Mom of 3rd Culture Kids

Flowers for my Li’l Girl

momof3rdculturekids — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:29:58 +0000

Guess who came to the house for Valentines? It’s my li’l girl’s close friend and he gave her flowers. It’s quite sweet for him to do that. He actually asked his mom to take him and bring flowers to my girl. But wait, he’s only 8 years old! Hahaha! My girl on the other hand felt it was normal for her to receive flowers since her father always give her flowers on special occasions too. I’m not so sure if she knows the ‘meaning’ behind flowers and Valentines day.. and so is her friend, but as of this age, I find it quite amusing and cute.

But I guess, I will start getting nervous if my girl will receive flowers when she’s a teenager. Oh, I don’t even want to think about this now.. like how as a Mom will I handle teenage life with my kids especially in the area of relationships and stuff… Oh please my babies, please don’t grow up too fast…

We’ve Been to London

momof3rdculturekids — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:17:34 +0000

.. London look-alike that is.

Here are our photos of the London floor at Terminal 21 in Bangkok. If you’re not familiar with Terminal 21, it’s Bangkok’s newest mall in which it has an Airport Terminal concept and each floor brings you to different capital cities of the world. As for the London floor, you can see the famous London Bus, the red telephone booth, the British guard among other things. The shops on this floor are not London based companies though and you can’t expect to find english riding boots . Only the interior has that ’touch’ of London but the shops are more from different parts of the world.

We had a great time ‘travelling’ the world in Terminal 21. It’s a great experience for us and I would love to go back there again.

Passport Renewal

momof3rdculturekids — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:43:42 +0000

I applied for my passport renewal early this week. We went all the way to Bangkok for this document to be processed. But sadly, the processing for my passport takes 6 weeks so it means we have to go back to Bangkok in April. Oh, I don’t mind the travel but I do mind the expenses. Yes, travelling is quite expensive but admittedly, I find it fun! I love going to different places, especially the cities. I get excited to what new technologies or experiences that the city can offer. Oh, I can’t tell you how amused I got when I saw Terminal 21′s toilet. It was so hi tech! I’m sure Bangkok has also got airbrush tanning systems too .

Anyways, I’m thinking to just bring my daughter on my next visit to Bangkok so, we won’t go out of the budget. It will be a good bonding time for us too!

I Will Miss You!

momof3rdculturekids — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:10:44 +0000

The kids had a day out with my cousin yesterday. It’s very rare for them to go out without us. I think this has only been the 3rd time in 2 years. You see, for years we don’t have anyone with us here in Thailand, so wherever we go, our kids always tag along – no mom or relatives to leave the kids with. But thank God for my cousin who has volunteered to teach with us at the center. He just doesn’t help us at the center but occasionally watches over the kids while HUbby and I go on a date. But yesterday, it was the kids turn to go out. What was very touching was when my li’l boy sweetly told me ” I will miss you, Amma!” with hugs and kisses before they left. The way he said it seems like he will be gone for months. but they were actually just away for a couple of hours. So sweet boy!

House Numbers

momof3rdculturekids — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:04:05 +0000

We have two house numbers now .. one is 131/2 and number 13 . The latter house number has just been installed recently. So, I was quite confused which house number to use as our mailing address- the old one or the new one? But to play it safe, I decided to still use the old house number as our mailing address. I’m sure the postman won’t simply forget the number that has been used for many years. And besides our address wall plaques have both house numbers attached. But the curious me still can’t help but ask why the municipal has posted new house numbers on our gates.

The Musician To Be

momof3rdculturekids — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:55:25 +0000

My little boy is musicially inclined, I remember when he was still a baby, that we would get so attracted with the drums and would just be staring at the drummer during church service. Once, the drummer let him try to play drums and he was ‘playing’ well. I think I will have to cultivate this musical interest in him. When he’s a bit older, maybe I can let him go for lessons. I’m sure the drums or the guitar will interest him as he grows older. Then the next thing I know, he will be asking me to buy the latest drumset or gallien krueger mb115 for his bass guitar.

A Touching Post

momof3rdculturekids — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:05:40 +0000

My friend has posted a link of her son’s post on his blog. My friend is also a mom of 3rd culture kids like me and so, we share something in common. Anyways, I was so touched with her son’s post that talks about ‘Home’. He has described how he has considered his birth country to be ‘home’ after living in different countries all his life but after he has gone back ‘home’ to study and live independently, only then he realized that ‘home’ is not a place but the people ( his family) that he loves. The post was very well written in which you can feel the emotions of the son and indeed I was so touched after reading it. As a mom of 3rd culture kids, I could relate to what he’s going through since my kids ( as young as they are) are having experiences like this too. Yes, our daughter has asked us many times, where is ‘home’? She was 6 years old at that time and she was quite confused that it seems we were living in a country that is not her mother’s nor her father’s country. If you haven’t known yet, I’m a Filipino married to a Malaysian and our family’s living in Thailand.. So, where is home? .. ..

Aeon Jusco, Klang

momof3rdculturekids — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:52:11 +0000

Welcome to Malaysia! Yes, we are currently in Malaysia right now and it’s really nice to be back here even just for a short while. We arrived in Klang just this afternoon and after resting for a couple of hours, we went to Aeon Jusco in Klang. Oh, I love to go to the malls even if I don’t buy anything. We passed by Haagen Das and I how I wished that I was there redeeming redenvelope haagen dazs icrecream , but we were just there to look around. But after passing by Daiso, a Japanese shop that sells everything for 5 RM, one can’t help but buy stuff a lot of stuff. Oh, we really didn’t buy so much of stuff, but for sure we didn’t just buy a single 5RM item.

Oh, anyways, I’m excited for tomorrow.. to spend more time with our friends here, to savor Malaysian food and hopefully to go and shop a bit more.

A Trip to the Bookstore

momof3rdculturekids — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:38:50 +0000

We’re currently in Malaysia right now and aside from visiting friends and family, one thing that we shouldn’t miss is a trip to the bookstore. Being in a bookstore in Malaysia is like haven for me and our kids since they have a wide selection of English books. Oh, you could never get this selection back in Thailand. Even if we never get to buy as many books as we want, but the feeling of accomplishment of getting to choose the ‘best’ book out of all the varied choices is simply priceless. Never mind if we don’t get to buy the other school supplies and plastic cards here, as long as we are clutching our selected books back home, we could never be happier!

Can We Stay Here Forever?

momof3rdculturekids — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:43:58 +0000

Lyle with cousin Zane

We went to the Philippines for a 2 week vacation to spend our Christmas and New Year with my family. Even if our family was badly affected by the flash flood brought by Typhoon Sendong, we still managed to have a pleasant stay at our cousin’s house. We were so comfortable there that my kids loved every minute they spent in the Philippines. A few times my son would ‘plead’ with me and ask, ” Can we stay here forever?’. My daughter share the same sentiments but since she’s older now and understands the need for us to be here in Thailand. But still my heart aches whenever I hear my kids talk about their time in the Philippines. They have such fun memories with their cousins there and their reminiscing always ends up with a sigh and a wish.. “I wish we could go back there…’ my daughter would say. And because of that, we’re seriously considering to go back to the Philippines this year. Never mind if we have to save a lot of money for our trips, I find it important for us to spend more time with family and let the kids have more connection with their roots.