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rdj2027

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Everything posted by rdj2027

  1. No, we have plenty of brush fires but they are usually put out without too much damage to people or housing. The problem is that we have large swaths of dry, invasive grass (it grew in after the sugar cane plantations were closed down) lack of planning, to few people and resources, politics and in this particular situation the dry grass combined with high winds (they could not get the helicopters and planes in the air to dowse the fires with water) and the proximity to town (roads were clogged by people trying to evacuate). Hawaii has plenty of problems but we still love it here.
  2. We live on O'ahu. Another way to donate for those of you who are animal friends is the Amazon wishlist of the Maui Humane Society. They are absolutely inundated with pets, many of them injured.
  3. Dentist- anywhere from tomorrow to three weeks Mammogram - can go to an imaging center (don't need to but could) Vaccinations - walk-in Anything children - same or next day (doesn't apply anymore) Anything pressing - same day or tomorrow Anything routine or can wait a bit -anywhere from same week to a month
  4. Oahu Island, Hawaii: Costco Kapolei, Sam's Club: $4.79 Costco Downtown Honolulu:$4.93 Hele Gas Stations:$4.83-$5.03 AAFES (military): $5.00 Safeway:$4.81
  5. You are actually pretty well set up. I do not know anything about the visa regulations for eldest son but there should be a way. "My Merry Messy Life" is the youtube channel I was thinking of but there are many more. Children in Germany are expected to be more independent than in the US so that may influence parenting.
  6. A company move changes some things as your employer will probably help you get settled, help with taxes and facilitate school attendance. As far as I know, there are only international schools in Munich but not a specifically American one. More often than not companies also help with housing. You may not live in the city center but somewhere on the outskirts where it is greener and more "suburbish". Most people speak English but German nonetheless is helpful but if you children attend an international school, English will probably remain their primary language. Traveling is easy to do. I think most Covid measures have just been rescinded.
  7. As an expat, you must still file a US tax return. Health insurance is not free, your employer pays half of the premium, you pay the other (it is taken directly out of your pay check). Housing is currently a bear, hard to find and expensive. Schools depend, homeschooling is illegal. Southerners in general are more extroverted but true friendships still take quite a while to form. Public transportation while not what it used to be in the past still exceeds anything in the US. Government offices are not fun to deal with and digital/internet leaves a bit to be desired. There are a couple of youtubers who moved to Bavaria, they may have some helpful tips.
  8. Munich itself is very expensive, but most people I know like living there. Do you have any particular questions? I am originally from Germany; my family lives in the northern part though.
  9. Marie Curie, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson
  10. Aspasia, We have lived in both Massachusetts (just outside Boston) and New Hampshire (Dover/Portsmouth area) and never had any issues (other than a grumpy old lady as a neighbor). The more remote mountain areas might be different but my BIL and SIL lived in a tiny town in the White Mountains and people there were very nice too. To me NH is more pragmatic and direct rather than conservative in a more political sense, if you ask someone's opinion, you will get it. The Portsmouth area is quite liberal and artsy but it is definitely small town feeling. Boston was diverse but then, it is also a much bigger city and the area around it reflects that. Educational opportunities are far greater in the Boston but the more rural aspect has its own charms, depends on what you like. Medical is okay for the normal things, for special care we went to Boston (autism related). NH has no income or sales tax but real estate taxes are quite high. My husband used to take the train down to NYC and DC, was faster and easier than flying or driving (especially in the winter) so there was that. We liked living in both places though we are kicking around the idea of staying where we currently live. Apart from the costs, Hawaii is a good place for older people. If you have any specific questions, feel free to pm me.
  11. No, nor do I know anyone personally who had Covid.
  12. These are all Korean: Mr. Sunshine, Memories of the Alhambra, Korean Odyssey, Abyss, Live Up to Your Name, Hello Me, Signal, Tunnel, Itaewon Class, Misaeng, It's Okay to Not Be Okay, Rookie Historian, Stranger, Oh My Ghost, My Country:The New Age, 100 Days My Prince, The Crowned Clown, The Eternal Monarch, Designated Survivor:60 Days, Black, Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol, Gap Dong, God's Quiz, Hotel Del Luna, Inspector Koo, Racket Boys, Strongest Delivery Man, Chicago Typewriter, The K2, My Holo Love, Live, Lawless Lawyer, Lawschool, The Bride of Habaek, The Uncanny Encounter, Voice Some of them are pretty dark so you may want to take a peek before you actually watch them. My personal favorite is Mr. Sunshine.
  13. My son's took 2 weeks (applied in late October, had it first week of November). I think it depends on where the application is submitted and/or to which center it goes.
  14. ...GI BILL, awesome!! Only the program would only lend in non-redlined neighborhoods and non-white vets didn’t have access to non-redlined communities. I think you are confusing the GI Bill with VA loans. The GI Bill pays for education expenses and is not a loan but a defined benefit.
  15. We went when it was here in Hawaii and it was very quiet and quite dark. The first part were just pictures giving a summary of his life. The second part had moving images but they were rather slow. I wonder if the set-up is different in the various locations. My Aspie kiddo actually loved it. We saw quite a few little kids, but honestly, they could not have cared less about VanGogh, the reading was boring for them and the images repeat so they were pretty much done after the second round.
  16. 1970's city pop from Japan (right now Oonuki Taeko).
  17. It is not worth for us. Where we live we do not get 2 day shipping (it is 5 to 7 business days though what getting it out of the warehouse has to do with the final destination is beyond me. It actually often takes as much as 10 to 14 days. Once it is shipped, it gets here pretty fast) . We use neither the video nor the music part, there are no food deliveries, there definitely is no next day delivery. Not worth it for us and when I do order it usually is over $25 anyway and shipping is free.
  18. I don't think it is about shortages of any kind because several other companies manage to ship my orders much faster than Amazon. I was just about to order 10 cans of KMR kitten milk replacer but Amazon gave me a delivery date of late September (this is with Prime). I can either walk down to Petco and drop them off on the way home or order from Petco online and have it delivered on Monday all for the same price. There are several other items that small stores in the midwest can get here cheaper and faster than Amazon. I am sort of wondering what Amazon's goal is because it doesn't make sense on the surface.
  19. I never expected to receive my items in 2 days (I am sitting on a rock in the middle of the Pacific) but that an in-stock item is being shipped in two days. They don't even touch the order until a week or so later. To add insult to the injury, I was trying to order Sharpies and got a note saying that Sharpies cannot be shipped to our state. It was okay, I went to Costco and bought said Sharpies for 3$ less than on Amazon and dropped them off at the Humane Society on my way home. Since I was out and about I also bought several other things for various rescues and shelters and ordered some items from somewhere else. Not that it matters to Amazon but they have lost several hundreds of dollars in business, me not signing up for Prime and quite a bit of future business because they refused to ship two packs of Sharpies to my location.
  20. I currently have a trial for Prime and everything I ordered took at least a week to ship, many items took 10 days to two weeks (everything was in stock). Once it was shipped it came relatively quickly (yay for the postal service). Needless to say, I will not be signing up for Prime.
  21. My final two years in high school history. I was preparing for my exit finals and was the only student who had chosen history for orals. I was free to choose my topic and since I had no idea because there were so many interesting options my teacher suggested America's involvement in China from the beginning of the 20th century through WWII based on Barbara Tuchman's book "Stilwell and the American Experience in China: 1911-1945". He was a great teacher and immensely knowledgeable in East Asian and American history. Those two years gave me an an entirely new outlook on American and Chinese history, culture and attitudes and still serves me when looking at current day Chinese-American relationships and politics. It also made me a lifelong fan of Barbara Tuchman 🙂 The other classes were various geology classes in college. They changed my view on time and appreciation for the power of nature.
  22. Two of my children renewed theirs within the last two months. It took less than three weeks without expediting them.
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