End of the Week

Thursday and Friday of this week were "Teacher Work Days" (not sure why they are called that as it implies teachers are not working any of the other days) so the kids were off from school.  Caitlynne went with a friend downtown on Thursday to go to an aquarium and have lunch.  I stayed with Christopher so he could go to a friend's birthday party in the afternoon.  Friday was low-key as Caitlynne had a basketball game at 7.30 pm and I didn't want to tire her out.  We went to the mall for lunch and to look around for the afternoon. 

My new Thai words this week were left, right, go ahead and stop.  I am hoping these words will replace the hand signals I am currently using with the taxi drivers.  Left is "sai" (pronounced "si", similar to "yes" in Spanish).  Right is "kwa".  Go ahead is "trong pbai" and stop is "tee nee". 

Our dinner Thursday night...

Calamari with a spicy chili vinaigrette - garnished with mint leaves & slices of sweet red peppers.

PeePorn also made curried chicken and rice dish with celery, almonds, and yellow and orange peppers.  It was so delicious!  The dressing on the rice reminded us of the mustard curry dressing served at Chicken Kitchen, one of our favorite take aways in Miami.

 

Have a great Friday night everyone!

This And That

Here it is Wednesday already!  Kevin is in Hong Kong for a few days so the kids and I are on our own.  Not always such a bad thing.  I did not get to go to the Ambassador's reception Monday evening as there was too much homework & studying to be done with the kids.  Kevin did go and said the official residence is amazing.  Oh well, next time I will go for sure! 

We are still waiting on a delivery date for our HHE.  Long story short, the woman who has spoken with and/or emailed Kevin at least every other day for the past three weeks neglected to tell us until last Thursday that we needed to provide them with a copy of our HHE inventory before they could even begin to process our shipment (which has been in-country since August 28th)  through Customs.  It is a good thing Kevin is communicating with them as you can only imagine my reaction.  As a friend (in a similar situation) said to me this morning, "every day here is a day of school."  So, the wait continues.

This week started off slow in terms of social activities so a friend and I did a little more exploring of the local shops and stores.  On Monday, we found a great plant nursery (and I use that term quite loosely) nearby.  There were several stalls offering beautiful plants, pottery, fish (water gardens are very popular here) and all kinds of gardening supplies.  We went back again yesterday and I bought some things for our front entrance patio.  I cannot believe what a difference just these few things made.  Take a look....

Photo below - I think that is a lime tree in the pot (couldn't understand what the vendor was telling me).  Whatever it is, it is loaded with little fruits!

Photo below - This plant is actually some type of water lily (the pot is filled with water).  There were a lot more varieties of water plants but I liked this one because it was so tall and could fill up more space.

I have no idea what the plant below is but wanted something to hang here and the area gets too much sun for an orchid.  I think this plant will have vines that grow up and out to fill in that open space a bit. 

I am going to go back either this afternoon or tomorrow to pick up another one of the potted lime trees so I have two to flank the entrance to the door.  We have a side patio where we plan to put our grill and patio furniture and I would like to put some sort of a fountain with fish out there but need to look around a bit more to find exactly what I have in mind.

I knew that I would have a lot of "free" time on my hands once we arrived in Bangkok and I wanted to set some goals to accomplish a few things during our time here.  A few of my goals are simple and really go hand in hand with our moving here and our lifestyle.  Obviously, we want to travel around Thailand and Southeast Asia and experience as much of this part of the world as possible.  I would like to learn to cook Thai food and to learn a bit of the language and about the culture as well. 

There were a few other things I have wanted to do for some time and I resolved to finally act on them while we are here.  My first "goal" was to sort through and organize all of my recipes.  My sister-in-law, Janice, is an excellent cook and has a great system for keeping her recipes in order.  She sometimes writes comments on the recipe with special notes/observations to consider the next time she makes it.  While we were visiting them this summer, I looked through her system and began to plan mine.  As of last weekend, I have sorted through and organized all of my recipes so a big "CHECK" to that goal being accomplished.  I won't bore you with the details but I threw away a lot of recipes for dishes that I never got around to making (and probably would never make) and organized everything pretty specifically.  The only bummer was that going through all of the recipes really gave me an itch to cook and, well, given our lack of HHE and the difficulty in getting some of the ingredients I would need, that just ain't gonna happen. 

My next goal is to organize all of my photos (from the last 6 years) by year on to flashdrives and then catalog them so I can remember all of the who/what/when & wheres.  I am putting this goal on the back burner for now for two reasons.  The first reason is that I am pretty much all organized out after finishing the recipe project and the photo project will require more planning and thought.  The second reason has to do with another goal of mine...

For some time, I have really wanted to take a few on-line classes (of some relevance - not basket weaving 101).  My first preference, obviously, would have been to take classes through American University, UVA or VA Tech but the tuition was too expensive for me to take a class just for "fun".  I found out the University of Maryland has an online program offered through the Embassy so I applied, registered and selected my classes.  My first class began Monday and I have been busy trying to get back into "student" mode.  I am taking "Modern East Asia" for the entire semester and will add a six week class, "People and Cultures of Southeast Asia", at the end of October.  I really know nothing about Asia and since we are going to be living and traveling here for a while, I thought I should learn some of the history and get an understanding of this region.  The classes are a mix of on-line lectures and reading as well as A LOT of writing.  I chose to take the classes for a grade (rather than audit) so I will receive credits that I can apply to other programs when we return to the US.  I try to do my reading/lecture participation during the day and then sit with the kids (at the kitchen table) and do my homework while they do theirs.  Of course, they can't understand why I would willingly go to school...

I need to close this and go run a few quick errands before I meet our neighborhood "group" for our weekly get together.

I Jinxed Myself

Last night, I decided to not go to Christopher's basketball game.  The team was going out to dinner after the game finished (probably about 8 pm) and I wanted to go to bed early.  It was been a long week - these 4.30 am weekday wake-ups are killing me.  Since Kevin would be driving the golf cart to the restaurant, I would have to walk home from the game and, while it is only a mile, it tends to storm pretty horribly here in the evening and I didn't want to get stuck in that.  So, I stayed home and had a quiet evening with a glass of wine and the newest issue of Cooking Light.  It did start to rain quite heavily about 7 pm and, as I listened to the rain, I thought to myself how lucky I was that, since our arrival, it has never rained in the mornings and I have been able to get in all of my runs.  Well, guess what I heard when I woke up at 5.30 this morning?  Pouring rain.  Ugh.  I totally jinxed myself last night!  Taking an unscheduled rest day was not an option since I already slacked off earlier this week.  The rain was still coming down after I walked the dogs and had a cup of coffee, so I got dressed and hit the road.  I was a soaking mess by the time I finished but 8 miles are in the books!

I was incredibly hungry when I finished and quickly made a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.  Unfortunately, I just finished eating when I realized that I used water from the tap (and not the bottled water dispenser) to make the oatmeal.  Drinking and using the tap water to cook with is a huge NO-NO here.  While Bangkok has a first class water filtration plant & system, the pipes that carry the water to homes are in such horrible condition that using water from the tap (even to brush your teeth) is very strongly cautioned against.  In fact, the Embassy provides each home with a water dispenser and provides a weekly water delivery service.  I am certainly paying the price for my mistake as my stomach has been a total mess all day.  For reasons that are way too gross for me to think about, the water quality is especially bad after it rains (which it has been since last night).  Another ugh for today. 

Caitlynne before her first NBBL basketball game

 Caitlynne waiting to play (she is at the end of the bench on your left).

 

Her team won 40-14.  Caitlynne had two great steals, a few rebounds and she took three shots.  She needs a little work on the offense but she is an excellent defensive player!

Below are photos of the list of girls who made the BISAC 13&U Basketball team.  Yes, I looked pretty silly taking photos of this paper on the bulletin board but her being named to the team was a big accomplishment and I know she will be happy to see this posted.

A close up.

Christopher's team lost last night. The Friday night games they play are tough as  they are tired from a long week at school. The difference between our Friday night and Saturday afternoon games is very noticeable. Christopher "kinda sorta" made the boys' BISAC 13&U Basketball team. The coach selected five 7th graders to be the starting team and then five 6th graders to be the second team. Christopher was one of the 6th graders selected so he will practice and go to all of the games and might get to play if needed.  I don't think he was too happy at first but has since warmed to the idea. Two of his close friends were also selected for the 6th grade team so it should be fun. 

Well, once again we did not make it downtown for the Hard Rock Cafe and Mass so I am not sure what our plans are for this evening.  Have a great Saturday!

End Of The Week!

I am not sure how Friday arrived so quickly but I will welcome it with open arms.  Caitlynne made the school basketball team!  Yay!  She was so happy and called me during her break to let me know.  She thought she played really well during the tryouts on Wednesday and Thursday but wasn't sure what the coach would decide. 

Another busy weekend in store for us... Christopher has a basketball game tonight & then a dinner out with the team.  Caitlynne has her first basketball game in the community league tomorrow.  We are going to try to quickly shower and change after her game so we can go downtown for a late lunch/early dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe and then go to 5:30 Mass.  We have been wanting to do this for a few weeks now but always seem to run out of time.  Christopher has baseball practice Sunday morning and then basketball practice in the afternoon.  Caitlynne has a major science "assessment" (the politically correct way of saying "test") on Tuesday so we need to devote some studying time for that as well.  Kevin and I were invited to a reception at the Ambassador's residence on Monday evening but I might not be able to go because now Caitlynne has basketball practice in the evening for the community league and she will need to do a final review for her assessment.  I will see how studying goes over the weekend and make a final decision Monday morning.  I am a little bummed that I might miss it.

Good news on our HHE!  Kevin was notified yesterday that our shipment has arrived in country and is now going through Customs.  Based on the time frame that we have seen with other families here, everything should be delivered to us in about 2 weeks.  Maybe sooner.  Fingers crossed.  Our car is to arrive on September 13th and that, too, should take about 2 weeks to process and deliver to us.  I am hoping the inspections go smoothly and we will be settled in the house with our "stuff" and have automobile transport by the end of the month.  Kevin is leaving for a two week trip on October 2nd and, if our HHE delivery is delayed, he will miss all the fun of unpacking, arranging and what not.  I will save the empty boxes for him to break down and dispose of (my least favorite part of moving!).

In anticipation of our HHE arriving, I am taking lots of "before" photos of the house.  I tried to do this 360 degrees so you could get the full effect of each room.  Today was the master bedroom and bathroom and our family room (downstairs).

This photo is taken from the entry door to the master bedroom.  I was absolutely mortified when I first saw the linens on the bed - a lime green sheet set paired with a brown comforter.  In addition, all of the linens seem to be sized for a single bed so when one of us rolls over at night, the other loses his/her share of the sheet/comforter. The mint green rug adds another color to the disgusting mix.  Now do you see why I am so anxious for our HHE to arrive?  I cannot wait until I have "after" photos to post!

In the photo below, the window to the right of the dresser overlooks the entry/staircase/living room area. 

The master bedroom entrance.  The door to my closet is to the right.

My closet.  I was able to "steal" these two dressers from the kids' rooms and stack them in the closet for additional space. 

At first glance, the closets look very big and like there will be enough storage space.  However, I have found that the addition of the cubbies, drawers and shelves is very limiting - nothing is really the "right" size or large enough. 

Not just another Hefty garbage bag... also known as our laundry basket.

The view to the East from the master bedroom balcony. The sun rises right at the end of that street.

 

The view to the North.

The view to the South.

An aerial view of our front yard.  The landscaping is beginning to fill out and the trees have a lot more leaves on them than when we first arrived.

Another aerial view - the front door is in the bottom right corner of the photo.

The master bathroom.  Not much to explain here.

The photos below are of the family room downstairs. 

We plan to put the weight bench and recumbent bike in this area.  The big chest is what held our "Welcome Kit".  I cannot wait to pack all of that stuff up and give it back.

 This door leads out into the front door entry area. 

The downstairs bathroom. 

To close out, I shall leave you with photos of last night's dinner.  Kevin and I went to Open House at ISB so we didn't even sit down to eat until almost 8.45 pm. 

A beautiful salad - lettuce, mango, oranges, yellow pepper, tomatoes, and Gorgonzola.  Delicious!

We don't eat a lot of red meat in our home (mostly because I can't stand to touch it) so this dish was definitely a treat... thinly sliced steak, red onion, basil, garlic, mint, and chilies in some kind of vinaigrette. 

A fun display of fruited fried rice.  Kevin and Christopher both dislike cooked fruit so this was not such a hit with them.  I loved it though - the pineapple and raisins were interesting additions.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Outside The Front Gate

First things first.  Both of the kids made the first round of cuts for the school travel basketball teams.  Final cuts are this afternoon.  Caitlynne was also asked to play in the community basketball league.  One of the teams lost a player due to a broken finger - the coach saw Caitlynne practicing with Kevin and now she is on a team and has two games this weekend. 

Today, I managed to accomplish another "first" for me.  In Bangkok, all of our utilities are paid for by the U.S. Government and we only pay for cable and  telephone.  When I received those two bills in the mail for the first time, it took me a while to figure out exactly what services we were being billed for. Just for kicks, here is a photo of one of the bills we received so you can see what I was trying to decipher.  If you "click" directly on the photo, that should enlarge it a bit for more detail.

This morning, I was in a panic having realized that I read the due date wrong.  On the bills, the due date was written as being 11/9/54.  In Thailand, as it was in Australia, the day is written first and then month is written.  So, while I thought the bills were due on November 9th, they were actually due on September 11th (which made more sense!).  Since this was my first time paying these bills, I did not want to leave everything to the last minute in case there was a problem and I needed to call someone or go to another location to pay.  I have been told that service is disconnected immediately if payment is not received on time.  Yikes!  So, my plan for today was to get those bills paid! 

As an aside, for those inquiring minds out there... the "54" (in the date above) is the current year according to the Buddhist calendar, the official calendar in Thailand.  The Buddhist calendar is 543 years ahead of our Gregorian calendar so they are in year 2554 and we are in 2011.  I guarantee you will learn something new from each of my blog entries! 

We have found that Thailand is essentially a "cash" economy and everything, including household bills, is paid in cash.  Since you just can't stick your Baht in an envelope and mail to the telephone company, many of the local shops accept payment.  Most of my friends just give their maids the money and have them pay the bills.  However, I was very curious to see how this process worked so off I went. The closest such store to me was the 7-11 right outside our front gate.  The bill paying was uneventful and I did get receipts for my payments so that was all good. 

The best part of my day was when I realized I had my camera in my purse and could take photos of the streets right outside the front gate of Nichada for the blog.  It is interesting because, out the front gate, it is basically a slum (as evidenced in these photos).  Out the Seechaitong (or side) gate, it is more of a middle class (by Thai standards only) neighborhood.  I will have to take some photos of that area next so you can see the difference.  Again, click on the photos to enlarge for more detail.  Anyway, on to the photos...

The photo below is taken looking down the street.  The 7-11 where I paid the bills is up on the right.

The photos below are of the food stalls that are set up on the sidewalks and along the sides of the street.  These types of stalls are ALL over Bangkok.  You never have to look far for food and there are so many choices available.  Some stalls might just sell one "specialty" item (like satay or fresh cut fruit) and other stalls will have many dishes available.  The food and drinks sold are primarily for take away and rarely is seating available.   The vendor usually lives in the rear area of the property with his/her family.  Often there is laundry hung around, animals laying on the ground and children doing homework or playing.  Obviously, not much consideration is given to health measures and sanitary conditions.

Notice the "Subway" sign in the upper left hand corner of the photo below.  We haven't eaten there yet but have been told it is just like back home.

The "structure" in the photo below is worth its own caption as it is a coffee shop.  It is hard to believe that, less than 1/2 mile away, in Nichada, there is a lovely Starbuck's, just like you would find in the U.S.

The photo below is of a stall in the market area.  Every day, the market vendors begin to set up their wares after lunch and stay open until very late in the night.  Fruits, vegetables, meats and prepared foods are sold as well as a few household items.  When we drive by at night, it reminds me of a church bazaar. There are strings of lights hung about, music playing and smoke rises from the different grills and stoves.  It looks very festive.  There are similar markets all over Bangkok as most Thais do not cook at home so they go to the market for dinner and to socialize.  The markets are always very busy.

 A vendor setting up produce for the afternoon market.  To the left you can see a "tuk tuk".

The photos below were taken on a residential street.  Take note of the public telephone booth on the left side of the street.  Believe it or not, they do still exist.  In fact, because I am still without a cell phone, I have used public telephones several times. 

 More food stalls on the left and up the street on the right. 

The home in the photo below is probably one of the nicer homes in the area (outside of Nichada). 

There are always lots of chickens roaming around.  I did not see a soi dog while I was out today, which was very unusual.

Back in the bubble that is Nichada...  I took the golf cart for a drive around the lake to take some photos of the flora.  I have no idea what the official names of these flowers are.  Some of the flowers here are familiar to me from Miami and others are some that I have never seen.  Everything is incredibly green and the flowers are so brilliantly colored.

The photo below is a view of the lake from the southern shore. The building shown is one of the two high rise apartment buildings in Nichada.

The flowers below are very similar to birds of paradise...

The photo below is taken on the street near school.  The gardeners trim these bushes in such a way that the upper portion grows almost like a canopy over the walkway.  Those orange construction cones are used throughout Nichada to distinguish the pedestrian walkway from the street.  It is an odd sight, in our bubble of meticulously landscaped shrubs, beautiful homes and fancy cars, to see orange cones lining the sides of all of the streets.  So tacky! Christopher told me that he thinks Nichada has the most orange cones in the world!

Well, my fingers are sore from typing all of this out so I am going to sign off!