A palatable venture of success...

Home cooked meals and my overall talent of such are severely lacking. So Mike and I came up with a few ingredients to combine to make, hopefully, a successful meal. I hope to add them by picture in chronological order.
Step 1: Good wine- to drink while cooking (a necessity)
Step 2: Egg noodles (a safe bet as it's loved by all)
Step 3: The common fresh ingredients- tomato, basil, garlic (from the bazar), beef broth, paprika, cumin and red pepper flakes
Step 4: Pan fried meatballs (which were actually veal meatballs- we think)
Step 5: Simmer
Step 6: Enjoy! 

It was so delicious and easy! A new favorite.
Always interesting...
Bon appetite! And cheers to more easy, yummy meals!

Bazar and bule...

This morning Hannah and I went to a tiny bazar that originally promised food, jewelry, fabrics etc. The bazar was rescheduled from a different day so we were unsure of what to expect but hoping to find some hand-carved sculptures. We got there and it was all food products. Fresh food consisting of bananas, eggs, garlic, nuts, fruit, fish, calamari, prawns and crab. I am still learning (or unable to retain) the names of some things so I am omitting them on the side of caution. I am sure Mike would appreciate me being more audacious when it comes to food and I am sure he would love to try the crab and fresh prawns but my adventurous spirit (and belly) just aren't quite conditioned yet.
Hannah was a little overwhelmed by the fish and disappointed by there not being any sculptures but woe is life. We looked around a little bit but it was obvious by some women there that we (I) was not exactly welcome. I am (we are), what the Indonesians call, a Bule. Bule means Albino in Indonesian and it can also carry somewhat of a racial connotation. However, if I have learned anything thus far is there will always be good with the bad and I (we) just have to muster through it (applies to everyone everywhere). I bought some fresh garlic and very excited to cook with it- what I will cook is the question but none the less excited. As we were checking out the woman who put the bazar together and the gal helping her gave me and Hannah a sweet smile and the negative Bule cloud diminished like the clouds that come and go here on the jungle mountainside of Tembagapura. As I am writing this and all my blogs the struggle for me to be politically correct is needlelike. All that I feel and perceive is real- they are my real emotions and perceptions. However, the actual legitimacy to said emotions and perceptions given from the Indonesians or other cultures maybe different. I have found that some cultures here aren't really all that considerate- it's not that they're being rude it's just not in their culture- like holding doors for each other, standing in line or waiting their turn etc. So this Bule may or may not be such a Bule- eh confusing, right!? Either way my role here is to be a good, kind person and emanate as much of that as possible and accept the uncontrollables as what they are. So we continue on in this crazy, one-of-a-kind place...
Here are some pics from the Bazar...

   

Pembantu and Bahasa Indonesia...

Oh the joy of a Pembantu has come to fruition and we've been here not even two and a half weeks. A Pembantu is a maid/nanny. I am taking a Bahasa Indonesia class and in order to do so needed to hire a part time Pembantu to be here for my kiddos for a few hours a week. Easier to do part time at this time of the year as most everyone is away on holiday. She is amazing. She speaks good English and very, very sweet. Additionally she is helping me speak Bahasa Indonesia when I try to speak it to her. On an embarrassingly impressive note she whipped our house into shape in very short order. I come home and she says "Ibu, I change. Let me show you" and she shows me what she has changed- like putting foil on the stove burners or putting the kids' pants in a different spot- all that makes much more sense. Last night we were supposed to have dinner with our neighbor but I was under the weather so he and his Pembantu brought dinner over. The food was delicious and validated a culinary benefit from having a Pembantu (and fabulous neighbors). I actually think the food made me feel better. ?
I have immediately enjoyed the class and the ladies I am with make it even more fun. Bahasa Indonesia is a nice language to learn as it's not too complicated and totally phonetic- it is pronounced exactly the way it looks!
On our way to a play date with,  I think, one of the last kiddos here who leave in a few days. Sad but I am excited to have some alone time with my family.
As always to be continued. ..

Yummy-like-heaven-ness...

I haven't enjoyed such a home cooked taste since we left until just now. Betty Crocker oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!
Mike bought a packet of Betty Crocker cookie mix, baked them up and yummy-like-heaven-ness filled our home (and he was pretty cute at the task). Mason kept saying "that sure smells delicious". It's a sensory overload that is welcome and totally missed! Nothing tastes or smells the same here- the culinary risks have been great and rewarded at times yet a gamble. Our tummies are still adjusting and we have all had tummy moments of non-agreement.
In addition to our yumminess, yesterday we got to enjoy the Rimba Resort after going to the immigration office. Which I must say the office was clean, friendly and speedy compared to the motor vehicle offices I have seen in the US. The resort was an amazing and we got to meet up with some amazing people from the mine and the children enjoyed each other's company (pictures of the Rimba below). The remainder of our air freight being released is contingent on paperwork from immigration.
We are happy to be home now after a good helicopter rides, with our cookie aroma and family movie night on a tv borrowed from a dear expat.

Development and Christmas...

We will be here two weeks tomorrow and we have dynamically developed. This place is one of a freaking kind. It is truly impossible to portray Tembagapura in pictures and words- really, really impossible. The beauty, uneasiness and logistical implications are abundant. The only moments of peace for me are at night when everyone is sleeping and the rain is falling.
The kiddos finished school (again) which was good for them. They got to interact with their peers and create relationships before they all leave for holiday. Looking forward to being apart of the school year in the Fall.
I think my personal challenge has been the issues with the locals. Things have progressed and created more challenges up at the mine, trickled down to town and therefore heightened security and personal awareness. All to be expected and forewarned yet still a challenge. I feel so bad for the employees here who just want work but can't and suffer consequences from not.
The cultural separation (again to be expected) is huge. I find it difficult to be patient and understanding at times. But I am the foreigner here and must remember that. And most of the locals are so very sweet and kind.
Tomorrow we chopper down to Timika for more paperwork and logistics for our Visas. Funny to most here when I say I am not ready to go anywhere. But the kiddos get to swim (hopefully).
We have surprisingly received a lot of our air freight. It was just as everyone here has described- Christmas! We got some random things but happy to get them.
I am exhausted and have to catch a helicopter in the morning. So good night! (Good morning)....

One week down: feeling far away, a smile that saves, letter from an angel, familial ties, social butterfly and machetes...

It's been a long fabulous week living in the jungle- hence the title! The kiddos have done so extremely well! 
My first dose of feeling far away came when I heard news that a dear friend back home was diagnosed with cancer! I just wanted to be there, at that moment, to help and for the first time in a long time I cried. I felt so isolated and alone. Still upset I walked to the grocery store and saw a woman paying at the register who I met once before, briefly. Instantly she saw me her face lit up, her smile stretched all the way across her beautiful face and she says "Kristen,  we have M&Ms. Here let me show you!". My loneliness melted and I knew at that moment that I was going to be okay! I know that I have people here who care about me and my family!
That night Hannah was upset about an incident at school and she asked me how to deal with bullies? I said the best thing, for that situation, is to ignore them and we role played on how to do it and how and why it works (note to self- follow up on said incident). Shortly after I crawled into bed and swiftly fell asleep- easy to do when the rain basically sings one to sleep. Mike woke me up and said "you should read this" and handed me a letter. The letter was from Hannah. She must have placed it next to me while I was sleeping. It said "Dear mom thank you for the advice love Hannah". What a sweet angel! Again saved by the reassurance of non-failure.
So the random coincidence of my familial ties are creeping in. Hannah came home from school and said "mom, I made even more friends today; a girl named Phillipa but everyone calls her Pip". Pip was my Papa's nickname and when I was pregnant with Mason we struggled to find a name for (Mason) our second to nickname Pip. The next oddity was picking a book at the library and the first book we see is I Spy. The exact same book that my mom read to Hannah and Mason since always and forever. Coincidence maybe but I will take lovely-family-reminding smiles any day!
In our transition of this journey Mason has turned into this amazing, outgoing social butterfly! He can't play with any new kiddo fast enough! Coming from a kid who wouldn't even let you take his picture but a couple weeks ago! Successful non-failure again!
Our adventure hasn't been without weary moments. The mine has been shut down since the collapse and has caused various issues. One was the Union threatened to strike which threw us (me) into a slight panic. I had to buy extra water and food just in case. There was also talk of tribe members coming into town armed with machetes (yup totally just said machete). Which apparently did happen but it's what they wear (right to bear arms comes to mind) and they just want production to start!
Ahhhh apparently life will never be dull in the jungle!
As always to be continued...

Accents...

My humor of the day is Hannah developing an accent- an Australian/English one. She says she just can't help it! I understand completely as I find a random accent slip in my conversations every once and a while! However,  I remind Hannah that we too have accents to everyone and she says that she wants to be different (different from who she is a similar to those around her). We remind her that she is different and special especially being a kiddo from Colorado- I think there is four total (a really high percentage)! Either way she will progress through being who she is,  fighting against who she is and settling on who she always has been!
I wonder how Mike's first day went, speaking of accents? I made reservations for dinner tonight and had a very short conversation and struggled tremendously! My five minute convo must be so miniscule to Mike's ten hour day of "accents"! There was an interesting comment made from people we met here who giggled about how almost everyone here speaks (broken yet appreciated) English which is fabulous and definitely not expected but when you go to the US people only speak Spanish- interesting comment.
As always to be continued. ..
(Pic from the mountain today)