Home is wherever I'm with you!

I have been hesitant to blog about our new place simply because our shipment hasn't come in and we don't have it set up to our liking yet.  Seriously, we have nothing on the walls, very few decorations, and not a lot of "us" going on yet.

But here it goes.  After several weeks of searching, and a deal that feel through at The Vista, we found visited Hoang Anh Gia Lia Riverview apartments.  We saw a few nice 4 bedroom places at very good prices.  We settled on one on the 7th floor because the landlord was easy to work with, it was only $850 a month, and (we thought) we would be able to move in August 1st.  Well, it turns out the previous tenants were simply not cool.  They stayed an extra 2 weeks and trashed the apartment before we moved in.

We moved in on August 11th (the Sunday before school started with students), and the apartment was filthy.  I was seriously regretting our decision.  It was dirty, lights were broken, handles on windows were missing, the ceilings were leaking in the bathrooms, and the beds were disgusting.  I was ready to pay for a second apartment just to have somewhere else to live--it was that bad.

So Derek and I went to work on Monday the 12th, Owen went to his first day of Pre-K, Oliver went to preschool, and Phuong cleaned.  I mean she REALLY cleaned.  She also made sure to get someone to come in to fix everything that wasn't the way it should be.  It was incredible to come home on Monday after our first day of work, to happy kids, a spotless house, and a full home cooked meal on the table.  (We have another lady also named Phuong cooking for us.)

Now, the apartment is clean, and livable.  We replaced the master bedroom mattress last weekend with a Sealy.  The boys' mattresses aren't nearly as bad, but we will be getting them new mattresses soon too.  It still doesn't really have Swanson Family character, but we'll get it there soon.  The shipment is scheduled to arrive in port this week!  It'll take about a week to get through customs, then we will get our stuff!!!

I'll post more photos in a few weeks after we have had time to unpack our shipment!

And we're off!

Derek and I started school two weeks ago, and have had students for a full week already.  It has been a whirlwind to say the least.  The school we are working for just switched to an American curriculum a little over a year ago, and the administration and staff had a HUGE turnover from last year.  The school itself has been around for 20 years, but it feels like we are getting to start fresh which is very exciting.

My classes are a bit larger than anticipated.  I am teaching the 6th grade class, two sections of Pre-Algebra for 7th and 8th graders (mixed), and calculus.  It's been difficult to figure out what level of math these students are capable of due to a lack of transcripts.  In Vietnamese school, no matter what level math you take, your report card just says "maths," so we have no idea what these kids have been taught until we get them in the room.

I am also struggling with the language barrier.  Our school is nearly 100% Vietnamese students, so English is not the first language for a single one of them. The upperclassmen have significantly better English skills than my
6th graders, but they still don't get my nerdy math puns.  It is something I will have to get used to.

The school itself is very nice.  It's six floors of classroom.  (I average 32 flight of stairs a day!)  At the base of the building is our courtyard/cafeteria.  We have around 250 students in grade 6-12, and they all use the stairwell at the same time.  The classrooms are big and incredibly clean.  My room gets mopped every single day!

The days are busy, but Derek and I have been able to eat lunch together every single day.  We've also been able to swing past Owen's class and wave to him playing outside!

Owen is really enjoying going to school.  He has a small class and is making lots of friends.  We will be signing him up for swimming class next week.

Oliver loves our new nanny.  Her name is Phuong, and she is phenomenal.  He also goes to a preschool called Noah's Club three mornings a week for some socialization and playtime.  Phuong tends to pick him up early though because she's afraid they won't stick to his vegetarian diet.  She truly cares for our boys.

We moved into our permanent apartment last weekend.  I'll post some pictures and tell that story soon...