Settling In

After our second week here, we feel more at home and settled in. The house, although still empty, is beginning to feel like our home. Our air freight shipment arrived and was quickly unpacked. I think Christopher's basketball, our computer, Kevin's golf clubs and the dog beds were the most appreciated items. Some items that I was expecting to come via air freight did not arrive so I can only hope they were included in our sea freight and not sent to storage. Our internet was connected and that seemed to make everyone very happy! We felt so out of touch with the world without it.

We have become more comfortable driving the golf cart outside Nichada and, by doing so, increased our options for things to do and places to go. After Kevin received his golf clubs, he and Caitlynne went to the driving range (right outside Nichada) a couple of times. We went to a funky Mexican restaurant (also outside the gate) and met some other Embassy families that also just arrived here. I have taken the kids to the mall and we have been out to lunch with friends. Our social sponsor, Laura, took myself and another newcomer to more upscale (by Bangkok standards) grocery store which was much easier to navigate. We did go back to the first grocery store I had been to and she explained how it was laid out, what the different products were and what items to avoid (or buy). It was so helpful and made me feel much better about cooking here. Laura also took us to a Home Depot-like store so we could buy various household items and small appliances.

Several more families have moved into our neighborhood and there are a lot more kids around. Caitlynne was very happy to meet three girls who will be in 7th grade with her. One of those girls lives two doors down from us and there is also a 7th grade boy across the street. Christopher still needs a 6th grade friend but I am sure once he is out playing basketball or going to the pool, he will meet other boys very quickly. He is going to try out for the school basketball team on August 13th and Caitlynne is going to try out for the school swim team on August 20th. Kevin and Christopher have been practicing their shots on the court at the sports club but once we have our access cards for school, we will use those courts. Caitlynne is also swimming a lot and prefers our small neighborhood pool over the 50 metre one at the sports club.

I attended an orientation at the Embassy and met the Ambassador and her Deputy. Both women seemed very nice and supportive of the families here. The kids and I had a review of our medical records and found that we each needed two shots for diseases unique to Southeast Asia. That was not fun at all and our arms were pretty sore for a few days after.