So Long Ordinary

Here in Java, our house is much smaller, closer to the street and the houses next door, and surrounded on all sides by neighbors who do the majority of their living outside. Their water source is a well in the back yard next door, shared by several families.  They don't have washing machines or dishwashers so all that washing is done outside next to the well.  The kids get bathed (twice a day) in a plastic tub while the adults take a "shower" in a makeshift shower space made out of tin near the well.  We hear all of it - the washing, the clanging dishes, the splashing water, the sneezes and coughs - because our windows stay open and even when they're shut they don't seal out much noise. Our Salatiga home While the Javanese are really quite laid-back and quiet people, we've learned that certain noise is acceptable. Even as I type this, the neighbors in the house behind ours are blaring their music for the whole neighborhood to enjoy.  It isn't considered...

I came across another blogger who likes to interview her kids every year, just to see how they change and keep a fun record for posterity.  I think it's a great idea!  Since Brooklyn just had a birthday, I thought we'd start with her.... What is your favorite activity? My favorite thing is...watching movies! And coloring. What is your favorite color? Pink. Blue and red. What is your favorite toy? Dolls - especially my American girl doll. Who are your best friends? Emma, Hannah, KJ, Ester. What do you want to be when you grow up? A pilot!! Why? Because Daddy is. What does Daddy do all day? He flies float airplanes. What does Mommy do all day? Teach. What do you do all day? Play. What are your favorite books? "Pinkalicious" and "All the Ways I Love You." What are your favorite movies? "Rapunzel" (known as "Tangled" in the States). "Felicity" and "Kit." (American Girl movies) What are your favorite foods? Hamburgers and h...

Sorry for the sparse blogging lately - we don't have a whole lot going on.  We go to school - all five of us - and then when we aren't in school we try to find stuff to do.  Most days, we wind up at the International school to play on their playground.  Most evenings, Sean and I find ourselves watching a series on DVD (like Chuck).  We "invested" in a tiny TV and DVD player here - so glad we did! The girls are all doing great.  I'm glad that they are such resilient, adventurous kids!  They've taken all this moving around stuff in stride.  We miss "home" but we're also doing our best to "live it up" here in Salatiga! None of us have been sleeping very well for several different reasons. Pray for better sleep for all of us.  I miss my nice, quiet, cozy bedroom!     We are actually quite grateful that we're not in Palangka Raya right now.  The smoke season has hit hard there...even to the point that our MAF teammates, the Pratts, we...

We love visiting these ancient Hindu temples near Salatiga.  It's a fun hike to see all nine temples, up on the side of the mountain where it's cool and quiet! Last Saturday, we rented a car and took our new friends, the Epps, who have been with MAF for 25 years and have taken on a new assignment to Indonesia to help with maintenance and teacher needs in Tarakan, Kalimantan.  Even though we won't be on the same base, the Epps are still a part of our Kalimantan team and they already feel like family.  They're only here in Salatiga for a couple of months, just to get a start on the language. We had so much fun...and even got a rare photo or two with all five of us in it at once, looking at the camera!  Nevermind the squinty eyes.  *sigh*  We can't have it all, now, can we?! We also went to Gedong Songo last year ...only then, we not only couldn't pronounce the name, we couldn't even remember it!  It's Javanese, so I still can't tell you for sure what i...

Brooklyn recently celebrated her 8th birthday and started second grade at the International School here in Salatiga. (we'll homeschool the rest of 2nd grade in Palangka Raya) She's really growing up. Oh. My.  When did this happen?   I love my oldest.  I'm amazed at what a sweet, caring little girl she has become.  She's getting more and more responsible and so very, very smart. She's just a joy to be around and knows no strangers - her social circle is bigger than ours!  Sean and I are so proud of her!  We love this eldest daughter of ours! First day of 2nd grade!  She's changed a lot in the past year - click here to see a picture from one year ago. Off to school with Daddy on our borrowed scooter!

Just a quick note to let you all know that we made it safely back to our little house in Salatiga on Java!  Our travels went incredibly smoothly (the girls are getting better every time!) and we made it here just before dark Sunday evening. It was very sad and hard to leave Palangka Raya.  Truly, our life there is fantastic and we love the place and the people deeply after just 4 months of living there. It has become our home away from home, for sure. We are anxious to return and so grateful that we feel that way! It's weird to be back in Java. What a strange feeling to walk into the same house almost exactly one year after we first started this language learning journey..and feel like we were literally starting all over again.  The empty (except for basic furnishings) house, the long list of groceries we needed to buy, the kinks that had to be worked out of the house like fixing shower heads and putting things in their proper place.  It was exhausting.  I went ...

On August 2, we celebrated our one-year anniversary in Indonesia.  Wow.  What a year we've had!  I couldn't have imagined one year ago  that we would ever be able to sort of   communicate in Indonesian or have such fun with Indonesians or enjoy our new home so much. As I think about where we are and what we're doing I'm still very much in awe.  I'm struck by the fact that this is NOT the place I would have chosen for us.  I would have picked somewhere cooler, somewhere closer to home, somewhere with mountains, somewhere with a language that I already know.  I would have picked a return to Ecuador (I'll always miss it), or maybe something in Alaska - not a hot, swampy island in Southeast Asia.   I would never have imagined Sean flying floatplanes or myself homeschooling.  And even though this is not the place I  would choose, I'm finding myself liking it very much.  Not because it's easy (because it's not) or pretty (and it is) ...

Hi!  Our internet was acting funky the past several days and it's good to be back.  I tell ya, we depend on this internet stuff and when it's gone I get a little nervous. No contact, no idea what is happening in the rest of the world?  People really used to live this way?!  (Okay, so maybe there are still plenty in the world who still do...but I'm guessing they probably live close to their families, too!)  Anyway... We had a party last Saturday for Brooklyn's 8th birthday!  Her actual birthday isn't until the 6th but since we're going to be busy getting ready to go back to Salatiga, we had the party a week early. I have to say, this was a great party!  Brooklyn wanted a tea party and we were able to find tea cups and a pretty table cloth for cheap here in town.  I made scones (and popcorn, which isn't exactly considered tea etiquette, I'm sure) and we had yummy strawberry tea.  We also had a strawberry cake! Yep, we can get strawber...