It was a LONG day!!

Yesterday, Billy and I decided to go to a city nearby to try to get a few things that we can not find here. Since we do not have our own form of transportation, we took a bus. They have some nice buses that have decent seats and air condition. We took a mini bus (this is the normal public transportation for us) to the road to catch the big bus. We wait and wait and wait! For some reason the type bus that we were looking for never came. Finally after a long while a bus came. We get on, but there is only one seat open. Billy of course, lets me sit down and he stands. He stands for an hour and a half! To our surprise, no one got off at any of the stops on the way! But, more people did get on!!

Along the way, since I had no one to talk to, I noticed a few things...

1. This elderly lady was sitting across the isle from me and was just starring at me!!! I tried to ignore it, as this happens very often. Unfortunately, she did not stop starring! Eventually, I turned and looked at her and smiled. She in turns gives me a big smile back! She seemed so happy that I smiled at her!! The cute thing was, she was so happy that I had acknowledged her and smiled that she did not mind smiling back with a big smile despite all of her teeth being rotted!

2. I was looking out of the window along the way, and noticed something I had never seen before! There was a man washing his dump style truck in his underwear on the side of the road!!! Just a little disturbing!!! :/

3. We go a little further, and I start to realize that the music has gone from the native language to English. Then comes a song from Phil Collins! His voice was a flashback to the 80's!!!

4. Again, I am looking at out of the window and I notice children out in a school yard, I am sure for P.E. I was able to see them for several seconds the way the school yard was positioned. The kids had there hands on their hips, and by their movements it appeared like they were square dancing!!! I am sure they weren't, but that's what it reminded of and gave me a little laugh on the inside!

Some very common things that you see in normal life here or on the roads are the rice fields with make shift scarecrows. There are tons of rice fields here! Another thing is construction workers whether they are working on the road, or building a building, they all wear FLIP FLOPS!! No matter if they are sawing something, jack hammering, laying pavement, throwing bricks, or anything else they wear flip flops! I really don't know how they don't get seriously hurt!

Anyway, Billy and I had a nice time together, and we get a few things done. Now, it is time to head home! We take a taxi to the bus station where we are told that it will be one hour before the type bus we want will leave. The problem with that is then we would be late for Tucker's soccer game. A bus pulls up, and this couple tells us that this bus is going in our direction. So we got on!!! I think we should have turned around and gotten off!! This type bus has a row of two seats then a row of 3 seats. The seats were small (my shoulder's were wider than the seats), and it was a full bus! I felt like I had no option but to stay on so we could make it to Tucker's game. Shortly after we leave the station, this man stands up leaning on the seat in front of me and started talking. Then he started singing and clapping. A little into the song, we realize that it is a song about the religion here. He finishes about 5 minutes later and talks again. Then, people give him a few coins. Then another guy comes walking up the isle, and he starts singing and playing his ukulele! Billy and I just look at each other and try to not laugh! We determine that we are going to get off at the next stop! A little later, we smell smoke, and as there are "No Smoking" signs on the bus, we can't figure out who is smoking...It was the bus driver!!! To our dismay, he did not stop at the same stops as the bus going did, except for one. But, we didn't recognize it as a bus stop until we were pulling away. You see, the bus driver never came to a complete stop even as a lady was getting off the bus!

Driving here, is not the same as it in the States. There a lines, but they mean nothing! There were several times that we were passing other buses or trucks with coming traffic! The bus driver would just swing us from one lane to the next. At one point, the nationals stood up and were looking and making moaning type noises! Then, there was one time that I really thought we were going to crash. He pulled over to pass someone and there was a a big truck coming. The truck was not going to move, nor was he! Somehow, we slung over just in time as the truck passed us honking! The nationals were saying things and making noises. I thought, if they can't believe it, then it has to be bad! Then we were told by this guy trying to help us that our stop was next. It wasn't! We got off several miles to early. We walked for maybe a 1/2 mile then caught a mini bus. He takes us to a point to catch another mini bus. We finally make it to the school and were only 15 minutes late to Tucker's game! Whew!

To end the day, our gas tank that heats the water for our showers had gone out. The one that was delivered Billy could not get hooked in. We called some friends and they came over to help. Thank goodness!! What ended up happening was... We had to take the tank form the stove and hook it up the water. Then take that one and hook it up to the stove!

Needless to say by the end of all of this, we were ready for bed!! :)

Settling In!!!

An update is long overdue!!! Cultural Training ended and was great! We absolutely loved being there and with other people of like mind. We hope that through the time there we developed lasting friendships despite the miles that will separate us.

After coming home, we had two weeks to prepare to leave! It was a whirlwind! You don't realize how much there really is to do until the last minute, and then it is to late. Unfortunately, we did not have the time to spend with all of our friends that we had hoped for. Time was just to short.

NOW...We are in South East Asia and have started to settle in!

We have a house and have it just about furnished! Despite our language barrier and little help we have been able to find, purchase, and have delivered almost everything we need! It has been very comical at times. I won't lie and tell you that there have been a few frustrating moments in the midst too. To back track a little, the house that we are living in is not the first house we thought we would live in. We tried to rent two other houses, but neither of those worked out. I believe this was the house for us! It has a big back yard that provides ample space for the boys to pass football, practice soccer, pass baseball, and there is even a cemented part for a basketball goal! The boys really needed this and I believe that is why we are living here!

The kids have so well adjusting to their new living environment. We could not have asked for them to do any better! We are so proud of them! :) Tucker and Major have started school. They seem to like it, considering it's school!! They have small classes which makes it easy to make friends and get acclimated. Tucker is also on the junior high soccer team as well! He is anxious for the season to kick into gear! Ellie is volunteering in the elementary department of the school and is loving it! She has been able to help out with several different areas including PE for 3rd and 4th grades, math for 6th grade, assisting the 2nd grade teacher as well as the Kindergarten and 1st grade teachers! Needless to say, she stays busy!!!

Right now Billy and I have been focused on getting the house set up. Between buying furniture, appliances, dishes, cookware, and everything in between, to learning how to have water and gas tanks delivered, and walking everywhere we go...we stay busy! We hope that later in September to start language study.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. The adjustment period is not over. We have already experienced getting news of sick family members back home, a nephew to be born tomorrow, and several other situations going on at home. With each of these situations, reality hits of how far away you are, and what you can't help with or be apart of. Yet, we know the purpose of being here and try to stay focused on the goal.