FIRST DAY!

The flight from Korea to Chicago was long and boring. I'd already watched the movies I wanted to see on the flight from Bangkok to Korea, so I ended up watching movies from their "classic" selections, just to pass the time. I was seated in the very front of the economy section, which was good because I had lots of leg room, but the seats don't recline very far so it was still uncomfortable. As a result, I didn't sleep at all on the flight.

We arrived at Chicago and passed through immigration without any problems. This was the first time an immigration officer actually asked me for permission forms from the parents, so I was glad that I had brought the Amphur letters and guardian letters with me. I had never needed them before, but it felt good to be prepared!

While we waited for the shuttle coach to pick us up, the kids got their first taste of winter air. Brrrrrr!

We loaded up the shuttle coach and then drove to the Wisconsin border to have lunch at a McDonald's. I had to scold a few of the girls because they didn't order any food. I told them they had to eat at every opportunity. We're not in Bangkok any more, where food is available on every street corner, so if I take them to a restaurant to eat, they must choose something on the menu & eat it there, because there might not be another opportunity later on.

It's a very typical thing to happen on these trips. The kids are still operating on assumptions that worked well for them in Bangkok, and it takes a while for them to understand that those assumptions may not work in America. So skipping a meal isn't an option because we don't have street vendors and 7-11's on every street. So these experiences are good learning opportunities for the children. They begin to see

The shuttle coach took us to New Holstein in about three hours. In Chicago, there was no snow, but as we went further north, we gradually began to see more and more snow. The kids were very excited about it, and couldn't wait to get out of the van so they could play in the snow.

Once we arrived in New Holstein, we dropped our stuff off in the house and the kids ran outside to play. I had them leave their big bags downstairs so they wouldn't scratch up the walls banging the bags up and down the stairs. So they only took their carry-ons and backpacks upstairs with them.

The house is really big, and there are six bedrooms upstairs. Pat & I took a small one in the middle between the boys' and girls' rooms. The girls had two rooms, but they opted to sleep altogether in the big room and use the small room to store their bags. They laid the sleeping bags out so they could sleep foot to foot, and it was very crowded in their room, but that's actually a good thing size it would be a lot warmer at night with all those people sleeping together.

The sun had been out all day, and it was actually pretty warm (around 0'C), so the snow was soft and easy to pack. The kids made their first tracks through the snow as they walked around the house, chattering excitedly about this amazing experience.

Of course, it wouldn't be a snow experience without a snowball fight. So the kids started packing snowballs & throwing them around. For some reason, I didn't have anyone else on my team! So it was students vs. teacher (my wife didn't help me at all!).

The kids asked how far they could walk around the town, so I took them down to the park and told them they could walk there, but I wanted them to avoid going into other people's yards. I took a picture of them on the way back that I really love. It makes me think about what it would be like to be little kids exploring a big, big world. They are so brave!

Afterwards, we went to eat dinner. The first restaurant I took them to was closed for remodeling (which proved my point that the kids should eat when given the opportunity, because we can never predict what will happen in the future). So we had to walk a bit further down the road to a pizza restaurant.

We ordered two sausage pizzas and a taco pizza, plus some garlic bread and cheese sticks. The kids seemed to really like the pizza, but it was a bit too much food so we took a box of pizza home with us.

Once we got home, we had the kids shower and get ready for bed. The shower/bathroom situation in the house is not ideal. The bathroom doors don't have locks on them and the basement is unfinished so the kids were a little scared to go down there at first. So I made some "occupied" signs for the bathroom doors and I put my rubber shoes near the basement doors so the kids could wear them in the shower down there (the concrete floor is very cold).

In a way, it's a lot like real camping. We're roughing it and making due with what we have. It's a good experience for the kids because it teaches them to adapt to new challenges. For example, the house is a little bit cold, but they put on sweaters and they are quite comfortable. Su! Su!

Patty, of course, is teaching the kids well, although I hope none of them copy her fashion sense! Hahah!