Puto and Preschool

A lot of people have asked me how Tate is adjusting to preschool? I am surprised because it is kind of long day for a little guy (three hours every day). He is loving it! Last week he made puto, sounds like (Poo-Toe) steamed rice cakes. I tried it and it tasted like muffin butter...not bad! He was so proud of his cooking day. I usually hang out with him for a few minutes before taking off and I noticed that a few of the four year olds were reading and writing! It made me wonder if Sydney is getting her lunch kicked at Kindergarten. Some one told me here, that Asians in general, believe in teaching their children at a young age also intense to get them ahead (they graduate earlier here, like 16). In the US, you get your education over a longer period of time. I can see the advantage of both styles, all though the pride in me wants to stand up and shout "ALL HALE TO YOU OUR PG HIGH!"

Tate eating his puto

 I am learning that the Filipinos know how to throw a party. Tate was invited to a birthday party that was held during class. The birthday boy wanted a bus ride and so that is just what he got! His Mom and Dad rented a tour bus and took all six kids and yayas (helpers) on a bus ride through our village. Tate has been on cloud nine for a week. I don't really want to "keep up with the Jones" but I think I might have to order a baby elephant to top this!

Asian Mullet...to all my sista's!

Okay it's not that bad, my first Filipino hair cut turned out just fine, I don't lay awake at night thinking about it but it will be sufficient! JM (male hairstylist, and yes, I am certain he probably played with Barbie more than Ken....actually maybe it was Ken?) any ways, his technique was shred and shred he did.  As many of you know, I take pride in my hair do. When life gets me feeling a little crazy it is how I give myself a quick pick me up.  Let me just say, it is way past time for a cut and color. I can not bring myself to go "Asian dark" but I think I am running out of options...I here it is difficult to find a place that can whip up blond hotness, and the referral I did get was CRAZY expensive. I did not let JM test out his color skills on me, maybe next time.  He kind of scared me off with his-half a eye brow missing look, he said it is so his face will stand out. No worries JM, I think it works.  I decided to go with a simple short cut, you may not notice a huge difference, but I actually went quite a bit shorter due to the fact that my hair is constantly dripping wet, it usually looks like I just finished running a half marathon, but without the run. So here it is, an "after" picture of me and JM.

Manila Ocean Park

A friend told me we would always be saying or thinking "This would never fly in the good ole' USA!" and it is true, I think that at least a few hundred times a day. Especially when we visited the Manila Aquarium, it was awesome but I did wonder if my kids were going to witness a human tragedy when the scuba diver fed the fish. It was a feeding frenzy extravaganza!  The scuba man was cute, he was so busy waving to Tate that I thought "Dude, watch out for the over sized eel, and look that giant grouper is going to take off your left arm" I was panicked, I felt like shouting "You are shark bait for sure pal, GET OUT!" Good news, no Filipino tragedy and we all enjoyed our first real family outing in Manila.

 This really does exist....

 I could not talk Sydney in to getting her piggies nibbled on with me, maybe next time. 

You would think our kids were rock stars here or a science experiment due to the amount of people touching their blond hair or asking for a picture with/or of them. I think our kids are to young to even realize that it is not normal to have strangers petting your hair or snapping photos. These ladies asked if they could take a picture with the Blondie's.

I would chalk our day up for a successful outing. We had a great time and would definitely do this again!

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

This is to all my peeps that want to know the Good the Bad and the Ugly so far.  Granted, we have only been here for a few weeks so some of my views may change. Lets start with a wish list of things I wish I would have brought along for the ride. More of my dishes to entertain people (because we have so many friends here)...Just kidding, we have NO friends but we treat the guards like they are family well maybe not family but we did introduce them to corn hole (mid west's version of horseshoes). Last Friday night we were playing with them and I said to Trent "Is it sad that our friends are security guards that only understand about a third of what we are saying?" But in truth, I really do miss some of my kitchen appliances/pretty serving bowls, it would not have been a big deal to bring them and it would have saved me some cash (because I have had to re buy a lot of my electrical appliances). I could have plugged mine from home in to a transformer, never mind that it weighs 20 pounds and you wonder if you are going to get electrocuted every time you plug it in. I tried to minimize kitchen stuff but I wish I wouldn't have.
The second most thing that I wish I would have purchased was more American cereal. You can  find a few select brands here, like Frosted Mini Wheats but it is between $8-9 dollars a box, OUCH! Our supply is near gone and the Philippine version of cereal does not look as appealing. (Did I mention that for half gallon of milk it is about $4? Maybe I should buy a goat, and name him Pepe. More American treats in general would have been a good idea. Trent has been saving a bag of chocolate licorice, he eats a couple of pieces every night (he is about to have a rude awakening when he goes to the market and sees his options :) Although, the bonus to this small crisis is it has helped me in the weight area, along with sweating off a bucket of fluid every day.
Third, and finally I think their have been a few little things that I think "man I wish I would have brought that" like table lamps (because, they are either ridiculously ugly,cheep AND most of the time ridiculously priced). This sounds kind of funny but we have spent so much of our time looking for just a couple of regular alarm clocks, I would compare our shopping to that of the Dollar Store in options and quality. Sometimes I feel like we have stepped back in time and that these guys got all of our leftover damaged goods from the 80's. I went to buy wrapping paper and it was sold by the the sheet and it looked like they had already used it a couple of times (should have listened to Sina). Those are a few minor things, but nothing we can not live with out.
Any time I think "this is lame" or "what the heck?" It does not last long because a short ride through town makes me realize how blessed we are and I get over it pretty quick. I would say up to this point we have had an awesome first month, yes, I may miss a few of my favorite things but that void feels up quickly and in a lot of ways, I feel like I am seeing life in color.
 

Jeepney rider playing his drums  for money.

Say Pepe!

Ever since Syd started school Tate has been going crazy, he asks me all the time "when can I go to school?" I found him a great preschool and he loves it. Standard practice around here is 5 days a week nine am to noon. I can not believe he is down with going that many hours each day? Their are about six children in his class and four teachers. They are all so cute and smiley. Tate made friends the first day with a little boy named Pepe (go ahead and say it out loud) it makes me laugh every time.

Pepe, cute teacher (I can't pronounce her name yet) and the Tater.

Tate's newest member of the "Man Club"is Neilman our temporary driver (we call him Neil) Tate digs him but Emmy has also staked her claim to him as well. Neil is the only one allowed to put Tate in and out of  his car seat. Tate spends a good portion of his day chill'n outside with him. Neil has a little girl turning three soon so he is super cute with our little bandits. Thanks Neil!

A day at the mall

 It is kind of funky how many malls they have here, in fact the largest mall in Asia is in Manila. I heard it would take three days to see it all (Smithsonian has nothing on them). If you like shopping and are a size one, fit in a "A cup" and have a foot size of 5 or less than this is the place for you. I do not qualify for any of those things so it is kind of a bust for me however, we did find some pretty funny things for the kids to enjoy.  Yes, we did have to soak them in a bucket of bleach when we got home but man was it fun!

Over sized stuffed animals  that are battery operated,

now that is a good time!

I think in the short time that we have lived here, the number one thing that I have learned is to have patience, lots of it. If you purchase anything little or large plan on it taking a half hour to get from the check out to the exit of the store not too mention wait time for the driver. The first time we purchased something that was electronic they asked if I would like to have it tested? "Why?"- I guess you always have everything tested to make sure it works before you leave the store (hmmm....).  Then they make you come over and show you that it is in working condition before you leave. It makes you feel really confident about your purchase. Trent was playing "store" with Sydney the other night and she said,"Wait one moment sir, I need to test it before you can leave." Perfect!

Trent and Tate waiting for our driver. You text your driver to say "ready" and wait for your sweet Asian express to show up!

Mabuhay!

WELCOME TO THE PHILIPPINES!

These are just some random pictures of our flight over and us getting settled. I have been really lame at snapping photos, maybe it is the culture shock or the heat. I am recommitting to pulling out my camera and to start snapping because their are so many good blogging opportunities here.  I feel like my jaw is constantly dropped and I am either laughing or cyring (I am sure it helps with the stares that are coming my way).

SLC Airport just minutes before our "peaceful" flight.

 

 

 

I am sure that the fine people in business class rolled their eyes more than a few times at us. Syd and Tate seemed to manage fine....this one on the right, not so much.  The  best advice that was given was to take her car seat. I hope we can find away to strap her in it until she is 12. out of our 16 hour flight she slept for about 3 hours (painful)!

This picture says it all...HOT & MUGGY! This is us and a few belongings outside the Manila Airport. I am pretty sure that I have never smelled smells like that in my life (a mixture of pee,pee and bad cabbage?)

 

 

 

These next few are just random shots of what you see everyday here. I am shocked at what day to day life is for these people and it is a constant reminder to me and the kids to be happy for what we have.

 

Kindergarten Baby!

My Syd started Kindergarten four days after we arrived to the Philippines, not even enough time to get over the jet lag. I have been surprised with how well the kids are doing with this, especially Sydney. She gets on the bus every morning at 7:00 am and gets home around 3:20 pm.  I keep asking her if she is tired after her long days, but she just says "Mommmm.... NO, I LOVE IT! I kind of hope she just wants too give up on the whole school thing and chill out at home with me. I think she must be a little tired because when she comes home her pigtails are not so perky and she kind of has that glazed over look in her eyes. I am loving her school stories, "Mom, the kids eat with sticks and they always want to eat rice, oh and I sit by Haun Yaung on the bus and he told me we could already buy Toy Story Three." (sweet, she is already hearing about all the pirated goods in East Asia).

First day at Brent International

Syd is on the bus for 55 minutes one way. I wonder if a day will pass by that I do not wonder if I really just put my Syd on a big bus in a third world country? I give myself little pep talks about how good this is for her and me, sometimes it helps sometimes it doesn't.

Me and Syd at her interview

Sydney is coming up on her first two weeks; I am starting to see that she has quickly settled in to a nice routine and it makes me happy to see her so happy. We pack her a lunch everyday (okay, Joan does), I take all three of the kids to the bus stop with me. I think that most of the people dropping off the kids are helpers not parents. We are for sure the only whities at the bus stop and they look at us like we are a patch of snow in a Arizona dessert. When she gets home, she kisses all over Tate and Emmy, jumps in her swim suit and swims for an hour or so has a quick snack and does it all over again the next day. Sydney gets the rock star sticker for sure. She has made the move easy with her willingness to jump right in and not being afraid of all of the new things coming her way. Happy Kindergarten Syd!

 

Church?

Our Filipino ward building

Testing, Testing...One, Two, Three! I have never wanted to be a member of the church that shops for that "perfect ward" but I might have to test the waters a bit. We experienced our first Filipino ward and for lack of a better word, CRAZY! Not so much for them, but for us.  

ME NO SPEAK TAGALOG! 

The first meeting is Primary then Sunday school with Sacrament meeting held last. I attended Primary with the kids(to kind of help them break the ice). Everything was good, we even got a really 

  jazzy version of,"Hello-Hello-We Welcome You This Day" I got the big time giggles and my kids got the big time scare of their life, I think I might still have finger nail marks in my legs. They really did give us a very warm welcome. I was impressed that our kids were not even too phased with the fact that most of Primary was in Tagalog, then again, they may still have had a little shell shock from the warm greeting. 

My favorite part for sure, was hearing the children sing the primary songs. It is such a quick way to feel the spirit and for a few minutes, life felt familiar.  I was shocked with how little they have   

(no pictures, props, piano) and yet those extra things do not  make the difference of being able to feel the comfort of the spirit.  I would say over all, it was a successful hour other than, no nursery for Emmy and that most of it was in a different language and maybe a few minor culture differences (which could make a funny blog by itself) everyone was happy. It made me realize that I am going to have to be more diligent in teaching gospel principles at home. By the time the third hour was finished I was looking at Trent like "What are we going to do? "Which brings me to option two- the English branch....Tomorrow.

The Move

I have so much to share but I have decided to start from the beginning. We have now been here for almost two weeks. We are still trying to get things under control but I thought I would post a few pics of Trent getting the house all ready for us to join him. While we (me and the kiddies) were chilling in Utah, he got everything moved in. It was so nice to come and have everything pretty much set up. The kids thought it was Christmas morning, reuniting with their old toys.

Three security guards on the left (Jonathon,Gerald, Vincent)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rather than one load in a large truck they bring your items packed in one little truck, empty it and go back for more.

Any time Trent would snap a photo they would all stop working and cheese it. I love how happy they are!

I am not sure it exactly feels like home yet, but it is so nice to see familiar items when I walk inside. Like any move, it will feel better when we have some order!