Correction: square footage!

Our house is 40 square meters, which is actually about 430 square feet.  Big difference from my previous conversion!

Differing Schedules

Our typical schedule is as follows…

Wake up at 5am to read, study, and exercise.  The boys are up about 6:30 but have to stay in their room until 7am.  The we shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast.  Caedmon and I try to start school by 8:30.  We have lunch around 12p, quiet play time for an hour or so in the afternoon, which consists of the boys playing in their room… alone, no friends.  Then dinner 6-6:30ish.  The boys shower about 7pm and are in bed usually by 8pm.  Recently I changed our big meal to the middle of the day, at lunch time.  Many of our neighbors are outside more often in the late afternoon.  I, Erin, felt I was missing out on a lot of time with people as I would go inside to prep for dinner about that time.  Though it still seems weird to me, eating something easy such as sandwiches, ramen, or left-overs for dinner, it has enabled me to spend more time outside with people in the afternoon. 

Regardless of the changes, our schedules are still very different from the people we live among.  The first loud speaker call happens between 4:30 and 5am.  We thankfully, often sleep through it.  Though most people go back to sleep afterwards, they are up well before 7am.  Children start school by 7:30 and the loud speaker occasionally makes public awareness announcements in the morning, sometimes before 7am (these consist of recent deaths, baby well checks at the local clinic, and school enrollment dates).  By the evening loud speaker call (6pm-ish) most neighbors go inside.  Kids and some adults are back outside about 8pm-ish. 

Though we are interact a great deal with people amidst the differing schedules, it has caught me off guard many times recently; compounded by other cultural differences as well!  At least twice in the past week, kids were at our front door looking for the boys before 8am.  On Tuesday morning, a national holiday so no school, it wasn’t even 7am when they arrived!  I still struggle with how to politely get them to leave.  After telling the children Caedmon and Whitman cannot play they often continue to call the boys’ names from our yard.  In the afternoon, during quiet play time, it is even more difficult as the kids then move to the boys’ bedroom window, at the front of the house, and peer in the window, occasionally opening the screens.  After repeating that the boys are ‘resting’ and will play later, I then proceed to close the curtains. 

Onlookers while Caedmon studies.  They remained, quiet, at the window for at least a half hour. 

One evening a couple neighbor kids came to our door at 8pm as the boys where climbing into bed. We politely informed then the boys were headed to bed, but maybe they could play tomorrow.  Thankfully the boys are rarely distracted by the laughing and talking of kids outside at night. 

All of these experiences are full of cultural lessons for us; specifically the difference in concern for adult direction, the difference in personal space, and the difference in schedules! 

 

Kids that came to visit.  Most of these live 15minutes by foot from us.  The boy on the far left is a neighbor.  He is very helpful, constantly picking up toys after he is finished playing with them, even when Caedmon and Whitman don't.  He seems to be a bit of an anomaly in his culture!

Adventures in our new house

Even in a house of our own, we have been experiencing a great deal of culture as we get settled. 

As part of our rental agreement the owners installed safety bars on all the windows (common on most homes).  At the same time we ordered screens to be made, but forgot to ask that the bars be installed an inch inside the window sill.  This resulted in needed adjustments for the screens to cover gaps around many edges.  The screen worker thankfully was willing to add molding to the edges, closing the gaps, and actually dressing them up a little.  Another hang up with the screens was the material the worker chose was neon green.  In the end we learned in a case such as this people typically buy the materials themselves and just have a worker build it.  As per John’s idea, we spray painted the screen material black, which now looks great and didn’t clog all the little holes!

Screens on door, window, and ventilation holes!

 Our landlords also decided to fill in the back part of the property, to enable adding on to the house at a later time.  For the past two weeks our front yard has been full of rocks, sand, and ten truckloads of dirt.  All of the work has been done with shovels and wheelbarrows. 



Truck load #6.
I woke up from a nap to find dirt being delivered next to my clean laundry drying in the yard.



Caedmon is my helper.  He is ready to get involved in just about any work taking place!

John is also becoming quite the home-fixer-upper.  He installed a knife rack, a curtain rod, and a shower head.  This all required drilling into our brick walls.  The shower is a pleasure to use.  Unfortunately the water flow in our complex isn’t strong, so during high water usage times it is impossible to use the shower.  I have learned the mornings, especially on Sunday, are not a time to depend on water as occasionally there isn’t any at all. 

In the kitchen I was using a two burner stove barrowed from our host family.  Last week their stove broke.  We returned their extra one and bought a one burner stove.  Why?  Because we had a real oven on order.

The one burner stove was quite nice, for awhile, as it opened up a little counter space.

 

Our new oven!!!

The biggest cultural adventure recently has been with our neighbors.  Neighborhood kids just come right in when we leave our door open.  Then they, and even the adults who usually wait to be invited in, look through our stuff that is still piled all over the floor, some even still in boxes.  In addition, we’ve had multiple pieces of furniture delivered. which is always accompanied by neighbors and friends asking, “How much did you pay?”  This is a common question here and not at all taboo to ask, even in regards to salary, rent, or anything purchased.  It is a very difficult question for me to field.  It would very rarely be asked in our home culture and I feel we are constantly battling the image of rich-white-westerns.  Hopefully a lot of those questions will die down once we are more settled. 

Neighborhood kids, and a mother, playing with the boys. 

 

For now we await some additional furniture to finish unpacking and gain a little more order in the house!

A kitchen cabinet, still not perfectly placed, but with lots of storage!  Each piece of furniture requires us to be creative in arranging rooms to take advantage of the space we do have. 

 

 

We have a House!!!

Monday the 28^th of April we arrived back in Barat with the main goal of finding a place of our own.  By Wednesday John met with a couple to negotiate the terms and conditions, and price to rent their 2 bedroom house for a year.  The next day we cleaned, and then Friday we began painting.  After a very full weekend of moving and painting, we spent our first night in our own house on Sunday.  We know so many people were lifting this up, but we are still amazed that we are in our own place, and in just a week’s time of returning.  It is a small house, 40 square meters (~131sq ft), but the location is wonderful.  It is in a complex just behind our host family of 5 months.  It is at the end of a small street, keeping it pretty quiet and safe for the boys to play.  We don’t have any furniture yet, but it doesn’t seem to matter at this point.  Another blessing, thanks to John’s planning, was we had already packed up our house in the big city before returning to Barat.  So last Saturday we hired a man John knew to bring all our stuff here to us, without us having to return to retrieve it.  By Monday we finished moving out of our host’s house and have been furniture shopping and re-organizing to live amongst all our unpacked stuff.  Thank you for thinking of us.  We now hope to focus on using what we’ve been given for others, amidst finishing getting settled. 

Our house!
At the end of the street, shares a wall with an empty orang house and sits next to a large banana garden. 

The back door and unfinished back yard area. 

Looking down our street towards our house at the end, left side.  Seven of the nine houses here are currently occupied.

Our living room, after we painted.

Currently the kitchen, dinning room, and laundry room (washer by the back door there). 

Our bathroom.
  It too is small, but it has a sit toilet!  Notice it is not a flushing toilet, which John reminded me wasn't part of my 'must have a sit toilet' condition.  We just added a shower head to the faucet, but the water pressure so low showering is difficult when the neighborhood water usage is high!  On a cultural note people here DO NOT shower at night, more or less after dark that is.  There is some belief it will make you sick.  Thus far I've been able to use the shower head at night because we do shower at night.

Looking toward the living room from the kitchen area.  The boys room is on the left and our is on the right. 

Looking into the kitchen from the living room. 
The frame of the doorway was a very bright turquoise before we painted. 

From the kitchen window are our neighbors directly behind us.  They have 11 baby chicks the boys are enjoying. 

Our bedroom, yet to be painted.  John doesn't want to see another paint can for a very long time.  One of our neighbors told us everyone was so surprised I too was painting.  Apparently it is not something wives or mothers do here.  I got the impression it is considered the man's job. 

The boys' room.  They are very excitedly waiting for a bunk bed!

Our first event.  On the first night, or day, when people here move into a new-to-them home they make a sweat mung bean porridge and other sweat treats.  Then they usually read out of their holy book.  Our host mom on her own initiative, with her new baby on her lap above, prepared the porridge and another dessert.  Then Monday, about noon, we all ate together in our new house. 

From left to right: the Dad, the mom, their month old son, oldest daughter, the grandma, Caedmon and I, and an employee at the center where John will work. 

A Month of Travel

Since the 19^th of March we’ve been in the big city, Singapore, and the town of Barat.  In Singapore we successfully obtained new visas, though they will last only six months.  We were also blessed to see friends from our days in Dallas.  We both had our first babies in Dallas, just a month apart. 

 

Our friend's children with Caedmon and Whitman

 

Though still in Asia, Singapore felt very western to us.  While walking around the city I noticed many people pushing strollers with miniature fans pointing on their children.  At first this made complete sense to me as it was quite hot.  Then I realized this was evidence we were no long in our current country of residence.  Here, in our country, fans are rarely used in homes.  People believe they will make you sick, especially if pointing directly on you. 

It was difficult for me, at first to return to our country as Singapore has so many western qualities, from shopping to wonderful out door parks.  When we did return, we were joined by my parents whom met us in Singapore. 

sightseeing with the grandparents in Singapore

more sightseeing at one of the lovely large gardens

a children's water park (free!!!)

Lilly pads as large as Whitman at the Botanical Gardens



children's area at the Botanical Gardens

with Grammie J

with Papa J

A visit to the Zoo.  The boys wanted to return almost everyday we were there, unfortunately it wasn't free;)

Caedmon's favorite animal at the zoo.

We, or I since the boys were too nervous, got to feed bananas to the Rhinos.  Apparently they only  have molars!



The Kangaroos could have hopped along the path with us!

It was nice to be able to show my parents a bit of our life here as well.  We even had the opportunity to take them to Barat.  More than anything the boys loved having their grandparents here! 

 

A mountain city.  My mom kept asking if we've adjusted to the climate.  Though I frequently am wet with sweat, I was actually slightly chilly that day, where as my parents were not!





A small zoo (4 exhibits total) in the mountain city.

 

the town of Barat in the back ground

After saying good-bye to my parents, we packed up our house in the big city and are now back in Barat.  We do not yet have a place of our own in Barat, but our lease in the big city ends the middle of May and our goal is to find a place of our own in Barat. 

Living as nomads

Ok, maybe we aren't as homeless as nomads, but the last four months we have been living between two cities.  Living with a local family in Barat and in our own house in the big city we are spread between two places about 200 miles apart.  We moved mostly just items needed for daily life to Barat, which did include a suitcase of homeschooling materials, and left the rest in the big city.  As we live with locals there are many things I’ve gotten use to:

Using a bucket and special scooper to shower.  The boys still prefer baths.  I found Whitman  like this one day as he asked to shower and proceeded to make a bath for himself. 
There is a specific word in the language for the scooper, in yellow, that is used.

Campfire coffee.  Regular ground coffee is used as instant coffee leaving a nice layer of grounds on the bottom.  Though I think my coffee tastes just as good this way, it is difficult to enjoy to the last drop. 



The view to and from our bathroom, no it is not an outhouse.  It just happens to be outside on the back balcony. 

A very small mirror for getting ready.

I have become a pro at taking fresh corn kernels off the cob.

There are also many things that still are just not normal for me, such as eating rice for every meal of the day.  So I supplement with lot of oats and noodles!  Living in two different places has also created some difficultly in packing as we travel back and forth.  The most recent trip back to the big city, March 20^th, I packed most of Ceadmon’s school materials, my frying pan, and my garlic press.  Woks are very prominent and available here, but they are difficult to cook pancakes in!  And I really prefer not to dice garlic with a knife. 
Though I’ve gotten use to many aspects of life in Barat, it feels like a real luxury to come back to the big city.  We get to bathe under a shower head, the boys get to take baths, we eat more western food, I get to enjoy my coffee to the very last drop (I use a French press), and I can see the whole top half of my body in a large mirror.  Frozen kernelled corn is also available at some stores, but I have yet to buy it as fresh corn is so cheap and much easier to find!
As I write we are once again living out of suitcases as we are out of the country on a visa run, hoping to get social-cultural visas to last while we continue to wait for the work visa.  It is fun to get away, but being settled in ONE place is also something I am really looking forward to!

Western Medicine meets Eastern Medicine

A week ago we all came down with a fever, fatigue and head-cold like symptoms, each on different days of course.  For John and I it lasted about 2 days, the boys on the other hand are over the fevers but still have lingering coughs.  When people heard the boys where sick with fevers we were offered a great deal of advice:  

-“It’s the weather or change in the weather as it has been especially hot.”  I, Erin, still am not use to the heat, so it always feels hot and to me doesn't seem to change much, except the occasional rain which we haven’t seen in over a week. 

-“You shouldn’t take them out at midday, didn’t you go out yesterday?”  Yes the boys and I went to an air-conditioned mini-mart at 11am.  This is not a new activity for us.  We usually go to the outdoor market mid-morning as well, usually it is quite crowded at that time!

-“It is the boys’ fan; it blows so hard every night.”  To this I had to reply, “They have been using that fan for almost two years now.” 

-“Oh don’t give them fried bananas, there is a lot of oil and it will just make their coughs worse, by making their mucous thicker.” 

Getting sick while living with a family has provided a great deal of insight into their health beliefs.  It has also been difficult to show them appreciation when I don’t anticipate following their advice.  Being from a western culture I know we rely a great deal on science and medicine.  But as I try using terms like germs, viruses, and bacteria it does not communicate what I desire as these terms are not commonly used or seen as the sole cause of sickness.  Then I think about trying to describe these unseen, by the naked eye, and very abstract things and realize I would not sound too different then they sound to me as they describe unseen 'forces' that effect people. 

We managed the fevers with Tylenol and ibuprofen, and the overall sickness with rest, lots of fluids and vitamin C.  I also found it difficult to explain, in another language, that the Tylenol and ibuprofen where both to manage symptoms, not actually solve the cause.  These aren't even the most important truths, yet they are so difficult to explain in another language to people who don't start from the same foundation as us. 

Brick making part 2

We were invited back to the brick making area to see the next step in the process.  After all the bricks are dry and neatly stacked, fires are built and kept burning for 3-5 days.  The heat was very intense as we took these picture. 



On our way to the baking bricks: taking place in the structure in the distance.

Bricks are stacked to create tunnels for the fire.

It all takes places under a wooden structure!

Sheets of metal are placed over the openings as the fire burns.

Wood is added by hand as needed, occasionally using a long stick to push it further in.

Adventures

These days my, Erin, biggest adventures are in patience and flexibility as I cook, parent and just live in an environment so different that what I'm use to.  Quite often we have the opportunity to experience culture through adventures outside the home.  Here is one of our recent adventures
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Boats along the sore at the Fishermen's Festival

Aboard the boat.  One of our friends far left with her brother-in-law far right holding the camera. 

One Sunday morning we were invited to join friends at a local Fishermen's Festival.  Once a year the fishermen originally from this area all gather to celebrate their yield. These men may travel far in their own boats, to fish, even to one of the major neighboring islands (at least an hour plane ride away).  But they return for this event.  Together with friends we boarded an anchored family member's boat and as with most events, where offered a meal.  Afterwards we returned to their house, where we were offered more food and sat around chatting for a couple hours.  Then we proceeded to another family member's house for more food; grilled fish.  That day I had run out of ideas to motivate Caedmon to smile for a picture taken by someone else so I resorted to giving him coins, each worth about 5 cents.  He counted 42 pictures by the time the day was done = about $2. 

The spread on the boat.  Wrapped rice, fish, chicken, salsa, boiled eggs, fruit soup, and bottled water. 

Back at the house we ate soup and tried to decline the rest. 




Cleaning and prepping the fish at the second house.

Coconut husks are used for the fire. 

Fish is laid on top of strips of bamboo.





Banana leaves are placed on top as the fish cooks. 



Grilling fish