And so it begins!
This is a huge week! We fly out to Bangkok on Thursday for our pre-move trip. This will be only my second time overseas. My first was a trip to Ethiopia when I was working at charity: water back in January 2013. This will also be our kids’ first international trip, not that it’s a common thing for young kids to travel overseas.
My older son, Henry, says, “I can’t believe I’m already 11 years old and have never left the country!” I try to explain to him it’s a VERY small segment of the population that is fortunate enough to have the means to travel internationally. It’s by far the exception. My younger son, Miles, recently watched the Bangkok episode of “Somebody feed Phil” on Netflix, and is excited to go because he now thinks Thailand has the best food in the world. Although he would eat nearly anything we put in front of him when he was a toddler, he has become exceedingly picky over the last few years. Henry has always been a picky eater. Despite both boys’ excitement yet blissful ignorance, as Henry is only 11 and Miles only 6, I’m a tad nervous about how they will deal with the enormous change in culinary styles they are about the encounter.
My wife is about to embark on her third trip to Bangkok since she accepted the job. She got COVID on the return trips on the first two. Here’s hoping this trip is… less eventful for her.
We’ll be in the ‘burbs of Bangkok, southwest of the river (which presently means very little to me). I’ve been told east of the river is where the action is. We’re going to apparently have everything we need right at our doorstep. Outside of the apartment we’ll be living in there is a shopping center, a beautiful fitness facility, the hospital, morning and night outdoor markets (YAY!!!), and to top it off, a rooftop pool in the building. Also, we’ll be a five minute walk from the school my wife will be working at and boys will be attending.
The boys will spend a day next week shadowing the classes with their to-be cohorts, while my wife will be on the clock working. I’ll be chatting with their HR department trying to get info and answers of visa questions, health insurance questions, living arrangement questions, etc… So much information to gather!
On the other days, I’ll be taking the boys on various adventures around Bangkok while Kate is working. We’re planning on going to an amusement park, taking a river tour, visiting the grand palace, seeing some museums, etc…
I have no idea what to expect of the travel and how the boys will do. They have done well in the couple of trips we’ve made in the last two years, but those were only 4 hour flights. 24 hours is a whole other beast. Hopefully they’ll be able to sleep on the plane. In any event, I’m anticipating two very tired, grumpy child-monsters at the end of it.
We’re going to start packing tomorrow (Sunday) to get as much ready as possible so we’re not scrambling at the last minute. We’re planning on bringing a bunch of stuff to keep there for two months to ease the burden of the actual move. We’re quite fortunate we’re able to do that. I will be bringing two of my three saxophones, which I will be reluctantly leaving there, so I have less I need to bring when we move in June. I figure, two months isn’t the end of the world. I’m just trying to figure out now how to manage the carry-on luggage situation as these will count towards our allotment. I’ll probably have Henry carry my Soprano as we board the plane.
I can’t wait to see exactly what we’re getting ourselves into. I’ve been so excited about this move for a year and a half since we made the decision to make the leap of faith, but I have absolutely no idea of what life will be like. It’s starting to set in that we’re completely uprooting our lives and embarking on a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’m excited to see what life is like outside the States and our own little American suburban bubble I’ve spent the majority of my life in. I’m excited to give my kids the opportunity to be exposed to other cultures and lifestyles. I’m hoping it teaches them empathy and understanding. Shoot, I hope it teaches ME those things. This trial run should be quite illuminating and finally give me something tangible to better understand where our lives are headed.
