These have been good but just really intense weeks.
Taxes, sermons, course prep, Emily's started interviews for her diss, kids going hard, vetting housing and education possibilities for the future, finishing up small writing projects, swim lessons, Sunday school, and on and on... It's only been a few months but it feels like forever.
I'm trying to start a basic website to think through projects and post about life here. I think it will be a good thing, but there's still a tech learning curve on it.
On Facebook they just started a group to begin planning our 20th reunion from high school--wow! Hard to believe that high school now falls in the first half of my life, as opposed to the half I'm in now. I'm more shocked by how many people I don't remember at all than those I remember.
We've mostly figured out education for the next year but now we're feeling out what to do on our other items: housing, transportation, etc. It's nice being on a mountain, but also a hassle. Nothing is really convenient for us up here--grocery stores, doctors, schools, parks, other kids, etc. I think we may move off, but it's a large move to anticipate. I still don't really know what to do. We're talking to everyone now. Another possibility is to wait a year and see if Emily finds a place she wants to work and if Sam finds a school he likes. Choices, choices. I know I may this harder than it has to be.
The kids are all very entertaining. Eli's a parrot lately. Eva and Eli both love singing more and often croon along with Emily in the car. Sam is a million questions a minute. He's in love with Angry Birds, and can spend hours a day coloring them if given the chance.
We're glad for all of the things going on, but I hope we can also plan a vacation. Emily's still of the opinion that a vaction with small kids is less relaxing than no vacation, but I'm not entirely sure. The ideal would maybe be some day trips in the area.
We're also coming up on Mother's Day, our anniversary, birthdays... So much lie ahead in the coming months.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Pneumatic Eli
Wrote this earlier, but hadn't posted it...
We're now entering week three of The Cold That Will Not End. For Sam, it was not a big deal at all. For Eva it turned briefly feverish, but then she's been pretty good the last week and is back in school. With Eli it began mildly, but then turned into pneumonia. Emily and I have both gone back and forth. I thought I was through the worst of it and then yesterday was really congested.
(This is the great thing about a blog--you can go on about disease symptoms for as long as you want to.)
Things like this are still rough because they knock out a couple of weeks of our lives. Taxes only got done by staying up late Saturday and working. Emily's gotten no dissertation done and I'm feeling underprepped for class.
We're now entering week three of The Cold That Will Not End. For Sam, it was not a big deal at all. For Eva it turned briefly feverish, but then she's been pretty good the last week and is back in school. With Eli it began mildly, but then turned into pneumonia. Emily and I have both gone back and forth. I thought I was through the worst of it and then yesterday was really congested.
(This is the great thing about a blog--you can go on about disease symptoms for as long as you want to.)
Things like this are still rough because they knock out a couple of weeks of our lives. Taxes only got done by staying up late Saturday and working. Emily's gotten no dissertation done and I'm feeling underprepped for class.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Rainy day holidays...
It's been raining continuously so we're feeling a little trapped inside. Kids have also been sick (coughing thing). I think they'll be okay, but it has put a bit of a cramp on the weekend. I got the boys to a nature center on Thursday while Emily took Eva to the doctor's. The nature center was fun (beatles, frogs, ducks, turtles). Sam is restarting swim lessons and loves the time with the kids (it also helps him sleep). We may try Suzuki again when his language has improved. He's coming along but still seems to be speaking mostly English, even though his vocab is improving. Eva and Eli are both saying some words in the local language.
I'm basically good, but am feeling a bit like one of those people who spins plates on sticks. Just how many can I keep going? Teaching? Language? Writing? Church Stufff? Kids? (Now fund-raising?) Very sociteies and organizations? I had two papers accepted for a conference and am enjoying teaching and being involved in church work, but I also always feel like I'm not quite where I want to be in so many different areas. On days like these too, it's a real challenge just to keep the house okay and get everyone's needs met. And coming up are taxes, various receipt-submission, etc. Partly I may be a little down lately just because I've had the same cold as everyone else, and haven't been sleeping great.
Will check in soon! I'm enjoying having the apartment more set up. We have a new griddle so tomorrow morning may be pancakes.That's the news!
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Fun day
Today was a fun day. It followed one of those curious Saturday arcs of fear and trepidation, a successfull morning, imperfect napping, a nice walking, and then an almost diastrous post-dinner hour. Still, some good things happened. As I write this the kids are all asleep and Emily is cleaning.
We did the sister cities presentation this morning. We talked to about thirty high school students and then had lunch with them. For all but two, it will be their first time to the States, and they seem excited and energetic. They cooed over the kids. Eva seemed to like the attnetion, but the boys were shyer and Sam was clearly getting frustrated (it was good he had a stroller he could hide in). They're less overwhelming in "public," but still a lot a lot a lot of work. Emily played with them in the school library and said they did fairly well there.
We had some other funny moments. Sam went to the bathroom this afternoon and called over Emily to announce that his poop "looked like a manatee!" Not sure more needs to be said on that....
We all took a family walk today. The weather is pretty good. It's neither cold and damp nor blazing hot and mosquitos are stll rare. We're enjoying spring while it lasts.
I've also been negotiating with my US employer. I think they'll cover child care. We're thinking of moving from a 3 to 4 year term. It wouldn't have a big impact. What we would do is go home for eight week in summer 2014 and then return for a semester (or something close) in January 2016. So this term would look like: 6 months in US at beginning of term (2nd half of 2012); ~18 months here; summer 2014 in US near family, ~18 months back here, home in the US for 4-7 months Jan 2016. That's the idea. We'd get an extra set of plane tickets and some more stability (I think). We'll still have to talk it through, but it sounds promising.
Other things are less simple. We're not sure about the newer vehicle, but probably should just go with it for the next year or two.
Language is coming along. Sam is saying the local word for "noodles" instead of "noodles." Emily noted he's translating more in his head, which is pretty interesting. I think he's old enough now to be pretty conscious of langauge difference. Eva can say thank you enthusiastically in the local language. They're all making general strides. Sam's big into "frog and toad," but we've also read "where the wild things are," "the three trees," and many other books. For a while Sam's been forcing Emily to read a superhero book she's really sick of.
Emily seems to be making progress on the dissertation. There's an international conference in her field in the region she could get to in August, and she'll probably try to go to it. A friend there could house her. We were talking about it in the car, and I forget how the conversation went, but it was something like this:
Emily: I don't know if I should go...
Sam: You can go! You should go! Eli and I will take care of daddy
Eli and Eva: Go! Go!
So, I think now she pretty much has to go.
Other logistics are still coming along. We probably need to do a little more nesting while we have a vehicle that can transport furniture. I have a bit of a cold and am not feeling great. I'm going to try to ramp up exercise, since the weather is good and my schedule is lightening up (major manuscript in, classes all started).
That's the news! Hope to talk to many of you soon! Jon
We did the sister cities presentation this morning. We talked to about thirty high school students and then had lunch with them. For all but two, it will be their first time to the States, and they seem excited and energetic. They cooed over the kids. Eva seemed to like the attnetion, but the boys were shyer and Sam was clearly getting frustrated (it was good he had a stroller he could hide in). They're less overwhelming in "public," but still a lot a lot a lot of work. Emily played with them in the school library and said they did fairly well there.
We had some other funny moments. Sam went to the bathroom this afternoon and called over Emily to announce that his poop "looked like a manatee!" Not sure more needs to be said on that....
We all took a family walk today. The weather is pretty good. It's neither cold and damp nor blazing hot and mosquitos are stll rare. We're enjoying spring while it lasts.
I've also been negotiating with my US employer. I think they'll cover child care. We're thinking of moving from a 3 to 4 year term. It wouldn't have a big impact. What we would do is go home for eight week in summer 2014 and then return for a semester (or something close) in January 2016. So this term would look like: 6 months in US at beginning of term (2nd half of 2012); ~18 months here; summer 2014 in US near family, ~18 months back here, home in the US for 4-7 months Jan 2016. That's the idea. We'd get an extra set of plane tickets and some more stability (I think). We'll still have to talk it through, but it sounds promising.
Other things are less simple. We're not sure about the newer vehicle, but probably should just go with it for the next year or two.
Language is coming along. Sam is saying the local word for "noodles" instead of "noodles." Emily noted he's translating more in his head, which is pretty interesting. I think he's old enough now to be pretty conscious of langauge difference. Eva can say thank you enthusiastically in the local language. They're all making general strides. Sam's big into "frog and toad," but we've also read "where the wild things are," "the three trees," and many other books. For a while Sam's been forcing Emily to read a superhero book she's really sick of.
Emily seems to be making progress on the dissertation. There's an international conference in her field in the region she could get to in August, and she'll probably try to go to it. A friend there could house her. We were talking about it in the car, and I forget how the conversation went, but it was something like this:
Emily: I don't know if I should go...
Sam: You can go! You should go! Eli and I will take care of daddy
Eli and Eva: Go! Go!
So, I think now she pretty much has to go.
Other logistics are still coming along. We probably need to do a little more nesting while we have a vehicle that can transport furniture. I have a bit of a cold and am not feeling great. I'm going to try to ramp up exercise, since the weather is good and my schedule is lightening up (major manuscript in, classes all started).
That's the news! Hope to talk to many of you soon! Jon
Friday, February 22, 2013
Good Meetings today
Today was a pretty good day. I woke up really early and prepped my class, which went "well." I think there will be a lot of work for the semester, but it will be less than in the past. I do feel like we've turned a corner on some things. Teaching won't ever be easy for me here, but it will be more familiar and I'll have better resources and skills.
I saw Ralph today, who is the pastor I'd mentioned. He lives in California now, but had taught at this school before and I'd worked with him as a youth director. It was really fun to see him because he's someone who knows all of the systems.
We saw Linda, Kady, and Tung-tung (the baby) today. Eva really likes to greet smaller babies and had a great time. Sam and Eli showed off their spider-web shooting skills.
We had fraternal fighting over toys today. On the plane, each of Samuel, Eva, and Eli got an "ironman." Sam's is black and blue (he'd requested it) and I found two others on sale at Marshalls for $3. Well, today Emily pulled out the accessory for Eli's and it is pretty cool. Sam told us that Eli had said he wanted to share his ironman with Sam. We went with this as long as Eli didn't want it, but eventually Eli wanted it. Sam got frustrated. I told him maybe he could swap out his ironman for Eli's, but he didn't want to share his... Anyway... Hmmm... so we have some years of mild competition ahead of us. I do get it, sharing is hard, and it's easier to ask others to share than to share what we have. It was an interesting conversation.
Emily's good news today was that the kids have a "replacement class" tomorrow, Saturday. This sometimes happens with holidays, where workers get 9 days but are asked to replace a day on a Saturday. For us, it always feels like "surprise" childcare. We're excited to have a morning to talk, shop, work, or rest in relative peace. We're very grateful for the school here.
On Sunday it also looks like we're going to get to meet Susan, a pastor from the upper midwest whose husband is on a fellowship here. They have two daughters and I've been looking forward to hearing about their transition. It should be a good time ahead of us. We'll also see long lost friend Peter and possibly another local friend. Anyway, it's been some nice encounters. I still am sometimes frustrated with communication between my three employers, but we're doing okay. One of my goals for the semester is to try to stay engaged and positive and focus on areas where I can make the most progress.
I saw Ralph today, who is the pastor I'd mentioned. He lives in California now, but had taught at this school before and I'd worked with him as a youth director. It was really fun to see him because he's someone who knows all of the systems.
We saw Linda, Kady, and Tung-tung (the baby) today. Eva really likes to greet smaller babies and had a great time. Sam and Eli showed off their spider-web shooting skills.
We had fraternal fighting over toys today. On the plane, each of Samuel, Eva, and Eli got an "ironman." Sam's is black and blue (he'd requested it) and I found two others on sale at Marshalls for $3. Well, today Emily pulled out the accessory for Eli's and it is pretty cool. Sam told us that Eli had said he wanted to share his ironman with Sam. We went with this as long as Eli didn't want it, but eventually Eli wanted it. Sam got frustrated. I told him maybe he could swap out his ironman for Eli's, but he didn't want to share his... Anyway... Hmmm... so we have some years of mild competition ahead of us. I do get it, sharing is hard, and it's easier to ask others to share than to share what we have. It was an interesting conversation.
Emily's good news today was that the kids have a "replacement class" tomorrow, Saturday. This sometimes happens with holidays, where workers get 9 days but are asked to replace a day on a Saturday. For us, it always feels like "surprise" childcare. We're excited to have a morning to talk, shop, work, or rest in relative peace. We're very grateful for the school here.
On Sunday it also looks like we're going to get to meet Susan, a pastor from the upper midwest whose husband is on a fellowship here. They have two daughters and I've been looking forward to hearing about their transition. It should be a good time ahead of us. We'll also see long lost friend Peter and possibly another local friend. Anyway, it's been some nice encounters. I still am sometimes frustrated with communication between my three employers, but we're doing okay. One of my goals for the semester is to try to stay engaged and positive and focus on areas where I can make the most progress.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Logistics
The last few days have been filled with logistics: Monday teaching, Tuesday kids to school, Wednesday phones, today bank and local HQ, and then tomorrow/Friday sees us start our second week back.
The weather has been pretty good. Kids are liking seeing the bugs and the like. We're stocked back up on groceries. I was electronics hoarding the last 8 months, so I feel like we're pretty set up right now.We still have other things to do: following up on connections from the US, copy-editing for me, writing for Emily, going to church Sunday, dealing with small things (our stroller here has flat tires and our new stroller has a bent wheel from the airport--not sure how it happened). All OK, but a fair amount to think about.
Today was such an intense day that I did my thing where I wake up at 4am. I wish I didn't do this, but I've tried some work, and listening to music in the dark, and not much is helping. Sometimes I feel like my brain kicks into overdrive, and it's hard to quiet it. I think probably this is just natural given how much we've done the last few weeks. I'm hoping as we settle into a schedule things will quiet somewhat.
We should have some nice visits in the next few week. The Sister Cities program I know of is going to send someone to see us next week and today I'll meet the pastor who I youth directed for during two years in grad school. There's also a grad student I'm supposed to talk to. I think it will be a fun few weeks.
The weather has been pretty good. Kids are liking seeing the bugs and the like. We're stocked back up on groceries. I was electronics hoarding the last 8 months, so I feel like we're pretty set up right now.We still have other things to do: following up on connections from the US, copy-editing for me, writing for Emily, going to church Sunday, dealing with small things (our stroller here has flat tires and our new stroller has a bent wheel from the airport--not sure how it happened). All OK, but a fair amount to think about.
Today was such an intense day that I did my thing where I wake up at 4am. I wish I didn't do this, but I've tried some work, and listening to music in the dark, and not much is helping. Sometimes I feel like my brain kicks into overdrive, and it's hard to quiet it. I think probably this is just natural given how much we've done the last few weeks. I'm hoping as we settle into a schedule things will quiet somewhat.
We should have some nice visits in the next few week. The Sister Cities program I know of is going to send someone to see us next week and today I'll meet the pastor who I youth directed for during two years in grad school. There's also a grad student I'm supposed to talk to. I think it will be a fun few weeks.
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