Dear Family,
I am sorry that this is the soonest I have been able to write, but what a crazy few days! First let me say that we are all doing well and enjoying the very many new sights and experiences here!
Our flights went very well, each of the layovers being just long enough to make the trek from one gate to another. It seemed our flights were always at the very, very far end of every airport, so there were a lot of long walks with our luggage and children in tow! The middle flight did seem very, very long.
The days here seem very long as each morning our children have woken up between 2 and 3 a.m. local time. We keep trying to stretch them to go to bed at a semi-normal time, but despite naps, most of them “crash” about 3 or 4 p.m. Hopefully within a few days we’ll all be on a more normal schedule!
Our condotel has been great for these few days. It is very nice inside with two large bedrooms on the 2nd floor and the living areas on the main floor (kitchen, family room, bathroom). The staff has been excellent. The people here are very polite and much more formal than typical employees in the U.S. For example, even the cashiers at the grocery store dress in matching business-style dresses. It has worked out well to be just 5 minutes from the airport as two of our checked-in bags were lost. We have been able to go back to the airport several times and they should be delivering the bags this afternoon. Yeah!
So many things here remind me of what I remember from visiting Mom and Dad in Puerto Rico. Many of the houses look familiar, the foliage, and certainly the way people drive. Taxis are amazingly affordable. We have taken several taxis, never paying more than $3, even for a ride that takes more than ½ hour (and that includes a tip!). Many trips cost about $1. The grocery stores also are similar to what I remember there; of course I only went one time with Mom. Also, the mall we visited yesterday was HUGE – much larger than the largest mall in Utah. It was very nice. We enjoyed eating lunch at Pizza Hut – a very different experience than in the U.S. again. The staff there was all dressed formally, the ambiance was very sleek and modern, and the menus included all kinds of other nice dishes like pastas, bbq, etc.
We have enjoyed the pool here at the hotel – that has probably been the favorite thing for the children. It is great because half of it is very shallow, just perfect for the kids to play. It is also half shaded by a beautiful huge tree. Going shopping and house hunting today was more trying for the kids. Of course, when they’ve woken up at 3 a.m. and we go house hunting from 7 to 12, I can only say they are troopers! The heat has not been as horrible as I imagined and it is the hottest month of the year, so I’m grateful for that – I think that adjustment has been harder for the children who have never experienced humidity. Savannah especially does not like being “sweaty.”
So, the wonderful news is that I think we have found our home! We had not finished traveling around with our 2nd real estate agent today, but I headed home with the kids because they were completely exhausted. Rich continued with the agent and found a wonderful house in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Cebu. It is a great layout with plenty of space, and better than that, it has a larger garden area and a pool which is so very rare from what we’ve seen (pools are common, garden areas are TINY!) I was especially grateful that the owner was at the home at the time so Rich was able to talk with him and talk over details. We will all go take a look at it tomorrow. It is in a secured neighborhood and only minutes from the malls and schools. This is good because even though things aren’t that far apart, traffic makes things seem longer.
Yeah! Our bags just arrived, with everything in them, to boot! I have to admit I never expected everything to make it in one piece with such a long journey and so many security checks along the way, so that is a small miracle!
I’m sure the thing you all want to hear about the most is the children. They are being so wonderful as this has not been an easy journey and difficult to be taken to new and strange places, not to mention being very off schedule sleep-wise! They have enjoyed staying at the hotel, swimming, and watching lots of Cartoon Network! I think I’ve heard enough Scooby Doo and Bugs Bunny to last me the rest of my life! Everyone turns to see them. The hotel staff loves talking with them. It has certainly begun to bring Jonah out of his shell – it is fun to see him now, he is very accustomed to telling everyone his name and pointing out his brothers and sister. Ashton carried on a conversation with the real estate agent today for quite awhile who asked him a lot of questions. Rich and I do watch the children like hawks so it is nice to come back and relax at the hotel, and I am very, very anxious to move into a home and have our own space. It is nice that everywhere we go there are dozens of security people and they always seem to keep an eye out for us, too. It has been so nice to be all together and be able to have our morning scripture study and singing as a family, or fun for me to see Rich playing Uno championships with the kids in the morning after breakfast. I am so excited to have a great schedule as a family and do many things together. I am hopeful that we will soon be settled and be able to swim in our backyard everyday, go on bike rides and walks, etc.
My heart aches to be so far away from you. I take comfort in knowing that we will soon be back with you, and in the meantime we are having an amazing experience together as a family. Thank you so much for your love and prayers. We have felt them through the many, many miracles and blessings of this journey so far. We love you and pray for you, too!
I will try to write more, and of course start a blog soon. Also, I hope to start calling our Moms and Dads on a regular basis, and the rest of you, too, of course, once we are all acclimated and we have better Internet service as well.
For now, our contact info is below:
801-592-9355 is our Skype number. For you, it will be like calling a Salt Lake number. Our Skype ID is profinancialfx , you can download Skype for free at www.skype.com. With the Skype software you can hook up your webcam so we can see you from the Philippines. However, we will only answer if we are online – which we will be pretty much round the clock once we’re settled. Our cell phone that we got today is 63-905-953-0753. The 63 is the country code for the Philippines. Rich’s business phone will be set up once we get settled and that number is 801-447-5550.
Again, we love you so much!
Love,
Jill and family
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