Ages and ages later

Ok, so we're back in Burma. And Europe seems like it was a long long time ago, even though we're only back since the 8th of august.

So, what happened apart from the fact that i haven't had time to keep this blog updated (or even to write some posts at home).

School has begun and i have obviously made the right decision in May when the school split. We already have more students now than we had at the other school. And the facilities are great. Ok, i have 20 kids in my class (which makes it the biggest class in the school this year) so i have a bit more work to do than i had to last year. Apart from the fact that i now teach Grade 4. But all in all, nothing to complain about there.

Then there was the matter of housing...First we stayed in a hotel in downtown, thinking that we could find a place relatively quickly, like an apartment for three months, after which we would have time to look for a house. But that proved a much more difficult goal than we had anticipated... It is extremely problematic in this country to get a 3-month contract for anything (not to mention a normal contract where you just pay up every month...). And the prices were ridiculous for what was on offer... We saw an apartment where we'd have to give up the master bedroom to have a decent living room and they still wanted more for that place than we paid for our apartment last year. And that one was furnished! We also saw a house which on the outside looked very nice with a lovely big garden area. Ok, it was brand new, not lived in yet and the garden was a bare piece of land but i thought those were all things in its favor. And then we saw the inside. Honestly, even now a month later i still don't know what these people were thinking when they build it. There was a kid of overgrown hall that would have to be the living room. But for taht it was too small. Then there were 3 bedrooms but at odd angles with the hall/living room or the other non-bedroom place that wasn't big enough to put a table in so it wasn't the dining room/kitchen (there already was an outside kitchen ) but the only 'free' non-door was was completely covered by a counter with sink and cupboards everywhere. So i was wondering where anyone was to sit down at a table and enjoy a meal. There was no space in either this room or the so-called living room. Another example of a waste of time....

Then we decided to move to a hotel closer to my school. Much closer.. 5 minutes walk. Which was absolutely great. And Xenne and KK often accompanied me to school. Xenne, especially. loved it since he always was immediately surrounded by half the teachers staff and a bunch of school kids all trying to give him more attention than is good for him... We stayed there for quite some time. Still searching for a place to live. We'd extended ouur time for an apartment up to 6 months rent since it was just impossible to find a decently priced one for 3 months. But even then, no luck at all. And the same with the houses. We were eventually considering a house we didn't really want since it was quite far away from the school when a taxi driver told us he knew a guy who new houses for rent in the quarter we were staying in. Ok, it wouldn't hurt to talk to him. That same day (it was a sunday) Kk and I walked to a massage place near the hotel when the taxi driver came up to us and introduced us to that other man. He had several houses we could see immediately. Since we were due to give an answer about the other house on Monday and Xenne was well taken care of, we decided to go and see those houses. The first house we saw is the house we live in now. It is on the other side of the big street from my school so now it takes me about 10 minutes to walk there (including the 3 minutes it takes to cross that busy street). Unfortunately they sold of the big garden part (big for a Yangon garden but in my opinion way to small to but a house but who am i). There are guys now building a separation wall between that property and where we live. The owner lives on the same land as our house is on, right behind us. Easy if we want something. The house needs some work but nothing we can't handle and most important of all, it has a big outdoor area for Xenne, a garage KK can use for what we plan to set up and they were ok with a 6 month contract. Which is still a lot of money to pay up front, luckily i could get that as an advance from school.

I wanted a western toilet downstairs and they even put in a bathtub. Now Xenne is really happy... Not to mention it is easy for the girls that have the room behind the garage. I know Myanmar has few luxuries but having a housekeeper and a nanny for less than $100 a month + a room to live in + food is one of the things that make life in this country a little less difficult. These girls think they have a wonderful job and for Myanmar standards we pay quite well. Especially since they have a day of every week. I think it is rather embarrassing about how little we pay. And it has it's downsides.. I can't find anything in my own kitchen...

For the rest... it is too hot here. And too humid. Last week it just wouldn't rain. It was horrible. Luckily we have decent power most of the time though every day at least for an hour or 2 the power is off. And it is still rainy season. Unfortunately it is worse than last year everywhere through Yangon. Even the expensive service apartments have problems at the moment.

Ok, let's see if i can post this and then i have to go shopping. It is amazing how many small things you need when you move (and how much that all costs...).

The countdown has begun

We're back in The Netherlands after a long haul from the South of France. Now the holiday is unofficially over..... Tomorrow Xenne will get his last vaccination shots, and the grueling task of packing will begin.... 50 kilos we can take as lugagge with an additional 30 as carry-on, It sounds like a lot but i can tell you it is not. Especially not if you have a lot of kids stuff to take with you. And don't forget that those 30 kgs of carry-on we need to drag around ourselves in addition to steering an active child in the right direction (or carrying him if he is too tired).

The hotel in Bangkok has been booked. It is a hotel that i know since my parents stayed there once so it'll be nice to go too after a long flight. In Burma we want to go to a hotel we know but somehow we hear nothign from them. Then again, i haven't heard anything from there in a over a week and i still need my papers from teh school for my visa. So maybe there are some problems with the internet there. Who knows.....

We'll be staying in a hotel for a few days in which we hope to find a decent apartment for 3 months. When we have that, we have a long period to look for a nice place.

Anyways, 'real' life is knocking on the door again. There's work to be done. In more than one way....

A hi from the south of France

Here we are enjoying a nice, often sunny back terras with occasional trips a bit further afield like the local abbey, St. Emilion and, tomorrow, Spain. KK is amassing countries this trip: the Netherlands; Belgium (camping), Germany (sandwich), France (visiting my parents) and Spain for some tapas.......

Xenne is doing great, he,s got a whole new, huge backyard to play in. Of course there are many places he's not allowed to go and that is exactly where he would love to go most... Luckily there is much that distracts him like the mini-pool, the real pool (when we are in it too obviously), the most recent addition ( a present from some acquaintances here) an aircastle with a slide of sorts and a baby-pool.

As i'm trying to write this I actually am stuck. There is so much to write and so little time to do so. Where do I start. Do I start at all? I think i will be my usual lazy self and abandon the real info for a later date.... I know I know you don't think there'll ever be that date. Maybe. But now i need to book our hotel in Bangkok since i don't fancy dragging our tired selfs, Xenne, and all our stuff through Bangkok in search of a hotel for 2 nights. So first things first....

Some pictures of our trip to the Netherlands

Well, we haven't finished with the holiday yet but since i couldn't sleep this morning it'll be an excellent opportunity to post a bit here....

A fantastic view from the St. Catharine church tower over Brielle.

Kyaw Kyaw at the mill in Brielle.

At the nieuwe Maasvlakte where we'd seen how they are claiming new land from the sea after which we went to the beach.


Xenne and his great grandma.

Here he shows her how he knows head-shoulders-knees-and-toes.....


Xenne and Kyaw Kyaw eating a sandwhich with real german sausage in Germany....

KK showing the entry sign for The Netherlands....


At Castle Te Haar in Haarzuilen.


After the visit to the castle when we were exploring the gardens.


Who is afraid of the big bad dinosaur?


Not US!

KK in The Hague before our parlament buildings.

In the Escher museum in The Hague.

In Amsterdam from a canal boat....

Time flies when you have fun

Another week (and a bit) have passed and we've spend time in Soest and Zoetermeer and The Hague. And we've visited Scheveningen en Amsterdam (which KK loved). So we're all a wee bit tired but we have a few more busy days ahead of us but then Xenne will get his vaccination shots and we'll 'relax' for a few days to give him time to be sick of that if he needs to be.

There is so much to write that i don't know where to begin so i give up before i start.....

Ewold got married!

Ewold, one of my long-time friends, finally got married today. I'm so happy. Especially since we were all there, even Kyaw Kyaw. It was very early this morning, at 9, so it was an early rise-and-shine but it was really nice. I did miss some of it since Xenne was so busy but KK filmed a lot and í'm sure that, soon, i will see the pictures...

Now everybody is eating roti and kouseband, drinking wine and enjoy the late afternoon sun in the garden. We'll go to Soest soon to visit another friend. So very busy. especially since we only got here late yesterday evening after having spent the weekend near the German border at another friend's house. It was great there. Xenne had Jonas and Wiske (her kids) to play with and loads of toys. KK loved it since we went to Germany to eat pie!

Ok, time to go and keep an eye on Xenne. He's just come over to have a look at what i'm doing...

Already more than 2 weeks in The Netherlands

So far we've been very fortunate with the weather. Ok, not every day has been sunny and warm but we have had only one really bad day in which it was raining almost continuously. But even that day we could take Xenne uit in the evening for a short walk.

KK still is amazed at all the differences between Burma and Holland. He loves Brielle (the old town), which isn't so strange since it has beautiful old buildings. I love it too and wouldn't mind onwing a house there (but for that you need to have access to about a million Euro or more...) .

Xenne loves the garden and spends most of his day there chasing the dog and cat. The cat is called 'momo' (he uses the same word for when he wants something to eat) and the dog is called 'wawa'. The cat doesn't mind being handled a bit roughly every once in a while but the dog doesn't like it too much so we have to keep a good eye on that.

Now the 2 gentlemen are at the palyground which is right behind the house. Xenne climbs up the ladder of the slide and then slides down on his belly. Which he loves to do and can't get enough of....

What else.. oh we've been able to buy some excellent shoes for Xenne for discount prices. So hopefully he'll be covered for a year with that. It is so difficult to buy shoes in Burma since it is almost always plastic and/or sandals with no proper support. In Thailand it isn't much different. You can get a bit more there but still there isn't much choice and the prices are high for good quality shoes. So with this i was really happy.

We also bought tons of toys on a local fair for absolutely rock bottom prices ($0.50 to the most expensive item of $2,50). Now wé just have to find a way of taking it all back with us without paying for excess luggage. After all, we've also planned to bring some cheese (if it is packed properly it should be possible we've been assured) and other goodies...

The fair was a blast. For one thing there were loads of interesting things for sale (like wooden clogs and i actually needed a pair but eventually i settled for a few miniature versions. Easier to pack), and there wasx live music with old style instruments. Xenne loved that. He stood in front of the stage and danced the afternoon away. It was so cute and it looked like more people were watching Xenne than they were watching the artists. And we overheard many comments on him being so adorable.... What more could i want form a nice afternoon ;-)