August 26, 2009

Goodbye City Life!


Just when I thought I was through learning new cultures... I move to a small town and become a farmer! You know what that means?

I now have a REAL farmer's tan.

Sharon's dad owns orange groves, so I'm working for him for the year or so we're here in the States adopting. So far I've mostly mowed the groves. Here's what I see everyday:


Sorry about the camera phone pictures. Farmers don't bring their digital cameras to work to take pictures of all the cool farmer things they do all day.

While I've learned to drive a tractor and gotten a fishing license for the first time in my life, there are other "cultural" things I haven't quite adopted yet.

I don't wear a camouflage strap on the back of my sunglasses.
Sharon and I went off with a large group of people the other day, and I realized I was the ONLY one without a camouflage strap hooked on to a pair of Oakley sunglasses... I didn't even have Oakley sunglasses, just some cheap knock-off from Walmart.

I've never owned or worn a Columbia PFG shirt.



Apparently this is quite the versatile shirt: I've seen people wear it to church, while fishing, working, at sporting events, weddings and everything in between.

Though I'm not "fully immersed" in the culture yet, I have learned some things:

* If you honk near a cow pasture, all the cows will walk toward the gate. I love this.
* I have to get somewhat dressed up to go to Walmart, because we're "going into town" and "we'll run into people we know."
* If I'm driving Sharon's dad's truck, I have to wave to EVERYONE.
* I'm the odd-ball because I don't have a Nextel beep-beep phone.
* My name is no longer Anthony... it's Bruce's daughter's husband.

So that's what's going on in my life.

Now go buy some Florida orange juice! Isaac needs some new toys!

August 08, 2009

To the 3 of you who still follow our blog...

So, some things have changed since we last posted over 2 months ago. In no particular order:

* We moved back to the other side of the world.
* We did our yearly blog remodel about 8 months late.
* We got annual Disney passes and have entered the parks 11 separate times.
* We've completed our homestudy for our adoption!
* We went deep sea fishing.
* We spent several days in NYC, the first American city Isaac has ever been in.
* Isaac has gotten ridiculously cuter (but still doesn't talk much)... exactly like his daddy.
* We visited Singapore.
* Sharon and Isaac were quarantined for a day for suspected H1N1 and were released only hours before we flew back to the US.
* We went to Bali.
* We went to Atlanta and watched a Braves game.

There - I think we're all caught up now. I know I feel better :)