100 Days of Happiness – Day 92

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Another morning, another fuzzy head so I have to accept that this is a new phase and it too shall pass.. and I am sure I will miss it when it is gone as being up early is actually refreshing… it’s the afternoons I struggle with and I am ready for bed so early these days!

We had a super lazy morning watching a dvd and relaxing before Putra headed upstairs to work and I sat at my computer in the bedroom typing away.  It’s not very conducive to being inspired sleeping and working in the same room.. sometimes I feel like I never leave!  There is a whole studio upstairs but I can’t think when Putra is editing footage and you have to listen to the same lines over and over.  It must be fun when you are the person doing it like when you are playing x-box or something similar, but listening to it from the outside can drive you bonkers.. or maybe it’s just me and my SUPER sensitive mysophonia ears.. some noises just can’t be dealt with in my head!  There are noises I do love to hear while  I am sitting in the room however, and that is of all the food sellers going by with their unique sounds… sometimes calling out, sometime with a recorded voice yelling out ‘Roti Roti’ (bread), bells being rung, fences being tapped, clicking sounds of the bakso cart, and my favourite.. the sound of the Walls ice-cream bicycle. I am still to decipher the sound to know when it is the tailor, the jambu juice lady and others, but there is something comforting in hearing all those sounds and knowing there are people all around if you just step outside the front door.

I put Samudra back in the sling in the afternoon and we walked around the complex, stopping so he could watch all the cats as per usual and seeing chickens scratching around at the side of the road.  We stopped to  watch a game of volleyball on a run down looking court which is surrounded by houses and has vines and flowers growing all over the wire fence, and there are chooks and roosters pecking around while people play.  There are usually kids playing sports in there in the mornings or kicking balls around in the afternoons and it seems to be a fun place for people to just hang out.  We walked up to the park but it was pretty empty this afternoon except for two small boys attempting to fly their kite and laughing hysterically as it kept crashing into the ground, so we headed back home and made it inside just as the rain started again and finally cooling off the heat of the day. I love my walks with little Samudra so much!

I hope you had a beautiful day too wherever in the world you are.

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Day 92: Morning cuddles with his bapak. Happiness.

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Day 92: This gorgeous boy loves to follow us in the afternoons. Happiness.

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Day 92: Heading home before the heavens opened up. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 91

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We missed our morning walk again this morning as Samudra woke at silly-still-dark-o’clock again with a super full nappy and once I changed him he wanted to play! We had to play with his teddy bears in the dark on the bed while Putra lay snoring beside us until finally Samudra put his head down and fell asleep on his own as the sun rose.  I am hoping this is not going to be a lasting normal morning routine as I find I can’t sleep again once I have woken. Instead I sat outside drinking a milo and watching as the sun rose and the light filtered through the orchid flowers hanging from the tree.  As I got back into bed I heard voices out in the living room and it was kakek and nenek and their relatives who had all returned from a trip to visit family in Padang.

When I finally got out of bed again there were boxes everywhere of oleh oleh food they had brought back with them!  Indonesians make me laugh with their love of food and especially their concept of having to buy everyone oleh oleh (gifts) when you go on a trip.  I find it stressful enough having to find something to take back to mum when I go to Australia, but Indonesian families are so HUGE and everyone always asks for you to bring them something if you are going out of the city – even if it’s only 3 hours away to Bandung. So it’s not unusual to see families at the airport with piles and piles of cardboard boxes filled with food and goodies from their travels.  I have joined a family on a trip to Bandung once, which consisted of leaving super early in the morning, only to arrive there a few hours later and then we spent the whole day going from shop to shop buying oleh-oleh, including meatballs, crackers, clothing, you name it, for all their friends. Then we headed home in the late evening and all we had done was shop for people all day long.  What a selfless way to spend a day out of the city, but I prefer to be able to look around without shopping when experiencing a new place.

I spent all day infront of the computer yet again and I updated the latest WordPress plugin on this site and now it’s WEIRD and difficult to be able to resize photos as it all has to be done manually, so I can see WLJ Blog may turn into a mess for awhile.. time to look for a new theme… any suggestions?  I am happy to write and upload photos, but anything technical or trying to work out column sizes, sidebars, widgets, etc… blah! I don’t really have a clue what to do.

I did take Samudra for a walk around the block in the late afternoon, but the sky was overcast so we didn’t venture off too far and the streets were unusually quiet in anticipation of the hujan (rain).  We ended up spending the evening playing with all his toys, giggling, and watching him chew on his books as always.. nothing is safe from being chewed on these days as he learns to experience the world around him.

I hope you all had a beautiful day too wherever in the world you are.

Day 91: Sweet yoghurt face! Happiness.

Day 91: Time to read (eat!) books again.. yum. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 90

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Another morning of being woken at 3.00am and not being able to get back to sleep, but Samudra managed to get back to sleep around 5.30am and stayed asleep until after 9.00am!  Sometimes I wonder if this fuzzy head of mine will ever disappear and I will wake up feeling super fresh.. but at the same time I do love to watch the boys sleeping and feel extremely blessed to have them both in my life.

I decided to walk over to the apartment mid morning to take some more photos so we can start advertising it online.  On the way I met with loads of funny little kids riding their bikes around and asking where my baby was.. I did actually feel a weird sensation having two free hands while I was walking.. it’s so rare that I go anywhere without Samudra, and the one time I actually had freedom to take photos without the camera being yanked from my hands as I press the shutter button, I hardly took any!

I did watch this one little boy running up the steep hill of the kampung onto the main road with a pigeon in his hands and I tried to walk faster to catch up to see where he was headed. I watched him dodging motorbikes and metro minis swerving on the edge of the road and he ducked and weaved in and out of the traffic and then ran up the stairs to the overpass where I managed to get my camera to my eye and snap 1 quick (& blurred) photo before he threw the bird into the air and went running straight back to where he came from! How different his childhood games to those I grew up with and there is no way I would have been allowed near such a busy road on my own.. I would have been squashed in a second.  Kids of Jakarta really do have the ‘street smarts’ and I guess they have no choice as traffic is almost unavoidable around this crazy city.

I crossed the overpass and walked passed the motorbike mechanics on the side of the road… I had to shake my head and laugh as they called out to me knowing that I am actually old enough to be some of those boys mother! I reached the apartment 2 minutes later and wished that I had bought my bathers with me as the sun was shining down on the pool and I was roasting hot as always!  The pool area was empty apart from one grey but still handsome European looking man, rocking a baby in it’s pram, which turned out to be his 2 month old son, while his two young daughters played poolside like mermaids with their hair so long it just fell short of the ground when they stood up.  I wondered how a man who looked to be in his early 70’s coped with having such young children.  I find it pretty exhausting only having one baby and I’m not quite his age yet!

The rest of the day flew by with the sunshine giving way to some refreshing rain in the late afternoon yet again and I missed having a walk with little Samudra today.. hopefully tomorrow.

I hope you had a beautiful day wherever you are in the world.

Day 90: Young boy just before he released his pigeon. Happiness.

Day 90: Easing traffic as I walked back home again. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 89

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This morning was a little tricky as Samudra woke up crying and didn’t really seem to want to settle down, but we had a birthday party to go to so I thought once he saw some other babies maybe that would make him calmer.

We caught a taxi in the gorgeous morning sunshine to the Senayan Residences for Carlton & Leighton’s 1st Birthday Party. What a gorgeous complex this is with huge open spaces and incredible looking houses!  We arrived to find balloons decorating the doorway and a box in the entrance for donations for needy as there was a request for no gifts, which I think is such a beautiful idea.  WoW! What a gorgeous Teddy Bears Picnic party Sarah and her family had put together for all the kids.  There were mats on the floor and loads of play equipment, including toddler pools, bubble machines set up around the garden and fans blowing long colourful streamers in the sunshine.  Teddy bears sat in the tipi’s and baby tents ready to be played with and there were so many gorgeous kids giggling and running around.

I had planned to take loads of photos for Sarah and the boys today but Samudra got teary every time someone tried to hold him or I put him on the ground to play, so it was the usual game of him pulling at the camera cord every time I tried to take a photo so we didn’t get too many pics in the end, and I ended up carrying him around all morning.

There was a delicious selection of food and there were tables and chairs set up under cover in the garden, and a whole ice-cream fridge in the kitchen, like you see in the shops! So I gave Samudra his first ever mini ice-cream which he proceeded to stick in his mouth and then smear all over his face which was too cute!

A couple of hours into the party the sun disappeared to be replaced by seriously heavy rain so everyone had to run inside for shelter and we all gathered around to sing Happy Birthday to Carlton & Leighton who happily dug their hands into their cakes after the candles were blown out.  This was such a beautiful party and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves and the kids all left with a beautiful picnic hamper which included a teddy, teddy bear biscuits, bubble machine guns and a note pad and pen. So cool! I did feel a moment of panic of what to do for Samudra’s first birthday but I actually I think I will keep it very low key as he is too little to know better, not having any older siblings.

Samudra then started to lose it and my phone decided not to work so I was wondering how to get him home as I couldn’t call a taxi and the rain was too heavy for me to find one on the street and everyone was leaving. Beautiful Sarah was kind enough to organise a taxi only for us to arrive home and all the gates were locked so Samudra and I were stranded in the street getting drenched! I knew Putra was home so I was banging the gates, quite ferociously in the end (ha!) as there was no shelter from the pouring rain and I started to panic that we would never get inside.  Finally Putra woke up and heard us (what luxury he has to be able to sleep so late!), and we got inside, dried off, and Samudra fell asleep for a couple of hours.

In the evening we couldn’t decide what to eat so ended up back at Raja Rasa for some more crispy tahu and vegetables.  A perfect way to end the day yet again.

I hope you had a beautiful day wherever in the world you are.

Day 89: Imogen & Samudra at the party. Happiness.

Day 89: Such a fun set up in the backyard. Happiness.

Day 89: Samudra in the tipi with teddies. Happiness.

Day 89: Super cutness + mini ice-creams = happiness.

Day 89: An angel on the swings. Happiness.

Day 89: The beautiful birthday boys Carlton and Leighton. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 88

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Every year I have looked forward to attending Inacraft, and every year something has happened and I have missed out on attending, so this year I was determined to make it there for opening day, mid week, to avoid the crowds.  Of course I never quite made it to that either, and instead found my way to JCC Senayan on a Saturday morning with Samudra, Putra, and half the population of Jakarta.

Entering the complex I realised this was probably a crazy idea to be attending at this time as the car park was absolutely jam packed and there were long lines of cars everywhere and I knew Putra would be likely to lose interest if we didn’t find a carpark super fast!  Eventually we did find one, and had to walk quite far in the heat of the morning and I could feel our enthusiasm fading quickly… we had to get inside! I bought the tickets which were Rp. 20,000 each (under AUD$2!!) and we entered through the decorated archway to a fully packed room lined with booths.  It was completely overwhelming to walk into and we didn’t know where to begin. I thought it may be best to start at one side and make our way up and down the aisles, but there seemed to be no beginning as there were rooms off rooms and more passageways leading to even more rooms and there were people absolutely everywhere. There were hundreds of booths selling beautiful batik fabric, batik clothing, Indonesian trinkets, toys, furniture, you name it, it was there.

Putra wanted to find his friend who had a furniture booth but for the life of us we couldn’t find it as we kept getting lost and losing our sense of direction and finally we found a map listing all the booths.  Well, there are lists of booths and then there are LISTS OF BOOTHS! It was no use, there were so many names on this map that it was impossible to read through them all and so we we had to just keep wandering further and further into the maze.  I had planned to meet with Treen, Jackie and Kadek there but with no phone signal inside and no clues as to where to meet as I was completely lost, I had to give up hope and we never saw eachother in there.  It would have been a fun experience to go there mid week without the crowds and actually look at all the booths as there was so much that looked amazing, but I guess the amount of people were a good thing for me so I didn’t feel like shopping.

We did end up staying quite awhile until it all became too much and Samudra had had enough of the crowds, Putra was starving and I needed some air and personal space from all the crowds.  We ended up at Poins Square to check on my smashed up iPhone to see if they had been able to repair it but alas it is unfixable. I have been so long without a phone now that I am completely out of contact with everyone here! It’s crazy how much we rely on our phones these days and I am completely lost without it although I haven’t missed the constant checking of Whatsapp, Line, Facebook, etc everywhere I go.. so I am grateful to have that freedom at the moment.

We watched some gorgeous little girls competing in competitions for Kartini Day, all dressed up in traditional indonesian costumes, ate some delicious tofu and noodles at Red Bean Cafe and headed home exhausted but happy.

I hope you had a beautiful day too wherever you are in the world.

Day 88: Welcome to Inacraft 2014. Happiness.

Day 88: Miniature Padang food. Happiness.

Day 88: Beautiful statues from Jogjakarta. Happiness.

Day 88: Owl cushions. Happiness.

Day 88: Super cute neck cushions for kids. Happiness.

Day 88: Bashing a drum to play a video game. Happiness.

Day 88: Fun lights for kids. Happiness.

Day 88: Musicians in one of the booths. Happiness.

Day 88: Kartini Day contestants at Poins Square. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 87

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Once again I find myself writing with a backlog of days as I have been kept away from my computer by having fun so I am having trouble remembering what I actually did today but I definately remember what happened in the evening and it was pretty A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

It’s funny how the world works and things are interconnected and you never know where you will end up.. Thanks to someone reading this blog, I met the guys from Peeta Planet at the InterContinental Midplaza Hotel in Jakarta a few weeks ago, and while there I met the lovely Catrina who is the Social Media Officer at the Hotel.   Thanks to Catrina I received an invitation to the InterContinental Hotel’s Jimbaran Outdoor Lounge Opening Party tonight.

As the evening drew closer, down came the rain and I was a little unsure as to whether we should still attend as the traffic and rain don’t make a good mix especially on a Friday night.  Lucky for me Treen and Claire were still keen to go and so picked me up via a taxi and off we went, full of enthusiasm, until we got stuck for over an hour on a short section of road right next to the house.. it turned out that the traffic lights weren’t working so that, plus rain and heavy traffic meant it took us almost two hours in the taxi to reach our destination.  I must admit that as we pulled up into the lobby my enthusiasm was dwindling somewhat, but as soon as we passed through the bar and into the registration area of the Jimbaran Outdoor Lounge my energy levels went right up! The theme was black and red cocktail party dress, so there was a sea of black and red filling every space available outside.  The ladies at the registration table were so friendly and made us laugh and put us in the mood to party!

There were waiters carrying around trays of delicious tapas and a super long line going down the stairway of people wanting to eat, and we know how much Indonesians love their food, so we decided to skip the line and go and see what was happening downstairs. The first thing I noticed was a table set up with the cheesecakes I had tried here before (ENAK!), and there were bowls of chocolate, churros, nuts, apricots and healthy snacks and it instantly made my mouth water.  There was another line for this so we headed straight to the bar for a glass of white wine.  Oh it has been so long since I had a glass of wine so I was in heaven.  While we sipped on our wine laughing I had the chance to take in the atmosphere, watching everyone looking so happy and the place was absolutely packed!  It looked so beautiful, with lights hanging overhead in the trees and the garden ‘pods’ with chairs were filled and looked magical in the night lighting.  The pods are unique and their intimate seating spaces are above the soothing sounds of running waterways and it looks like you are sitting in a tropical jungle in the middle of Jakarta.

There was a large section of grass with tables, chairs, and lounges set up and once again, as it is so rare to see grass in Jakarta, this was enough to make me excited!  A real garden oasis that makes you forget about the traffic and chaos outside its doors.  We laughed so much as we tested wine from Australia and Chile and made new friends and I also ran into some familiar faces which was so much fun.  We decided we better put some food into our bellies as we had been drinking wine, so went and lined up in the crazy line near the front door, only to leave the line about 30 minutes later as I realised it was all seafood and so I couldn’t eat any of it. Nevermind, we had met some lovely people while we were in the queue and then my heart SANK as I ran into another friend, Suci, who I also met at the Peeta Planet event and she told me they had called out my name as the grand prize winner but had to redraw the prize as I didn’t go up to the stage! Apparently the prize was a trip to Bali to stay in the InterContinental there.. I never win anything and to have been that close and miss out I was in shock! Not to worry, it wasn’t meant to be this time, and I had a really amazing time at the party, so much so that I didn’t even remember to take many photos as I was too busy enjoying myself..

The Jimbaran Outdoor Lounge is open from 5.00pm until late daily every day of the week and is the perfect destination to sit and wait for the traffic to ease, and to catch up with friends after work.  They have a delicious selection of tapas, tasty light bites, wine and cocktails and it is a really cool natural setting and the staff are super friendly and helpful.

So a huge shout out and THANK YOU to Catrina for the invitation, we had an amazing night and look forward to getting back there again soon.

Day 87: Straight to the desserts! YUM! Happiness.

Day 87: JimBARan garden pods. Happiness.

Day 87: Enjoying the view while getting some delicious wine. Happiness.

Day 87: Claire testing the microphone. It’s off! Happiness.

Day 87: Cocktail bar mixing up the best drinks. Happiness.

Day 87: Enjoying the garden serenity. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 86

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Putra left super early to go filming again today so I played with Samudra until his nanny arrived and then got myself ready to battle the day!  I had a sudden craving for the french bread sticks and cheese from Hero Supermarket that Treen got me addicted to many years ago and I haven’t had in a long time, so I decided I would head to the Supermarket and maybe take a walk through the tree lined streets in the neighbourhood to clear my head and get re-focussed on what I need to get done.

It turned out that kakek was home and he offered to drive me to Hero and so we packed Samudra into the car also and ended up having a little morning adventure, first going to Hero and then stopping at Lippo Mall to check out Ace Hardware for a table and chairs for the apartment, but we had no luck in our search.  It was a fun spontaneous little outing though and by the time we got back it was time for Samudra to sleep again so I was happy to spend lots of time with him today.

The new shelves in the apartment were finished today and we are so happy with the results! When we lived there for a short while, there were no curtains, no shelves, no wardrobes, and so now it is starting to feel like a proper room to retire to at the end of the day.  The pool downstairs looks more inviting every day as a way to escape the ever rising heat of Jakarta and I plan to teach Samudra to swim in the baby pool there when the time is right.  Now that the apartment interior is starting to take shape, we are more than happy to take enquiries from anyone wanting to rent it out, preferably for a minimum of a couple of months.  There is the large swimming pool downstairs, tennis court, gym, cafe and small supermarket downstairs and it is just a short walk from Pejaten Village Mall in South Jakarta. The room itself is a studio apartment but it’s a comfortable space to stay in and is in close proximity to Kemang.

While I’m at it I will thank our lovely carpenter for his amazing work making custom made shelves for the apartment and for home and doing it all in our backyard! You have to love not having to leave the house to get furniture made! I want to help him out with as much work as possible so if you need bookshelves etc made let us know.  It’s always good to help out someone who does such great work, so quickly, and for a reasonable price.

I hope you all had a beautiful day too wherever you are in the world.

Day 86: New bed base in the apartment. Happiness.

Day 86: New bookshelf in the apartment. Happiness.

Day 86: New cupboards in the kitchen. Happiness.

Day 86: View of Jakarta from the apartments. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 85

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Bless. Samudra was awake from 3.00am this morning screaming crying and seemed to be distraught about something but I couldn’t work out what, so I held him in my arms, trying not to fall asleep, while he slept for a couple of minutes, woke and cried, slept again, etc and the cycle continued until the sun came up and I gave up on the idea of ever getting any sleep so got up, only to find five minutes later that Samudra had finally fallen soundly asleep!

We caught a taxi mid morning to Plaza Indonesia to meet with Putra as he was filming the new Samsung TV Launch at the Hyatt Hotel.  I have only visited the hotel to have a meeting once before, about three years ago, and had forgotten just how grand it is inside.  Samudra loved the water fountains in the lobby as we passed through to head up to the penthouse suite.  Upstairs the room was packed with media and a huge buffet lunch but we didn’t stay too long as we needed to get across the city for Putra to participate in a travel talk session where he would be one of the ‘local heroes’ speaking about how he has been successful in influencing the community with creating content that inspires..

It was steaming hot outside as usual and the traffic was crazy as we made it across to the Pullman Hotel at Central Park in a taxi.  Wow! The Pullman Hotel is amazing! It was my first time to visit the Hotel and I was in awe from the moment we walked through the front door.  The lobby was decked out in ultra cool decor and we passed by an exhibition of paintings and sculptures as we made our ways to the lifts.  On the ground was a weird and wonderful projection of computerised ants and what looked like spilled honey or something.. if you stepped on the honey, the ants would go crazy running around and be squashed if you stepped on them.  I have no idea how it works but it kept us amused and Samudra was fascinated.

We headed upstairs and the lifts opened up to another foyer of sculptures and an exhibition of paintings hanging along the windows and on the walls.  There were displays of womens legs so that if you stood behind them, it looked like you were sitting on the bench and loads of funky couches and cushions lining another huge open area.  As we walked down the hallway there were Warhol inspired paintings of VW’s and two Warhol themed rooms but we didn’t enter them as there were other events in progress.  Finally we made it to the area where the WIT Indonesia 2014 (Web in Travel) event was taking place, and we collected our name badges and entered into the huge hall where many people from the travel industry were seated at tables.  A travel discussion was happening up on stage which included our friend Achmad from Wego, but was soon over and it was time for a lunch break and a huge buffet spread out in the foyer.

I was feeling very conscious of the fact that I was holding a baby at this event and this I am sure would never be allowed back home, and I am certain people wouldn’t even think to bring their baby either back in Australia or here in Jakarta.. and why on earth would they? but Samudra comes everywhere with us!  The thing is that here, even the organiser came up and told me Samudra was the youngest person to ever attend one of their events, and was laughing and made us feel welcome.  So many people seemed to want to come up and tell me about their children which I found amusing.  Then it was time for the break to be over and Putra to go up on stage and talk about his experience as a travelling documentary film maker in Indonesia.  He was a little nervous beforehand as he was going to have to speak in English but I knew he would be absolutely fine as it was to be a casual chat between the presenter, Putra and two other people and I felt so proud of him as he sat up on stage.  Unfortunately Samudra decided to start making loud squealing noises about 10 minutes into the talk so we had to keep leaving the room and missed most of the presentation as I didn’t want to interrupt the guests!

We met some lovely people and then it was time to head back over to the Hyatt and Samudra decided to fall asleep just as we arrived, so I decided not to follow Putra back up to the Samsung event and as I was looking for another taxi I spied the new H&M store and decided to make a quick stop to see what all the fuss is about.  What the? The store was MASSIVE… I’m talking ridiculously massive with so many clothes that there is no way that they would be able to sell all that stock and there was nothing remotely cool in there.  I wonder where all these garments end up if they don’t sell? There was just so much choice that it was intimidating and overwhelming and I had to get out of there fast!

It was peak traffic time as I found a taxi to take us home and it took more than 1.5 hours to get back, but it didn’t bother me tonight as I gazed out the street and reflected on the day and watched life buzzing about on the streets outside the taxi window as we crawled along at a snails pace, with Samudra asleep in my arms.

I hope you had a beautiful day too wherever in the world you are.

Day 85: Putra just before going up on stage. Happiness

Day 85: Putra up on stage, not that you can see! Happiness.

Day 85: A mix of my biggest phobia – bananas! and my favourite thing in the world – babies! Happiness.

Day 85: One of a series of paintings lining the windows. Happiness.

Day 85: One of many foyers/exhibition spaces at Pullman Hotel. Happiness.

Day 85: Fun sculptures lining the wall by the elevators in the lobby. Happiness.

Day 85: A little boys dream. Happiness.

Day 85: Skipping baby scultures in the lobby. Happiness.

Day 85: Spiderman in his eyes in this gorgeous painting. Happiness.

100 Days of Happiness – Day 84

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Another early morning and another beautiful walk in the sunshine with my beautiful boy.  It was fairly quiet on the path I chose to take today, but we saw lots of chickens walking along the roads, cats and also some squirrels in a cage which made Samudra jump up and down in excitement.

There was the usual fruit and vegetable sellers and friendly greetings from people we passed and then we came across a fence with a row of ladies chatting with babies in slings slung across their shoulders.  They all started calling out to us  to join them and there were about 6 babies there around the same age as Samudra.  Everyone was so lovely but turned shy and walked out of frame when I held my camera up to take a photo.  I’m not sure what this building was, it looked like a koste with lots of separate rooms for people to live in, but I found it unusual that there were so many women and babies all there. Once I had taken a few photos and the little kids got excited when I showed them the screen, they all stood infront of me smiling only to have my camera battery die right then and there.. oooh! I really need to be more organised!

It was a gorgeous morning and we returned so hot as always and I bathed Samudra and handed him to his nanny so I could get productive.  I don’t know what came over me in the afternoon, but it was a mixture of homesickness, tiredness and a little loss of direction and I felt so emotional! I have learned over these past 84 days that it is not possible to actually be completely happy all the time, but for sure there are moments of happiness that come from the least unexpected places every day.  When you live in a culture different from the one you grew up in, there will be confusion, language barriers and of course you will miss family and friends that are so far away.  At the same time, it’s exciting to be somewhere new, to learn new ways of doing things and trying to communicate in a new language.  It’s just finding a balance between the two and sometimes it sways more to one side than the other for my comfort zone.

At the end of the day I feel blessed to have such a beautiful partner in Putra and to be blessed to be Samudra’s mum and to experience new things and meet lovely people wherever we go.

I hope you had a wonderful day wherever in the world you are.

Day 84: Some super cute kids in the neighbourhood. Happiness.

Day 84: Curious little boys. Happiness.

Day 84: So cute and chubby. Happiness.

 

 

100 Days of Happiness – Day 83

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As soon as I woke this morning I decided it would be fun to take Samudra to visit the baby elephants at Ragunan Zoo to start our day. I googled opening times and it said 7.00am-5.00pm so I played with Samudra first and went to leave the house at 6.30am, planning to catch a taxi from Jl Ampera Raya.  Kakek and nenek were up as we went to leave so kakek offered to drop us off at the zoo as he was going to practise golf nearby.

The roads were empty as we made the short distance to the zoo, so I can only assume that people are taking an extended Easter holiday here as it is usually packed with morning traffic. Samudra was giggling on the way and I was so excited to be taking him to see the animals, although I don’t agree at all with the awful conditions most of them are subjected to at Ragunan.  We arrived to find that they have put a new regulation in place and the zoo will be opening from 9.00am daily!  Oh no! So no animals for us on this beautiful morning and instead we joined with kakek as he practised golf at a range nearby.  Luckily we didn’t make it to the zoo as I soon realised that I had forgotten the memory card for the camera yet again! Samudra and I wandered around the course and looked at the lake, played on the still damp grass, watched the roosters scratching around in their tiny pens, and ate some delicious tahu telor (tofu cooked in eggs).  I realised that my eyesight must be getting worse as every time we watched kakek hit the ball off the tee, I never saw where it landed, except for once!

In the late afternoon I put Samudra back on the sling on my hip and we went for a big walk around the complex again.  We met so many kids along the way, who all decided to follow us on our walk and ask us millions of questions along the way, like what is our religion, what colour fence does our house have, do we like nasi goreng and can they all come to our house to play? I felt like the pied piper as we wound our way through the streets with a trail of kids behind us! I guess it’s true what they say about Indonesia (http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2012/02/and-the-worlds-unhappiest-country-is-officially.html), Indonesia is the happiest country in the world!  We also watched as two old ladies chased baby chickens down the road and swooped them up in their straw like brooms.  One of the old ladies invited us into her house to play, but when I looked up and saw just how many chooks and roosters she actually had wandering around in her house I had to politely refuse while hiding the shock on my face at the same time!

It was a fun afternoon walk and a chance for me to spend more time alone with Samudra without arms stretching out to grab him from me as had been the case all day long. I love spending time with him more than anything else these days as it’s so entertaining and he is just so sweet!

I hope you all had a beautiful day too wherever in the world you are.

Day 83: Some of the kids we met that followed us on our walk today. Happiness.

Day 83: Watch me jump! Happiness.

Day 83: Now everyone wants to jump! Happiness.

Day 83: Playing with their home-made kite. Happiness.