Fellow insomniac here. Do you take any meds for sleeping? I do but I don't like it. Without meds though I would probably only sleep 2 hours a night. WIth meds I can sleep about 6 hours. I hate insomnia!

Ooooo Central America, I will meet you there! That's right up my alley. :)

I want LASIK surgery. :)

For both of my sons we picked names we liked with no regard for their meaning. Our dd, however, has a name that means "Christmas" because she was born on Christmas AND she was an answer to a Christmas prayer. :)

Honestly, it wasn't scary at all (unless you are afraid of having your blood drawn). I was asleep for the whole thing (which was only a few minutes). I hope it works out for you! I will tell you this, it was not a podiatrist that recommended it. My podiatrist stuck with all the usual treatments that did not work. I finally saw an orthopedic guy who specializes in sports injuries. He was the one who finally cured me.

Very true. I work with many Canadians and they are quite different from Americans!

That's what I thought, too. You couldn't hide anything in my house. Our maid would find it in minutes!

Basically, they draw your blood, spin it down so that all the platelets are together, then take those platelets and inject them directly into the area of pain. It super-speeds the healing process. The injection is quite painful so they gave me a light anesthesia so I wouldn't feel it. Your foot does continue to hurt for a week or two as it heals (I was on crutches for about 3 days as the doctor didn't want me to put pressure on it right away). But after that the pain was GONE. As in completely gone. Amazingly gone. :) It has been 4.5 years since that treatment and it has not come back.

I buy a regular size 4/5 with adjustable waist instead of a 5T. The "T" always means wider. I also use a lot of leggings in a size smaller. So they end up looking like capris but it's hot here so that's ok.

Yes. It was horrible, painful two-year battle of meds and cortisone shots and nothing helped until... I moved here, went to a new orthopedic doctor and he suggested "platelet rich plasma therapy." I have literally been cured ever since!! It was like a miracle!

Outrageous is a good word for it here. A 3-bedroom apartment, two bathrooms, one parking space, about 1300-1400 square feet, will cost you about $500,000 to 1,000,000 (in US dollars). Rent, however, is much less. We have a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house, about 2300 sq. ft., and we pay about $700 USD per month. There are so many rental properties available that it is driving the prices down.

Permanently, no. This is actually a big question for us right now. My ds has two more years of school before college but he does NOT want to live in a dorm. As in introvert with anxiety issues, that is his worst nightmare. So I am not entirely sure what we will do. We may stay two more years then go back to the states to get him settled, and then... Who knows? My major in college was Spanish and I taught it for about 10 years. I'd like to try some place in Central or South America, maybe? I have serious wanderlust. :) We would never be able to get citizenship here. Maybe permanent residency but that takes a lot of money.

I am currently enjoying Master Chef Australia!

Yep. Watching it again. I can't seem to stop.

Teacher certification programs are, by and large, a joke. I don't believe the US Dept of Ed should even exist. I am not sacrificing my children or their education on the altar of "fixing the system" especially when it can't be fixed. It is broken beyond repair. And don't let anyone fool you. That's exactly how it will stay because there is BIG money in school reform. New initiatives, conferences, experts, books. Do you know how much these cost? A school is doing poorly so they bring in someone like Jay McTighe and his Understanding by Design program to train all the teachers to do better. Do you know what he makes per day as an "expert" on school reform? A whopping $15,000 PER DAY. That's what the school district pays him. And that's just one of the "big names" in school reform. And there is a new guy on the block every week. No thank you. Privitization is just fine with me.

Do you mind if I ask what school you went to in Kenya? My coworker was raised mostly in Kenya and went to Rosslyn Academy.

Yes but for some reason Malaysians are obsessed with crime shows and cooking shows. That is all that is ever on. Every NCIS, CSI, Law and Order, Hawaii Five-o type show there is.... They are looped constantly. And in no particular order or time. But there is always one on. And cooking shows. Every cooking show there is. Oh, and Pawn Stars. That is always on, too. But that is about it. I love my VPN and Netflix account!!

No, expat living was never even on my radar. It sounds super cliche but it was a God thing. If you knew the whole story you'd understand but it is a long one! :) We were both convinced at the same time (see above reference to God thing. :) ) No it was not difficult to decide as we felt called to this specific school not just expat living in general. I miss Target. A lot. :). And things being organized and people following rules/laws. It's pretty chaotic here sometimes. Yes we feel weird when we go back to the US. The "third culture" phenomena is quite real and I didn't get it until it happened to me and my family. We will always be outsiders in a foreign country but we also feel like outsiders in the US too. It is hard to explain. You just feel different. It changes you forever but I think it has been mostly in good ways. It sounds a bit cliche also to say "it has broadened our minds" but it really has. I have changed my views on many things as a result of living here and strengthened my views on other things. But it mostly gave me a chance to examine my own culture from outside of it. My kids identify with both cultures and neither. That's what being a TCK is all about. They can fit in anywhere and nowhere at the same time.

I've been to Bangkok several times and I really like it there! The food is amazing and there is so much to do! But the traffic is absolutely horrendous. Truly. And it is even hotter than it is here. But I do know of some good international schools there!

I have long weekend thanks to a Malaysian holiday and dh and I were looking for something new to watch. Several of you have suggested House of Cards to others so we decided to give it a shot... Several hours later... I got nothing done today and I am not even sure if my kids ate any dinner. That show is awesome!

So jealous! Ever since I read "A Geography of Bliss" I have wanted to visit Iceland!!!

Yes and no. There is a huge expat community here so we have lots of other people just like us. The locals are very friendly but still refer to us as foreigners. The longer you stay and the more you invest in the local community the more at home you feel here. They even give us "local price" now when we shop!

1. The school we work for was originally part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance network. We used to attend a CMA church. We saw the job openings on their website. It's actually a much longer story but that's the short version. :) 2. We try to complete all our hiring by March and new staff arrive in mid-July. The school has a company that we pay to handle all your visa paperwork. That's part of the employment package. 3. We arrange for fully furnished housing. It is ready for you the day you arrive. That's actually part of my dh's job as director of facilities. 4. We give RM6600 to a family moving here for shipping expenses. That is about $2200. You can bring as much as you'd like but if it goes over $2200 it costs you out of pocket. Or you can bring very little and keep the cash! That's what most people do.

"Because begrudging another person's existence seems to be the most convenient way of validating your own." I read that somewhere and cannot for the life of me remember where but it stuck with me.

This is so true. The way the communities here approach marriage is far different than in my experience in the states. There is a lot more parental influence in the choice of mate, a lot more practicality I guess (I can't think of a better word right now) and a lot less "drama." Yet they still have very successful marriages in terms of commitment, child-rearing, partnership, etc. Neither dh or I are very emotionally effusive people so grand romantic gestures are not our style. We are rather practical people. I totally understand the idea of not wanting be someone's sole source of emotional support. As a not-very-emotional introvert, that would drain me.