Keeping It Real.....real low key that is!

We have settled in nicely to our home and our town. We have done a bit of exploring just here locally.  The scenery is amazing unlike anything I have ever experienced.  Life is simple here. I find a lack of drama, lack of rushing around, and lack of processed foods quite appealing inmost cases.

All is well,school for the little one is going great, swimming lessons are going very well,and despite my being unemployed I find myself busy with my Bible study, taking care of the house, and helping out the husband and colleagues where I can.

I have not made a vast number of friends here. You get the general feel here of small town...  where the outsiders are a bit separate from the locals for the most part.  We have found a few new pals at the church we are attending.  However, I have become quite attached to our agent who has been seeing to us from day one.  She and I had hit it off quite nicely and we keep in touch for general chat, have tea sometimes in the afternoon, and meet to let the kiddos play.  I see her as a potential life-long friend.  I actually don't know what I would have done so far with out her.  

That is about it for today. Just giving an update.  I am including pics below for your enjoyment.

I walked by the cage and pointed to show my little one.The bird decided he/she liked me.  Crawled up my arm, said hello, sat on my shoulder for a few minutes (my brief moment of being a true pirate was awesome), and then perched on top of my head and stayed there   LOL Pretty cool!

A breath-taking view while ATV riding in the desert one late afternoon.

Enjoying the view on a Sunday lunch date with mommy and daddy.

Workingonour climbing skills at the local playground near the lagoon.

WalvisBay, Namibia - Survival Mode

Well, we were off to a rough start here in Namibia.  Our first house was beautiful and spacious. However, after only two days in the place, we had to deal with fried breakers, leaking tubs, and a water leak under the slab.  The latter resulting in workers busting up the marble tile and the slab in our utility room and digging under the house to fix it.  So, our agent refused to let us stay there.  We found another house, smaller but more our style, right off of the water in Walvis Bay.  It would not be ready for a few days so we were moved into a hotel for five nights.

 

Our house was finally ready and we moved in over the weekend.  On the second night, we had a break-in.  Our computers and some other electronics were stolen.  As a result, a brand new security company was hired to come in and revamp the security system, complete with lasers all around the house. 

The last couple of weeks have mainly consisted of getting further settled in to our new life here in Africa.  The husband has spent countless hours at work getting things in order for crew changes and getting the rig ready to work. 

The pace of life is MUCH slower here.   The people here are not really in a hurry about anything.  IF you happen to lock your keys in your office or such, don’t expect the locksmith to show at 6:30 PM on a Thursday. It ain’t happening!

The food here is decent. Of course, it is not the southern home cooking type restaurants we are used to but it is good nonetheless.  They eat a great deal of seafood here as well as wild game native to the region.  I think my favorite would be the kudu steak as far as game is concerned. They have fish in various restaurants they call kabeljou, hake, and kingklip that are very good. 

It is very relaxing to have dinner by the water and watch the seals swim around just out from the jetty or watch the birds feed on schooling fish.  Our little boy and I had a “feed the birds” project and we put a bird feed out near our back steps.  Here are a few of the pics we were able to get when we sat close but really still.  J

Our little boy attends Montessori school here and loves it.  It is only half a day so that took getting used to since he went from 10 Am to 5 PM in South Korea.  They have gymnastics available to school children here, so he enjoys that immensely.  We also have him enrolled in swimming lessons. However, I don’t see myself allowing him in the ocean around Walvis Bay as I have never seen so many jellyfish in all my life.

We found a church to attend that we love.  We have been twice so far and are planning to continue attending there. We are also joining one of the churches life groups and Bible study as well. The people here are very friendly as a whole. 

One of the coolest things I have ever done was ride ATVs in the desert.  My husband and I, along with our son and a couple of guys from the rig went out riding one Sunday afternoon. The place we rode was a few miles from our house.  I was a bit nervous about it as some of the dunes are very tall and I do not particularly care for heights.  However, I was astounded by the amazing views and all of us had a great time.  It never ceases to amaze me the intricacies of God’s creation, how it all fits together, and its beauty. I mean the beauty of the desert running into the ocean. Before now, I had never even thought of such or how beautiful it could be. 

We have arrived!

We arrived in Ulsan, South Korea on Monday evening.  Upon entry into our apartment, we were greeted by all the items we airfreighted.  Our departure from the states was delayed by paperwork and the loss of my beloved grandfather.

We all had good flight experience.  However, the trip definitely messed with our sleeping schedule... well, Jonah's sleeping schedule.  He woke about 4 AM this morning, informed me that he slept good, and then ordered me to come play with toys.  LOL  

We are doing well.  Our first, full day in Ulsan was rather challenging.  We were suffering a bit from jet lag and had unpacking to do.  Chet went on to work that morning.  Jonah and I spent out morning unpacking boxes and putting things away. The purpose was to clean up, but it seems as if we only made a bigger mess with all the paper and boxes lying about the apartment.  We did make some headway thought.

Chet returned to the apartment and we had lunch at a place called Pub HQ.  I, like Chet, ordered the man burger.  It is apparently a favorite among the expats living in the area. Given that most of the expats are male, I could see why they appreciated it. It was meat-fest on a bun!  All the burger fixings on a bun with bacon, a hamburger patty, two chicken strips of substantial size, and a couple of different sauces popular to the locals.  It was fairly good.  I did remove the bacon an the chicken strips.... a persons mouth is only so large you know.

Yesterday evening we went to the Hyundai Department Store.  I was able to purchase a blow dryer and straightener. (Hallelujah!)  I paid 108,000 Won (about $100) for the pair.  We also grabbed a few groceries.  We also tried to go shopping at Home Goods but they were closed. Apparently, yesterday was a holiday and they will be open today.

All in all it was a good day.  You can see the rig's derrick that has been constructed from the window in our apartment. It is kind of cool to see this in progress.  We will be visiting the office today to meet everyone and such.  Looking forward to it!  More to come later...