The Cost of Things

(Prices averaged in US Dollars)

At the grocery store:

Special K Cereal: $10 per box

Organic Yogurt: $15 per package of 4

Diapers: $1 each (per diaper, not per package)

Shampoo: $7 per bottle

Toilet Paper: $1 per roll

At the market today I bought all of this for less than $4.

1 kg green beans

1 large bunch of green onions

1 large bunch of cilantro

7 medium green peppers

10 tomatoes

15 potatoes

10 carrots

8 lemons

17 small onions

5 garlic

4 limes

1 large grapefruit

My first trip to the local grocery store was a huge shock. Not because of how cheap things were, but rather how outrageously overpriced they were! I asked the woman I was shopping with how the local people could afford to buy groceries when the average person makes between $1 and $2 a day and she informed me that the average person doesn’t shop at the grocery store. The average person buys all their goods from the open markets. Simply stated: grocery stores are for the rich.

Local housekeepers earn between $30-$50 per month. They cook 1 meal, do laundry including line drying and ironing everything--even underwear, mop floors daily, hand wash dishes, buy fresh produce from the local market, clean bathrooms, etc., etc.

There is a huge disparity between the wealthy and the poor and there is virtually no middle class here in Madagascar. Things we take for granted in the U.S. are novelties in Madagascar. As you can tell, the necessities (fresh produce, rice, etc.) are extremely cheap. Since Madagascar is an island, commodities which are not manufactured here must be shipped in and are therefore prohibitive and not realistically accessible for the average Malagasy.

What about diapers, toilet paper, and shampoo? The basics, right? When I asked this question, I was told that they either aren’t used or are used sparingly. Remember, running water and electricity are luxuries that most Malagasy people go without everyday. That said, I’m even more thankful after having a baby that these are considered basic needs in my home country and I don’t have to survive and try to raise a family in such tough conditions. I realize that I’m not as tough as I once thought.

Heading to the airport a few days ago to pick up our stroller, I watched a group of men strain to push a load of lumber up a hill and down the road on a cart. I’ve also seen this with rice, vegetables, etc. I asked the man who was with me why they push heavy loads in a cart instead of throwing it in a car/truck and driving it to the destination. He simply said that people were cheaper than cars. This was almost incomprehensible to me, a U.S. citizen who places such a high price on human life and labor. But here, it is common to see men and women straining under heavy loads all day just to earn a few dollars. It was sad to hear it stated so bluntly. I hope one day with all the developing efforts being made, the basics will one day be supplied and life for the Malagasy people will be not necessarily better, but maybe a little easier.

However, one of the greatest things you’ll see here is absolutely free…

Smiles! Worn by almost everyone you meet. Given without reserve. I’m thankful for the simple lesson the Malagasy people have taught me about generosity and simplicity.

Home Sweet Madagascar Home

The kitchen. The weather here is beautiful! I love the natural sunlight that streams in everyday.

In the backyard playing.

A bunch of flowers from the grounds.

Another kitchen view.

Another backyard shot. There's a natural fence of bushes that encloses the yard. There is also another fence that surrounds the whole compound with security guards, so note to family: we are pretty safe :-)

The living room. The green couches make this room have so much more appeal. ;-P

Master bedroom. This bed had been sleeping 3 since we arrived. Kasen hasn't adjusted to the time change yet.

2nd bedroom. Housing our suitcases for the moment.

Master bath shower. It's not too glamorous, but we have running water (and hot) which is more than most Malagasy people. Running water is not common in most homes. The local people have to haul water from a communal spigot back to their homes. So needless to say, we're very thankful for running water throughout the house!

De toilette ;-)

Path to the front gate entrance to our place.

Front of our place.

All of Kasen's food. Yes, I am OCD enough to pack it all in. It just gave me a little peace of mind as I thought of bringing a baby to Madagascar. Though we have been giving him local food that is thoroughly cooked.

Travel Advisory

I’m up late with jet lag and thought I would give another update.

Kai started working in the clinic on Tuesday since Monday was a continuation of the Easter holiday. I’ll post pictures of his experiences soon.

However, I wanted to write about our eventful trip here. On the way we had a layover in London. Sounds rough, I know. But would you believe the tickets were $700 cheaper per ticket to do it that way? So we took advantage of this and saw the sights. London is one of our all time favorite cities of the world now. There was so much to do and see and not having a language barrier made it even more enjoyable. The one downside (besides the weather), is that the exchange rate at the moment is terrible for US travelers, so things were a bit pricey. Thankfully, we stayed in a bed and breakfast owned by a woman who only advertises by word of mouth (though we heard of her through 3 separate people) and she was fairly affordable and served a breakfast that held us until dinner everyday. It was one of the best short trips we’ve taken!

Next came the eventful flights. I happened to leave my Ambien (and cell phone) on the planes from the US to London, and if you know me at all, you understand that this was a problem. Thankfully, now that I have a baby to take care of, it takes my mind off from my fear of flying a little.

The first flight started off delayed because the flight crew was late. We were flying on Easter Sunday and due to that the airport was filled with Muslim workers—from the security workers all the way to the gate workers. This didn’t make me too nervous, but was then compounded by the fact that 4 young Middle Eastern men were also on our flight. I try to not be stereotypical and when I’m thinking rationally, I know we are all just normal people and most likely there’s no ill intent whatsoever; the extremist have just given them a bad name, but then again, when I’m flying I wouldn’t call myself rational.

Anyway, finally we all boarded the plane. Then the stewardess came through and did a head count. Then she came through again. Next 2 stewardesses came through with a clicker and counted again. Then again. And again. And then another time. Finally the passenger boarding list came out and they went through each seat, stopping finally at the row with the 4 young men. My heart started beating faster. There were supposed to be 5, but one of them had checked in and not boarded the plane. The stewardess was visibly irritated and I was starting to feel my heart begin to race. They explained to the stewardess that their friend had gotten sick and decided not to come.

Next a security official boarded the plane and had the same discussion with the men and then declared it safe to take off. Then 2 of them got up to use the bathroom before takeoff. We taxied, took off, and about 3 minutes after takeoff, the same 2 men who used the bathroom got up and went to the back of the plane to again use the bathroom. The steward in the back informed them that they were not supposed to be walking around yet and they needed to sit down for a few minutes. At this point my heart was racing and I was sure they were planning to bomb our plane. I had a death grip on Kai’s hand and he was assuring me that everything would be just fine. A few minutes later, the 2 men entered and then a few minutes later, exited the bathroom and I breathed a sigh of relief.

This first flight was short (50 minutes) heading to Paris, and so we quickly started our descent. The weather was cloudy and a little turbulent. When we were within mere feet of the runway, it was obvious that the pilot had overshot the runway and we were running out of landing room, so he revved the engines full power and we felt the plane pull up at an extremely steep angle. Looking out the windows, I could see that we narrowly missed several buildings at the end of the runway. At this point I was just asking God to make sure that when we did die on this flight, that it would be quick and painless, and that we’d see him the next moment.

Finally after 20 more minutes, the pilot successfully landed our plane and I almost kissed the ground when we got off the plane except for the fact that there was a woman holding a sign with the name of the capital city to where we were heading. After all the delays, our flight was supposed to be leaving at that very moment. A small group of passengers from our flight assembled around her and she led us through the airport, on various shuttles, and through obscure terminals until we arrived at our gate. The plane had been held until we arrived. We got on, took our seats, and flew the 10 and ½ hour flight until we reached Madagascar. We were happy to have this eventful day of flying over, except one other added bonus we realized soon after landing: our luggage did not arrive with us. Since we had been shuttled quickly through the Paris airport, our luggage didn’t have time to make the flight as well. Thankfully, after 2 days, we got 4/6ths of our luggage. Kai got his suitcase today (5 days after arriving), and our stroller is somewhere between here and Paris missing out on the adventure.

So here we are. In one piece on the completely opposite side of the world. We’re loving it so far!

40 Days in Madagascar

We arrived in Madagascar two days ago late in the evening and as we were approaching the runway, we were straining to see city lights. Normally the city lights are visible for miles before we land, but this time we could only see a few lights from individual homes and buildings. No big street lights, few cars, and few signs of a bustling city life. Once off the plane and while driving with the local dentist, we realized this was in fact how things are. We have yet to see a stoplight. There are many cars, but there are no stop signs, traffic lights, or road signs. It is definitely very different from LA.

Most of our luggage arrived today. There is still a missing suitcase and stroller, but those are supposed to be arriving today and tomorrow, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed. The funny thing is that we usually pack an extra outfit and the essentials in our carryon baggage, but this time with the 13 hours of flying and all of Kasen’s necessities, we forgot. And of course this was the time our bags didn’t arrive! Now we have showered, have on fresh clothes, and feel like new people again.

Our apartment has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and most of the modern conveniences of a regular apartment in the States with a few exceptions (more on that later).

We already miss our friends and family, but have made fast friends with some of the missionaries here. Two wonderful couples have been helping us get adjusted to life here and have really been helpful in supplying some necessities. I don’t know what we would have done without them!

I will be posting pictures of various aspects of our life here in Madagascar. For now, here are two from today…

From our compound looking out over part of the city of Tana.

Kasen catching a ride!

Where the Poppies Grow

DieInThePhiliMaDrivaMcPhoba

Driving in the Philippines is completely different from anything else you’ve ever experienced. Imagine packing 15 sweaty bodies and our luggage into something slightly larger than a 7 person minivan. Next, imagine that same van cruising down the road at mach speed in the effort to get to who knows where...FAST!

After a very busy trip and a long day (24 hours) of driving ahead of us, I decided to catch a few extra minutes of sleep on Kai’s shoulder. The sleep was restless, as is any sleep that one catches packed tightly in between bodies, traversing rough roads, with the chatter of conversations around me. The driver had been up all night the previous night and was planning to continue to drive the rest of the day and all night until we reached our destination. We were all concerned he was working too hard, but the leader of our group assured us that he was fine and all would be well.

About 2 hours into the trip, I awoke to the strained and frantic voices of everyone around me. Groggily I opened my eyes and tried to recollect my surroundings and figure out what all the commotion was about. Ah yes. I was in a cramped van travelling to who knows where, heading down a highway going…THE WRONG WAY!?!?! I immediately snapped awake realizing that cars were zipping by us all heading in the wrong direction—opposite of us. In fact ALL the cars were heading straight toward us. We were the only car heading in our direction. WE were the ones going the wrong way!! We were driving the highway in the wrong direction. When I say highway, I don’t use this term lightly. This was no downtown boulevard or even 4 lane road. This was a divided 8 lane highway that was a main artery for the capital city of the Philippines. The sound of blaring horns could be heard as we weaved our way through the oncoming traffic. We looked to the driver who was unaffected. Pedal to the medal, hands firmly on the wheel, eyes locked straight ahead; determined. One look at the faces in the van and you could be sure we were uttering our last prayers—trying to make final peace with God because this was very obviously the end. Some were covering their faces. Others were staring straight ahead, not wanting to miss their last moments on earth. Then, just as quickly as it started, it ended. Our driver found an opening in the median, crossed over, and resumed driving on the correct side of the highway.

After having a chance to get my racing heart back to normal again I was filled in on what I had missed while sleeping. Apparently our driver was annoyed by the traffic jam we had been sitting in. Traffic was moving sluggishly, so he decided to try something different--the other side of the highway! Thankful to be alive, we uttered prayers of thanks, dismissed the incidence as an isolated moment of insanity due to lack of sleep, and resumed our conversations again.

A little further down the road, we were out of the city and the road had now narrowed significantly from 8 busy lanes to 2 very congested lanes of traffic heading in opposite directions. The only passing that was to be done was the kind of passing in which you waited for a break in the oncoming traffic and made an attempt to pass the car in front of you. Keep in mind that we were a fully loaded van with 15 people and our luggage. We were heavy and difficult to move. Our driver was unaware of either of those points, however. When an opportunity arose, he would floor the gas pedal, the engine would surge, and we would inch slowly by the car we were so determined to pass, all the while staring straight into the headlights of an oncoming car. Again, we prepared to meet our Maker. White knuckles, sweaty palms, racing hearts, breath held, minds lifted heavenward in prayer and supplication. Audible gasps rang out sporadically throughout the van. All lighthearted conversation had ceased. The only talk was that of if we were ever going to make it out of the Philippines alive. At the last second we would squeeze in ahead of the passed car just in time for the oncoming car to barrel past us. Several times, we obviously weren’t going to make it, so either the oncoming car or the car being passed (or both) would veer off the road at the last second and make 3 lanes from a 2 lane road to avoid a head-on collision.

We passengers in the van coined a phrase in those traumatic moments: DieInThePhiliMaDrivaMcPhoba. Plainly stated, this is the fear of dying in the Philippines from a maniac driver. Call it post traumatic stress disorder, but neither of us have ever forgotten that phrase in the 6 years since our trip.

Money Well Spent

Several years ago, when we were living in South Korea, we took a trip to the Philippines for a short mission stint. The people we met there were wonderful people. Rich in love, poor in possessions. They radiated some of the best smiles I’ve ever seen even though some were toothless or near toothless. I think smile wrinkles are beautiful. Many of the people we came in contact with had deep, beautiful smile wrinkles. One of my favorite memories of all times is from that time.

One very hot day as we were visiting another poor town, we saw a tired man pushing an ice cream cart. The children playing in the streets stared longingly at him, but were obviously poor and had no money to buy any ice cream. He was working hard to try and sell our group of foreigners some of his delicious ice cream. Some in the group dug in their pockets and produced the coins needed to buy a cone and satisfy their craving. It was the perfect treat for a blistering hot day. Kai and I looked at each other and had the same idea hit us instantly.

We started talking with the ice cream man and asked how much it would cost to buy ice cream for all the children around. He looked at us in shock, took off his hat, and rubbed his sweaty head as he started calculating. He wasn’t sure if he even had enough ice cream in his cart. We handed over the bills and he started calling the children to him. Children poured in from everywhere! A long line of expectant, happy faces formed. We walked a distance and watched as kids of all ages eagerly took their ice cream and devoured it with joy while the man frantically and exuberantly scooped ice cream until his cart was empty. It was a simple act. It didn't even cost much. Yet I’ll never forget the gratitude we experienced from bringing a little happiness to an ice cream man and some Philippino children.

One year

Here’s a brief re-cap of Kasen's year:

1 month: Started smiling (and hasn't stopped since).

2 months: We got 7 hours and 9 hours of sleep straight through! We felt like new people.

3 months: Learned to squeal in delight as he watched Shamu at Sea World. He also rolled over and knew his name.

4 months: Sat alone.

5 months: 1^st and 2^nd teeth popped through.

6 months: Started crawling, rode on an airplane for the first time, and got the 3^rd and 4^th teeth.

7 months: Said “Mama” and got 5^th and 6^th teeth.

8 months: Said “Dada”, stood alone, and waved bye-bye.

9 months: Started walking and tooth #7 arrived .

10 months: Started running and got his 8^th tooth.

11 months: Said “ball”.

I can’t believe all that’s happened in one short year!

Happy Birthday Kasen!

This past weekend we celebrated Kasen’s 1 year birthday. His actual birthday is still 2 weeks away, but most of our family was here for Kai’s white coat ceremony (pics of that later), so we thought we’d take advantage of the opportunity and celebrate a little early.

I handmade the all of the invitations with one of my best friends, Elisa. She’s singlehandedly one of the most creative people I know and with her help we came up with some very cute invitations. Since the party was scheduled for the day before the Super Bowl, I decided to theme the party around that (and sports in general). We stayed up until midnight gluing, cutting, folding, etc., but had so much fun! Pictures are below.

The party had a great turn out. I sent out 20 invitations thinking we would get about 1/2 of those to actually show up considering all the big events of the weekend, but as the rsvp's were coming in, I realized I might have underestimated that number. The day of the party we had 52 people here!! It was raining, so we had to have it inside, and if you've been to our home, you know that that means we were very cozy! We served a full lunch of homemade mac and cheese with various side dishes. Kasen now has more toys than he can even think about being interested in, so Kai and I have considered hiding them and bringing one new toy out each week...not sure what we're going to do.

It’s a pop-up card, so when you pull on the sides, the picture of Kasen pop’s up from inside.

He really didn't like the taste of cake. (He obviously doesn't take after me on that one!)

Kai's dad decorated this cake. It's been tradition that he's decorated his boys' cakes since they were young children. We were so happy he could carry on that tradition for Kasen's first birthday!

Not sure what to do.

He was shocked when everyone started singing to him. This look was priceless!

The toy pile. Most of his new birthday toys aren't even pictured here. Thankfully, we plan to have more kids so we'll never have to buy toys again, right?

Food For Thought

If you haven't watched Food, Inc. and/or The Future of Food, I highly recommend you adding one or both to your Netflix queue. These 2 movies pushed us over the edge we've been teetering on for some time now about whether to buy organic foods. We are now fully committed to buying organic food as often as we possibly can. Until I know exactly what genetically modified (gm) foods do to our bodies, I'd prefer to not eat them. Quick fact: 90% of all corn is gm and a large majority of our processed foods come from gm corn, so unless your label reads "organic" or it's not made from corn or any derivative of corn you're likely eating gm food. Japan is watching U.S. children for the next 20 years to see how our kids turn out after eating gm foods before they allow gm foods into their country.

I find making a list of the top 3 most important things regarding something always seems to make it stick a little better, so here's my list from the 2 previous films:

• Buy local--from farmers markets, local growers, etc.
• Buy organic
• Buy dairy products from animals not treated with growth hormones.

Flower Tips

Step class was great. Jess completely kicked our butt's last night which always makes me feel good. There's something to be said for working up a great sweat while keeping time with great, loud dance music. Gives a nice break to my mommy side.

As promised, here are the top secret flower tips I learned.

• Of course, you probably already know to cut the stems diagonally and immediately put them in water or even cut them in water. This one is pretty basic.
• Here's one that blew me away: When working with roses, soak them in really hot tap water up to the neck for 3-4 hours to super hydrate them and make them last longer. Take them out and spritz the petals with water.
• Table top guideline: When making a table top flower arrangement pay attention to height. Put your elbow on the table with your hand straight up in the air. The length from your elbow to your wrist is the tallest the flower arrangement should reach. Any taller and you're going to have a hard time conversing across the table.
• To find a good rose, feel the base of the flower. If it's hard it should last longer.
• If you don't have a flower food packet you can make your own with a drop of bleach and a pinch of sugar added to the water. Bleach keeps the bacteria down and the sugar is great food for the flowers.
• Also, no leaves below the water line. This makes the water foul.

Enjoy! There were many more great tips, but for the sake of time and space I'll stop here.

It all started on Thursday...

It all started on Thursday...

...when I picked up this beautiful blue hydrangea from Trader Joe's...

...Kai felt bad that I bought myself flowers. So he went out and brought home these beautiful roses. (He's always been so good about keeping me supplied with a fresh flowers. Ever since we've been married he's faithfully brought home flowers almost every week. Yup, I'm bragging. He's not perfect, but he's close. And since you're reading my blog and know that I don't do this often, you can choke it down this one time ;-)

Today I went to my mom's group and won this cute potted flower.

At the mom's group today we learned about the art of flower arranging from a reputable man who owns a local flower business. He shared some great tips to keep your flowers beautiful and long lasting. There were several tips I had never heard of before and even a few that we all had to ask for clarification on since they seemed opposite of what you would think. It was so fun and now I have a mini garden of beautiful flowers gracing our home!

If you visit again in a few hours I'll share some of these top secret flower keeping tricks with you, but right now I have to rescue my son and run to my step aerobics class, so I'm outta time!

A little humor for your day

A little humor for your day...

Also, Kai passed Boards Part II ! We waited for over a month to get the results. As it turned out they were delivered to our neighbor who held on to them for almost a week, which made us sweat since everyone who took it on the same day and after had all received their results. And for some reason this year's test either was a lot harder or they changed the way it was graded. Many dental schools are reporting high failure rates this year (we've heard rumors of up to 50% from some schools). The rumor is that almost 1/4 of LLU's class failed this year--much higher than previous years. Needless to say, with those rumors rampant and Kai's letter late, we were thinking the worst. Thankfully once it finally arrived we were able to breathe a huge sigh of relief and thank God for bringing Kai one step closer to graduation!

Decisions, Decisions...

We just got back from a trip to the east coast, preceded by a trip to Nevada and Arizona, preceded by a trip to Michigan, which was also preceded by a trip to Northern California and Oregon. These trips have been fun to take as a family, but I'm always happy to get back to our home, sweet Kasen proofed home.

Let me paint a brief mental picture.... If you've met Kasen then you know that he is a bundle full of energy; literally a tornado. Aren't all boys? He detests his car seat for long periods of time, he LOVES new toys whether or not they are actually toys (glass vases, cat food, toilet paper, and bathrooms all constitute "toys"). Restaurants are great places to flirt and try out his new vocal talents, not to mention devising creative new ways to snatch food from mommy and daddy's plates. And who needs to sleep when we're traveling? As long as we're in a new place, I can count on waking up with him at least 4 times each night or 7 on the bad ones.

While we were on the trip, Kasen started saying "Dada". He's been saying "Mama" for several months, but hadn't mastered "Dada" yet. Now it's his preferred word and he says "Dada" everywhere we go. Kasen took his first steps a little over a month ago, but still preferred crawling as it was faster. During this trip however, he switched from mostly crawling to mostly walking. He gained the confidence to let go of our hands and walk on his own. It's fun to watch, but we also realize that this adds a whole new dimension to his capabilities for destruction. ;-) Though it's exhausting, it's so much fun being a parent. I'll take the up-7-times-a-night days because they're followed by the (however brief) moments when he smiles big and says "mama", wants to cuddle, or is laughing hysterically while playing with Kai. These are the moments I love!

So now that the traveling is done, we have narrowed our search down to 3 cities/areas. They are all completely different from each other. I won't share where any of the three are yet, but I promise that once we have decided on one, I will share. To be continued....