Travel with kids * Beth * Hong Kong

Series - "Travel with kids" is a series of posts from women who have traveled internationally (with their kids) and lived to tell about it. Hopefully their travel tips (and trials) will encourage and equip your family for adventures of your own.

Introduction - Beth and Andy were one of a few couples that made our lives rich when we first settled in Delaware. Andy was the committee chair for Young Life in our town and Beth lead a women's study that I attended... she has (unknowingly) been a mentor to me for years. Most recently I had the opportunity to work under Beth in a MOPS leadership role. She is a humble and talented women and it was a privilege to learn from her. You can read more about Beth's life in Hong Kong here

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When my husband came home the day before our 2011 Christmas break with the question, “What would you think about living in Hong Kong?” I had surprising peace.  These feelings of peace did not come out of the blue. He had been looking for a change within his company for some time and we had discussed living internationally and the possibility of a European or Asian expat assignment.  At first, these discussions were very short and ended with me saying, “no way.” But the more we revisited, the more my heart changed.   

Now, the reason this peace was still surprising to me was that I had a new factor for this decision… the news that we were going to have our fifth child.  I give my husband a lot of credit.  He did not run from this opportunity.  We chose to pray about it, seek counsel, and see if God would continue to open doors.  Well, He did.  Six weeks after Sarah Jane was born, the three of us (myself, Sarah, and Abby) were off to meet my husband and three older children, who had moved to Hong Kong the month before. Now we are a family of seven living in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is known as Asia’s World City…it is a melting pot of cultures and one of the reasons I really enjoy living here.  We have friends from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Scotland, The Netherlands, England and the Philippines…just to name a few. It has been fascinating to learn different customs and I love to hear all of the accents and try to guess where people are from.  Nine times out of ten I am wrong.  While we live in a very multicultural, “expat-heavy” area, my children go to a school where there are very few “Western” children.  The strong majority of children are Asian, which makes my fair skinned, blue-eyed, light brown haired children stand out.  And while I thought this would be uncomfortable, it has actually been a great benefit because everyone knows “those Puffenberger kids.” Of course, I also love that my children are learning Mandarin…and actually enjoying it.

Another great benefit to living in Hong Kong is that it is close to so many other countries on the “other side of the world.” We have enjoyed some travel, but even more importantly, we are excited for the abundance of opportunity to serve in different impoverished areas.  In fact, we are about to take our third trip as a family to the Philippines to serve over Thanksgiving.  I cannot express the intangible learning experiences that come out of these opportunities.  We are very grateful that we are part of a  church and a  school community that provide such trips and all of us are changed when we come back.

I think it goes without saying, whenever you are traveling with kids, a “go with the flow” attitude is a must.  That being said, I also think there are things you can do to pre-empt some minor catastrophes.  One thing I learned the hard way on our first 15 hour flight with an infant was to pack extra clothes…for ME.  I had plenty of extras for my 6 week old, and some clothes for my 4 year old.  Unfortunately, I forgot about myself. So when Sarah spit up all over me within the first few hours, I cleaned up as much as I could…and smelled lovely for the rest of the way.  For my older girls (ages 10 and 12), they are pretty independent and will pack books, a journal, their kindle and sometimes their own snacks.  My younger ones (age 7yrs, 5yrs and 1yr) take more thought.  I try to find some things they can work on quietly and independently…their favorite books, coloring, stickers, and even figurines like Pet Shop or Polly Pockets, not to mention their favorite snacks (that aren’t too messy). I also know that we’re talking about survival, so I am very lenient when it comes to the amount of tv watching they do and I have been known to pass out the doses of benedryl after dinner. (of course, make sure this has the effect you are looking for before doing soJ)  I bring out the special blankets when we get on the plane, if I can wait that long, depending on the wait. Sarah, my one year old, is my toughest because of her age and stage.  Luckily I have some helpful big sisters to keep her distracted and entertained, and I have continued to keep the binky around, knowing that we have some long flights ahead.

While it is hard being away from family and friends in the U.S., and life here is not always easy without the conveniences I’ve become accustomed to (no Target, no Walmart, no car), we count it a tremendous blessing and opportunity to be able to live here.  Yes, it has, and will continue to be a lot of effort.  But we feel that it is worth it.  This is a family adventure that we could not pass up. As our kids are getting older and outside influences are becoming more and more important, this was a way that we could become more united, growing closer, sharing this experience together.  We are all being stretched in our own ways, but the security of family to lean on while we grow individually has molded our family closer together.  

This experience has also challenged our perspectives.  In the book, The Wild Goose Chase, the author states an equation that change in time +change in place = change in perspective.  I think this is far-reaching and I haven’t even begun to understand all of the change that has taken place in my own thought processes and previous assumptions that were never challenged in the past.  Our biggest takeaway in all of this is simply to never put God in a box…you never know where He is going to take you next!