Movin' on...

We have had an amazing time teaching the last 3 years in Shekou, China! While we've really enjoyed working at QSI Shekou, we have come to a conclusion that it is the right time for us to move on. The last few months have been crazy busy as we have been preparing for the ISS Bangkok Job Fair for overseas educators. This last week, Marea and I have were in Bangkok conducting intense interviews with directors of other schools from around the world. At the end of the job fair, we found ourselves with three offers: Caracas, Venezuela; Tianjin, China; and RasTanura, Saudi Arabia.

So... Where did the Boumas decide to go? SAUDI ARABIA! Yes, it sounds crazy, but it made the most sense for our family as Marea will not have to work immediately for the school and stay at home with Avery. She will be a teacher for the company that they can use later when needed.



Q: Where will we live?
A: Ras Tanura on the Persian Gulf in a camp on the beach. This is a very large camp with a golf course, bowling alley, dive club, yacht club, swimming pools, and a beautiful sandy beach to play on.

Q: Can we leave the camp?
A: Absolutely - we will leave several times during the week to go to local towns/villages and eat/shop/interact with locals.

Q: Does Marea have to dress up and wear anything?
A: Marea is able to dress normally when leaving the camp, although she will probably wear long pants and long sleeves. She does not have to cover her beautiful blond hair.

Q: Are there any restrictions for Marea?
A: They only restrict her from driving. When we drive to Dubai/Bahrain/Qatar/Red Sea, I will have to do all the driving --- ugh :)

While we knew the school in Saudi had one of the best reputations for schools in the world, we had a lot of these questions that needed to be answered before we even considered it as an option. The director eased our minds by saying that out of the 75 teachers in his school, he is only interviewing for 2 positions and that teachers stay because they love it. This spoke volumes to us.

So... we know Saudi Arabia is not a destination for most people (we've had several people visit us in China). Who wants to meet us in Europe? Egypt? Thailand (yes, it's still a reasonable flight)?

We're both looking forward to what God has in store for this next chapter of our lives. We prayed for an open door, and feel that he provided this for us. We are anticipating the amazing travel opportunities at the crossroads of the world: Egypt, Jordan, back to the mission base in Kenya, Maldives, Nepal, Bosnia (where several of our friends are teaching), Italy, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Holland, etc! It will also be interesting to compare middle eastern culture with China and SE Asia.

We will keep updating our blog from time to time. Bookmark our page and you'll be able to follow our travels!

It's December! Countdown to Christmas....

10 more days 'til we're on the plane home for the holidays and we CAN'T WAIT!! In the meantime, we'll be wrapping things up with students to end the 2nd quintile, meeting Santa at Judah's campus (hopefully Judah and Avery have been nice...), leaving the kiddies at home with Aling overnite for the first time while we go to Macau for Robb's first 1/2 marathon and Cirque du Soleil show, and finishing some Christmas shopping on this side of the world.

Check out some current album links--July, Sept., Oct. 2008! How time flies, uh? We had a smooth transition back to China for our third year, though Judah did not get into the school groove for a few weeks. Now, he's swimming, reading (level AA, but still!), and says school is "perfect!" Avery is speaking a lot of words both in Chinese and English, running!, dancing (just started incorporating hand motions), and still shrieking for no apparent reason. I'm enjoying teaching 10-year-olds again this year 1/2 days and afternoons with the kids, and Robb thrives as secondary principal. It's been good. We're so blessed.

Oct. holiday on Bintan Island in Indonesia, an hour ferry ride from Singapore was outstanding!(I'm loving the resort set-up: bountiful breakfast buffets, fine, sandy beach (Judah's first snorkel), enormous kiddie pool shallow enough for Avery, interesting people from all over the world, kids' club, and more!) We did a mangrove boat tour, which was a lot of fun--saw yellow-ringed mambas, a python (sleeping, fortunately), and a couple monitor lizards (see link). Singapore was, indeed, very clean and urban. We went to the zoo, which was outstanding--the best! We went on a boat tour around the city, checked out the international school, ate amazing Indian food, and found a ridiculously heavy merry-go-round at the park (that was a heckuva workout!). Our hosts, Patrick and Becky Green, were sooo gracious, generous and hospitable--thanks again!!
DongChong: We had a three-day weekend in Nov. following parent-teacher conferences. A perfect amount of time and a great time of year to go camping with twenty-some friends! We packed our tents, sleeping bags, and other camping gear, excited to sleep on the beach for a couple nights with the kids, though everyone else in the group was staying in the villas (way to rough it!). We ended up staying in a villa, too. (: Only a 2-hour drive to this picturesque, clean beach and fresh air--what a difference from where we live! Fun was had by all!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to your family from ours!

Summer 2008--WA, MI and OR Fun

Indeed, our summer holiday flew by entirely too swiftly. Fortunately, between mid-June and Aug. 1, we did a lot and re-connected with many. Here are some highlights:

Washington highlights:

...for Robb and Marea...fresh air, NW scenery, BBQ parties with family and friends, good eats!!, Gpa and Gma's mobile home in Birch Bay (temporary, ideal housing and location--thanks!!), TIME WITH LOVED ONES!

...for Judah....blueberry pancakes with Beppa, ALL of Auntie Sally's (and Darryl's) foods, cookies with Grammie, turning 4 years old!, playing with Alex and Emma, riding bikes around park, Brooke!, TV cartoons in the mornings, the bunkhouse, fresh strawberries, time with loved ones!!

...for Avery....learning to walk more proficiently, turning 1!, learning how to go to sleep at night without screaming her head off for 20+ minutes first, and of course, bonding with loved ones!

Michigan highlights:

...reconnecting with cousin, Meribeth, and her family, Moose Tracks ice cream, Marea's brother, Jason, and family--wife, Lynn, and two kids, MaryHelen and Noah. crashing the scooter (Marea), a night out in GR--the BOB, and I don't know the other places, but Robb crashed an open mike, staying at an incredible home on Lake MI: zip-line, small sailboat, playroom, firepit, S'mores, venison, squeaky sand, etc! And...TIME WITH LOVED ONES!

Oregon highlights:

...for Robb and Marea....hanging out with the Tyvands, Stalkers, and Woods, good eats and drinks, China charades (K204!), cleaning off filthy, dusty children, outdoor concert, TIME WITH LOVED ONES!

....for Judah and Avery....hand fishing at the lake, outdoor concert, creating dust storms, good eats, time with JACK and Vera, Talin and Alma, and Miss Molly, etc!

Soooo good to go home for an extended period of time during the best time of the year. And we're glad we'll be coming home for Christmas in a couple weeks this year, too!!

See more pictures by clicking on the links at the top!

February 2008 - Northern Thailand: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Myanmar, Laos, Chiang Rai

For Chinese New Year, February 2008, my brother Chris, his friend Jason, and our friend Robin all came out to visit us in China. Part of their time here included a week-long break for us. During this time off, we all flew to Thailand for a Northern Thailand adventure. Our great friends, the Stalkers, were able to come with us as well.

After a few days exploring the busy streets of Bangkok, we flew up to Chiang Mai. Mellisa Stalker had a friend, Peggy, who married a man of Laotian descent and owned a farm north of Chiang Mai (The Pun Pun Farm - http://www.punpunthailand.org/). The farm was a sustainable living and learning center in which people from all over the world would come and take workshops on sustainable farming. In addition, Peggy and her husband would travel throughout Northern Thailand educating local farmers on the traditional methods of farming. What an amazing time had by all. We spent several days here living a traditional and basic way of life. Judah and Avery were able to run (and crawl) around the farm with their friends. We fell in love with the countryside and its people. It was very hard to leave The Pun Pun Farm.

Part of our stay in Chiang Mai, included a visit to an elephant center. The elephants that resided had been rescued from harm or abandanment from the region. Their trainers put on amazing shows and we were able to ride an elephant along a trail and through the river.

Continuing north, we were able to visit hilltribe people including the Karen Longneck Tribe. This was an outstanding cultural experience seeing and experiencing how they lived. As we continued down the main road, we eventually hit the border crossing into Myanmar. We hopped over the border for a few hours in order to tour some of the markets and get a stamp in our passports. We continued our journey to the Golden Triangle - a place where rivers meet and Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand come together. While there, we boarded a narrow riverboat and crossed into Laos.

The last part of our trip took us down into Chiang Rai to visit Josh Parsons - a friend who works with YWAM and leads the discipleship training school. It was great touring the base and venturing into the city for some great food and sights.

Reflecting on this trip, we felt it was one of the best ones we had been on since we moved overseas. We hope to eventually go back and experience some of the highlights again, however, there is so much more of SouthEast Asia to explore.

Praise God for an opportunity like this!

Oct. 2007 - China: Shanghai, Xian (Terracotta Warriors)

Another amazing trip! We started our journey with the Stalker Family and flew to visit our friends, the Rhorbecks, in Shanghai. They showed us a great time in this modern Chinese city. After spending time touring Shanghai American School, and their nice neighborhood, we ventured out into the downtown area. We first hit the Bund - an scenic and historical area along the river. After wondering about and mixing with some locals, we made our way to the infamous Shanghai Aquarium. As we explored the many exhibits and chased our excited children from room to room, we decided that this indeed was the best aquarium we had attended. A tired day led to a group bath with the 5 kids, and a great night sleep.

The next day, we visited some historic river towns in the area. While we shopped to our hearts content, the kids explored and entertained the locals. It's always amazing experiencing what goes on in the local streets of China. This week we witnessed a baby's exposed butt-cheeks, sizzling squid on a street fryer, turtles for sale (likely for soup), and several interesting women preparing vegetables. Judah and Jack blended in well as they found many interesting places to pee along the way (it's a normal thing to see people urinating in public areas).

As we appreciated the hospitality of our friend's who housed us, after three days we knew it was time to move on. We said our goodbyes to the Stalkers, and took the Maglev train to the airport (one of the fastest trains in the world). We boarded our plane and flew to Central China to the city of Xian. Xian is famous for it's dumplings, old city wall, drum tower, bell tower, and terracota warriors. In three exciting days, we hit all of these places. We were fortunate to meet up with other great friends (Justin and Sarah Walker) for our travels around this city.

While it's great getting out to other countries in Southeast Asia, it was extremely exciting traveling within China. The culture, sites, and people never cease to amaze us. We are absolutely loving our time in this country and hope to be able to experience it for much time to come.

If you would like to see more pics of this trip, follow the link in our pics section or click on http://picasaweb.google.com/robbmarea/ShanghaiAndXian102007?authkey=f9fpasNyevQ#