Jenny to Start Nursery

The school holidays are flying by and already it is time to think about next year. Ben is already registered to go to Darasamut School again next year but we also wanted to get Jenny into nursery.

They have a nursery for kids from 2 1/2 years old at Darasamut so yesterday we enrolled Jenny. It costs 11,200 baht for the term. For some reason that I don't fully grasp, they insisted that we must also enrol her for summer school even though we don't want her to go and are away anyway. That was another 2,000 baht. They have been doing quite a bit of building work at the school and I think they are trying to recoup some of the costs.

Anyway I am happy enough with the school and it will be great for Jenny to spend more time with other kids. I am not sure she will like it. Ben was always a very sociable little boy and really wanted to go to school. Jenny seems a little more reticent to play with other kids.

Ben is making great strides in the swimming pool. I promised to buy him a snorkel if he would stick his head under water. To my surprsie he immediately did it so I had to buy him the snorkel. He now happily snorkels around the swimming pool and insists he wants to go snorkeling in the sea - he's only four.

We will be going for our annual holiday to Pon's home next week. It will be a couple of weeks driving around Thailand and maybe a week in Nakon Nayok. I am not sure it is going to be good timing for work, they are trying to go live on the project I am working on but they have budget problems so it is not clear what the requirements will be. Anyway, they have not paid any of my invoices for four months so I am not really feeling like delaying the holiday when I am not getting paid.

In the meantime, I have also been doing a bit of internet stuff. I am quite into my health and fitness so I have been involved in writing this - Health and Weight . It has been quite good fun working out the javascript calculations for ideal weight and metabolic rate. Keeps me entertained.

Pon's Friends

Pon has had friends visiting this week. She used to live in Betong near the Malaysian border. There are a lot of troubles down there these days so we have not been for a long time. This week two car loads of her old friends came to Phuket to visit. When Thais travel it is often in large groups with the whole familiy and assorted friends.

They spent the first night drinking whisky Thai style (with ice, coke and soda) and catching up with all their gossip. The next day we took them around a few of the regular tourist spots in Phuket. We went to Wat Chalong, Laem Promthep, Nai Harn Beach, Kata Viewpoint and Patong Beach.

They were really keen to see Patong Beach. Personally, I wouldn't put it on the list of must see places but for the Thais, the same as other tourists, it is the place everybody has heard of and they want to see it. They set up in Loma Park by the beach. This is the area most popular with Thai visitors. They got a couple of big floor mats and started making their way through all the food options from the local vendors. this is what Thais do above all else when they travel, they eat. They want to eat just about everything they see and they never seem to stop. You would think they would be fat but somehow it seems to work for them.

Today is Fern's birthday (Huwy's youngest stepkid). She is 6 so he is having a little birthday bbq round his house. I expect we will get slaughtered together while the kids cause chaos.

School's Out

Ben has finished his first year at school. Friday was his last day and
now he has a long holiday. Amazingly, even at 4 years old in Thailand
the kids have to pass end of year test to move on to the next year. In all
fairness, I don't think the kids can actually fail but it does seem a bit
much.

I am really pleased with Ben's first year at school. He has made so many
steps forward. His Thai language has come on leaps and bounds, his
colouring and drawing are so much better, he knows his ABC and also a
good chunk of the Thai alphabet. I did spend quite a bit of time with
him on his ABCs but I am still impressed with the school.

Now I want to find something for jenny for next school year. That would
actually mean she is starting a year earlier than Ben. I don't want a
full-on school but I do worry that she spends most mornings watching
cartoons. I am busy working, Pon is doing her household chores and Ben
is at school which means the TV becomes Jenny's babysitter.

This is the main Thai school holiday and lasts about two months. We will
probably go on our usual annual holiday to visit Pon's family. That will
be towards the end of this month. At the moment I have quite a bit of
work coming in so I need to wait for a quiet period on that. I expect
it will be very quiet soon as I don't think it is far from finished.