Although Brunei is not that big, owning a car here seems like a necessity.

First, since public transportations (buses) run only from 630 AM to 6 PM, your travels are limited only within this period if you rely on them.

Second, buses in Brunei, or in any other place for that matter, have specific routes to take. If your destination is far from the bus’ route, then you have no other choice but to get off in the nearest bus stop and walk to your destination. It’s a real problem if your place is really far from the bus stop of when it’s either raining or very hot.

Third, buses follow certain intervals. Unlike in the Philippines where there are so many buses to choose from, Brunei has only 50 something bus routes and roughly around 100 buses. You’ll have to wait for 15-30 minutes to catch the next one if you miss the first ride.

These are the reasons why andrea and I are seriously considering saving up for one. Heck, we’re already browsing through each car insurance blog to find out which model would be the most practical to invest in.

It’s amazing how priorities change because of family. You see, when I was a bit younger, one of the things in my list (of first items to buy when I get a job) is a car. I don’t remember exactly what the order was but there was a laptop there somewhere and a pad of my own.

Now, almost 10 years after, the top of my list consists of a washing machine, a mattress, and a refrigerator. Funny right?! I guess that’s how drastic things change when you have a family already. Your family’s needs will always come first.

Forget about owning or spending on thermogenic fat burners, workout machines, coupes and other luxuries. The things you will consider most important to you will change once you have other people to take care of other than yourself. It’s simple really. That’s because these people will be the most important people in your life. Everyone and everything else (including yourself) will just be in close second.

The house we’re currently renting has 2 bedrooms, a spacious enough toilet, a kitchen, and a living room/dining area. It’s not as big as the one we left in Evergreen Antipolo, but it has the same (if not better) surrounding.

Since our place is a bit elevated, we have an overlooking view of the white mosque, the forested areas on the other side of the  main road, and a great view of the tree-covered places below.

It’s very refreshing to wake up and go outside of the house in the morning. Trees and so much greenery greet you everyday (if there is no fog at least). You’ll also wake up pleasantly to the vibrant and varied melodies of the early rising birds, probably chance upon monkeys and squirrels along the road (if you walk quietly), and hear constant sounds of several insects and other animals.

The only problem is, since our place is more nature-friendly than the ones we have in the Philippines, we’re also constantly visited by ants. In fact, if your food storage is not vacuum packed or one of those containers that don’t seal off properly, you’ll regularly wake-up to several trails of them.

It’s a good thing though that I was taught never to kill ants. Hehehe

Andrea, despite being a stay-at-home mom, is actually a busy worker. Everyday she earns almost the same amount as I do by writing articles and blogging. But, that’s only because she has has plenty of time on her hand to work. Now, it’s a different story.

When anika came and I was still without work, we would split the two. I would take care of mateo. She would be in charge of the baby. However, when I went here to Brunei, she was left in charge of handling the two on her own. And there are times (plenty in fact) when they just wouldn’t cooperate.

Before, she finds time to write when mateo’s in school. Now that anika’s here, andrea would be left with no other time but during bedtime, when they are both asleep already. And getting the two to sleep is not an easy task either. Sometimes, our little one would be awake until 1 or 2 in the morning. And andrea would only start work by then.

I told her jokingly to look for sleeping pills that work on children. She answered me with a frown. Hehehe!

With andrea back in the Philippines and without food from my formerly neighboring friends, I feel like I’ve lost some weight without actually meaning to. There’s always a good side to this though.

For one, there’s no need to try out supplements like sensa weight loss pills, or even to look for workout options. If I continue like this, I’ll probably go down a few sizes more without any effort. Second, cutting down on the food has a significant positive effect on the budget as well. Hehehe!

However, I still need to be careful that I don’t starve myself especially of the essential nutrients. I have no health insurance or medical benefits whatsoever so I cannot get sick. Aside from the fact that I don’t have any sick leaves yet, I don’t know any of the doctors here in Brunei. Heck, I don’t even know where the hospitals are.

My first ECA class was a god experience, an enlightening one though but good nonetheless.

I got to do a lot of things while helping the kids out in the drills – run a bit, dribble, and shoot some hoops – all of which made me realize one thing – that I’m extremely out of shape already.

First of all, without even playing for real, just by getting involved in some of the drills, I found myself sweating profusely.

Second, I’m not exactly an excellent shot, but I struggled with my aim most of the time. My shooting hand is not what it used to be, or perhaps it’s my whole body.

Then, half an hour into the class, I found myself sitting down already. I don’t know if it was the heat, or if I didn’t have enough sleep, but I felt really tired. Am I at that age where I need hgh supplements just to keep up with the kids? I hope not.

Last, but not the least, as soon as I got home, I fell asleep. I couldn’t believe it myself, but that’s exactly what happened. I woke up around 2 hours later.

I’m still kinda thankful though that nothing hurt when I woke up. No back spasms, no muscle aches, no joint pains yet. At least, I know I still haven’t completely lost everything to age. Hehehe!

Extra-curricular activities (ECA) have always been an integral part of any education system. They supposedly make learning holistic. And I believe they do. That’s why I wasn’t surprised to find out that the schools here in Brunei (more specifically the school where I transferred to) have formal ECA classes.

In the Philippines, we call them clubs. Here in Brunei, they’re called ECA classes. And since teachers were required to choose a specific ECA class to handle or assist in, I chose something I’m familiar with – basketball. The only problem was, I didn’t know back then that the campus where I was assigned to doesn’t have a basketball court. In short, I had to commute to another campus to attend and help in the activities. Duh?

Was it wrong for me to assume that they had a court? I mean, isn’t it logical to offer only the activities that the school had facilities in? Apparently, not. Since the sister school shares the same management, campuses have access to the facilities of other campuses. Now, that’s new. My fault? Alright, I concede.

Anyway, since the club is something I like, I don’t mind commuting. I just hope it doesn’t hurt my budget in the long run. I’m also hoping that by the time, training and formal classes start, I’ll get to shoot some hoops myself. I know it’s about time I stopped looking to learn more about fat burners and started doing real workout.

It’s been a roller coaster ride since December, at least in terms of adjustments. It took me a month to adapt to being away from my family (although not completely), and to teaching foreign students (that are in a lot of ways very different from the students I used to teach in the Philippines). Then, I moved into a separate house and was joined by my family for almost 2 weeks, and now, readjusting to being alone again after they returned to the Philippines.

It hasn’t been easy. Far from it, in fact.

I remember feeling lonely during my first few days here in Brunei, but I also had work and was anticipating so many different things, so this made the loneliness a bit more bearable. Now, since I basically know the routine in school, how things work (most of the daily stuff at least), and what to expect, only work keeps me from being completely swallowed up by loneliness (especially during those times when there’s no internet connection and no way to contact andrea and the kids).

The house I moved into reminds me so much of them – my wife and my kids. Although it’s less messy now than it was when they were here, it feels emptier than the staff house I spent my first month in. No amount of cleaning or chamilia adornments can replace the beautiful noise that it had when mateo and anika were running around the place – with anika (in her walker) chasing after her loud and mischievous idol despite their mama’s constant prodding and reminders to keep quiet.

How I wish they could just settle down here for good already.

Moving to another work always means getting to meet a lot of new people. Since the work will be in another country, I thought that there would be a lot more new people to meet. Many of my new friends and acquaintances are Filipinos but a lot are also of different nationalities – Bruneian, Chinese, Thai, Indian, Malaysian, among others. Some have kids, some do not. Some are old, some are young. Some have very interesting backgrounds, some have smoketip accessories to share. This year is definitely turning out to be an adventure for me and my family.

I have been back to teaching for almost two months now and although there are a few difference from teaching in the Philippines, it is still pretty much the same. Work has been relatively easy compared to what I was used to. I have been doing less paperwork and my laptop has not been working overtime so I think I can postpone getting cheap laptop batteries.

Andrea and the kids have been here since the 8th and will be on  a return flight to the Philippines on the 20th. They will be back again on the 5th of March so I will be on my own again for two weeks. After that, it will be several months before we all set foot on Philippine soil once again.