We are doing great. Adjusting to life here with two kids has presented its fair share of challenges, but the kids are much more resilient than the two of us. We have a great apartment currently with a beautiful view of the Petronas Towers.
It hasn’t been the best choice for the kids though as there are limited playmates. We have a small pool to splash around in which is nice. We are considering moving and have been looking at other places to settle in. We wake most work mornings to a quiet Muslim call to prayer http://balaams-ass.com/alhaj/calltoprayer.htm. It isn’t too loud. There are loud speakers on top of the mosque and depending on which way they are pointed really affects your real estate value and we are careful to choose the next home. Did I mention the monkeys in our neighborhood? They are good fun to watch in the trees outside through the windows of the condo. They are very smart. The day we were moving in, they came through one of the windows in the master bathroom and bit into nearly 5 bottles of much needed supplies like mosquito repellant, sunscreen, baby Tylonol, and hair conditioner. They like to get into the trash as well. Brian had a little confrontation with a few of them at the rubbish bins. I’ll tell more detailed stories of them on the next blog.We have a live in helper called an amah. Her name is Daisy and she watches Phoenix while we are out, cooks most meals, cleans, and does the laundry. It is wonderful. She has just left today for a required trip to the Philippines. She needed to sort out her passport, her recent marriage, and then she will return again. We have a temporary helper that started today. It is a bit awkward, but it hasn’t ever felt awkward with Daisy. We really lucked out with the personality match. We thought that she was leaving for good and have spent the last month interviewing 13 potential amahs. Only one was a match. It is difficult to find a good live in helper. Hopefully, if all goes well for her then she will return in a few weeks.
Our days at work are an adjustment as well... new country, American school standards, new curriculum, new to teaching in the elementary school and high school, new teaching math (it’s been 15 years since I last taught math), new to the MAC platform, sketchy internet connections and network at school. It has been an adjustment. I laughed inside while I was trying to memorize all of the students’ names on the first day of school. Names, like Kim, Chung Su, Kim, Woo Sub John, Kim, Sang Woo, and Min Hyo, who are Korean boys who hardly speak any English. Then there is Diksha, Shiv, Gita, JiNa, Rhea, Juanita… it goes on and on. I have students from every continent except Antarctica! The kids and staff are incredible and I love, as does Brian, the people we work with. That makes it worthwhile. Everyone is very dedicated to kids.
Rex started the equivalent of Kindergarten called Prep Senior in our school. He was definitely ready for the grade despite his late birthday. He turned 5 on August 5th, the day before school started. He is good friends with Luke from Holland, a little girl named Jenin from India, and Ali from Malaysia. Rex secretly loves Lilia who is from Europe somewhere. As a matter of fact, today he said that we should move to Hampstead Rise Apartments because Lilia lives there. His teacher is from Florida and she is great. She says that he is truly a leader. It made me smile when she said that. He comes home singing new songs and counting by 2’s to 100 and all kinds of new things. Last week was Merdeka, Malaysia’s 51st Independence Day, and he came home with a Malaysian flag and told me all about the holiday. He takes swimming lessons twice a week at the elementary school. Yes, we have a great pool at both the elementary and middle/high school campuses. He is really growing up quickly and I love that he is already becoming so globally aware.
Phoenix is smiling all the time despite his constant battle with mosquitoes. They eat him up and do not even come near to any of the rest of us. He enjoys a few play dates here and there. We would like more for him and that is another big reason to cut our losses with our current condo and move. We have lots of new friends with kids, but none of the stay at home moms have cars yet. We are at the mercy of our amah to walk him places and we live on a big hill up sixty stairs, away from most people with kids. Did I mention the view? Anyway, he is still happy. He is always happy. I love that about him. He almost has all of his teeth and he loves to brush them. He says what’s this?, hot, oh, no, up, mom, ba (bottle), dad, Rex, thank you (here and there), and today I think that he said scary and your welcome. Don’t be fooled by all of the smiles… he is very demanding and gets what he wants when he wants it. He is growing and thriving at 17 ½ months.
Ramadan has just begun and we are witnessing the fasting ritual. I have a student who is Muslim and goes to the library with other Muslim children during lunch and break. Once sunset comes around 7:20 or so, then the feasting begins. We witnessed it tonight. There are restaurants near our home in an area called Naan (like Indian bread) Corner. The place was empty when we arrived and started to fill up quickly for the buffet. Many families sat with food on their plates and waited. Then in the distance, I heard the call to prayer (it is 5 times a day) and then on the television there was a caller too. We didn’t know that this was on TV too as we don’t have any cable at our home. Once it was over the feast began. Only 28 more days to go! By the way, our dinner cost a meager $7.50 US for the entire family. We think that it is less expensive to eat out than to eat at home. However, it really depends on where you eat. Tonight in Naan Corner there was a box by the counter which housed a stray cat and her kittens and another cat that was trying to eat Phoenix’s chicken satay without much success. He likes his food.
We’ve taken the kids to beach twice and I’m happy to be able to do that here...
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