Although I am grateful for internet access, the internet here is so slow and unpredictable it makes us a little crazy at times...OK, a lot crazy. So here is a short clip that expresses how our slow internet is affecting our family:
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
"You Got Skinned!"
So a really nice guy on staff let John borrow his motorbike while we sort out the vehicle-buying mess. John wanted to take Kyle for a ride on the motorbike down to the "wet market" which is basically a farmer's market. Unfortunately, we only had one helmet. The guard at the gate to our condo complex let John borrow his to take Kyle. Everyone here is SO NICE...it's really different. :)
While they were out, John stopped by a motorbike shop and bought a helmet for Kyle for RM40 (40 ringgitt which is about $11). When they got back to the condo and returned the guard's helmet, he asked how much John paid for Kyle's helmet. John told him RM40 and the guard shook his head and said "You got skinned."
Apparently, we were victims of the "skin tax" which means they charged us more because we are white. As it has been explained to us, this isn't a racist thing, it's just that Penang has a lot of expats and they tend to make quite a bit more money than the locals so it is assumed that we can afford to pay more. It's almost like a courtesy on our part...like our way of contributing to the economy.
I know it sounds kind of strange but it's true. However, we were also told that once we are here for a while and become "regulars" at different places, we will get the "local" price for things. You learn something new everyday!
While they were out, John stopped by a motorbike shop and bought a helmet for Kyle for RM40 (40 ringgitt which is about $11). When they got back to the condo and returned the guard's helmet, he asked how much John paid for Kyle's helmet. John told him RM40 and the guard shook his head and said "You got skinned."
Apparently, we were victims of the "skin tax" which means they charged us more because we are white. As it has been explained to us, this isn't a racist thing, it's just that Penang has a lot of expats and they tend to make quite a bit more money than the locals so it is assumed that we can afford to pay more. It's almost like a courtesy on our part...like our way of contributing to the economy.
I know it sounds kind of strange but it's true. However, we were also told that once we are here for a while and become "regulars" at different places, we will get the "local" price for things. You learn something new everyday!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Tastebuds on Overload!
This is the place where we spend a lot of our money:
No one really knows how to pronounce it so we all call it "SAB's". It is across from the school and it is hotspot for Dalat staff. It is primarily Indian Cuisine. This is the guy that greets you when you arrive:
They have this bread there called "roti" which I think means...ummm...bread. :) It is sort of like pita bread but a little thicker and a little softer and they make it a bunch different ways with different flavors. So we get the bread basket which has a variety of roti in it. Kyle and Alex love the garlic prawns (which are actually just really big shrimp). John and I love the Tandoori Chicken, the Chicken Curry, and especially Chicken Masala (which is not to be confused with chicken marsala). This pic shows a typical dinner at the restaurant. Everything, and I mean everything, is served with rice.
So for fresh fruit juice for the boys, ice tea for us, two orders of chicken masala and two orders of garlic prawns, we pay about $20. Not bad for some of the best food I have ever tasted! And this pic is just because my kids are cute!
No one really knows how to pronounce it so we all call it "SAB's". It is across from the school and it is hotspot for Dalat staff. It is primarily Indian Cuisine. This is the guy that greets you when you arrive:
They have this bread there called "roti" which I think means...ummm...bread. :) It is sort of like pita bread but a little thicker and a little softer and they make it a bunch different ways with different flavors. So we get the bread basket which has a variety of roti in it. Kyle and Alex love the garlic prawns (which are actually just really big shrimp). John and I love the Tandoori Chicken, the Chicken Curry, and especially Chicken Masala (which is not to be confused with chicken marsala). This pic shows a typical dinner at the restaurant. Everything, and I mean everything, is served with rice.
So for fresh fruit juice for the boys, ice tea for us, two orders of chicken masala and two orders of garlic prawns, we pay about $20. Not bad for some of the best food I have ever tasted! And this pic is just because my kids are cute!
Friday, July 24, 2009
My New Favorite Food
Curry Puffs!! They are these little stuffed pastry pocket type things with chunks of potato and curry spices and several other unknown ingredients (it's best not to ask). They are DELICIOUS.
Us versus the Tin Can
So the stuff we shipped has still not arrived...sigh...
Thankfully, the school provided us with some basic necessities until it arrives. So we have been getting by pretty well. One of the items in their box of provisions is this unknown contraption:
Using my exceptional powers of deduction and scientific logic, I determined that it is a bottle/can opener from the Middle Ages. Being the good sport that I am, and having food inside a tin can that I wanted to eat, I decided to give it a whirl. Unfortunately, it did not come with instructions for use. Bummer. So I jabbed, and poked, and prodded at the can with my ancient can opener to no avail. Since intellect was not getting the job done, I decided to go with brute force and called John into the kitchen.
He got the can open but the poor can suffered terribly....
I really can't wait for our stuff to get here so I can have a can opener from the last century or so.
Thankfully, the school provided us with some basic necessities until it arrives. So we have been getting by pretty well. One of the items in their box of provisions is this unknown contraption:
Using my exceptional powers of deduction and scientific logic, I determined that it is a bottle/can opener from the Middle Ages. Being the good sport that I am, and having food inside a tin can that I wanted to eat, I decided to give it a whirl. Unfortunately, it did not come with instructions for use. Bummer. So I jabbed, and poked, and prodded at the can with my ancient can opener to no avail. Since intellect was not getting the job done, I decided to go with brute force and called John into the kitchen.
He got the can open but the poor can suffered terribly....
I really can't wait for our stuff to get here so I can have a can opener from the last century or so.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
We Made it!!!
We are alive…safe and sound on the island of Penang. It has been quite a week…
Last Sunday- My brother and his wife dropped us at Detroit Metro Airport. We had 9 pieces of luggage plus 6 carry-on items which is, by the way, more than you are supposed to bring. What can I say, I have a lot of stuff.
We arrived at the ticket counter to find that our flight had been delayed by 3 hours which meant we were going to miss our connection in Dallas. And, of course, it seemed every flight was full. The ticket agent named Marsha worked with us for over an hour until she finally found a flight to Dallas. And our wonderful baggage guy Mike helped us make sure that all our luggage including the extra stuff got on the plane.
We arrived in Dallas knowing we missed our connection, knowing the next flight was completely booked, and praying for a miracle so we could make our next connection in Los Angeles. It came down to the ticket agent offering all sorts of free items to anyone who would volunteer to take a later flight and God graciously chose 4 people, exactly the amount of seats we needed. We sat waiting for the flight in the Dallas airport and having a huge picnic on the floor. My mom had packed us an enormous bag of food…and this wasn’t junk food, mind you….this was good food! We had pita bread and cheese and summer sausage and fruit and all sorts of goodies. And the boys found ways to occupy themselves while we waited.
Our flight arrived in L.A. and we knew we had missed our connection to Hong Kong as well and we prayed for yet another miracle. God pulled through for us again and got us on a flight at 2am to Hong Kong. The flight to Hong Kong was wonderful! I had all these nightmares about a 14 hour flight only to find that it passed by rather quickly. The service on Cathay Pacific was outstanding, the food was delicious, and we each had our own TV with all sorts of movies to choose from (the kids even had video games to play). We were kind of bummed that we didn’t get to sit all together but we were grateful for the flight.
The Hong Kong airport is huge and beautiful with all kinds of ritzy high-end shops and restaurants. Everyone was wearing face masks and all I could think was that either Americans are far too cavalier about this whole swine flu thing or the people in Hong Kong are way too hyper about it. We found some comfy benches and rested for a while and the boys found some friends to play with who were also waiting. Eventually we cleaned up, changed clothes and had some sushi then got ready for our final flight to Malaysia. That flight was uneventful and we arrived without a problem.
The school sent a welcome committee to pick us up and we were greeted with welcome signs and happy faces (theirs, not ours). I am quite sure that we looked like we’d been on a three-day bender as we had little to no sleep for 48 hours! Our host family, The Brewsters, took us to our new home and we fell face first into our beds. It was Tuesday night.
The next few days were a whirlwind. The Brewsters are so great and they drove us all over…to the grocery store, to the bank, to the appliance store to buy a dryer (there is no way I am hang drying clothes), to the mall to get handphones (cell phones), etc. They also took us to all these awesome outdoor eateries the locals call “stalls”. We have had the most amazing food! And they make all these fresh fruit juices, pineapple, watermelon, you name it. The food is super cheap too!
On Friday night, they have dinner and a movie at the school. Everyone brings a pot luck dish and then we watched a movie on a big screen outside. We had a chance to meet many other staff members and I got to have some girl chat time while the boys watched the movie. They didn’t make it through the whole thing though.
On Saturday another staff member named Barend (he’s from South Africa) took us to a place called Jusco, which is a lot like Wal-Mart, so we could get some other things we needed. It is attached to a great mall with some awesome stores and we had the most amazing sushi for lunch. Little plates of it spun around the whole restaurant on conveyor belts and you just grabbed whatever you wanted to eat. Way cool!
On Sunday we went to Penang International Church. It is a church filled mostly with expats from all over the place. The pastor is from Canada. He gave a great sermon and the people were really warm and friendly and the boys made several new friends. After church we went out to eat with the Brewsters at…Chilis!! Yes, they have Chilis here and a TGIFridays. I know, I know…it’s a cop-out, right? Honestly, after several days of eating wonderful food filled with spices my body has never had before, I needed to give my stomach a rest with some good old American food that I knew how to pronounce.
Today we had our first day of orientation and got to meet all the other new staff members. They all seem really great and the director, Karl, did a great job. It is all well-organized and everyone is really helpful.
So far our experience has been really great. It is definitely hot here and I have a feeling our electricity bill will be sky high as we make much use of the A/C. We love our new home and its spectacular views.
And now that our internet is finally working (that took all week to get settled) we can keep in touch with family and friends. School starts on Aug. 11!
Prayer requests: that we are able to find a car in our budget without getting ripped off, that our stuff we shipped to Malaysia gets here soon (we really need a lot of things in that shipment), that our transition continues to go smoothly, that our family and friends back home have some peace about our move, that we are able to represent America and Christians in a good light to a part of the world that may not appreciate either very much.
We miss you and love you all!!
Last Sunday- My brother and his wife dropped us at Detroit Metro Airport. We had 9 pieces of luggage plus 6 carry-on items which is, by the way, more than you are supposed to bring. What can I say, I have a lot of stuff.
We arrived at the ticket counter to find that our flight had been delayed by 3 hours which meant we were going to miss our connection in Dallas. And, of course, it seemed every flight was full. The ticket agent named Marsha worked with us for over an hour until she finally found a flight to Dallas. And our wonderful baggage guy Mike helped us make sure that all our luggage including the extra stuff got on the plane.
We arrived in Dallas knowing we missed our connection, knowing the next flight was completely booked, and praying for a miracle so we could make our next connection in Los Angeles. It came down to the ticket agent offering all sorts of free items to anyone who would volunteer to take a later flight and God graciously chose 4 people, exactly the amount of seats we needed. We sat waiting for the flight in the Dallas airport and having a huge picnic on the floor. My mom had packed us an enormous bag of food…and this wasn’t junk food, mind you….this was good food! We had pita bread and cheese and summer sausage and fruit and all sorts of goodies. And the boys found ways to occupy themselves while we waited.
Our flight arrived in L.A. and we knew we had missed our connection to Hong Kong as well and we prayed for yet another miracle. God pulled through for us again and got us on a flight at 2am to Hong Kong. The flight to Hong Kong was wonderful! I had all these nightmares about a 14 hour flight only to find that it passed by rather quickly. The service on Cathay Pacific was outstanding, the food was delicious, and we each had our own TV with all sorts of movies to choose from (the kids even had video games to play). We were kind of bummed that we didn’t get to sit all together but we were grateful for the flight.
The Hong Kong airport is huge and beautiful with all kinds of ritzy high-end shops and restaurants. Everyone was wearing face masks and all I could think was that either Americans are far too cavalier about this whole swine flu thing or the people in Hong Kong are way too hyper about it. We found some comfy benches and rested for a while and the boys found some friends to play with who were also waiting. Eventually we cleaned up, changed clothes and had some sushi then got ready for our final flight to Malaysia. That flight was uneventful and we arrived without a problem.
The school sent a welcome committee to pick us up and we were greeted with welcome signs and happy faces (theirs, not ours). I am quite sure that we looked like we’d been on a three-day bender as we had little to no sleep for 48 hours! Our host family, The Brewsters, took us to our new home and we fell face first into our beds. It was Tuesday night.
The next few days were a whirlwind. The Brewsters are so great and they drove us all over…to the grocery store, to the bank, to the appliance store to buy a dryer (there is no way I am hang drying clothes), to the mall to get handphones (cell phones), etc. They also took us to all these awesome outdoor eateries the locals call “stalls”. We have had the most amazing food! And they make all these fresh fruit juices, pineapple, watermelon, you name it. The food is super cheap too!
On Friday night, they have dinner and a movie at the school. Everyone brings a pot luck dish and then we watched a movie on a big screen outside. We had a chance to meet many other staff members and I got to have some girl chat time while the boys watched the movie. They didn’t make it through the whole thing though.
On Saturday another staff member named Barend (he’s from South Africa) took us to a place called Jusco, which is a lot like Wal-Mart, so we could get some other things we needed. It is attached to a great mall with some awesome stores and we had the most amazing sushi for lunch. Little plates of it spun around the whole restaurant on conveyor belts and you just grabbed whatever you wanted to eat. Way cool!
On Sunday we went to Penang International Church. It is a church filled mostly with expats from all over the place. The pastor is from Canada. He gave a great sermon and the people were really warm and friendly and the boys made several new friends. After church we went out to eat with the Brewsters at…Chilis!! Yes, they have Chilis here and a TGIFridays. I know, I know…it’s a cop-out, right? Honestly, after several days of eating wonderful food filled with spices my body has never had before, I needed to give my stomach a rest with some good old American food that I knew how to pronounce.
Today we had our first day of orientation and got to meet all the other new staff members. They all seem really great and the director, Karl, did a great job. It is all well-organized and everyone is really helpful.
So far our experience has been really great. It is definitely hot here and I have a feeling our electricity bill will be sky high as we make much use of the A/C. We love our new home and its spectacular views.
And now that our internet is finally working (that took all week to get settled) we can keep in touch with family and friends. School starts on Aug. 11!
Prayer requests: that we are able to find a car in our budget without getting ripped off, that our stuff we shipped to Malaysia gets here soon (we really need a lot of things in that shipment), that our transition continues to go smoothly, that our family and friends back home have some peace about our move, that we are able to represent America and Christians in a good light to a part of the world that may not appreciate either very much.
We miss you and love you all!!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Did You Know?
Since 2000 there have been 100 plane crashes that involved fatalities
Of those 100 crashes, 54 were due to human error
51% of planes crash during landing, while only 22% crash during take-off.
So it would seem that my life will be in danger for 73% of each leg of our flight (there are four). And if we do crash, there is a 54% chance that it was NOT mechanical failure...somebody just screwed up.
Why am I torturing myself with these statistics?
I am leaving in less than two days so please just pray that we don't get stuck with any pilots who had a bad day or just got into a fight with their wife or found out their teen was just expelled from school, etc. PLEASE. If we can mitigate the human factor then my chances go up so repeat after me: I DO BELIEVE IN FAIRIES! I DO BELIEVE IN FAIRIES! It always seems to work on the Disney shows, right?
Of those 100 crashes, 54 were due to human error
51% of planes crash during landing, while only 22% crash during take-off.
So it would seem that my life will be in danger for 73% of each leg of our flight (there are four). And if we do crash, there is a 54% chance that it was NOT mechanical failure...somebody just screwed up.
Why am I torturing myself with these statistics?
I am leaving in less than two days so please just pray that we don't get stuck with any pilots who had a bad day or just got into a fight with their wife or found out their teen was just expelled from school, etc. PLEASE. If we can mitigate the human factor then my chances go up so repeat after me: I DO BELIEVE IN FAIRIES! I DO BELIEVE IN FAIRIES! It always seems to work on the Disney shows, right?
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Mmmmm......SUSHI
We are so lucky to have boys who are not picky eaters. In fact, they are adventurous eaters which is a good thing since the food in Malaysia is bound to be different than anything we are use to! One of their favorite foods is SUSHI. As a family we can put away a lot of sushi...we may need to get second jobs to support our sushi habit. :)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
How's Everything Going?
Friends, family, co-workers are all asking the same thing...how's it going? How are the plans for the big move coming along? Are you guys stressed out? Well, after a few months of tracking down paperwork, running from one place to the next to get all the stuff we need, and packing everything we own into plastic bins to ship over to Malaysia...all the while continuing to work full time, homeschool our two boys and work on my latest degree...yeah, we are a little stressed. Our son Alex described it the best:
Happy Trails to You...
Kyle and Alex had their last day of karate class today and got lots of hugs from their friends and teachers.
"Don’t be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before we can meet again and meeting again, after moments or a lifetime, is certain for those who are friends."
"Don’t be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before we can meet again and meeting again, after moments or a lifetime, is certain for those who are friends."
Where Did it All Come From?
So yesterday was a BIG STEP in the "moving to Malaysia" process. John and my brother Ben loaded 53 rubbermaid bins that had been taped AND shrink-wrapped onto a Uhaul truck and drove them to the shipping warehouse. From there they will be driven by truck to Chicago, then by train to Los Angeles, then by cargo ship to Malaysia. A little voice in the back of my mind thinks I will never see these boxes again. It just seems implausible to this pessimist that it could all go without a hitch and my personal items will show up at our tiny island paradise safe and sound.But after seeing the total on the shipping bill,(Yes, we went over our shipping allowance. Are you really surprised?) I realize that I have TOO MUCH STUFF. Even after giving things away and a big moving sale and packing things to store here in the U.S., I still had 53 boxes? That is just ridiculous.
Next question....IF my items actually do arrive intact, where on earth am I going to store 53 rubbermaid bins?
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Don't Waste Your Life
Another amazing video by John Piper and the folks at www.desiring god.org
DON'T MISS THIS ONE!!
DON'T MISS THIS ONE!!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Our First "Malaysian" Experience
It just so happens that there is this couple at our church and the wife was born and raised in Malaysia and travels there frequently. They invited us over for dinner and cooked us an authentic Malaysian meal. It was DELICIOUS! Now we are even MORE excited to go! Especially if the food is that good. They told us all kinds of stories and information about Malaysia and showed us pictures and books that they have about it. It was a wonderful evening. As we were leaving they gave each of my boys some Malaysian money (10 ringgets each). They were thrilled! That is about $6 in American money.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Nana Candy and Kyle
My mom always has candy of some sort in her purse and she always gives it to the grandkids when she sees them. It is such a common thing for her that Kyle began calling her "Nana Candy" when he was just a little guy. He still does. Today the two of them spent the day together golfing and shopping at antique stores. I love that Kyle enjoys spending time with Nana Candy when other kids his age would rather be plaing video games. They had a blast (but Nana Candy beat him in golf by one stroke...so much for those golf lessons!).
Monday, June 1, 2009
In Honor of Our Upcoming Plane Flight to the Other Side of the World
This is absolutely HYSTERICAL!!!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
One More Reason to Live in Malaysia...
SHOPPING!!!!! They have some really cool malls there. One that will be really close to us is called Gurney Plaza. It is 7 floors of shopping paradise.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Karate Kid
Our other little guy, Alex, tested for his yellow belt today in Karate. He did a great job and we are really proud of him. We are hoping to find a good karate studio in Penang for him and Kyle. But, come on, it is Southeast Asia...there HAS to be a karate studio somewhere, right?
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Our Last Birthday in Michigan
Today is Kyle's 11th birthday. I can hardly believe it. It sounds so cliche to say "where have the years gone?" but it is so true. The most significant thing that happened in Kyle's life this past year was his baptism. He gave his heart to Jesus and Pastor Paul baptized him in Lake James in NC (my mom said it doesn't count unless you have mud between your toes! lol). We are so proud of you, our handsome little boy!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
One Thing That Freaks Me Out....
This is the Penang Bridge. It is about 8 miles long and connects Penang Island (where we will live) to mainland Malaysia. I hate bridges...really hate them. And this one is really, really long. Yes, it is beautiful, yada, yada, yada, but I may need to be sedated to go across this bad boy.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
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