New Kid, New Stuff

The worst of jet-lag is over, but I reserve all rights to use jet-lag as an excuse for any and all mis-communications and/or mid-afternoon coffee breaks for the next month. Kate started school on Wednesday and has adjusted and adapted beautifully.  She has made lots of new friends and started playing soccer. She loves it, and we are so very thankful.  Her transition could not have gone smoother, and while we don't foresee any problems with school and friends in the future, we ask that you continue to pray for her.  She is still the new kid, and if you went have ever gone to school, you know life can be tough as the new kid.  

Our whole family is walking in the shoes of the new kid. We are the new kids of the block, but we got the right stuff, baby.... Anybody???

Anyway, we are out and about discovering new things every day. We have discovered snake heads on a stick, seafood that I didn't even know existed, fried bugs, exotic fruits and veggies, and even cow uterus for sale. I have finally driven on the left side of the road but only to the store, and I made Brian drive us back. We have been exploring the city like the ugly loud American tourists that we are. 

 

I got a little over-excited when I found these bananas.  Aren't they are the cutest bunch of bananas you have ever seen?!  They taste like their bigger and longer banana cousins, though perhaps a tad more pulpy and maybe a little sweeter. Isaiah is loving them. He downs two or three at a time.  

We also found and enjoyed a chicken-leg on a stick.  Thomas ate it down to the bone.

She didn't finish hers, but said it was good. We have noticed that grilled meat seems to be on every corner.  Who needs a snack?  Have some grilled chicken or better yet grilled snake. Mmmm.

Ok. These little cups of yumminess. It's tea, with ice and wait for it... sweetened condensed milk. Yes, people, you read right. Sweetened condensed milk swimming around with the already yummy tea and of course it's served over ice because it's hotter than ten blazes out here, and it's like the perfect accompaniment to any meal. And I mean, Bojangles we love your sweet tea, but until you start putting sweetened condensed milk in it, yours can't even compare.

And the food.  Well, we haven't the slightest idea what we are ordering or eating.  We figured out rice cause well, it's pretty much just rice, but as for all of this other stuff.  We. Don't. Know. 

I ate a bowl of something with noodles and chives and broth and meat. I don't know what kind of meat. There was definitely a piece of liver in one bite (blah!), but I only know that cause my momma used to make liver and onions when I was growing up and "You have to try one bite...." Let me tell you something, it's as bad today in SE Asia as it was 25 years ago in Locust, NC.  Why?! Why do people eat liver??? Other than that little gem, we had a delicious, albeit mysterious, meal.

Pause for a picture...

 This lady just sat down beside our littlest and started taking selfies with him. People told us, "Your kids are going to be a hit." We had no idea. It started on the plane, and it hasn't stopped.  Whether they speak english or not, there are "HEeellOoos" and pointing and waving and laughing. We're really cool with it. We just wave, smile back and figure this must be how Angelina Jolie and her pack feel. Just our five minutes of fame living in the flash of the paparazzi. 

I am not sure what this flower is, but I am almost positive that it is the reason I had to figure out where the drugstore was. My head has been a clogged mess for days. I was able to walk in and buy some allergy meds which have been helping me enjoy this little beauty instead of wanting to chop it down and burn it. Yay for OTC allergy meds that wouldn't be OTC in the States.

This! They are everywhere. Slushy anyone?

Let's face it. Life as the new kid isn't always fun, but then there are slushies. We are trying to make the most of every new day and every new moment to learn something, well,  new. It's fun and wild and crazy, and we are so very thankful for every prayer you have prayed for us the last few days and weeks and months. We have lived on them. We are still looking for a place to plant some roots in this hot soil. So please be praying that our eyes will be wide-open to see where the Father would have us live. And if this post was crazy and hard to read, I blame jet-lag....