On our way!

Wow! We're finally here!

I'm posting from our hotel room in Green Bay, WI. Yaaay! We made it here safe and sound with only a few minor hiccups along the way. Whew!

The night before the flight, I stayed up the whole night rushing around trying to get all the last minute details finished. One of the biggest lessons I've learned from this experience is that I can't plan and organize a trip like this on my own while still running the centers. I need help! So one of the first things I'll do when I get back to Thailand is hire an assistant whose only job will be organizing all the paperwork and details of these trips. Trust me, it's A LOT of work!!

So even though I told everyone to meet me at the airport at 3am, I was actually the last one there :-(. I had a lot of last minute paperwork to prepare for the trip and I also had to get things sorted and organized for the centers too. This is the first time I've left my centers alone in the five years that I've been open, so I'm very nervous about it. Fortunately, Nan is an amazing friend and coworker, and so I have a lot of confidence that the centers will be in safe hands with her. She's been very patient with me and put up with my cranky attitude (I went almost five days without sleep getting ready for this trip so I was a liiiiittle bit grumpy :-). Thanks Nan!

Anyway, I came rushing into the airport around 4:30am (or flight left at 5:35am!!), and so I was in such a hurry that I accidentally packed the guardianship letters into my checked luggage! Argh! Then there was a bit of last-minute paperwork with Thai immigration. I was nervously watching the clock as the official sloooooooowly filled out my forms. After that it was a bit of a rush to pack all the kids on the flight in time, but we managed to board the plane just as they were about to close the doors.

It seemed like everything was conspiring to give me a heart-attack, but fortunately the parents and kids were great. The kids looked very excited and nervous to finally be on their way, and surprisingly I did see any tears from the parents. Did you all cry after we left? I wonder! Hahah!

The flight from Bangkok to Japan was very nice. The Delta airplane we were on was fairly new and it had these great little video consoles in the backs of every seat. You could select any movie you liked (from a list of about 20 or 30 movies), or you could play a game or check the plane's progress on a map. So that really helped keep the kids busy. Gam quickly learned how to operate the seat screens and soon she was teaching the other kids how to play games too. Soon they were all happily playing video games and watching movies.

When we arrived in Japan, I told all the kids that our primary goal was to get to our connecting flight. Some of the kids wanted to wander around, but I told them we needed to find the gate first. Our primary job was to get checked in and make sure we knew where our gate was, after that then they could explore. Sky and Gird seemed very disappointed that we weren't spending more time in Japan. Next time I promise to organize a Japanese homestay, OK girls? Haha!

We had to take little buses from the airplane to the terminal. Japan is actually a bit chilly right now, so the kids got a brief taste of cold weather as they walked to the shuttles. Once we checked in at the gate, I let the kids explore the airport a bit with strict instructions to return in 30 minutes or we'd be leaving them behind! They did a bit of shopping and looking around and then showed up early to board the plane. Great job, kids!

The flight from Tokyo to Minneapolis was pretty boring. The plane didn't have those cool seatback screens and so we only had the big video screen for entertainment. Unfortunately, Delta seems to think that seven hours of commercials and infomercials qualifies as "entertainment" :-P. The kids, however, were great. They were very well-behaved on the plane. Most of the time they slept, but when they were awake they entertained themselves without disrupting the other passengers. James was so excited about feeling some cold weather that he took to wearing his hat on the plane, and who would blame him because it was a very cool hat!

In America!

When we landed in Minneapolis, we had to go through customs and immigration. The kids were in a separate line, so I got through first. The officer was very surprised that I hadn't been back to America in seven years. He asked me, "Is Thailand your home now?" and I said, "Yes :-)." Then I waited in the immigration area for the kids to come through. At first they tried to shoo me out of there but then I explained that I was waiting for my students and so they allowed me to stay and wait for them. Jan was the last one in line, so we had to wait a long time for her to come through. Once we collected our bags, I hustled the kids to our connecting flight (we only had 30 minutes to get across the airport). Some of the boys wanted to stop and shop, but I reminded them of our airport rule, "Get to the gate FIRST, and then look around if there is time."

Luckily, we didn't waste much time getting to the gate, because they were actually holding the plane for us when we arrived. Everyone else had already boarded, and when we showed up, the flight crew said, "This must be them!" and quickly got us on board the airplane. This was just a little Delta shuttle plane and the flight only took 45 minutes, which was a good thing, because by this time the kids were getting sick and tired of sitting in airplanes!

When we arrived at Green Bay, we had to wait a few minutes for the taxis to arrive, and so the kids got their first experience using American money. This was the first time I realized that American coins don't actually print numbers on the coin! Wow, it never occured to me when I lived in America, but that must actually be very difficult for tourists. So we had a quick "lesson" about quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, and then the kids were off to the vending machines to get some drinks.

Even though the bay is still covered in ice, the kids discovered that Wisconsin really isn't that cold at this time of year. It's chilly, but not much more than an air-conditioned movie theater would be back in Thailand. However, I still made them bundle up because the temperature change is quite a shock to their bodies and I don't want them getting sick. The taxi driver said that today was the nicest day of the year so far, so that was good luck for us! The weather forecast for this weekend says we have a chance of snow, so the kids are really looking foreward to that.

We checked into the Days Inn in downtown Green Bay. It took three taxis to get the whole group to the hotel in one piece. Unfortunately, while we were unloading the taxis, Sky's suitcase was forgotten in the backseat of one of the cabs! :-( Uh-oh! Luckily, the driver returned with the suitcase later, but it was a good lesson for all the kids. Be mindful of your stuff!

After we got settled in and took a shower (boy, did I stink!). We went down to the riverwalk to take some photos. It was quite chilly down there and the kids didn't run around very much. Tong has been peppering me with a million questions about our schedule and what's going to happen next. Sometimes he even asks me the same question twice. I think he's a little bit nervous. When we talked in the hotel room, he said he was a little bit anxious. I told him not to worry. Our only plan for today was to relax and get some fresh air. It was a long flight and we've been breathing recycled air for the last 20 hours, so it's important to just take a break and breath some good clean air. It's his first day, and so some nerves are perfectly understandable. Hopefully after a good night's rest, he'll feel better and more relaxed.

So much of Green Bay has changed since the last time I was here. The area near the river used to be run-down and dirty, but they've redone the entire thing and now it's a very nice place where families can walk along the river and enjoy the view. We noticed that the Neville Museum is right across the river from us, so we may walk over there and check it out if we have time. There's a big model of a dinosaur skeleton outside, so they might have an interesting exhibit. However, the plan for tomorrow is to go to the Packer Hall of Fame and also to the mall for some shopping. The kids are really looking forward to that, but I'm not! Keeping track of 11 kids in a mall is going to give me gray hair! Haha!

I'd also like to get down to see my old college, St. Norbert. I'm not sure if we'll have the time or energy. I didn't want to over-plan our first few days here, because I want to give the kids a change to adjust to the new time zone and the weather. If they seem to be doing well, then we might hop down to De Pere to run around St. Norbert for a few hours, but if not, we'll just spend our time at the hotel. The boys were thrilled to learn that we had free internet here. Hopefully they will update their blogs too! They've been on their phones chatting with their parents already. I've been trying to advise them to wait until we get calling cards and sims for their phones, but they are very eager to let their parents know they are OK, even if that means calling at 4am Bangkok time!

Then we went to the Titletown Brewery for dinner. An old college buddy of mine is the owner of that restaurant, but he wasn't there when we arrived. However, the manager did give the kids some free desert for being so well-behaved. In fact, the entire trip I kept getting compliments from everyone about how good the kids were. From people on the airplane to the immigration officials to the staff at the restaurant, everyone has been commenting on how good these kids are. Shocking, I know! Hahah! But it's true, the kids have been great so far. In fact, at the restaurant they sat at two separate booths, and when they were finished, the woman in the middle booth said to me, "When I saw a big group of kids coming in, I thought, Uh-oh, it's going to be very noisy in here, but the kids were so polite and well-behaved. So different from American kids!"

The kids are now tucked into bed, trying to get some sleep after a very, very long day. I've still got some details to sort out before I sleep and I have to check in with my centers to see how things are going there too. Today was the last day of the Jumpstart camp so I want to make sure everything went well.

It's hard for me to imagine it. After SEVEN years in Thailand, I'm finally back in America. I'm very excited to see my family this weekend. I'm sure everyone has changed a lot and it'll be interesting to see what's new in my hometown too. See you tomorrow!