I often contemplate closing down our blog as we near the 2 year mark (July 2010), as writing about my day (I woke up, read my bible, said goodbye to my family heading to school, went for walk, showered, met with so and so...) can be redundant and for those reading, just plain boring. There are those times in our lives when exciting things happen and we want to share the news. There are other times when we trudge on with our daily activities and really, who wants to read about what we ate for dinner, and how long it took to get homework activities finished? However, as Tris has pointed out, this blog is just as much about recording our lives in Indonesia as it is about informing friends and family in Canada about what we're doing here. And so, the blog continues...
Summer is slowly creeping up (well, not that slowly...I just realized that it's already the 21st of March already...happy spring, Canada!) and our trip home is looming, wonderfully bright, but looming nonetheless. There is so much to do and so many things to purchase! We have dentist appointments to make and to confirm (it's hard to do, even with email and skype), paperwork to prepare and clothes to pack. Well, really, not that many clothes, because it's my hope that I'll get to do a little shopping while I'm there. I am yearning for quality clothes that fit. Mostly, we are all looking forward to sitting around with family and friends, and chatting and eating and eating and chatting. That's all we really want. And to climb some mountains.
Our lives in a nutshell over the last month: Abby has started her grade six Exhibition series, which I liken to having to do a thesis on the given theme: education improves people's lives. Her focus will be on nutrition, and she'll visit local villages and organizations, write in a journal about the whole process of deciding on and developing her topic, create an action plan on how she can take what she's learned in her investigation and use it to impact society, and display what she's learned during Exhibition Week at the end of April. Sounds pretty intense, doesn't it? Thankfully the teachers suspend classes in a variety of subjects for a number of weeks and the students are able to fully focus on their projects.
Also, Abby is still in basketball after school, with Tris as her coach. They've had a few games, lost each one, and are learning how to be good sports. Tris is a great, patient coach and enjoys working with the girls.
Matt is still hankering to play the bassoon, which we have yet to rent. We went to his band concert on Friday night and we saw a bassoon solo (the only bassoon in the school)...the air that comes from your mouth has an incredibly LONG way to go before exiting the instrument!! I love it that he's wanting to tackle this. He's still in hip hop and the club has reached their goal of choreographing 7 dances this school year, which they're pretty excited about. Next week he heads to Bandung (the home of where Louis Pasteur did his experiments with milk...Indonesia...who would have thought??) for a 3 day field trip. They're going to stay in a hotel but will be doing a lot of things out of doors. They're expected to bring rain gear and this is always interesting; many parents aren't particularly fond of their children getting wet here. It is said that parents feel it will make the kids sick because of the cold. Of course, coming from Canada, it's hard to see this from their perspective.
Tris is in exam season and so is marking up a storm. He loves his job, loves coaching, and this week coming up is looking forward to a rugby clinic being held by a man who is, in the rugby world, akin to Wayne Gretzky in the hockey world. When he's not at school he's golfing, either in reality or in his head. Thanks to Rebecca, there are orange whiffle balls in our backyard and even a few in the neighbours!
As for me, next time someone asks me what I do with my day, I can give them more specifics. I have become the new president of Karawaci (Lippo) Ladies, a position I look forward to and expect many personal challenges and much growth from. We're an ex-pat charity group that raises funds for medical and educational purposes, to provide for children under the poverty line in our local community. I'm looking forward to the blogs that tell of our visits and ventures. Also, I am now volunteering with World Vision Indonesia. Mostly I've just edited for them, but I am waiting to see where and how I will be used next. In April I have the privilege of visiting an area in Jakarta where WV works (it's called an ADP, or area development program). If you sponsor a child in Jakarta, I may just meet up with them one day!
I do have a health prayer request, and that is that you pray for a specific diagnosis of what's going on in my body. Since I've had dengue, but not sure if it's related, I've been nauseous and a little more tired than normal. Over the year I've been diagnosed with a few things, one being overactive e.coli ("take your vitamins and drink lots of water..." didn't work) and most recently CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome). The latter was diagnosed by a doctor who barely looked at my file, listened to my list of symptoms and in a matter of less than 3 minutes, gave me a diagnosis. Only AFTER her diagnosis did she check my heart, my eyes/ears/tongue, etc. Never did ask about stomach issues, and my loss of 6 kg this year didn't phase her. Her cure? Change my diet and exercise less. Can you say frustrating??? Thankfully Tris was with me and insisted on the doctor running some tests. We'll get the diagnosis in a week, and have vowed we'll get it from a doctor who can speak speak the same language as us. I'm pretty sure it's not serious, just hasn't been diagnosed properly yet. And so we wait. Thanks for your prayers.
Thanks for reading.
Last blog post I promised a few photos and stories of the creatures around our house. The ants are far too small, most of them at least, to take photos of, but we do have some good stories. One of them is from when Rebecca was here. She went into her room to change her t-shirt and begin itching within minutes. After thinking that she might be going a bit crazy, she decided to check it out. When she removed her shirt there were ants crawling all across her. Ew!!! Lets just say that I knew something was up from the sounds of disgust coming out of her room. In the months around her visit we've been driven crazy by the little ants, ones that are much smaller than Canada's sugar ants. I thought maybe it was something in our house, but as I visit other homes, no matter how classy the home, I can still see ants on the floor at least. We've resorted to spreading baby powder at the base of our beds, and this has seemed to keep them at bay. No longer do I get woken up abruptly from a nap by some sharp bite on my arm or leg. I still ha
ve to shake out my toothbrush before I use it, and that may never end.
watching the bats? We have no idea where it came from but it was just as intrigued as us. For the record, we took the photos from inside the house...there was NO way you'd get us outside with those evil looking things flying around our heads.
, but it was clean, tidy, full of furniture and photos. Thankfully, because of the cement walls, Ami's own home was untouched by the fire itself (just the smoke entered her home) and the family that had the fire didn't lose their home, only the possessions within.
