Tris and Kim's Indonesian Adventure

Chinatown, Yard Sale, and Relaxation

2012-02-05T03:09:00.000-08:00

It's a beautiful day today, one that is most likely going to be a "good day sandwich" with the way the weather works here. In fact, I can hear rumbling in the distance. At our old house in BC that usually meant that dump trucks loaded with earth or rocks were passing by, but here it means that thunder and lightening and lots of rain could be just minutes away. As long as we're out of the rain when it hits, it's kind of an exciting place to live in that regard. Yesterday was rainy, and so were parts of last week. However, on the days that counted most, the rain stayed away just long enough for me to enjoy the events I'd planned.

possibly a soup-turtle

Last Tuesday 11 of us from our Bread & Butter Cooking Club (BBCC) headed into Jakarta, to Chinatown. We went armed with shoes that we didn't mind getting muddy if it rained, plastic spoons, cups and plates for sampling local food stall wares, cameras, and of course a spirit of adventure. Our goal as a cooking club: to see what kinds of unique foods we were missing at home. Our first stop: what I call 'reptile alley'. This is a long, narrow corridor where men sit atop wooden crates, readying frogs for the soup pot by peeling off their skin, chopping turtles into smaller bits, and selling live eels for later consumption.

these frogs are all tied together, waiting for their turn to "undress"

turtle soup

Sorry for the descriptives, but there's no nicer way to put it. Further into our journey, we sampled iced grass jelly drinks (very nice, very refreshing), something that looked like burnt Barbie doll hair and tasted like cotton candy, sweet potato chunks mixed with glutinous rice and floating in coconut milk (yum!), an indonesian salad with spicy peanut sauce, and some were daring enough to try turtle soup (not me this time). We ended our day at a 2nds ceramics shop where we found lots of great plates, bowls and serving dishes to buy. Nice way to end the day.

We're really proud of the fact that we're an international mix of girls, and it was pretty neat to realize that of the ladies who joined, only 2 were of the same nationality. There were 2 Chinese Indonesians, 1 Canadian (me), 1 American, 1 South African, 1 Pole, 1 German, 1 Singaporean, 1 Icelander, 1 Brit, and 1 Japanese.

On Friday the Karawaci Ladies held a Yard Sale, very much like the one we held last year. This time, although we had the same goal of blessing the local maids, drivers, security and neighbourhood maintenance people, we were a lot more relaxed about the whole affair. We reduced our hours to one day from last year's 2, and after spending HOURS sorting, pricing and displaying clothing last year, this year we decided to price it all at the same basic price and just dump it all onto tarps on the ground.That's what ended up happening to the clothes in the first 30 seconds last year anyways, so it was just a matter of saving time and energy beforehand. Like last year, people were excited to shop and to go home with some really nice items. This year, with much less work and less hours of sale, we made almost $100 more than last. So, some local employees were happy with the deals they found, and the Karawaci Ladies were able to donate another rupiah 8 juta (8 million, or almost Cdn $900) to our Children's Medical Fund for poor kids needing medical attention.

Today, Sunday, seems like a dream day. I love "culturally significant" days, and today was one. Actually, the significance started yesterday when a fairly new Indonesian friend picked me up at 5:45 am to go to a local "pasar pagi", or morning market. We went to a place that sells pork (very hard to find fresh here for a non-local who knows nothing of these things), which was hanging by strips and bones from large hooks. I got so excited because Tris and I have been discussing eating ribs, and lately I've found out that even with Celiac, I'm able to eat a few brands of BBQ sauce. This first outing led to today's, where at 6 am Tris and I headed back to the same place and bought a kilo of back ribs for about $8. We got to choose our cut of meat, and had them cut it how we like it. Right now they're in the oven, and delicious tangy sweet smells are wafting throughout the house. Can't wait!

After a quick meander through the grocery market (set up with set prices inside a cement building) where we bought some strawberries that taste very much like ours did in our back garden, we checked out the outdoor market. There were found lots of wonderful fresh veggies and some things we didn't have a clue what to do with. At one point I stopped at a chicken area, where there was a centrifuge-looking thing (or what looked very much like the inside of a clothes washing machine). A man was killing chickens, throwing them inside, where they spun until the majority of their feathers came off. He'd then throw them into scalding hot water, return their rubbery bodies to the spinner, and after a few seconds pull them out completely featherless. It was quite intriguing, except for the part where the dead chicken pulled his head up and looked at me before he was thrown into the water for the first time.

We returned home with our purchases, headed to the pool and enjoyed a time of golfing (Tris) and swimming and reading (me). All during this time our kids were at home: Abby was doing homework and preparing for a talk she gave later to a group of teens at our church, and Matt was sleeping.

This was a wonderful week and it has ended with some wonderful surprises: pork ribs, blue skies and a nice, refreshing breeze. Gotta go, the pork is on!!

Thanks for reading.

Abby's 14

2012-01-09T23:04:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know. It's January already. Our family was too busy relaxing and holidaying for me to blog, and so this is Abby's Official Birthday Blog Post. My birthday baby was due December 25, but thankfully was born Dec 18. The 15th would have been nice since that's the date of all the other big events in our home, but Abby likes to do things a little independently and that was her way of introducing that part of her personality to us. We've come to the conclusion that 18 is a nice number too.

For her birthday, our lovely girl had a few friends over, they ate pizza, and they 'slept'. The next morning they were served a white-linened breakfast of french toast on fine china. It was the first official day of Christmas break, and so the girls were able to bring in the holiday with fun and style.

Included in this post are a few photos of Abby, since pictures say so much more than words. On Christmas Eve we had an open house, just like the ones we used to have in cold Canada. There are a few families here with kids our kids' ages, and they happen to be great friends as well. I love that they're all so goofy. It's fun having them around.

On Christmas Day we took a bike ride into the rice fields, and Matthew shot this one of his sister.

After Christmas ran its course, we had 2 weeks left of finding wonderful things to do. Most of our friends went on some kind of holiday and so the kids were left with the next best option: their parents. My favourite day was when we visited the largest mosque in Indonesia, and then headed across the street to the Catholic Cathedral (where, on a Tuesday, a wedding happened to be taking place).

This final photo wasn't taken during the holidays, but I love the way it has captured Abby's thoughts. If I tell you that she's watching a cow being slaughtered during Idul Adha (Muslim holiday), does that make knowing her thoughts any easier?

December already?

2011-12-12T02:20:00.000-08:00

Time is flying by and my baby is 14 this Friday and Christmas is almost here and that same baby I mentioned earlier is now wearing high heels and is almost my height AND gulp...(breath), we're heading into holidays next week.
Nice.

This year, for Christmas, we're not heading anywhere. We've got 2 days planned "for sure" for the 3 weeks we have off, and the first is heading into the mountains (Bandung) for one day, and spending another reading ALL DAY in our living room (just like camping). Besides that, we're really not sure. This is our first Christmas we'll spend in our Indonesian hometown: we've been in Lombok, Bali, and last year, Bavaria (Germany), and so it will be nice to stick close to home. The house has been decorated for about 2 weeks now and we're full swing into the holiday theme. I still say that one of the best gifts anyone has ever given me is the 'Yule Tide Log' dvd that just plays a burning log on the tv screen. My parents brought it the first year we were here and it's become a "Canadian tradition" ever since.

One more week of school for Tris and the kids, then we'll decide what to do.
I've been waiting to say this, and it doesn't get said often in this nation...
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Idul Adha 2011

2011-11-08T05:59:00.000-08:00

This year we celebrated our 4th Idul Adha weekend by staying at home and truly experiencing Indonesian life. Of course, we threw in a bit of our regular routines and passions, all of which made for an excellent 5 day holiday of some work, some play, some challenges and lots of fun. On my part, I spent the 1st day of my holiday painting our living room, in response to a challenge by a friend who wants to see blue walls by the time she returns to Indo from the US. Blue walls are done! Tris spent the day golfing, and the kids with friends.

On Saturday we headed to the beach (all except Matthew: he stayed behind and slept, recuperating from last week's 3 day Spiritual Retreat) where it was windy and wavy. The force of the wind blew all our cares away and we just laid there, ignoring the fact that back at home were a few chores to finish up and some school work to tackle. It was early to bed Saturday night as we had to get up early the next morning. We were to meet with an Indonesian family in their village, and they were going to take us a few doors down to their local mosque to witness the Idul Adha sacrificing of a few cattle and goats.

It has taken some time for us to gather up "family courage," but we did so, and watched the animals being led to their death, killed (I didn't look), and finally, prepped for further distribution to the poorer members of surrounding villages. This happens every year to thousands of cattle/goats/sheep in Indonesia in commemoration of the Muslim story of Ibrahim preparing to sacrifice Ishmael (in biblical view it's Abraham and Isaac). I don't think I ever need to see this again, but it gave me a greater understanding of what goes on around me in the country that I live in. It was also a great experience to walk around the village with someone who lives there, and to share a light meal with them. Later on we headed in 2 cars to the primate zoo (in Ragunan) where the friendliest primates I've ever seen live. If I could have, I'd have stuffed the little orange orangutan ("forest person") into my bag and brought it home, it was so incredibly adorable. Unrealistic, yes, but it's every little child's dream to own a cute primate of some kind, and the little girl in me just sneaked out for a bit.

On Monday Tris headed to the golf course early to practice a bit for today's golf tournament, Matt slept until mid-morning, and Abby and I headed to one of our favourite shopping areas everyone calls Mangga Dua (Two Mangoes). It's really a shopping district full of 6-story malls, but the area in that district is also referred to as the same. Usually traffic there and back is quite packed, but we whisked there in less than an hour and thankfully, after an unusual 5 hours of shopping (usually we give ourselves 3) we flew home even faster in under 30 minutes. That's quite unheard of in normal traffic, so we were feeling pretty blessed. While there I bought cheap watches (yes, mine broke already and Tris' is too big for his wrist) and Abby found soul-satisfaction in her patchwork pants (think "I Dream of Jeannie" crossed with a Thai & batik'd quilt), Korean purse and other treasures her heart didn't know she desired until she saw them. I didn't buy much but it was fun to show the 2 friends we brought along all of the neat shops and stops, and to discover new ones as well.

Today was a golf tournament (which donated almost $500 to the Karawaci Ladies medical fund!) that Tris participated in and I sold raffles at. The kids were busy practicing their dances for Bulan Bahasa (Matthew) and Spiritual Retreat competition (Abby).

The highlight of our weekend? Hanging with Indonesian friends and colleagues. We saw a lot and got a lot done, but it was time spent learning more about this country and the people who live in it with us that made it a really enjoyable holiday.

Thanks for reading.

Canadian Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

Over 3 weeks ago now, we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with a few other families, complete with turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, veggies, salads, and lots of wonderful desserts. The newest family arrived in their Canadian t-shirts (red and white of course) and our family had a chuckle, because that's what we did our first year here as well. Although I really (really) miss family during this time, it was a great dinner just getting to hang with people that ironically, in such a small community, we don't get to see that often. It's the same everywhere you live...life gets busy, you get into your regular routine, and you miss opportunities to get together with other families. What's really strange for me is that at this particular event, Tris and I were the 'older couple'. It's hard to get out of my head (where I'm 34 and always will be!!) that although I used to be a member of the younger crowd, those days are p ast, and my kids are closer to that stage than I am!! Children at this dinner ranged from a few months old, to old-times Matthew and Abby (Matt hadn't turned 16 yet).

Living in this international community brings us another opportunity for turkey, gravy and fellowship once again in late November. This next one will be a lot larger, with way more food to choose from, and even more people to catch up with.

Can't get any cozier!

the men just wouldn't snuggle into a cozy group photo!

Matt & Abby

Mock U.N.: Palestine & Page

2011-09-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up late and when I walked out of my room there was this stranger in my home, packing up Matt's school bag and looking as if he was going to work in a Jakarta office building. After taking a closer look I realized it was my son, dressed in his brand new pin-striped suit. First suit ever!
Of course I had to drag him into the yard to take a photo, on the pretext that his grandmother would never forgive me if I didn't update her on this most important occasion. Wouldn't you know it, she called about an hour later and when I told her about the new suit, she asked "you took a picture, right?" As an aside, to the left of Matthew are some pineapple plants that I just discovered...I knew the plants were there, but it wasn't until the rains came that I discovered the plants were fruit-bearing.
Anyways, back to the suit. Matt and Tris went out last Monday night and purchased it for today's Mock United Nations. A few weeks ago, for his Speak Up club, he was assigned the role of representative of Palestine. Since then he's had to research and develop an argument on his position regarding Genetically Modified Foods as well as on the abuse of domestic workers working abroad (or something like that. There's a specific term for that but it's too late and I can't think of it).

It was really interesting to go and listen to kids from a variety of schools imitate the United Nations. They had to answer attendance when their country was called..."present and voting...", they had to address the chair only, speak in 3rd person, and never answer a question with a question. Thats what I remember. There was o so much more going on, and it was interesting to see the kids working within the rules and structure, having to use their research to back up their arguments, and to think on their feet whenever confronted with a question they hadn't considered beforehand.

Abby also participated in the event as a page. She and a few other grade 8s would silent walk around the room collecting notes from various countries, to pass to either another country or to the chair. Notes had to be UN related only. When it was time to vote on a resolution, the pages would have to watch the doors so that no one entered or exited. It was neat to watch.

Matt and his buddy Eric were in it together (Eric represented Chile...in his new suit jacket). In this photo Matt's really impressed that his mom is taking photos of him....it's my job and my prerogative.

In this final photo Matt is standing at the podium as Palestine, defending his right to vote. I think it's probably the first time he's spoken publicly, aside from class speeches, and I think he did well. He looked good doing it, regardless!

Today, Mock U.N, tonight a sleep over at the school for student council. Tomorrow Tris and the kids are off to their monthly visit to an orphanage just outside of Lippo. I think tomorrow afternoon will be one LONG nap....

Thanks for reading.

A Wonderful Part of Indonesian Life

2011-09-13T21:33:00.000-07:00

She's back! Our helper, Ami (Ah-mee) has returned and our routine has fallen nicely back into place. It's funny how time and circumstance can change someone's mind, even someone as stubborn as I've been told I can be. It took me over 2 years to actually agree that the idea of having a helper (nice name for maid) was ok, and then last year I began to appreciate how Ami really does keep this place extra nice and running extra smooth. There were days when I was feeling too ill to do much other than get dressed, eat, do a few errands and then have a nice long nap. During that time she'd clean the house, do the laundry and get dinner on for 5:30. In Canada I'd wash or vacuum the floors once or twice a week (daily in the kitchen, even less than once a week in the not-so-used rooms), whereas because of bugs and rodents here, the floors need to be cleaned daily. In the warm, dry months I'd hang my laundry, something I considered a real treat, but mostly we used our dryer. Here it is done daily, with no access to any kind of dryer (although if you place items that you need quite quickly in front of the a/c fan, they dry within an hour!). During Indo's rainy season, most items need to be ironed just to get that last bit of dampness out. In Canada, our family just made sure that we didn't buy too many clothing items that needed to be ironed, or we just wore the wrinkles out during the day (I'll credit Tris for that idea).

While Ami was away, our family worked together to keep the house up to par, which included dishes ALL the time, wiping floors, sweeping, cleaning bathrooms, folding & ironing laundry, and making meals. I think that my family sighed a unified breath of relief when Ami showed up on Monday, because now that school has started, homework takes priority and our house would probably end up a little chaotic. Usually I'm around and during those times we haven't had a helper, or she's been on holidays, I've maintained well enough. Lately though, I've been able to take on some opportunities that require me to be out of the house from 6:30am to dinner time, and so coming home to a sparkling home, with laundry folded on my trunk and food cooking in the oven is a wonderful treat.

I'm pretty sure that when we are directed back to Canada (or wherever), it'll be unanimous that the one thing we'll miss most is having a helper. It's a blessing that we have such a good one, and I need to remind myself of that when my expectations get higher than reality can provide.

Thanks for reading.

Quiet Jakarta

2011-09-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

School has started, my helper is on holidays for another week, and today I had the house all to myself. Usually I crank music (well, in the distant past) and clean, but today, I scrubbed, mopped and folded in complete, lovely silence. Even the outside help, the village-hired street sweepers and yard maintenance ladies haven't returned from their holidays yet, and it's so quiet around here. Ramadan ended with Idul Fitri last week, and during the week surrounding Idul Fitri everybody goes away, either back to their village or typically, if you are an ex-pat, off to somewhere that is NOT Jakarta and the surrounding area. Tris and I, we hung around our village and thoroughly enjoyed the quiet. Last Monday, while the kids were still at camp, we headed into Jakarta and into the 'old city' of Batavia (Old Town). Unfortunately, because it was a Monday, the day of the week that many things are closed, we weren't able to visit any museums or anything, but we did visit the old Dutch part of Jakarta, one of Jakarta's Chinatowns (Glodok), and the docks. While at the docks we sat in the car and ate our lunch. Although it was still during the time of fasting, we weren't so much respecting the Muslim tradition as we were trying to enjoy our surroundings without being obvious. Apparently where we were isn't really all that safe a place to just hang out, so we kept a low profile.

What was incredible about the day trip is that we really were gone only 5 hours, but we drove through more districts (some more than once as we tried to become 'unlost') in those 5 hours than we typically could in 3 days. It was a great way to gain a new perspective on how the city is laid out. Sadly, the people are slowing trickling back into the city and into our village, traffic is once again becoming congested, and day trips into the city from Lippo Village will probably consist of one district per trip. It's nice knowing that there are at least 2 days a year where one can drive into and around the city of Jakarta, get lost, find one's way again, and still make it home in time for dinner.

301 Posts: Time to Update!

2011-08-26T21:58:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing when you're too busy to blog, because it means that you are, well, busy. I like being busy, depending on how to define the word. To me, it means not waking up and wondering "I wonder what I can do today" and instead wake up thinking "excellent, first I will meet with this person, then I'll go there for a bit and do that errand, and then I'll tackle this project at home or cook/bake that...." For all of my children's lives, up until living in Indonesia, I've taught them that you can't be bored, you're just being boring (need to use some imagination, get creative, find something to do!!). That changed when I got here. I got bored. Many times. You can only paint so many rooms, bake so many cakes (then later find out that those cakes are poisoning your body and now you need to learn how to make new versions of those cakes), and study so many pages of language or whatever the study of choice is for the week. After 3 years of living here, I finally feel established. I do things. I'm beginning to have a better understanding of what I like to do, what I'm good at, and to be able to admit those things I'm not good at. It's been stretching living here, but it's all good. Right now we're on holidays (Lebaran) and have days of plans ahead.

The kids have headed off to Ruff Camp, which is being held in the 1000 Islands. Trivia for you: these aren't the same 1000 Islands that the salad dressing is named after, at least that's what we've heard. Tris and I have 4 kidless days ahead of us, and we're kind of just wandering around our house trying to figure out where to start. Is this what it's like when empty nest sets in??

Time of departure was 6:30 am and so at 6:31 we were waving goodbye to a carload of kids. At 8:00 Tris and I headed off with 2 other families to an orphanage that our family goes to about once a month (we're on a rotational schedule). My favourite part of our morning at the home was when a little guy, Aditya, stood up, looked around, saw that my legs were crossed in sitting position and unattended, and came and plunked himself into them. After a few moments he grabbed each of my arms and wrapped them around his little body. And I was worried I might overstep by side-hugging the little ones. These guys are used to visitors coming in and loving on them, and I can't think of a better perspective for them to have: hey, you're here to love me, wrap your arms around me and let's sing together!

Thanks for reading.

Settled Once More

2011-08-02T02:49:00.000-07:00

We're back. In Indonesia, I mean. It was a full, fun, short 6 weeks (5 for Tris) in Canada, but we're glad we went. I can't imagine NOT returning to Canada at least once a year. Not returning in those first 2 years was very, very difficult for me. This time, as noted earlier, we went on a road trip, so those 7 days used up some of our 'normal' visiting time, yet we were able to see my brother Darren and his wife Chrystal in Red Deer, Tris' cousins in Calgary, and our friends Jamie and Sheldon in Idaho. It was a beautiful, sunny trip through the Rockies that our family will never forget. Thanks to those of you who fed us and put us up for a few days:)

This time, while in Canada, we tried to keep it low-key. When asked "so what would you like to do?" we usually responded, "sit and visit". Mostly we just sat on back decks, back porches, couches and in restaurants, and visited. It was just like we wanted. Time and circumstance always take a few things away, and we weren't able to go fishing or canoeing, but the way we see it is that we did travel 7000 kilometers in our van, and you can't do everything.

Tris left one week earlier than the kids and I, and while he was getting his classroom ready for school, he was spending his home time preparing our new place for us. He got our cable hooked up, internet ready, and he unpacked almost every one of the 60 plus boxes we had shoved into one of the bedrooms of our new home. Between him and Ami, our helper, our house was almost perfect when we walked in the door. Of course, by us walking in the door, perfection occurred as we were back as a family again. I must admit, I have "rearranged" perfection since then, and made a few things a little easier for me to find. When we said yes to moving into this new home, I had only seen it twice, and really didn't know what I was in for. This place is absolutely wonderful.

There are things in my life here in Indonesia that I just accepted because of our circumstance, like having to fetch hot water for dishes from the main floor shower. We now have hot water in our kitchen and in our bathroom sinks. We also have a great kitchen that looks out over a nice, tropical garden, and I have enough drawers in my kitchen to successfully store and eventually FIND any of my cooking or baking tools. There are a lot of bonuses to this house that are well-suited to our family of 4, 2 of whom are teenagers. It was the landing at the top of our stairs that sold me on moving into this house, and now the kids are using it just like I had imagined. It holds our big desk, a sofa bed, and a lamp, and it has become "The Pad". It's a real treat to know the kids are upstairs hanging with their friends while we are downstairs watching a video. Before, whenever kids came over, Tris and I would usually hang out in our bedroom and watch a movie on his computer. This wasn't a problem in any way, but it's now a treat to be able to watch the big screen while the kids make their noise upstairs.

It really is good to be home, although it's amazing how quickly I began to miss my Canadian family and friends.

Thanks for reading.

Animals We've Seen

2011-07-15T21:58:00.000-07:00

It's been 5 years and I'm still holding out for my whale. It can be any kind: killer, blue, grey...green if that's what it takes. I just want to see a whale. I did see dolphins swimming alongside our boat off of Bali in December 2009, and that took off a bit of the edge, but I'm not giving in. There's a whale out there somewhere and it wants ME to take it's photo. In the meantime, I'm quite happy to report that on this trip, during and outside of our road trip to Alberta and the US, we've seen a multitude of animals in all shapes and sizes. We started writing what and how many in the back of our Sudoku book because we were losing count. That's a good problem:)

the hind end of the black bear

Our tally is: a variety of large ground hogs, a mother duck and her 5 ducklings crossing the road, donkeys and mules (ok, farm animals, but they were unique to us), one black bear, 6 bighorn sheep, 2 elk, 3 moose and one calf (a mom and her baby only seen by our friend Sheldon and Matthew), harlequin wood ducks, chipmunks, 7 raccoons, squirrels, eagles, deer (sometimes over 25 in a day... and some of that's in town!), and a camel.

The camel was funny and timely, because earlier on the morning that we saw it, I had jokingly told the kids to look out for camels since we were entering historical gold mining territory. I explained how over 150 years ago camels were brought in by miners in the hopes that the hardy desert creatures would do well as cargo carriers throughout the BC mountains. Sadly, no camel is reported to have adapted in any way to being a pack animal in the British Columbia wilds. According to the history I learned, camels were much too stubborn and ornery and in no way cooperative, and in the end miners and gold diggers released their camels into the wild. Imagine never having seen a photo of nor heard of a camel, and then seeing one wandering through a BC forest! I'm sure there were a few stories told around campfires about strange, evil creatures wandering as 4-legged ghosts around the area. A few hours after I told them this tidbit of history, we saw a camel in the distance. It was in a cage, however, and probably wasn't related in any way to the sad creatures that are a short part of BC history.

Thanks for reading.

Hiawatha Rail-Trails in Montana/Idaho

2011-07-03T21:43:00.000-07:00

So much has happened on our road trip, and there's a lot of interesting things to write about. However, today was a pretty cool day and I'd like to share it with you. We're here in Couer D'Alene, Idaho, staying with our friends Sheldon and Jamie Nord. They're friends we met in Indonesia, who moved away last year, and who, honestly, I thought I may never see again. Thankfully I was wrong, and they are the last visit on our 2 province, 3 state road trip.

This morning all 6 of us woke up early, ate breakfast, and piled into a bike-laden GMC truck. We drove 1.5 hours up into the mountains, right along the Montana-Idaho border, and rented 3 more bikes so that we could ride the Hiawatha Rail Trails. We knew a few things to expect, such as we needed to bring a jacket, and that we'd be riding through old railway tunnels. There were a few things we weren't aware of and, if you're planning on heading to these trails, should really know. They are:

#1. The first tunnel is very cold and dark (ie/ you cannot see). You are given bikes lamps with the rentals but make sure that you bring your own if you're riding your own bike. Also, a headlamp is a great idea. One guy we saw had a spot light tied to his bike and we were all jealous.

ready to go through the first tunnel: 1.7 miles long

#2. Bring warm clothes for the first tunnel. The temperature was an even 35 degrees F (2.5 degrees C) throughout, and apparently that temperature doesn't change throughout the seasons. I'd suggest thigh covering shorts.

#3. Bring a small pack to carry the extra gloves you may want for the first tunnel, and a good amount of water and snacks. You will want to stop and snack because it's at least 2 hours down the mountain (yes, down...wonderful for the knees!). Once you're at the bottom you have the option to wait for a shuttle ($9 per adult and must prepay), and if you're hungry it's a bit of a bummer if the shuttle line up is long. Fortunately our wait was minimal today.

a deer drinking from dripping water

#4. I cannot wear contacts and so I had to stop at each dark tunnel and change from rx sunglasses to regular glasses. If you wear glasses and have either flip-up sunglasses or magnetic ones, I suggest you wear them. It'll be less frustrating for the rest of the gang.

The ride itself was about 2-2.5 hours if you keep a steady pace. We stopped a lot for photo opportunities, snacks, breaks for our sore bottoms and wrists (rather bumpy sometimes). I was very impressed with the range of ages that were there. We saw some grandparents and some really little guys, too.

Apparently today was a record day for bikers, yet we still enjoyed a peaceful ride. Unfortunately our first ride through the 1.7 mile tunnel was rather disturbing because just behind us rode a group of screaming teenagers. They screamed the whole 1.7 miles. On the way back you get dropped off just outside of this tunnel by the shuttle bus, and you return to your vehicle after one last tunnel ride. The second time through was peaceful and it even seemed a lot warmer, although it is said, like I mentioned before, the temperature doesn't change inside the tunnels.

We saw a lot of wild animals on this trip, and Matt and Sheldon actually saw a mother moose with her brand new calf walk right in front of them. She was about 30 meters away and by the time Matt whipped out his camera they were gone. On the shuttle ride home we saw one in a marsh but it was too far away for photos. We also saw a deer, a chipmunk, some beaver dams, and a few waterfalls. If you look at the chipmunk photo, we crossed the trestle in the distant background.

We did it!!

The ride was 15 miles long, with 10 tunnels (some only a few hundred feet and a few others you need a light on to see in) and 7 trestles. It pretty much took us the whole day to get to the rental shop (at the Look Out Pass ski resort), rent bikes, get to the Hiawatha trail, ride the trail, eat lunch, return the bikes and head home. We did stop over in the small historic town of Wallace (an interesting history if you'd like to google it) and had a look around and an ice cream. Apparently, it's the center of the universe.

What a perfect day!

Thanks for reading.

Canadian Taps & Wild Cows

2011-06-29T20:27:00.000-07:00

There are some things that I just assume that my children know about, or at least have recollections about from living in Canada. For example, on day 2 of our road trip we passed a field of Holstein cows, and Abby innocently asked "are there WILD cows around?" After a little snicker (I apologize, but it was cute), we talked about how cows are typically domesticated in British Columbia. Watch, one day she'll be hiking a mountaintop meadow and run across a wild cow, and both Tris and I will have to ask her forgiveness for snickering at her question.

I was a bit more taken aback at my brother's house when last evening one of my kids came out of the powder room and asked my sister-in-law how to work the tap. It's one of those round, crystal taps that you turn left for hot, right for cold. You push up to turn on the water and pull down to turn it off. Simple. Unless of course you've spent the last 3 years in a house that has only cold water in the kitchen and bathrooms (except for the showers which have individual hot and cold faucets), or in public toilets (not washrooms/bathrooms/restrooms) that either provide a squat toilet, a bucket and a scoop, or a sprayer coming out of the wall OR, in malls where the toilets flush themselves and the soap and water turn on automatically. Those are the contrasting experiences we've had in the last 3 years, and none of them, apparently, includes a round, crystal tap. This leads me to wonder what terribly exciting learning adventure is in store for my kids tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

Alberta Bound

2011-06-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

Candace and Nathan cutting their Mario cake

It's been two weeks since we arrived in Canada, and we've done a good job of vacationing. The weather hasn't been too bad, not nearly as cold as last year but still not super sunny either. I usually walk around with a light jacket on each day, so that's a bit of a treat after spending the last year trying to wear as little as possible while still being acceptable in public. So far on our trip we've seen both sets of parents and we've been able to get a few dinners/coffee dates with a few friends.

lovely Dale

The highlight of our quick, 4 day return to Vancouver Island, other than reuniting with family and watching the Canucks lose to Boston, was watching a good friend Candace get married to a guy who seems just perfect for her. They're quite two peas in a pod, and it's a delight to see her happily skipping off into the sunset with the man she loves, and didn't even know existed this time last year. Sadly, although I was able to visit with my dear friend Dale (Candace's Aunty Dale) at the wedding, our paths won't cross again this trip home and that makes me sad. On a happy note, I was able to meet and quiz my friend Rebes' new husband Wayne, giving him the friend-5th-degree, which he passed with flying colours. Again, sadly, I will not see Rebes again for a long time as she's moved from the Island as well. Thankfully, all three of the above mentioned women have spent some time in Indonesia and we have some wonderful memories and photos for me to look at whenever I miss them.

Last year I had fun camping with some girlfriends for my 40th, but with time and circumstance being the way that they are, we settled this year for a girlie, reminiscent-of-7th grade, sleeping-on-foamies-on-the-cement-floor-of-the-basement sleepover. Times have changed since the 7th grade, and after a delicious steak dinner, a cooler or two, and some intense catch-up chatting, we were all fast asleep before midnight. My goal is to one day all meet in Bali and we can chat non-stop for a week!

the cousins after a long walk

hanging in the hot tub

The last week has been spent in Cloverdale, visiting my husband's family and mostly just hanging out. This year our intent is to just be with others, rather than always going, and overall we've done that quite nicely. We've gone on long forest walks, explored the birthplace of British Columbia (Fort Langley--gotta get some Canadian history in my kids while I still can!!), gone for coffee and just hung out in the back yard. I have to admit, I've gone shopping a few times, much more than last year, and it's been difficult to say no to all the good things that jump out at me ALL over the place. Did Value Village twice and a few bookstores as well...very successful but not sure how we'll get it all home.

cousins panning for gold in Fort Langley

Today we're all sleeping in on the day we should be running around getting packed up. In 2 hours we're expected to be at the Rod and Gun Club for a special events day, and after 2 hours of shooting fun our family of 4 will head off down the highway, take a left towards Alberta, a few zigs and zags and we'll be at the foot of the Rocky Mountains before we know it. Tomorrow we explore the mountains, Banff and whatever else comes our way. After that we'll head to my brother's house in Red Deer (I'm so excited!), down to cousins in Calgary and then further south to Idaho to visit friends we met in Indonesia. This is a trip I'd never thought we'd take and so I am very excited about it, and about seeing all the people we'll get to visit.

Once we head back to Canada we'll keep on driving and will start the 3rd leg of our journey in Campbell river with my family. At this point the thought of returning to Indonesia overwhelms me, not because it's a negative thing, but because there's still so much to see and do before we pulang (head home). Instead of stressing, I'm going to sit in the passenger seat of our van, watch the beautiful scenery whiz by, enjoy time with family and friends, and keep up the constant eating that I've done since I arrived.

Thanks for reading!

Halfway to Canada

2011-06-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

When I was little we used to talk about digging our way through the earth, getting halfway to China. Here I am, in Taiwan, which is halfway to my childhood home. We've got 14 more flight hours and then we're there. To get rid of any pent up energy from the first leg of the trip, and to stretch my legs a little, I plugged into my mp3 and walked the store corridor. It's a long stretch of expensive, beyond-my-finances and beyond-my-need stores, people movers, and high-priced snack bars, and nothing really caught my eye enough to make me stop. While I was walking, the Eagles' 'Desperado' came on and I had a major flashback to my teenage past. Memories of sitting in front of a campfire along a lake somewhere, sometimes roasting marshmallows and usually watching the stars, blasted my thoughts and made my heart skip a beat. Over the years whenever a group of us got together for the evening or to camp for the night, someone always provided music, and Desperado is one of those 'summer songs' that whisks me back to those nights. As an aside, I remember camping across from our place at Sproat Lake in a spot that we could only reach by boat. Wouldn't you know it, the people I was with brought the usual necessities like tents and food, but what I remember most about that trip is the generator, stereo and 2 HUGE speakers that they plugged in smack-dab in the middle of nature. I kind of liked it! Probably those across the lake weren't so thrilled, but it sure made a good memory for me.

Who would have thought, in the 1980s, that 20-something years later I'd be walking the halls of a Taiwanese airport, on my way home for a visit, and that I'd be living in a foreign country like Indonesia? Life sure takes some interesting turns, and gives us some challenges and opportunities to stretch. I must say, I've been stretched over the last 3 years, but overall, I am extremely thankful. I am so excited to be heading home that I feel like an 8 year old waiting for Christmas morning to arrive. Only 14 more hours and we land on sweet Canadian soil.

Thanks for reading.

O Canada, here we come!!!

2011-06-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

O Canada!

Our home and native land!

True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,

The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Canada, we're almost there. Just a few more sleeps and we're on the plane. There's a lot to do until then, with moving into a new house (new to us) just down the street, finishing up school, finalizing some paperwork and of course, going for the final travel touches...manicure/pedicure for Kim and whoever else in this family who wants to come along.

Tomorrow is a busy one. We're moving some of our things out of our house tomorrow, school parties are planned all day long, I'm seriously booked for a salon visit (!), and tomorrow night Tris and I get to be part of a 'relationship' discussion panel held by the Senior School students. I'm quite excited to be a part of this panel, and am impressed by the questions that have been asked (we get a preview of what they are...thank goodness). I think it's good we have packed our days full, because I'm too excited to just sit around staring at my already packed suitcase.

On our Cdn agenda: a good friend's wedding, a quick trip through the Rockies, a visit to family in Red Deer, in Calgary and on to stay with friends in Idaho, an open house at my parents so we don't miss seeing anyone on the island!!!, camping, and of course, just hanging on the porches at our parents houses, visiting with family and friends. What am I most looking forward to? Visiting, and showing my kids the Rockies. I can't believe they're born and bred in BC and have yet to see them.

So, until we climb onto the plane that will land us safely in YVR (Tris is hoping we land the same time that the Canucks are passing through the airport...fingers, toes and all else crossed...), we will buzz around here, keeping busy, saying our sad goodbyes and looking forward to next week.

Thanks for reading.

Tomahon, North Sulawesi

2011-05-31T00:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, one month later, life gets going fast, it's almost time for summer break and I still haven't written anything about the second leg of our North Sulawesi journey into the mountains. It was a 2 night stay, cooler than on the island, and the landscape, outside of 'overall tropical', was completely different. My favourite landscape photo was of a volcano we stayed near. In the early morning the moon was slowly sinking down the blue sky while the sun worked its way upwards, and I attempted to get a nice, clean shot of it all. In doing so, I intentionally kept out a plume of yucky brown smoke that just made the photo a little 'dirtier.' Later, as I looked at our friend Jeff's photos of the same mountain on that same morning, I realized I had missed out on an opportunity to photograph the volcano smoking...I thought the smoke was from a nearby village. Duh.

Our transfer from Bunaken to Manado's port was quite uneventful, which is always good when you're on water, but we did see a unique sight at the port itself. Yellowfin tunas were being transported from a boat to a small truck, and it was quite something to see young guys haul 100 kg frozen tuna onto their shoulders, skirt up a skinny, worn wooden plank and plop the frozen fish into the truck. I've seen big salmon and West Coat fish, but these were BIG.

Once in the mountains, we took advantage of the terrain and went white water rafting. That, by far, was my favourite part of this trip. I think I grinned the whole way down the river and then some. That was a first for me, as was peering over the edge of a volcano into the crater below. That didn't thrill me nearly as much as the hike up the volcano, with the fields of varying crops on all sides, in various shades of greens and browns. Absolutely lovely!

Of course, how can you get the full feeling of a place unless you go shopping? Just before our trip up the volcano, we needed to find 3 year old Caleb a pair of shoes, as he lost the only ones he had. As his parents and the rest of the gang dug through shoes, chose the perfect pair, and dickered for a good price, Matthew and I wandered around and took a bunch of photos. My favourite 'person' photo was this one of an older woman in the market. She was quite willing to pose for me, although it's the candid shot of her than I like the best. If ever I had to take a survey, I think that Sulawesi is by far the most friendly place to visit in Indonesia (with Jogjakarta a close 2nd), and this woman epitomizes that for me.

There was more to our trip in the mountains, with a hike into a waterfall, free massages for each cabin, dinner with friends and even a movie channel in the villa!
It was a super "Spring" break for our family, and traveling with other families was a great way to go. Indonesia is such a huge country and we'd like to experience a bit of every part of it, so who knows if we'll ever go back to Sulawesi. I hope that sometime in the future we'll have another opportunity, and if you're thinking of visiting, I highly recommend it.

Thanks for reading.

Yard Sale!

2011-05-08T22:43:00.000-07:00

I've been grinning since Friday just before 3 and haven't stopped since. Well, maybe a few times, but the grin keeps coming back. The charity group that I belong to held a Yard Sale on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, and it was so fun for everyone involved. Our goal was to collect enough "goods" to sell to the local drivers, helpers and yard maintenance workers (hired by the village to keep the place looking good) at really cheap prices, while raising some money for the medical fund for underprivileged children that we're involved with at the local hospital. The first reason for my grinning? My expectation, with having mostly clothes and small items, was $200-300, while my friend Dalenea's was a little higher at $500. We ended up raising approximately $700 US in little less than 5 hours.

Sales like these are not all that common here. In fact, we've only ever seen a similar sale at our school, held through the Parents Committee, and that one is usually quite successful too. The second reason for my grinning? Every time I see a helper or driver that knows I was part of the event asks me "Mrs, when's the next sale??" Realistically, probably once or twice a year is enough with all the collecting and work that goes into one, but when I give that answer it brings a smile every time. Now regardless of what position I hold this time next year in the charity group, I'll have to push for a 2nd Annual Yard Sale.

The 3rd reason for grinning is that every person who bought clothing at the sale that I've seen since Saturday has been wearing something they bought for themselves. This morning my helper arrived from her home with a big smile on her face, her new pretty, green shirt on, and again, with the question "when is the next one?" When we went shopping, I tapped on the window of my friend's car, waved hello to her waiting driver, and the next thing I know he's popped up next to my car with his new, long-sleeved men's dress shirt on, grinning, and helped us unload the groceries into my car.

To be honest, we could just give the things away that we collected. In fact, with having help in our homes, that is usually what we do with anything that our children have outgrown or we've become tired of (kind of sad, isn't it, that we become tired of things so easily). However, the buzz that was at this Yard Sale, and the sense of community was really neat. Although the pace was really, really fast (can you say mind-spinning!?) most of the time, and we were all dripping with sweat, tired and thirsty, it was really fun to help people shop, make change, work as a team and, in the last hour, to practically give things away for free. The guy who walked away with a swivelling office chair for about 20 cents didn't really know what to do with the chair (rode in on a motorbike) but was ecstatic he'd bought himself a chair. My friend's helper didn't need anything, but she bought a bunch of baby clothes for her sister in their home village 12 hours away. One security guard isn't married yet, but he bought a wooden high chair, some lamps, and a set of wooden blinds for a couple of dollars, for who knows who. He went back and forth on his motor bike a few times just to haul his treasures away. Each time he rode with a grin. That made the collecting, sorting, printing, cutting, taping, sticking, folding and hauling all worth it.

Thanks for reading

Bunaken Beach Resort

2011-04-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

Note: This post was started on Monday, finished on Tuesday...
Today is the last day of "Spring Break" here in Lippo Village, and kids all over are scrambling to finish their homework. In my home there's a lot of printing off the internet, cutting and gluing as posters are assembled to be handed in tomorrow. The hot season seems to have descended upon us and so it's actually nice to be indoors, with all the doors closed and the a/c on, listening to the kids work hard. Tris has just returned from a golf game and he and I are simply savouring the last few hours of idleness. We did go on a trip for the holidays, but returned with 4 days of freedom remaining. Lots of time to continue the relaxing we started in North Sulawesi.

Our trip began on my mom's birthday, April 16th (unfortunately mom was still in Canada though). We flew out with the Weedas and the Mercers (the latter would head to the same destinations, only mirrored dates) and landed in Manado in the evening. Although it was dark and I was a bit apprehensive of boating at night, our ride to Bunaken Island was a dream. It was a clear, starry night with a full moon and puffy white clouds. As we sat on the roof of the wooden vessel, we all chatted and laughed and reminded each other that this was truly a night to glue into our memory banks.

On the other side, we were welcomed by Bunaken Beach Resort staff who were running about preparing for their boss' wedding, to be held the next day. At one point we spoke with the bride-to-be about my unique dietary needs and she seemed as calm as the ocean we'd just rode in on. After a long travel day, the Whites and Weedas all headed to their rooms (Lehmans had arrived earlier and were already asleep) and under a single sheet each, feel asleep to silence.

The next day, sitting in front of Tris' and my cement hut, overlooking the ocean and the mountains beyond (for any West Coast Canadians reading, it was very much like being in the Quatsino Sound area), I called my mom to wish her a happy birthday. I described where I was sitting as a little piece of "primitive paradise," not only because of the beauty but because of the quiet. That was all to change for a little while.

At around 7 am the wedding sound system was set up, and the man in charge of the 12-speaker sound system began to adjust for the 2 pm wedding. After a few hours of what sounded like "serenitY, serenitY, serenitY" (how ironic) coming through the speakers, the volume was increased and they began to play pop songs. Not bad, except that when the actual wedding occurred, our entire group was so overwhelmed with the noise (the volume was increased even more during the wedding, we're sure of it) that instead of participating as originally intended, we headed off to the nearby village for some quiet. So much for our anticipated first day of laying on the beach, listening to people chatting, babies crying (little Aliya just turned one and we anticipated some baby noises on this trip) and watching the tide go out. We were able to snorkel a little, though it was awkward walking through the guests in our bathing suits and gear to get to the ocean. I admit that I was a little disappointed, because had the volume been lower, we all agreed later that it would have been fun to head into the wedding crowd, chat with the guests, and to eat some of the buffet (but not the dog-rat stew!). Thankfully, true to the resort host's word, the party ended at 6:30 and we were able to eat wedding buffet leftovers in quiet.

Aside from the unanticipated wedding, we enjoyed the resort. The adults (except the Lehmans with their little ones) had their 'love huts' along the ocean, complete with a/c, fans, a hammock and further out, an area with a table & deck chairs to call their own, the boys their own room, and Abby and Hope had theirs (ok, a little scary for mom to have Abby in a room on her own but everyone else was fine with it so I went with the flow. All went just fine, just like all the other adults said it would). The snorkeling was outstanding. As you swam out from the beach the water was incredibly warm, then it cooled a bit and coral appeared. Further out the coral dropped off into nothingness. Mysteriously freaky. I missed the sea turtles but others said that they saw them hanging around the drop off.

There was one time that was a bit scary, and that was when Janet, while snorkeling alongside me, said she had tingling all down her right leg and arm. After a few moments of indecision, we headed back just in case it was something medical (we hate to admit it but we're all getting to the age where we have to consider that tingling may be more than just a result of sitting on your feet too long!). Once on land, she found she had swollen patches along her arm and leg. Turns out that she had swum through a cloud of little electric-blue plankton and had a reaction to their stings. We all had our own turns swimming through them but there were no further reactions. Regrettably, although they were beautiful, I never stuck around long enough to inspect them.

Bunaken is a small island with very little to do but relax. The options are snorkeling, boating, taking a glass bottomed boat out to the reefs (which we did), scuba diving, walking or riding a motorcycle to either end of the village, and reading. If you need anything to eat, there aren't any warungs (small roadside stands) or hotel restaurants or anything. Very much a camping atmosphere so if you don't like roughing it a bit, this isn't a good place to go. However, if you are like our family of four and you like to experience life quite simply, this resort was perfect. The food was simple, served on time, and there were always cold drinks on hand. The rooms were clean enough with very basic plumbing and no hot water. The staff were helpful--especially when our three teenage boys got lost (a different post to come)--and although I think I freaked them out with my Celiac diet, they tried to accommodate our needs whenever we brought any up.

Our stay lasted 3 days and 3 nights, and by the time it was time to go, we were looking forward to our next stop: the cool mountains and Highlands Resort, Kinilow (or Tomohon).. We packed up by 9 am, loaded up the wooden boat and headed back to Manado.

One last word on being a Canadian girl

2011-04-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

I received this forwarded email this morning, and it made me chuckle. I thought it went with my previous post. For the record, I've never beat my husband...

Three friends married women from different parts of the world.

The first man married an American girl. He told her that she was to do the dishes and house cleaning.
It took a couple of days, but on the third day, he came home to see a clean house and dishes washed and put away.
The second man married an Irish girl. He gave his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking.
The first day he didn't see any results, but the next day he saw it was better. By the third day, he saw his house was clean, the dishes were done, and there was a huge dinner on the table.
The third man married a girl from Canada. He ordered her to keep the house clean, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed and hot meals on the table for every meal.
He said the first day he didn't see anything, the second day he didn't see anything either but by the third day, some of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye and his arm was healed enough that he could fix himself a sandwich and load the dishes.

Canadian Girl All the Way

2011-04-11T02:45:00.000-07:00

Bacon and Eggs over a Campfire

A few days ago I got into our car, and out of the corner of my eye I saw a rope hanging from the top of our car to the front of the hood. Immediately I thought it was a canoe rope hanging from our rooftop, and our canoe was obviously tied to it. In reality, this was only a trick being played on my eyes by the hot afternoon sun, and there was no rope, no canoe. It made me think of how ingrained my Canadian roots are, no matter where I move and hopefully, no matter how long I live there. I will never stop thinking about and loving the outdoors, especially the rugged Canadian ones: camping, fishing, canoeing, hiking, biking, skiing, swimming in rivers, tubing, and the list goes on.

Canadian Girl in Training

Our family is preparing to head northward to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in a couple of days for the Easter break. Hopefully there we'll be able to snorkel and swim and maybe even go whitewater rafting. After that we hunker down for 2 more months and then we're home...6 weeks of west coast Canada (and a little bit of Alberta and even Idaho, USA too!). I think that that was what was making me feel homesick the other day, just knowing that we're heading home soon. Time will fly by and before we know it, we'll be in our old van driving down the quiet New Island Highway, windows open and passing the odd car now and then.

An image we hold fast to on hot, Indonesian days

I was thinking of all the things I learned growing up in a small forestry town, things that as I grow older and meet more people, I realize are truly unique. I know I have a lot to experience in this world, and hopefully I'll have the opportunity to travel and learn so much more. There are things that even my kids may never experience or learn because of their own circumstance: their parents uprooted them from their semi-rural home, french-speaking school, and took them from their family, friends and even their corgi so that they could experience new things! gain new perspectives on life, to learn new languages and meet new people. Although we've all settled into our Indonesian life here, there are things I will never, ever forget, and they will always make me the West Coast Canadian Girl that I am.

Canadian Girl with Canadian Boy

I know how to identify some types of wood by the way they smell when they're cut***A toque is a knit, tube-like cap that sometimes ends in a pom-pom**dandelions bleed a white substance when cut, taste terrible when bitten, and when their stems are pulled apart and put into water, the stems will curl into pretty whirls that you can join together to make a necklace**pitch (Ontarians call it 'sap') is a great fire ignitor**salmon will swim great distances and through any waterway to return to the place they were hatched, to lay their own eggs...then they die**dead salmon lining the rivers are intriguing but very, very stinky**I know how dry a piece of fir firewood is by its weight, and where to hit it with an axe so that it'll split apart in--hopefully--one swing**when you put your bare foot into the dirt in the spring and the ground feels warm, it's time to plant (ok, you can use your hand but your foot is so much more fun!)**never, ever ride your bike blindly into a huge mud puddle because you a) don't know how deep it is b) don't know how sticky the muck is at the bottom c) never know what living creature is lurking at the bottom!**it is possible to have snow, cold rain and warm sunshine all on the same day**I've skied down a mountain with just a t-shirt on (and pants, of course)**Whisky Jacks are little birds that are so brave they'll take a bit out of the sandwich that you are eating, WHILE you are eating it**black bears have set routes that they establish over time, and when you build a fence in your backyard it really confuses them**I've had a MARS water bomber drip water on me while it was ascending after filling up with water**huckleberries, salmon berries and thimble berries mushed together taste good to a 5 year old but become bitter as you age**the list could go on, and that's an excuse for another post...

Photos from last post

2011-04-09T05:28:00.000-07:00

gravestones, wood fuel, recycling carts and sorted recycling

Some photos of the area I wrote about in my last post.

Thanks for reading.

fresh graves

outdoor kitchen

bathing/fishing/laundering area

Darren, Tyler, and poverty (not related)

2011-04-08T05:27:00.000-07:00

It's funny how life can get really busy and I don't have time to write, and then when I have an evening free I can't remember the phantom blogs I've written in my head. There are a variety of topics that I've been thinking on in the last while, one of them is homesickness, and another is poverty. Why? They are things I've experienced in the last while.

Just over a week ago, for a few days, I felt extremely homesick. Not sure what triggers it, and how to alleviate it, but I do know that as I am in it, the weirdest thing happens. I see my brothers everywhere here in Indonesia. I saw Darren, my big bro, in a mall, as an actor in a sitcom and a movie, heard him talking behind me in public. I see Tyler, my baby bro (36 and still my baby bro) in an Indonesian driver, on the local golf course during a tournament, and when I look at my sons legs (identical!). Why that is, I do not know. If you think about it, it's weird. These are two people I lived with for less than 1/2 of my lifetime (Darren about 12 years, TJ about 18) and who I didn't always particularly like when I was in the same room with them for at least half of that time. I'm pretty sure, and would bet money on it, that they didn't particularly always like me either {Note: I'll never forget, when I was little, I'd be so angry at Darren and all I could think of was to yell "I hate you!" at him, and he'd make me even madder by saying "I love you, Kimmie" right back at me. Can you believe the jerk??}. It must be that although as we age we spend less and less time together (rather difficult to do so when I live halfway across the earth), their lives have impacted me. Things they've said, choices they've made and things they've done have influenced my life, making it so that no matter where I live, I will never forget that they are eating, sleeping, living, working and playing on the other side of this globe. I miss them. I like that.

Completely unrelated, the other day I headed into the slums with my camera, able to take photos much more freely than usual because I was with an Indonesian woman who goes into the area regularly, and she was also toting HER camera. I just followed her around like a goose and stopped when she stopped. It was an extremely bright day and so the photos are all quite shadowy, yet we were able to capture some pretty incredible shots. Incredible because they were of newly dug graves sitting right next to a person's home (not their family's grave...that of strangers), of a woman trying to boil water in a large pot using garbage wood for fuel (pressboard, plywood, glue-based wood products, painted wood), sitting out in the open with a tree as her kitchen wall. On it hung her fry-pan, string, and cooking utensils. A large, brown river was her backdrop, as was a crystal blue sky. On the river men in rickety catamarans were plunging poled baskets into the river, fishing for whatever they could scoop. Often what they came up with was plastic or mud...I didn't see many fish. Across the trail from her were piles upon piles of plastic, already sorted, and more graves. I do not have these photos up yet, as my own computer is still "down," but I hope to show a few at least, later.

What is really apparent to me is that if I was to move home, back to Canada, it's these kinds of settings that I will miss. I'm not really sure why because they're dirty, uncomfortable, challenging and quite sad, really. I think it's because they have impacted me so deeply, and I love being there. I love the kids, I love the potential photos (most I don't take, I just store in my personal memory-bank), I hate the lifestyles that these people are forced to live and it makes me think of what I can do to impact others, either them or someone else, in some way. It inspires me--although inspiration and actually DOING are two different things--and I love living where I'm forced to feel deeply. It's kind of weird to admit, but sitting in a graveyard, next to a river, surrounded by tropical trees and grasses, I feel like I'm closer to nature than in my own world here, too. Yes, reading it over, it does sound weird.

O well.

Thanks for reading.

Is it really meaningless?

2011-03-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

"Meaningless, Meaningless...everything is meaningless!" These words, found in the book of Ecclesiastes, are believed to be written by King Solomon, the world's wisest and one of the richest men ever to have lived. A few verses later (chapter 2) he adds "I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind." I remember the first time that I really read those words, sitting on my bunk bed amongst all my roommates in Tijuana, Mexico. They really depressed me, and I didn't understand what was being said, even when I read contextually.

Twenty years later, I'm still learning what those words mean. As always, whenever I study a topic in my bible devotions, it isn't a coincidence that the same topic is being discussed in other studies I attend and in conversations occurring around me. Quite often it relates to what is going on in my life and in the lives of those around me. These last few weeks has been full of the question "why?" Right now Japan is experiencing horrors that we can only imagine, the likes of which have been written about in futuristic novels based on catastrophic events like floods, quakes, explosions and the loss of thousands of lives. I can't even begin to imagine what they're going through, and to be painfully honest, I pray I don't ever find out. In our own school community, a kindergarten child has died after going through surgery for a brain tumor, a staff member has lost his child to a convulsive fever, and a colleague of Tris' has passed away from cancer, all within a week's time. Hearts are stirred and I pray that people are contemplating the meaning of life, the whys of what they're doing and who they're doing it for. Those of us who are not acquainted with the people who have lost these loved ones still are touched by the deaths, by the loss of life, by the sadness that comes from their stories.

I live on an island, and in an earthquake zone. I have lived this way most of my life, except some of it on the other side of the world. People in my family have died from cancer. Illness has touched my life in various ways throughout the years, whether someone else's or my own. I can choose to life in fear and turn within myself, to close myself off from pain and challenges, from reality around me, and ultimately, from God, or I can choose to live the life that God has always had for me. I struggle, I struggle badly sometimes, at following God's leading. I know I resist, and sometimes I wonder if I am missing out on something else in my life because I didn't obey Him earlier in some areas. That I will never know on this earth, but I continue on, asking forgiveness and God, always gracious and merciful, is always forgiving and loving me to the next step.

When Solomon was saying life was meaningless, I believe he wasn't referring to living. He was referring to what we fill our living with. I am learning--slowly, painfully, joyfully--that it doesn't matter what I do. It's who I do it for. If I'm looking for approval, acceptance, wealth, prestige, wanting 'stuff', it's all for naught. Unless what I'm doing is going to continue on after I die, then it's worthless. I don't mean having a school or a road named after me, or even having a plaque stating all my good deeds at the city gate. I mean when I die, will I have touched the lives of others? Will they have been drawn closer to Jesus because of my words, my deeds, my actions, and ultimately, because of my relationship with the Lord? Am I doing 'good stuff' and creating a 'happy' environment for others, but not leaving a legacy that leads people to seek, to know and to believe God, their Creator? If so, then I believe my life is truly meaningless. My challenge to me is, how will I make it meaningful? I know that one, maybe two generations will know of me after I am gone, maybe even three with the way we are able to record history now. The question is, will anybody in the generations to come know the Lord because of me? I pray daily that this is so.

Thanks for reading.

Birthdays and Bike Rides

2011-03-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

Amanda turns 25

This month of March has been a very busy one, full of good things and good people. On March 4th our Wednesday bible study celebrated Amanda's 25th birthday with her. Amanda is one of my most loyal 'local' readers and she keeps me encouraged to continue to always write about my time here in Indonesia, both good and bad. Soon Amanda will be a far-away reader as she and her husband head back to the US, and even the thought brings me to tears. However, as I have learned, even when we are far from friends, they still remain friends.

The March 4th weekend was a busy one, as we had Stacey 'pop over' for a visit from Thailand. She and her husband were on a working tour, and so Stacey took the opportunity to come and check out our place for a day. She arrived the eve of March 5 and returned the afternoon of March 7. In between, on the Sunday, we celebrated Stacey's birthday of March 6 by packing our day full of exercise, food and shopping, all within the confines of Lippo Village.

Stacey comes for a 41 hour visit

Stacey and my Sunday started early, when we strapped on our backpacks and water bottles and rode out into the rice fields behind our home. Earlier in the week the rains had refused to leave and so I had been praying that my ONE day with Stacey would be pleasant. Sure enough, the skies were brilliant blue and the clouds puffy white.

blue skies, white clouds, rice fields to the left

a farmer's transport

rice ready to be planted

banana tree

papaya tree

Stacey in the 'jungle'

These are photos of a few of the things we saw, mostly fruit, grasses and rice. The variations of green along the path are incredible and I don't think the camera even did them justice.

After our bike ride, Stacey and I headed to Royal Beauty for a cream bath and foot massage. We returned home, at dinner, sang Happy Birthday (of course!) and then headed to the mall for some souvenir shopping. Later we realized that probably we should have done the shopping and then the massages, because going to the mall on Sunday evening is something I would do to my children as a form of punishment.

Even though Stacey was here for a short time, we had an excellent visit and we were able to catch up on a lot of the 'local' news from our home town. I know that there is skype, facebook, email and snail mail, but there's just something wonderful about sitting face to face with a good friend and having a really good chat.

As for my trip to Singapore this month, please click on the "Simply Celiac" link at the right, or click here.

Thanks for reading!

Singapore

2011-03-20T23:34:00.000-07:00

I'm standing at a computer in the Singapore airport, with 6:36 minutes remaining until I time out. This is one of the few times I've traveled completely alone and it's a bit of an adventure, but mostly it's just a lot of waiting. I look around and really appreciate the people around me. If I ever thought Vancouver was a melting pot, Singapore is a huge stew. There are more nations represented here than I've ever seen elsewhere, except maybe Expo '86, but back then I wasn't really as aware of the people around me as I was of the people I was with (boys). I'm standing here and the languages I recognize are (very general) Indian, Chinese, English, Singaporean (it's a wonderful sing-song English that deserves a classification of it's own-lah). Throughout the day I've heard some European languages and some Asian ones I haven't been able to identify.
Three minutes left and so it's time to close. I have reports on my 5 day excursion to Singapore, not terribly exciting because it was medically-based, but I did meet some wonderful people along the way.
Thanks for reading.

Earthquake and Tsunami nearby

2011-03-11T04:12:00.000-08:00

At 4 pm this afternoon I got an sms from a friend telling me she was glued to the tv. I checked out BBC and watched in horror as a tsunami ripped through the northeast and eastern coast of Japan. The announcers were saying that the entire Pacific coastline needed to be on watch, as well as Indonesia (especially Sulawesi and Papua) and the Philippines. What is really sad is that although I can sit in the comfort of my home, on my couch in the middle of the island of Java (south of Sulawesi), and watch water destroy parts of a nation north of us, I know that there are areas within Indonesia that may not even be aware of the dangers ahead. Many of the isolated village communities within Indonesia have warning systems, but as shown when the last tsunami hit Indonesia, sometimes those systems are in disrepair. It's my prayer that all parts of our nation and those Islands to the east of Japan will become aware of the potential tsunami. Right now they say that Australia is also to be on the alert as its waters may rise and swell within the next 7 hours.

What is really ironic is that I am in Indonesia and my parents are 1/2 way across the world, yet the movement of water between us is a potential danger to both of the islands we live on (Vancouver Island and Indonesian islands). I phoned my mom at 4-something p.m. our time, and although it was 1-something a.m. her time, she didn't mind. It's amazing how good it is to hear a loved-ones voice even though you know that the chance of them being harmed is slim (Canada hasn't been put on the alert so far, according to our news here). I love skype.

Our prayers tonight are for those still waiting to hear news about their nation and the tsunami possibly coming their way, as well as for those in Japan who have been hit already. Lord, have mercy.

Stacey's on her way!

2011-03-03T00:23:00.000-08:00

Two more sleeps and Stacey will be here! Stacey is a friend from Canada, and we met through our husbands jobs...they both taught at the same school. Her and her husband are doing a working tour through Southeast Asia and wonderfully, she has decided to pop over our way for 2 nights. They'll be quick but loaded. Not only that, it's her birthday on the one full day that she's here, so we'll have to find something fun and memorable to do. I'm thinking bike ride through the rice fields, cream bath & pedicure afterwards, lunch and then...we'll see what comes up.

I am sure that there will be photos to follow. Pray for sunshine!!

Thanks for reading.

Praying God's Word

2011-02-28T04:03:00.000-08:00

I like to think back, ponder actually, over the last little while of my life now and then, and see if I've learned anything or discovered something new about myself (or others). The thing that I am most excited about lately is learning, after 30 some years of praying, how to pray God's word. It's not a new concept to me, but for some reason it is hitting home.

I know that words are powerful. We teach our children that once you say something, you can't pull it back. It's out there and for good. I'm not always the best example of speaking kindly or positively. In fact, if I was to really think about it they could probably pop some popcorn and sit back to watch a full-length show when I open my mouth sometimes...but hopefully my kids can learn from my mistakes. Maybe me, too.

Anyways, if my words are powerful, just imagine the power of my Creator's words. In various studies I have been encouraged to use the bible as the model for my own prayers, my prayer about others, and even to pray for events. For many years now I have felt compelled to pray for other countries, but honestly, rarely do because I don't know how or what to pray. Countries are big and have lots of aspects to cover! The other day I chose to pray for the U.S., and then asked God to lead me to a specific scripture. He did, and I ended up using a psalm to pray that God would raise up prayers within the U.S. for the U.S. I wrote out the prayer, and then prayed it aloud. A few days later I reread that prayer, and was blown away. My words and my heart were entwined with God's thoughts and heart, and it was really exciting to read. These weren't my thoughts, but they were spoken in words that i understood: mine.

To some this might seem elementary, to others this may be a new concept. Regardless, it is really exciting to me and I hope that some of my excitement might rub off on someone else.

Thanks for reading.

A quick glimpse of reality during real life

2011-02-22T08:51:00.000-08:00

Tris and I went to the movies tonight. We watched "The King's Speech" in one of the new malls in a nearby city. Great movie (recommended, although not a lot of action), good company (went with friends), and excellent venue (the Premier...lazy-boys, delivery service to your chair, blankets...all for $3.50). It was a good, spontaneous way to spend a free evening, and traffic was great, which is a bonus in a world where the traffic can make or break a good idea.

While I was lazing in my armchair, my mind wandered from the movie a bit. I began to think of the first few times that we went to the movies here in Lippo Village. I remember how it was a bit of a treat to get away from reality for a while, and to put my head into someone else's life if only for 1 1/2 hours. I'd think to myself "wow, you're sitting in a movie theatre in Indonesia, halfway across the world, and when the lights go back on you won't be heading outside to garden on Copperfield Road...you'll be heading to your new house in Danau Biru." Actually, I wasn't THAT far into someone else's head or those thoughts wouldn't have had a place to land!

I had the same thought tonight, of how here we were, sitting in a movie theatre in Indonesia, watching a movie about an English king and an Australian, in a brand new, shiny mall. I was no longer trying to get out of my head and escape reality for a few minutes, but I was realizing the irony of where I was sitting. I will never get over how there is always poverty just a few steps away from any big mall in Jakarta and the area we live in. Always. What influenced this post specifically is when we were driving home, discussing the movie and the history surrounding it, I saw a man. We were rounding a bend towards an on-ramp, in an area where people are less likely to be found. He was squatting next to the road, a white plastic bag that had probably been thrown from someone's car window billowing near his knees, and its contents spread out in the dust so he could sort through the rubbish to find something to eat. I remember pausing for a split second, watching him rub his eyes (it almost looked as if he was wiping away tears like a 2 year old would do), and then continuing on with my discussion. For some reason that image stuck in my mind, and is likely to return again.

It's those split second moments in my life that cause me to think again, to check what I'm doing with my days, and to appreciate the goodness in my life.

Thanks for reading.

Matthew's News

2011-02-19T18:59:00.000-08:00

Matthew's had an exciting 10 days. Two Saturdays ago, after much cajoling of his parents ("Seriously, I need braces really soon" "Mom, have you made my dentist appointment yet?""Can't wait until next Saturday when I get my braces on"--parent's response: "crazy teenager"), Matthew had a pair of braces installed. No more teeth have been pulled, but the orthodontist here says she'll wait to see what his teeth look like when the braces are removed. Lucky kid has inherited his mom's small jaw and someone else's large teeth.

Now I see why they'd look at a woman's teeth in the old days when determining whether or not she was a good candidate for marriage. They weren't looking for cavities and healthy gums, they were looking to see what the potential "teeth" combination might be in future babies. I'll have to remember that when my kids begin bringing home 'special friends.' "Hi, I'm Matt's mom. Can I have a look at your teeth? That's right, give me a big smile. Now open wide..."

Matt's new look

or "You're here to pick up Abby? I remember hearing about you...you came and talked to my husband {Tris insists Abby's not going out with a guy unless the guy comes and asks him first}. Give me a smile...(flashlight shines in his eyes)...ummmm, is that a baby tooth still? Aren't you 20? I'm sorry, but this just isn't going to work, because Abby's baby teeth never wanted to fall out either, and she's needed orthodontic intervention. My grandchildren don't need to go through the same dental trauma. You'll have to get back into your Lamborghini and head on home. Sorry."

I'm so glad my parents never looked in Tris' mouth, because although our teeth aren't the greatest match, I really like having him around:)

Matthew's other exciting news is that he has saved up half of the money for a new camera (we promised to contribute the other half) and yesterday went out and bought himself a new Canon EOS 1000D. Smaller than mine but takes brilliant photos. Wouldn't you know it, I'm still learning about the manual features on my EOS 40D that we bought in May 2008, and in less than 24 hours he's figured out half of the features on his camera and then some. We've decided that it's in my best interest if we go on photo dates, where we focus on ONE feature at a time and I take an hour's worth of photos using that one feature. Of course, he'll teach and I'll be the one learning. Regardless, it'll be much more fun that learning from a book, which I've been doing periodically.

Here are some examples of things Matt has taken with his point and shoot. He's really good with close-ups and as parents, we think he has a good eye.

On the way to Canada

a little bit of Germany in Canada

dandelion fluff

in Grandma's Garden

Abby's model of Joan of Arc burning at the stake

Simply Celiac In Indonesia

2011-02-15T21:08:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I have always tried to stick to when writing this blog is to keep it simple, light and sometimes funny. To complain about the culture I live in and the life I have is disrespectful to those around me, and to those back home, it would make them try to convince me to come home:) I think that, for the most part, I've stuck to that. That's why it's been difficult to write a lot since we came home from Germany, because life for me hasn't been simple, or light...although it always finds a way to be funny.

Six weeks ago today I was standing in a doctor's office, a little cloudy from having been

temporarily drugged (voluntarily!) and a little hungry from not eating for the last 24 hours. I'd just had the last of many medical tests completed, and I was heading home to Indonesia the next day. The doctor, while handing Tris a business card with some handwriting on it, said in stilted English, "I cannot speak English, and you cannot speak German. This is what your wife has. You can go onto the internet and research how to care for this disease. Thank you for coming in." And that was that. We went back to our relative's home, packed up, celebrated a birthday and said our goodbyes, and drove off to the airport the next day.

For almost 2 years I've had some symptoms of "something," but I just didn't know what. It seems to have started when, as a fool, I ate some 'agar agar,' or green jello, in some slums in South Jakarta (I didn't want to be rude...I've since learned that it's ok to say no!). Immediately I became ill and was diagnosed with bowel infection...not uncommon here in Indonesia. That lasted for some time, and then life returned mostly to normal. Except, it never really did. From that point on I began to lose weight, lose hair, experience regular stomach issues, need to nap during the day, and to forget really simple things. Even though I'd exercise regularly in the gym and do outdoor sports, I never really improved in stamina and ability. I have to admit, I lost motivation to do a lot of things, probably because of the lack of energy I was experiencing. When I went to doctors here, they told me I had a variety of things: depression, overactive e.coli, chronic fatigue and one doctor, at least, told me he had NO idea what it was that was affecting me.

When I went to Canada this past summer, it seemed that I was ok. My energy seemed to return somewhat and my stomach didn't bother me nearly as much as it had before. Because of this, when I returned to Indonesia, I figured it was the heat that was getting to me. I tried to keep cool and although I'd managed in the past to "indo-fy" myself somewhat, keeping cool felt good. Still, it wasn't good enough. At one point my friend and I sat down at our laptops and decided that we'd figure out what was wrong with me. May I recommend to anyone reading this that you do NOT self-diagnose from the internet? When we were done, it seemed perfectly clear that I had parasites throughout my body that over time would crawl into my brain, live off my body, and eventually suck my will to live. Seriously.

It wasn't until I went to Germany that I realized that heat really had nothing to do with my condition. It was -10C and I was still feeling unwell. That's what lead me to my German family's local doctor, who within 2 hours took a variety of fluids from me, did an EKG and an ultrasound, and had me booked for 3 more tests within the next week. I must say, I was completely and utterly impressed with the German medical system.

Now, six weeks later, after having being diagnosed with Celiac Disease, I try to live a life different from the one I have known. Although it's easiest to tell people that I'm allergic to gluten, it's much more complicated than that. Here's what I know about Celiac Disease, and yes, I learned most of it off the internet:)

Celiac Disease is a genetic, autoimmune disease that if undiagnosed can lead to a variety of complications within ones' organs, especially the small intestine. When I eat anything, ANYTHING, containing gluten, my body begins to create antibodies that somehow (haven't gotten that knowledgeable yet) cause the villi in my small intestine to flatten. It's through the villi that my body absorbs the majority of my nutrition, and so when they are flattened, my body has nothing to run on. Hence the loss of hair, weight and even of my mind sometimes!

When I tell people of my diagnosis, their first response is always "it's a good thing that you now know what's going on." I agree. However, there's more to knowing than just being aware of what I can and cannot eat. It seems my villi aren't really willing to stand up yet, and so now I'm at the point of trying to find competent medical intervention that would allow me to figure out how to gain some nutrition and gain some weight. God is good, and He's brought a friend into my life here in Indonesia who is a nutritionist. Not only that, but she has siblings with Celiac and was involved in the "re-nourishing" of a friend who was also in the tropics when she discovered she had the disease. As well, I've been in contact with an internal specialist in a nearby city, and although he is Indonesian, he speaks German and can therefore read my results from all the German doctors.

Without sounding whiny, which really, I do a lot inside my head (NO COKE?? NO more White Spot burgers, EVER???? No more bread/cinnamon buns/Chili's restaurant buffalo wings???), I have to admit, I am tired of chewing. It seems that I eat all day. Food seems to be a main priority as I figure out weekly what I can cook (ok, I admit it, what our helper can cook...with my irritating input over her shoulder nowadays), and even with careful planning, I still get grouchy with the lack of food in the house. Also, it seems that being lactose intolerant often comes hand-in-hand with CD, and I seem to have taken that on as well. Good bye ice cream, at least temporarily...and o boy, I am praying it is temporary!

The answer to my dilemma, which is food, seems to be careful planning, setting aside intentional cooking and eating times, and to remind myself that the majority of the world around me eats the same food...white rice..day in and day out, 365 days a year. In my home I at least have access to fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, whole grains that do not contain gluten, even sugar and sweets. I can make popcorn, eat cookies made from special flours (some much more nutritious than wheat flour), cut an apple and dip it in peanut butter, and eat dark chocolate any time that I want. Even our helper and our driver cannot do that, so who am I to complain?

Ultimately, I am thankful for this disease. It is not cancer. It is not life-threatening if I manage my diet. I have choices. I am alive and I am mostly healthy. I am getting healthier and, with some proper intervention, will have the energy I once had. My brain, limbs, eyes and organs are all functioning and doing as they are supposed to. I feel sorry for myself now and then, especially when eating out with friends and I am only able to order the white rice when they're eating delicious, saucy, crunchy bits of everything under the sun, but I'm a big girl and although those panties are a little on the large side right now, I can still put them on and get on with life.

Thanks for reading.

ps. I'm still trying to figure out if there's a way that CD is 'triggered' but it seems to me that the bowel infection merely weakened my body enough for the CD to manifest. That's my personal, uneducated diagnosis and I'll stick with it until I learn something from someone who knows what's going on.

Jenny Turns 40

2011-02-04T22:33:00.000-08:00

It's a little late, a month really, but I just want to wish my sister-in-law, Jennifer (or German 'Jenny') a happy 40th birthday. We were able to celebrate a bit with her, but on her actual birthday we flew out of Munich and she was at home, probably washing all of the dirty laundry we left behind:) I'm hoping she was wearing her birthday tiara while doing so.

Jen is my husband's youngest sister, and I actually knew her before I met Tris. We met in Tijuana, Mexico and were bunkmates for a few weeks. It was also there that I met Tris, but that's a story for another time. What I think is neat is that Jen and I have officially known each

other for more than half of our lives. Don't think 'old'...think 'loyal.' Jen has lived in Germany for years now, and it had been at least 3 years since we'd seen her last. Going to Germany and spending time in her house was a blessing. We spent time walking, talking, shopping, folding laundry, wrapping Christmas

presents, cooking and of course, eating together. One of the ways that Jen blessed me was how she really went out of her way to meet our needs as guests. Sometimes I wasn't even sure if I'd said something out loud, like "I need a new towel" and before you know it, there was a fresh towel waiting for me. While in Germany, I took advantage of having a modern medical system available to me, and headed to the doctor for a few tests. For each test or appointment, Jen would work her schedule around my needs as best as she could, and would come along to translate (also, her husband Christian was just as willing and gracious to do the same, and drove us around to so many places at all hours!). Definitely the hostess with the mostess!

This is just a way of saying thank you for your hospitality, Jen, and I hope that the first month of your 40th birthday was as full and as blessed as you deserve. To Christian, happy January birthday as well. We really appreciate you both!

Thanks for reading.

Christmas in Germany

2011-01-27T23:45:00.000-08:00

How do you describe a 3 week trip in one blog post? Even two? My shortest description of our Christmas trip this year is: cold, white, and full. This December, after months of anticipation, we packed our bags and headed to Germany. Hauzenberg, Germany, to be exact. That's the little village where Tris' sister, Jen, her husband Christian, and their two boys, Tristian and Nathaniel live. Our goal wasn't to see Europe, but to visit with our family, to get to know our nephews better, and to see how our European branch of the family lives. It had been years since we saw each other, but as it goes with ones you love, as soon as we got there it felt like time just melted away. Of course the boys had grown, and to Jen, my own children had been stolen away and replaced by a tall, lanky, young man and a thin, curly-haired thirteen year old with a contagious laugh.

Our journey began and, thankfully, ended uneventfully. The potential for closed airports,

lost luggage and uncooperative weather bypassed us, although when we arrived we heard that many others weren't so lucky. Mostly we stayed around the village, shopped around and drove to outlying shops and areas of interest. One of our local favourites was the museum, which is in a castle overlooking Passau (the nearest city) and 3 rivers, with the main one being the Danube. Another was the main Catholic Church in Passau, where we saw the kinds of ceilings and windows that people from Canada don't actually see without stepping onto an airplane and flying for hours.

We did spend a day in Salzburg, Austria where we went to Mozart's cafe (next to his birthplace) and to a Christkindlmarkt, or an outdoor Christmas market. One other afternoon we drove inside the Czech Republic, where we went to an outdoor market and then went to lunch. It was very interesting to compare the differences between these two places with Germany, although all three were similar in that they were COLD.

One of our favourite family days was when all 8 of us piled onto the train and headed to Munich. This is where Tris was born and it was kind of fun to go and take photos in front of the hospital where it all started for him.

We visited a huge palace (too big to be called a castle) as well, and went into old Munich (Marianplatz). Because of the weather so many things were closed, so our hope is to return in the summertime. However, what other time of the year can you slide on a frozen canal than in the dead of winter??

I think that the best thing that we did, though, was to just hang out in the living room and kitchen, staring out the window at the snowy, white world outside, usually drinking something (tea, coffee or beer were the main choices). At one point all four kids were on the floor in the kitchen, cuddled up in the corner. Not sure why THAT spot, but maybe that's where the sun was shining at the time:) For our family, it was fun to have younger kids around; we'd forgotten how much life 7 and 9 year olds have. Matthew was quite the hero...some mornings the boys would run out of their room and say "where's Matthew??" before even a good morning. They love Abby but unfortunately, she's the "girl cousin" and you know what they say..."birds of a feather..."

Coming back to Indonesia was a sad time for us, because we know that with school and work schedules in the 3 different countries (Germany, Indonesia and Canada) our paths may not

cross in person for a long time. We feel really blessed that we were able to go and stay with Jen and Christian and the boys, and to experience an authentic German Christmas Eve (and we had a Canadian Christmas morning, too!), lots and lots of delicious Bavarian food and drink, and to spend time with our family.

Thanks for reading.

ps. we're unable to post a lot of photos on blogspot, but if you'd like to see more, there's a bunch in my facebook albums.

Abby Turns 13...No more little kids here!

2010-12-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my baby's 13th birthday, and so we're now officially the parents of teens. We think we've got two pretty neat kids and we're thankful for the blessing of having them in our lives.

I remember wondering what I'd do if I had a little girl, because I grew up in a household of boys--brothers, cousins and foster brothers, neighbourhood full of boys, hockey, climbing trees, lighting fires--and wasn't sure I knew how to raise a girl. However, Abby has made it a rather easy task, raising a girl, and I wouldn't change having a beautiful daughter like Abby any day:)

Abby's birthday celebrations started last Saturday night with an International Sleepover, only called that because of the countries represented by the girls who were there. We had a Bolivian-born, Kenyan-raised American, 2 Korean girls, an Australian,

an Indonesian-born Canadian, and Abby. What we already knew but it was confirmed anyways is that no matter where girls are from, they all love to eat junk food and laugh together. This is a really nice group of girls and we were glad they had so much fun.

Yesterday, on her official birthday, we spent a whole $50 for our family of 4 to go to the salon, where between us we had a massage, a cream bath, a manicure, a pedicure, a mini-facial and a haircut (and straightened). We came home, Abby unwrapped a hair straightener and lots of money from various relatives, which is great timing for Germany, and then headed out to dinner with a group of about 25 people. To this dinner we brought a cake, and it was fun to embarass Abby at the kids table (across the room from the adults) with us crowding around her and singing happy birthday in both English and Indonesian.

We're heading to Germany soon, loaded with photos and stories to share with our family there, with lots of bragging rights for Abby's accomplishments, and I'm proud of those things that she has accomplished both scholastically and socially. However, I'm most proud of the kind, compassionate, funny, generous, loving person that Abby is, and is intentionally becoming through both her own initiative and with God's direction.

Happy Birthday Abby-Girl!!

Thanks for reading.

Wendy Degrazio (October 17, 1950-November 6, 2010)

2010-12-13T18:51:00.001-08:00

In honour of Wendy Degrazio, in celebration of who she was to us and of the strong, quiet life that she lived.

Wendy is Tanya's mom, and Tanya is my baby brother's wife. Tanya is also one of my dearest friends and a woman I admire greatly. Many of her beautiful attributes were given and taught to her by her mother, who died November 6, 2010, at the age of 60.

Unable to attend the memorial in Oyster River, our family wanted to send our love and regrets in some way, and so we wrote a letter describing what Wendy has been to us in our lives. Here is a summary of things that remind us of Wendy:

"Some of the words that we would use to describe Wendy and her life are: gentle, peaceful, beautiful, gardener, quiet, natural, generous, private, kind, classy, sacrificial, caring, patient, soft, motivated, one who appreciated beauty and life, loving grandmother, proud mother, loyal wife, and a good listener.

Some of the things or scenes that remind us of Wendy are: hummingbirds, deer, horses, flowers, strawberry patches, canned antipasto, gardens, special gifts given to our children, a grandma loving on her grandchildren, a mother opening her door for her children, parties in the backyard, bonfires and marshmallows."

Although we were not at the memorial, we have been sent the letters and eulogy that were given at it, and from them there were a few things I learned about Wendy. They are:

*Wendy loved to cook. I knew she loved to cook, but she LOVED to cook and tried new recipes all the time.

*Wendy was born in Golden, BC and married Jim Degrazio in 1969, a young man she'd gone to both elementary and highschool with. Jim we know, their history we didn't.

*She lost her mom when she was only 20 years old.

Mostly, I learned that no matter who spoke or wrote, each aspect or description of Wendy and her life matched those descriptions give by others: Wendy lived a life of kindness, strength, creativity, consistency and love.

With Wendy's passing comes many reminders of how life is fragile and short and that we need to take every opportunity to live it to the best of our ability. What I am personally reminded about is that I shouldn't stop taking photos, because they are what ties me to those I love;

a life can be quiet and lived to the maximum at the same time; you can't say 'i love you' too many times in a day; a woman who loves her family and lives for them is one of the most powerful positive influences a child will experience in his/her life; a mother cannot be replaced, no matter how old she is when she passes.

I never took the opportunity to tell Wendy what an incredible woman she was, and so this is my way of saying thank you, Wendy, for how you lived the life you were given.

Thank you for reading.

Philosophy of Charles Schulz

2010-12-13T00:59:00.000-08:00

I received an email today and I'd like to share it with you. Although it's not really 'deep', it is 'simply' thought provoking. Read on:

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.

4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields.

But the applause dies..

Awards tarnish..

Achievements are forgotten.

Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier? The lesson:

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the

most credentials, the most money...or the most awards.

They simply are the ones who care the most.

Thanks for reading.

"Back from the Ashes of Merapi" by Amelia Merrick

2010-12-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

Below is a piece written by my Canadian friend, Amelia Merrick, interim national director for World Vision Indonesia. She has the privilege of traveling quite a bit throughout the islands of Indonesia, and unfortunately she also has opportunity to witness some pretty sad, overwhelming events. Many of these events are caused by natural disasters, such as one of Indonesia's most recent ones, the eruption of Mount Merapi in Jogjakarta. Merapi is 8 hours from us by train, one and a half hours by plane.

"Children greet me as I open the car door at the Kali Adem Displacement Camp. To my left is a group of boys hanging around a small leaf-less tree while they read comics together. A couple of girls sit off to the side peeling and placing stickers in their activity book, enthralled by the delicate and colourful images. A large blue tent is to the left and from within the tent I hear children’s laughter. Three university students, with cool printed t-shirts and funky hair styles are in the tent, showing a dozen pre-teens how to take photos and play guitar. If I didn’t know better, I would think this were summer camp.

But moving inside the long and hot community centre I am instantly brought back to reality. This is a Displacement Camp where 400 people from Kali Adem, a tiny dairy village at the very top of Mount Merapi, are now without homes, cows or fields. Mothers, fathers, grandmothers and babies sit on rolled mats, colorful walls of neatly folded clothes mark out their family’s space. A few drinking glasses, weathered school books, motorcycle helmets and beaten card-board boxes that safely store the last remains of their belongings are stacked in the 4 x 6 space they now call home. Fresh laundry - faded jeans, bras and underwear, children’s pyjamas – are strung across every window pane and doorway.

I go to meet the village leader – she is a slight woman draped in a shiny purple head scarf. She shows me a picture of her village - it is a whitened moonscape, lava has covered their entire village. It looks like a desert dusted with ash, or like a barren field after a heavy snow fall. There is no evidence of homes, cows or fields. It is just grey and dusty. Before I can write down the name of this fragile village leader she breaks into tears. I have been to dozens of Displacement Camps but still there are never words to comfort someone who has lost everything.

I speak to Ibu Suyami (38) and Ibu Dartoyaho (55) and they tell me they are confused. They have moved seven times since Mount Merapi starting spewing its noxious gases. Their first Displacement Camp is now singed black, the boxes of emergency supplies burned by the hot volcanic cloud. The second Displacement Camp was too crowded. They are like “The Fish out of Water” – being transferred from one cramped bowl to the next, on a desperate journey to find a place that can hold them. Though this community centre is too small for their village they are glad that they are have settled amongst their neighbors again. At least they are together with friends and family.

Ibu Suyami and Ibu Dartoyaho tell me that they have lost everything – there houses are gone, their cattle are dead. They don’t have a plan, they don’t know what comes next. They are bored living in the camp. They miss their work. The children want to play soccer again.

It was over a month ago that they ran from their villages, and while they are glad to be alive they long for an end to this terrible nightmare. Sadly, the world has already woken and the people of Mount Merapi are quickly being forgotten as we move into our busy day."

http://www.worldvision.ca/give-a-gift/Crisis-Child-Partner/Pages/SavingChildDisasterVictimsinIndonesia.aspx

Thanks for reading, and thanks Amelia for letting me "borrow" your post.

A Chapter-Long Letter from the Heart

2010-11-25T05:38:00.001-08:00

Dear Mom and Dad

This morning you were both on my mind. I was wishing you could have walked with me and spent the morning doing what I was doing. It was a life-giving day, one that made me once again appreciate the life I have been given.

Do you remember a post I wrote months ago, about the hole

in a cement wall that lead me out of Lippo Village and into village life, a life that the majority of Indonesians live? Today I went through another one, and unfortunately, like some holes, it wasn't magical in any way. I went with 5 other ladies, organized through Karawaci Ladies, and we saw poverty again. Poverty is everywhere here, yet we so often just see it from a distance. Today we touched it, smelled it, and had it splash up our legs in the form of sludge, made up of filthy river water, garbage run-off, and quite possibly human waste.

Our morning started with the 6 of us ladies meeting at my house, and we

drove 2 vehicles to a regularly-flooded slum area, under the guidance of a woman who works daily with the poor, and especially with children. Her heart is huge and her enthusiasm is rather contagious. Between this woman and our group we had 50 bags of grocery essentials to hand out. Once we got there, local ladies packed into a really small room, coupons in hand, ready to be given a bag of food that might just be the mainstay of their entire week. The bags were handed out quickly, in a very organized manner, and the 6 of us were able to tour the small

village as we helped women pack the groceries to their tiny, dark, cement/brick/wood homes. Some of us ended up in one woman's home, Ibu Emi, and she and her 17 year old daughter told us of their situation. Like most people in this area, her husband was out of work, and they have no money. Even their rent of $25/month is steep for them. Fortunately, their eldest son works at a reputable bookstore chain that has a program where he can work and attend school as well. If you look at the photo of women sitting in a circle chatting, what you see is the entire home. The kitchen area is in the background, the living room (tv) is to the left, the bedroom (wardrobe, vanity) to the right, and the bedroom is right where we were sitting. The bedrolls were leaning up against the corner behind where I was standing while I took the photo. Noises from the home next door, which was divided only from the home we were in by a wood similar to plywood, made it seem like the neighbours were in the room with us.

After our short visit with these lovely ladies, we toured the village a bit, mostly to allow me to get a few good shots of the area.

One of these is a photo of the still water that lies around the village, gathered in-between floods. Another is of a young boy fishing in

a large, very fluorescent green fish pond. I'm not sure how healthy the water is, because although it is green, it is right next to the public toilets, which are 3 cement outhouses that run into the ground.

I have been blessed throughout my life to see a variety of villages in Mexico, the Philippines, here in Indonesia, and even a few really sad ones in Canada, that range from poor to dirty poor

to illegal-squatting, garbage-collecting slums. Blessed because I have had opportunity to move outside of my comfortable bubble, and blessed because I get to go home to health, comfort, food, and safety. This particular village is actually one of the 'nicer ones' that our hostess works in, yet it is still not a nice place to live. It is right on the river, and anytime it rains, the homes get flooded. In this photo of a classroom, our hostess shows us how high the water rises. At the back of the village the water rises even higher. I'm including a photo of Amanda standing on the bridge that connects this village with one across the river. The most difficult thing to hear was that during flooding, even in times of dire need, this is the only exit from the area for the villages. The hole that we used to enter the village is unavailable to the villagers

themselves, because it exits into a rather posh neighbourhood. Take a good look at the bridge; it's not all that sturdy.

As we were walking, two ladies were washing their clothes and dishes at a communal water faucet.

The river is directly behind them.

One final thing I saw that was new to me was a small 'bakery,' where the young men of the village are employed for $2-3 per day, making pancake-like 'skins' for some snacks that are similar to eggrolls.

They make thousands of them per month, and their boss sells them in the local markets. The entire room was covered in flour, their hair was flour-coated and their skin was white with flour dust. It is fast, hard work for a few dollars a day.

I thought of you on this trip, and I could picture you sitting with the women in their home, using sign language to try and communicate when your English just won't do. I could see you shaking men's hands and hugging the women and the babies they were carrying.

You may not be here but, as I told Ibu Emi, you are here with me as you look at the photos that I take.

I love you,

Kim

Thanks for reading.

Eating our way through the adventure...

2010-11-18T06:43:00.000-08:00

Sometimes there are times in your life when you just have to. There's not really any reason not to, and it's fun to say you have. Like tonight. There's a great new couple here at our school, Brock and Lisa, and they're into truly experiencing the local culture. Since he's arrived, he's wanted to eat at a snake restaurant. Originally I thought the guy was pretty nuts--"unique" is a good word--and then I started to think about it. Why not? People eat weird stuff all of the time, and seriously, what a great thing to be able to tell my grandkids! In fact, I have an uncle, Uncle Ken, who traveled to Indonesia in the '80s, and during his trip to Sumatera, ate snake. I remember him telling me that it tastes just 'like chicken.' I thought he was really cool. Tonight, we learned that snake really DOES taste like chicken, at least cobra does, and it specifically tastes like chicken breast. Alligator does as well, although I found it a bit sour. Monitor lizard has the texture and slight flavour of fish, monkey is a sweeter meat, and python is a bit 'chewy,' like crab. Brock was the only one who tried bat (flying rats, who eats those???). He also topped off his personal adventure with a cup of cobra blood mixed with the cobra's bile and a little chinese wine. He said it tasted a little bitter. I'll take his word for it.

In the photo of Tris and I, he is trying monitor lizard and I am trying cobra (fried). Of all the items, the cobra won the award at our table for the item we'd most likely order again. It's

rather morbid, really, because it's the cobra that we met personally before he became our dinner. It was a bit like the proverbial bunny that the farmer's daughter names and spends time with, and then one day realizes Fluffy is in her soup (or chicken cacciatore, remember Mom??).

We started our dining adventure out by picking up Brock, Lisa and their little 1 1/2 year old, Bethany, and headed for Jakarta. On the way, we got a little lost in "Old Town" (old Dutch part of Jakarta) and were able to see a little of the older landscape outside of the car when Bethany decided that throwing up on her mom was the best way to get rid of the ache in her little tummy. Once Lisa was as clean as 3 baby-wipes, a bottle of ice-cold water and a purse pack of tissues could get her, we continued on until we reached "Istana Raja Cobra (King Cobra Palace) Restaurant." It literally is a hole in the wall with about 8 small plastic tables, a kitchen smaller than most suburbian clothes closets, and a 'snake room' at the back. I have to admit, though, it was a lot brighter and cleaner than I had imagined. The restaurant, I mean, not the snake room.

Meet 'Fluffy,' our dinner-to-be. After we placed our order (bat & alligator satay, fried cobra, fried monkey, fried monitor lizard, and bbq'd python), we headed to the back to pick our cobra. All of the other items on the menu were "pre-dead" and in the freezer, but unfortunately for

this dish, he was as fresh as they come. The most interesting thing that Tris and I noticed weren't the cages along the wall holding other diners' meal choices (green snake, 'earth' snake, a variety of other snakes), but rather the moving canvas bags on the floor. In these bags, which were hissing and rising up towards our voices, were King Cobras, and even through the bags I'm sure they could smell my fear. While we were watching the bags at our feet, our attendant was prepping the snake. It all happened quite quickly as the fellow showed us our snake choice, lopped off his head, hooked the body to the wall and slid the skin off the reptile. During the skinning, the head continued to move and the tongue to hiss. Very freaky. So very 'not me.'

Once we received our meat dishes, we shared them around and took photos, commented on the taste and texture, and finally realized that during our meal, little Bethany had drawn a lovely crayon masterpiece on the nearby table's plastic yellow chair. Rather squiggley lines, like snakes. How appropriate.

I'm not sure that a return visit to this restaurant will ever happen, unless our kids want to go (they were too busy swimming and watching movies to come along this time) or we have visitors who want the same 'unique' experience, but I admit, I am glad to be able to say I DID.

Thanks for reading.

...this is a little different from the new Bread & Butter Cooking Club that was born last week...new post to come full of delicious details!

Matt Dancing the Papuan Friendship/Hunting Dance

2010-11-08T03:22:00.000-08:00

Want to watch this dude dance? Check out:

SPH - Bulan Bahasa 2010 from Brock Haylock on Vimeo.

Going Greek with the Girls

2010-11-07T03:52:00.000-08:00

Life is good with food, and it's even better when friends help you make that food! Today I spent the better half of my late morning into the evening cooking, and then eating, with two friends. One is Amelia, who is my World Vision 'boss', a BC-born, Ontario-bred Canadian girl. The other is Ontario born and bred Becky, Abby's homeroom teacher.

For weeks Amelia and I have been planning a Greek meal with a Mediterranean twist, and I just love it when plans become reality. Our menu consisted of pita bread, focaccia bread (not sure where that fits in but it was a delicious afterthought!), hummus, babaganoush, tzadziki, greek salad with REAL calamata olives (yum), and rosemary-marinated

chicken skewers. Amelia brought the fixings for sangria (my first time to try it) and although we're really not sure where this drink originated, today it was Mediterranean!

To finish it off we made an incredible honey-dripping, butter-soaked baklava. Not a bad menu for all the unusual items we had to find. This is when I am extra thankful for bags of nuts brought from home, whether via

visitors or our trip home this summer. There have also been a lot of great foreign foods in a few of the larger grocery stores in Jakarta, like phyllo pastry and calamata olives, things that sometimes are difficult to find.

Hands down, the baklava was our favourite of all the recipes we tried today, and I'd like to share the recipe with you. For years I was afraid of phyllo, thinking it was too difficult to work with. What I've discovered is that if you cover the sheets with a slightly damp towel when you are not working with them, the pastry stays moist and pliable. If you leave them in the air, they dry out quickly and tend to crack as you work with them.

Baklava Recipe:

Ingredients:

750 g phyllo pastry

2 cups chopped almonds/walnuts (we combined them)

500 g (2 cups) melted, unsalted butter

1/2 cup sugar

cinnamon and cloves to taste

Use a 9x13 pan. Trim the pastry to the size of the pan, and keep the leftovers for later. Using half the pastry sheets, begin by greasing pan, then laying down 2-3 sheets of pastry. Brush butter on every 2-3 sheets.

Combine the nuts, sugar and spices. Once you've used 1/2 the pastry sheets, sprinkle the nut mixture over the top. Cover the nut mixture with the leftover pastry pieces before beginning to lay down the 2nd half of the pastry. Continue to butter every 2-3 sheets until sheets are used up.

Cut into squares using a sharp knife BEFORE baking, making sure to cut through to the base.

If any butter remains, pour it over pastry, then bake at 350F approximately 1 hour or until golden brown. Immediately pour hot syrup over the top and let cool, approximately another hour.

Syrup:

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best)

a few grates of lemon zest

cinnamon stick

Boil approximately 10 minutes.

Delicious! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Highly recommended with a cup of tea.

Thanks for reading.

Very Random Bunny Trails

2010-11-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

We are a few weeks past Matt's 15th birthday and a month and a half until my baby girl turns 13. Where does the time go?? Today Abby is staying home from school, sick with a sore throat, cough and slight fever. The funny thing is, I had to practically tackle her to the ground and put her back into bed to get her to stay home from school. At one point I thought she might defy me and head to school when I wasn't looking (she was already in uniform when I discovered she's not feeling well), and my first thought was "How do I discipline for THAT?" What would I do? Go to school and report to her teachers/principal that "Abby refuses to stay home from school!" That scenario made me laugh, but fortunately she crawled back into bed and there she still lies.

I'm sitting in a corner of her peaceful, green and turquoise room (photos of new paint jobs to come) and thinking about all that's going on in the last while. What it comes down to is that we're busy and the skies are constantly bringing new, LOUD thunderstorms. That's a summary in a nutshell.

You may have heard of the various tragic natural disasters that have occurred here in Indo in the past week. There have been 2 earthquakes and consequent tsunami in some islands off of Sulawesi (wiped out 20 villages), Mount Merapi has erupted (8 hours by train from us) and is threatening to do it again, there is constant flooding in Jakarta (doesn't harm us but is devastating to many families in the slums), and there has been a drought somewhere in Indo since February. Here we sit in our little Lippo bubble and watch the news, read the papers, and it's not overseas, it's right in our own backyard. The best we can do as people untrained in disaster relief is to send money for those who know what they're doing, and to pray for those who are involved, victims or rescuers. Not a whole lot different from back home. Once and a while an opportunity comes up where a group of people volunteer to go into a community and help rebuild. We haven't participated in anything like that yet but would like to.

It truly is amazing that as the world seems to be in chaos all over, life in its beauty and simplicity still goes on. Here in Lippo we just received some very heartwarming, exciting news from a young couple that moved here in July. They've been married 9 months and have just found out that they're pregnant. With twins. They've gone from calling their baby Peanut to calling them Peanut Butter and Jelly. That's pretty cute. They do ultra sounds here extremely early, and at 5 weeks they were already able to tell that there are two fetuses. Incredible!

This news has brought me to realize that there are very few twins here in Indo. With a population of 14 million in Jakarta alone, you'd think you'd see them all over. When I begin to list my friends either with twins or who are a twin, it's pretty big for our Cdn population! Kathleen, Dale, Tara, Stephanie, Renkemas, Lois, Maura, Sarah & Bethany, Rebecca's new grandbabies coming (boys!!), the new pastor who came when we left...and those are just the ones off the top of my head, and not including the ones I grew up with in school! BTW, 5 of those listed are from the same church. I know that we don't drink the water from the tap here in Indo, and we do in Canada, so that must be the answer.

Speaking of water and earlier, rain, I just have to fill you in on the most recent weather patterns here. We have had some of the loudest, windiest rainstorms here that I've ever seen. Just the other day, Tris was at the golf course and I was sitting on our foyer floor, looking outside, when 3 bolts of lightening came down in front of me, two doors across from our house, and hit a lightening rod. With those bolts came some earth-shaking, teeth-rattling thunder, and, I must admit, a few screams from within our home. Screams of "omygoodnessdidyousee/hearthatitwasincredibleandsoscaryithitthelighteningrod!!" amongst some laughter. Our helper came into the foyer with dinner-plate sized eyes (JUST like the dahlia), and our driver ran into our kitchen, not wanting to go back outside. Needless to say, I cancelled the appointment I had been heading out the door to. As for Tris at the golf course, he heard the same and picked up his ball (without putting, even!!), grabbed his clubs, and headed for cover.

It's never boring here, and there's always a story to tell.

Thanks for reading.

Fifteen Photos for 15 Years. Happy Birthday Matt!

2010-10-15T06:49:00.001-07:00

This is Matt.

This is Matt's new hat.

See Matt run.

See Matt with a gun.

Look at Matt tell his sister how to do his work.

See Matt dry a dish.

Watch Matt catch a fish.

See him draw.

Watch him swim.

Look at Matt feeding the cute little monkey!

Watch the cute little monkey bite the hand that feeds it. Evil monkey.

See Matt's cool tattoo.

See Matt & his sister's teeth are blue.

This is Matt two years ago, blowing out his 13 candles for the 8th time (trick candles). In two years he's gone from boy to young man,

and we're very proud of him.

Matt, we think you are fun, intelligent, compassionate, funny, courageous, talented, strong, disciplined, good looking (good genes!!) and so much more.

Happy 15th Birthday to my Sunshine.

Thanks for reading.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-10-12T01:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving one and all! We celebrated last night, just the four of us, with 2 chickens, stuffing, marshmallow salad, turkey gravy (you can buy the packets here) and even cranberry sauce. We started our meal with a great pumpkin soup recipe and cute little personal-sized loaves of bread. The soup is worth a try, especially if you can get your hands on fresh spices (like whole nutmeg rather than powdered). Most pumpkin recipes are a bit on the plain side, but this one has some pizazz. You can omit the coriander if you'd like, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Try it for yourself:

2 tbsp oil (olive oil if you don't heat it too high)

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup finely chopped leek (or spring onion)

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 medium-sized pumpkin, seeded, cut into chunks

1 large potato, peeled and diced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1/2 zucchini, chopped into large chunks

4 cups chicken stock (or 4 cups boiling water with 2 1/2 tbsp chicken bouillon powder)

1/2 cup whole milk or thin cream plus set aside 1 tsp milk/cream per bowl as well.

Place pumpkin, potato, carrot & zucchini in roasting dish, pour in 1/2 cup water, and place in oven @ 350 degrees (or no. 4 on your gas oven). Roast until pumpkin is almost soft. Cool and then remove skin from pumpkin.

While veggies are cooling, heat the oil then place onions, leek and garlic into pan. Cook until onions are almost clear but not brown. Add spices and cook for about 1/2 minute, then add the veggies and stock (and any remaining roasting juices). Bring to boil and then simmer until all veggies are soft. Cool the soup base and then blend in blender. Return blending to the pot, add the milk/cream and stir gently while the soup heats once more.

Once the soup is ready, ladle into individual bowls, pour a dab of cream in each bowl, stirring only once to create a swirl. Serve!

Thanksgiving isn't the same without a bigger family crowd, but we did our best and enjoyed. We are thankful:)

Thanks for reading

Marriage

2010-09-30T01:26:00.000-07:00

Marriage. It's a huge step. It also costs a lot. Not just the wedding itself, but the rest of it. I love my husband; he's my best friend in the whole wide world. There have been times when I'd like to kick him (seriously. I grew up with brothers...I did that kind of thing. Either that or stick him in the center of an inner tube and fling him down a hill...that is kind of fun though and it probably wouldn't let him know I was actually ticked off), where we don't really like each other that much, but we still love each other. In the beginning years we both admit that there were times where we'd wake up and look over at the other person, thinking "what have I done. I'm in this for life!" Mostly, however, I love being married. I love knowing someone's going to be there when I come home, knowing that if I can't eat all my burger I've got help, knowing I've got someone to make me take my vitamins when I can't be bothered, I like knowing that I'm beautiful to somebody, and I like knowing that I'm taken care of.

This is why I am sad. I'm sad because there are some really dumb guys out there. Sorry, male population, but there are! I've got some absolutely beautiful, intelligent, funny, adventuresome, non-threatening girlfriends who would love to find someone, settle down, have babies, make soup and berry pies (or eat out...whichever): someone to come home to. If I had my wish, I'd take the best of the best of the single men out there (and I'd find them!!), drill them for details, match them up with my girls and whah-lah! we'd have some good husbands for these lovely girls. I know I'm not supposed to play God and it's NOT my job, but the temptation is so big sometimes.

I just went to a bridal shower today. One of the new girls here was married 5 days before she moved to Indonesia, and two of her friends here threw her a post-wedding surprise shower, 2 months after her Big Day. I love going to showers, wedding or baby. There's always so much life involved, lots of hopes and dreams for the future, and usually some pretty funny stories if you pay

attention to what's being said around you. I especially love it when it's a surprise, and the bride actually falls for it, like Becky did today.

The shower was held at a new restaurant in town, Grasshopper Thai, where Emily the proprietor serves Thai food but will whip up a scrumptious English tea party for you as well. Today was a good day--an extra special day for Becky--spent with good friends.

Tris and I are working through the Love and Respect marriage series with a few young couples and a longer-term one, and we're getting a lot out of it. Each time we examine our own marriage, not only does it make me thankful for the man I've been blessed with, it makes me happy when I see others in my life blessed the same--difficulties, blemishes, even heartaches, and all. It also makes me wish the same for those I know want to be married, and that's been my prayer for these friends of mine for years. I'm happy to say that some of my prayers have been answered, and I know there are more to come:)

Thanks for reading.

What do you DO all day?

2010-09-27T01:25:00.000-07:00

This summer I was hanging out with my baby brother, Tyler, and he asked me a very simple yet extremely difficult to answer question. We were talking about life in Indonesia, and he asked me "what do you do all day?" I stumbled over the question a bit and then we were interrupted, and the answer to that question has haunted me since. What DO I do all day? What does ANYBODY do who is unemployed in a foreign country, has a helper (ok, I admit, she's a maid...call it what you will) and a part-time driver, a pre-teen and a teen who are becoming quite independent, and who no longer has permanent access to a sewing machine but has a great mac computer?? I've thought about it over the last two months, and although I can't give a day by day analysis, this is what I do in a week, or at least in a month. Please note, what I DO and what I aspire to are sometimes two completely different things. In point form:

*in the early morning I use the time given to me (I KNOW I will look back at this in the future and sigh) to work on a bible study. Never in my life have I had the time to sit, read and write like I do in the mornings here. Note: while I do this, my family is getting ready, but with the kids' ages and their wearing uniforms, my morning input consists of "have you got your lunch?", "brush your teeth!" "deodorant???" and "I love you. Have a great day."

*by 7 am I am up and usually meeting someone for some form of exercise, whether it's a walk, tennis or bike riding. The best thing we ever brought to Indo is our bikes, and although there are few places to ride, having them is much more convenient than walking and healthier than driving.

*often my mornings consist of: tidying so our helper can get to the dirt more easily; computer work (either editing for World Vision, preparing something for Karawaci Ladies, answering questions directed to me because of our blog or just because of the fact that we have now lived here for over 2 years); computer fun (blogging, checking emails/facebook, finding recipes, reading other blogs, skyping); meetings for Karawaci Ladies, bible study or SPH (although now that the kids are in middle school the amount of meetings i have to go to has dwindled); grocery shopping with my helper (sometimes); language study (which has involved homework since I've decided to get more serious); self-appointed chores (anywhere from sewing on buttons to painting a room); and of course, there's always time for friends.

*my afternoons consist of (ok, gotta stay honest here...): naps. Yup, sometimes I nap. Now that I'm feeling significantly healthier than I have for the past 1 1/2 years I do this much less, but the nap is there if I need it. I also garden periodically, although I tend to save this for the weekends. Right now it's pretty mushy outside and so I garden when it's dry. As well, I've been working on home improvements lately, which can be anything from planting new plants or trees, scraping paint off the floors from previous tenants, painting a room, redirecting outdoor pipes so that water won't lift the paint, to rat & ant proofing our home. Most weeks I bake at least twice a week, sometimes more if the baking was a hit, and I like to try a new recipe at least once a week. Periodically I plan an event like Thanksgiving dinner for a large group, etc, and I do this during my quiet afternoons. Once a week I meet with 2 women and we practice our Indonesian (one already speaks it as a second language and is learning more vocabulary as she teaches us the grammar) for about 2 hours. Once a week I meet with a young woman who has asked that I act as her mentor/accountability person/friend (the last one comes easy). I work on my bible study homework, either stuff I am preparing for others or the homework that has been assigned to me. Typically after school I do pilates on Tuesdays, go to the slums with Abby either Wednesday or Friday, and sometimes meet Tris at the gym on Wednesdays (any time I mention the gym read: I go and work my arms, check my phone, drink water, chat with other gym goers, sit on the bike and sweat because the a/c isn't that strong).

There are many cracks in between all of these events, and sometimes I get to fill them with tea with friends, a day of shopping or exploring in and around Jakarta, a trip to the local morning market or, once in a blue moon, I lock myself in my bedroom, turn on the a/c and read a good book.

As a family, our evenings are pretty lax when they're not filled with homework. Mondays we have specifically taken off in order to make sure that the kids get their week started properly. Tuesday Tris and I are presently leading a Love and Respect group with attendees ranging from dating to being married 2 months, 8 months, 9 years and 18 years...the latter is us and we're the old guys in the group. Wednesday Tris and I have committed to a bible study from our church (International English Service or IES) which is held in our taman (neighbourhood) and which we are thoroughly enjoying being a part of. Thursdays are for wrapping up the week and making sure that the kids are prepared for whatever is coming up the next week. Fridays the kids go to their own bible study and Tris and I hang. Saturdays and Sundays have taken on a unique quality all their own and each one would be a blog post in itself.

It's weird putting into words what I do each day, and it makes me realize that although I am not a teacher (I get asked this question regularly...do I look like a teacher?) or any other label of employment for that matter, I still maintain a productive and not just 'busy' lifestyle. It is my wish that some day I will have some marketable qualities that look good on paper, especially because I can't see us living here forever and I'll eventually need a job, but until then, I'll keep on doing what I'm doing.

Our First Indonesian Wedding (Sept 18, 2010)

2010-09-25T23:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend our family had the privilege of attending an Indonesian (Chinese) wedding. Other foreign guests said that it was quite a western wedding compared to some that they had been to before, but I've gotta tell you, we've never been to a wedding like it. The venue was a sports club called Pantai Mutiara (Pearl Beach) in North Jakarta, over an hour away from our home. Thankfully the weather was cooperative as it was held outdoors, under a beautiful three-starred night. Even the breeze blew in the right direction, and kept the smell of the surrounding waters away from the evening's festivities. If one looked at the water from the dock that we stood on (ohhh, the beams looked like the cedar beams used to make docks back home...) we could see the rubbish floating in the brown water, and it made me understand why one would host a wedding after dusk. It was the sound of the water lapping against the piles that made the water magical, definitely not the smell nor the sight.

As for the wedding itself, the actual ceremony had taken place earlier in the day, at 10 am. We were invited to both, but as is common, apparently, for such events, most guests only attend the reception. We arrived at 6:30 pm, and after our driver dropped our family off at the front doors, we walked down a beautiful pink & red satin-draped corridor through the hotel to the outdoor reception. A long red carpet led us down through the reception area where, after signing the guest book and leaving our monetary gift in a special box, we headed towards the cake, drinks and fruit plates. Lining the carpet on the outskirts of the dock were food vendor stalls, each labelled with their particular food for the taking. If you take a look at the photo above, you'll see pillars behind Kendri and Cyinthia, the happy couple and their parents, and the cake in between. That cake was HUGE! According to etiquette, none of the food or drinks were to be touched until after the wedding party arrived, which typically occurs about 30 minutes after the guests arrive.

It was fun to meet up with a few of our SPH community members, and a few old ones that have moved elsewhere, and to chat while we waited. Once the wedding party had arrived, the parents were introduced and the wedding couple strolled down the long red carpet, finally stopping under a flower and grape covered "love gazebo." It was here that Kendri, the husband, spoke some incredible words of love and admiration, in English, to his beautiful new bride (I told Matt to take notes for the future Kendri was so good!) that inspired older couples like Tris and I to gaze into each other's eyes for a split second and think of our own vows (ah, memories of new love) made to each other years ago.

Indonesians are quite into romance, and this was proven when, while the newlyweds fed grapes to each other, choreographed reams of tinsel hearts exploded over the couple and above the crowd. This happened a second time a few moments later after the couple finished feeding each other pieces of their wedding cake. What REALLY screamed romance, though, was when the couple leaned in for their official "wedding bliss kiss" and fireworks, yes...seriously...fireworks went off behind them. Our friend Becky was able to capture the incredible, out-of-a-movie scene on her Canon snap and shoot. You can't see the couple but you get the gist of the whole atmosphere. Very lovely.

There are very few opportunities to dress up in this culture, at least for our family, and so it was fun to put on our nicest clothes, wear heels (thankfully, they don't even sell nylons here) or dress shoes, and to sweat in clothes we don't usually have the fun of sweating in. Tris did that really well, even after he took off the dress jacket, but fortunately that was hidden by the shadows of the night:) When someone commented that Tris looks hot in this photo, little does she know how hot he REALLY is (and for the record, I agree, he does look pretty hot). Here's our family in regular form, and then posing properly for a nice family shot.

We really enjoyed our night and were glad to have been invited.

Thanks for reading.

301st Post...Year 3 has begun!

2010-09-20T03:14:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it...we've entered into our 3rd year here in Indonesia, and I've written over 300 blog posts. For some of you, that many words coming out of me comes as no surprise, but I didn't think I'd last more than a few months. I figured I'd run out of interesting topics early in the game, but as life goes on, so does blogging.

Our family, and our SPH community, has just finished a 10 day holiday and today was the first day back to school. Many families went on vacation outside of our village but we opted to stay home and save money for our upcoming Germany trip. It's quite amazing, really, how nice it is just to stay home and be. Be. For Matt and Abby, that meant hanging with their friends (the ones who stayed home), watching tv, eating, helping me paint their rooms, and reading. Lots of reading. Being for Tris meant golfing as much as possible, watching tv, exercising with his lovely wife (tennis, biking and the gym mostly) and reading. And practicing golf swings wherever he went. I "be'd" by shopping for groceries, prepping and cooking in the kitchen, as well as baking for a variety of get-togethers over the holidays. I loved every minute of it, and although I missed Ami, our helper, Matt and Abby (and Tris, too), did their fair share of dishes to help me out. I did a lot of laundry, which, admittedly, I love to do, and Matt and I shared the ironing duties when necessary. The most productive part of the holidays was that I was able to paint the kids' rooms. After 2 years of begging for painted rooms, we relented and went ahead with it, even though you never know when the school will decide to move us into another home.

What is weird is that we took hardly any photos at all, so you'll have to take my word for it that we had a good time. We did go to our first Indonesian wedding, but even then I didn't have my camera (Tris made me leave it at home. It didn't match my dress). I'll have to get the photos from a friend before posting about it.

One last item that Tris is harping on me to write about (he's sitting right here) is that i rode an ojek today and as I was getting off it, I burned my leg quite badly (sort of) on the exhaust pipe. The bandage is huge, and everyone who has lived here for a while knows that when someone has a bandage on the inner calf, it means that you've burned yourself on an ojek. There you have it.

Thanks for reading.

Sea World Field Trip

2010-09-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

I love field trips. Last week I had an opportunity to go on one to Sea World with some children who live in some nearby slums, as well as their teachers and two young women who are new to Indonesia and SPH (Jen and Becky). Part of the money that was raised a few weeks ago at the Karawaci Ladies' Trivia Night for Education went towards renting a bus, buying lunches and snacks and paying for the entry fee into the area where Sea World is located. When approached, Sea World very quickly and generously agreed to waive the entry fees for the children as well as the chaperones for the entire day. Not only did they pay for our entry, but they gave the children fun stickers and goodies to take home with them as well.

When we were inside Sea World, the children were able to see things they have never seen in their lives. They touched small sharks, sea turtles, sea creatures (no idea what they were!) as well as watched stingrays, sharks, turtles and large fish eat during feeding time. I had fun watching the creatures, but mostly I enjoyed the kids' faces. Priceless.

After Sea World, we headed to the beach. These kids live near a river and so most of them know how to swim. However, although they live on the island of Java, they'd never seen the ocean before, and therefore had never swam in it. Originally the teachers rules were that the kids could walk in the water only. After about 30 minutes, however, the kids pleaded their case and said how much they wanted to swim in the ocean (many times over), and of course, the teachers agreed. There was no way you could say no to their pleading.

These kids were amazing. They swam in jeans and t-shirts, shorts and shirts, some with clothes that were way too big when dry and that grew even bigger when wet, and not once did they complain that they were uncomfortable, too sandy, and even though they were shivering, too cold. Afterwards they changed with no comment, with no towels and with little privacy, and they were so excited to have had a chance to play in the ocean. I could learn a thing or two about being content from these kids.

What a wonderful way to spend my day! I can go weeks, even months here in Indo, enjoying daily life, living and learning what I can, but it's when I get to be a part someone else's life, to experience things that I have done before but with a new perspective, that I really experience an excitement about being here. I know that no matter where I live on this earth, I have opportunity to learn through someone else's eyes, and I am thankful for these kids and for the blessing of spending a day with them here in Indo.

Thanks for reading.

Fish & Loaves...and Beef Vindaloo

2010-09-04T23:55:00.000-07:00

Holidays are almost here. Ramadhan, the month of Islamic prayer and fasting, is almost over, ending with Idul Fitri. Idul Fitri is the closest thing here to our Christian Christmas, where people all over Indonesia journey home to their families. Our helper and our driver will be heading off for about 2 weeks each to spend time in Central Java and in nearby Bandung, respectively. If you'd like a better, recently written perspective on this time of fasting and then celebration, look to a few of the blogs I have at the right. Both the Weedas and Joel & Amanda cover the month of Ramadhan.

It seems like we just came home from Canada and now we're heading into our holidays already! Kids in Canada are just returning to school this week and THAT's weird. During our time home we've had a few "productive" moments and I'd like to share some of them with you.

One of the things that I am particularly aware of, being a mother of two and having a maid who cooks, cleans, irons and will even put away my

children's clothes if I let her, is that I need to prepare my kids for "the real world." What that may be is always a matter of debate, but in my eyes, it's being able to figure out how to turn on a clothes machine, how to iron a dress shirt, and how to survive in the kitchen. As a result, we've had a few kitchen sessions and have had a good time learning how to do things like make fried eggs, grilled cheese and french toast. We've even had a few 'yeasty' sessions of pita bread and white bread. The kids are doing great! I've included a photo of Matt's bread that he made, and if you look carefully, you'll see my new "40th birthday" ring that Tris bought me. Strategically placed, I admit. I like how it glitters.

When we returned home from Canada, there were reports of lots of rain and cold weather (guffaw!) here in Lippo Village. The result of that was that our grass died in the backyard and left a huge muddy patch. After planting some grass, our yard needed a little something more. I've taken some of my birthday money that was given to me in Canada (thank you!!) and bought myself a water feature. This nice chunk of cement cost me $45 and it has brought a lot of fun to the backyard. It's inspired me to expand and fill in our garden area, as well as buy some fish and water plants. I intended on buying only 2 fish but who can say no to 6 fish for 20 cents!! Another 30 cents for a huge bag of food and I was set. The last 2 weeks has been full of dealing with a tilting water feature (we must be having mini earthquakes or something because the thing tilts every couple of days) and finding the ideal location for it.

One really weird thing that happened today was that while Tris and I were lounging outside, enjoying the sound of falling water, our fish started to jump. Seriously, there was this one that would line itself up just under the waterfall and then jump

through it. We watched this four times before he stopped. It was quite the show, and I wondered if maybe we'd bought a small salmon-type fish that needed to spawn or something. Sadly, a few hours later I went out to feed them and one of the fish had actually jumped OUT of the water onto dry land. The ants had gotten to him and chewed little holes in him, but when Tris returned him to the water, he began to swim around. Not sure if he'll live, but since I was going to name the six fish after Snow White's Seven Dwarves (minus Grumpy), this particular fish will be called Dopey.

About a week ago we had friends over for dinner, and Indian was on the menu. I've never cooked an Indian meal before but with the help of a few pre-packaged items and sauces in my freezer and cupboard, I was up for the challenge. One of the things I did make from scratch, though, was Beef Vindaloo, and it

was fun to make. I had to take a photo of the spices I needed to grind together, because they're so beautiful and colourful together. Some of the ingredients were chili powder, garlic cloves, grated ginger, turmeric, salt, pepper, black cumin seeds, dill seeds and coriander powder. After grinding the spices, I had to marinate the meat for 2 hours in them and then cook for another 4 hours. It was very nice and I'd definitely make it again.

Finally, the ultimate in productive for me, was that two weeks ago I spent 5 days, 6 hours a day studying Indonesian language with a friend. We hired a tutor and learned some good solid grammar. Still, I feel like with all the money I've spent on language classes and learning and all the hours I've invested, I should be able to speak better than I am. It's very frustrating.

That's it for productivity.

Thanks for reading.

Trivia for Education 2010

2010-08-26T16:17:00.000-07:00

And a fun time was had by all! I think that that would be the verdict on the 'Trivia for Education' charity night that Karawaci Ladies held last Saturday night. It was held in our local Aryaduta Hotel in the Mahogany Ballroom, and about 100 people attended. We had 5 "trivia masters" who asked questions on sports, entertainment, music, Indonesia and random trivia. We could have had even more categories if we'd had the time, but we managed to pack a lot into 3 hours.

When the holidays ended and everybody returned from their travels to home countries and the world in general, a few karawaci ladies put their heads together and planned. We'd booked the hotel before the holidays, but all the rest had to be done after that. We sent out letters requesting sponsorship and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the majority of businesses and individuals responded. We ended up with about 75 raffle prizes, which means that there was one for 75% of the crowd.

Tris was MC and he did a game called "Gotta Have It" where he asks for an item and whoever brings it up first wins a prize (this time it was a coupon or a starbucks bear). The best one was where he asked people to carry their best friend to him. A few people got tossed but it was fun:) We also had a few tables plan a theme and dress accordingly. Ours was the 'hairbrainers.' Tris had difficulty figuring out what to do with his hair...One of our tables came as nerds, and this is my favourite photo that came out of it:

our friend Joel grew his facial hair for a few days and shaved it to match his wonderful glasses (still not sure where he found those here in Lippo).

Ultimate nerd.

In the end, we raised about US$1850 to put towards our education fund (a new concept for Karawaci Ladies. Normally we raise for medical purposes, but those are much bigger amounts needed). Ultimately, regardless of the money raised and the raffle prizes won, I think it was a great opportunity for people in the Lippo area to meet and play together. We had a great mix of guests from our local school, university, businesspeople, Royal Doulton, a 'competitor' school outside of Lippo, an SPH branch school in Jakarta and some who I have no idea where they came from but who we were quite happy to have join us.

All in all, it was a good evening.

Thanks for reading.

A Trip Worth Millions

2010-08-25T05:06:00.000-07:00

Some things are really easy to write about because they're funny or there's lots of information to fill a page, and other things I find difficult to put into words. I have had experiences here where each time I'm in the middle of one I try to imagine the way I'd describe it to others. Sometimes words just don't do justice to an experience. Unfortunately, sometimes photos don't either, especially when you've been asked not to take any because of sensitive circumstances surrounding an event. One of the most fulfilling things I have had the opportunity to participate in here is to go to a slum area with Abby and to sit in on classes with the children. It's this particular area that I am unable to describe with photos, and so I will try my best using words. For the record, we have taken a few photos on our small digital camera, but we've said that we will not post anything on FB or on our blog, so we'll just keep them for ourselves.

Abby and I are trying to set a schedule where we head out once a week around 4:30 and join 3 national teachers who have huge hearts for their country. These three women have decided that they can make a difference in their country by educating a small group of children who would normally never have a chance at an education. Starting in the morning, these kids beg alongside the road, taking turns knocking on car windows, in traffic, and hoping to help their families make some money. They come home before dark, eat a meal, wash up and on the nights class is held, come to class around 5 pm. The room that they hold class in is about 7 ft x 10 feet, and I believe it is in the front of someone's home. This shanty home is built within a long line of others, situated between an old cemetary (complete with tombs and tombstones) and a filthy dirty river. There's a big hole in the back of the house and it's from this river that the wind blows through the classroom, bringing with it a cool breeze and some mosquitoes, too.

Tonight as we drove up to the river, through the grave sites, we could hear the children cheering before we parked. They knew that we were coming because our angkot (public transport station wagon-bus) honked all the way in. It felt like a scene from some black and white missionary movie from Africa. We hopped out of the angkot, walked through the tall grass, down a hill that, thankfully, wasn't nearly as slippery as our last visit during the rain. Just as we reached the river's edge, we turned into the crowd of children, each of whom greeted us with a beautiful 'salam.' This greeting is one of those Indonesian traditions that gets my heart every time: a child will take the hand of an adult and greet them by placing their forehead or cheek on the adult's hand. It's neat that most of them do it with Abby as well, and they did it to her friend Zoe who accompanied us tonight.

Once we were able to move the crowd of children to just outside the 'school room,' past the skinny puppies and surprisingly fat, healthy-looking goats, and beyond the privacy of a woman bathing behind some rickety boards, we held hands in a circle and sang songs. Twinkle, twinkle is a favourite, even with the 10 year old boys. Skinnamarinky has the same effect on kids all over the world it seems, and the song about copying the person in the middle of the circle makes kids smile in any language. After singing, we all headed inside for some class time. Usually there are about 15 kids, divided into 3 classes, and 1 teacher plus a helper (Abby and I) for each class. Tonight I got to teach the older kids about families. It was great because I got to practice my indonesian and they got some english in as well. The greatest difficulty, when it's not raining, is trying to keep the attention of your class when there's a class of little ones to your right and a class of 7-9 year olds leaning into your "class" space from behind. When it is raining, you are also fighting the sound of the wind, thunder and rain, and sometimes, like our last visit, you are struggling to find a source of light when the power goes out. If you ever think of sending a care package, please send dollar store LED keychain lights. I realize just how handy those things are when you are in an electricity 'pinch.'

After class, the kids are responsible for stacking their tiny little benches at the side of the class, stowing their plastic school folders for another class day, and tidying up. They once again take our hands and tap their foreheads to them, say good bye, and follow us like a flock of goats back up the small hill, through the tombstones and grass, to our patiently awaiting angkot driver. It's usually during this part of the trip that I get emotional. By this time there are boats on the river, long, skinny boats with usually two men in them. One man fishes standing up and the other steers the boat. Others are squatting next to the river, hoping to catch dinner as well. Quite often the clouds are out and the sun is setting pink behind them. More often than not the birds are starting to sing their evening song, competing with the Muslim call to prayer in the not-so-distant distance.

It's in this place of death, surrounded by mud and tombstones, rickety shanty homes and garbage, that beauty still cries out. It's in the silhouette of the fishermen on the river and in the pink sun setting on the grass growing out of the tombstones; it's in the yawning, skinny puppies and the shy yet laughing, shabbily dressed children. It's in the way the kids run around their teachers, salaming and asking questions and saying "be careful" in Indonesian. It's in the way my daughter smiles as she climbs into the angkot, and in the dirt on her shoes that refuses to come off for days.

I'm not sure I can truly describe what I see and feel on these trips. All I know is that although it sometimes takes a kick in the pants to get us out the door for these trips, when I get home I'm usually hot, sweaty, dirty and smiling.

Thanks for reading.

From Knee-Length to Mini-Skirt in 45 Seconds or Less

2010-08-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

Some of my posts take a few weeks to write in my head, and then finally I put them down onto "paper." This post just keeps popping up in my mind because the following story just makes me laugh. At myself. Again.

In Canada, by the time we got to the 2nd half of our journey, we were pretty rested up and manual labour looked kind of fun (it'd been a while, you know?). Tris' parents rent out their property/gardens for weddings during the warmer months, and one Friday night before a small Saturday wedding was to occur, we were tidying things up a bit. One of the given chores was to use the leaf blower to move dirt and debris, although a broom can do just as good a job in about 10x the amount of time. I won this job after much debate and hustling; I fought for the job because there's nothing like the feeling of accomplishment after one has literally "clean sweep-ed" an area. Once I figured out how to work the thing, and after Sunny and I finished our discussion on why I didn't need to go and change out of my skirt and into some grubbies (it was a cotton batik skirt that cost me about $2.50...I didn't think it was a big deal), I turned it on. All went well for quite some time, but it was about 3/4 of the way through that my arms began to get tired, and it became difficult to hold up the blower for very long. Occasionally my skirt would even get a bit close and 'stick' to the intake air vent. Some people don't take verbal suggestions very well, nor are they observant enough to recognize danger signs.

It wasn't until I felt heat against my legs, and was unable to move my thighs in any direction, that I realized that my skirt was not only venturing towards the engine: it had crawled inside! The motor started screaming a high pitched wail although, strangely enough, it had enough strength to keep on blowing at its regular force. I started yelling "Help!!!" and even though help in the form of Sunny and Matthew was only a few meters away, no one responded. Sunny looked up, smiled, and went back to her weeding. Matthew just kept listening to his i-pod. I yelled louder, laughing at the same time, and when Sunny looked up--she commented later--it seemed like I was having such a good time that I must be joking around with someone. Finally, it wasn't until I started yelling "No, I'm SERIOUS!!! HEELLLP ME!!" that Matthew gave me a funny look and decided to check out the situation. He came over and realized that he should probably turn off the engine. He then proceeded to try to catch the blower, which was still sucking my skirt into its belly, which in turn caused the skirt to tighten around my legs, which, combined with the force of the blowing air, was causing me to start to spin. Not an easy task for a young man, even one as co-ordinated as Matt.

Eventually, however, Matthew turned off the engine and removed my skirt from the fan. In all actuality, you'd think that after all that my skirt would have been a little piece of material, all in shreds, but it wasn't all that bad. If I was to cut out the damage, what was originally a knee-length skirt could become a mini. Not a good look, especially here in Indo. So, I gave the skirt to my sister-in-law, Laura, who hopefully can work that lovely pink and black piece of material into a quilt somehow. One of the best things about a quilt is that every square tells a story, and I like the story that the batik has to tell.

Advertising Billboard

2010-08-09T17:00:00.001-07:00

Two weeks ago Tris and I gave permission for Abby to accompany a few other grade 7 SPH students on a photo shoot. There is a new school opening up in Jakarta at Kemang, and the shoot was to promote it. Although we are just a small community outside of Jakarta, we still got our own billboard, as seen above. If you look to the bottom right you can see a motorcycle, which gives you an idea how big Abby's head is in the photo. Just in case you miss this one, there is a second, slightly smaller billboard about 3/4 blocks down the road. Abby's story on this photo: the girls had thought the shoot was over and so they were skipping around, being goofy, and then the photographer wanted one more shot. It's this final shot that made the grade.

Thanks for reading.

First Two Weeks of School

2010-08-08T05:44:00.000-07:00

July 27 was the first day of school this year for Matthew and Abby. Even the third time around it's weird knowing that back in Canada, all our friends' kids are still on holidays. What's even weirder this time is that it was pretty cool in Canada while we were there (until the last week) and now we're hearing reports that there are over 400 forest fires in British Columbia, our home province. Weather can change so quickly! Not only can weather change, but as these photos prove, so do children.

As I do every year, on 27 July I pulled out my camera to capture that bittersweet first morning of school. If you'll notice, not only

has Abby's uniform changed from last summer (she's now in Senior School)

but our front door has shrunk drastically. It's amazing how much your children can change in one year. Just for fun I've included the photo of our first year here...TWO years makes a huge difference. I think that maybe Tris has shrunk a little around the middle since our first few days here as well.

Our first two weeks have been very full and we've whipped

into the swing of things quite well. Tris is coaching rugby and Matt has joined rugby as well. This is special for me because when I was in Junior High my dad was a "rugger"

coach and my older brother Darren played. Of course at that age I couldn't care less about rugby (was more interested in the players) but I still love that there's a second generation of father/son in the game. I regret that my dad won't be able to watch the games but I can at least keep him updated with photos.

Abby's waiting for basketball in January and right now is joining the Glee Club, which is just like the show: singing/choir and dancing. Matt is also joining, but both of them are not crazy about the name BECAUSE of the show. Our school no longer has a separate choir or hip hop club and Glee Club is their option. Either way, they get to sing and dance. Photos to follow, I'm sure.

Thanks for reading.

What are they trying to say?

2010-08-02T06:04:00.001-07:00

Here's a funny dvd cover that Tris bought the other day. We're not too sure what they were TRYING to say, but I'm not sure I want to check this one out. Maybe the word is PHOTOGRAPHY??? It's a DISNEY movie!

So Pleased to Meet You! (Stories from the Island)

2010-08-02T02:01:00.000-07:00

I've thought over so many times how I can write a post about our trip home. Thing is, I can't. I can add bits and pieces in my blog about different events and people, but I cannot merge my 7 weeks there, all the different events, all the people and all the very special memories into one post. For me, it cannot be done. I can try to add photos, and that might take a while since I have over 2500. I will, however, introduce you to two new relatives of mine, and a third "addition" to our non-blood family.

Our first addition took place last Fall, when my brother

Darren married a special lady named Chrystal. We had the privilege of meeting her this summer. Mostly we spent a lot of time either hiking or chatting over food (what better way to get acquainted??), and enjoyed just getting to know her. I knew I loved Chrystal and that she fit right in when she refused to let a slightly mangled blackberry pie go to waste.

The second person I met was quite a treat for me. I'd waited a full 9 months, plus the 6 extra to get to Canada to meet him! He is Fisher Hayes, my brother Tyler's youngest. He's got a gummy smile that'll melt your ice cream (I know, I ate a lot when I was there) and a personality that will make an auntie wonder why they ever invented

the word 'no.' Not only did we all get to meet him, we also got to witness Fisher's first crawl. I think that made my summer right there. One of the best parts about meeting Fisher was watching he and his 2 older siblings, Lucy and Eli, interact. It's fun to watch a little 6 1/2 year old haul around her brother who is literally half her size, and I love to watch Fisher's face light up when his 5 year old brother pays even a smidge of attention to him. Next year, however, there'll be no hauling...Fisher will be up and running alongside his sister and brother, tackling their big cousin Matthew to the ground.

The third person I met, also a little one, was a little guy I wasn't supposed to meet until next summer, only because he wasn't due until after we left the Island. He is Benjamin Graham, and he was kind enough to pop into this world JUST a little early so that we could say hello. It was nice to visit his mom Esther, daddy Chris, and even grandma Lily, who flew all the way from India to say hello (and her 23 hours in the air takes the cake against our 18!!).

There truly were so many people to visit and so little time, yet we tried to pack in as much as we could. I realize that next year we'll have to change a few things, spend more time doing certain things and less at others. Hopefully each year we'll be a little wiser as to how to divvy up our time. Going home really is the best thing a girl could ask for when you live so far away.

Thanks for reading.

Bursting Shelves & Busting Jeans

2010-07-29T00:07:00.000-07:00

Mom, I think you must have thrown my new jeans in the dryer when I was there. Seriously, I have to blame someone that my jeans are tighter now than when I left Indo. And NO, I'm pretty sure it doesn't have ANYTHING to do with the fact that we ate every 2 hours whether we were hungry or not.

Speaking of food, I just returned from a hair appointment in Jakarta (it's nice to get out of town now and then!) and was very, very pleasantly surprised by the amount of goods in stock on the shelves. When we first arrived in Indonesia, there was a good amount of choices of a few things, like 2 or 3 types of mayonnaise, 2 types of ketchup, stuff like that. After a while, when the elections were brewing, food stayed on the docks (variety of reasons) and we had very little choice, if there was even the item at all, on the shelves. Today, I found things that I brought from home because I haven't seen them here ever, or at least not in the last year. A few of the items that I found that I got excited about were (price included): corn meal ($4.30 for Red Mills bag); Lay's Salt and Vinegar chips ($5/bag); whole flax seed ($3/250 g); Trident gum (variety of flavours even, $1.40/package); reasonably fresh bagels ($.80/each); Cranberry Almond Crunch ($6-7/box); microwave popcorn ($2/pouch) and lots more that I can't remember. Quite often we pay 1/4 to double the amount that we'd pay at home, but the cost of living here is pretty reasonable, especially things like movies and eating out, so food at home can be a little higher. So, if I keep finding new items from home, these jeans will NEVER fit and we have no dryer to blame!!!

Thanks for reading.

Memories of Summer 2010...Summer-ized

2010-07-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

So here we are, "back in the saddle," so to speak. Of course, there aren't really any horses around to speak of, and those that we do see are so skinny I couldn't imagine putting a saddle on them, let alone hopping onto one. What I mean is that we're back in Indonesia, school starts tomorrow, uniforms and school supplies are purchased, organized (Abby) and ready to go. I was told that when I returned back to Lippo from Canada I'd suffer culture shock and that it would be a difficult transition. I have to say that we've been here a week tomorrow, and I haven't regretted our return. Of course I LOVED visiting our family, friends and hiking/walking/fishing/camping/canoeing/swimming (NOT...way too cold), but seeing that we've signed on for at least one more year, I'm not dreading it in any sense of the word. In fact, I've been thrilled so many times over since returning, just to see our community and how it's changed with the arrival of newbies and the departure of some good friends as well. I was a little worried that I'd pine so terribly over the ones I left back in Canada that I wouldn't be able to readjust here, but all is well.

I have admit though, I had a lovely summer and the highlights were definitely those spent with my beautiful, hilarious, talented and rambunctious nieces and nephews. It's those memories that will carry me over to our next visit next summer. There are so many things to think on, to turn over in my memory and savour, to smile about and even chuckle now and then (like when Elijah, 5, asked my mom, "Grandma, are you over 100 years old yet?"). I've wondered how I will record those memories on this blog and am not sure that it is possible. With over 25oo photos and about 7 slideshow/movies, I have visuals to last me at LEAST 11 months.

I can't believe it, but there are actually things we didn't do this year, like lay out and watch the stars (it took too long...we go to bed too early!), swim in a lake (tooooo cold), eat a roast ham with mashed potatoes and creamed corn (forgot!), and eat a peach. However, we did so many other things that I am going to list those I can remember off the top of my head, just for posterity sake.

WE: played mini-golf; rode tandem with Poppa; tore down Paul & Laura's drywall (renos); had weiner roasts at the Big Rock; took "cousin" photos at White Rock; rode a gondola and stood where Olympians stood at Whistler; ate ice cream on the pier; toured UBC (too many changes for my liking. Does this mean I'm getting old??); watched a parade; ate lemon crunch cookies and bought more to bring home; visited the Vancouver Art Gallery (a date Tris and I have promised each other for almost 20 years); witnessed my girlfriend officially become a nurse; picked out and am now wearing a 40th birthday diamond ring; hiked 8 km up and down a mountain, with an incredible ocean view at the top; visited little Zoey and her brother Zak, and older sister Eliana (Zoey's the one we've been praying for); picked berries; learned a few words to Justin Bieber songs; swam in a man-made pond; Ikea; ran into Indonesian friends in YVR; took morning walks along a river; checked out a few antique stores; met old friends; ate enough to feed an Indonesian family of 3 for a year; celebrated my 40th (many times over); golfed into the ocean (and searched unsuccessfully for those golf balls later); ate s'mores (many times); visited family in Port Alberni; dressed up special for a breakfast with the Devries cousins; rode bikes; walked the beach; slept on the beach; ran into Miranda in Port Alberni (how unlikely and how serependipitous ~ sp?~); visited Coombs (Goats on the Roof); hung with brothers and sisters; hung with cousins; hung with grandparents; played fetch with Willie (how sad the poor little guy was when we left!!); camped in really cold weather; camped with my girlfriends (Kim); canoed; kissed Fisher's fat cheeks; fished (ate a trout!); cooked meals over a fire; gained weight; celebrated our niece's "coming of age" at a very special party; cleaned out our storage locker; ate a 14A at the Saigon Noodle House (yum!); saw Fred and met my namesake for the first time (she's 9!!); visited dear friends; ran into wonderful friends; shopped on 5th Street; played bocci; had a water fight; rode a motorcycle for the first time (Matt); saw a coyote; saw a mama bear and 2 cubs (barely saw them through the telescope but I'll count it); saw HUNDREDS of deer; saw oodles of eagles; saw my first salamander; DIDN'T SEE A WHALE; learned the moves of a Jedi warrior (from a professionally trained 5 year old who knows them ALL); ate raspberries off the branch; folded dryer-fluffed laundry; heard frustrating news at our home church; met baby Benjamin who wasn't supposed to be born until after we left; sat on the back porch and listened to Gipsy Kings; scraped a blackberry pie off the walls, floor and suitcase; met my nephew for the first time; met my sister-in-law for the first time; chopped wood; cried when I left our families; ate at Dick's Fish and Chips; got my skirt sucked up into a leaf blower (hilarious...skirt is toast; I'm ok); o dear, what else did we do, or rather, what DIDN'T we do???

I'm out of breath, my computer is blinking red (no power left) and Matthew is insisting I turn out the big light so that he can go to sleep. I guess that's it for tonight.

Thanks for reading

Communal Living

2010-07-11T20:38:00.001-07:00

It’s been so long since I’ve posted, I don’t know where to start. I have options galore: things I’ve learned in Canada lately; people we’ve visited; places we’ve seen; a list of animals we’ve had the pleasure of stumbling across (no whales or bears yet!!); favourite moments; what we’re doing right now. Laughter is good for the soul, and so that’s where I’m going to go. May I add, as a ‘pre-script,’ that as I write this I am sitting on a balcony at Whistler (where the Olympics were this winter), surrounded by the phenomenal beauty of God’s creation. It’s breathtaking, the still-snow-topped grey mountains in the distance, the closer ones covered in a variety of coniferous trees, a mesh of green that can only occur in nature. I can barely see my computer screen if I turn my gaze a little to the right and over the top; the sun is preparing to set, and as it slides down the sky the reflection in Lake Placid below is like a brilliant diamond. Kind of like the ring that Tris bought me for my 40^th but THAT is another post altogether. I’ve got Van Morrison (Astral Weeks and Best Of) partially masking the sound of the highway and the swoosh of the breeze up here is doing the rest.

If I ever write a book, I think I’ll call it “And I Disgress…”

For those who have sat and chatted with me for some length of time, you’ll know that it’s been my dream/vision/momentary lapse of sanity to buy a huge chunk of property and divide it up among some chosen individuals (they’d pay me back, of course). We’d live in “community,” share ride-‘em lawn mowers, cut fire wood together, build a work shop and communally own the tools, can fruit and veggies for the winter, look after each other’s children and probably take first aid courses annually in our raised-in-a-day gymnasium/barn. During the last week we’ve had opportunity to practice a little of this “community living” as we have stayed at my in-laws’ house. Laura (Tris’ sister), her husband and their 4 children have recently moved in as well, as they work on renovating their home. Along with the 10 people there are also 4 dogs, two of which are becoming very hard of hearing. Needless to say, between children singing (Justin Bieber??? What happened to Raffi???), dish & laundry washers churning, dogs competing to see which deaf dog can bark the loudest, parents gently chiding (“Bullfrogs out of the house!” “Don’t poke your sister in the eye with that weenie stick again…” “Willie, you silly dog, you’re all wet. Get off the white sofa!!!”), it’s quite hard to hear what’s actually under the noise. Like the time I forfeited knocking on the downstairs suite door because I knew they wouldn’t hear me anyways. Ooops.

That morning I was in a rush, and so I barged in. Unfortunately, on the other side of the door, next to the bathroom, stood my quite-undressed brother-in-law (I promised no names. Do the math), who, upon seeing me, whipped his left leg up to protect my virtue and, so it seems, to hold up the tiny facecloth he was apparently using as a towel. It wasn’t this image that caught my attention, nor was it the flash of never-sun-kissed white. Rather, it was him yelling “Hold on! Hold on! I’m naked! I’m naked!” This stopped me in my tracks. I turned around and shut the door behind me, chuckling. Later, when I returned to the suite, apology in hand, I learned that my brother-in-law had been answering a business call when I walked in. It was then that my chuckling turned into guffaws, complete with snorts and tears. The only thing that the man on the other end heard was “Hold on! Hold on! I’m naked! I’m naked!” I never did find out if the business deal was successful.

BC Ferries

2010-06-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

This is my first post in Canada. I haven't had wireless access until now, about a week after I wrote this. There's so much more to say but I'll leave it at this for now:

Sometimes life is so surreal. Like right now. Here I am sitting on a BC Ferry, right next to the window, with a blue sky, white puffy clouds and mountains wherever I look. Just like in my dreams. Mountains. I’ve blogged before about mountains and I haven’t changed my opinion. They’re still life-giving, whether you are on one or looking at them from the ocean.

I’ve been in Canada almost 2 days. Tris and Sunny picked me up at YVR June 1^st at 7 pm, and I’ve stayed at their house until this morning, June 3^rd. It’s been a great visit and we’ve been able to get a lot done. Yesterday we spent time with Tris’ sister’s family, including my 3 nieces and 1 nephew. It’s amazing how kids change in two years!! Now I’m heading to the island and I can hardly wait. However, I’ve waited this long and I guess I’ll just have to wait 2 more hours. My baby brother and his family are meeting me on the other side (we arranged this before Mom knew I was coming, so she and Dad are waiting in Campbell River for me).

It’s been a wonderful experience so far, despite the October temperatures (16 degrees? Hello! It’s JUNE) and rain. I’ve already done a lot of what I needed to do and it feels so good to have Canadian I.D. again. I now have a Canadian drivers license again, and my big ol’ van is insured. As much as I love my little Indo suv, there’s something special about that 4-door, 6-cd, 8 passenger, automatic sliding passenger door Chevy venture. What a beast it is; I’m really looking forward to spending our summer in it.

A few observations that I’ve made about Canada so far are:

*Canadians are quite big and hairy. Seriously.

*Canadians are good at making eye contact and smiling. Quite friendly, really.

*Value Village is still a great way to buy clothes. I shopped yesterday and felt like I was in an Indo outlet store. Same kind of prices, and a lot of what I bought was almost new.

*Seagulls are quite striking looking birds

*People here love gumboots and gortex.

*English is a truly beautiful language.

*Workers here wear boots, hats, and if near the water, life jackets. That’s a little different from the ones we see in Indo, wearing flip-flops or bare feet, climbing 3-storey bamboo scaffolding.

Those are just a few things I’ve noticed for now. At this point I’m just going to sit here and enjoy the announcements being made by the ferry staff. Usually they are just irritating and I ignore them, but there’s something wonderful about listening to English. Things have definitely changed though. Right now a safety announcement is being made, and a demo, just like on a plane, is being shown on a tv in the sitting area I’m in.

I’m almost home.

Thanks for reading.

Tomorrow, tomorrow!!

2010-05-30T18:03:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you have 2 large suitcases half packed, a carry-on to organize, glasses to get repaired, groceries to shop for, and odds and ends to complete the day before you leave for your home country after TWO LONG YEARS??? You sit at the computer and blog, of course.

Things are winding up here for us. I've got my lists, and my lists of my lists, and Tris' lists that he probably will glance at and forego for the one that's in his head. I've celebrated my 40th once already (and so it begins!) with nine beautiful ladies at the Marriott Hotel. Abby's dress is made and her hair is cut and layered (and she's learned how to maintain her wild curls), so she's ready for her grade 6 celebration. Matthew is working on final school projects and our house seems to always have teenagers hanging about. Unlike most teachers in our school, Tris' classes' exams don't begin until this week and so rather than spending his first week pining over me, he'll be up to his eyeballs in physics exams. Abby's got a countdown going in her room and there are only 11 days until school is out. Tomorrow, I fly.

I have to admit, this is the first time that I've spent alone on a jet plane. I did fly from Bali to Jakarta alone when I had dengue (it wasn't that bad) but that was a short flight. This time, I am tentative and am praying I don't forget anything. Last year was my first time alone in a hotel, when Tris had surgery in Singapore. I did that just fine and so flying shouldn't be all that difficult.

Mostly, I am so excited about heading home that I'm not sure whether I'll laugh or cry when I see my in-laws' smiling faces at the airport. I do know that it's supposed to be cold (what's with THAT??) and so as soon as I get a few visits with family in, I'll have to head out shopping. I'm sure I can handle that.

Procrastination time is over and packing and shopping continues.

Thanks for reading.

I'm coming home!

2010-05-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

One week left and then I leave on a jet plane for YVR, via Tai Pei. I'm very, very excited, so excited that I haven't allowed myself to do a countdown until only 14 days before. I find that if I get too wrapped up in it I can't sleep, especially when I hear the call to prayer around 4-4:30 am. That's when I know I need to get up soon and my mind starts packing and planning all my Canadian outings.

There are so many things to do here before I go. I need to back up my photos off my laptop (doesn't everybody do that??) and get some videos copied so that we can watch them together in Canada. Gifts are packed, sorted and somehow the pile still continues to grow. There are so many food items that I'd like to bring and share with family and friends, things like dried durian (can't do it myself...the stuff stinks so bad even hotels won't let you take it into your room), prawn flavoured Pringles, coffee candies (from the island of Java), jelly drink (made from grass), and heaps of other things. If there's something you'd like to try specifically, let me know soon! Clothes are no big deal, I can wash and wear and sometimes even borrow. Shopping in Canada is also on the list of things to do. I think I can pack my suitcase in a day.

I've used specific events to pace myself. The deal was that I wouldn't worry about packing up until the Karawaci Ladies' used book sale at the Jakarta Highland Gathering (similar to Comox Valley's Highland Gathering, which was apparently held the same weekend) was over. That was held yesterday and we made a little cash, had good fun and met some great people. It was scorching hot, which later turned into a thunder/lightening storm, and made the area into one huge mud pit. A fun time was had by all, and all went home to scrub mud off of legs, backs, hair, clothes and shoes.

Now that the Gathering is over, my birth-month starts. A few good friends are taking me out to the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta this week, and it's another event that I am very excited about. I'm not necessarily excited about turning 40, but I'm not too worried about it either; I'm excited about the time spent eating and chatting that's coming up. I was talking with one today about how I'd love to get my Cdn girlfriends together with my girlfriends here, and how much fun it would be to be in one place with them all. Whenever anyone has come here and East meets West, we have a good time together. I guess that's what heaven's for...we'll all have tea ( chai, thanks) and get to know each other better.

It's time to end this post. It's too full of "I"s and "me"s.

Thanks for reading!

Zoey's Good News: Day 34

2010-05-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

From Stephanie, Zoey's mom.

Zoey has had a big day today. She came out of traction this morning. We gradually lowered her legs over about 15 minutes to help them to adjust and minimize any discomfort. Then I soaked them in wet towels to loosen the adhesive and pulled off the tape from the traction. Her legs are peeling and very raw in large areas on her calves as to be expected. She was quite content to lie flat in her bed the rest of the morning so I didn't push her.

After her nap I picked her up and she enjoyed that. I did notice that she couldn't hold her head up initially, but her neck muscles quickly adjusted so that wasn't a problem after about half an hour or so. Next thing was sitting up which also was difficult for her to do - she was very wobbly and would fall to the side whenever she tried shifting her weight/trying to reach anything. It has now been 4 hours and I definitely see improvements in this area -- she is not completely stable but fairly good at staying upright without falling over so that is great. She is nowhere ready to walk yet -- we tried a few steps but she has lost muscle in her legs and she just flops around as she cannot put any weight on her legs yet. I know this will come too, but expect it could take a bit of time for that strength to come back. This is a bit frustrating for Zoey, but she is a determined girl so that will help her along.

The incision seems to be holding so far in her bladder area - perhaps a bit stretched from what I recall, but not dramatically different. She still has 1 catheter left which the chief urologist tried to remove yesterday by pulling hard on, but without success as it seems stuck in there for now. They'll try pulling to try to remove it again either tomorrow or Thursday. I am expecting we might see occupational therapy tomorrow to try to help regain some of her skills. She is on no restrictions for any activity. The chief orthopedic surgeon came by today and said the x-ray from yesterday shows there is excellent bone growth on her hips.

So all goes well so far. We are hoping to go home Thursday. I'll send more pictures once we get home as I cannot download them from here.

Love, Stephanie

Thanks for reading!

Golf Humour

2010-05-16T04:31:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard the joke about the old men who were golfing their 16th hole, high on a hill, when a funeral procession slowly drove by? One of the men took notice, stood up straight and tall, removed his cap and held it close to his heart. Another of the men commented on how much the first man respected the dead, and the man replied, cap on his heart, "well we'd been married for over 40 years!" For some reason, that joke has stuck with me (and I tell it much better when typing...no chance of telling the punchline before it's time!). It seems very sad to me, but a good indication of how some marriages end up...sports or hobbies put before one's spouse, probably because one's spouse is like a leaky faucet drip drip dripping all the time. It's my hope and prayer that no matter how much Tris loves golf, he'll always want to come home at the end.

With this in mind, a girlfriend and I decided to head out on our own to the local driving range while our husbands were out on the course. We'd hit a few balls, gather a few good stories about how far we hit those balls, and head home knowing we were working on our skills for the benefit of our husbands. It sounded good. Little did we know that we were going to create a sense of terror at the range. Before I go on, let me explain that clubs are hard to come by here. We could rent a bunch for $10 but why would we when my girlfriend has an old bag of woods and a putter in her garage?

When my friend M and I met at 7 am to head to the range, we realized that both husbands had taken our cars, so we popped the 3 woods (clubs) into M's bike basket and we rode our bikes to the range. It kind of reminded me of Huck and Tom riding their bikes to the creek with fishing poles on hand. Not a problem when you're in a hick town, but here, at one of the more prestigious places to play, we were directed IMMEDIATELY upon entry into the motorcycle parking. That didn't phase us. We took our three ancient (but very beautiful, I might add) woods to the front desk, and after a few wrong turns, we ended up at the range.

May I start by saying that I haven't hit a golf ball for at least two years, and M admitted the same. As a result, our first few tries were only ok. After a few more we had some pretty good shots going. I even felt a little cocky when I shot over 105 yards. Then, something happened. Something we can't quite put our fingers on. The balls starting hitting the post beside us, the metal plate beside us, and once, the roof above us. We giggled a bit, made funny faces at the staff who were watching us from a distance, and who moved an even greater distance after the first ball headed their way. I have to admit that after they were pegged off with the 2nd ball, they watched us while they ducked behind their counter, with only their very wide eyes staring at us. I think astonishment was in those eyes, but I'm not too sure. I was too embarrassed to look for very long.

I was so proud of myself when I heard the man next to us speaking Indonesian to a staff member, and I knew what he was saying. I was NOT so proud when I realized that the man was telling the staff member to change our rubber tee, that ours was too high. THAT's what was going wrong!! Except, the next few balls were almost as bad as before. Finally, we had two men approach us from either side. One was suggesting that we move our mat forward, so that our balls would no longer ricochet off the post to our right (and inevitably hit him). The second man actually left the lesson that he was teaching down the deck and, uninvited and without word, began to show M (she happened to be standing on the mat at the time) how to use the "power" in her arm. Apparently we were using power from our shoulders. Gotta remember that for next time! Thankfully he used up about 20 of our golf balls while showing M how to hit (we were done).

The miracle of it all was when this instructor grabbed a 7 iron from a staff member and let us use that ("FREE!" he said); we actually hit our balls straight and high. We looked not bad (can't say good yet) and although we just wanted to leave, were able to shoot out the rest of our balls without event or injury. I have to say that I chuckled from the moment that I laid eyes on the staff members hiding behind their counter, laughed a little harder when the man asked us to move our mat, and almost fell on the floor when the instructor insisted on helping us (and I am grateful to him). I tried not to disrespect the game of golf, but there was no respect in my playing, that's for sure. By the time we left, unable to make eye contact with anyone there except the instructor, who stuck his hand out for a shake as we passed, we were ready to burst. We hopped on our bikes, stuck the woods into the basket and rode our bikes home.

Our conclusion? We probably aren't made to golf, at least not a lot, but we ride our bikes REALLY well.

Thanks for reading.

Zoey's Update: Day 30

2010-05-16T04:30:00.000-07:00

A good report on Zoey from Stephanie:

zoey is doing very well. 3 of 4 catheters have come out the past couple days and iv too and plan is to take her out of traction on tuesday at latest probably, observe her and the incision, remove the last catheter and then if all is well she'll go home around thursday! Not sure what to expect with her coming out of traction -- i would guess she might be stiff and we'll see how strong her muscles are. She is finally at the point where she is ok with nurses taking all her vitals and it is fun to see her helping with taking temp, putting the devices away, letting the nurse know if she forgot to do something, etc….and of course she says thank you when she they are done all the checks.

we are down to only 1 nurse check overnight and zoey has been doing well (but i guess i'm so used to waking up that now i'm waking up for no reason!).

we'll let you know how she does coming out of traction

Love, Stephanie

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to be a Mother? I guess it's a different description for each woman, with our own experiences and situations. What I've learned is that it's hard being a mom, not because of the children being rotten (although that happens) but because of the love that you have for your kids.

I've been given a gift, and sometimes I take that gift for granted. I let life get my attention and forget to look at the world directly around me, the one that is really, truly the center of why I exist for these years I'm in right now. My heart mourns the days when these two beautiful, chubby (they were chubby once!) little babies filled my entire day. Now my two favourite times of the day are 1: when they head off to school and 2: even better, when they return! Although I do miss those days, and I actually cry tears when I think of how precious those days at home with Matthew and Abigail were, I am so thankful that they're growing up healthy, happy, and that they know the Lord.

When the kids entered elementary school and their lives began expanding, it was my duty to begin to cut loose the apron strings. One of my favourite "development" memories is of when I forced them, quite literally, to walk together the 1 1/2 country blocks to our mail box. I watched them walk down the street from my red front door, the mailbox key in Matthew's hand, and waited for their return. It took all of 6 minutes (I think they ran once they got to the corner of our street and the "bigger" country road) yet it was a big day for all of us.

Now, with Matthew in Middle School and Abby in her last year of Junior (elementary) school, I am struggling to keep up with where they are, who they are with, and what they're doing. I trust that they're making good choices, and usually they're just hanging with friends at the school, but it's my prerogative to keep tabs on them at all times. There's talk of university applications already, and where we'll be when they graduate highschool. Really, we're looking at a possible 4 years left with Matt in our home, and 6 with Abby. That goes by so quickly! When that happens I won't be there any more to hug them when they're sad, or hurt, or both. There won't be anyone to come home to a house that smells like cookies, made just for them. There'll be Tris, but he doesn't throw his stuff down, fling his shoes wherever, and run into the kitchen to see what's baking. He at least washes his hands first.

I think the biggest privilege I've ever had in my life is to be able to raise Matthew and Abby. I've struggled for years with the idea that I've not used my education for income, yet it's all ok when I think that I've got years ahead to pursue my education and to expand my skills when they're off doing their own thing. I am thankful that I've been a mom and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Thanks for reading.

Day 22: Update on Zoey

2010-05-08T00:43:00.001-07:00

Here's an email from Stephanie regarding Zoey's recuperation in the hospital. Happy 2nd Birthday Zach and Zoey!

Zoey is back to doing well. Still on the antibiotics a couple days, but they seem to have done the trick. Nothing of concern at the moment, really. Her pain outbursts are much rarer these days and she is sleeping/napping well. Hopefully the remainder of our stay here remains uneventful :) Zoey and Zach turned 2 on monday. The hospital was nice enough to organize some balloons, decorations, cake and 3 presents each!

I'm off for my first run in about 2 years now haha! It is so flat here compared to home so should be easier to get out the door.

Hopefully all my remaining emails are so short! Love, Stephanie

Thanks for reading!

Proud to be Canadian

2010-05-03T03:27:00.000-07:00

I love being Canadian. I'm coming home soon (gonna kiss the soil when I land, either that or jump for joy) and so of course my country is on my mind. I have to say I have neglected to keep up with local new, provincial news and for that matter, national news. I do know, however, that the Canucks just won 5-1 against Chicago Blackhawks yesterday, and I know that because we got to watch a game LIVE at 7 am Sunday morning. Unfortunately, during the week we'll have to miss the rest of the games because we go to bed around 9 pm, when we'd get the feed here, to wake up at 5 am the next morning.

A few weeks ago I had the privilege to speak to a kindergarten class in the local Montessori school about Canada. Not knowing what age I was going to address, I arrived with all sorts of goodies: loonies, toonies, a Canadian flag, books, photos, weird Canadian word definitions, an Eskimo doll (close enough...same continent!!!), and as much information as I could cram into a 40 minute period. To be honest, I am not sure that the young audience believed me when I told them of my Canadian upbringing. Some of the stories I told were: of the time my dad brought an abandoned bear cub home and we bottle fed it (in tears) when it cried out "ma...ma...ma"; of playing street hockey and yelling 'CAR!' every time a car passed (difficult to believe in a country that has a population density number/square kilometer of 123.7 compared to Canada's 3.3); of going outside and picking berries off of bushes near my house (berries grow on bushes??); and finally, a variety of snow stories that I could only compare to them sticking their heads in their fridge freezers. Some things are hard to relate to!

I thoroughly enjoyed talking about Canada, and by the time I finished I was ready to stand up and belt out our National Anthem...

O Canada, look out, here we come!!

Thanks for reading.

Exhibition...Almost over!!!

2010-05-01T21:28:00.000-07:00

Abby's Exhibition project is almost over. Last week was the big public event, where the students presented their research through media (via slideshow, song, dance, skits, mime, etc) to an audience of parents, teachers, SPH students and students from other schools. The students did really well, and we were very impressed with the work that went into their presentations. After each one hour block of presentations, whether it was nutrition, natural disasters, education or pollution, all the students had another hour block to present from a small area where they had set up their posters, computers, hand outs, visuals. They were given a quota of needing to present to at least 3 parents and 3 teachers, as well as to some of the many students who funneled through. So many good comments came out of those classrooms by the adults!

Abby was in a group of 3 girls, and they rewrote a Jordin Sparks song (One Step at a Time) to talk about the need to educate others in nutrition. Here are the lyrics:

Hurry up, realize
That there are those poor in our eyes
Everything that they always wish for
Health, money, education
We gotta make that change

Want education but they don't have any school funds
Wondering how they're gonna get their education
And you know they can
If you lend a hand
Don't you know what their lives will be like
And you know that their school can change it
So in the world, they can fit
Waiting...

We live and we learn
To hold each others hand
To give what we earn
To change the people's lives
Through education
Of health, pollution, school and
Nutrition changed through our hands
We can make that change
Through education

Hurry up, realize
Every three minutes a child dies
All because health issues pass our eyes
Sicknesses, diseases, bad hygiene
Can effect their lives

Imagine and think where their next meal will come from
They're feeling weak, getting sick, they want nutrition
And you know they can
If you lend a hand
Don't you know what their lives will be like
And you know that their life's not easy
Hungry all day with thoughts so queasy
Waiting...

We live and we learn
To hold each others hand
To give what we earn
To change the people's lives
Through education
Of health, pollution, school and
Nutrition changed through our hands
We can make that change
Through education

When you're feeling sad and scornful
The poor should be mournful
Remember how they are struggling
The only way to help them
Is through education

To hold each others hand
To give what we earn
To change the people's lives
Through education
Of health, pollution, school and
Nutrition changed through our hands
We can make that change
Through education

We live and we learn
To hold each others hand
To give what we earn
To change the people's lives
Through education
Of health, pollution, school and
Nutrition changed through our hands
We can make that change
Through education

We are very proud of the work that Abby did. Now she has 2 weeks to do her Action Plan, where she and another girl from grade 6 will go into a slum area and teach a class of young school children about nutrition, in context to their situation of course.

Thanks for reading!

Zoey's Update: Day 16

2010-05-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Email update from Stephanie:

Zoey was doing fabulous until Thursday night, at which point she developed

a fever and pain in her abdomen. She may have developed an infection, but at this point they are choosing to monitor her instead of giving her extra antibiotics on top of what she already has. The fever comes and goes and fortunately the pain is not severe anymore, but she is restless and uncomfortable and has a hard time getting into a deep sleep. Yesterday she spent the day watching videos/tv and calm as long as I was holding her hand.

Orthopedics wanted to take her out of traction on May10th, pending the results of an upcoming xray, but urology doesn’t want her out of traction for a couple weeks after that likely as her bladder incision hasn’t healed enough yet. While of course it would be nice to get her out of traction, I am relieved to hear they feel that way as last time we had the surgery as soon as they took her out of traction, the incision

opened up. So it looks like we are indeed headed for the 5-6 weeks expected in hospital.

2nd Email a few hours later:

After I sent out the last update, Zoey got worse and started vomiting several times and couldn’t keep her medicine down so they decided to put her back on an iv so they could change the antibiotic and also give her fluids. Late afternoon she started to improve and had a bit to eat and was in better spirits again, giving us a few smiles. Hopefully the worst is over. Greg is staying with her again tonight to give me a break from the past week (what a great husband!).

Thanks for reading!

Power's Out...again...SO...random bits of info

2010-04-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

The power was out tonight, just like last Wednesday night. However, this Wednesday wasn't as frustrating, because last week's outage coincided with our newly-arrived-from-the-plane guests and I showing up at our house ready for dinner. Talk about an Indonesian welcome. The Malcolm's had said that they wanted to 'truly experience Indonesia' and I can't think of a better way to start such an adventure than experiencing what a huge percentage of the population of this country goes through every night. Fortunately for us, Tris and I used our cell phones and a recently purchased lamp to find the keys to our car, and we all drove to the mall for dinner.

Back to the power being out...I woke up just before midnight wondering what was sitting on my chest, only to realize that it was just the humid, hot air that was making it harder to breathe. It's really not so bad if you don't move around too much, and sometimes if we open our bedroom door we can catch a cooler air movement passing by. We can't complain, really, when I realize that I can get ice cubes from our freezer to cool down, or use our super-duper electrically-charged flashlight (lasts for up to 7 hours!) to get ready for bed with. So many others here don't have that privilege, and every night they contend with hot sleeps and stagnant air, especially those who sleep on a second or third story. Our power is now back on and I've left the a/c off in the room where I am typing, just because I feel I can't justify turning it on for 20 minutes computer time. Not sure if I'd categorize that as guilt for being a Have-family where so many are Have-Nots, or if I just want to relate a bit more.

Sometimes once I wake up, I'm not able to fall asleep right away, and the computer is a great time-filler for a while. I think I take after my night-owl mom, but I don't get up and clean floors like she used to. I have memories of waking up on some school mornings to the clean smell of PineSol, but I digress....I was debating what to write about. There are a variety of tidbits of things I've seen and learned over the last while, but nothing that's big enough to make up a post. I've wanted to share a few things like:

-to describe the man I saw whose beard grew about 20 cms long, but not out of his chin. He has it growing out of his neck. What made is especially weird was that he didn't have any facial hair.

-to mention how funny it is that the little bajaj (little tin can people transporters) have written on them: maximum people 3, maximum weight 150 kg. That means that the powers that be recognize the average weight of Indonesians to be 50 kg, or about 110 lbs. That's about the average weight of a skinny teenage girl in Canada!

-cockroaches can fly, at least the little ones. I was at a friend's house last night and one flew onto my arm. Not nice.

-It costs about 50 000 rupiah, or $5, to get into SeaWorld here in Jakarta. It costs about 2 000 rupiah (20 cents) to get into a local museum (little or no English though).

-when we play ultimate frisbee on our school's playing field, we are experiencing something that very, very few Indonesians do. A flat, clean playing field with lots of space to run around.

That's the info floating around in my head tonight. I need to head to bed. Tomorrow's a big day: it's Abby's day to present her Exhibition project.

Thanks for reading.

Zoey's Update: Day 11

2010-04-26T16:45:00.001-07:00

Here is an email from Stephanie regarding little Zoey and her bladder surgery. I have received a few prior to this but this is the latest:

Zoey has really turned the corner the last couple days and has had a couple great days and nights. She has been happily playing in her bed, smiling and laughing and not experiencing her pain in the evening. Still not crazy about nurses and dr's but seems to be at least tolerating their existence (yesterday when one of the urologists came in and was stroking her hair and talking she looked the other way and refused to acknowledge he was there, but didn't cry; friday she was playing happily with her worker from the TriCity Infant Devp't Dept and anytime a nurse/dr walked into the room she got totally solemn, then would resume her playing as soon as they left). She no longer whines to be picked up as she seems to have accepted the fact that she is going to be stuck in bed on her back for a while.

Not really any major concerns at the moment. We're trying to get her to eat and drink more (at home she was a great eater). Have any of you tried eating much lying flat on your back and digesting that way?.... i guess i don't blame her for not being as hungry as before...

While she is doing great overnights the last couple nights, we still aren't getting any sleep as the hospital policy is to walk into the room every hour throughout the night. I wake up every time the door opens every hour....so greg came last night to give me a night at home to sleep and he got a chance to also experience the hourly interruptions in sleep :) We'll have to see if they can perhaps bend the rules for us as I won't be able to cope with another month of this:)

Thank you all for your concern and help!

Thanks for reading!

Coming, Going, and Grade 6 Exhibition

2010-04-25T01:09:00.001-07:00

So much happens sometimes that it's hard to take a moment to reflect. When I last posted, it was a quick cut and paste from an email I received from Stephanie regarding Zoey (please continue praying for Zoey, both for proper healing AND for patience as she lies completely inactive in her hospital room). In doing so, I forgot to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom officially on this blog. So mom, Happy Birthday! I love you:)

Last week was a very difficult one for me, as one of my dearest

friends here in Indonesia moved home to the US. Jamie and her husband Sheldon left on Friday and have safely landed in their hometown. It's a bittersweet event for me in that I selfishly wish she was here so that we could continue in the wonderful friendship we've established, yet I know that for Jamie to move home to be near family is so important to her. It really is like living a military life here in Indo, as people we meet move away to either their home country or to another job elsewhere. I'm not sure that it's something that I'll get used to, but I do appreciate the time I get to spend with incredible friends like Jamie while they're here. When it comes to friends, moving from Canada was hard, and so is staying here.

Speaking of friends, we've had the privilege to have the Malcolm clan come for a visit. They come from Nanoose (we met in Courtenay years ago and they were a part of our Life Group there) to visit friends in Bali for a few weeks, and we're their "Java" part of their trip. Tomorrow they head off to Jogja and then to see the volcanos in the Mount Bromo area. Their son is 13, in between Matt and Abby, and their daughter is 6. We've had a great time cramming as much fun as we can into 5 days: Taman Safari Zoo (and the vendors along the roadside up to the area), Mangga Dua (shopping Indo style), movie theatre for $2.50 each, a community event at our school, BBQ buffet at the local hotel, and today, a visit to Malabar (traditional market) as well as to our driver's in-laws' home as well as to his own home. We've packed a little bit of everything into our visit.

This upcoming week is a huge deal for Abby. This is the week that she presents her research and processing work for her Grade Six Exhibition project. She has been studying nutrition and, more specifically, malnutrition in the Jakarta area. She and other students, mostly girls, in grade 6 who are studying the same topic have had to connect with various organizations, arrange field trips into Jakarta and do interviews with people associated some how with nutrition. Some of the organizations they met with were World Vision, WHO (World Health Organization) and Unicef. I didn't even know what those organizations WERE when I was in grade 6, except maybe Unicef because of the little boxes we'd carry around for donations at Hallowe'en, so Tris and I are thrilled for the exposure she's getting.

There's always more to write, but I'll save a bit for later.

Thanks for reading!

Update on Zoey's Surgery

2010-04-16T08:01:00.001-07:00

Here's an update on Zoey, who had surgery today (see last few posts for more details):

We had a long day today. Zoey’s surgery was at 7:45 – I got to go into the O.R. with her until they put her to sleep – our last snuggle for a while! The surgery finished around 3:15 – apparently they had some difficulty getting the hips as close together as they would have liked, but close enough to get the bladder back inside and urologist said he was pleased with how well the bladder went together. The rectal part of the procedure only took 20 minutes. She had a small blood transfusion since it was such a long procedure. We had to wait another 2 ½ hours after that until we got to see her. She ended up going to the ICU since there was no room upstairs in a ward for her. Turns out this was a good thing because when we saw her in the ICU she was unexpectedly in a fair bit of pain (and partly annoyed at all the tubes preventing her from sucking her thumb and of course her legs being straight up in the air). The epidural they gave was supposed to avoid any pain…. Anyhow after about 30-60 minutes and several calls to pain control dep’t and several painkillers and sedatives and a local anaesthetic, she calmed down and by 8 pm was peaceful. Since she’ll be in the ICU for the night she’ll have a nurse by her bedside the entire time and she seems comfortable so we decided to try and get some rest at home for tonight, as it may the last chance for quite some time to get a good sleep, at least for me J We’ll be back there in the a.m. and she’ll likely get moved up to her new home in a ward.

Zach and Eliana are coping very well at their Oma and Opa’s thankfully.

We really are so thankful to have your support and prayers and practical help this next while. Today they confirmed what we suspected – that she would be in traction 4-5 weeks and see after that how her bones are growing and her incisions are healing. We’ll continue to keep you posted over the weeks ahead as there are any new developments.

Love, Stephanie

Thanks for reading.

Little Zoey's Surgery

2010-04-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

This is an email I received from my friend Stephanie in mid-January. A month before we moved to Indonesia Zoey and her twin brother Zack were born. In previous posts I have mentioned Zoey mostly, and this post is specifically about her upcoming surgery.

We were at the urologist this week and were given a tentative surgery date for zoey in mid-March. Earlier than we expected but would be nice to get this over with too. It is complicated to coordinate as at least 4 senior surgeons will be present in the surgery for her bladder, rectum, and hips. Last time it was over 7 hours for the surgery from what I recall and then of course the month in traction in hospital. We haven't worked out any details or if we'll rent an appt or try to get hospital related accommodations so that the kids can be close so we can stay nearby zoey -- will figure all that out as the date nears and of course will have to see if the surgery goes forward or if it is postponed (last time she was almost bumped minutes b4 her surgery was due as there wasn't a bed in the ICU for her to go to after the surgery was to be completed). The goals of the surgery are to put her bladder back inside her body and to make incisions into her hip bones to rotate them forward again and close them at the front and to fix her rectal prolapse. The urologist still estimates that when Zoey is school-age they will need to do further surgery to assist her in gaining bladder continence.....but that is a long-time away and the least of our concerns right now.

Our immediate prayer requests are for the surgeons and support staff involved that they have great wisdom in zoey's case and are able to work together in her best interests in whatever preparations are required prior to the surgery and also during the surgery and recovery process. Also that we as a family would be able to make arrangements for living/visiting zoey and supporting her as she copes with not being able to move for a month (not an easy task for any 18-24 month old!). We'll keep you posted in the next 2 months of any developments/date changes.

The mid-March date was postponed until mid-March. This is the last email I received from Steph:

Zoey’s surgery is going ahead for April 15^th it seems. The OR is booked for her for the entire day I am told. We have had consults with the surgeons for both urology (bladder) and those dealing with the rectal prolapse. We have a great team of dr’s that I’ve met from those departments (5 of them that I’ve met). We’ll meet the orthopaedic surgeon Tuesday next week, as well as the anaesthesiologist and those in charge of her pain control and get both xrays and ct scan done.

I will keep you posted as I receive updates.
Thanks for praying and thanks for reading.

I've got the Joy down in my heart

2010-04-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had such a good day or week that you feel like you are going to burst with contentment and joy? One of those weeks where there's nothing really specific that you can point at and say "THAT made me happy..."? That is how I would describe my week. It's a bit ironic, really, because, like I said, I didn't really have anything specific that made this an extra special week, and in fact almost daily I have received some kind of sad or worrisome news. What I think has happened is that I've had a full week, and I like full. I've been with Abby in some capacity or other all week, either during a field trip (to a pollution/earthquake/water monitoring station and also to World Vision's staff launch of Child Health Now), a presentation in her class pod (Student Led Conferences where she showed me her school work and sang me 2 songs in music class, as well as a presentation by a Pelita Harapan school needing sponsorship), watching her play basketball at her SPH cup, and watching her sing a small solo for the Easter assembly in Junior Choir. In the same assembly Matt and his hiphop crew danced 2 songs, and I was so proud to watch them both during this school gathering. Abby and I also had the privilege of sharing dinner with a group of families who live in some nearby slums.

Also during this week a friend had a baby girl (beautiful Aliya, 2.5 kgs and lots of lovely hair), and old(-ish) friends have returned to Indo for a visit. If you visited before last June or read any of my blogs in the first year, you may remember Abby's grade 5 teacher, Mr. Jonny, and his wife Mel. They've come to visit SPH friends and have brought their beautiful baby Zoe, who is now six months. Their story a year ago is that Mel was thought to be having a tubal pregnancy and there were fears that the baby would not make it. Just seeing Zoe's beautiful smile shows how God answers prayer.

Intermingled in all of this good news are bits and pieces of sad and sometimes disheartening, most of which won't make it to this blog post. I will say that sadly, my good friend Jamie is leaving for the US in two weeks. Her presence here in Indo and in my own life will be sadly missed; she has been a tremendous encouragement to me during my transition to Indonesia and away from my home in Canada. She'll be breaking up the "Kimmie and Jimmie" team but, as the lesson is constantly learned here, that's the way life is and we've just got to be thankful for the blessings we receive as we receive them and as we reflect upon the past.

Like I've said, nothing terribly exciting or out of this world, but this week has been full of people and connecting. Next week I look forward to another field trip with Abby, a possible trip to Mangga Dua to buy a wig or two to take home with me (for the kids!!), dinner with friends, a trip to the orthodontist with Matt (it's the closest thing I get to a date with my son...he's trapped in the car with me for at least 3 hours that day and so we'll have a good chat I'm sure), my first meeting as Karawaci Ladies pres, cramming in as much time with Jamie as possible, as well as visiting a bit more with our Australian friends. While I am doing this, may I ask that you pray for our friend Zoey from British Columbia, who I have mentioned now and then on this blog as well. She goes in for some major surgery on April 15th, and I'll post specifically on what her parent's requests are.

Thanks for reading.