Memory or Scar (A note from Nath)

Hey Friends.

I have only shouldered the load of this blog once and so I thought it was about time that I expressed myself in this way.

  Life moves on here at a rapid pace. The weeks seem to fly past and we now realise that Christmas is approaching. This signals our chance to return back to Australia and once again enjoy hot chips with extra chicken salt, and BBQ meat. It's funny the things we look forward to.     

Occasionally we miss places. For example, walking Missy on the Brown Hill Creek loop walk ending up in Carrick Hill for a coffee. This is a genuinely a beautiful way to spend 4 hours. The ever changing scenery; the wild flowers at this time of the year; and of course stunning views of Adelaide - make this something that we miss.    

Occasionally we miss people. Family and friends are missed at times. Events such as birthdays and special occasions are when we notice the distance. Technology is a great improvement to the lives of people living and working away from their usual support systems. Text message apps allow solid ongoing communication and we find ourselves texting mundane useless information to people just like we did when we were living in the same city. We find that this sort of technology minimises the feeling of distance. Our American and Canadian friends whose loved ones are living a full day behind Indonesia, feel the distance more than us Aussies who are living only a couple of hours behind Australian time zones.

Always we miss food! Does that mean I love chicken-in-a-biscuit and semi-sun-dried tomatoes more than my Mum?! No, but getting a quick text from Mum feels like she is around the corner where as no amount of texts or images can make up for those numb lips that come from the salt overload after punishing a box of Nabisco’s finest.

Anyway, I wanna' share with you a funny little Indonesian experience that occurred recently. These are the differences that create memories daily for us living over here. Admittedly, this may be more a scar than a memory ;)

A week or so ago, we took our grade 5 and 6 students into ‘Old Jakarta’ to visit many of the original Dutch buildings built in the early 17^th century. The history is interesting and Jakarta was designed and built as a mini Venice. The canal network was structured in such a way that boats, barges etc., could move from the ocean straight into the canals to distribute tradeable goods easily. See some of my pics below:

So we are visiting these sites and buildings and the students stick their head over a fence - and there thirty metres away from our group of fifty students - is a man, balanced precariously on a length of bamboo, squatting down, facing away from us, depositing a fully digested load of last night’s Nasi Goreng into the canal below. Our students spotted him immediately and began frantically pointing and giggling. The poor guy had the self control to finish what he had started, splash the area clean with some canal water below and stride confidently away from his open air latrine. He was a truly proud Indonesian and this brings a new richness to our goal of holistic education, hehe.

Ahhh Indonesia. Memory or Scar? I’ll let you decide.

From Nath B

Our home abroad

I have a confession to make: I’m a wonderful consumer! I … really … enjoy ….  buying …. stuff. It’s of course not something I should be proudly declaring to the world - but I am and have chosen to for two reasons.

The first reason is to visibly showcase the final touches to my new home abroad. One that started with only four suitcases and one guitar; to one that is now “slightly” fuller (I say with head down and shameful expression). The second is to uplift my non-materialistic and down-to-earth husband who so graciously allowed me to go out and execute my generational-y-spending-spirit, in hope for a nice little dwelling.

So I want to invite you into our little home which is nestled within leafy trees amongst a utopian neighborhood. This area is crawling with Korean walking mums; dog walking helpers; BMX riding students; and a smattering of Indonesian security guards sleeping at their posts. The blooming trees generally have an abundance of fruit; and the balmy nights make an early evening walk in this suburb very inviting.

But our home has become a very pleasant one away from our home-land; and with our final (note final) big and small additions, it now feels complete! So we welcome you into number 98 on Dago Raya. Come inside and have a look.

The lounding area



The dining area



Our bedroom

The guest room

Thanks for coming!

xx

The attitude of gratitude!

Last Saturday evening, our bald-headed pastor reminded us of a simple but often lapsed thought ... the attitude of gratitude! It was a precious humble hint that was perfectly timed.

I love the illustration in Luke's story of the ten lepers. An encounter with Jesus brings these ten outcasts total healing and restoration to society ... yet only one came back to say thank you. The irony of the one who came back is a story beyond my capability to effectively explain. Still, I love that this story so brilliantly reminds us of how humanly-minded it is to adopt the ease of oblivion; and honestly speaking, sometimes in my case, an attitude of an ingratitude.

So in keeping to my promise ... I want to declare the blessings of this year; and thank my Jesus who so graciously forgives me even when I forget.

So, here is what we're thankful for,

• Good health.
• A much improved house and home.
• A family-friendly neighbourhood.
• Fantastic new work colleagues.
• Our sweet and fun-loving students.
• A two minute walk to school.
• A second home in Pondok Indah.
• A great church community.
• Our precious four-legged family member.
• The support of far-away family and friends.
• Freshly made juices every morning.
• A helping hand around home.
• A much improved work-life balance.
• A newly-appointed, highly-competent head of school.
• and Nick and Robyn Combes!

To these things and more, we are truly thankful!

xx

The land of Laos

Six months ago, my sister-Sar announced she was coming to visit! Whilst discussing her vacation time, she proposed an idea - "Why don't we go backpacking along the Mekong in Laos?!" At the time - flights, schedules and decisiveness synchronised happily - but then six months went by.

The day Sar arrived we all regretfully agreed that our busy schedules deterred any thought of trip preparation & planning. Thus, the morning of departure was a busy one that included a frenzy of google-searching, money exchanging, last-minute buying and unsure packing.

Luckily for us, the pre-trip chaos swiftly turned to fun and excitement as we began travelling through this landlocked country. With picture postcard glory on every turn, the freshness of food and Lao-coffee was a sweet treat; and this time was personally declared a surprising gem!

In sweeping retrospect, this adventure was a perfect end to our summer-break; and a refreshing time full of laughter and much-needed sisterly bonding (with many thoughts going out to our other sister-Bec).

Although we did not live like gibbons like originally thought :) Be introduced to the beauty of Laos .....

Happy holidays!

So its four weeks down, & two to go! Where oh Dorothy ... has it gone?! It has been so oh dreamy, and celestially refreshing ... with no thought of school nor Saturday planning. We feel very thankful for holidays like these with simply nothing to do but to think up something to do! :)

So having waved good-bye to our first family guests, we now set sail for our next holiday adventure to Laos together with my visiting sister-Sarah. But before we go forth, I thought I'd spare a quick Sunday-night-minute to send you all through a pic or two of our break-time so far. It has included Indonesian artistry & the visitation of a famous Hindu temple ... plus a sneaky visit to our favorite beach-island getaway. For those who care, here's where we're at.

The making of Indonesian Batik

Borobudur temple
(& the practicing language students)

The gorgeous waters of Lombok Island

 

And how can I not mention the most important of them all - Happy 9th year of marriage to my most special friend .... who loves, lives and gives so freely.

I love you ..... so much!

Back in Bali ... on our 9th!

Love me xo

The end of the beginning

Our beginning year of teaching has come to an end! We have waved good-bye to our students; dusted off our classroom cupboards; and driven into the holiday-sunset with a triumphant smile and sigh.

This year has presented a kaleidoscope of stories and experiences both of which have occurred as much in the classroom as outside of it. Although not in any way considered an expatriate veteran - we have started feeling more at home and at comfort; and on celebrating our first year of teaching abroad, we too celebrate a big year of learning.

Sometimes few words say more. So 'acrostically', I present to you OUR FIRST YEAR abroad (followed by an eclectic mix of pictures).

O ver

U tterly Challenging

R elationship Building

 

 

F orever grateful to my Mum & Dad

I nteresting conversations

R isk Taking

S hort holidays

T ransitional

 

 

Y eshua

E arly mornings - Early nights

A lways learning - Never boring

R ichness of Experience

 

 

 

Love me xx