New Environment
Ola, Home Edders! It's me, popping here after a very long while! It's been quite hectic and overwhelming and I almost do not have much time to spare to write a blog. Anyway, it's 4:00 am and I could not sleep, so let's type away.
It's been two weeks since we reached the Philippines and while I am super happy to be back home, I cannot say the same for my kids. They miss their dad who's been left back in the UAE for work, and they do not want struggle to adapt to the weather, language, and lifestyle here. The last time we were here was four long years ago - when they were 10, 5, and 3 so I understand the extreme adjustment they need to undergo. The other day, my youngest even had a meltdown -- "I just want to go back to my normal life," he said. 😌
Not to mention the language barrier. They understand some Filipino (Tagalog) but they do not want to speak because they are shy of their accents. I always say, if I could turn back time, I would not let my kids have English as their first language. It's easy to learn English from schooling and just mere exposure, but Tagalog is much harder to learn.
We're portable.
This trip is not exactly a vacation. I clearly specified this to the kids. We're merely shifting locations. Everything that we've been doing in the UAE (homeschool-wise) we still have to do here.
It's great that our books are convenient for traveling because they are broken down per unit and we don't necessarily have to bring entire books with us. In addition to this, most of our resources are also online.
Unforeseen.
However, it is not as easy as that! We are still struggling to settle down and get going with our established routines. There are lots of other factors that I failed to consider. We are now at my folks' and the reason we came here is to lend them extra hands while my father is recovering from his surgery. The time I spend on my remote work also has to adjust because of the time zones and it just overlaps with most of the day here.
While planning for the trip, I imagined setting up our study area in our living room. I tried, but it's not going to work. We live so close to the road and the roaring sounds from all the vehicles passing by are so distracting.
I tried to move back a bit to the dining room to utilize the dining table. Nah, our kitchen is the busiest spot in the house. Everyone who comes to our house does not pass through the main door, but they go straight to the kitchen. LOL.
Making it work.
The most convenient spot so far is my sister's bedroom (which used to be my room) because it's airconditioned and most of the noise from outside is filtered out too.
She has a makeshift worktable (my mom's sewing machine) and since she is not at home most of the week, I claimed the spot! Yay!
I think, no, I definitely need an extra study table because so far the kids use the bed for the most part.
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It's been very challenging so far and establishing a routine seems impossible (sigh). Another challenge for me is to remove gadgets from them - I have been so busy that I almost am not able to moderate their screen time and when it's time for studying, it's hard to get them to focus (sigh again).
We need to get back on track. Quickly.
Uyyy! Nasa Pinas ka? Magkita tayo!
Mahirap nga yang adjustment sa kiddos. Kami, we usually just study anywhere we like around the house. Minsan sa bedroom, minsan sa kitchen, minsan sa sala. Kung saan maganda at the moment, ganun. Haha
While you're here, bili ka na ng mga adarna books and tahanan books para makarami ng tagalog read alouds. Pang practice namin yun ng speaking in tagalog eh. Highly recommended ko rin ang Bugtong Bugtong 1&2. Try mo para mapractice din sila magsalita at mag isip in tagalog.
Oo, nun June 7 pa kami dumating. Sige kita tayo matagal pa naman kami dito.
Usually nasa room lang kids kasi kaaway nila mga langgam. Hayy na lang. 😅 Tapos bukas ac. Ngayon pa lang gusto ko na himatayin sa electricity bill.
Nagtitingin na nga ako ng books. Nasa list na un A Lolong Time ago, and the others na nirecommend mo last time na hindi naman nabili ng kapatid ko kasi out of stock. Lista ko rin yang Bugtong Bugtong. Thanks!🥰
Tingin ka lang sa Adarna at sa Tahanan. Check out mo rin yung Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang mg Anvil. Yan ang mga pampractice ni Aya ng Tagalog eh. Hirap ngabtalaga pag English ang first language. Hahaha
It is a really overwhelming experience to move house, now country and culture is really hard, I understand what your children and yourself are going through. It's not easy but with time I know it gets better. Lots of good energy to face everything.
Thank you @emimoron, we're trying and slowly getting back the rhythm.
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I'm sorry they aren't coping very well with the upheaval. I often think that kids can handle anything as long a their parents are with them and then it just becomes an adventure. It's unfortunate that dad had to stay behind. Maybe they will settle down after a while. I'm guessing it's not permanent?
Hopefully you're enjoying seeing your family again and it must be a bit nostalgic to be back in your homeland.
We're here for a while to support my folks after my dad had a hand surgery. I think much of this is my shortcoming since my time and attention is divided to a lot more things now unlike before.
They're slowly getting accustomed to the new environment as I do I in terms of the schedule.