God Bless America

Tonight, in Jakarta, we celebrated being American.

 With hotdogs...

 

 ...and apple pie.

 

Here's what I want to remember about this day:

I felt a deep homesickness today. Not for Virginia (though I miss Virginia so much!). Not for my friends and family (who I miss even more!). But for America...for the excitement and privilege of going to the polls in person and being present on election day.

The pulse of the students at Jakarta International School was lively as we watched the results unfold.

I stood side by side teachers and watched the big screen tv during my breaks. We marveled together at how close each state's race was (closer than most expected.)

I saw students clustered around laptops, yelling out results as they were posted.

My students requested periodic updates during class time.

There was a tangible interest in the outcome of this election, not just by the Americans, but by the world. And I need to remember that the general, overwhelming desire by non-Americans was in support of Obama. Obama has been embraced by the world.

I am so grateful for my freedom and my citizenship in a country I dearly love.

And that is worth celebrating.

Wonders

Grandad and Nana Came to Indonesia!!

This was no small undertaking. After 48 hours of travel, including two twelve-hour layovers, they arrived safely in Jakarta. Considering this was their first overseas experience, I wasn't sure how they'd do. 

But they were tough, adventurous, and we had so much fun with them.

 

 The Ambassador's house at Merisole was our first stop. I love this picture of Nana and CJ playing their own version of outdoor ping pong. In addition to ping pong, we played badminton, croquet, and tag. And we enjoyed hikes, walks, and runs in the clean air.

We toured the gardens. 

 

CJ fell in the river (the slime factor was pretty gross). Leasie looks like she's going to throwup, but if you look closely, O is laughing pretty hard.

As always, Taman Safari was a hit! I love the screams and giggles as animals entered our car window.

  

 

 We also did a whirlwind 24 hour trip to Yogyakarta. It was an hour flight from Jakarta to central Java. This was the first time I had been there.

We toured the Water Castle which was a swimming area in the 1700s for the previous Indonesian Sultan and his 35 wives. While it was calm and serene during our tour, the guide informed us that it was quite a frolicking place when in use.

 Here, Nana looks on as a woman applies wax in the traditional Batik method of dyeing fabric.

 

 My favorite stops were to the two temples. Prambanan is a Hindu temple. 

 The reliefs depict Hindu teachings and stories.

 

The next morning we walked from the hotel to the Borobudur Buddist temple. From a distance, the temple appeared to be a small city, clustered on a hilltop. But the entire, colossal structure is man-made. 

There definitely was an "awe" factor here. The jungle. The morning mist. The scale. Even the gaggle of school kids could not lessen the feeling of peace and ancient beauty.

 Some lists include Borobudur as a wonder of the world. It certainly is one of the most amazing structures I've seen. Built in the 9th century, the temple is constructed of black volcanic stone forming four levels. Each level contains a perimeter walkway surrounded by stone carvings. 

We climbed the stone stairs to the top and were rewarded with a 360 degree view of the mountains and countryside.  

 

 I am so grateful to have shared these "Wonders" with Nana and Grandad!

Pumpkins

Last year, we celebrated Halloween without real pumpkins. There were a few bright orange, traditional pumpkins in the grocery stores...but with a price tag of a whopping 700,000 rupiah (that's $70!), we passed. I considered carving watermelons last year, since they are cheap and in great abundance here. But we didn't actually get around to doing it.

This year, however, I found some small orange pumpkins at the local Hero grocery store in September. They were more reasonable priced, and so I snatched them up, and kept them in our fridge until today.

Then during our trip to Puncak a few weeks ago, we found some large pumpkins for sale at a roadside stand. So this year, we resumed a very fun tradition.

Sorry for the nudity - but this picture just makes me smile. CJ loved being right in the middle of the carving action. She had no problem pulling out the gooey innards.

I still love all our new experiences here in Jakarta, but I sure find comfort in family traditions.

Autumn

I miss Autumn.

Long runs with the crunch of leaves under foot. Rust, gold, orange on the trees and bushes. Cold, clean air that makes my nose tingle with each deep breath.

There are lots of things I can't change about living here overseas...like the lack of seasons.

But I'm trying to do the best with what I can. 

For example, this past weekend our family transformed our house into a celebration of October!

CJ stood on the ladder giving directions to her siblings. 

(I don't know where she gets her bossiness. Ahem.)

 

(Or her dramatics.)

Soon the yard was filled with spiderwebs, ghosts, and a huge spider.

The garlands, the pumpkins, the cobwebs. They all help me feel a little more festive...a little closer to home.

Friday night the kids made haunted houses out of construction paper. Behind the paper door flaps and window flaps they drew bats, ghosts, candles, and spiders. Then I made a big bowl of caramel corn and we watched Harry Potter 3 (which is our favorite). I cuddled next to CJ, and she held my hand during the scary parts.

.

Demonstration

On September 17, 2012, demonstrators became violent outside of the American embassy in Jakarta.

I was in my car on Cipite Raya, coming home from teaching school when my cell phone rang. It was my friend, Cherylyn. "Turn on the TV," she insisted. "You are not going to believe what you see."

As soon as I got home, I turned the TV to the metro-1 channel, a local Indonesian news channel.

 With the kids cuddled next to me on the couch, we watched as demonstrators yelled, burned an American flag, and attempted to cross the police barrier. 

Disbelief. Fear. Sadness. And gratitude. These are some of the feelings the kids and I experienced.

 My husband was inside the embassy. I called him on the phone. He described how he could see the smoke from the fires from his office window and hear the gun pops as police shot tear canisters into the crowd. He said he never felt in any real danger. But this is the closest he had ever been to witnessing such vehement anti-American behavior.

 The Indonesian police did their job well, and I am grateful to them.

Perhaps even more unsettling for me than the actual demonstration was at school the next day. I showed footage of the demonstration to my students and asked, "Where is this?" Their answers were quick: Egypt, Libya. It wasn't until I asked them to look closer that they asked incredulously, "Is that in Indonesia?" The discussion that followed revealed a mixture of misinformation, prejudice, and ignorance. Ingredients for perpetuated confusion.

I wanted to be sure to record the events of this day somewhere. Because someday, I will want my children to remember. Remember the day we watched our flag burn on television knowing that Dad was in the building right behind the crowd. And remember the day we watched brave policemen protect people not even of their nationality.   

Butterflies and Birthday Cake

Four is a big deal. And for this big four, all other activities came screeching to a halt so we could celebrate. It helped that soccer games for Tman and Madi didn't conflict. So CJ had us all to herself.

Butterfly sandwiches.

Bug hunt in the back yard.

Not one, but two butterfly cakes.

Much too often, CJ is the one left behind. As the baby of our family, she will be the last to do most everything. But that hasn't stunted her cheerfulness. She's a kick of joy. A blast of fieriness. A challenge, no question. But a girl with a laugh that melts my saddest heart.

Everyday I am grateful I chose to have just one more...because my life is so much better with her in it. Happy Birthday sweet girl!

My Day

Time is running away from me. Days seem to tumble into weeks. And while nothing monumental is happening, I know I'll look back at this time in my life and long for the small, seemingly insignificant moments.

So here are the "insignificant" moments of my day - the small details - the ones I don't want to forget.

My iphone at my bedside table plays a tiny melody at 4:30AM telling me it's time to wake up. The world outside is black and starless. Only the orange hue from infrequent street lamps colors the pavement. But I am not alone. As I jog (in a somewhat zombie-like fashion) the morning call to prayer from mosques throughout the city greets the darkness with haunting melody, like a banshee's mournful cry.

I make breakfast still wearing my running clothes. I flip pancakes while the windows brighten with the rising sun.

CJ tumbles down the stairs. She is a mass of tangled blond hair, sleepy eyes, and blankets which she has dragged from her bed.

The hair is going to be a challenge. And yep, she runs to hide at the first sight of the hair brush. Rapunzel hair (or Perpunzel hair in CJ jargon) has its price.

Preschool is giggles, glue, songs, recess, pink lemonade and zoo phonics. Book time is my favorite preschool moment, when all four little girls cozy up on the couch and I read aloud "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus"...twice.  

After school begins the whirlwind/marathon of snacks, multi-tasking with homework, and getting to and from soccer practices. Tman, Leasie, and Meya are flushed and warm from the non air conditioned bus ride. If all homework gets done, we catch an episode of iCarly together. I love to laugh with my children.

Evening slips into night. We assemble lunches in the kitchen together. I slice carrots while each child makes a sandwich. The kids remind me to avoid using plastic wrap - we're trying very hard to have garbage-less lunches. A small step toward green.

I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I go to tuck CJ in bed. My eye-liner is smudged. I look old and tired.  

I sing funny "light" song from My Turn on Earth (CJ's current favorite lullaby). Oldest four gather on my bed and after squabbling about who gets to sit where, we settle in for a few pages of Peter Pan (such a lovely, funny book).

Lights out, earplugs in at 9:30.  Only to start over again in 7 short hours.