Our Humble Abode

We just moved into our new house in Premiere Place 3, which is located in Nichada, an expat 

community just outside of Bangkok.  We are overwhelmed with its size since we are coming from a 3 bedroom townhouse in VA.  

Our townhouse in Sterling, VA

Our new home in Thailand (We our the proud owners of the golf cart in the driveway, but not the moped.)

Our front yard

Unfortunately, we won't let the kids play in the yard too much due to the potential threat of poisonous snakes (ie: cobras and pit vipers) lurking in the bushes.  Fortunately, Jason doesn't have to mow this lawn as they provide gardeners to take care of the yard.

Here's a look inside....

Dining Room

Kitchen (Where I've been slaving away making gourmet meals)

Laundry Room (See how hard at work I am :)  For those of you who read my last post, you know this isn't true.

Our living room

Another sitting room

And as it that's not enough, behind these doors....

we have yet another room we'll designate as the playroom/TV room (when our TV actually arrives)

Moving on to the upstairs, we have 4 bedrooms, each complete with its own walk-in closet and private bathroom.

Boys' room

Camryn's room (She is sooo excited to have her own bathroom)

Our room

With a veranda!  (Too bad it's too hot to actually use it much)

Closet (Each room has one of these)

4th bedroom for you when you come to visit!

Here's a few pictures of the community.

The lake

You can feed the large fish that swim in the lake.

Various stores

Even a Starbucks (but sadly enough...no Chick Fil A)

 

ISB (The school the kids attend and the hub for weekend community activities)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chaengwattana Community Church

We've really enjoyed the local church we have visited the past two Sundays.  They are in the process of selecting a new pastor, and the top candidate, Tim Robertson, preached the past two weeks, so we will know soon if he is going to be the official pastor.  He and his wife are extremely personable and we look forward to participating in some of the many ministry opportunities at CCC.

One of our favorite spots is the Nichada Club, where we have enjoyed diving boards (Carston even did a flip), sliding boards, and poolside dinners.  The pool here is one of many, since each community has its own smaller pool.

Nichada Club Pool (Jason has been swimming laps)

Camryn on the diving board

Austin has really progressed with his swimming and can stay afloat some without his vest!

Enjoying a poolside dining on a lovely evening.  This is the life!

 In case you're wondering how we get around Nichada, and even venture outside the gates...

Our family golf cart for a non golfing family

This is not a joke; there are designated spots for golf carts.

And there are no real safety rules for how many can ride in a golf cart and who should be in a car seat.  This crew rode back from a restaurant outside the gates.

My Thai "Alice"

Jason insisted that I get a full time maid who cooks meals, cleans the house, and does the laundry.  None of us are accustomed to wearing ironed clothes, so this has been quite an adjustment.  Khun (Miss) Rin came highly recommended, so I humbly submitted to my husband’s wishes and hired her.  Though I have always joked about wanting an Alice (you know from The Brady Bunch), it is so awkward for me, since I don’t like to impose on people nor am I used to being served.  Even though we are only paying about $460/month, this is a fairly lucrative job for Thai women and way more than they would make in most other jobs.  (This is how I ease my conscience.)  Khun Rin is very sweet and efficient, so I’m slowly adjusting to life with a full-time maid.  I’m sure my list will grow as the year progresses, but for now here are the

Top 20 Reasons to Hire a Full Time Maid (Only in Thailand)

20.  It’s very inexpensive ($460/month, M-F  8:00 am – 5:00 pm)

19.  When you’re trying to keep track of grocery expenses and your receipt looks like this, she can circle the food items for you.

18.  Your husband can practice his Thai writing and Thai words with her.  Jason knows a lot of words already, so I think she wishes he were here all day to help translate J )

17.  When you’re responsible for bringing the salad to a dinner, you can ask her to make it, and it’s much prettier.  Check out how she cuts the carrots!

16.  She accompanies you through foreign stores and markets and instinctively takes your little one’s hand so he doesn’t wonder off.  (Losing your 5-year old lost in a large Bangkok store would be a little more complicated and terrifying than losing him in Wegmans)

15.  Your clothes have never before been folded so meticulously.  Even the boys’ Thomas and Ninjago underwear is folded to perfection.  Check out the before (me) and after (Thai maid) picture.

Before

After

14.  When your husband dons his dress shirt for work, it is perfectly pressed, instead of looking like he slept in it all night in the middle of a freeway.  (My kids didn’t realize we owned an iron.  I think they thought it was a new Thai thing.)

13.  Instead of your husband coming home to frozen chicken nuggets for dinner, he and your entire family experience delicious Thai dishes such as cashew chicken, chicken fried rice, chicken panang prepared each day by your one and only Thai maid.  Plus your children get to appreciate new dishes and show their gratitude to her. 

Cashew Chicken

Less spicy option for the kids.

Chicken and broccoli for kids, and Tom Ka Gai (Thai Chicken Soup) for adults

Sauteed Morning Glory (a delicious vegetable)

Austin loved the omelet she made.

12.  When you're running late to pick up 2 of your kids from school since you completely lost track of time, you can leave your youngest at home with her, and make it just in the nick of time by sprinting across campus.  This may or may not be a hypothetical situation.

11.  Your husband always has clean underwear because she literally washes clothes every single day, as opposed to the once a week that you take to do laundry.

10.  When buying chicken at the Thai street market, she, instead of you, can pick up the raw chicken, which happens to be right next to the squid and fish, with her bare hands, because that’s how they roll. Though not the Thai market, this is Macro (Thai Costco).

9.  If you’ve ever wanted to get a taste of what the women of Downton Abbey experience, this is as close as you’re going to get, minus the British accent, big poofy dress, and pretentious attitude.  Oh, and you do still dress yourself.

8.  Speaking of Downton Abbey, who else will ever call you "Madame"?

7.  When you're running late to meet your kids after school, because you're doing something really important like getting a massage, you don’t have to stress because they will be greeted with a warm friendly smile from her.

6.  You actually have time to do all kinds of frivolous activities like make a Top 20 List.

5.  You have the time and energy at the end of the day to help your children with homework, take them to activities, mediate conflicts, host playdates, and volunteer.

Peeled Lamyai (don't they look like a bowl of eyballs?)

4.  She will go to the market for you and buy all kinds of fruit, and then peel and cut it.  She also knows how to get the best deals.

Mangosteen, lamyai, and large watermelon (all for $3)

3. You never have to clean your house, which happens to be about three times the size of your townhouse in the US.   And let’s face it; I never really spent that much time cleaning anyway so why would I want to spend time cleaning 5 bathrooms now when I could barely clean 2 ½ back home. (More pics of house in next posting)

Who wants to clean these windows?

2.  She will babysit your kids on the weekend for $3/hour while you party in the city.

1.  You will never have the opportunity to do this in most other countries, since only super wealthy people can afford this back in the US (with the exception of the Brady Bunch of course).

First Impressions of International School of Bangkok (ISB)

We all headed to ISB Tuesday, Aug. 5 for some testing and an initial introduction to the school.  It’s a very large campus since it consists of 3 main buildings to accommodate elementary, middle and high school.  I personally think that it is so cool that the kids get to walk through the halls, which are actually outside, with palm trees greeting them around every corner.  I have always loved palm trees and as a little girl who traveled to Florida every spring break, I remember the excitement I felt at the first sight of palm trees as we entered South Carolina.  I am finally living in a place that is surrounded by palm trees!  

Everyone is extremely warm and friendly at ISB, and they seem to offer many opportunities for new children to adjust and acclimate to their new environment.  New students can sign up for lunch groups, where they have lunch with other new students in their counselor’s office.  They talk about their home country, play games and have popcorn.  During our first visit, we toured the school.

A fish pond by the cafeteria

One of the playgrounds

At the library

Austin hits the books

Check out these cool reading chairs!

We met with counselors, the kids took some placement tests, and then we headed off to buy uniforms.  The kids alternate days between wearing PE uniforms and regular ones.  They must always wear their hat or they cannot participate in PE or recess, which is a pretty good incentive for remembering your hat.  As soon as we came home, the kids had a blast modeling their new uniforms.

Austin may start the first gang at ISB

After meeting teachers, attending new parent orientation, and actually starting school, ISB seems like a fantastic place and a wonderful experience for our kids.  Below are some pics from their first day/week of school.

At temporary house, we walked.

At new house, we catch the bus for now.

  Camryn really wants to ride her bike!

Go Panthers!  Camryn refused to pose :(

Posted on class blog

Each teacher has a class blog, so I snagged this one from there.  I think Austin had a great first day!