REASONS I AM LOVING LIFE IN BRUNEI continued

This is long overdue... Happy New Year, and 5 more reasons I'm enjoying life in Brunei!

5.  WEATHER
     Being just 5 degrees north of the equator means it's usually HOT.  But, we also have surprisingly mild days with nice sea breezes.  Heavy rains, typically in the evening and overnight, give the illusion of it being cold outside.  I could do without the humidity, but honestly, I would rather have it like this than to have cold weather!  Getting dressed is so easy.  Packing is so easy.  Summer clothes are small and light-weight!  I like wearing summer clothes, I like not having to bundle up the kids, and I like that we can go to the pool and cool down when we just can't take the heat anymore.  And, as the sea breeze blows in across the pool in the late afternoon, it's downright chilly!

A fake snowball fight on a hot Christmas Day

4.  PEOPLE
     Whether it's the local Bruneians, Filipinos, or fellow expats, people here just seem warm and welcoming.  In general, the people I've encountered are very friendly, helpful, humble, and respectful.  The locals absolutely love children too.  When we're in town with the kids, shop employees are so eager to help us and they love to carry Lacy around.  The same thing happens in restaurants.  It's like having free babysitting when we go out to eat!  The waitresses take Lacy off our hands and just play with her!  Very friendly people.

3.  PEACE
     Brunei Darussalam is literally "the Abode of Peace."  Life is peaceful here.  With the beach nearby and the jungle in our backyard, nature is all around.  No bright city lights, no horns honking, no rushing here, there, and everywhere... just peaceful, quiet, small-town living.  Even though I'm a city girl who has lived outside of Dallas, L.A., and Houston, I think I was actually made for small-town life.

2.  EXPLORING
     I've already written about some of our exploring involving local nature trails and parks, but there are so many other things to explore in Brunei and the surrounding areas.  Over the next few years we hope to do a lot of travel and exploration of places that we would never be able to see otherwise.  Hopefully I will be good and blog about our adventures!

At the Empire Hotel in Bandar Seri Begawan

1.  HAVING AN AMAH
     I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined that I'd employ a full-time maid/babysitter.  It is amazing, but also the norm here.  What's funny to me is that some people here are actually surprised that I don't have 2 amahs!  With 4+ children, apparently, some people hire 2 amahs!  I figure that if I could do it all on my own before, then someone else can do PART of what I was doing.  I mean, it's not like I'm just superfluous now.  Am I??  :)
A question I get ALL THE TIME is, "HOW did you do it in Houston every day without HELP???"  Ha!  Well, now I ask myself that same question.  Of course, you just do what you have to do in whatever situation you are in.  Now that I have someone, however, to do the 14 loads of laundry a week and the piles of dishes after every meal, not to mention babysitting Lacy so I can run errands alone, I'm thinking I will have to bring my amah with me when we leave here!  I can always dream...

Rosalyn & Me with my birthday cupcakes she baked