Hello and greetings from our 13th day in Manila. We are in a southern suburb called Filinvest City, near Ayala Alabang Villiage where our hopefully-soon-to-be home is located - 333 San Bartolome Street (check it out on Google maps). It has been quite a journey thus far, sorry to everyone we haven't been better about staying in touch. Between the time difference, the spotty (at best) Internet connections, poor cell reception and the fact I have no computer, I am very behind in updating our blog (not to mention I haven't written in my travel journal since we left CA!) Tonight we finally had the chance to talk to Zoe since Sept. 28.
While we're slowly seeming to acclimate to the time change, it's been hard for the little ones, we've not only turned their life upside down, we've had trouble establishing a good schedule/routine thus far. We have a very limited kitchenette (tiny frig & micro), and they are really not enjoying any of the local food, my bad for letting them be picky eaters in CA. They have been troopers none the less and are getting used to life in the high rise hotel. Sophia is my elevator operator and Aiden is the social chair, flirting shamelessly with EVERYONE he meets. He can be a complete pill with me, but will pass someone in the lobby and bat his baby blue eyes and is absolutely charming. His blond curls are of great interest to local people we meet, everyone wants to touch his hair and pat his skin, then they ask if he's a boy or a girl :)
Sophia had her first day at Brent International School yesterday. She looked absolutely adorable in her uniform. There are about 12 kids in her class, only 4 are from the states. She had a good game face when I picked her up, but had lots of tears in the car as she didn't make as many friends on her first day as she had hoped. Today went much better and she has a new friend Philip. He's been very kind and has been showing her the ropes of kindergarten at Brent. While I'm being very protective and want to drive her to and from school, she's already asking to ride the school bus!
We have found a helper for our house, her name is Ate (Ah-Tay) Christy. She and Aiden have really hit it off. He has also made a new friend named Tyler, who is only one week younger than he is. Tyler has a cool play room and we have had a few play dates with him. His family is from NorCal, so his mom and I have a common bond as well. Ate Christy is helping us prepare our house, which is very dirty as it's been unoccupied for a few weeks. While our shipment is still on the boat with an open ended ETA, we are slowly cleaning up the place so that we can start making some meals there. We had a fun family pool party on Monday night and decided that we love our new pool! While we keep kicking our selves about things we wish we had brought, it has been a tremendous life learning experience in adapting to our new home land and culture.
Last Saturday, Adam and I got to take a trip to an amazing farm/restaurant outside a town called Tagaytay. Sonja's Garden Restaurant (http://www.sonjaysgarden.com/) is a mostly vegetarian restaurant/spa/bakery/plant nursery. They grow all the veggies for the food and made the pasta and bread for our meal as well. It was the best food I've had since we've been here - I will be headed back soon and will make a day of it wandering the gardens, getting a massage and eating lots of healthy vegetarian food! The trip took about an hour, passing through lots of countryside, headed upland, past the volcano-within-a-volcano at Taal Lake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taal_Volcano)
Other than that, we have been so busy adjusting and trying to get our bearings, we haven't done much exploring. I'm hoping to make a trip to Cebu soon, and was just invited to join Tyler and his mom on a trip to Thailand. I am so excited about being in Asia - the Philippines is an amazing country to explore and a great home base for exploring the Pacific Rim.
Hope this finds everyone doing well. Know we are safe, together and enjoying the expat experience as a family, however we miss Zoe SO much and are counting the days until she can join us for her winter break so we can show her all the cool stuff here!
Mahal - H-A-S-A
Hi Detrick Family!!! Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Sophie Bear and Baby Bear (Aiden) - we are so glad to hear you are doing well, and settling in (as best as possible of course!) What a GREAT experience for you all, especially Sophie, as I am sure she will remember so much and learn so much from her adventures there! Keep us in your hearts, but also keep in mind...not much changes around here (other than the new nanny laws in California that you will have to adjust to upon your return!) and you are really in the better place for your clan now : ) We'll let you know if something exciting happens, I promise, but nothing will compare to your new adventure!
ReplyDeleteZen is also doing very well - he loves to rub his face on Uncle Skoty's feets at night, and has taught all of his new sisters how to hunt mice! they've caught two already! Zen also has a new friend in the neighborhood: a big orange tabby from across the street named Tor. Zen and Tor like to spend all day outside together. Very cute!
We are looking forward to hearing about how you finally settle in, and eventually we hope to have you show us around Asia too! So glad you are making friends and plans and impressing all the natives with your towhead baby!
Love you!!!
Emily and Scott
Aloha,
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear from you.
Your Blog is superb.In spite of all of the major transitions you are each experiencing - you manage to make you adventure sound thrilling. Thank you for taking the time and expending the energy to think of you family and friends.
We miss you all terribly. Hope you are able to connect with James.
Huge hugs and kisses.
Oma and Daba LOVE you all so much