Having a ball, festive dancing and verisimilitude...

It has been a very, very busy week. I finished my finals for school and so glad to have that monkey of my back. It was a wonderful class and learned a lot from it. I get to take the next 8 weeks off as we will be traveling 2 of the 8 weeks and I would like to focus on spending time with my family.
Hannah and Mason have been enthralled with school and started after school activities this week as well. They both were exhausted by the weeks' end. They get to start swimming this coming week and are super thrilled!
Friday night was the Masquerade Ball: The Enchanted Forest. Mike and I were extremely excited for this event as many others were! A few girls came over and we all got ready together. It was a sorority-like experience for sure. So much fun!!! The men came by later and we got some photos before we left. The night was truly magical. The committee that put it all together did a fabulous job! Absolutely amazing! The décor, flow of the night, dinner, giveaways, DJ and dancing were out of this world (this world being Tembagapura :) ). Everyone looked so amazing and all smiles. Such a special group of individuals. They gave away many door prizes and also prizes for Best Dressed. Our dear friends won Best Dressed Couple and, to my surprise, I won Best Dressed Female. That was very special. The night ended late with many happy Tembagapurans (not sure if that is even a word?)!
Early Saturday morning I had to be at the sports field to prep for the Indonesian line dancing performance. It was a very dreary, cold, rainy, and slow-moving as I walked up to the field. We waited several hours for the rain to stop and the scheduled events to commence. In the meantime one of the restaurants, Kops, served up some warm soup and hot tea. The soup was delicious and I made it a point not to ask what was in it so I could just enjoy it. I do know that one of the ingredients was fried chicken bones (I think) so I just ate around them. They began the celebration with group Zumba and if there is one thing that I have learned is that the Indonesians have great rhythm and LOVE to dance. So the field was full of men, women and children enjoying the Zumba experience including Hannah and her friend. It was now our turn to dance and I was a little nervous. There was a group of teachers that came from Jakarta to help facilitate and teach us. They were lovely women and they also involved the Papuan children from the local school of tribal children. The children were so talented and darling, it made me teary! They really had a great time. The line dances went flawlessly and I was happy and sad that it was over. The time leading up to Saturday was spent with many lovely women from all over and we grew together and bonded!
It has been nearly three months that we have been here and the "transition" period is fading and there is a difference in our existence now, one of verisimilitude-

ver·i·si·mil·i·tude

/ˌvɛrəsɪˈmɪlɪˌtud, -ˌtyud/ Show Spelled [ver-uh-si-mil-i-tood, -tyood]  

1.

the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability

2.

something, as an assertion, having merely the appearance of truth.

 

It's this feeling, appearance and assertion of our truth of our existence and reality of living in Indonesia. It' no longer a feeling of a long vacation to a faraway place. It's our truth- we really freaking live here. I get these feelings more and more and it's while I am walking up the hill with my kids as we see the local tribal people walking, shoeless, with their nokens, security and military with their guns and a sea of different cultures in the faces of people as we walk by the shopping center. And I must say it's frustrating at times but it is genuinely exceptional.

 

The upcoming weeks will hopefully be a little less crazy. Up next will be the Stampede (another party) and then our trip to Australia! Oh ya, yoga is going extremely well and I was recently accepted as the new PTA Treasurer. Life is good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!