Technology and Efficiency in the Land of Milk and Honey

I am just so amazed at the efficiency with which things are done here in the US. When my husband and I went to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) to take our written exams, it only took us less than one hour to sit for it, taking turns so someone gets to sit with the kids. When he went to another BMV outlet to get the license plate of our SUV, we were expecting to be tied up for at least half of the day, but then again, it only took us 2 minutes to have the license plates issued and released to us.

When the kids left the Philippines, they were both exposed to TB. My older daughter had primary complex when she was 9 months old and my younger daughter had a positive Mantoux test. We were made to visit the TB Control center here in Cincinnati to follow up on the kids. Repeat chest xrays were done on them and they were both seen by a pediatrician. Their chest x-rays were clear and there was nothing to be done on my older daughter but the younger one had to take INH for 9 months because of their protocol wherein children less than 4 years old with positive Mantoux test will need to undergo chemoprophylaxis of INH alone. We expected to be charged for the chest x-rays but it was done for free. Then we were instructed to return the week after to get the medicine which will be given to her every month free of charge until she completes the chemoprophylaxis. All these happened in less than 2 hours. We were already benefiting from the services even when we still have not contributed to the taxation system.

Then yesterday, I needed to have some documents for my Ohio nursing licensure application notarized. I was informed by my sister-in-law that there is one inside PNC bank. I was quite surprised by the set up so I called just to verify if indeed the branch where we frequently do banking has a notary public. Yes, indeed there was one. When I asked how much they charge for notarization of one document, she asked me if I have an account with the bank. When I answered 'yes', she simply said, 'it's free of charge'. Wooh! Talk about customer service! I have to mention as well that they have a drive-thru service to do banking transactions. You simply put your transaction slips for deposits or withdrawals in a flask and it is siphoned into the vacuum tunnel towards the bank personnel. This is very convenient if you have kids with you that you do not want to unbuckle anymore, or when the weather is so bad that you would not want to step out of your car.

This morning, my husband and my younger daughter had to go to USCIS to get their biometrics taken. The USCIS notice had the same look as the USCIS notices we received while we were still waiting for our immigration papers to be processed back in the Philippines. It also had this notice written that cellphones are not allowed and only those who needed to be present should go. So we recalled how it was in the Philippines wherein we had to line up in the US embassy, undergo strict security clearance and spend at least half of the day to undergo these procedures. I was hesitant at first to enter the building since it was only the two of them who were given the notices. My older daughter and I already have our green cards. But when we entered the building and went through security checks, we were surprised to be greeted warmly by the security personnel and directed to the room where the biometrics were to be done. When we got to the room, again the warm greetings and very casual instructions to fill up the forms, etc. And although my husband was still scheduled for 1pm, they also did the biometrics on him so he does not have to go back in the afternoon anymore. In an hour, we were done.

While we were leaving the building, we were just shaking our heads in utter amazement. Truly impressive! And even though we have no employment security at the moment, everyday we wake up in gratitude that we are experiencing all these blessings given to us by God. It is so true that a lot of people take these things for granted because they have gotten used to it. But for us who have lived, grown and suffered inefficient system of public service back home, we can only utter prayers of thanksgiving that we got the chance to experience this kind of system here. And with sighs of sorrow, we wonder whether people back home would ever have a taste of such system in the near future. We can also just hope and pray.

A Day in the Zoo

Going to the Public Library has its advantages. One of which is you get to collect all those free magazines and postcards that have announcements of upcoming events in the city. Last week I was able to get a postcard which announced that Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden will hold an arts and crafts festival and the entrance fee is only $1.00 for July 15.

So this morning, we woke up early in order to get to the zoo ahead of the crowd. We arrived at 9:30 a.m. and found the car park still more than half vacant. At the entrance gate, we paid for the tickets and we just realized that the regular entrance fee for adults was $13 and for the children, it's $9. So for our family of 4, we would be spending $50 per visit. But since today was a special day, we only paid $1 each and an additional $6.50 for the parking fee. Wow! And we were also handed a free film camera and map for the zoo.

It was a cloudy day so we did not have to worry too much about sunburn. For a small zoo, it was amazingly diverse. It even had an insect house, cat house, butterfly garden and animals like white polar bears, red pandas, gorillas, orangutans, manatees and white lions. The insect house was a house of poison because it contained tarantulas, black widow spiders and huge black scorpions. The kids enjoyed the experience especially when they got to participate in the activities at the crafts center. There were many materials for projects like fans, finger puppets, necklaces, etc. They even got to bring home some of these materials for home projects.

I got a flyer for the Cincinnati Zoo membership. It has some interesting packages of unlimited entrance year-round. I heard that the Winter Light Fest is very nice and there are also special shows for Halloween and for every season. So we are still thinking if we would get this membership card for the family. Perhaps after a year... because who knows, there might also be many of these $1 thing that they run in between. That would still be cheaper. Ha, ha, ha. Besides, the animals in the zoo will remain mostly the same throughout the season. In winter, I heard, they are not visible because they also hibernate. Maybe that's the reason why the zoo had to produce a special winter show to continue to generate income. Anyway, there are still many other free stuff going on in the Cincinnati. I will have to check the museums and the other parks. Then we can maximize the fun and minimize the expenses. :)

My Favorite Bread

There are things that you just miss when you are in a foreign land.... mostly Filipino delicacies. The adobo just does not taste nearly as good when you use the white vinegar and soy sauce that you find in American groceries. Finding Datu Puti sukang puti and soy sauce was a heady experience, therefore, when I caught sight of this package in an Asian grocery store.

Sinigang is another dish that my family loves so much but I just could not find "gabi" and "kangkong" even in Asian grocery stores. I am still experimenting with various other substitute but so far, none that satisfies my taste buds.

Then my high school classmate sent me this pan de sal recipe which I was just as eager to try. My first experiment was a comedy. Just as when my yeast mixture was already bubbly and just ready to be mixed into the dry ingredients, I suddenly realized that I ran out of flour. In a desperate move to save my yeast mixture, I got hold of a pancake mix and thought, "this is also flour anyway...". Well, it was not a very accurate thought. My pan de sal ended like a McDonald's biscuit. It was passable in taste and the aroma was delightful but the texture was far from the pan de sal that I have been dreaming of.

So this time, I googled other pan de sal recipes, made some variations in the original recipe that my classmate made to suit my taste and came up with this recipe. Of course, I also made sure I had enough supply of flour for my ingredients.

PAN DE SAL

Mix 1 tablespoon of active dry yeast with 1 1/4 cups of warm water (100-110F). Add 1/2 cup of white sugar and allow to bubble for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.

Meanwhile, mix 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon salt , 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1 cup flour in a separate bowl. Add the yeast mixture (once activated) to the bowl and put 3 cups of all-purpose flour (1/2 cup at a time) until the dough is formed and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough into a flat, clean surface and start to knead. Powder the surface and the dough with flour every now and then and knead for 10 minutes.

Oil a clean bowl and transfer the dough into the bowl making sure that the dough is coated with oil. Cover the dough with plastic cling wrap and allow the dough to rise for 2 hours. Keep the bowl of dough in a warm place for better results. I put mine in the garage, ha, ha, ha, since the house is cool because of the air conditioning and the oven is not nearly warm enough for the dough to rise. But I have to think of other place in the winter. Perhaps, it will be beside the fireplace.

Anyway, once doubled in size, punch the dough in the middle several times until it folds up into the center. Form the dough into small balls of desired size and coat with bread crumbs. Other recipes would recommend rolling the dough into 2 inch width rolls and cutting it to form square buns. Whichever way you prefer does not really matter. Just make sure you don't forget to coat with the bread crumbs because that's what makes the pan de sal different from a dinner roll.

Arrange in baking pan and allow to rise for 20-40 minutes in a warm place. Heat the oven to 350F and transfer the baking pan inside the oven once the dough has risen. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy the aroma of freshly baked pan de sal in your house. You may freeze remaining cooled, uneaten buns. This can be toasted and enjoy the same experience of eating freshly-baked pan de sal over and over again.

Initial Impressions of a Migrant

I always wondered why some immigrants choose to continue living here in America despite the hardships and changes in lifestyle. We always claim that life in the Philippines is so much better... with the maids, the presence of friends and families, the freedom to go out in "gimmicks", etc.

But now, I begin to appreciate what others saw in this land. Even though there are many household chores to do, there are also many ways out there to make ones life easy. You can do the laundry and dry your clothes while you watch TV. You can do the dishwashing while you check your emails and tinker with the computer. The kids are beginning to be more independent compared to the lazy kids I have in the Philippines who constantly call out to their "yaya" for something as simple as a glass of water... and my older daughter's reason is... "because now there's a filter on the faucet"... which makes it easier for her to get a glass of water. Even mopping the floor is swift... with the Swiffer.

There is also so much to do for free. The Public Library is just everywhere. You can reserve books online and pick it up when prompted. There are DVDs, CDs and all sorts of multimedia that you can borrow. You can access your account online and even the kids have their own accounts and play educational games online. There are shows in museums and zoos. There are even free movies.

Cooking is also made easy. There are lots of ready-to-cook items in the grocery. Frozen, chopped vegetables are available if you have limited time to prepare food. You can leave your house while your crockpot cooks dinner and come home with a hot meal ready to be served. There are so many choices for meat products.

Home decoration is do-it-yourself stuff as well. We visited Home Depot yesterday and the choices are simply endless. There are even timbers and lumbers for sale that are already pre-cut and pre-treated. Your creativity and skill are the only limits to what you can do with your home.

Yesterday, my husband and I took the driver's license written exam. It is just as impressive. We just got the booklet from the Bureau of Motors and Vehicles and studied it for one week. It contained all the rules you need to know in order to drive safely here in Ohio. You can just appreciate why you rarely see delinquent drivers on the road who would swerve or obstruct the way like you experience in Manila. Because all the drivers need to pass the written exam. It is computerized so there is no way you can cheat. You immediately see your results. Even when you make mistakes, the computer shows you the correct answer. From the start, drivers are already filtered. If you do not know the rules, stay off the road. After the written exam, there is still the practical exam which will test your driving skills. No bribery, no pulling strings under the table, no underhanded tactics.

Most of my friends here would tell me that you will grow closer as a family because you have only each other to depend on. So if you do not like your family or you do not like your spouse, living in the US can be suffocating for you because you will see them day in and day out. If you are used to drinking sprees and night-outs with friends, stay in Manila. This place is not for you, unless you're single. You can opt to live in New York City and maintain that lifestyle.

Of course, it's still too soon to tell. We have not yet gone to the routine of going to work, sending the kids to school, coming home to the family and household chores, etc. We are just starting to settle down. But so far, no regrets. And what I liked most in this place even with the absence of maids is also the absence of pests. No rats, ants, cockroaches and mosquitoes. There are occasional flies and they can be quite large but being large, they can be easily smashed.

I guess I am just the type of person who loves space, cleanliness , order and silence. Being here in this suburban place is just a complete blessing. And it is with complete gratitude to God for this opportunity that I opened my mail and took out a card which indicated "Permanent Resident" in white font against a background of green.... I just received my Green Card! :)

Grace in Times of Despair

In 2005, when we started processing our immigrant visa, we had our doubts about it. I was pregnant with our second child and I could not imagine living in the US, working hours and still take care of a newborn when I get home from work. So we prayed hard that God delays the processing until the kids are old enough and needed low "maintenance". Of course, I forgot about that prayer. So when the processing of the petition got delayed for years we thought God had other plans for us and started to think that migrating here is no longer in the picture. Then when we got our call to go to the embassy for an interview early this year, we were totally caught off guard. It's just later on in the process of our discernment that we recalled that few years ago, we made this prayer and God heard it. And although we were quick to forget about it, He never forgets His promises. And what He says He will do, He is faithful in delivering.

Now, my younger daughter is turning four on August and my older daughter is nine. I can actually entrust the latter with the former. My older daughter gives her little sister a bath while I clean the kitchen. My husband does the laundry and the dishes. Sometimes my younger daughter sets the table and folds her own clothes. Indeed they are both more manageable as compared to last year, when we were here for a vacation. I actually lost 5 pounds just running after my toddler in that 6 weeks in 2008 when most people would gain weight after vacationing in the US.

But there is one thing which can still make me lose my wits... it's when my younger daughter transforms to this desperate, crying little girl who claims she wants something but does not know what she wants. It's her form of tantrum which most of the time succeeds in pushing me to the wall that I also end up throwing a tantrum. I've seen my husband give up on her as well when she gets into this mood. Fortunately, there was always one of us who seem to be in control when my little girl succeeds in getting the other adult turn into a monster mom/dad.

Just last week, while I was trying to play with her in the basement, she throws into this tantrum again. I just totally lost it and left her with her dad and started to work in the kitchen to prepare for dinner. Unable to stop her from crying incessantly and getting impatient himself, my husband scolded her. She comes up to me still crying. There was no way I could stop her and my attention was caught between placating her and cooking dinner. In despair, I turned off the stove, sat on the floor and covered my ears and prayed "Lord, have mercy!". She continued to cry in front of my folded figure. Then I heard my husband went up and saw the two of us in that pathetic form. He took my daughter and embraced her. She was immediately comforted. Then he handed her to me and made me embrace her. That made her stop crying altogether. He said, "she just needed a hug from you." Then I got hold of a small chair and made her seat near the refrigerator and I gave her water. She silently drank her water while I continued to cook dinner. Nobody would guess that my thoughts were in disarray thinking about what just happened. It's in these events that I start to question, "Can I really handle this move?". I know our strengths and I am also aware of our weaknesses as a couple. But sometimes, there are areas that are grey. And this one was it.... handling my daughter's tantrums. This is one thing that we hope to put under control because if we both lose control, who knows what regrettable thing we are capable of.

Later that night, as I was cleaning the kitchen, my husband came up to me and said, "Do you also need a hug?" and he hugged me before I could say yes. That managed to give me immense comfort and restore my faith. During my moments of doubt, God knows perfectly how to reassure me. But I knew that someday, my daughter may throw a tantrum again and he might not be around to help.

So, I made this one petition everyday in my rosary intentions amongst all our other intentions (and God knows there are just mountains of those :). What is most unusual though is that I am able to set aside time to read the Bible and pray the rosary despite the fact that we have no maids here in the US. I think that is one miracle that I can attribute to the visit to the Lourdes' grotto last May. Because these silent moments with God are just immense sources of blessings and grace. Discernment of His will becomes easier and His guidance is much clearer.

Then just today, He showed me how to take control of the uncontrollable.

Once again, my daughter comes up to me crying in that desperate manner again and is beyond reason and logic. Once more, I was in the kitchen busy with chores. My voice started to rise and I scolded her. That made her cry even harder. Then I remembered that time when she started to cry while we were in Rome, during the papal audience... and my daughters were both under the shade that I made for us (my arms were stretched out and my jacket was covering the three of us from the heat of the sun). In order for her to stop, I prayed out aloud in tongues. That made the two of them look at me in shock. They were hearing me speak in something which sounded like Italian. I prayed for almost one minute and that managed to stop my younger daughter from crying. I can still recall seeing my older daughter look at me with awe and saying, "You were speaking in a strange language, mommy. How did you learn that?".

I thought, perhaps I can make good use of that gift and start praying in tongues once again. But this time, I did not pray out aloud. I simply prayed in tongues in the recesses of my mind while my little girl cried in the background. She did not stop crying but I was totally amazed at what happened. I acutely felt the transformation in my feelings in a very graduated manner... from that of despair/irritation/anger to peace and serenity. It was like turning the volume of rock music from loud to soft and then to mute. The experience was just so remarkable. Then I looked at Marie with love and affection and spoke to her. I do not remember what I told her but she simply obeyed me and started to calm down. Then I instructed her to go and play with her sister and she simply obeyed!

God has shown me His power and the power that is just within me, which I have not put to use. I just needed to be reminded that the power is always available and free. There is nothing in this life that is beyond His control. And by virtue of His power and my being His child, this power is also given to me as a gift. And not just to me... it is just as available to everyone else. I recalled about mothers who just totally lost their minds and have thrown themselves into despair. If only they have known of this power and put it into good use. It is pure grace and a gift that He should reveal this to me. And I pray that I may exercise this power especially now that I need it the most.

Techonology for Migrants

It is so easy to get in touch with loved ones across the globe with the advances in technology. Today is my husband's birthday and we celebrated it's eve with much fireworks because of the 4th of July event. :) But what made the event memorable as well is the presence of skype.

At 7:00am we were communicating with family in Manila through skype. As I was preparing breakfast and baking the birthday cake, he went to the kitchen carrying his laptop with the videocam and mic on. I saw our family in West Avenue preparing for dinner and celebrating his birthday as well. While they were eating, we could see them and they could also see us eating on the dining table.

The kids even made up a funny joke... the "pass the Nutella" gig. We had a Nutella and they had a Nutella with them. My niece said, "please pass the Nutella" and we pretended to hand the Nutella to them and they pretended to receive it. It looked surreal. :)

And when we were decorating the cake already, they were looking at us. And when it finally got done and I placed the queer birthday candle which did not announce the age but simply a note which says... "Over the hill, too old to count!" everyone started singing happy birthday. It was just as though we were all in one place. When my husband blew the candle, they were also taking pictures of the monitor from across the globe. We also posed as a family and they took our picture, ha, ha, ha. Technology is such a bliss.

Cooking in America

One of the challenges in America is preparing food for the family. I had to do an experiment of cooking a huge bulk that would last for a week or more. But eventually I found this as not so good an idea. Until now, I still have to find a way to finish that "monggo" in the refrigerator. The adobo has already graduated in our tummies after 2 weeks of heating and re-heating. I will never do that again. Perhaps cooking for a volume that can last for a couple of days is fine, but for a week or more... it just becomes punishment for the diners.

But it was good practice to always cook with a good amount of left-overs because at least, there is always food that can be easily heated.

Another challenge is to keep the house from smelling like spices. It was one scent I noted when I visited my sister's house in California a couple of years ago. I did not notice this in my sister-in-law's house. It was only now that I realized that my sister-in-law did not cook that much and so kept her house from getting that peculiar smell. I noticed this smell after a week of cooking. It actually came from the garlic, onions, soy sauce, pepper and vinegar that are constantly used in Filipino dishes. That made me buy vanilla scented candles and kept it lit inside the house.

Anyway, just a few days ago, my sister-in-law brought home some left-over lechon from Texas. A Filipino friend of hers celebrated her birthday with Filipino dishes and a huge lechon and gave most of the left-overs to her visitors. Inorder to avoid having the house smelling of vinegar and spices, I had to cook the lechon paksiw while my sister-in-law was away on vacation in San Francisco. Of course, this is my first time to cook lechon paksiw and so I had to google the recipe. I found a few interesting ones and adapted 2 recipes to make my own version of lechon paksiw. Here it goes:

2 kg lechon chopped in bite-sized pieces (yes, that was the volume of the left-over from Texas)
2 cups Mang Tomas sauce (thank God there were still 3 bottles left in her pantry)
2 cups white vinegar (courtesy of that Asian store, Cam, which sold Datu Puti soy sauce and
vinegar in a neat bundle. I should have taken 2 packs)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp peppercorn
8 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 cup dried oregano (it was originally for 1 cup and I felt it may turn out to be very
overpowering. With 1/2 cup, it was still overpowering, so I suggest to
make this 1/4 cup)
2 cups water
1 cup soy sauce
5 pcs of bay leaves

Just put everything together in a huge pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for one hour or until the skin softens and some of the meat shreds off easily. Enjoy with steaming rice.

The First Two Weeks

Landing in the airport of Chicago as our port of entry was a bad thing because the line at the immigrations was so long and we only had 1.5 hours in between transfers. Fortunately, despite the long queque, we did not encounter any issues with the immigration. But the real issue was the mountain of checked-in luggages that we had. For the first time in America, we hired a porter. We gave him $20. And he was kind enough to go back to us when we got done with the immigration and helped us to transfer to the counter for our local flight. Expectedly, we were left by the plane and we were told that the next available flight was 6:30am of the next day. That was really bad news because we did not want to spend a night in a hotel in Chicago. Since there were 4 of us, we were informed that it is impossible to get through the last day's flight if we waitlisted. So while my husband was calling my sister-in-law, we were praying and I just felt resigned to whatever God brings to our hands. Surprisingly, while he was still on the phone, the lady at the counter approached us and informed us that 5 seats were just cancelled and were free for us to take. God is so good. We added another $5.00 to the porter who patiently waited and now loaded the luggages to the carousel.

We arrived in Cincinnati, OH at 12midnight. It was a very long trip but we were just happy to see my sister-in-law and her friend. We were finally home.

The next day, we immediately went to the nearest Social Security office in our area to check if they already got our application in their system. We were informed that it will take 10 days for the papers to get through immigration. So we were instructed to go back after 10 days.

The second day, my sister-in-law accompanied us to the bank to open our own bank account. With that, we were able to transfer the funds that we sent to her account to our own bank account.

Next in line was a meeting with the realtor. We were hesitant at first to do this because we still did not have a job but eventually it paid off because we were given a pile of documents which were meant to aid new residents in moving to Cincinnati. It had everything we needed to get acquainted with Cincinnati in the envelope: a map of the city, listings of schools, listings of tourist spots, and things to know and do, numerous tips about moving, etc.

The next few days were spent in research: searching for used car, searching for the right area where to buy property, searching for school districts and private schools, searching for groceries where the cost is lowest for meat, produce, dry goods, etc. and searching for other possible job options.

The first major purchase was a second-hand 2004 Mitsubishi Endeavor. After visiting shops selling certified cars, we were surprised to find this fresh looking SUV which looked brand new and yet was priced at just $9,995. Indeed it was a rare find and one which we could not afford to let go of. So at that particular instant, we offered to buy it in cash because we could not purchase in credit without our social security numbers and credit ratings. We gave a downpayment of $200 and the papers were processed. It was as simple as that. It was June 20, 2009, Saturday. The first thing we did on June 21, Monday was to have a cashier's check drafted for the car shop.

On June 22, Wednesday, we were aboard our "new" car and we returned our rented car which was a total rip off at $500+. But it has served to get us around town to do our grocery and stuff. But now, we had something that we really owned.

Next thing we did was schedule for school tours in between property tours with the realtor. We were initially thinking of putting the two girls in a public school because there were lots of school districts in Cincinnati and the vicinity which had excellent ratings from the Department of Education. However, upon further research, and with external affirmations, we decided to explore the religious schools in the city. By looking at the Department of Education website again, we got to narrow down our search to schools with Blue Ribbon recognitions. From there, we further focused on the schools that were near the place of my sister-in-law. It was fortunate that we were working with the realtor also who cited the possible districts that we can purchase the property that we are looking for. This coincided with the search of school for the girls. After 2 weeks of touring the schools, we decided on one school because it had all the pluses that we wanted in the other schools that we saw. It had the hot lunch program, the buddy system, the type of discipline enforced that we liked, the endorsement by a local resident, the academic excellence, the absence of diversity issue, the hi-tech mode of instructions, the accelerated program, the high percentage of scholarship obtained for private high schools, the wide corridors and high passing rate.

On July 2, 2009, exactly a week after we applied for our Social Security numbers (18 days from arriving in US), we finally got it!

On July 3, celebrating independence day with Filipino friends and their non-Filipino husbands in Mason, we further got information on what to do next in order to obtain a good credit rating, got further affirmation regarding our choice of school, and more affirmation about how the Lord's hands has been moving in our lives in perfect time. Even without the assurance and security of a job for us, we are at peace and confident that God is dictating the pace of all the things that have been happening to us. In His perfect time... we know everything will just fall in place.

The Exodus last June 14, 2009

I felt like I was caught up in a hurricane. Time flew so fast. The whole month of May was spent in Europe gallivanting before the occasion of the wedding of my sister-in-law, temporarily leaving the chaos of packing up for the US behind. Having put back the US migration at the back of our minds made it possible for us to focus on the European trip first. There was also so much to arrange considering that the trip was not a short one. After seeing Frankfurt, Munich, Miltenberg and Buergstadt in Germany; Milan, Venice, Rome, Pisa, Florence and Assisi in Italy; Paris, Liseux, Versailles, Nevers and Lourdes in France; Salzburg in Austria and passing by Switzerland en route to Italy, we were just eager to go back to the Philippines. It was Europe indigestion to say the least.

Back in the Philippines, with just two days to pack our stuff to finally leave for the US, we were living a crazy schedule. The European jetlag made it even crazier because the kids would still remain awake even at the wee hours of the morning just when you wanted to have them out sight. In between business meetings to make final endorsements, arrangement with the mover who will ship our stuff to the US, bank transactions to transfer funds to the US and setting up a system that will also make it possible to transfer funds back and forth from US to Philippines, terminating phone lines, credit card lines, liquidating most of our investments, we also gave way for despidida parties from our friends and colleagues. The night before we left for the US, we were still not done with our packing! It was such a challenge to try to maximize the luggage allowance of 23 kg/piece and 107 cm for 2 pieces given to us by the airline. Alvin and I did not have sleep at all. We ended up packing until daybreak and loaded 4 balikbayan boxes, 4 medium sized wheeled luggages, 2 car seats, 4 hand-carried bags, and 1 stroller. We also had to endorse the shipping of 1 more box via Johnny Air Cargo.

Saying goodbye at the airport was tearjerking. We do not know when we will be able to visit the Philippines again. So much uncertainty in the future. But what we were grateful for was the decision to leave as a family. There were preliminary plans of me leaving ahead of the girls and Alvin and making them follow after one month. But just imagining how it would be carrying all the luggages and going through immigration as well as making major decisions in the US regarding car purchase, schools, etc, made us think think twice about that other plan.

So now we were in it as one family... still together.