The Base & School
We took a little walk around the base today and found a whole herd of cows grazing! I’ve never seen so many cows at the same time so close up before! It was so surreal. Sophie was hardly impressed with the cows but she happily went around picking up wild flowers! Ooo but she did say she wanted to milk them, had to tell her no no…. hee. The cows belong to the neighbouring farm.
We are finally adjusting to the time difference. Sophie went to bed at about 9pm last night and got up at 8am. NICE. Tonight she slept at about 8 so I hope she’ll do her 8pm – 8am soon so that when school starts on Monday, we’ll be on time! School will start at 9am so we need to get her to the daycare before that and help her settle down. Based on the schedule that we received today, it looks like Sophie’s going to be spending a lot of time at the daycare because we have afternoon lessons as well. But we’ll have our meals and evenings together and I still have to be around to put her down for her nap after lunch. I really pray she’ll get used to the new arrangement soon. Ooo and us too.
We managed to get a ride to the town (Matamata) this morning to buy some groceries. Sophie hasn’t been eating much of the main meals because she’s not very used to fish and chips. So I got a few stuff for her – fruits, yogurt, cheese in case she gets hungry. Hopefully she’ll adjust soon. Actually we’re trying to get used to the food too so I’m not surprised she’s not eating. But we’ve got a stash of cup noodles for ourselves. Hiak hiak. But the good thing is that we’re eating a lot more veggies coz of the salads.
Everyone here has been real nice. We got to meet more of the staff and students today. Everyone should be in by tomorrow for the orientation. There’s another lil girl that’s Sophie’s age from Brazil. She doesn’t speak English but I’m sure they’ll figure a way to communicate. Sophie’s been enjoying the company of the older kids who have been taking her around and even playing with her in our little room.
Joel & Sophie playing in the room
The school sounds real exciting! We have the Littletons for our first speakers. We first met them at the church staff retreat in 06 n they have been to our cell a couple of times. We have lots to learn about marriage and parenting from all the staff – most of them have more than 3 kids! There’s a lot of work to do though. Much more than a DTS. We’ve got book reviews, a research paper, regular assignments plus journalling. But we’ve got lotsa time! NO TV and hardly any internet!!!!! 
Here are some photos of our unit on the base
Left: Sophie’s Room – The thingy covered with blankets is her travel cot.
Right: Our dining area which is also our bed room. It also has a little kitchenette but we can only use the microwave, no cooking facilities.