After my last post, I thought of making a list of things I love about Brunei. Since I do not plan on just rattling off a list without any explanation, I guess I will have to do this one at a time.

1. Nature. Since my husband and I are both science-trained, one of the things we love best about Brunei is how green and relatively unspoiled it is. It looks similar to how Subic is except maybe more lush and more green. The house we used to rent is right smack in a forest-y Kampung where it is normal for us to see monkeys, coucals, kingfishers, squirrels, various birds, monitor lizards, and yes, even snakes, just outside our house. It was quite a thrill, especially for Anika and Mateo, to have such close encounters with these ‘wild animals’ which is in stark contrast to where we live in Pinas where the ‘wildest’ creatures they can encounter aside from our golden retrievers and my mom’s lovebirds are cockroaches and rats.

We also love the fact that even in Bandar, which is the country’s capital, nature and artificial structures co-exist. Just a few steps away from the busy Jalan Tutong is the thick mangroves of the Brunei river where crocodiles are often spotted and fishing is not a pointless activity. Oh, and I do not even need to mention the liquid gold that has made this country one of the richest in the world to know that Brunei is indeed very much blessed naturally.

Litter and garbage are also relatively few. Although little things like cigarette butts and small wrappers are still sometimes seen lying around in public places, you will find it hard to see plastic bags of trash thrown just about anywhere. Also, since alcohol is prohibited in the country, you will not see even a single beer or wine bottle lying around.

I often wonder whether Bruneians really appreciate and value the natural richness that they have in their country or maybe it is also because they are well-provided by the government with what they need that they do not see the need to take more from nature. No matter which it is, I only hope that Brunei gets to conserve all of these because nowadays, when nature conservation is often such an uphill climb, this country has so much to offer.

Now that we have a bigger house here that can accommodate visitors, some of our relative and friends have been asking if they can visit and if we can let them stay for several days. Not a problem with us since we welcome any familiar face from home So whenever Cebu Pacific is having a seat sale, a friend or relative will ask how many days is adequate to visit Brunei. This is when I will give my little disclaimer, saying that Brunei is not so different from Pinas and that actually, there is very little to see. It is a far cry from those who are expecting an ultimate traveler’s experience such as those in Singapore or Bangkok or other popular Asian destination. I usually tell them that if they will cramp most of the usual places that tourists go to in just a few days, two whole days are actually enough.

Except for Jerudong Park, there is no other theme park here and you will not see a lot of arch metal buildings. But what you will be treated to is a very quiet and peaceful culture that me and my family are growing to love. If you are the type who loves nature, then you will enjoy how rich, lush, and relatively unspoiled Brunei is which is also a far cry from what we have back home. There are many more things that we appreciate here and unfortunately, most of those things are not easily seen and felt with just a few days of stay.

I have been anticipating the end of my 1st trimester for several days now. I am slightly worried because I did not gain any weight unlike with my previous pregnancies where I stayed within the 3 to 5 pounds recommended weight gain for the 1st trimester. Although I have been trying to lose weight before I got pregnant, it is something that I would not want right now. I only hope that the baby is growing well and that there won’t be any problems for the next six months.

The most prominent pregnancy symptom I’ve been having is the nausea and queasiness that I often feel especially right after eating. And I think it’s one of the reasons why I have not been gaining any weight. Although I do not experience vomiting, just thinking about the nausea I would feel after eating makes me lose my appetite. This is also the reason why I have been eager for the 2nd trimester, so I can hopefully lose the nausea and get my appetite back. This weekend marks my 14th week and I am hoping I get what I have been expecting for several days now.

Although we love the new house that we are now renting, I cannot help but be wary of all the expenses that come with it. Of course, rent is bigger but aside from that, we now find ourselves wanting to buy a lot of stuff for the house.

Since we had nothing but our clothes when we moved here more than a year ago and the house we used to rent is slightly furnished and very small, we have acquired very little things as well. Now we regularly look around furniture shops and home decor stores to check out items and prices. We are also on the lookout for garage sales where we can get really cheap and sometimes totally free stuff for the house.

Right now, the house is almost empty and although we initially resolved not to purchase a lot of stuff, we know we’ll be doing so even if it is just a little at a time. This house feels so much more like home to us and we plan to make it into a more homey place for us.

My sister’s fiance and a friend of ours will be arriving tomorrow night and everyone here at home is excited for their arrival. Aside from having additional people living with us, we are also excited for the stuff that they will be bringing with them. My mama sent some of our things that got left behind, most of which are stuff for the kids. I believe there’s also a lot of food items that I am sure we have missed a lot.

I also learned that there are some toys for the two kids and a big inflatable pool that they can use outside since the area around our house is very spacious. I will look for some fun towels for children and hopefully I find some good ones and hopefully I can use the fun towels to entice them to get out of the pool after hours of wading in it.

So I guess aside from munching on some food from back home, we’ll be having more outdoor time in the pool as well.

One of the small disadvantages of the house we moved into is the added cleaning and maintenance that we will have to do. Aside from a bigger ground floor, we get an equally big second floor, and the space around the house. The total floor area of the house we used to rent is just around half of the ground floor area so the space is actually around five times bigger now. Since we wanted all the space anyway, we are not really complaining although we know that it will be a bigger challenge for us. We will have to resort to making a chore list so that the work is more or less divided among ourselves.

With the maintenance aspect, I think it will be some time before anything in the house will need fixing up. Aside from the small things we needed to fix or replace such as busted lights and old faucets, the house has been thoroughly fixed up by the owner before we moved in. All the rooms have been repainted. I think the owner is one of the more affluent locals. I don’t think he really cared about repairs and conservatory costs, he’s more concerned about keeping the house in tip-top shape. I don’t think he’ll be a fussy landlord. In fact, he just gave us his bank account number and just relied on us to deposit the rent before the 2nd week of each month. He even allowed us to move in as early as last Friday even though we were supposed to start using the house only this May. We have yet to pay our one month rent for May so we are actually using the house for free for the rest of April.

So despite the extra cleaning, we know that it is just a small part of what we are getting in return. Right now, the house is easy to clean because we have very, very few furniture pieces. We are eager to go to garage sales of other expat families who will be leaving for good so we can buy some furniture at bargain prices.

Now that we are living in a foreign country, we recognize the importance of keeping in touch with our families back home. While some people we know maintain a vonage world plan, there are some who are very grateful for smartphones and the Internet. As for us, we mainly keep in touch with our families in Pinas through Skype and Facebook.

A short video call can do wonders whenever you are missing each other and it makes being away so much more bearable. Still, nothing beats going back home for a quick vacation or having some of our families come over for a visit which is why we always look forward to such moments and we like to take advantage of promo airline fares. Nowadays, keeping in touch can be very easy even if you are miles and countries away.

One of the main reasons why we decided to look for a bigger house are the additional housemates that we will be having this May. My sister’s fiance will be visiting us again and a friend will be coming over as well to start work. Instead of getting three separate places for us, we decided to just get a big house that can accommodate all of us.

We are fortunate to have found a house that is perfect for us. Although moving is a struggle with all the clutter such as pieces of paper, plastic cards, wires, toys, pencils and pens, boxes, and other stuff, all the clutter in a bigger space is so much more acceptable than the same amount of clutter in a smaller space.

Aside from the bigger and better house, we also love the fact that we will be having additional people living with us. Being in a foreign country can be lonely at times and familiar faces are always welcome sights for us. I’m pretty sure the kids will also be happy they’ll have additional housemates to play with.

Ramil and I have always felt blessed and we are always grateful for all the blessings. I am fortunate to have married someone who can also look past the difficulties and see the good things even if they can be hard to spot at times. We do not need to be able to buy gold online to feel rich because we feel that we are. Maybe not in currencies, material things, and other stuff but rich nonetheless.

It has only been four months into this year and yet, this year is definitely the year to beat in terms of blessings pouring in. Not everything that has happened has so far fit into our plans and despite the urge to question and reject the path we are being placed on, we trust that God is in control and we can only be grateful for everything that’s coming our way.

Ramil and I have been married for seven years this year and in our married life, we have moved a total of five times now. The fifth time happened just this past few days. A friend of ours found work here as well and we all opted to get a bigger house and share it among ourselves. So we ended up with a much bigger house which we are loving very much despite our very obvious lack of furniture. The past few days has been filled with packing and unpacking boxes, transferring them from the old house to the new one, carrying stuff, and moving around. It has been a very tiring time and with my condition right now, I have been more exhausted than usual. I think all the physical activity we’ve had the past few days is enough to make us seem phenteripped and we just might have lost a few pounds.

Even though we have transferred almost all our things except for a one or two more boxes, a lot of stuff in the new house has yet to go to their proper places. But we are not complaining because we are just more than happy to be here right now, the hardwork and effort are all worth it.