This coming weekend will be the labor day weekend here. Monday is a holiday, and then Tuesday the new school year starts.
Because of the long weekend, we are going up to Seattle to visit some of Tara's friends and spend a weekend away before we get back into the normal school routine.
Cynfor and Jessie today met some of the teachers at the new school they will be attending. Cynfor was able to meet his teacher today in the 3rd Grade. Jessie's teacher is currently down in California for a weekend wedding, but she did get to see her classroom, and meet one of the other 2nd Grade teachers.
Both of them are excited about going to school, and are looking forward to meeting their new classmates, and the other teachers. So far, the teachers that they have met, have been terrific. The principal is also a terrific guy.
After we return on either Sunday or Monday (we are still working out if we are going to stay an extra night) - we will be in touch - hopefully with some pictures to put online of our "Seattle Adventure."
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Are things expensive?
Before we left Australia we were wondering the answer to this question, and it is an interesting thing. There are things here in the USA which are MORE EXPENSIVE than back home in Australia. By in large though, things are cheaper in general.
One thing that is definitely different here, is that often although items appear more expensive, they are quite often larger. As an example, coffee from Starbucks. (Only a fair comparison, being that Starbucks exists in Australia as well as the USA.)
A VENTI sized coffee (cappuccino or latte) here is nearly $4.00. In Australia, you could not get that sized coffee before we left, and the largest was around the same price.
However, when you look at grocery items, it is a little different. Take milk for example. We buy 1 Gal of milk here (3.78 litres) - we have been getting it on special lately, and it costs $1.99. (Both full cream, and NO FAT varieties.) 4 loafs of bread (637g each loaf) for $1 this week in Safeway. Eggs are also relatively cheap, when you buy 18 eggs in a carton here, at around $1.89. (Quite often there are specials where you can get 2 for the price of one, which basically means 36 eggs for $1.89!)
Fruit and vegetables in most cases are cheap. Bananas here are around $0.40 - $0.80 per pound. We saw a large tub of "grape" tomatoes for $5 the other day. (about 4 times larger than a punnet back in Australia)
A 24 pack of Coke cans here is $4 at the moment, that works out to around $0.16 per can!
Electrical goods seem to be cheaper here, again depending on brand. Some items are not so cheap, probably because they are not commonly used here. (e.g. a Kettle here costs around the same as in Australia $ for $.) I can get a 60" (152cm) Rear Projection TV here for between $2000 - $6000, depending on brand and technology.
Computer stuff seems relatively cheap, although I have not really been looking much. The PSP for example is less than $200 here, where as it is just less that $400 in Australia.
All in all, you are able to get a bargain here relatively easily. Many things here are different to home. The US version of Coffee is something that needs getting used to, bacon here is skinny, and full of fat. (We are going to look at Canadian bacon, as this is primarily the meat without the fat.)
We had dinner in an well known American restaurant the other evening, when the four of us ate a main course each, I had desert and a coffee. I had two glasses of beer, and we paid around $60 (including 15% tips). The meals were not massive, but it was definitely enough for all of us. We felt that was quite reasonable.
Tara has found some places where she can get Chinese vegetables, and sauces, etc. It is difficult for her to gauge if they are cheaper or not, as the measurements are different. (e.g. lb instead of kg, etc.) It still appears to be relatively inexpensive though.
One last note on this topic. If you don't have a membership card, you don't know what you are missing out on. It seems that every place you go, there is some form of membership rewards card. Usually giving discounts not given to you unless you have the card. We found this out pretty quickly at Safeway, and saved ourselves around $20 on our first purchase of groceries.
One thing that is definitely different here, is that often although items appear more expensive, they are quite often larger. As an example, coffee from Starbucks. (Only a fair comparison, being that Starbucks exists in Australia as well as the USA.)
A VENTI sized coffee (cappuccino or latte) here is nearly $4.00. In Australia, you could not get that sized coffee before we left, and the largest was around the same price.
However, when you look at grocery items, it is a little different. Take milk for example. We buy 1 Gal of milk here (3.78 litres) - we have been getting it on special lately, and it costs $1.99. (Both full cream, and NO FAT varieties.) 4 loafs of bread (637g each loaf) for $1 this week in Safeway. Eggs are also relatively cheap, when you buy 18 eggs in a carton here, at around $1.89. (Quite often there are specials where you can get 2 for the price of one, which basically means 36 eggs for $1.89!)
Fruit and vegetables in most cases are cheap. Bananas here are around $0.40 - $0.80 per pound. We saw a large tub of "grape" tomatoes for $5 the other day. (about 4 times larger than a punnet back in Australia)
A 24 pack of Coke cans here is $4 at the moment, that works out to around $0.16 per can!
Electrical goods seem to be cheaper here, again depending on brand. Some items are not so cheap, probably because they are not commonly used here. (e.g. a Kettle here costs around the same as in Australia $ for $.) I can get a 60" (152cm) Rear Projection TV here for between $2000 - $6000, depending on brand and technology.
Computer stuff seems relatively cheap, although I have not really been looking much. The PSP for example is less than $200 here, where as it is just less that $400 in Australia.
All in all, you are able to get a bargain here relatively easily. Many things here are different to home. The US version of Coffee is something that needs getting used to, bacon here is skinny, and full of fat. (We are going to look at Canadian bacon, as this is primarily the meat without the fat.)
We had dinner in an well known American restaurant the other evening, when the four of us ate a main course each, I had desert and a coffee. I had two glasses of beer, and we paid around $60 (including 15% tips). The meals were not massive, but it was definitely enough for all of us. We felt that was quite reasonable.
Tara has found some places where she can get Chinese vegetables, and sauces, etc. It is difficult for her to gauge if they are cheaper or not, as the measurements are different. (e.g. lb instead of kg, etc.) It still appears to be relatively inexpensive though.
One last note on this topic. If you don't have a membership card, you don't know what you are missing out on. It seems that every place you go, there is some form of membership rewards card. Usually giving discounts not given to you unless you have the card. We found this out pretty quickly at Safeway, and saved ourselves around $20 on our first purchase of groceries.
Some more pictures of Mount Saint Helens...
There are a couple of other pictures mixed in here, but mostly this is Mount Saint Helens!
NOTE: When you click the picture below it will take you to another web-site. All of the photo's are in an album there.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Told you everything is big...
Take a good look at Darren's cappuccino, double the size of Australia. However, Darren reckons it's not very nice... He says they don't know how to make proper coffee : ) 
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Our trip to Mt Saint Helens
Because we had a little bit of time up our sleeve before moving into our new "residence" we took the time to head up and see one of the more well known tourist attractions in Washington State (which Portland is pretty much smack on the border of) - Mount Saint Helens. It was an amazing day, weather wise, and we got up to the monument at around 11am in the morning. We spent most of the day going through the different visitors centers, which had a great number of things to do and see. The pictures below will show you both the devastation that was left by the volcano eruption back in May of 1980, as well as the fact that the volcano is STILL ACTIVE.
Just behind Tara and the kids is the volcano. Yes - that is steam coming from the top of the volcano. We are about 8 miles away from the mountain at this point.
Just behind Tara and the kids is the volcano. Yes - that is steam coming from the top of the volcano. We are about 8 miles away from the mountain at this point.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
The Oregon Zoo
Today Jessie, Cynfor and Tara visited the Oregon Zoo. They found out information about a lot of the animals native to the USA, including the BALD EAGLE. If you look at the pictures below, Cynfor and Jessie are trying to see if they can stretch their arms as far as the eagle - but alas, it looks like they need to grow a little more!
They are now slowly getting back into a normal sleep routine, going to bed earlier, and getting up earlier, in readiness for their return to school. The school "Bethany Elementary" has accepted both of the kids, and have a very friendly and understanding staff. I met with the principal today to discuss their school system, as well as how Bethany operates. The kids are very excited to be returning.
Tara has also found information about a local Chinese (Madarin) school in the area, which is also a bonus. It is about 5 minutes from where we will be living, and runs on Saturday's. She hopefully will have a chance to speak to their school president tomorrow, and finalise that.
All in all, things are starting to settle down now. We will have keys to the house on the 8th of September, and hope to move in either that weekend, or during the following week - depending on how we go for timing. (The kids will be back at school - we are concious of that.)
Once we move in, just a few other things to arrange, like a small car - which will allow me to get to work, while Tara drives the "truck" we are loaning from friends. We also need to go "appliance shopping" - looking for things like an electric kettle, and my favourite - a BIG SCREEN HIGH DEFINITION TV. (Although I am still working on convincing Tara that this is a good thing! - I will have to take her to show her, it is AMAZING.) I will put a picture of that online some other time!
They are now slowly getting back into a normal sleep routine, going to bed earlier, and getting up earlier, in readiness for their return to school. The school "Bethany Elementary" has accepted both of the kids, and have a very friendly and understanding staff. I met with the principal today to discuss their school system, as well as how Bethany operates. The kids are very excited to be returning.
Tara has also found information about a local Chinese (Madarin) school in the area, which is also a bonus. It is about 5 minutes from where we will be living, and runs on Saturday's. She hopefully will have a chance to speak to their school president tomorrow, and finalise that.
All in all, things are starting to settle down now. We will have keys to the house on the 8th of September, and hope to move in either that weekend, or during the following week - depending on how we go for timing. (The kids will be back at school - we are concious of that.)
Once we move in, just a few other things to arrange, like a small car - which will allow me to get to work, while Tara drives the "truck" we are loaning from friends. We also need to go "appliance shopping" - looking for things like an electric kettle, and my favourite - a BIG SCREEN HIGH DEFINITION TV. (Although I am still working on convincing Tara that this is a good thing! - I will have to take her to show her, it is AMAZING.) I will put a picture of that online some other time!
Monday, August 21, 2006
Chinatown - not so great...
Tara and the kids wandered down to Chinatown today - not such a great place (bit rundown, etc.) 
Here are some pictures of them standing outside one of the buildings.
Here are some pictures of them standing outside one of the buildings.
Hopefully some good news...
Well, we received word today from the rental agency about our house application, and it was approved! So we will pay our deposit in the next few days, and look to be moving in around September 9th. (One month after arriving!)The kids school will hopefully be the one picture below - I don't have much to tell, other than it is called Bethany Elementary, and looks quite nice. We will be speaking to the school tomorrow to see the formalities we need to follow for enrolement, hopefully that will all be sorted for them to start on September 5th!
So far - good news!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
What are we driving for the moment?
For those interested in the car we have from the hire company, here is a picture of it. It is a Ford Taurus, quite a new car, it has only done around 8000 miles. It is quite nice to drive, with all the creature comforts - including GPS satellite Navigation!
Check out the view!
Jessie had just awoken in the car, so she was not impressed about being purched up to take a picture, BUT I bet she is glad she did !
Our trip down the Gorge...
Today we went down to the Columbia River Gorge, to take a look at Multnomah falls, and a few other sight seeing things. Below are some pictures of that trip. We started at the bottom, and hiked to the top - where we cooled off in the water. We then headed down to the fish hatchery, saw some amazing fish, salmon, trout and sturgen (which are HUGE!). We then came back through a scenic route, which we saw back over the gorge from the top - amazing view! If you don't believe us, check out the pictures...
Friday, August 18, 2006
House hunting...
Today we headed out, on a 32C day, for some house hunting. We saw some great places, and some average places. We found one house which we have put an application in for - in a good school area, and relatively close to Nike. (There is a picture below - if all goes well, we will put more up if/when we move in...)
The weekend will be pretty quiet, possibly acting like tourists, go and check out some sights. We are going to dinner with some work friends - who are over from Asia - tomorrow (Saturday) night. We are eating Brazilian. (We will tell you what it is like later.)
PS The house application DOES NOT mean that we are able to get the house. We need to wait until we have heard if our application is successful. We will not know until the middle of this next week.
The weekend will be pretty quiet, possibly acting like tourists, go and check out some sights. We are going to dinner with some work friends - who are over from Asia - tomorrow (Saturday) night. We are eating Brazilian. (We will tell you what it is like later.)
PS The house application DOES NOT mean that we are able to get the house. We need to wait until we have heard if our application is successful. We will not know until the middle of this next week.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Some new pictures for everyone...
As promised, a few pictures from our first few days in Portland. Here are pictures of the apartment, as well as Cynfor, Jessie, Tara and Darren having some fun around the place. The last few photographs are taken on the Nike Campus here in Beaverton Oregon - believe me, these photographs don't do it justice, it is HUGE!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)