Choosing some instruments for song time
Welcome to 2016! Yes, it’s already nearing the end of January and time seems to slip away so quickly that I haven’t been able to catch up on all the photos and stories that I have wanted to share with everyone since I last posted. Infact I don’t even know where to begin from where I last left off….
2015 was an incredibly busy time for us work wise, with back to back projects being shot, days filled with meetings and squeezing in every possible spare moment trying to make some quality time to spend with Samudra. We travelled alot. Outside of Jakarta, and had so many fun adventures, that my camera got left behind, wanting to savour the moment and only taking out my phone every now and then to capture snapshots in time… then my phone got stolen on a night train journey to Jogja and my stories got put on the backburner with no photos to accompany them. I still have some photos sitting idle in folders on my hard drive, so maybe I can slowly wade through them and share some memories as the year goes on… as well as sharing new photos and memories as they unfold.
We said so many goodbyes to our dearest friends in Jakarta, many of whom have moved on to new posts in different countries and that was incredibly difficult. I cried for days having to say goodbye to Samudra’s first love, Yaya, and her family who moved to Bangkok in December. The thing with being an expat in a foreign land is that life is full of sad goodbyes and see you next time… and then there’s always many new people arriving and new friends ready to be made. Time. I just need more time. To work. To be a mum. To make new friends. To spend time with old friends. To see my husband outside of work. To exercise. For ‘me time’ (whatever that is). So 2016, I will try my best to also be here and share our experiences for friends back home to see, for newbies arriving in Jakarta to get ideas of what to do, and to share memories with friends we have here.
Today was the start of trying to make some sort of new routine for Samudra to start the year and make new little playmates too. We headed into Kemang to join the gorgeous little Songtots class which was so adorable! We sat in a beautiful room with new friends and sang songs, played instruments and danced around the room pretending to be dinosaurs and swayed beneath the floating colourful scarves. Samudra usually has a very short attention span and even he surprised me by staying with me throughout the class, shaking rain makers and clanging sticks together, laughing and having fun. It was a beautiful way to end a week full of meetings and spend some quality time with my boy. I highly recommend this cute little music class, run by the lovely Lucy if your kids like to dance and sing and move their little bodies around! Oh, and then I also highly recommend a walk up to Levant French Bakery after class to indulge in some delicious snacks before heading home again…
So here’s to a wonderful new year ahead, to new friends and old friends, laughter, adventures and more confusion in this crazy and colourful city.
Stay safe everyone and see you again soon xoxo
