Tuesday Tidbits

I am completely addicted to the fresh juice here.  I don’t care how much it costs… I.  Must.  Have.  More. 

We have yet to take a train here.  I know this is a serious faux pas when you live in a country with a thriving mass transit system.  Go ahead and judge.  But taxis are so prevalent, so cheap and so easy that it seems silly to take a cab just to go to a train when the cab can get me there in half the time.  Plus, the best part is that every time we get out of a cab, Kimono Sweet Pea tells the driver, “thank you!  I love you!”  They each do a double take and look at me as if to confirm, that yes, my little one just pledged himself to you.

We have taken a bus.  We did so with two new (adult!) friends, both from different countries than myself, and a total of six boys and one little girl, all under the age of 6 and all running in different directions.  We must have been a sight, particularly when my oldest melted down on the bus because he didn’t get to sit next to his new friends as the seats were full.  At least I know how that system works, but I will need to get my boys a lot calmer before I attempt that mess again.

I have learned that I need to listen to my oldest when he says he sees something.  For example, he came running to tell me there was a gecko in Kimono Sweet Pea’s room.  I said, very patronizingly I admit, “sure baby, there’s a gecko in there…” thinking he is talking about the stuff geckos I had bought the boys at a funky shopping mall the day before.  Nope.  There was a gecko.  On the wall.  Then we went to MacRitchie Reservoir this weekend and he told me as we were not two minutes into are visit there and had just entered the outdoor restaurant area, “look!  There’s a monkey in the vines drinking a soda!”  I patted his wee head and gave him another, “sure honey… there’s a monkey above us drinking a soda.”  Then the monkey dropped the soda can directly at our feet.  Dolp. 

We do not have a house yet.  This is through no fault of my own.  I haven’t had a ‘home’ since we left Rhode Island at the end of June.  This hotel living is about as old as it will ever get to someone, so you can bet your booty I am doing everything I can to move us forward, but mostly I just have to sit on my hands and be patient.  If you know me well, you can rest assured that I am really good at that. 

There is a bright light in living in this hotel/serviced apartment.  Every day when the kids get up from their nap, we change into swimming gear and spend an hour in the pool downstairs.  The timing is brilliant.  Every other expat with kids shows up at the pool at the exact same time.  We all sit on the sides or play in the pool with our kids as we talk about where we are from, what we are doing here and what we think of it so far.  It is incredibly bonding and beneficial to our hearts that ache from missing family and friends in our homelands.  The funny part is, despite having become good friends with three women, I have met only two other American families here and I only met them because they work for the Navy like my husband does.

Speaking of my husband’s job, for the first time EVER, he okayed me saying where he works.  I think most just figure we are military like everyone else that moves overseas.  We’re not.  The funny thing is, with the okay, I still feel odd talking about it.  Talk about a well-trained dog.