Two years ago, Aaron's arrival completely change my life. There hasn't been a single day in the past 730 days that remotely resembled pre-Aaron life. Life is harder and there I times when I say things like "I wish I could just have 24 hrs to myself" but, I don't really mean it. So today, on his 2nd Birthday, here are the:
13 Things I Wish For Aaron
1) Good health
2) Good emotional health
3) A childhood that will be full of happy family memories
4) Strong family ties
5) A circle of loyal friends
6) A demeanor that is polite, respectful and kind
7) A sense of humor and the ability to be an optimist
8) The drive to pursue any dream he may have
9) The stamina to complete any project he starts
10) The confidence to be true to himself
11) The strength to face and learn from failures
12) A balanced life (I wouldn't want him to be successful but a workaholic.)
13) Finally, I wish that he will always have a special place in his heart for me.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The Haze is Back
There is a lot of coverage on the air pollution levels in Beijing at this time. We're not quite as bad as that (yet) but the annual haze season has started in Indonesia.
During the dry season, the farmers clear their land by burning it. There are literally hundreds of fires burning throughout Indonesia at this time. The burning saves them money in terms of labor, equipment and time. Right now, there isn't any mention of this on the news yet because the air quality hasn't reached dangerous levels.
This same burning happens every year and its effects are felt throughout Malaysia and Singapore as well because the winds will carry all the fumes over there. It is such a common occurrence that people have become a little too complacent about it. The Malaysians complain about it but all they can do is put up with it. It doesn't make the headlines until those dangerous school-closing levels are reached. I have no idea whats really being done about it at the government level apart from yakity yak yak yak.
Here in Indonesia, the people around me don't even notice it. I get responses like "What smell?" and then "Oooooh Thaaat. Its the burning by the farmers". No big deal. In 2006, I saw some CNN footage of Palembang itself, with the haze so thick that it looked like there was a sandstorm taking place. Last year was an oddity and things didn't get so out of hand in Palembang because it rained more than usual.
I'm a little worried this year because it hasn't been raining much this week and already my eyes and throat are itching. I'm keeping Aaron indoors mostly but if it gets much worse, staying inside isn't really going to help.
During the dry season, the farmers clear their land by burning it. There are literally hundreds of fires burning throughout Indonesia at this time. The burning saves them money in terms of labor, equipment and time. Right now, there isn't any mention of this on the news yet because the air quality hasn't reached dangerous levels.
This same burning happens every year and its effects are felt throughout Malaysia and Singapore as well because the winds will carry all the fumes over there. It is such a common occurrence that people have become a little too complacent about it. The Malaysians complain about it but all they can do is put up with it. It doesn't make the headlines until those dangerous school-closing levels are reached. I have no idea whats really being done about it at the government level apart from yakity yak yak yak.
Here in Indonesia, the people around me don't even notice it. I get responses like "What smell?" and then "Oooooh Thaaat. Its the burning by the farmers". No big deal. In 2006, I saw some CNN footage of Palembang itself, with the haze so thick that it looked like there was a sandstorm taking place. Last year was an oddity and things didn't get so out of hand in Palembang because it rained more than usual.
I'm a little worried this year because it hasn't been raining much this week and already my eyes and throat are itching. I'm keeping Aaron indoors mostly but if it gets much worse, staying inside isn't really going to help.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Playing around with music
I've been trying to teach Aaron how to sing and he's been making some good attempts. The tune is not always recognizable but he's learning the words very fast.
So what does he sing? Thomas & Friends, Wiggles songs, You are my sunshine and all the usual children's songs. I don't know what I was thinking but I thought it would be funny to have him move around like Barry Manilow. So, he also knows Copacabana. My father had one of his line dancing CDs in the car and the second song on there was 'If you wanna be happy' by Jimmy Soul. Aaron now refers to this as his favorite song. In case you don't know the song, here are the words to the chorus.
"If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life,
Never make a pretty woman you wife,
So from my personal point of view,
Get an ugly girl to marry you"
You can't imagine how funny it is to watch and hear a 2 year old sing along to these lyrics. I've got to try to get a video of Aaron singing this. Keep it for his wedding day maybe?
Today, I've been trying out various types of music on Aaron. We've listened to Elvis, The Beach Boys, Gwen Stefani, The Vienna Boys Choir, Rolf Harris, some Chinese songs and a little orchestral music. He's already familiar with some of the Rolf Harris songs so his reaction there was expected. For the other music, only Elvis seemed to get a reaction out of him. He actually got up and jumped around. He noticed the other music but it mustn't have been catchy enough to make him stop what he was doing.
I think I'm going to allocate set times during the day to play the different types of music. If he's not exposed to them all, they won't have equal chance of getting liked by him. I know some are naturally going to be more catchy (lets say Elvis over Schubert) but in time, I hope Aaron can appreciate it all.
So what does he sing? Thomas & Friends, Wiggles songs, You are my sunshine and all the usual children's songs. I don't know what I was thinking but I thought it would be funny to have him move around like Barry Manilow. So, he also knows Copacabana. My father had one of his line dancing CDs in the car and the second song on there was 'If you wanna be happy' by Jimmy Soul. Aaron now refers to this as his favorite song. In case you don't know the song, here are the words to the chorus.
"If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life,
Never make a pretty woman you wife,
So from my personal point of view,
Get an ugly girl to marry you"
You can't imagine how funny it is to watch and hear a 2 year old sing along to these lyrics. I've got to try to get a video of Aaron singing this. Keep it for his wedding day maybe?
Today, I've been trying out various types of music on Aaron. We've listened to Elvis, The Beach Boys, Gwen Stefani, The Vienna Boys Choir, Rolf Harris, some Chinese songs and a little orchestral music. He's already familiar with some of the Rolf Harris songs so his reaction there was expected. For the other music, only Elvis seemed to get a reaction out of him. He actually got up and jumped around. He noticed the other music but it mustn't have been catchy enough to make him stop what he was doing.
I think I'm going to allocate set times during the day to play the different types of music. If he's not exposed to them all, they won't have equal chance of getting liked by him. I know some are naturally going to be more catchy (lets say Elvis over Schubert) but in time, I hope Aaron can appreciate it all.
Monday, August 4, 2008
I finally feel at home
This is going to sound strange but for the first time since moving here in February 2007, I actually feel at home. Normally, after a trip away from Palembang, I find myself complaining about how inconvenient this house is and how 'difficult' it is to live here. This time, I actually have an unusual feeling of familiarity.
Instead of grimacing at the wet bathroom tiles, I enjoyed my cold mandi and marveled at how smooth the water felt. Now this is particularly strange because the water in Palembang is so dirty that if you let your clothes drip dry, they'd be able to stand up all on their own from all the impurities that came along with the water that washed them.
There have been some 'casualties' in my garden but it sure felt great to be playing around in the garden with Aaron again this morning. We'll have to do some major replanting and repositioning but I'm looking forward to that.
I did enjoy lots of Malaysian food during the break but I find myself enjoying my mainly vegetarian diet here just as much. I missed the simplicity and supposed healthiness of it all.
After a year and a half here, we were the people welcoming two new families to our neighborhood yesterday. Both had young children and both the women I met spoke English. Yay for me!
So, after telling my friends and family in Malaysia that Palembang is the most boring place in the world and giving them the impression that I'd rather not be living here, I now have a complete change of heart and feel that I can almost call it a great place to live. I know the lack of activities here will get to me soon enough but apart from that, I LIKE IT HERE.
Instead of grimacing at the wet bathroom tiles, I enjoyed my cold mandi and marveled at how smooth the water felt. Now this is particularly strange because the water in Palembang is so dirty that if you let your clothes drip dry, they'd be able to stand up all on their own from all the impurities that came along with the water that washed them.
There have been some 'casualties' in my garden but it sure felt great to be playing around in the garden with Aaron again this morning. We'll have to do some major replanting and repositioning but I'm looking forward to that.
I did enjoy lots of Malaysian food during the break but I find myself enjoying my mainly vegetarian diet here just as much. I missed the simplicity and supposed healthiness of it all.
After a year and a half here, we were the people welcoming two new families to our neighborhood yesterday. Both had young children and both the women I met spoke English. Yay for me!
So, after telling my friends and family in Malaysia that Palembang is the most boring place in the world and giving them the impression that I'd rather not be living here, I now have a complete change of heart and feel that I can almost call it a great place to live. I know the lack of activities here will get to me soon enough but apart from that, I LIKE IT HERE.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Holiday Recovery
The past week has been a blur. I didn't even have time to sleep let alone blog! After last Monday's post, we made a snap decision to drive to Penang on Tuesday, just for the day. Then, there was only Wednesday and Thursday left for all the last minute shopping, spending time with the grandparents and trying to stuff everything into the one bag I had. And of course, there was all the last minute eating to be done. On Friday, my parents, brother and I drove down to KL. My brother was leaving on Friday night and we had a Saturday morning flight.
All the last minute eating left me with an upset stomach. Thankfully, things settled down by the time I had to enter the departure hall alone with Aaron. I don't know how I would have managed running to the restrooms while pulling him AND my hand luggage along.
Once again, he surprised me by being a very peaceful and still toddler as we waited in the departure area. Maybe he was tired too. All he did was stand around me and talk about the planes. The final feat of physical exertion came when it was time to board.
I've mentioned before that walking across the tarmac from the gates to the plane is like dealing with a stampede. I paid extra to board before the herd but still, its a looooong walk when you have 8kgs on your back and 12 kgs of Aaron in your arms. He would have walked but I didn't want to risk the herd catching up with me. After the climb up the steep stairs to the plane, I flopped down, nursed Aaron for a little while and he went straight to sleep until we landed in Palembang.
Today, we're staying at home and sleeping off the effects of our too tiring final week of holidays.
All the last minute eating left me with an upset stomach. Thankfully, things settled down by the time I had to enter the departure hall alone with Aaron. I don't know how I would have managed running to the restrooms while pulling him AND my hand luggage along.
Once again, he surprised me by being a very peaceful and still toddler as we waited in the departure area. Maybe he was tired too. All he did was stand around me and talk about the planes. The final feat of physical exertion came when it was time to board.
I've mentioned before that walking across the tarmac from the gates to the plane is like dealing with a stampede. I paid extra to board before the herd but still, its a looooong walk when you have 8kgs on your back and 12 kgs of Aaron in your arms. He would have walked but I didn't want to risk the herd catching up with me. After the climb up the steep stairs to the plane, I flopped down, nursed Aaron for a little while and he went straight to sleep until we landed in Palembang.
Today, we're staying at home and sleeping off the effects of our too tiring final week of holidays.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Aaron's first trip to the barber
It only costs RM 5 (USD 1.50) for Aaron to go to the barber here in Ipoh. This is my father's regular guy and for adults its RM 12. My brother also stopped by here for a haircut last week. The both of them came back looking decent so we all went along to let Aaron have his first haircut by a professional.
He was as still as a statue as he observed everything. Didn't even blink his eyes. That lasted for exactly half the haircut. The second half was all about exploration. Trying to see what the barber was doing, trying out all the other chairs, looking in the mirrors....you can imagine. The end result wasn't too bad, only a little lopsided.
I saw this at the side of the mirrors. What do you think its been brushing?!
He was as still as a statue as he observed everything. Didn't even blink his eyes. That lasted for exactly half the haircut. The second half was all about exploration. Trying to see what the barber was doing, trying out all the other chairs, looking in the mirrors....you can imagine. The end result wasn't too bad, only a little lopsided.
I saw this at the side of the mirrors. What do you think its been brushing?!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Ipoh's Limestone Caves
After the beach and the mountains, Mike left a comment last week that caves would be the next place we visited on the weekends. He was right!
Ipoh is actually situated in a valley and is surrounded by limestone hills and caves. There have been temples built into several of the larger ones and they are always interesting to visit. For those more adventurous, there are hundreds of other non-temple caves that can be explored. Some of these were used as communist hideouts in the early 1950s.
I'll take Aaron on one of the adventurous cave visits in a couple of years but for today, we took the easier route.
This is the first temple we visited:
Here's one of the many depictions of hell that this temple had lining the walls of an inner cave.
This is from the second temple we visited. These caves definitely should organize some guided tours so that! Anyway, I think these are Taoist deities (?). Malaysia's Buddhism is very mixed with Taoism and the people often pray to both sets of deities even though they are distinct religions.
And here's the third and largest cave temple of the day.
This is a view of the beautiful 'backyard' that the temple had. Its an exercise park with jogging track, two ponds and lots of beautiful green grass for Aaron to run about on.
By next Saturday, we'll be back in Palembang so, this is the last of the wonderful weekend escapades.
Ipoh is actually situated in a valley and is surrounded by limestone hills and caves. There have been temples built into several of the larger ones and they are always interesting to visit. For those more adventurous, there are hundreds of other non-temple caves that can be explored. Some of these were used as communist hideouts in the early 1950s.
I'll take Aaron on one of the adventurous cave visits in a couple of years but for today, we took the easier route.
This is the first temple we visited:
Here's one of the many depictions of hell that this temple had lining the walls of an inner cave.
This is from the second temple we visited. These caves definitely should organize some guided tours so that! Anyway, I think these are Taoist deities (?). Malaysia's Buddhism is very mixed with Taoism and the people often pray to both sets of deities even though they are distinct religions.
And here's the third and largest cave temple of the day.
This is a view of the beautiful 'backyard' that the temple had. Its an exercise park with jogging track, two ponds and lots of beautiful green grass for Aaron to run about on.
By next Saturday, we'll be back in Palembang so, this is the last of the wonderful weekend escapades.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)