Absolutely Random Photos of the Last Month

SPH International School: Abby and her grade 5 buddies on their last day of school. The little one in the front is her Korean friend So Young, behind is Canadian Abigail, in yellow is Indian Darsini, and finally at the back is Soe Young, her other Korean friend. Sadly, Soe Young is returning next week to Korea. She was Abby's first friend that we met in Indonesia.

Here's a photo of Tris and I at the Marriot, one of our favourite places to celebrate anything we can think of to celebrate. This evening was a special event as about 30 of our friends and colleagues joined us to honour Tris for finishing his masters. Recently Tris received his transcripts...surprise, surprise, he's an A student. What a man! He worked very, very hard to get those marks.

This is a little friend that we found in our front yard. A satpam (security guard) came around to see why we were all crouching and staring at the ground. He picked it up and stretched out the wings, which it obviously wasn't happy about. We Canadians were a bit freaked out by the whole "picking up a bat" thing. Hope he washed his hands:) For the record, he went and put the little guy into a nearby tree.

All these kids in white are Matt's classmates. The tall guy on the left is Mr. David, our Scottish Senior School principal, who is married to the lovely little lady to his right, Matt's homeroom teacher Mrs. Anne. After hanging with the class yesterday during their good-bye party, I decided Anne needs a medal. A really big medal. Great kids, but they're in grade 7. Anne and David Cameron are leaving our school for retirement (otherwise renamed "repositioning" around here) back in Scotland. We are blessed enough to get one more good visit with them when our family, the Comries and the Camerons will meet at a restaurant in Bali during our holidays. Abby's piano teacher Grace is also Matt's homeroom teacher as well. She's on the far right. Matt's the good-looking blonde in the middle on the floor.

I love this photo of Dale because it's when she's desperately trying to get out of the bird market in Jogjakarta. It's the place where animals from all over Indonesia are crammed into small cages. There is everything from owls to songbirds, lizards to rabbits, puppies to pythons, weird looking creatures that I cannot remember the names of to fire ants running free over baskets of rice (the ants are used as food and they will bite if you get near them). We had a self-appointed guide stick with us and he kept wanting to show us more than we wanted to see. I was getting frustrated as the guide kept grabbing my arm and poking me to show me new things; Dale was overwhelmed with the overall sensory overload. Eventually, I admit, we feigned sickness and I had him lead us out of the market. Sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Speaking of girls, these three lovely ladies are Mel Carpenter, Abby, and Hannah Paten, a bride-to-be in two weeks. This is a shower for Hannah and the main game was for 3 groups to make a toilet paper wedding dress for their appointed bridge. All they got was 3 rolls of tp and 5 paper clips. The titles are "Shotgun wedding," "Innocent Bride," and "Bride in motion." Hannah, on the right (and in the small photo), had rolls of toilet paper unravel as she walked. Very innovative! I think this is Abby's most grown-up dress yet.

The model for the shotgun wedding dress is Mel, and she's due in September (married to Abby's teacher, Mr. Jonathan). Both ladies are leaving for Adelaide, Australia this weekend, to start a new page in their lives. Babies and weddings do that!

A few weeks ago Mel came over and we took a few hundred photos of her in 'pregnant poses' as a gift for her husband's birthday. She did an awesome job of being very relaxed and pregnant:) These are two of Tris and my favourites.



That is our last month spent in a variety of ways. Dale's visit, a wedding and a baby shower, taking oodles of photos, celebrating the end of school, celebrating Tris finishing his masters, and sadly, saying goodbye too many times.

Thanks for reading.

Indonesia is a good place to be

Summer must be coming because it's getting longer and longer between blogs. The weather hasn't changed much, but it seems my computer time has shortened. It probably has had something to do with the fact that Dale was here for 3 weeks and that afterwards the kids had assignments to finish up before the end of school. Now that school is officially out (as of this afternoon), we're prepping to head off for a bit of time away. Most people are heading back to their home countries but we've decided to stick a little closer to Indonesia. I'll be heading to Singapore for a history tour/conference and I'll meet Tris and the kids in Bali.

Sometimes the reason I don't blog is because I have so many ideas that I put off writing anything down. Tonight I want to share a few things that are truly Indonesian. First, there are a few funny stories about communication or lack thereof, and second, we have a few silly labels around our house. Finally, I have a list of wonderful things about Indonesia and I think the end of our first school year is a great time to examine it.

The other day the woman that we are sharing a driver with, Sarah, called me and told me a funny story. Our driver, Haris, was at work for about 3 hours when he approached her and told her that his ankle was dead. The translation for the word dead here can mean 'dead' or 'off' and it wouldn't seem too odd to say that an injured ankle was a dead ankle. I'm sure that we say weirder things when we speak Indonesian. She asked how he hurt his ankle and Haris answered "fell in the bathroom." Throughout the day she hadn't seen him limping so she assumed he must have just done it. He asked if he could go home for a little bit and then return home. What was weird is that he was going to go home for a bit and then come back to work. If his ankle hurt, why would he go home and then return in a few hours? I can't remember how she figured out the whole story, but eventually her husband Mike, who had no knowledge of Haris' hurt ankle and his wanting to go home, received an sms (text message) saying "my uncle is in the ground now. May I come back to work?" Apparently Haris' uncle had died in the late morning and was buried within a few hours of his death. It is a common Indonesian custom to get the body into the burial plot before sunset, and so the funeral is as spontaneous as many of the deaths themselves. Family members can attend the burial and be back at work within a few hours. Sarah and I have decided that we need to learn how to say "I'm very sorry for your loss" in Indonesian, and make sure that it's a proper translation!

Another funny story happened while mom and dad were here, but I didn't figure it out until months later. Recently I was going through our cooking cupboard and found some ginger oil, which is ginger infused into sesame oil. It's quite expensive and I couldn't remember having bought it, so I asked our (past) helper. She told me that when I was sick with dengue fever, my mom asked her to pick up some ginger oil to help me feel better. What my mom had asked for was 7Up or Ginger Ale. Just a slight misunderstanding, but I refuse to drink the stuff!

When Dale was here she noticed a funny label on my barbie-sized mix-master. It seems odd that they'd label something 'food grade' when it's made specifically for the kitchen in the first place. Where else would you use a mix-master? Art class? How would you advertise that? "Everyone needs a mix-master! And this one is safe for food, too!" Obviously advertising is focused on the consumer, and here it seems most Indonesians ride or own a motorbike. Check out the description of this L'Oreal hair gel: "Resists hair being messed up by hands, clothes and helmets." I chuckled at that...in BC it could say "Resists wind, rain, sleet, snow and ski helmets." Too bad it doesn't really do what it says.

Finally, now is the time that everyone is leaving us for their home countries, whether they're going for a visit or permanently. As a result, it's a little difficult for those of us who have decided to stay behind and tour locally, because we miss family, friends and all things Canadian (in our case). With so much emotion flowing during this time, I've had to focus on the positive things in Indonesia. I'd like to end this post by sharing the really good things about Indonesia with you:
*you can buy fresh strawberries, melons and pineapples any time of year. They vary in price but they're always reasonable. Sometimes the pineapples and melons are dirt cheap.
*the thunder storms are the coolest! The storm can sometimes be right overhead, and the thunder shakes your bones it's so close.
*if you wait long enough during a rainstorm, eventually you can walk outside again because the rain DOES stop within a decent time.
*you can hire someone to clean your house, wash/hangdry/iron your clothes, and cook your meals as well as someone to drive you anywhere you want to go.
*it's pretty cheap to eat out
*it's tropical and palm trees are everywhere. My favourite trees are coconut, mango or frangipane. I actually think that frangipane might be a bush, to tell you the truth. A really big bush. that smells incredible.
*the SPH school community is extremely welcoming.
*there are oodles of photo ops.
*depending on the time of year, it could cost our family less than $1000 to visit Bali, one of the world's finest tropical destinations, for a few days.

There is more but I'll leave you in suspense. We do miss our family and friends.
Thanks for keeping in touch, and thanks for reading.

Bittersweet Goodbyes

This is the last weekend before school is out. Next weekend will see students and teachers alike taking off in all different directions all across the world. Some are going on vacation or returning to their home countries for up to 5 weeks, while others are returning home for good. Never before in my life have I experienced such a mass exodus of people that I know and love. Last July was difficult because we were heading out into the unknown and leaving loved ones behind, and this June is bittersweet because there are so many people who we have come to love who we may never see on earth again. Seriously. We do, however, have oodles of places to stay all over the various continents if we decide to travel:)

I am a picture person. I take pictures and if I could draw I'd create pictures. I talk and think in pictures and I believe God speaks to me in pictures as well. On that note, I process in pictures as well. The conclusion I have come to regarding relationships is that life is like a huge body of water. In the Comox Valley I entered into most of my relationships cautiously, testing the waters and moving slowly. Each step that I chose to take in getting to know someone else was calculated (to a point) and somewhat anticipated. I take relationships seriously, and think that I put a lot of effort into them. By the time I was deep in the friendship I couldn't touch bottom but that was my choice. I chose to work my way out into the deep end of the friendship. Here in Indo, life is so different. When you arrive, EVERYBODY is new and you have a completely clean slate in terms of who you present yourself to be. I initially thought I'd try to create a 'new Kim' but the old me is so cemented that that lasted about 3 days (if that). I have had opportunity to wade into a few relationships and have seen them grow gradually, with deep roots. However, especially in the beginning, it was like I arrived at the body of water and found a diving board, which I promptly jumped off...head first. Diving like that is terrifying for me in real life and metaphorically it was, too. At about 3 months into living here I stated "I have enough friends. I don't need any more" only because I was tired of telling my story, tired of listening to other peoples' stories and trying to remember who said what. That didn't last long, either, but I still think it made sense. At some point I felt over my head in the deep end and needed to come up for air.

Now, (you know there has to be a fish analogy in the "ocean of life") I am swimming in a pool of multi-coloured fish, some of whom are sticking with me and turning in the same direction that I am. Others are being scooped out of our water body with a big huge net and being taken somewhere else. Maybe I'll see them again, but it's very likely I won't see most of them, and that's hard to take. However, if I just decided to stick to myself and swim alone, I'd be one lonely, meandering fish. I am thankful for those who have allowed me to be a part of their lives and who are now going to try out a different stage of life. I am richer because of the people I have in my life, regardless of whether we meet again. Besides, who knows what God will put in our path...who'd have thought Tris and I would be living in Indonesia, spending our summer with his old highschool buddies and their two children?

Thanks for reading.

Long Time

It's been so long since I've blogged that I've almost forgotten my password! Dale headed home this Monday and has arrived in Canada safely. Hopefully she's been able to find time to rest up before she starts preparing to move her family to Cold Lake (military transfer). I have oodles of photos of our time together and some will be posted soon. I have been quite busy around the house and haven't had much time to sit at the computer. Right now I'm taking a break from my "new schedule" and need to get back to it soon or I'll get too far behind.

Two weeks ago we bit the bullet and fired our house helper. We let her go because of dishonesty and it is such a relief to have my own home back, and not have to think that every time I go out I have to lock things up. You may think it's not a big deal having no house help, and if you love to stay home all day it isn't. I compare it to my life in Canada where I had to do the house chores as well as chop wood, walk the dog, garden or prepare the gardens, can veggies etc etc etc. However, here life is just a bit different. When you go shopping you can't buy bulk and store things, so every week you have to make sure you have your list in hand to buy all the items that keep running out (like laundry soap...who ever thought I'd be buying laundry soap each week? That's supposed to last weeks!). I have the top freezer of my fridge for freezer storage and so meals have to be planned out quite thoroughly. Impromptu meals don't occur much here.

As for cleaning, I am quite enjoying it. The workout is great and I love knowing what has been cleaned and what is on the roster. However, for the last week my day has looked like this:
5:30 am wake up. Make lunches, start laundry, wash dishes from breakfast (importing two basins of hot water from my bathroom), dust main living area and the piano (dust is ever present here), wipe down any sticky surface, or potentially sticky surface including chairs, tables and counters. Bugs and ants love sticky.

When you have a helper, the bathrooms and floors are cleaned every day, mostly because of ants and bugs and lizard poop, but I am choosing to alternate days unless the lizard poop is a little too much. LOL.
From 7-9 am I sweep floors, wash floors, although I alternate washing those too, make my bed (kids make their own), hang laundry to dry (which could take a few days depending on the sun and rain), wipe down bathrooms.

If I need groceries I try to head out in the morning to avoid the craziness of the supermarket. If it's not a grocery day I try to do one out of the ordinary thing like wipe the dust out of a dish cupboard or wash curtains. You are never ahead of the dust and dirt but I figure as long as it's maintained things won't get too dingy. Once I get back from shopping I wash all the fruits and veggies in a bleach water solution. Dale will attest to the fact that when you see the places people put their hands and fingers (ears, nose....) you don't want to eat any unwashed fruit and veggies!!!!

During the day I need to maintain the laundry, which often involves moving the drying racks around to follow the sun. I was told that things get quite yellow/grey here because of the smog but I've been pleasantly surprised that our whites are still mostly white. Sometimes the challenge is to get the "sweat smell" out of our shirts. If anyone has any suggestions, we are open!

In the afternoon I iron for about an hour (2 if I've skipped a day). I used to mock one of my sister-in-laws for ironing her underwear and now I am doing it myself! The reason? To make sure that all the moisture is out of the clothes and linens so they don't mold or get musty in the cupboard. I've been using this time to catch up on my MASH reruns. O how I love MASH!! Thanks to Dale I now have every single season and I'm working my way through them gratefully.

Dinner is usually ready for 5:30 and then it's back to the basins of hot water for washing. It reminds me a bit of camping...good thing I like camping! One thing I keep forgetting is that when I'm done if I don't clean every itty bitty bit of food out of the sink or, heaven forbid, leave something with water in it overnight, I'll end up with cockroaches and/or cicak (lizards) in my sink the next morning. Thanks to Matthew, I don't have to remove any of them myself.

This isn't a bad schedule, but stick a social event in there like last nights' wedding shower and I have to squeeze baking in there (and kitchen clean up) somewhere. I have had a friend come over and chat with me while I've ironed and that was fun. There are always the once a week chores to do like hauling the large carpets outside and beating them (this is really a two person job...no vacuum cleaner either) or washing and ironing the sheets. There are also things we cannot find or that are pretty expensive so we make them ourselves, like tortillas, pie shells or really good chicken soup.

I am in no way complaining about the new cleaning schedule. Like I said, I am thoroughly enjoying it. We are in the last 2 weeks of school and so there are so many parties and obligations and things to bake so things are quite packed in. I admit that I am sleeping very well at nights and that is a huge bonus. Things will be a bit different when my family is at home all day, but that's okay, because the good news is that last night we found another helper. This one is Amy (Ah-mee), and she's married with 2 children. She comes very highly recommended and is very experienced. Her english is decent and her ability to communicate what it is she is expecting from employment is excellent. I am looking forward to having her around the house. It sounds like she is quite willing to teach me how to cook Indonesian (our other wasn't so keen or able) and is quite happy to go home mid-way through the week for the night. I've always struggled with having someone around our house all of the time for two reasons: one, it seems like they'd be so bored! and two, privacy is so difficult to find around here (our talking and laughing can be heard outside our property at times) so to know we are not being heard/observed every evening (whether we are entertaining or just watching a movie) is a treat. We've been praying for a helper that will fit with our household and I think Amy is going to work out well.

So, the White house in Indonesia is back to supporting the local economy by hiring a pembantu, and I will have a bit more time to blog and bake. School's out next week and I'm heading to Singapore with Judy Comrie for 4 days (we're heading to WWII museums and maybe a POW camp...I'm very excited). Our families are also heading to Bali during the break as well. My family will receive a well-deserved break from the reality of studying and homework. Their only homework this summer is to make a home-made movie in Bali with the Comrie kids, because this has become our family tradition when we'd go camping in the summer in Canada.

Thanks for reading.