Home

Home again, home again.

R&R is but a distant memory. *sigh* It was a great rejuvenator, though. I really do feel refreshed, like I can make it through another year here without losing my mind. Our last couple of months leading up to R&R were exceedingly difficult. It wasn't just the build up of spending so much time in a difficult city like Manila (the traffic, pollution, dire poverty and squalor really do wear you down). I had debated posting about this at all, but we were forced to move* thanks to a series of targeted attacks on our house and property, including nails in our tires, which culminated in a break in attempt that required us to call the local police and file a report. RSO (our security folks) finally pulled the security certificate on our house, which meant they no longer found it safe for any American Embassy family to live there. We had an armed guard posted at our home for the last month of our stay there while GSO housing found and made ready new accommodations for us. It was highly stressful. We weren't sleeping at all. I was (an am) very, very angry about the whole situation. In a nutshell, I believe it was a targeted attempt by our rich and powerful neighbors to drive us out of the neighborhood since we had lodged several complaints about them illegally running a business out of their home.** It is exceeding unfortunate not just because of the great stress and difficulty it caused to our family (oh, did I mention the move happened while I was in the US, so poor Husband had to do it all himself, and I can home from R&R to unpack my entire house? yeah, that was a blast!), but it has completely colored the way I look at the Philippines. I'll keep the deep feelings I have about the corruption and ineptitude of this place to myself, but I don't think I will ever get over this experience.

Anyway, that's enough about that. I'm really trying to put this behind us and focus on the positives so we can make it through our remaining time here with a good attitude. We've been invaded by the hoards, so we're back up to a family of 7 and in a new house no less. This house is in a new village, and I have to say, we just love our new neighborhood. It is so much cleaner and quieter than our old one! And there are a couple of strip mall areas on the outsides of the village entrances, which are incredibly convenient. We don't have a pool any more, which makes me very, very, very sad! But, the yard is bigger than out old one and is not filled with feral cat shit and piss, so we can actually send our kids outside to play (at least in the early morning before it gets too hot). We are also much closer to the Embassy, so our commute has been slashed by a good 15-20 minutes (40 minutes less in traffic per day, yes please!). Thanks to a great deal of hard work by my husband and oldest daughter, C, all of the boxes were already unpacked when I got home, so all I had to do was put things away in the right place, so I feel like we've already got the new house in order in record time. The other really nice thing is that this place has its own guest room (so it's a 5 bedroom), which means my step-son, T, gets his own room, too.

All in all, I think this house is going to work out just fine. It's really nice to have the whole family together again, and we're focused on trying to just enjoy our time together this summer and put this whole housing/neighbor mess behind us. As difficult as the timing was for us, I feel like in some ways it was a blessing to have this happen just before we went on R&R. It feels like a whole new beginning. And it is good to be home.

*Our 4th move just here in Manila! 
**And I maaay have ruined their company Christmas party when I yelled at them in my pajamas to shut off the outdoor karaoke system...which they were drunkenly playing at 11pm...on a school night...in front of my house.