Life of a Stay at Home Mom in Indonesia and a Few other Things

I never thought I would treasure walking to school in the mornings.  When I look back to the first week of school and was desperate for rides to school, I now realize that three kids can be ready for 6:30 in the morning and can easily make it to school by 7:00.  I have come to treasure our walks in the morning so much that I am not excited as much as I could be for getting a new vehicle.  Of course I know we can still walk, but when there is a vehicle sitting there, the temptation will be too great.  I think I may do my best to resist. 

The reason I have come to love these walks is that I get a chance to talk with my wonderful children.  They tell me stories about things that happen at school.  They talk about their new friends.  They talk about what they miss back in Canada and what they love about living in Indonesia.  We talk about our frustrations and I even take the time to teach them valuable life skills, such as how to politely greet people when they say hi.  Sometimes we take some time to review memory work or spelling words.  I realize I have been blessed by this time with my children, and I try not to take it for granted.

The walk home can be just as fulfilling as Jolene quietly sits in the stroller, watching things and using her imagination.  I listen to my music, enjoy the beautiful trees and flowers, and make polite nods to the many workers I pass on my way.  It is my time to reflect on things that are going on around me, but also things that are going on in our lives.  I may be getting kinks in my shoulders and back from bending over pushing the stroller, but it really is worth it...I'll just have to go for regular cream baths (I'm sure I've told you about them, they are wonderful massages).

I was also worried about my days at home with just Jolene and not having a library or Early Years Center to visit, or other activities that I am uses to doing.  What do you do with your days when all you have for a park is a slide and two swings and those are burning hot by 10:00 in the morning?  We have been finding a few things, and I'm sure the list will grow as time goes on.  We enjoy baking, colouring, doing puzzles, playing with toys, visiting friends, grocery shopping, and, yes, sometimes sitting in front of a screen.  We have also visited an indoor playground at the mall.  We have on occasion stayed at the school after drop off to play at the park or with the blocks in the Kindy Pod.  I also just discovered that parents can take books out of the school library, so we may just have to visit there on a regular basis (book limit is two, not quite the 35 book limit I'm used to).  We enjoy our time together, but always look forward to pick up time (we get a ride, as it is way too hot to walk at this time of day).

This past week I was able to watch Alana's swimming lessons and help the girls get changed, and was able to help with a special lunch that the Grade 2's had.  I am looking forward to more opportunities to volunteer in the kids' classroom.  This will help me feel more connected to what's happening at school and in their classroom.  It is a strange feeling to not know the kids or teachers they have in their class. 

Alana's Swimming Lessons

Vince's "True Royalty" Lunch

Before they had lunch they went through 6 different rotations where the kids 

were taught table manners, how to set the table, how to make their bed and a few other practical skills.

All three of the Grade 2 classes

I was able to attend a whole school assembly recently, and that was very impressive.  1600 kids all wearing their blue theme shirts and the assembly was very well organized and quite a production.  Whatever this school decides to do, they make sure it is done with the right resources and it is done with 100% effort.  Everything is so impressive.

Our theme for the year

The Senior School

And the junior school

So, there are a number of things we have experienced as of late that have been both good and not so good: 

First of all, a number of people have been asking about our cupboard.  Yes, it has been fixed.  They replaced the moldy drywall and put the cupboard back up with longer screws and some brackets on the bottom.  We just replaced the dishes this week and will be getting reimbursed for them.  Every so often when I open a cupboard door I feel as though it just might fall down on me again, but I am pretty sure it won't.

Our new dishes

Last weekend, while Paul stayed at home with Jolene and did some gardening, I took Vince and Alana to an orphanage.  A group of people from SPH (our school) go every Saturday and do a bible story, songs, a craft, and some games.  We saw many kids of all ages who live there, including a room full of 10 newborn babies.  This is an orphanage where the kids are very well taken care of.  They have many donations and wonderful ladies who care for the kids.  The kids were happy and it did not give you an overwhelming feeling of sadness.  It was encouraging to see that these children still felt loved and cared for.

A few inconveniences have occurred that could easily be resolved in Canada, but take a lot longer to resolve here in Indonesia.  We have tried to transfer money from our Canadian account so that we can buy a vehicle.  The first time it was in sent in both Paul's and my name, and because I am not, and cannot, be part of the account here in Indonesia they would not let the money go into the account.  It sat there for over a week as we tried to figure out what to do.  We ended up paying the fee to send the money back (don't ask me how Paul was able to do that when it essentially wasn't in "his" name) and got it resent in just Paul's name.  Also, I left our bank card in the bank machine, therefore losing it.  This week Paul had to deal with getting a new card because as it turns out, I cannot do anything that revolves around the banking (just one of those Indo things).  Finally, our phone line was not working and a few other things around the house needed fixing.  If it wasn't for our school handy man, Pak Bisner, I don't know what we would do. 

One of the biggest challenges that we have been facing over the last few weeks was adjusting to having a helper.  Having a helper is one of the perks of living in Indonesia and one that I thought was going to be great.  However, after our live-in helper started I soon realized that this was not a comfortable fit for us.  I enjoyed having a clean house, but because I am also home and do a lot around the house it was just really awkward to have someone else around 24/7.  I was beginning to feel like our home wasn't our refuge anymore.  Fortunately, someone else was looking for a full-time, live-in helper so I told our helper that we are not in need of a full-time helper and that someone else was.  It was difficult as she was very sad to leave us, but I felt confident that this was best for our family.  We will look into getting a part-time, non-live-in helper which I think will be a great fit for us for now.  It was a difficult few weeks and because the concept of having a helper is so foreign to us Westerners, I don't think I could explain exactly what it was like.  I am feeling peace with our decision and praying that our part-time helper will work out.

There are ups and downs of a new culture and as we figure things out, we depend on the strength that God is providing and the encouragement and advice from the new (and old) friends we have here in Indonesia.  We continue on in our steps of faith.

Paul and Alana going for a run

Just some AWESOME kids!