Archive for the ‘G-man’ Category

Partying

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Goodbye parties are always fun. On Sunday we attended 2 of them, for US. The only difference was…we payed for them, planned much of them, and hosted them. But we did have a lot of help: our friends made our invitation list, advised us on the proper and formal way to fill out an invitation, took over the food prep and serving, helped us borrow and then wash the borrowed cups, spoons, bowls, tea pots, and floor mats, helped us prepare the 60 boxes of snacks, helped us dish out the 60 bowls of curry soup, and helped in many other ways. For those of you who couldn’t attend, here’s a few snapshots of the night.

preparing together

preparing together

g and friends trying to stay entertained

g and friends trying to stay entertained

peace

peace

all that soup

60 bowls of soup

a gift from all of our neighbors

a gift from all of our neighbors

playing chess long into the night

playing chess long into the night

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happy anniversary to us

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

IMG_5464a

Wasn’t it inevitable? Michael and I decided to go away for the night to celebrate our 6th anniversary. This was our first night without G, but we left him in the capable hands of our house helpers. They watch him every day while we are in school so they know the drill, know the house, and even do a load of laundry or two while babysitting. Not to mention the fact that G gets along with them really well. As we were sitting down to dinner, I got a phone call that G had fallen down, had a small cut, and “boleh dijahit di bidan sistwanti (can he be stiched at the midwife’s?).”  To which I replied: “No. First call our friends so they can stop by and decide if he needs stitches or just super glue.” I would rather him not go  through the trauma of facial sutures without me. We jumped on our motorbike for a quick and cold 30 minute ride back to the house. We pulled into the driveway just in time to tuck him into bed after convincing him to take off his blood soaked shirt (he was kind of proud of it). It really must have been quite a crime scene as there were blood stains everywhere. We tried to assure the ladies that they had done a wonderful job. And when all was settled down here, we reluctantly returned to finish our uneaten dinner, and enjoy our already paid for cabin.

We got back early this morning and let our helpers go home and rest. I think they are way more traumatized than G. We opened up his bandages this morning to see that he maybe should have been sewn after all, but we’ve got a butterfly on it hoping that will help. Good thing he’s a boy, and boys consider scars cool (or so I’m told).

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medicine on our new side of the world

Sunday, May 10th, 2009

Last week G was crabby, quite crabby. He would whine and cry and not want to sleep. I think our house helpers got tired of it, or of seeing him in misery, so they suggested that I take him to go get a massage. So I thought why not try another Indonesian experience. My friends take their kids if they have been falling a lot, or if they are cranky. So we hopped on our motorbike and followed our helper to an unassuming little place. Inside were several Batik throws, and an old mat. With trepidation I gave G to the masseuse, and she mixed some beras kencur powder with water to rub on G. He hated it and bawled and fought and struggled. Michael says we will never do it again. But (possibly coincedentally) G is now doing a lot better.

i wish he had enjoyed it some
i wish he had enjoyed it some

I’ve also of and on felt under the weather. So people tell me that I probably have masuk angin (wind entered). Which seems to be a catch all disease. But the most common symptoms are bloating and gas (sorry fair reader). It’s thought to be caused by sitting under a fan, or in front of an open door when there is wind, or if a kid sits in the front of a motorcycle. Another treatment besides Jamu is to whistle (I’m not making this up). In fact Christians, well educated Doctorate types, also believe in Masuk Angin. I guess it’s a little bit like American’s belief of how the common cold is caused… So the treatment is some more beras kuncur powder mixed into a drink called jamu.

G has small bites all over his arms, and a rash all around his neck. So I’ve been taking our neighbors advice and rubbing Minyak Kayu Putih (Melaleuca Oil, apparently a cousin of Tea Tree Oil) all over him, his matress is going to get “sunned,” and he gets powdered after his bath, which is often three times a day because we take lots of baths around here now that it is hot. Maybe I should try beras kuncur.

Posted in Culture Shock, G-man, Medicine | No Comments »

when you are living inthe 1950’s

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

Last night we went to a rocking New Year’s Eve party. We had snacks, we had games. But one game in particular got me thinking about this new culture I find myself in. We played 20 questions. I’ll cut through the questions and tell you that the character they picked for me to play was an Indonesian bread seller. Apparently each seller has their own distinct sound they make. The milk sellers play a song about how fresh the milk is. Here is the call from the tofu seller (I think). Note it’s not a fantastic recording (I just ran out in my pj’s to get it for you), and I left some freebee background noise. It wouldn’t be the neighborhood without roosters and band saws going off.  

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFXQgzwPwAA]

We feel like we are living in the 1950’s because we can can have just about everything delivered to our house: bread, milk, tofu, ice cream, water, propane, soy milk, vegetables, soup, soy “meatballs”, and apparently also medical care. Last week G broke our glass coffee table with his head. All we had to do was call and we had medical care right on our door step. She cleaned him up, assured me that there were no glass shards left in his head, and super glued him right up. It was great.

no we're not just posing

no we're not just posing

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thoughts on a new culture

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

I am writing this from Jakarta, Indonesia. Right now my computer clock reads 1:58 am, but my body doesn’t really know what to think. I am up with a sleepless G, and enjoying the chance to sort through my thoughts on the new things we are experiencing.

We had pretty good flights over here. But, the food left much to be desired (and I usually even like airplane food). I was disappointed to have orange juice from a tin can that reminded me of what we used to get in Papua New Guinea. So I just resigned myself to having the same yucky juice for G here in Indonesia. I was wrong…there are so many fabulous juices. Just look.

jakarta008-medium

Another difference I noticed is that G is a rock star here. When we got to the terminal in Taipei, he immediately had people gathering around him wanting to take his picture. He didn’t like it very much at first. He wasn’t too happy to walk down a hallway and have all of the shop people calling out to him, and smiling, and talking about him. He didn’t want to be in all of the pictures. Or have his skin patted and touched. But I told him that he always has to say “hi”. Now he won’t stop saying “hi” to anyone and everyone. I am sure he will get annoyed again. But right now he is enjoying the attention, and even asks that they will take his picture “more.”

Last night I heard my first call to prayer. It was so interesting for me to hear the voices mingling and competing from the different mosques around us. I am pretty glad that I slept through the morning 4:45 call. I am not sure i would have liked it as much this time around.

The biggest difference so far, though, has been the bathrooms.  I knew that I was in for a change when our hostess handed me a square of tissue, and told me to go into the left hand ones because they are the sit down ones, and not the squat ones. Then I went in and saw that everything was wet because of the sprayer that is used for personal hygiene, and for ablutions before the prayers. I still haven’t had to use a cold dipper shower. But that too will come with time. 

 Right now I am still at the stage where I can think, “cool, we’ll just adjust” to every new thing. Please pray for us because I know there is a time coming thatI will notice the differences, and just get annoyed.

I will work on getting pictures to illustrate what I am talking about. But I’ll post this for now. Check back later.

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Posted in G-man, Indonesia, Transportation | No Comments »