We’ve ventured to the two grocery stores closest to our house: S&R, a Costco-style store complete with the Kirkland brand and jars of Ragu spaghetti sauce large enough to last a year, and S&M Hypermarket, a Target-like store with household items, clothes, and a large grocery section. Both contain a mix of the familiar – from Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour to Special K Red Berries – to the strange – half and aisle of various brands of coconut jelly and an entire aisle devoted to canned meat (SPAM, corned beef hash, and Vienna sausages galore). A friend kindly told us about an organic store which stocks a bunch of gluten-free options for my mom.
Seeing so many American and, to be honest, Japanese brands was very reassuring, leaving a first impression that most foods would be available here. Dairy products are generally shipped from California or Australia, so the taste is familiar. The Asian section has everything from Bulldog sauce to Pocky. Such a difference from Hyderabad! By the time we left it, between the four import grocery stores we could find most things, but it was always hit or miss. Here the import foods seem par for the course.
I am going to try and avoid the processed foods here as almost all the ingredient lists I’ve read contain MSG and large quantities of sodium and sugar. True of many processed foods in the US, too, but combined questionable food-safety processing techniques, I have my worries. A coworker said she found the best fruits and veggies at a Saturday market – so hopefully we can make it out to that soon.
Strangely, I have not yet found beans and lentils (aside from canned pork and beans), either canned or dry varieties. I had adjusted our eating habits after two years in India with more kinds of beans and lentils than I could keep straight. A trip to an Indian grocer might just be in order!
If anyone knows just what exactly one does with coconut jelly, do share. The SPAM I think I'll just let be.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
First Impressions
We arrived safely and relatively sane. No terrible airport or airplane experiences, a vast improvement over our departure from India which was about the worst day of our entire lives. Detroit and Nagoya airports are surprisingly comfortable – big enough to have good food options and kid play areas (key!), but not so huge and busy like DFW, ORD or NRT.
First day in the office accomplished much, notably applying for cable and internet and our VAT point-of-purchase exemption card. All our American consulate friends from India will truly appreciate the existence of a VAT card! In the interim, the clubhouse on the compound has free wifi for members.
For the rest, we can’t help but compare to Hyderabad, our most recent point of reference.
• Housing is smaller in comparison, but comfortable. Hearing some stories, it sounds like the off-compound situation is similar to Hyderabad: beautiful patina, but questionable functionality. On-compound (where we are), most appliances are imported. I don’t have any complaints except for my shower head (pressure and hot water are sufficient, a bonus over our last house!).
• Driving is slightly crazy – tame in comparison to India, but not quite as orderly as the US. Since we live near the office, we hopefully won’t have to deal with the crazy traffic jams, especially during monsoons when we hear some roads flood. Driving time, though, will be a key factor in evaluating schools for William. If William were old enough to ride a school bus, we’d probably skip the driver.
• Availability of Western goods is high. We thought HYD was doing well, especially with the recent opening of Marks & Spencer and Chili’s. If you crave to continue to live your life with all the same brands as in the U.S., Manila is the place for you. Some come at a premium (e.g., men’s Croc’s for $40 instead of $30), of course. I found it strange walking around the Mall of Asia yesterday and seeing all the normal shopping mall stores of the U.S. interspersed with fast food stores selling fried pork parts. (no, I was not adventuresome enough to try them.)
• The jury is still out on personal safety. Sadly, I was pick pocketed on my first day out and about, something which never happened to me in India. I had a cell phone for all of five minutes, I think. The local SIM card worked in my fancy US phone (which I had had unlocked in India), which I put in a Velcro pocket on the outside of my bag … and then after a brief walk through the mall and through a toy store to pick up a new ball each for Wm and Patch, the phone was gone. Thankfully, all four passports and my wallet in the zipper pocket were safe. We’re going out again to purchase a cell phone, and this time I’m in the market for a boring talk-and-text-only basic handset.
I was a compound skeptic, but my initial impression is positive. Our neighbors report immediate response when repairs are necessary. The dog run and swimming pool are each about 100 yards from our front door, the playground maybe 40 feet. William already knows his way around, and reportedly the kids pretty much roam free between the each other’s houses. My mom is excited that the clubhouse restaurant (and Gloria Jean’s coffee shop!) will be operational from Monday after renovation.
The only negative so far is that the on-compound preschool is reportedly very strict on birthday cut offs. We had been hoping to send Patch there, but he’s two months shy of the cut off date. After three months in the US hearing exclusively English all the time, he’s actually starting to try and talk more! We’d like to encourage this and have him in a small playgroup for 2 – 3 hours each day, but I guess we’re probably going to have to look elsewhere.
First day in the office accomplished much, notably applying for cable and internet and our VAT point-of-purchase exemption card. All our American consulate friends from India will truly appreciate the existence of a VAT card! In the interim, the clubhouse on the compound has free wifi for members.
For the rest, we can’t help but compare to Hyderabad, our most recent point of reference.
• Housing is smaller in comparison, but comfortable. Hearing some stories, it sounds like the off-compound situation is similar to Hyderabad: beautiful patina, but questionable functionality. On-compound (where we are), most appliances are imported. I don’t have any complaints except for my shower head (pressure and hot water are sufficient, a bonus over our last house!).
• Driving is slightly crazy – tame in comparison to India, but not quite as orderly as the US. Since we live near the office, we hopefully won’t have to deal with the crazy traffic jams, especially during monsoons when we hear some roads flood. Driving time, though, will be a key factor in evaluating schools for William. If William were old enough to ride a school bus, we’d probably skip the driver.
• Availability of Western goods is high. We thought HYD was doing well, especially with the recent opening of Marks & Spencer and Chili’s. If you crave to continue to live your life with all the same brands as in the U.S., Manila is the place for you. Some come at a premium (e.g., men’s Croc’s for $40 instead of $30), of course. I found it strange walking around the Mall of Asia yesterday and seeing all the normal shopping mall stores of the U.S. interspersed with fast food stores selling fried pork parts. (no, I was not adventuresome enough to try them.)
• The jury is still out on personal safety. Sadly, I was pick pocketed on my first day out and about, something which never happened to me in India. I had a cell phone for all of five minutes, I think. The local SIM card worked in my fancy US phone (which I had had unlocked in India), which I put in a Velcro pocket on the outside of my bag … and then after a brief walk through the mall and through a toy store to pick up a new ball each for Wm and Patch, the phone was gone. Thankfully, all four passports and my wallet in the zipper pocket were safe. We’re going out again to purchase a cell phone, and this time I’m in the market for a boring talk-and-text-only basic handset.
I was a compound skeptic, but my initial impression is positive. Our neighbors report immediate response when repairs are necessary. The dog run and swimming pool are each about 100 yards from our front door, the playground maybe 40 feet. William already knows his way around, and reportedly the kids pretty much roam free between the each other’s houses. My mom is excited that the clubhouse restaurant (and Gloria Jean’s coffee shop!) will be operational from Monday after renovation.
The only negative so far is that the on-compound preschool is reportedly very strict on birthday cut offs. We had been hoping to send Patch there, but he’s two months shy of the cut off date. After three months in the US hearing exclusively English all the time, he’s actually starting to try and talk more! We’d like to encourage this and have him in a small playgroup for 2 – 3 hours each day, but I guess we’re probably going to have to look elsewhere.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Greetings from steamy Manila
I'm trying this on the iPad, so sorry about any misspellings. It also doesn't seem to like the blogspot interface, so hopefully this will actually work.
Anyway, it's darn humid here. Think Houston in June. Luckily we've been able to get to the mall both days this weekend. Yesterday we both got our phones set up, only for Pam to have hers stolen out of her purse within an hour. This gave me an outstanding opportunity to buy a new phone, which I have kept for myself (with the approval of an indifferent Pam - though I suspect she'll have a new one before we leave Manila.).
The apartment is pretty decent, once you get past the tiny non-master bedrooms. Ous is big enough to be two bedrooms, and the other two, if combined, would be about the size of one. Fortunately we have a rather large living area. Turns out we probably could have brought more of our furniture than we did, but I still think it's better to have extra empty space than to not be able to move because you have too much stuff. And our shipments aren't here anyway, so maybe we brought more than I remember.
William is enjoying the new place, especially the playground. Once he decided the pool wasn't too cold yesterday, he had fun there, too. Patch, for the most part, is indifferent to the whole business and just keeps on doing whatever he does. Oh, and the plane ride was tolerable. It's incredible how much difference it makes when you can just put the headphones on the three year old and forget about him for a while.
That's it for now. Hopefully the house will be wi-fi enabled and hooked up to cable in the next week, but for now we have to sit by the pool to go online (I know, the horrors!).
Anyway, it's darn humid here. Think Houston in June. Luckily we've been able to get to the mall both days this weekend. Yesterday we both got our phones set up, only for Pam to have hers stolen out of her purse within an hour. This gave me an outstanding opportunity to buy a new phone, which I have kept for myself (with the approval of an indifferent Pam - though I suspect she'll have a new one before we leave Manila.).
The apartment is pretty decent, once you get past the tiny non-master bedrooms. Ous is big enough to be two bedrooms, and the other two, if combined, would be about the size of one. Fortunately we have a rather large living area. Turns out we probably could have brought more of our furniture than we did, but I still think it's better to have extra empty space than to not be able to move because you have too much stuff. And our shipments aren't here anyway, so maybe we brought more than I remember.
William is enjoying the new place, especially the playground. Once he decided the pool wasn't too cold yesterday, he had fun there, too. Patch, for the most part, is indifferent to the whole business and just keeps on doing whatever he does. Oh, and the plane ride was tolerable. It's incredible how much difference it makes when you can just put the headphones on the three year old and forget about him for a while.
That's it for now. Hopefully the house will be wi-fi enabled and hooked up to cable in the next week, but for now we have to sit by the pool to go online (I know, the horrors!).
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Pack Out --- AGAIN!
The movers will be showing up in about thirty minutes to pack up our air frieght shipment. Seems ike we just did this. Oh, yes, that's right. We did. And now again. Good thing we'll be staying put in Manila for two years. The packing is the worst!
This time, of course, less effort was involved. Just keep out five days worth of winter clothes to wear before we get on the plane - and the rest of the winter stuff goes in the air shipment. At first I was going to sort through all the boys' summer clothes to see what to bring and what to ship. Luckily, though, toddler-sized summer clothes fold very small, and everything fit in one duffel, so I was spared the trouble. Phew!
I gave in to William's one request: we'll find room for both the dump truck AND the fire truck (both about one foot by one foot) in the suitcases. The thought of packing again had him in such a tizzy last night. Thankfully Patch is too small to make space-constraint requests :) The two-wheeler bicycle with training wheels (complete with Spiderman helmet) is all ready to go in the airshipment for the "welcome to Manila!" present for William.
I didn't have that hard of a time making decisions about what clothes to bring - but when it came to books, ACK! I have a small pile of kids books in the middle of the living room floor which I'm undecided about. On one hand, they're heavy. On the other, it's a LONG plane ride and a completely unfamiliar place at the end. Willl Katy the Steamshovel and The Big Red Barn make the cut? I have until the movers show up to decide...
This time, of course, less effort was involved. Just keep out five days worth of winter clothes to wear before we get on the plane - and the rest of the winter stuff goes in the air shipment. At first I was going to sort through all the boys' summer clothes to see what to bring and what to ship. Luckily, though, toddler-sized summer clothes fold very small, and everything fit in one duffel, so I was spared the trouble. Phew!
I gave in to William's one request: we'll find room for both the dump truck AND the fire truck (both about one foot by one foot) in the suitcases. The thought of packing again had him in such a tizzy last night. Thankfully Patch is too small to make space-constraint requests :) The two-wheeler bicycle with training wheels (complete with Spiderman helmet) is all ready to go in the airshipment for the "welcome to Manila!" present for William.
I didn't have that hard of a time making decisions about what clothes to bring - but when it came to books, ACK! I have a small pile of kids books in the middle of the living room floor which I'm undecided about. On one hand, they're heavy. On the other, it's a LONG plane ride and a completely unfamiliar place at the end. Willl Katy the Steamshovel and The Big Red Barn make the cut? I have until the movers show up to decide...
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Adjusting in time to change again
Today, William finally let us leave his classroom without him screaming. I'm not expecting it to happen again tomorrow, but I finally felt like he was adjusting to being here ... and then two weeks from today we'll be in Manila and it will all be new again. I have difficulty visioning how difficult this move is for William. Patch doesn't really have much of a long term memory, so it's not as big an issue for him (now that he's accustomed to wearing winter clothes :) ).
William's a pretty verbal kid, but I do have to remind myself he's only three and a half. Often, when he has a huge outburst, after he finally calms down enough to talk, he says what's really bothering him - usually that he's missing something in India (his trains, his toy farm house, Sarwari and Shabu) or that he's bothered by something different here (having to take a nap at school instead of home or having chapped lips and hands because of the cold). Greg and I are stressed out about big picture things (shots? house? schools?) - but the stresses for a small kid are much more accute and immediate.
Taking a cue from a foreign service parenting tip suggestion, we went for Indian food last night. The first time for Indian food since we left! William easily reverted to making little rice balls and eating with his fingers. Patch totally jammed out to the Bollywood hits (playing loudly, of course!). Both polished off their dinner. Advice from this publication I was reading hit home -- I have a lifetime of experience in the US and find the food, the sights, the smells, the sounds all comforting. The US is as foreign to William and Patch as Manila will be for all of us (unless living in a traffic-congested dusty large city actually ends up being more familiar to them). I just need to remember that though I'm comfortable and happy to be home, the boys lack that shared memory.
William's a pretty verbal kid, but I do have to remind myself he's only three and a half. Often, when he has a huge outburst, after he finally calms down enough to talk, he says what's really bothering him - usually that he's missing something in India (his trains, his toy farm house, Sarwari and Shabu) or that he's bothered by something different here (having to take a nap at school instead of home or having chapped lips and hands because of the cold). Greg and I are stressed out about big picture things (shots? house? schools?) - but the stresses for a small kid are much more accute and immediate.
Taking a cue from a foreign service parenting tip suggestion, we went for Indian food last night. The first time for Indian food since we left! William easily reverted to making little rice balls and eating with his fingers. Patch totally jammed out to the Bollywood hits (playing loudly, of course!). Both polished off their dinner. Advice from this publication I was reading hit home -- I have a lifetime of experience in the US and find the food, the sights, the smells, the sounds all comforting. The US is as foreign to William and Patch as Manila will be for all of us (unless living in a traffic-congested dusty large city actually ends up being more familiar to them). I just need to remember that though I'm comfortable and happy to be home, the boys lack that shared memory.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Something is starting to click
We've been in the US for about three weeks now, and Patch has been hearing exclusively English for this whole time. After a weekend away, I was playing with him yesterday and today with more attention. I did enjoy the first kid-free weekend in 3.5 years, but I also missed both boys! I'm pretty sure that his language comprehension has drastically increased of late. I'll never know if it's because he's just one month older than when we left HYD, or if it's because of lack of language mixing, but either way, it's exciting to see him learn.
He can now follow simple directions ("put the blocks in the bag") and also gesture for exactly what he wants (water out of my cup, for instance, and not milk in his sippy cup).
He's also started nodding yes when asked a simple question. I find this highly amusing because William started bobbing his head side to side after a mere two weeks in India. It's taken Patrick (at just about the same age) just about the same amount of time to copy a nod. No head bobbling for the Indian-born one, unless his big brother rubs off on him.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
People Watching
Austin is great for many things - and people watching ranks up there. With the temperature drop near freezing over night, we had to find a way for William to expend energy inside. A little web research showed the Children's Museum (www.austinkids.org) might do the job. The boys both had a great time, but I had most fun seeing the other parents and caregivers.
First, you know you're in Austin when the staff at the Children's Museum has strangely colored hair and some extra piercings - but yet all obviously enjoy their jobs and interacting with the pre-school set. I was trying to imagine what this young, alternative group of adults would talk about with their friends at night.
To my surprise, Greg was not the only dad there - on a Tuesday at 10:30AM. I suppose some of the other guys could have been nannies (why not?), but either way, a stay-at-home dad or a make caregiver certainly would have a good sized cohort here.
And then came the moms ... and grandmoms. The first lady who struck up a conversation with me was of an indeterminable age. Her face looked older with heavier wrinkles and thick foundation, but she was wearing skinny jeans and Ugg boots. I was kind of curious, I admit, what it would be like being at 45 year old mom, until she mentioned how her daughter worked three days a week.
One mom was bling-ed out, with sparkles on her sneakers, on the back pockets of her jeans, and on a big flower on her head band. One was quite pregnant and shepherding three boys under five around. Two were engrossed in their iPhones while their kids enjoyed running around. Some looked like they had stepped out of fashion magazines while others dressed more comfortably for crawling on the floor.
One in her early twenties commented to me how every time she and her two year old son came, she only ever sat on a bench while he spent two hours engrossed with the model train - she didn't think that after working her way through UT, this is how she would pass a morning each week. Her appeals to interest him in the motion exhibit or the play kitchen fell on deaf ears.
After two years in a stratified society, I enjoyed the mixing of kids and parents from so many different backgrounds. And the "artisan sausage" with huckleberry compote and applewood smoked cheddar for lunch after (http://hotdogscoldbeer.com/).
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