The little things and the many eyes of wonderment...

So living in a remote town in the jungle has many advantages and many disadvantages. One becomes to enjoy the little things. The little things vary like buying chicken breast- our store was out of chicken breasts for three weeks. However, every other part of the chicken was available except the breast. Many questioned where the breasts ended up!? The ground beef is also hit or miss and the steaks look great but are very expensive. ! So once the chicken breasts were placed in the meat case I bought 2 kilos worth which is 4 pounds. There was still plenty and within the hour it was all gone. The store also provides the most random selection of things, for example, an entire aisle of the most delectable and expensive chocolates, another aisle of a plethora of shampoos, conditioners and face cream yet there are extended times where there aren't any vegetables, chicken, yogurt and milk. But rest assured your sweet tooth, face and hair will survive just fine. You can, however, buy a head of lettuce for $10 USD and a thing of broccoli for $15 USD. It's amazing that the town villagers can afford anything!
Another of the "little things" came up when I was in the travel department. I walked in and some lovely ladies I know were waiting their turn when suddenly a bell rang and an automated voice spoke a number in Bahasa Indonesia. It was like being at the DMV- you take a number and wait until your number comes up on the screen. This is new! One of the ladies and I almost fell off our chairs with laughter as this is a very big deal. Such technology and thought of organization is very rare. Normally you walk into the department and sit down, some one walks in behind you, an agent becomes available and the person that came in behind you moves up and takes the available spot, right in front of you (this happens everywhere you go here). So this is just craziness! Actually, quite comical.
The little things, for me personally, are all the opportunities I have. Most recently, I am training with a gentleman from Italy who is teaching me to teach Pilates (in addition to my yoga which is going amazingly). Another is the opportunity to help teach swim lessons to the 1st graders from the international school (this one is out of my comfort zone but I think we'll get through it just fine). Lastly, I got to go to the, company sponsored, dormitory for the local tribal children whose parent(s) work at the mine. The dormitory houses, feeds them, teaches them to read and write in Bahasa Indonesia and English and math etc. Some of the ladies go once a week to teach them various things. Today was food from different parts of the world. The goal was to have them look at the food to guess what was in it, where it was from and find where it was from on a map of the world. I have never in my life seen such curiosity; their eyes were huge with wonderment and they soaked in every bit of it. They are well-mannered and very sweet. It was a necessary moment for me to really acknowledge where they come from and who they are. I appreciated them and found a new role in this place and their lives (and they in mine).
Hannah and Mason seem to be enjoying school. Mike is getting busier and busier at work but seems to really be thriving.
We are officially on a countdown to get to Australia (4 weeks from now). People have said "you never stay on the island longer than 3 months" and they are right. There isn't much to do here and the itch gradually increases and trips must be had!! 
More pics of town are below and the beautiful faces of the kiddos I got to work with.
As always, to be continued!!!!      

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  

The unspoken power of movement and dance and my sweet, darling...

I have officially completed my first week of teaching yoga and instructed two salsa routines for our Independence Day celebration next Saturday. It has been such a powerful experience in the fact that most of my students don't speak English but the unspoken understanding of movement is amazing and the interaction between everyone is humbling- we are all just humans wanting to connect despite a communication barrier. There have been challenges as far as knowing what things are and aren't acceptable in the Indonesian culture etc. but I think I am doing ok. It's also really cool that I have students from all over the world.
Things have really picked up since school started- we all needed and are enjoying the structure and busyness of it all. We have a formal ball next Friday (super excited for that), the celebration next Saturday and the kids start after school programs next week- drama, outdoor games and story time. We are managing to survive here :)
So while all is well here, life at home continues to go on and my adjusting to it, I fear, will never be successful. Tomorrow my sweet, darling cousin gets married. She has been my little buddy since she was born. We were inseparable most times. I am so very proud of who she has become and the thought of missing such a big day in her life breaks my heart! So in spirit I will be there!
Onward with life and as always, to be continued... 

Independence Day...

Saturday was Independence Day for Indonesia. They had a, highly anticipated, celebration at sports hall on the field that started at 7:00 am. Mike had to work and Hannah was at a sleepover so it was just the Lil Masie Dude and me. We walked up to the sports field around 8:30 in hopes to watch the, highly buzzed about, dance competition. Most every department from the company had to participate. The goal was for them to represent a culture and area of the very dynamic Indonesia. There were groups that represented Bali, Lombok etc. Mason and I just missed the flag raising and gun salute when we arrived. There was a transition from the ceremony to the dance competition. Mason and I were standing amongst the majority of the Indonesian employees, security and police when we started to get surrounded by people who wanted to take a picture with us. It turned chaotic very quickly and we were engulfed by picture taking people and a mass of onlookers. It was very overwhelming and quite ridiculous, in my opinion, but that is just what happens here. It seriously felt like the paparazzi and Mas and I were of importance but really we're just freaky looking white people. Thinking about it now, I just laugh. Mason didn't think it was funny. He started to melt down and that's when I decided to move on to another part of the field. On the way I did get some pictures of some of the groups. At that point, Mason had totally had it and it was time to go. We were lucky enough to meet up with a friend who walked us to another friends' apartment that over looks the field. We got Mason set up on the Wii and we got to enjoy the festivities from a distance and with a great view!

 

It was such a neat experience (being mauled and all) and I am so lucky to have gotten the opportunity to see Indonesia's true uniqueness!

An empty home and the fire on the hill...

It was a beautiful morning and it's always justified when choppers are flying. Today the kiddos started their real, official, day at their international school. And Mason's first day of Kindergarten. He didn't want to go but I am sure he'll warm up throughout the day. We arrived at school and the Indonesian school children were lined up and listening to their Principal speaking in Bahasa Indonesia very sternly. We walked around and found their classes. I watched them walk away and my heart sank. I was so surprised- I was ready and excited for them but selfishly I want to be with them all the time.
I walked up the hill to go to the travel agent and looked up the hill and smoke was billowing. The Papuans burn the hillside to make their gardens. A sign to me that life always moves on.
I walked down to our home and walked in the door- so deafningly quiet. The kiddos toys lay untouched and cereal bowls on the table. Oh how spoiled I was to have a whole summer with them. Totally priceless. So life does move on and to school they must go and for me as well.
So proud of them for being so brave in a strange new place.
As always to be continued....

The other world and where did all these people come from?...

Of the four of us, Lil Mason has transitioned the best yet. No surprise as he was an easy going baby since day one. He does do things that little boys do and especially with an older sister to torment- cheers to good, on-track development. However, his concept of where we are and where we came from is rather entertaining and makes a lot of sense with a twinge of sadness. When he references Colorado or "home" he says "in the other world where we used to live with Honey? Can we go back there?" or "what is this world called again?". It is such an appropriate description especially for a child that one can't agrue. Hannah does correct him at times and it frustrates him. So this world, Indonesia is where we live now.
Things are rapidly changing here in the new world that we've grown accustomed to. All of a sudden there are people everywhere. When we arrived, literally, the next day people/families left and a mass exodus ensued and we have lived here with few. Now there is a buzz of life and laughter from children. I am actually nervous as I know that this means another transition. I hope that with school the kiddos will be better off but fear rejection and troubles- it's gotta be hard being the new kid. Hopefully the short stint they had in school will ease the blow but to be determined.
We didn't have to buy school supplies which was nice but kind of sad to not make a fuss over going back to school which I enjoyed when I was little. I might just bring them up to the "department store" (note term used very loosely) and buy them something to insight excitement for school?
So from one world to another Selamat Malam (good night)!

Namaste...

We have been here two months today. Some days fly by the other days creep and crawl. The ups and downs vary person to person and day to day in our precious family unit. So many variables to balance. We have had a lot of fun, however. Meeting new people, having parties, cooking, playing Xbox, going to the playground, playing in the rain and finally life slowing enough to enjoy it all. There are things that keep our excitement up more recently like school starting next week (YAY!!), our upcoming trip to Australia which entails a cruise, penthouse with swimming pool, and an apartment looking over the Opera House in Sydney, a masquerade, a stampede etc. Too much fun!
The most immediate desire for me is getting the kids immersed back into school and playing with kiddos their own age. Us big kids are fun but little kiddos are way more fun!
Work for Mike still ebbs and flows. It seems the communication barrier is getting better with his co-workers. I admire him so much for all he goes through and does professionally and for our family. I can't wait to get up there to see how truly amazing it really is. Pictures surely to follow if deemed ok.
My transition has been unique, expected, challenging and a blessing. The hardest part is my intention to be Super Mom, Super Student, Super Housewife, Super Person, Super Yogi... the torturous list of the unattainable goes on and on. Finding the peaceful balance gets better day by day. It is a list no different than when in the States, this time it's harder not working so the pressures have shifted. It's hard not working (I know, strike me dead for ever saying those words), finding my sense of contribution to my family has been difficult. All self-imposed!
The thing that has brought me peace is my yoga practice. I have been passionately practicing and doing lots of research. More could be done (enters Super Yogi from stage left- the multiple personas never quite) but it has really helped. Helped me feel more relaxed, happy, accomplished and healthy. I can't wait to teach here and hope to start the week after next. I am beatified to share such a unique tool with others. I also, will capitalize on meditating once Hannah and Mas go back to school.
There is a saying done when concluding a yoga practice. It's Namaste. Yoga is not a religion but a concept of peaceful health and living of ones mind and body. The definition of Namaste from the Yoga Journal (http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/822) states:

The gesture Namaste represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra. The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in one by the soul in another. Nama means bow, as means I, and te means you. Therefore, namaste literally means "bow me you" or "I bow to you.".

So as we carry on with our jungle lifestyle, I will strive to acknowledge the Divine spark of all the souls within my soul.

As always, to be continued and Namaste... 

 

 

 

(picture from Pinterest via http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/a7/90/d5/a790d5969fa506c8aeee9b831e9c21a2.jpg)