We Survived! One Week Down! & Phil's Birthday!

We did it! We all survived the first week of school! Whew! I only took a nap one afternoon, so I consider that a success. I was so tired come Thursday, that I couldn't help it and fell fast asleep. This week has been really good and really fast. All of our kids did great in their classes and seem to enjoy their teachers. Although, John said he doesn't like me being his teacher because I make him do hard things like crafts. Ha! He's a funny kid. If that's the one thing he doesn't like, then I will consider it a success. In the middle of teaching school for the first time, we also had to continue to unpack our apartment, buy food every few days so we could eat, walk to and from school (and every place we want to go) everyday, pack lunches, do lesson planning. We are tired! 

Today is also Phil's birthday! We had chapel at school today and they gave Phil and I a gift for our birthdays being this week. We then had a late lunch at the doner shop. That was an adventure as we didn't know what we had ordered and if it was what we wanted. Phil went this afternoon to register our address with the government. This evening Phil tried for two hours to order pizza and have it delivered. We finally ate around 8:00 p.m. It's always an adventure! We were all in good spirits about it knowing it will take some time to figure out how to live here. We have been here two weeks as of yesterday! 

Making play dough in kindergarten 

A butcher shop we pass on our way to the store. That cow was not there the next day. 

Writing our letters in yogurt and jam! 

An after dinner walk 

A pet store we found 

Happy birthday, Phil! 

Kindergarten Classroom

There are still a few things I need to do in the classroom, but for the most part, it is done! Now on to doing lesson plans! Ha! I had so much help and am very happy with how the room looks! I am so excited about school starting tomorrow! 

So Much To Do!

What a whirlwind!  We have had a lifetime of experiences in the last 5 days!  For starters, practically no one speaks English.  It is fun trying to communicate without words; it's like charades, only you are never quite sure if the person you are playing with has gotten the answer right.
We have spent about half of our time in the last week working at the school: Setting up classrooms, learning how to create lesson plans, and participating in teacher orientation.  These are all things we've never done before.
The other half of the time, we have been figuring out the intricacies of the community and apartment we live in.  Things like:
- There is not much packaging difference between butter and cream cheese
- Don't shut the door too hard in your Uber
- Everyone has the right to be at the front of the line (especially when driving)
- For our hot water to work in our kitchen, we have to turn on the bathroom sink
- The bakery across the street almost always has warm bread...for about 30 cents a loaf
- The people are very kind and are drawn to our kids cheeks
- And SO MUCH MORE!

So much to be thankful for...so much to do!

New Apartment/Happy One Week!

We are slowly setting up our apartment as we acquire things needed and unpack bins. We have now been in country for one week and are all sleeping through the night!! Yay for sleep! The kids have done super! No one complains when we have to walk everywhere, the kids have tried new food willingly (even if they don't eat it all), and they seem to like all the new discoveries. They have been willing helpers at the school and at home. There have been a few moments when someone is falling apart (maybe a parent more than a child-ha!), but they have done exceptionally well! 

Kids' bedroom

Our front door

Our foyer (the two doors are bathrooms-toilet and sink on the right and shower and sink on the left)

Living Room

Master Bedroom 

Kitchen 

Teacher Orientation & Classroom Setup

Today we started teacher orientation at the school where we will be working. Since we weren't in our new apartment yet, we came in on Monday and Tuesday to do some classroom setup. Most of the elementary rooms were moved around, so none of the classrooms were organized yet. Several times this week I said that I wish I had taken before pictures of all the mess, so I could see how much progress had been made. There are a couple that show the work in progress, but most of them are of the finished classroom or our apartment (although neither are really finished yet).  We have made a lot of progress and continue to put one foot in front of the other and keep working. There are several students that have come in every day this week to help!  Even though there is so much work to do, it is so refreshing to be able to see Phillip and for us to be able to work together. We walk almost everywhere here, so we spend lots of time together as a family! I love it! The kids will spend the next three days with our friends that have been so generous in receiving us here and helping with all kinds of needs! 

In the midst of teacher orientation, we also moved into our apartment! It is on the 12th floor of a building that is a 5 minute walk from school and about 15 minutes from our friends' house. We will be about a 5 minute walk from our other friends that came here at the same time as us from our home fellowship. 

Phil's classroom 

Patching up Martin (the hedgehog)

Target finds! 

My awesome helpers! 

Work in progress

So much left to do, but so much done!

Kids seeing the apartment for the first time

Everything in the elevator!

First meal in our new home (brought by our friends!)

Uber to New Fellowship

Who knew that we'd all experience Uber for the first time together in a new country?! Uber here is very, very cheap!  We will not use it all the time, but we did today to attend our new fellowship. It is far from where we are and we all won't fit in the car with our hosts. So, we ordered an Uber and paid $1.50 for him to drive us 15 minutes to where the fellowship meets. Wow! $1.50! We all five crammed into the car with Phil sitting up front and me and the kids in the back. Seatbelts are optional here. Please know we will wear them when we can and be as safe as we can, but sometimes you all have to cram into a car and make it work. We would have taken the bus, but we don't have a bus card yet and couldn't get one from here. We will get that soon! Some of the buses only take coins, but the bus we needed this morning to get us there uses a bus card that you can only get at certain places. 

I did not take any pictures of our fellowship, but it is an international one with people from all nations. It was really beautiful! Kate was super brave and read a verse in the microphone when they asked all the kids to come up front before they left for the children's program. The woman asked for a volunteer and Kate raised her hand. When I told her after how proud I was of her for being so brave, she said, "Well, I really like to read." Well, of course you do!  Our kids have been so brave to try so many new things this week. They have (without much complaint) tried new foods, new modes of transportation (We haven't taken the bus yet.), new people, and lots more new things! We all do really miss our friends, but we are so thankful for technology that lets us see friends as much as we want! We went to the fellowship, had lunch at the mall and looked around at a toy store and a grocery store, and hung out around the house until dinner. After dinner was my favorite part. Our hostess suggested we play and sing some of the songs from our home fellowship. It was such a sweet time together. I didn't get any pictures of that, but we hope to do it again soon. 

Our Uber ride 

The Uber ride was a little windy. Not many here use AC, so windows down is a must! 

McDonald's for lunch at the mall

Candy aisle at the large grocery store at the mall