Since a friend had borrowed our camera two weeks ago, I wasn't able to take any pictures. So I was eager to post last week...but we were having internet issues. Anyhow, we're on the road again, and things seem to be working better from this bigger city. So here I am, catching up...yet again!
A few weeks ago, a foreign family returned to our town (there are only 3 foreign families here). Since this third family hasn't been here since we moved here (they were in the US), it's been great hanging out and getting to know them better. Noah has enjoyed weekly play dates with one of their boys, who is half a year older. It's been great for all of us to have more friends! :) Here they are playing marching band throughout the house!
Yesterday, we left our city, and we'll be on the road for a month (first to another city, then to Taiwan). Richard has work to do, but we didn't want to separate the family for so long...so we decided to tag along. Unfortunately, it meant that we had to endure a not-so-fun road trip. I count this as part of the "cost" of choosing to live in such a remote location. Our city does have a very small airport that flies to one city 4x/week, but unfortunately, sometimes we need to go to places other than that one city. We've gotten better lately at managing Noah's motion sickness...but yesterday was awful. I don't really know how to explain what traveling here is like except to say that it is NOT like traveling in the US. We hired a driver to take us (instead of the 12-hour bus ride), but it was still really rough. For the first two hours, the roads were extremely windy (as in lots of turns, not lots of wind...is that how you spell it?), bumpy, and filled with potholes. We all felt carsick with all the accelerating, breaking, and windy turns. The road for the next four hours were better, but still a little windy and challenging. Our driver would accelerate to pass the slower cars, then slam on the breaks to avoid a pothole or a bunch of goats in the middle of the road. Anyways, it made for a very long ride....I think we were all about to lose it by the end of the 6 1/2 hours. Here are some stats (warning--this may be TMI for some people =P):
Number of times Noah dozed off for a little while - 2
Number of times Noah threw up yesterday - 4
Number of times I had to squat and pee on the side of the road - 2
Number of times I saw our driver take a sip of any drink - 0
All that to say....we were VERY happy to reach our destination yesterday afternoon. What makes it even better is that Richard's parents and brother are joining us in this city for a few days before Richard starts working. So after such a terrible road trip, we've been having a blast at a nice hotel as we relax, spend time with family, and (of course) eat yummy food. Besides getting spoiled with new Lego toys, Noah's favorite thing has been the children's pool!
