Compound Pictures - Part 1

The slide show on the side seems to have a mind of it's own, so I'm going to get rid of it and put the pictures in posts - what I originally intended to do. I can also include a short commentary - think of it as a cheap tour!

Here is the standard, "Boys, please go stand in front of our house" shot:




And some pictures of our street taken from our driveway:




These are misc. street scenes taken while driving around the compound:




Before you can get into the school grounds, you have to go through a gate and show ID. I have never been asked to do this, with or without the kids. I have seen non-western men been asked a lot, but almost never a mom. Here is a shot of the gate:



This is the front of the elementary school. It's a little hard to see through the trees:



And the side of the school:



They have a covered playground at the school. It helps stay cooler a little bit, but only on the non-humid days. We all just figure on being very, very sweaty anytime we are outside for more than a couple minutes. (on a side note, you should see how curly Michael's hair gets in the humidity! It's very cute.) Here's a couple of the playground:


They have a drinking fountain outside the school, but the water isn't chilled until school starts. Right now, you could bring your cup and make tea immediately, as Michael unfortunately discovered:


The grass golf course is very pretty and well maintained (actually, everthing is well maintained within the compound). The boys are very anxious for cooler weather when they can go golfing with Steve and carry his clubs. Yep, I was wondering the same thing...how did Steve convince them to be his little caddies??? By telling them that while he is golfing, they can drive the golf cart from hole to hole!

Here are some pictures of the golf course:



And no photo tour would be complete without a view of the pool. Of course you have to go through the gate first. Again, only certain level of employees and their families can use the pool. They have never once asked to see my ID. I assume that all Westerners are employed at whatever level that is or above.

There are two pools on the compound. This is the one that we can walk to within 5 min., but the boys like the least. It does have a cool little water slide, but it is only open every 30 min. The other pool is a 10 min. drive and boasts an AWESOME elevated diving board and lots of shade - over the pool and on the sides. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of that one yet. Worse yet, the picture I have of the closer pool is a bad shot, taken from outside the pool area. But for what it's worth, here it is, with the gate first:


And finally, Jacob wanted everyone to see the funny fire hydrants here:


Until next time,
Lani