The Elliotts

The bad with the good

 

There is much that has been exciting about the "newness" of living in a country like Indonesia - and we usually try to focus on the adventure side of things.  Well, this past week I had the privilege of experiencing first hand the inside of a local hospital - lucky me!  I spent two nights in a Seventh Day Adventist hospital; I was sick with Dengue fever.  I was confined to my bed and bombarded with care.  I think on average there were four nurses assigned to care for me - bath me (yes, they offered!), dress me, check my temperature with a thermometer straight out of the fifties.  In fact, the entire hospital experience felt like I had gone back in time about fifty years - complete with nurses wearing white uniforms and little white caps.  Very cute indeed.  And I was a very unwilling, un-compliant patient.  After two days I was finally released to the loving care of my husband.  I have never been so happy to come home.  Hospital experience number two (Blaise earlier this year) completed. This week Indonesia got the better of us.

So, needless to say, these past few weeks have been a blur for us as a family.  Whilst I was sick, Ben was busy dropping kids off at school, visiting me, picking the kids up, taking them to soccer and so on.  Flora has been newly registered at Blaise's school.  It is quite cute to watch her walk up the steps to school with her back pack on and say "see you later, mummy" like such a big kid, just like her big bro.  Blaise loves having her at school and will often help fill me in on what Flora did all morning.  Of course if you ask Flora she'll say "I play house" or "I read stories". 

Ben has been getting more opportunities to teach and preach - in Indonesian!  He's already given one three hour lecture at a small country Bible School.  I am quite proud of him - it would have been a blast to watch him lecturing in Indonesian in a little pondok (a hut-like structure that is open to the outside) with cows and chickens wandering around.  Ben is in his element at the front of a class room - no matter what the language - so he was very glad for this opportunity.  It is also showed him that even at this point in his language learning he can give a lecture - albeit a simple one.

Highlights of this month: Ben's birthday, receiving a couple of packages (always a highlight!), and a somewhat awkward, but relationship building trip to the local volcano with our neighbours :). 

 

Big kid beds and birthday parties

So this week is all about Flora.  Flora turns two in a few days and as a result there will be a few changes around here.  The first change has already occurred - last night was her first night in a big kid bed. Yeah, Flora!  She didn't put up too much of a fuss and actually kind of seemed to like her spiderman sheets (a hand-me-down from her brother).  Her birthday will also serve as an excuse for us to take away her soother, lucky girl.  However, this decision will be hers as she will gladly exchange it for her new grocery cart - well stocked of course!

Also, we are bravely attempting to hold a somewhat Indonesian style birthday party for her.  This really just means inviting lots of kids, making food for all of them, playing games, and sending them each home with a present.  Really the only difference between an indonesian birthday party and a what we are used to is the number of kids!  Apparently this can be a good opportunity to meet your neighbours -- and empty your pocketbook too!

We are looking forward to celebrating out little girl and only wish there were more of you here to celebrate with us!

Life on Two Wheels

Well, big day today.  In a few hours I will be speaking at the chapel service at our little language school and then down to the electronics center to help our new colleague find a new wireless modem.  And really, I should start preparing, but just wanted to share this awesome video of Blaise ripping around on two wheels.  His bike is a little big for him, so the dismount is anything but glamourous, and he can only go straight, but we are awfully proud of him for suggesting that we take the training wheels off.  The voice in the background is our friend (with a video camera) Malcolm from school.

I had quite the adventure myself this week on my own two wheels (my sweet 160cc Honda motorcycle); I was riding home from Sunday afternoon basketball when all of a sudden I got whipped back and ended up laying my bike down on the road.  Turns out some kids had been flying their kite on the road and their kite line was stretched out like a clothes line.  Very unpleasant.  Here in Indonesia kite flying is a competitive sport: usually they use something like 100 lb test fishing line to fly the kites with some kind of really nasty fibreglass embedded twine near the top to cut down the other kites.  So all that to say, I was very glad to make it through my first clothes-lining with nary more than a scrape.  I am thankful in so many ways for the way that God has been keeping us safe here.

Besides all the adventure, we are still working away on language and starting to ramp up to our big move to Jakarta in the spring.  We are heading down there on a little 'scouting' trip this next week; look at a couple neighbourhoods and schools and (hopefully) get to see the school where I am going to end up teaching.  Last night we had the whole Bandung team over for coffee and cheesecake and to all encourage one another.  It seems to me that the transitions never really end when you live in a place as different as this.  And we do miss home (what we really miss are friends and fam) but we're all figuring it out a little bit more as we go along.

School holidays: fun days at the pool

     I have many proud parenting moments, but one this week prehaps surpasses them all.  Blaise can now swim all by himself -- not with waterwings or any other flotation device, but completely on his own.  Yesterday I watched in amazement as he swam at least 20 metres across the pool.  Watching Blaise swim by himself is possibly more awe inspiring for me than when he took his first steps.  We are so proud of you Blaise!  Now I know why they call it the doggy paddle, although I think "the desperately trying to stay afloat doggy paddle" might be a more appropriate name for what Blaise does.  Nonetheless, somehow or the other he manages to not only stay afloat but cross the width of the pool on his own.

    Flora too is doing great in the water.  She perfers the edge (thankfully), but is hilarious to watch as she wades into the pool in her water wings, fills her little cup or pail, and carefully bears it back to the pool deck. 

    This picture was taken at the Bumi Sangkuriang pool which is by our house.  The Bumi facility used to be a retreat centre or something for civil servants in the Dutch colonial days; now it has more of a country club feel -- you can order fried rice or spring rolls right to your poolside chair (of course, we usually prefer to smuggle in a sandwich for the kids and a couple apples).  We are really thankful to be living in the area where we are in the city.  The pool is walking distance away, as is our church, where we are starting to feel a little better fitted in each week.

Bali

In many ways I feel like we went to the Sanur Paradise Plaza for the week - not Bali.  With our busy conference schedule we managed to only get to the beach twice - just enough to draw me in.  I can't wait to go back as a tourist!  Blaise and Flora had a blast.  We swam every day in the pool and as a result by the end of the week we had Flora swimming solo with water wings.  She loves the water and loves doing whatever Blaise happens to be doing even if it is beyond her years :).  And I enjoyed running in Bali - no hills for a change and plenty of ocean views.

Bali is a bit of a strange place, with all sorts of cultures and traditions colliding together: McDonalds, incense offerings, well kept pools, day-to-day life in Indonesia, everything, all just piled together.  The markers of religious life are just as prevalent as those of the tourist trade (which looks just like it does everywhere I think).

We were glad for the trip; it is Indonesia like we haven't really seen it before.  Next time, here's hoping that Ben isn't so sick the whole time.  We can report, however, that our little Neng Flora is perhaps developing into quite the little swimmer.  We let her have a go with Blaise's water wings at the pool and she did great -- she kicks and splashes to get herself around (and it is fun to watch her learn the reality of the surface of the water, a reality that simply must be accepted).

Making friends and losing friends . . .

    Blaise reminds me a lot of myself these days.  He loves to have friends; he would play at a friend's house every day if he could.  So, as you can imagine when he loses a friend this is a big deal.   A couple of weeks ago Blaise's best bud left Bandung - Blaise has been grieving ever since and so have we. 

    Language learning is slow but I think building friendships and relationships is even slower.  Every day we speak with neighbours in our limited Indonesian and slowly people are becoming more accustomed to seeing us around.  I have one neighbour with whom I chat about the kids, what stages they are at, how they are feeling etc.  I have a few running pals that I see once a week.  I crave friends and community and I know Blaise does too!  We have decided to attend an International church for just this reason.  We need to do all we can right now to ensure that Blaise transitions well and has opportunity for making friends

Our little charmer

So, Blaise had his first party at school; Kartini Day.  (It is a day to recognize the liberation of women in Indonesia)   Blaise's classmates all came to school decked out in their national traditional dress -- there were some awesome costumes.  Blaise went as a cowboy (no need to tell anyone it was his halloween costume this year).  Ben and I were fortunate enough to skip school for the day to attend the celebration at Blaise's school, complete with a fashion show, singing, and dancing.  The fiesta was full of enthusiasm and about ten times louder than it needed to be.  Nonetheless we were so glad to be part of the day with Blaise.

Holidays Indonesian Style

Pak Lili cooking us up some sate   The view from our pondok on the beach

I am pleased to announce that both Ben and I passed unit one of language study!   As a result Ben and I took our family to Ocean Queen (a rustic resort on the beach).  We rented a car with a driver (Edy) which was a good decision considering all the roads between here and the beach feel like rural mountain roads - windy, hilly, with the added bonus of being crowded at all times.  Our vacation was fantastic but came with a few challenges.  On our first night a rat came a visiting . . . alas, he became a regular visitor in our cabin.  On the second day Ben found a giant centipede in our room; not a friendly Canadian centipede but literally a giant and poisonous centipede!  On our third night a stray cat raided our kitchen and fell asleep on the pantry shelf.  I don't think Ben and I slept (we were too worried about rats and centipedes :) until our last night there.  Aside from the bugs and vermin I must say our first visit to the coast was amazing.  I think I fell in love with Indonesia.  Ben and I took surf lessons too!

Check out our pictures in our holiday photo album -- Ocean Queen -- on the left!  (If you're reading this on Facebook you'll have to click through to our blog to see all the photos.)

Making connections and settling into our home

This week was a huge success for me - for two reasons.  First I managed to connect with a running group that meets every Saturday morning.  Hurray!  I ran with them this  past Saturday and to my pleasant surprise found that amongst the 20 to 30 runners there were several that out paced me and several that ran pretty much at my pace.  They were extremely friendly and were quite patient with my limited Indonesian.  Best day so far - for me. 

Second, I managed to persuade Ben to buy a sofa for our little house.  Currently we do not have a couch at all, only two arm chairs.  As one could imagine the seating availability is quite limited.  Our little couch should arrive this week - in time for my birthday!

Ben of course is enjoying connecting and practising language skills whilst enjoying a favourite hobby - golf!

We are both very thankful for these small pleasures which enable us to settle in and enjoy life in the midst of so many other stresses. 

Our new home

As of today we have finally managed to get internet at our house; it wasn't easy either.  Ben had to converse completely in Indonesian to arrange the whole deal--it was comical to observe but quite frustrating for him I think :).

We have been settled into our own home for just over a week.  Nearly every day we go out via the sketchy looking mini bus (called the angkot here-pictures to come) and buy something we need to furnish our house.  It came partially furnished, but there are still many things we need to get. Our home is one of four attached apartments.  We are on the second floor and have a lovely balcony with an amazing view at the right time of day.  Our home is small but boasts a western style kitchen and flushable toilet.  Oh and we also have a water heater for warm showers - what luxury!  Blaise and Flora are sharing a room which seems to be working out just fine--much like our condo in Royal Oak.

So, that's our little home.  Every day Ben and I walk to our language school where we spend four grueling hours attempting to memorize vocabulary and phrases all whilst getting continually rebuked for our poor pronunciation.  I especially find it difficult to shake my English habits of speaking.  Blaise is enrolled at a pre-school and to our delight there is an American boy in his class.  They have really hit it off.  It might be that they are just both so excited to be speaking English to someone their own age. 

Blaise had the misfortune this past week of getting really sick.  I had a 24 hour stomach flu last week so when Blaise started to get sick we just assumed it was the same thing.  After about a week of low grade fever and other symptoms we took Blaise to the Advent hospital.  Blaise was diagnosed with Typhoid Fever.  After a five day stay (with an enforced bed rest) in the hospital Blaise was realeased to our care two days ago and seems to be recovering well.  Ben and I took turns spending the night with him and sitting by his bed side.  I have to admit it was a bit of a grueling affair, but at least now we know where to go when we get sick!

All in all our little family is moving slowly towards a routine and a pattern of life.  We are enjoying school and really enjoying getting to know our neighbours and people in the community. 

Oh and Ben has just purchased a motorcycle.  Watch out Bandung motorists . . . .