School and a roller-coaster.

When Chloe was 10 or 11 years old, I found her in her room crying her eyes out.  I asked her why she was sobbing and she said, "I just don't know.  Sometimes I just start crying.  I think my life is a roller-coaster of emotions." I'm pretty sure I responded with something to the effect of, "Well, just make sure the things that you choose to cry over are worth it." (I'm regretting the lack of compassion now!) This week I felt like a preteen Chloe (but without the Mom to help me to stay grounded)!!!  It's been tough.  We started off the week without a hitch.  Our Saturday grocery shopping trips are proving to always bring new and interesting experiences.  

I made a deal with Ethan that whenever we went grocery shopping, we would try something that we've never had before.  This week it was Greek Filo Pie.  Everyone loved this experiment, including Reuben who was told that it was made of cheese.  We also tried some local yogurt and 3 different brands of ice cream...trying to figure out the best brand.  There isn't Tillamook anything here.

Sunday was school orientation day.  It was a full-day affair with meetings in 3 different places all at the same time.  Since Ethan was at work, I decided to let the High Schoolers figure out their own stuff (they are good at that anyway and most of their orientation included bowling and hang-out time at the mall), the Middle Schoolers were also sent away to figure out their own stuff and then I had them tell me the most pertinent things they found out, and the elementary schoolers tagged along with me to technology tutorials, classroom tours and teacher introductions, gym clothes ordering extravaganzas, as well as school protocol overviews.  The American Community School is an international school with 3 full and separate schools under its umbrella.  The Elementary, Middle School, and High Schools all have their own administration and their own procedures, but they are all on one huge campus and they work together to do orientations, PTA stuff, and many other activities.  

  

 I learned at the High School overview presentation, that we are definitely NOT ALONE with being new!  There are still a few bumps to iron out--mostly subject placements (Kanani moved out of advanced Arabic into beginner Spanish which was a better fit...since she hadn't ever had Arabic before and they didn't have a beginning Arabic class for her to join) and a couple of my kids need a new math situation, but, the best thing I've found is that communication with the admins goes a long way and everyone that I've met is very happy to try and find the best resolution possible. 

I love that figuring out what to wear each day is super simple.  At first I was anti-uniforms (and honestly, when I look at the final price tags, I'm still not super excited about it), but the laundry and the stress of finding clothes in the morning is mitigated so much that, in the end, its been a dream.  It helps that the clothes are soft and comfortable.

We leave the house at 7:30 Monday through Thursday and at 8:30 on Sunday.  So far, its been in the very high 90s to the low 100s F everyday at that time.  Our walk is only a 5-6 min. walk, but it is still so hot!  I try not to think about my kids out at recess in the middle of the day when it is closer to 120℉ with humidity.  (It's hot enough that our neighbors put sun shields on the tires of their trailer so that they aren't ruined while the trailer is parked in their parking lot!) I meet the kids at 3:10 and 3:20 and we walk home together.  While we wait for school to start or for classes to end, we play on the covered playground.  While I'm waiting, it's easy to pick out at least 5+ different languages from both parents and kids.  

We celebrated the beginning of school on Monday with my family's favorite Texas Sheet Cake.  Then, Tuesday, Ethan turned 40!  Can you believe it?!  It was a good day despite what it looks like.  

One of the main sources for jump-starting my emotional roller-coaster has been that I've had to be 100% reliant on Ethan for EVERYTHING!!  Never in my life have I loved relying on anyone for anything, but until I get all of the government paperwork processed to get me an ID and visa (which can only happen with Ethan's help and being patient with the government timetable), I haven't been able to drive, I don't have access to a bank account, and I don't have any cell coverage...which means no calls, no apps, no fixing up the house, no nothing.  It has been HORRIBLE.  Ultimately, I've been stuck all day in a quiet, empty house with a sketchy internet signal.  Poor Ethan has had to be in charge of setting up all the stuff for the house, calling maintenance or water or whoever, and driving me wherever I need all while trying to still work.  I have had a couple of life-saver friends from church come and visit or take me out to see different stores or different parts of town, which has been dreamy.  Without money though, even if I'm at the grocery store, I can't buy groceries...or birthday anything.  So, we did what we could with what we had and Ethan got a left-over, mostly eaten Texas Sheet Cake with a votive candle stuck on top for his birthday dessert.  And, he bought himself a book for a present.  At least he had good ice cream!  

My neighbors have been part of that life-saving dream team to help me get off this dumb roller-coaster.  I live in a grouping of 4 identical Villas, all owned by the same gentleman, Mr. Sultaan.  All of the families have kids near my kids' ages, and we all attend the same church.  Kim, my next door neighbor, took me to the outdoor markets on the port on Saturday.  When you're going for the first time, it's best to go to these kinds of places with an experienced person.  These are markets that you can haggle down prices, find interesting treasures, and/or walk away with just a great picture for the scrapbook.

The culture is one of gold, gold, gold.  None of these keenex holders are real gold, but the glitz and glitter is certainly eye-catching.

Our floors are all 100% marble tile.  With the sand and the heat, it makes sense to have a house with all tile, but by the end of the day, my feet are so sore from standing on such a hard surface.  Everyone uses rugs to make home life a little more comfortable.  They have rug people at the outdoor markets on the port and in all of the major stores (hypermarkets).  I need to wait until our boat shipment comes before deciding on rugs, but in the meantime, it was fun to look at all of the beautiful patterns.

Kim also took me to a furniture place that was recommended by the family who moved out of our Villa called Heritage Touch.  (I know a bunch of Alaskan friends who frequent vintage markets that this kind of store would be a dream come true.) This company refurbishes antiques that are collected from mostly India, but also Pakistan, Indonesia, Russia, Bangladesh, etc.  The treasure that you see above is a coffee table inlaid with carved wooden stamps!  Each block is a different stamp that a family or a store or an artesian a long time ago would have used to identify their work.  The outside of the table is hand-carved.  If I had bought this coffee table, Heritage Touch would clean and polish it for me and make it look perfect and then put a glass table cover over it to make a smooth surface (and protect the stamps).

I actually bought this ginormous table for our dining room table! Originally, it was a 10 foot door from India...it looks like it came from some sort of church.  As a door, each of the little panels would open and the top empty spaces would be windows.  It is also hand-carved all around and throughout the table and there are metal brackets on the outside frame of the door/table.  Heritage Touch will refinish it for me, put taller legs on it and refit it with a new glass top.  The reason it is so short in the picture, is that a table this size is more common in a traditionally Arab setting where the men would gather round on thin, flat pillows to smoke and drink their tea or coffee.  To say I am excited would be an understatement.  This will be our first real dining room table (that will fit everyone comfortably) since we've been married!  *The calculator helped me put things into perspective since Ethan wasn't with us and I needed him to see it before he came back with me to purchase it.  

I am very grateful for people who surround our family who understand adjustments and settling in and figuring things out.  This certainly began as an adventure and it's looking like it will remain so for a very long time!