Our House

We moved into our house on Tuesday, June 29th. It wasn't my first choice, but it the other house I liked more we could not move into for two weeks plus it was more money. We have a two store house with three bedrooms there is an extra room (with no air conditioning) on the first floor. The house is completely boxed in by a concrete wall, on top of the wall is broken glass to keep anyone out who may want to climb over. There is a large spirit house in the front. We are to place offerings there to keep the bad spirits out of our house, we have not done this but so far I haven't felt any bad spirits. Around the house we have no plants or greenery to speak of, but we do have a little fish pond with no fish. Hopefully this weekend we will add some plants and fish. The house came very sparsely furnished, so Rob and I feel like newlyweds setting up house again with very limited resources. From the house it takes me about 25 minutes to walk to school, we hope to purchase bikes soon to make that shorter. We can also walk to a big shopping mall, Central Changwattana. In our village there is a community pool and tennis courts, we took the kids swimming there on the 4th of July. Everyday different carts and trucks pass our house selling various things. I have seen and ice cream man, a broom man, the meat and vegetable man as well as the a man selling sweets and fried bugs. Katie was really curious about the fried bugs and even tried a grub. We are settling in slowly, below are some photos from move in day. I will add more once we get things decorated more.

Spirit HouseKitchen: Note there is no oven. That is a washing machine, no dryer.
At the other end is a small refrigerator. Living room, no TV yet
The master bedroom

Hampton International School

On the flight over I kept reminding myself that I would need to adopt the Thai attitude of Mai Pen Rai, which basically means never mind, no problem. When we went to see the school for the first time I definitely needed this frame of mind as one of the first words out of their mouths were "I hope you can be flexible." Then they said that they only had one student enrolled for preschool and so they wanted me to teach 1st grade.

A little about the school. It is brand new, in fact they are still putting the finishing touches on the school. Because it is new, they do not have many students enrolled. Right now my class will only have 3 students. All the staff are super friendly and the facilities are very nice. I will be teaching summer school starting July 5th which will be like 4 weeks of summer camp. This should be a nice way to get to know some of the students I will have and get my feet wet teaching a new grade. I am a little scared to be starting work, but also excited at the same time.

We Are Here

After many hours on two planes and a few hours waiting for our connection in Japan we arrived in Thailand late Tuesday night. As soon I stepped off the plane the familiar smell of Thailand hit me in the face. For those who you have never been it is difficult to understand the distinct smell that is Thailand. It is a mix of heat, sweat, jasmine and spices among other things that I have only experience here. The plane ride was uneventful, the kids are truly seasoned travelers. The whole way over I had to keep reminding myself that this was not just a two week vacation, we are actually moving to Thailand. I am not sure when the reality of everything will really sink in with me.

We arrived at our hotel and settled down for bed by about 2 am, then we were all awake by 6 am. We showered, ate breakfast, figured out how to connect to the Internet and then went to explore a bit. We walked down the street and checked out Big C, a local store something like Walmart but not exactly. It was fun for the kids to see all kinds of new foods and see some familiar ones. The kids were especially interested in all the different chip flavors. Check out Chet's blog for more about that. Our next adventure will begin shortly we are headed over to the school at 2:30 pm.

Katie Sleeping at the Tokyo Airport

Our Hotel TK Palace

The Main Road

Good Bye America

As I write this I am sitting in a hotel room close to O'Hare airport. Our house and suitcases are all packed and we are ready to go. Our flight will take off tomorrow at 11:40 am and if all goes well we should arrive in Thailand on Tuesday at 10:50 pm. The reality of everything still hasn't settled in for me, maybe when I am finally on the plane it will all hit me. The kids are very excited and I know they will have a hard time getting to sleep tonight. Maybe that will help them get on Thailand time, Thailand is 12 hours ahead of us. I am not looking forward to jet lag, especially since we hit the ground running. I have a week before work starts and we need to find a place to live still! I can't even imagine what our new house/apartment will look like but I do know it will be nothing like our house in the states.

Last Day

Today was Nell's last day at gymnastics. It was a bittersweet day for Nell. Gymnastics has become such a big part of her life this year, she practices 9 hours a week. She wants to continue with gymnastics while in Thailand. I have looked on the internet and found a gym that might be a possibility, but I know it wont be anything like it is here. This morning I asked her what she really wanted to do today at her last class and she quickly responded squat on leap to the high bar. This is a new skill she has been working on for the next level. When I arrived she asked me to video her doing this skill.
Coach Erin and Nell

Packing

It feels like we have been packing and organizing our house for months now. The one task I have dreaded the most is packing up Chet's room. Anyone who has been to my house will understand why this task is so daunting. Well yesterday I finished and Chet's room hasn't been this clean since the day we moved in. I really wish I had taken a before picture for those who had never seen his room, but I didn't think about that till I was half way done. Below is the after picture.

Thailand Here We Come

Katie Chet and Nell in front of the Thai Consulate in May

This year has been spent planning and preparing for our move to Thailand and now it is finally upon us. We are currently madly packing up our house and getting all the last minute details in order. On Monday we board a plane to begin our Thai adventure. This has been in the works for about six years and it is finally going to happen. When we first started to talk about our year off we had a completely different plan. Rob was going to be taking a sabbatical while he finished up his doctorate and we were going to travel around the world and spend an extended period of time in Thailand. Well Rob put his doctorate on hold indefinitely and we began to look at things in a different way. Eventually we came up with the plan to spend a year in Thailand, which meant one of us would need to do something to secure a visa and an income to help support us. As we talked with more and more people it became clear the easiest way to do this was for one of us to get a teaching job and since I have experience teaching the task fell to me. I applied to many schools and Skyped with a few before accepting a position at Hampton International School in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

A Year In Review

The 2009-2010 school year was another busy one in the Kirby household. We started September off with the girls birthday. They turned 8 this year and wanted a dog themed party. This year was full of change for me. I left my job at the recreation center and took a job as a teacher at a local preschool. This was a great change for me as it meant that my work schedule followed the kids school schedule, no more working on school holidays. I spent much of my free time trying to get us prepared for our upcoming move to Thailand. Which mostly consisted of me applying and interviewing for jobs.

The kids as usual we over extended with all their activities.
Chet played soccer, Tae Kwon Do, Lego League and took up the alto sax this year. He continued to do well in school, but one of his biggest achievements was his Lego League making it to the state level of competition. Chet also turned 11 this year and was promoted from 5th grade.

Nell did gymnastics, Girl Scouts and piano this year. Gymnastics took up most of her time as began competing this year. Nell excelled at school this due to an awesome teacher. Her biggest achievement this year was qualifying and competing at the state gymnastics tournament.

Katie did piano, Girl Scouts, Tae Kwon Do and Irish Dance. Katie also did very well at school and has become an avid reader. Her biggest achievement was placing first at her Tae Kwon Do tournament.

We took a few trips this year including a trip over Halloween to see the girls sister Abby and a trip to California to visit Grandma and Grandpa O and the California relatives.

Chet at one of his Lego competitions

Katie and Nell warming up after a swim at Grandma and Grandpa O's house

Nell and Katie at their 8th Birthday

Nell getting ready for her first gymnastics meet

Katie Nell and Abby on Halloween

Kirby Family Christmas Eve

Katie in her Irish dance costume

The girls with their teacher after the school talent show

Chet's 11th Birthday

Chet and his teacher at promotion

Katie getting 1st place for Tae Kwon Do

Last Summer

Okay so it has been a year since I last updated my blog and I thought it might be a good idea to get caught up before we start a new adventure in Thailand. I will start with last summer and our trip out to Montana. We began planning our trip to Montana back in October when I made reservations for Rob and I to spend a night in Glacier Park at the Granite Park Chalet. The plan was for Rob and I to leave the kids with my parents and hike into the Chalet spend a night and hike out. Reservations fill up very quickly for the two Chalets in the park and we were lucky enough to get a spot.


We took the Highline trail which begins at Logan Pass to the Chalet. It was a beautiful day at the start of our hike, although all day we watched as the clouds spilled over the Garden Wall. When we were less then a mile out we saw the first lightning, we were fortunate to make it to the chalet before rain set in. We signed up for our cooking time and settled into our room. After a dinner of freeze dried beef stroganoff and a bottle of wine that we hiked in the rain had stopped and we went for a short hike and watched the deer all around the chalet.


The next morning we got an early start as we headed down Swiftcurrent trail towards Many Glacier. It was a cool morning and the clouds were beautiful as the rose from the trail. Rob somehow talked me into taking a detour and hiking up to the Swiftcurrent fire lookout or as I like to refer to it the death march. We were the only ones on the trail that seemed to never end. As we got passed the tree line the wind was blowing hard and I was freezing but eventually we made it to the top. On a clear day they say you can see to Canada, but it was nowhere near a clear day. It made Rob happy to get to the top of the mountain and now that I have had almost a year to recover I might agree to do it again, but I would make sure I had bear spray as we did see evidence of bears.

After our detour we continued our way down. On the way we meet a mangy marmot who tried to chase me down the mountain. We also saw big horned sheep and lots of huckleberries. We heard from hikers coming up that there were bears, but we were lucky enough to not see them till we had arrived in Swiftcurrent and where in a car. We hitched a ride back to Logan Pass with another couple we meet at the chalet. Then it was time to drive back to the cabin and see the kids.

This was one of the best trips I have ever taken and I look forward to the kids being old enough that we can all do it together.

View of the mountain we hiked to get to the lookout, taken at the end of the Swiftcurrent trail

View of the many lakes we would be hiking around

Small waterfall we saw on the Swiftcurrent trail


Darcie and the Mangy Marmot

Fire LookoutView of the ChaletRob and I on the Highline Trail



Highline Trail

Rob on the Highline trail

Tennis and Softball

This summer I told the kids they could try a new sport if they wanted.  Nell and Chet wanted to try tennis, just like mom and Katie choose softball.  Luckily for mom they were offering tennis and softball at the same park at the same time!  Nell and Chet did a great job with tennis.  Nell's coach thinks she has some potential and should continue.  With her gymnastics schedule this isn't going to happen, but maybe she can be like her mom and do gymnastics till high school and then switch to tennis.  I was also very impressed with Chet, he has a nice swing and he is always prepared to return any ball (most of the other kids just stood and watched the ball bounce past them).   Katie, I a mean Katherine (that is what she told her coaches to call her) is great at softball.  She can hit any ball that is pitched to her and has quite an arm when it comes to throwing.

  

  

Summer Rolls & Grasshopper Pie

   

When  we go out to a Thai or Vietnamese restaurants summer rolls are one of our favorite things to order.  Unfortunately they can be a bit pricey and you usually only get two and when you have to share them 5 ways no one ever gets enough.   So this Father's Day I decided to try making them at home.  They were surprisingly easy and for about the cost of two orders I was able to make two big plates full.  They sure hit the spot on hot day.  In addition to the summer rolls I also made a grasshopper pie, with a Cocoa Krispi crust.  It was pretty yummy, but a little hard to eat.

Tae Kwon Do Tournament

Last Saturday the Kirby family skipped soccer and headed to Bloomington, IL for a Tae Kwon Do Tournament.  Chet and Katie had been practicing hard for the tournament ever since their instructor mentioned that they might be ready to compete.  Katie was a little nervous and unsure about competing, she doesn't like to fail at anything.  Her instructor was very good as easing her mind and preparing her, so when the day came she was confident and ready knowing that we everyone only expected two things from her 1) To do her best and 2) To have fun.  Well Katie did just that and she took 1st place!  She was so excited/happy/proud it was great to joy she was feeling when she realized she had won.  Chet also did his best and had fun taking 3rd place, missing second by only a tenth of a point.  Both Katie and Chet had a great day and are looking forward to competing again next year.

Happy Birthday Chet!

Chet turned 10 back in April.  Things were a bit hectic then, I was still working full time, my folks came for a visit and various other activities kept me from posting.  We celebrated his day with a family party at our house.  In attendance was both sets of grandparents plus Rob's brother and his family.  Grandpa O made some delicious ribs for everyone, and Chet choose an ice cream cake from Marble Slab.  Then a few weeks latter, we had a friends party.  For his friends party Chet choose a Dr. Who theme, and we played laser tag in the backyard.  It was a really laid back party with minimal work, but everyone had a good time. 

Chet helping Grandpa with the ribs.

Easter

Easter this year started with me putting on our towns Easter Egg Hunt.  I was told that last year there were about 20 kids and not to expect too many.  Here is a photo of the last of the three age groups which was the smallest, so I had a few more than last year.  For Easter we hosted this year.  Rob's family joined us.  Between the egg hunt on Saturday, the church egg hunt on Sunday and our family hunt on Sunday the kids ended up with way too much candy (although mom is always willing to help them with their chocolate).  It was a nice day.