Thursday, November 17, 2011

Our first trip "home"

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I suppose it's not really "home" anymore.... home is this crazy hot land of crazy drivers, poverty, beauty, and new friends.  Back to our Canadian roots then... the crispness and colours of fall, family and old friends.  We travelled the long way so we could all fly together until Houston, where we parted ways with Jeff, and continued on to Canada as an all-female group.  The girls travelled remarkably well and were back on Canada-time within a couple of days.  It was a whirlwind month trying to fit in all of our doctor, immunizations, and dental visits in with visiting as many family and friends that we could in a short amount of time.  I think we need to find a more relaxed way to do it next time; I felt like we were constantly on the go, never in the same place, and I think the girls felt it too - they didn't sleep very well at all while we were gone.  All of that being said, we had a great visit.  It was so nice to get caught up with our parents, grandparents and friends face to face, instead of on Skype or email.  I can't imagine how much more difficult this move would have been without the internet, though I must admit, nothing beats a good sit-down visit with someone!  We managed to be home for my nephew's first birthday party, which was great to be a part of, we had Sofia's 4th birthday party surrounded by family and some of our friends - which was great for her... she's missed all of her buddies!  The selfish part of me also enjoyed leaving my girls with grandparents for a few hours on their own with no qualms or worries about their welfare... we just don't have such trustworthy childcare here! :)  If anyone would look after our girls like we would, it's the grandparents, and it was nice to be able to have a few evenings out with friends or even just wandering the malls child-free for a couple of hours to browse at clothes that would actually fit me!
Jeff was unexpectedly called back to Indonesia early, so his trip to Canada was shortened, and the girls and I decided to stay and take the milk run back home without him (Calgary-Houston-Moscow-Singapore-Balikpapan).  A blessedly unevenly 40-some hours later and we were back home!
It was nice to get back to the routine of Balikpapan, a little bit calmer days and some sleep-filled nights... now that we've been home, we are hoping we get some visitors to this side of the world soon! (hint hint, wink wink)... we're dying to show you our new home!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

July 13, 2011 - Belyn Turns 2

Two years ago, Belyn arrived into the world with very little drama or shocking birth stories to tell.  Since then, that same entrance seems to be reflected in her everyday life... largely calm, cool, and collected (I'd be lying if I didn't admit that she has her occasional moments of drama, like any toddler).  She has blessed our life with song, and even though she might not say all of the words, we know what tune she is singing based on her surprisingly accurate pitch (music lessons, here we come!) :)  Belyn is truly my "cuddlle-bug", as there is no place she'd rather be than somehow touching me (she has just about mastered climbing into our bed at 3am to cuddle without waking anyone up to get sent back to her bed).  I love her so much and can't help but shout it out for her birthday.... :)
We had a Minnie Mouse birthday party with some of her friends from school and it was a great time.  I thought I'd put a couple of pictures and a video for you to see...

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There's Been a Breakthrough in Balikpapan!!!!

It's been a pretty quiet month - I would say 85% of families are on home-leave right now.  As for the rest of us who have chosen to stay, it's been a relaxing month of "summer school" (arts and crafts and play) for the kids, swimming, and playing outside.  We've formed some relationships with some of the other families here, and find ourselves quite comfortable with our life.  Things have started to pick up a little this past week, as the Women's Association starts getting ready for the new year, and more planned events and get-togethers are starting to show up in my email inbox - we'll be busy again soon!

Through the swim club, Sofia has been lucky enough to have semi-private or private swim lessons three times a week for the past month (so many people are on home-leave that there's virtually no one at the free swim lesson times offered).... it's been great for her to have so much one-on-one time, and after 4 short weeks, she's like a whole new child in the water - we can hardly believe it!!!  Erif, her swim coach, has been amazingly patient and great working with her, and it really shows.  These types of opportunities have been one of the greatest upsides to moving here, for sure.  I've attached some video of her last swim lesson to show you her progress (to see where she WAS, look at my post from the swim meet in May) :)

Monday, June 13, 2011

Quote of the Day...


"Please hold my hand, Belyn.... you're my best friend." 
~ Sofia A. McNamara, June 13, 2011

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Take Your Mark....





Since we have moved here, Sofia has been taking swim lessons through a swim club - the Balikpapan Barricudas. She has gone from a scared little girl who will barely go into the water into one that wants to paddle around the deep end with her water wings... she has come a long way! However, if any of you know Sofia, she has what I call a "20 minute warm-up time"... if she encounters something new, she needs about 20 minutes to get adjusted and comfortable with things. So having an 8am swim meet with 80+ kids cheering around the pool while she is supposed to just jump in and SWIM didn't go over nearly as well as we had hoped! :) I told her she didn't have to go, and she decided she'd do it with her teacher... I was so proud of her! Once she hopped out and got her ribbon, she wanted to do it again to get some more!
Later in the morning I somehow got roped into doing the family fun race, which until 5 minutes before I didn't realize I had to swim down the pool with 35lbs on my back!!! Ah well, Sofia loved it and I didn't mind. We ended off the meet with a potluck lunch with a lot of the other swim families. It's been a great way to get to know some of the people we've met and to meet some new ones too!

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

May 17, 2011 Waisek Day and a Trip to the Beach!

We decided to spend our first national holiday out of the city, and ended up driving a couple of hours to find a beach... it was well worth the drive!  The beach closer to Balikpapan was packed because of the holiday, and we had a much more enjoyable, quieter time a little further away.  We had fun picking shells and walking around in the water for a couple of hours.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

The Reality of the Situation

I read a fair number of books about moving overseas before we came here, and in large part they all highlighted a lot of the difficulties in moving abroad.  Being away from family and friends, not knowing the language, culture differences, etc etc... deep down I was quite nervous - we wouldn't know anyone, Jeff would be working a lot, would I be okay on my own with a pre-schooler and toddler for most of the day?  What happens when someone gets sick; where do we go, will they speak English, what drugs are they prescribing???
I am not sure what it is like moving to another place in the world, but the one thing I have seen in my six or so weeks in Balikpapan is what an amazing community of women live here.  I have never once felt isolated or on my own to deal with anything.  One day Sofia developed a rash on her body, and within 5 minutes of sending out a quick message I had names and numbers of doctors, where to go, who to ask for.... I have been overwhelmed at the kindness and graciousness of these fabulous women that are making their homes here in Balikpapan.
I am not sure how to describe it in words, but since 99% of the women here are not working, there is a different sense of community here. We are all creating our identities through our homes and our families and our friendships... no one is climbing the corporate ladder, and since we're not in the Western world, a lot of the Western pressures and culture is gone.  We can't shop at Holt Renfrew, and we can't buy $500 shoes (well, at least until holidays in KL or Singapore) ;) so the focus is on different things - coffee mornings, learning to sew, having playdates with our children... I miss my family and my friends, but I am so thankful for these wonderful ladies that have opened up their arms, and their homes, and themselves to me here.... I am so grateful!

To Market, To Market...

Well, as of today we are completing our first week in our new house.  As nice as everyone was to us, it is so nice to be out of that hotel!!!  We finally have some space, and can cook for ourselves... which leads us to some interesting experiences going to find ingredients!!!

Shopping for groceries is a bit of an adventure, since you can't do it all at one store; it takes a day to grocery shop, or as I've found, an hour or so every morning after we drop Sofia off at school.  For purely "expat" items, like peanut butter, SPAM (not kidding), fresh milk, we have to go to Heroes (which would be similar to a Co-op here)... but it's very pricey, because it's geared for the expat market.  More everyday items can be purchased at other smaller "grocery" stores, or else you have to go hunting... baking ingredients to the bakery shop, fresh bread to a little bakery in a different district... and of course all of the stores are at least 20 minutes apart from one another, so it's a bit of a trek.  The other option for everything except the expat items is to go to the market.

I had my first exposure to Pasar Klandasan (Klandasan market) this week, thankfully with a few wonderful women who agreed to show me the ropes!  I don't think I've ever had such an assault on my senses, and even though I took a couple of photos, without the smells, it just doesn't seem to really capture the atmosphere of the place.  You walk by eggs smelling like the chicken coop on the farm, then by dried and salted fish where I just breathe through my mouth (really, who wants to smell that?), past the vegetables... oops, watch where you're walking so you don't step on that horrible cockroach (though, I must admit, the first one I've seen since we got here... I shouldn't complain!) we stopped and got some veggies, making sure to ask for her better ones (which are always hiding behind the table, I'm learning), as well as asking for her "best price".  The other ladies are well versed on how much things should cost and I'm trying to quickly learn as well (also making quick progress on my numbers and food items in Bahasa, it's essential at the market!).  The market is the best place to buy your eggs because they are the freshest due to the high turnover and volumes, but you have to "float test" them at home... if they float, throw them out! 
We give our bags to the "porter" (for a small fee there are guys that will carry your bags around the market for you so you don't have to... maybe I should get one for Belyn next time? ;)  )  Next is over to the fish and meat section, and I realize now why they told me to make sure I wore shoes and not sandals - fish scales, guts, etc on the ground where the cats are loving it but I am NOT (though there is no smell due to the large doors being open, so I was impressed about that).  I now know what red snapper looks like whole (I've only ever seen a filet at the store before), and I know that the eyes have to be bright and to open the gills and make sure they look blood red (not gray or pinky) to make sure it's a good fish to buy.
I buy a whole chicken for Sunday night dinner, telling the lady that I don't want the head or feet still on, so please chop them off for me, and get some breasts as well, to freeze for later.

Then I put all of this in my little cooler with ice, and head to the only Starbucks in town, to remind myself that it is 2011 and I can still get a western-made coffee! :)

Thursday, March 31, 2011

"Real" Life Begins

Well, the girls and I are officially on our own today.  Jeff got asked to attend a forum going on at the hotel today and probably a dinner event tonight, so Sofia, Belyn and I are navigating solo today.  We are going to go to a different complex (BDI complex) and spend the afternoon at their pool - I saw it on our look-see trip and it's a great facility for kids, and I guess a lot of other expats take their children there in the afternoon, so hopefully we'll get to start meeting some other people today!

Lessons learned the past couple of days:
1. Always look at the receipt they give you before you leave - if they tell you it's 5.5million rupiah, and you pay them that, and then you get back to the hotel, and the receipt says 5.4million rupiah, guess who got the other 100K in their pocket?  Not me!
2. Always make sure the taxi meter is on and running - otherwise, you get charged a random amount for the trip, and it'll never be less than it was supposed to be!
3. Cheese strings were a staple in our fridge in Calgary - I could find 16 on sale for $5; here we pay about $12 CDN for 4 cheese strings.... they are officially a luxury and not a staple in our fridge!!!  More than anything else we've seen, cheese is very very expensive here.

Onto the food... it's been three days and I'm already craving a kitchen to cook some of our own meals!!!  The food isn't bad, it's just different.  Sofia will probably have the hardest time, as she's not a huge fan of any spices, and most things here have some sort of spice added.  They have a lot of different foods that we don't eat either - things like oxtail soup and oyster and squid dishes.... and everything looks like what it is... Jeff had a work dinner last night, and they went to a seafood restaurant where they had fish, crab, etc... and it's a whole fish that comes out on your plate.  He said it was delicious, you just have to pick and pull it apart to eat it... a little bit of an adjustment for us!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

En Route

We made it to Singapore and are spending a few beautiful, relaxing days at the Fairmont before we finish our journey with one more flight to Balikpapan tomorrow morning.  We had quite the journey to this point with delayed flights, missed connections, "almost" missed connections due to me thinking it was one hour earlier than it was (I've never been rushed down the tunnel onto a plane to quickly!) :)  Through it all, the girls were absolutely fantastic - they slept on wooden food court chairs put together into a make shift bed in the airport, played quietly with each other on the airplane, and all in all - were better than we could have ever hoped for such a long trip.
We've spent the past couple of days in the pool, napping, and walking around a bit of Singapore.  The girls are getting onto the time zone (sortof!) and tomorrow morning we leave to find out where we'll be living in Balikpapan until our house shipment arrives.  We were at dinner last night and were accosted by a Canadian working for Fairmont - apparently the Canadian accent doesn't come through this part of the world very often :)  I ended up going for a few drinks with her and her friend last night, and maybe found a couple of people to come and visit next time we're back this way!  A  good start for me :)

What I've learned so far:
1. Our blonde, blue and green eyed children are an anomaly and I think we've made it into at least 3 people's picture albums so far - everyone wants to hold them, and hug them, and kiss them, and while I'm smiling and saying how nice they are being to the girls, part of me in my head is thinking I don't know where these people have been, who they are, and what germs they have and now they're holding my child!  I'm the new spokesperson for hand sanitizer :) LOL
2. We should have sent half of what we packed in suitcases into our air shipment - but seriously, with all of the changes last minute, who knew???
3. No over-planning allowed - between house shipping dates changing, not knowing where we're living tomorrow, flights being delayed... it's enough to make every "planner" in the family half-crazy!!!  (in our case, that would be ME - I like to think that I'll be growing as a person through all of this ;)


Once we get to Balikpapan and get settled in, I'll be able to upload some more photos to show you what our new home looks like!  Hope everyone is well, we miss you and love you!!!!

Monday, February 28, 2011

2 Days Until Homeless

Well, this past week saw us moving into our temporary housing for the next month, movers at the house packing up and getting all of our belongings onto a boat for Balikpapan, and cleaning the house for its new owners who take possession in two days.  This homeless thing is a little odd - you work your whole life to be able to own something and have that secure investment... and now we've up and sold it and a lot of our belongings.  A wee bit liberating, a wee bit unnerving, all at the same time.






A few hints on movers must be noted:
1. They like you a lot more if you have refreshments for them (think bottled water and gatorade) :)
2. They will always, ALWAYS try to tell you on your moving slips that your stuff is more scratched and dented than it is, so that when you get there and it got a few more bumps and bruises in the process, they claim it was already there (always make sure to find out what they're writing and have it revised if you don't think it's appropriate).
3. They will always forget something (for us it was all of our cables for our computer and all of the girls' new pool toys for our soon-to-be backyard pool - talk about leaving behind the essentials!)  They were really good about it though, and sent someone over to grab it the next day.
4. The more prepared you are, the smoother it goes... for example, if you haven't gone through your cupboard but don't want them to pack everything in it, don't try to do it while you're touring them around your house telling them what goes and what stays (trust me on this one) LOL

It's a relief to finally have all of that done.  For the next month, all we have are the four bags with us, and time to visit and say goodbye to as many people as possible!  This week will be busy as my sister is scheduled for her surgery on Wednesday, so we are trying to be around and available as much as possible to help out with whatever needs doing... she's been so positive every time I've talked to her - I hope it continues because I think it's half the battle.  My sister's one of the strongest people I know, and we're praying for her every day.

Sampai bertemu lagi (see you later)

Thursday, February 17, 2011

A Bit of the Other Side

The things "people" say you miss the most when you move are the things you miss.  Birthdays, weddings, funerals... those big moments that you just can't fly home for all the time.  I've been having a bit of a reality check on that this past week.  Things are really moving along on the move front - Jeff's visa FINALLY came in, so now we're just finalizing temporary housing and our stuff will be on a ship headed to our new home in Indo.  It's been so exciting and busy getting ready for this.  Jeff and I had one last weekend away to Vegas while we still have baby-sitters, and we're getting so geared up to start this new chapter of our lives.
In the middle of all of this momentum, my sister has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is scheduled for surgery next week.

And in my head, I realized that these are the moments.  These are things that in 4 or 5 weeks, we're not going to be around for.  I know we can stay in touch and support from afar and all of that rhetoric, but we're not going to be here.  We can't be of help with a physical presence for our family and friends that might just need us.  And that's what's going to be the hardest.  I think I knew, back in the far corners of my mind, that that's what moving meant, but maybe didn't really realize exactly what that might look like until last week.  At least, for the next 4-5 weeks, I'm around and fully present and able to be here for my sister and her family.... prayers and prayers for her!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          My sister and her cute little son, Kace (4 months)

Friday, January 21, 2011

Getting Closer...

Our house is officially up for sale, we ship our contents in 10 days and move into temporary housing until it's time for us to go.  Seeing our house on "show" has made this all the more real for me.  No longer is it our home, full of family pictures, memories, and life; now it is clean, generic, with no hint of the personality or lives of the people that have been living in it.  Now it is spotless with crisp white towels and flowers adorning the empty spaces, hopeful that someone new will see its potential and want to make it home.

What is it that makes someplace home?
The definition of home is:
1. a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household.
2. the place in which one's domestic affections are centered.  
3. any place of residence or refuge.
4. a person's native place or own country.

So... other than Canada being our heritage and citizenship, we can really make anywhere home.  I have been thinking of the girls being these nomadic children, with no real sense of "home", and reading these brief definitions, I've realized that anywhere they consider to be their place of comfort and refuge is their home, and anywhere we happen to be in the world can be "home" to them.  I still think we need to make sure they are aware of their Canadian culture and our values, etc.... but we don't need to be in our little house in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in order for them to feel the love and security of  home.  In thinking about all of the different homes I've lived in during my life, I realize it's not so much the homes I remember, it's the memories that were made in those homes that stay with me and I am so looking forward to creating some new ones with our family.  For the next ten days, home is the house we brought them to after they were born; then we'll have a new address for a couple of months, and then home will be found in Balikpapan, Indonesia.  I am so excited about being finished work in 4 more working days (I can hardly believe it's almost here!), and then my sole responsibility is to our family, and fostering our growth and bonds with each other. 

Every day I find Sofia packing up another bag full of her "stuff", and when I ask her what she's doing, she answers with things like "I'm packing for the airplane mommy, I'm going to Balikpapan", or "I need my dolls in Indonesia, mommy".  Last night, she asked me with huge frown lines, "our TV is too big to go, mommy?" and I said "no, Sofia, we'll bring our TV to Balikpapan with us", to which those huge frown lines disappeared and all was right with the world once again.  The magic of your biggest concern being whether or not you'll be able to see Buzz Lightyear and "the cowboy" again is amazingly refreshing and cute.

Friday, January 7, 2011

When the Ball Starts Rolling....

Note to self - once the ball is in your court, you better be running!

We started getting emails fast and furious Dec.23 (yes, that's right, 2 days before Christmas), listing all of the paperwork, medicals, and other items we needed to provide the company, movers, HR as soon as possible.  My first reaction was - "Do they not know it's Christmas in 2 days?"  I was lined up at the passport office that day applying for our passports, Jeff was lined up the next day re-applying for our passports (because of course there were complications when I went), we lined up our medicals for the first week of January, and then we were off to Boyle for one last Christmas up there.  Fast forward to Dec.27 - emails start arriving asking "Have you got your medicals done?  Have you sent in your passport copies?  Have you taken an inventory of your home contents yet?"  I'm not even joking - Dec.27th.  Fast forward again to January 5, 11:30pm - passport copies sent, visa photos sent, complete home inventory sent, medicals done and being sent from the doctor's office.

I think in my head I was planning on enjoying the holidays and then really kicking things into gear in January for this move - when I spent 80% of or holidays sorting our house into "sea shipment, air shipment, store, sell, garbage", my stress levels started creeping up and I was not the happiest person to live with.  Let's be honest, who can count how many dolls in the house when there are two beautiful toddlers walking off with them as soon as you turn around?  As Jeff so lovingly told me "Monica - you just need to RELAX.  We'll get it done as soon as we can, and they can just wait for it".

The beauty of trying to fast track getting our things moved early, is that once they're gone (hopefully by February), that's it.  I'm done working at the end of January, and all we'll have left to do is spend time together, visit with our family and friends, and be able to say goodbye without a list of things to do and pack weighing on our minds.  I'm thinking of it as short term pain for long term gain, hopefully.

We have also started to notice some changes in Sofia in the past week or so... she keeps talking about her two friends "Sarah and Hannah", who live in "Indonesia" - I think she's picking up on the changes going on at home, and is reassuring herself that she'll have friends when we get there.  Complex for a 3 year old?  Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I think that's what it is.  She's also started to have an "accident" every day or so, which I think is also directly related to this moving business.  She has been potty-trained since before she was two, and maybe wet the bed at night twice in her whole life, and all of a sudden it happened last night again - I think she senses the upheaval that's happening around her and is having some issues with it.  I caught her peeking out of her bedroom last night watching us as we were doing the kitchen inventory.... it must be hard for both of them.  They know "something" is happening, but not really sure what "moving to Indonesia" means for them, and they're not sure how to react.  We're really trying to make sure we have extra patience with both of them, spend a lot of family time together, and reassure them at every step along the way that we love them and everything's okay.  I'm also preparing myself for a few months of chaos once we get there :)  I'm sure we'll have behavioural issues, a lot of melt-downs and tears while we adjust to our new surroundings.  One of the greatest things is that the girls have each other to spend time with and lean on while we're getting our bearings over there.  I'm trying to think of some great "comfort" items to put in the air shipment that they'll be so excited to see once we get there that'll make it a little easier on them.  I think seeing a pool in the backyard will be so exciting for them it'll definitely help the situation!!!! :)