the cup to my salesman and said in my new language ‘cold?’. As a result, they topped off my cup with more hot water since they realized the hot water they served had become cold. Oops.

One last note, our kids are off to a GREAT start here. Thanks so much for your thoughts. They have been taking long naps and going to bed around 7-8pm. They’re still waking up a little early, but overall they seem happy and excited to be here. We shared with some of you how the culture here loves Western kids and will often pick them up, get in their face, pinch cheeks, etc. We’ve seen some of that and by in large, our kids have (it appears) enjoyed it. Even our somewhat introverted Peter has been quick to jump into the arms of a local who might be showing us an apartment or seating us at Pizza Hut (the place we frequented last night).

That's all for now. Back to language study (or sleep?).

Expectations vs. Reality

Wow! Yesterday was our first full day in our new city! We spent the morning walking the city streets with a friend and a realtor. We looked at three apts. (We plan on looking at more this morning.) Then, after a yummy, yummy lunch of chicken fingers and mac'n cheese, salad (with ranch dressing!) and awesome fried potatoes, we put our kids down for a nap at Rachel's house, and Brad and I went exploring alone. After a full day on the streets of my new home, I'll tell you what I expected vs what I really found:

I expected the streets to be covered with trash.
Really, they were pretty clean.

I expected the air to be so hazy I could hardly see.
Really, it was a beautiful day with a BLUE sky! (I hear that's pretty rare, but I'm so thankful our first day was blue!)

I expected to be rebuked my many older women because my kids didn't have on any jackets.
Really, I don't understand the language well enough to hear the rebukes! Only one lady was explicit enough for me to understand her concern about lack of jackets. :) (I carried jackets in my backpack, just in case my kids were too cool, but they weren't!)

I expected to be starving because I "can't" eat the local food.
Really, I've probably gained weight because the food Rachel has served us has been so great! Today for lunch Rachel's house helper will serve us local food, so we'll see....

I expected my kids to get lost, run over or be completely exhausted while walking around town.
Really, they were awesome! They walked for such a long time yesterday morning with out much complaint at all!

I expected to drink yucky, shelf-life milk with some form of funny, local cereal.
Really ~ not only did Rachel give us "real" milk, but also Honey Bunches of Oats, my all time, forever favorite!

I expected to have way more time to write this post.
Really, my kiddos need my help and attention right now!

Final expectation: I expected to be blessed and guided by my Father.
Really, He has blessed us beyond belief! Thank you, thank you, Father!

Ready or not, here we go!

This afternoon we packed our 11 trunks, 4 suitcases, 1 duffel and 10 carry-ons and 1 double stroller on my dad's trailer. Can you just imagine us pulling up to the curb-side check in guy with a trailer?!?! I'd bet he'd run the other way! Unfortunately, when you're traveling internationally, you don't have the luxary of using curb-side.....

So, we'll plan on waking up about 3:30am to catch our 7:30 flight. After a full 24+ hours of traveling, we'll arrive in our new city about 7:30pm Tuesday night (7:30am in America). I'll look forward to "talking" to you from the other side of the world! I'm not sure how much access we'll have to internet, so it may be few days before we can post again....

Getting Ready

Today was quite the day. Brad and I passed our kids off to our parents for a fun day of riding bikes outside, visiting Chuck-E-Cheese, and getting to take naps at Papa and Nana's house. (-- a treat since we're only staying at Grandma's house this time.) While they were gone, we packed, unpacked, repacked, and packed some more! It was quite a draining day. Brad spent the first hour weighing the 10 suitcases we had already packed while I sorted all of our clothes in to 'need now', 'need when we get there', and 'don't need for a while' piles. Then we began to tackle our bed....

We are taking a select comfort sleep number bed with us. Most of the beds in the part of Asia we'll be living in are super hard, so we were encouraged to look into sleep number beds since they are air beds and can be packed in trunks. The only problem is that most of the pieces are foam. That means they're really bulky and REALLY light. Now, I know that 16 suitcases and 10 carry-ons seems like a lot, but when that's all we get to pack our whole life in, the space is precious and must be maximized. So, in an effort to get every suitcase to 50 lbs, I bought some space saver bags. They are basically huge Ziploc that have a valve to insert your vacuum hose to suck out all the air. These bags are so great!!! I was amazed at how well they worked on all these foam pieces. It took two of us to stuff the huge pieces in the mega Ziploc, but once it was zipped, it would shrink so much! We were able to get the bags in 3 different suitcases/trunks with many other things around them to get each piece to 50lbs. I'm just hoping that the TSA guys don't unzip our bags, because they'll never make it fit again!

After we got the bed packed up, we spent the rest of the day packing and shifting already packed items. Brad was the weigh-er and collect-er while I was the actual pack-er. And, I pleased to say that by the end of the day, we have 11 trunks, 4 suitcases, and 5 carry-ons ready for the plane. And, it was amazing how unified Brad and I were throughout the day. I anticipated us differing on what to cut, what to make fit, etc., but it wasn't an issue. PTL!

Now, after a hot shower and eating yummy Mexican food for dinner (our third time since we got to town :) ) I'm ready to hit the hay! Brad recommended I take tomorrow off and make our final Wal-mart run on Sat. I'm gladly planning to follow that recommendation! Good night!

Virginia Debrief

I can hardly believe that our two months in Virginia are over! Time is flying by! While we were in Virginia we lived on a campus with about 225 other people (adult and kids). Our home was a "quad." Our family had three bed rooms, one bathroom, and a mini kitchenette with a breakfast nook. Then we shared a great room/ living room area with another family of 5 and three single guys. Each weekday we'd start our morning off at 8am by meeting with our assigned group (6 adults, 6 kids -- 5 and under) for morning study. Then, we'd take our kids to "school" and head to our own classes. Savannah loved school! She had 6 little girls in her class. They learned about the countries each girl is moving to, how to have a positive attitude about trying new foods, and lots of fun new songs!

Peter and Alex also enjoyed school, although they were sometimes sad when we dropped them off. They are both learning so much. They seem to be talking much more and have grown a foot! They fell in love with their teacher and have continued to ask for her now that we're in Texas.

Brad and I also really enjoyed the classes we attended! We were challenged, equipped, encouraged and motivated. At 3:00 (some days 5:00) we'd pick up our kids. If the weather was nice, we'd play at one of the play grounds on campus or walk around the lake. Then, at 5:00 we'd head to the cafeteria for dinner. Since I was busy all day, it was a blessing that all of our meals were provided. But, after four months of being out of my own kitchen, I do miss cooking for my family! After dinner, we'd head back home and get the kids ready for bed. They usually went down between 7:00 and 7:30 since they had to wake up earlier than we did in KY. After the kids were down, Brad and I would read, hang out, email, or occasionally work on any assignments we had for our classes.

Overall, our time in Virginia was very blessed. I'm so thankful for the training we all were able to receive. The hardest aspect of our time in Virginia was being away from my kids all day. I'm thankful it was only for 2 months and that they were so well taken care of!

Here are a few more fun pics for your viewing pleasure:

A tree behind our quad became a favorite hang out for a lot of the kids!


Savannah tie-dyed at t-shirt with her school friends.

Could you please repeat that?

As we just wrapped up our training in VA, our hearts are full of excitement as we prepare to move overseas! While we were there, we decided that we would like to send Savannah to a national school for a few hours each week to help facilitate her language learning and friend-building. So, an effort to prepare Savannah for attending a local Asian school, I had the following conversation with her:

Me: Savannah, are you enjoying going to school here in VA?

Savannah: Yes.

Me: Did you know that you’ll get to go to school when we get to our new home?

Savannah: Yes, Mommy, you’ve already told me that.

Me: Well, your teacher will not speak English. How are you going to know what to do when she says, “Everybody sit down” in her language?

Savannah: I’m going to listen really hard and then, do what she says.

Me: Well, Sweetie, you’ll be able to hear her, but you won’t understand her. How will you know that she wants you to sit down?

Savannah: I’ll ask her, “Could you please repeat that?” Then, I’ll do what she says.

Me: That’s very respectful, Savannah, but she won’t understand you, since she doesn’t speak English. How are you going to know what to do when she says, “#&^%&%#$ ^#@ %^$ @%^%&#^”

Savannah: Mommy, I don’t know….

Well, after pointing out that she can watch the other kids, and do what they do, she felt better!