Heavenly Raspberries

"You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone..."

There's a lot of wisdom in that saying. I miss things from Canada, who wouldn't? Sometimes I even see things on the shelves but they're just too darn expensive. Like a small bowl of raspberries for approximately $6.00. We're talking a small bowl.

One of my closest friends here in Indo is leaving for the US next week and she'll be gone for 3 months. Since I show love through food, what better way to tell her that I am going to miss her by making a nice lunch for us to share together? Wouldn't you know it, I happened by the raspberries today at our local Food Gourmet and a small bowl's worth of raspberries was selling for 27,000 rp, which is about $2.50. What a deal! Needless to say, I paired up our raspberries with some creamy smooth chocolate ice cream and we enjoyed our afternoon together.

During our lunch we were discussing memories and how they are triggered so randomly. What brought on the discussion was that earlier I was in the kitchen making lunch, and I was really hungry. I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast and so my palate was clean and anticipating. When I was washing the raspberries I popped one into my mouth and POW, memories of hot summer sun and spending lazy days at my grandpa's place at Sproat Lake sprang to mind. My memory then moved into more recent days where my kids and I would be out in the early mornings picking raspberries from our own bushes while they were still wet with dew. I love the warm sun shining on our backs and the smell of raspberry juice on our fingers.

I wonder what tastes or smells are going to bring me back to Indonesian times in the future?

Thanks for reading.

For my Brothers

I have a memory of when I was 4 1/2 years old. It is of my aunt Mary, my mom's younger sister, standing in our hallway in the cutest pair of babydoll pajamas. I think it stuck in my mind mainly because of my next memory which was of mom coming home and plunking this very large, very round baby onto the table. Aunt Mary must have been looking after my older brother and I while my mom was at the hospital. I don't remember if the baby was in a baby seat or not, but for some reason I remember him being on the table in our kitchen on Golden Street. This 10 lb. baby turned out to be my younger brother, Tyler James, or as I called him as he grew up, TJ. It usually came out like this: "TJ, I'm telling!" "TJ, don't touch that! It's mine!" "TJ, go away! I'm playing with my friends."

Poor TJ. Because there was almost 5 years between us he became my personal dolly, to dress up, to parade around in costumes, to boss around, to play tricks on and to torment in general. I have memories of him trying to get me back for the mean things I did. One of the weirdest is of him as a 4 year old biting off ALL of the end pieces of ALL of my blow-up barbie furniture so that I couldn't close off the ends anymore. Why was it weird? Because all those little ends disappeared, never to be found. Our only surmise is that he bit them off and then swallowed them. Pay back? For whom?

Darren William, my older brother by about 4 years, apologized to me once we became grown ups. He was sorry for all of those mean older brother things that he did to me when I was a little girl. Because I forgave him, I can't really air his dirty laundry on my blog. However, it makes me wonder if I ever asked TJ to forgive me for all those times I dressed him up complete with high heels and bright red hand-me-down lipstick?

Our family of 3 kids was a bit different than most because we were so far apart in age. Darren was born in 1966, Tyler in 1975 and myself in 1970. According to the Birth Order Book (great read if you like this kind of psychology...if you can get your hands on an earlier edition it's a better read), we were like 3 mini families in one; we were like 3 'only children.' That explains a few things:) Someone asked me the other day if I ever wanted to have a sister when I was growing up and honestly, I don't think it ever occured to me. I had brothers, foster brothers and boy cousins who lived with us and I kind of stood out a little. I guess I figured I was special. Maybe I didn't want the female competition! I was quite happy to have my meanie older brother and my pesky little brother and all the perks that went with having them as siblings. I still wouldn't change it for the world.I am so thankful for my brothers and all that they've taught me. Patience is a big one. Tolerance (of pain) is another. How to defend myself physically is a big one. How to throw a good punch is another. Where NOT to hide special candy is a big one. Those things I learned early. Now they're teaching me new things, just by being my brothers. The things I'm learning I am trying to pass on to my children, Matt and Abby. Such things as they are blood and when you grow up it's family that is still around; you meet good people through the years but it's family that matters. Learning how to have a good argument without including others (I'm telling mom!!!) and learning that it's okay to agree to disagree are the ones that I am still learning and teaching my kids. Just by being with Darren I am always reminded that having fun isn't that hard and that laughter is truly contagious. There are times when I wish he was near and we could watch a movie together, because he ALWAYS makes me laugh during movies (except that really, really stupid Adam Sandler movie we all saw together this summer). TJ is the epitome of hard work and he inspires me to hang in there when I think that I can't follow through with something. I wish I had a picture of him in his fireman's uniform...he looks so handsome (I know, old person's word, but how else can I describe him?).

I am so proud of both my brothers and I miss them very much. I missed Darren when he lived in Alberta and I lived in Courtenay, but knowing that I am so much further away is so much harder. He just spent last week at our parents and got to hang with TJ and his family as well. I am envious of the times they get to spend together. When I get together with my brothers I get to be the Kim that they knew years ago and get away with it. There's something that sneaks out of my personality and surfaces only when we're together. I can't really explain it and I don't think that I have to. I think my kids get it, though.

The reason that I am writing this particular post, in honour of my brothers Darren & Tyler, is because this weekend I have been reminded of the precious relationship that siblings have. Tris' Uncle Rocky (born Norman), brother of Sunny, Sam and Valencia, passed away this weekend. I only had the privilege of meeting him once and that was at Laura and Paul's wedding. It wasn't a great opportunity to get to know someone and sadly it was the one time I met up with him personally. Tris and I have been filled in through family links and I know Tris is thankful for that. What we know is that Rocky became a Christian years ago and once he made that decision he lived full-on for Jesus. Even as he was being medi-vac'd from Chetwyn to Kelowna Hospital he was witnessing to the attendants, even during his pain.

Life is short and it sounds like Rocky packed his with life before he died. Although I am far away from my loved ones on both my side of the family and Tris', my love doesn't fade and I cherish the life we've experienced together. I don't regret our decision to move but there are definately sacrifices to being this far away, and for me not being with family is the biggest.

Thanks for reading.

Photos

I am going to try and upload a few photos in this post but not too many, because blogger doesn't seem to be able to handle more than a few at a time.

This is one of my favourite father-son photos of Tris' Sr and Jr. I love how they're dressed (they never phoned each other first...just showed up that way) and how they're standing. They never coordinated that either. Notice their watches and how they're gripping their mugs. I took one years ago where they were both sitting by an outdoor fire with their chins on their hands, identical poses and similar profiles. Unfortunately that photo isn't on our computer...it's packed away in storage in Courtenay.

This is a photo of one of Abby's friend's puppies and kitties. The litters were born within weeks of each other. Notice that the puppy at an early age is kind of scared of the kitten...and the kitten's ears are pulled back a bit.

I quite enjoy photos of "stuff", taken at different angles and with different lighting (usually depends on cloudiness...). I know stuff doesn't last forever, but you can sure get some neat shots of it:) This wooden wagon resides at the Alcock-White's home in Cedar, BC (outskirts of Nanaimo). It belongs to Tris' Uncle John and Aunt Shirley and it reminds me of my own Uncle Bud and Aunt Darlene who live in Quesnel. Both sets of aunt/uncle are very similar in the way that they see life: as naturally as possible. Both sets have influenced both Tris and I in the area of gardening and doing things from 'scratch.'

Speaking of Aunt Shirley and Uncle John, this is their daughter Jain. This photo was taken when she popped in to our house just around the time that we decided to apply for the job in Indonesia. I love the colour in this photo and how the pullover that she's wearing brings out her eyes.

During the last month of school Tris took his physics class to "Physics Day" at Playland, where they had "homework" to work on based on the rides that they rode. For the first time in 5 or so years of doing this fieldtrip Tris took the kids and I along. Of course you cannot go to the fair without having some cotton candy. My reason for loving this shot (other than the beautiful 12 year old) is the wooden roller coaster in the background. I have experienced a lot of rides before but in my opinion the this ride is one of the freakiest, probably because it is a wooden structure that was made around the time of Noah and the Ark.

This photo of Abby was taken the same morning on the ferry heading towards Playland. It's incredible that it was less than a year ago yet she already looks so much older.


Thanks for reading.

Flooding in Jakarta...not Lippo Karawaci

Last night we heard of a flood that has occurred in our area, and according to the Jakarta Globe newspaper it was a burst dam that killed almost 60 people. Aside from the fact that this is a tragedy in itself, when you live in the area and see the neglect of things like roads and watersystems, the tragedy lies in the fact that something like this is preventable. Also, when you read in the paper of the neighbours living within 1 mile (one single mile) of the destruction, who survive because they live in cement, 2-story houses, it just seems so (I am searching for the best word and there may not be one) ...wrong. One of my favourite scenes in all of the places I have visited in Indonesia is a view from the 11th floor of the building where our church is held. The reason I love it so much is because of the visual of the irony of the way the city has been built. I shared it with you once before but here it is again. First you see the Dutch church with all of its crosses and then a village right next door. Surrounding this village is a variety of high rises and sky scrapers. If you were to visit some of these high rises you'd see that at their bases are slums, some just on the other side of a cement wall. I have friends who have lived in other SE Asian communities who say that they never saw the poor like you do here in Jakarta. Quite often the poor lived on the outskirts of "higher" society and so you just never saw them. I think it's good that they are so obvious to us who live in the area...who benefits from living in a socio-economic bubble? Why I think that is it WRONG that some people live in 2 story cement buildings while a stones throw away their neighbours plywood & tin homes are being washed away is not that someone lives in the cement home...it is that so many thousands upon thousands of people live in the plywood & tin or bamboo (& sometimes worse...see 2 postings below) houses.
The flood occurred in an area called Cirendeu, where Tangerang (our city) and South Jakarta meet. A dam called Situa Gintung reservoir broke and rushed through the village. The photos reminded me of those I saw of the 1963 (?) tidal wave in Port Alberni. Water pressure was great enough to turn cars over and tear away homes. One woman had been to the market and returned to the spot where her 2 children had been sleeping in her home. Both the children and the home were gone. If this had happened in the neighbourhood where we live, we would have had house damage and maybe even our car, but we are in a safe place. There's no need to worry about our family when you hear of these kinds of things...but you can pray for those who don't live in such comfort as we do.
If you look at the cock-eyed map I've provided, we are quite northwest of the red star (off the map, I think).

Thanks for reading.
ps. Lynn and Heather from the "Betty" days...I love it that you are following our blog. Thanks:)

Valentine and Angel

Many months ago I said that I would love to share the stories of some of the kids (young adults) at Rumah Anugerah, the orphanage I have visited periodically with my friend Coral. Since then I have gotten to know two girls well enough to have them share with me. One of them is Valentine and the other is Angel.

Valentine was born Feb 14, 20 years ago. She came to Rumah Anugerah (House of Grace) from Ambon, the capital city of the Provinsi (province) of Maluku, on March 17, 2000. Valen even remembers the time: 10 am.

Valentine was raised by her grandparents and in 1999 her parents left for Papua because of the war in Ambon. She has one brother and one sister each that she knows about, and has met them twice. Valentine herself left Ambon in 2000 because of war, and it wasn't until 2004 that she had opportunity to see her grandmother again. Sadly, although they spoke together on the phone and planned to meet in Jakarta on April 24th, her grandma passed away on April 23rd. Her grandfather, a teacher at a Dutch school in Ambon, died two years later and Valentine never got to see him again once she came to the island of Java.

Normally, when a child is born, she takes on her father's family name, but Valen adopted her mother's name instead. Her adoptive parents, Cynthia and Gaspar, are an incredible couple that opened their hearts, family and home to a very large group of children at one time (I think the number is 50 but I need to confirm). Talk about stepping out in faith! (One day I hope to write a bit about the orphanage and it's parents.) In her new home, Valentine has received an education and has learned about the love of Jesus. Each time I have visited RA it has been in the evening, and there is always a devotion time and a time of worship.

Valentine's career goal is to become an Ambassador for Ambon. Right now she is in her 2nd semester of University and is studying International Relations within the Faculty of Social & Political Science.

Angel was born July 21, 1990 in Ternate, North Maluku. She was born to a Christian family in a highly Muslim populated area. Her father still lives in Ternate and her mother loves in Manado; both parents have remarried. Angel has 4 brothers and one sister; 3 of her brothers live in the Jakarta area, which is where Angel lives now.

Originally, Angel came to live with her brother, a pastor, in Jakarta in order to get an education. She lived with him for one year but didn't go to school, then lived in an orphanage for three years before finally coming to live at RA. Angel figures that she was a naughty child, and when she finally went to school on Java she had to visit the principal's office at least twice a week. When she was in grade 9 she began to realize the love that Jesus has for her and decided to make some good choices in her life. Even though she is an older student (18 years old in grade 11), she is getting the education that she came to Java for, and has a personal relationship with Jesus.

Angel's career goal is to work in the Human Resource Department (psychology) for a large company. Already she knows what her mission and vision is for her life and career: to teach others in God spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. She wants to help others grow in Jesus just like she has done.

Thanks Valentine & Angel for sharing.
Thanks for reading!

Angel with my friend Coral, who is a 2nd mother to the kids at Rumah Anugerah.

North Jakarta

Last Monday I had the privilege of heading to a slum area within North Jakarta. I went with Maria, the same lady that picked up my parents while they were here. In fact, she took me to the same area that they went to. What you see here in this photo is the marsh area over which the houses are built. Most of the houses are built on bamboo poles as is the entire walkway system. The wooden structure in the foreground is the remnant of a very well-used walkway. You can see Maria walking very carefully across a pathway that is still in use. It is the main means of getting from one area to the next. If you click on the photo to enlarge it you can see down into the marsh below the walkway...and it is full of garbage. There's no where else for the people to throw it.

The slums are illegally built on a parcel of land owned by the government. At any time the government can come along and tell them they have to leave. Every rainy season the floods come and the marsh rises into their homes, especially those that are "fortunate" enough to be built on land. One of the things that I noticed was that the toilet (an outhouse structure balancing on the bamboo walkway) flows right into the marsh waters, and from this same water 20 meters away a man was fishing for his daily meal.

One of the main forms of subsistence in this particular slum is the harvesting, drying and weaving of the water weed that you see in the photos; it is called enceng gondok. The fellow in orange is literally a "snake man," and his job is to get to know the snakes that slither amongst the weeds (and come up onto the walkways during the flood season) and to persuade them to go elsewhere. I was told that he talks to them, and has them leave the particular area that the workers are trying to harvest (I have a few friends here who would probably love to hire him!!). Once the grass is harvested, it is washed and laid out to dry. This takes longer during the wet season, and therefore this is the time that the grass is mostly left to grow. Once dried, the grass is split and woven into various items, such as mats, bags and baskets. I didn't actually see any of the final products so I am not sure if the people in this slum do the weaving or just the harvesting and preparing.

Maria's position in this slum is one of teacher (guru). She is focusing on teaching a particular group of women about "personal empowerment." What this means is that she teaches them about hygiene, interpersonal skills and coaches them in areas of self-employment. Maria herself is an Indonesian with a Catholic/Christian background, and all except one of the women she works with is Muslim. This particular slum is just one of 6 that Maria visits (voluntarily) weekly. She is the woman dressed in pink, and the necklace she is wearing is one of the ones that the ladies have made to sell. The sewing machine pictured here is the only one these ladies have, and it is a very basic model. There are a number of people in Campbell River, BC who have donated cash to my mom and dad to put towards another machine. The one that these ladies especially want is a little more elaborate; it embroiders and buttonholes and things like that. I totally agree with them because then it would raise the quality of their sewing projects. So, thank you to any of you who may be reading this that have contributed in some way towards another machine. When the purchase actually occurs and the machine is delivered, I will be sure to post photos.One last thing I just had to mention because it was so cute is the "Banana Song." Unfortunately this photo is a little dark, but it is of Maria singing it with the kids..."You peel the banana/ Eat the banana/ digest the banana/ exit the banana/ flush the banana!" They think it's a hoot and I wish I'd got a few closer shots of their faces while they sang.

Thanks for reading.

ps. I am having stomach issues that seem to be increasing rather than decreasing. Your prayers are valuable and needed. Thank you!

Okay, I spent about 2 hours uploading and arranging photos, giving them all little sayings and snippets, and when I went to post, the photos rearranged and the snippets went into all of the wrong places. In some spots the photos overlapped each other. What's with that??? Anyways, I may try again or I may just add a older photos with each blog post. I also tried to do a slide show, but picaso (the album) only wants to show a slide show of ALL the photos on my blog...all 449 of them. That's not my intention, either. Any ideas?

Today was a fun day. Because we go to church on Saturday nights we have the whole Sunday to do whatever we feel like doing. We decided to drive out to Jakarta to an outlet store. Both kids have grown tremendously (we're wondering what is in the air/food here!) and need clothes again. Tris was brave enough to get directions and tackle the traffic himself, so we set out around 9:30. After hitting the outlet store (some success) and then an A&W we arrived home about 2:00. Our intention was to meet other families at the school pool, but the thunderstorm that we are experiencing right now is so loud and full of electricity that it is probably not a good idea. I'm just thankful that the rain never came down until we got back from Jakarta...driving in the wet city isn't very fun. Instead, everyone's doing school work and I'm going to make some chocolate chip cookies. I have a 5 year old friend, Hope Weeda, who gets very frustrated with me if she comes for a visit and there are no cookies in my fridge!

A long time ago, in 2008 I believe, Abby was told that she was going to receive some awards for having such high scores in her classes. She silently and patiently waited for these awards, and it was explained to us the other day that there was such a delay that instead of awarding them in front of the entire Junior School the awards would be given in front of her class instead. In order to receive these awards a student had to get all highly-competent and an attitude of 3 (like getting straight A's) during a unit. Last week Abby received 6 awards total in: Bible (twice), English (twice), UOI (unit of inquiry--I'm always impressed by the expectations and outcomes of these units--they make the students really think, assess, analyze and work together as a team), and Mathematics. Ab works very hard at her school work and we're really proud of the work that she is turning out as well as her attitude in class.

Also last week I was able to visit the house behind us (we call it the 'noisy house'). I had earlier volunteered to "help" with the childrens' english homework, but it changed somehow. When I got there the house mom was eating dinner and she said "go ahead, Mrs. Kim." Not sure how I did it but with my lack of Bahasa Indonesia (and Papuan, because the kids also struggle to learn Indonesian) and the childrens' lack of Bahasa Ingriss (English) but I figured out what they needed to study. It's difficult to study a language when you don't even know what the instructions say, so instead of helping them with their work I ended up doing vocabulary with them at the front of the class (later I told the house mom that I'm not a teacher, in case she had great expectations). It was quite fun, but it turned out that it took almost 2 hours to figure out where they were at and do the vocab as well as help them finish their original lessons; apparently I took them right past their prayer time. Looks like Fridays would work better for them, but I'm still not sure that I am supposed to be teaching them English. What I would really like to do is to take them to the park and play a game of soccer or something...that's a great way to practise english! Today is out because of the thunder.

Tomorrow I am heading out to the slums with a woman named Maria. She is the woman who took my parents out for the day when they were here. She is teaching Muslim women about empowerment (which includes sewing, hygiene...and i'll learn more tomorrow) and visits 6 slums each week. I'll update more once I return. Last time I went with Matthew's class I didn't bring my camera (nuts, I know!!) and so maybe tomorrow I will bring it instead.

Two and a half more weeks of Masters of Educational Technology and then we get our husband/dad all to ourselves! We're not officially counting down but we're getting pretty excited as a family to have the courses finished.

Thanks for reading.

A Good Day

Today was a good day. Because it's a holiday Monday (Muhammed's birthday), our family just hung out and had fun. Our day mostly consisted of being together; we did get to the pool at noon and stayed until 2:00 pm. There we were able to visit with a bunch of different people that we usually don't get to see. Often word gets out through the grapevine that someone is organizing a picnic or swim time and people just show up. I love it. I'd say that there were about 30 people there (?) including kids. Afterwards we watched a movie, played a few hours of Settlers of Catan (viking version of monopoly!) and then ate popcorn and read books. Not earthshaking but quite relaxing. Tris is almost finished his masters...3 more weeks...and so a day off was a good thing for him.

Tomorrow I head to Jakarta with about 6 other ladies (and 2 babies!) to show our newbie Sylvia Faddegon (originally from Vancouver, Canada but raised her children mostly in India) her way around some of the shops. I'm looking forward to it. In terms of cash, I don't have a lot to spend because I just returned from a Women of Excellence retreat yesterday, but it's still fun to go with friends and have lunch. We'll be heading to a few stores I've never seen either, so it'll be new for me. Apparently there's a baking supply store that sells all those things we take for granted in our home countries.

This weekend was super at the retreat. I went with few expectations, and hoped to just be able to fellowship with other women. I met a few who live in Jakarta, and that's great because it's nice to get out of the SPH circle once in a while. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but it's very tight and it's just nice to move away from it now and then. What's ironic is that I love to socialize, yet I ended up through various circumstances (like a cough and needing rest) spending a lot of my spare time alone. Years ago I would have really disliked that but now I thoroughly enjoy it. The focus of the weekend was Worship and Praise as warfare, and how we often view God as revolving around our lives, yet it's our lives that should revolve around Him. It's sacrifice rather than comfort, and it was a really good review of past teachings that I've had through other conferences. It's one of those topics that makes me rethink my priorities and examine my motives. It shocks me sometimes how selfish my motives really are when I take a good look at them.

Today was also a good day because of Facebook. Can you believe it? I used to slam it pretty good, but I've been able to reconnect with family members that I haven't seen since I was pregnant with Matthew. It's weird but I think that through FB I am getting to know some people, just through their photos and back and forth chatting, better now than I ever did growing up. That's okay, because it's better late than never.

I hope that you had a good day, too.

Thanks for reading.

Goals

I got an email yesterday, via a thread on Facebook, asking if I was keeping any of the goals I'd set for myself in this new year. Personally, I don't think I've set any because sometimes when I do I stress myself out so much that life is not longer enjoyable (at least for those around me). In another way, goals are good. They are what push me to get things done. I think that ultimately, it's important to look at what our priorities are, set goals according to those, and then strive for those goals. For example, I really want to communicate with Indonesian speakers. I'm not crazy about the language (I am especially fond of Spanish and there's not much Spanish in Indonesian...only a bit) but I have to learn it in order to be able to speak it. That allows me to follow an even stronger desire I have to meet and get to know, possibly teach, some of the people I am meeting both in my neighbourhood and later, when I actually go regularly, the slums. It helps with shopping, too:)

I find that sometimes I set unrealistic goals for myself, like how I am going to know my camera inside and out in 6 months. I'm still on the first few chapters of Digital Photography for Dummies, because it's a lot to learn! I'm not a book learner; I'm hands-on. I've had to give that up a little and just do what I can when I can. I am learning, but at a much slower pace than I had envisioned.

One of the things I had really wanted to accomplish while I am here in Indonesia is to sort my photos by year, into specific files and then burn them onto cd so that I have copies in case of computer disaster. When our harddrive died on and off for 3 weeks it forced me to start this sorting, and now that I've started I'm on a roll. Last night I officially burned all of my photos from 2004 to 2007. What is hilarious is that the files for my 7 months here in Indo are bigger than all of those put together! There are some really, really good photos that I just love and am going to try and post on here. Landscapes and object photos are good; people shots are best.

Thanks for reading.

Cicaks are falling on my head (sung to "Raindrops Keep Falling...")+

Wow. It's like it never stops. Fried cicak (microwave), sliced cicak (Matt's tail removal), boiled cicak (my friend's hot water), and now they're falling from the sky. Well, the ceiling, anyways. Matt was washing his hands last night and just missed near death (whose, we're not sure) when a cicak fell from the ceiling into the sink. Good thing Matt wasn't gargling mouthwash with his lips in the air!! I must say, however, that I would much rather tackle these rather cute little creatures than a rat or snake any day.

Today Matt and I are heading to the mall to watch an afternoon movie, Valkylrie we hope. Abby's heading to help at a 5 year old girl's birthday party and Tris is heading to the gym after school. Nothing too exciting on the agenda but it's a fun day for us. School gets out at 12:30 on Wednesdays and it gives us opportunities to have some fun during the day (kids and I, at least).

Thanks for reading.

Death toll rises

This is actually a post script to the last posting, because I just heard of another woeful tale of the demise of a cicak, this time in my friend's sink. As did I, she chose not to wash all of her dishes the night before and she woke up Saturday morning to a good sized pile of dishes. Not noticing anything unusual my friend filled her sink with hot water (ah, such a luxury that some of us do not have...my hot water for dishes comes from the bathroom shower) and proceeded to scrub away the large pile. It wasn't until near the end when she discovered a sad, sad cicak; he was so sad he was stiff with rigamortous and his feet stuck high up in the air. Maybe not the rigamortous but it IS my tale.

I was talking to Dale the other day, who is coming for 2 weeks in May (yeah!) and she really, really doesn't like rats. I am only able to tell rat tales because she knows that by the time that she gets here rainy season will be over and the rats and snakes will have more 'dry space' choices in which to live. If you want to read a few good 'varmin' stories check out the Weeda's blog to the left of my posting. They've had to deal with 4 rats and 2 snakes in the last 6 weeks. The above-mentioned friend with the floating cicak also had a cobra in her garage, but thankfully she and her husband were away; their driver bottled it and took it home to show his kids.

Dale, if you are reading this, look away. Find something else to do because I SO want to write about one of the single teacher's experience: sometime between now and Christmas holidays this particular teacher had a rat run across her face while she was sleeping. Apparently it didn't harm her (she still looks great) but it did freak the living daylights (understatement) out of her. I haven't heard the story firsthand but she was unable to find it and moved out of her apartment until the rat was found. Who found it and how long it took I do not know. All that I care about really is that she had a rat run across her face. Tris is really unhappy but since I heard that story I've been sleeping in body armour and a full, round-the-head motorcycle helmet. It also helps to keep out the sounds of the singing/clapping/laughing (all happy sounds, which is good) children that live behind us who are abslolutely beautiful but keep me awake into the depths of the night.
breathe.
Thanks for reading.

Tail of Death

It's not as bad as it sounds. Just the tail died. On Saturday night we headed off to church in Jakarta, and just before we left I whipped up the dishes. Unfortunately there were a few extra dirty ones, so I left them to soak in our dishes basin. Normally I don't let things soak overnight because the water gets so slimy and stinky, but I forgot to tackle them when we got home. Sunday morning came around and I found the same dishes sitting there, waiting for me. Do you ever have those moments when something is happening that is weird and you just take a "normal" application and apply it to the weird situation? What happened to me is that I removed the dishes and then dumped out the water. When I did, three fish were slapping around in the water that was swirling down the drain. Of course I wondered "how the heck did those goldfish get in there?" That's the moment I was asking you about. Ever have one of those? Like the goldfish somehow found themselves at my front door, let themselves in and jumped into my sink. Or maybe my helper came home early this weekend and put her fish in my basin? Weird.

Turns out that the 'fish' were 3 (not one, not 2 but 3!) cicaks that had somehow fallen into the water and were drowning. Thankfully none were dead but they were a little water-logged. Matthew came to my/their rescue and scooped them out of the sink onto his arms. One crawled around to his back and so when Matthew sat on the couch (on my couch!!) it jumped off of him into my cushions. Dropping the other two on the floor, Matthew grabbed the escapee by the tail. He ran into the kitchen with a grossly twitching tail but no cicak. I've heard it described with chickens that've lost their heads or salamanders, but never actually seen a wiggling tail of death. Later on Matt saw the tailless cicak so all is well with the cicaks in our home.

Thanks for reading.

Lost in Translation

Indonesia is the land of photocopying/cd burning. Our local mall has one entire section dedicated to booths selling burned dvds. Below is a copy of the cover of a burned cd of "Defiance." If you can, double click it to make it bigger and check out the translated praise of a few choice viewers. "...Too noble and unrealistic for the circumstances..." is one quote. Take a closer look. For the record, don't go by the quotes. It isn't really all that bad; in fact I quite enjoyed it.
Thanks for reading.