A Year In Review

Today, Friday July 17th, 2009, is the first anniversary of our arrival in Indonesia.
Over the last week our family has discussed some of the highlights of our one year adventure and what they mean to us. Following is our year in review. Ironically, today is also the day when both the J.W. Marriott Hotel and the Ritz Carlton in Jakarta were bombed, with the intent (supposedly) to harm foreigners. At this point in time, nine people are known to have died. With this in mind, we know that although it seems like we are living in a dangerous place, we believe that this is where God has placed us, and we are thankful for the experiences we have had so far.

This photo was taken July 16, 2009. Check out the growth of the kids!!!

Some of the highlights in terms of travel for us are:
-spending time in Bali, especially on the beaches-Christmas in Lombok (an island east of Bali) with Kim's parents (Jim & Beatrice)
-Lombongan Island (tiny island you can visit when you head to Bali)
-Tris' conference in Tokyo
-Kim's history trip to Singapore
-several trips to Puncak in the mountains
-Jogjakarta (once with another family, once just Kim and Dale O)

Personal highlights:
-meeting some incredible friends here and living in an international community
-Tris feeling revitalized professionally
-Tris finishing his Masters in Educational Technology (MET)
-Kim deciding to apply for a Masters of International and Community Development (online)
-Matthew finally feeling like he is getting some roots here in Lippo
-learning and speaking a new language, even if it is just in basic conversation
-Matthew teaching himself the guitar
-Tris lives where there are palm trees (a dream of his)
-Abby loves school and has a good friend, So Young, who she is going to Harvard with one day (their dream).

Physical issues:
-Tris dislocated his shoulder and will be out of commission (no basketball, swimming or ultimate frisbee!) for at least 6 weeks, up to 6 months (depending on Doctor's orders)
-Kim got dengue fever in January
-intestinal issues
Considering we've been here a year this is quite a small list. Thank the Lord!

Unique Experiences:
-eating spicy food and learning to enjoy it over time (we all are still pretty lame, though)
-riding all modes of transportation: all sizes of planes, horse drawn carriages, becaks (man cycles behind the carriage), motorbikes with drivers, scooter with Tris driving, small boat where we have to carry our luggage through waves, skinny wooden outriggers, bus, taxis galore. We have walked an incredible amount, too.
-having a live-in helper who does our dishes, our laundry, the cooking and the cleaning. She also shops and makes sure our yard/driveway looks good.
-having a driver 1/2 time (3x per week), who, when not driving us around or doing errands, polishes our car to a shine.
-being surrounded by the islamic call to prayer daily.
-standing out in a crowd, even in the local mall.
-being able to eat out way more than in Canada
-hosting Grandma Bea & Poppa and later Dale O in our "new" country
-experiencing a 'mass exodus' of people in June: some moving to their home country, others just going away on a month holiday (usually to their home country).
-we have a lime bush...tiny limes that are used in sauces but a lime bush nonetheless.

Around our home:
-geckos (cicaks): in our dirty dishes, in our dishwater, on our counters, on our walls, dead in our microwave motor (2x), under our pictures. Their poop sticks to walls really well!!
-one snake, one bat (seems to be a permanent resident outside Tris' and my room), at least 3 lizards in our yard.
-one absolutely incredibly friendly bunny named Casper who comes when you call his name. He lives across the street and is adorable.
-thankfully, no spiders around our home to speak of.

Things we appreciate:
-God's direction and protection
-our driver and helper
-our new friends
-friends and family back home keeping in touch
-inexpensive teak and mahogany furniture that can be made to order
-time to enjoy life
-each other
-good international food
-incredible travel opportunities
-an outstanding Christian education coupled with International Baccalaureate curriculum

Things we've learned:
-adults CAN and DO get bored...just don't tell our kids that
-eating green jelly offered in the slums is NOT a good idea
-it's better to meet people and know they may be temporary than to keep to oneself and be alone.
-it's not easy moving away from your home, old life, family, friends, church and nature.
-a good attitude can get you far. A bad attitude stops you in your tracks making you unable to move forward.
-salt and vinegar chips are hard to find but delicious when you do!
-eventually, with patience, time and sometimes a good chunk of money, you'll eventually find what you need in Indo. It may not be when you want it but it'll show up.


I know that later I'll be thinking about this posting and think of a gazillion things I missed. Maybe I'll update later. However, I want to add a few recent photos before I sign off.
We don't know what, if any, child labour laws are like in Indonesia, but we do know that there are no family services here. Therefore, we've decided to assign hard labour to our kids before they go back to school. In this photo they're digging a small trench for some bricks to fit into. When it rains in our backyard the exposed dirt turns to mud and being clay-based it is extremely slippery and difficult to get off the walls when it splashes. We're filling the exposed area with rocks. Matthew is sitting on our 'deck' supervising Abby at this point. The dark slimy green line in the above middle is the water mark from our a/c; we don't know how to get rid of it. The racks are our clothes dryers. We've planted a few plants in the back to make it feel more like home, amongst some bushes that were already there. What you see is the majority of our backyard! A few days ago they were each assigned a bush and they were allowed to trim as they saw fit. We were quite impressed with their finished products.

The next photo, of crazy Abby, is to show you Abby's bump in the middle of her forehead. It is now almost 2 weeks old but still quite green. She got it while she was doing laps in the Olympic pool. Without her goggles she misjudged the side of the pool and hit hard (she swims fast...way faster than me!).

That's our year in a nutshell, plus a little more.




Thanks for reading!