Exploring Jakarta

This past Saturday we went to the old Dutch colonial area of Jakarta, in an area known as Kota. The central cobblestone square, Taman Fatahillah, is still there, as are some of the old colonial era buildings. Unfortunately many of the buildings are in ruin and nothing has been done with the square. It is a real shame, as it could be quite lovely around there and most assuredly a tourist destination. I could still get an idea of what it must have been like in its heyday, but now there is little to do or see. Someday, perhaps the Jakarta government or some enterprising, rich businessperson will take an interest in it and develop it.

We did go to the puppet museum, or Wayang Museum, which has one of the best collections of wayang puppets in Java. The museum itself isn't terribly impressive, but some of the puppets were very interesting. A museum worker told us some of the history of the puppets, what they're used for, etc. For example, the flat, intricately carved leather shadow puppets, called wayang kulit, are often used to teach children about right and wrong, morals, etc. They are produced in Bali and Java. We also saw many wonderful examples of wayang golek, which are the 3-d wooden puppets typically found in West and Central Java. Wayang theater comes from the Hindu-Buddhist heritage in Java, and the stories of the wayang kulit are often based on the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and Mohabharata. A whole night might be devoted to just one story, and in addition to being used to teach children, they may also be performed to protect a crop, a village or people. There is only one puppeteer manipulating all of the puppets, and the show is sometimes accompanied by a gamelan (traditional orchestra of 60-80 musical instruments).

Wayang kulit

There is also the Jakarta History Museum and a Fine Arts Museum in Kota, but unfortunately C didn't enjoy the puppet museum as much as we had hoped so we figured visiting another museum was not a good option.

After the museum we went and had a drink at Cafe Batavia, which is located on the same square and is housed in apparently the only very nicely renovated colonial building in Kota. It is easy to be swept back in time and imagine yourself as a Dutch colonialist, well dressed and sipping a cocktail after a long hot day in Jakarta. The upstairs bar and restaurant is constructed in all teak wood, and the whole cafe is filled with old pictures and photographs. It was evidently included in Newseek International's 1994 and 1996 Worlds Best Bars editions. The place reminded me of The Tobacco Company restaurant in Richmond, VA, where I have been a couple times with my sister-in-law, husband and my best girlfriends for a girlfriends weekend. We will definitely return to Cafe Batavia another time, without children, and when I can truly enjoy one of their many cocktails.

From here we went to the old port of Sunda Kelapa, which was full of Makassar schooners. There wasn't much activity but it was a fun add-on. We were expecting more majestic looking boats, although I don't know why now that I think about it.

Being there, at a fishing port, made me think of one of my all time favorite experiences. While living in Mali J and I went down to the Ivory Coast for a vacation. We stayed on the beach in a little hut, had fresh fish for dinner every night cooked by the "hotel" owner, almost drowned in the undercurrent... Anyway, we went into the town of Sassandra one day to take a boat tour of the mangrove forests, and were fortunate enough to be there when the fishing boats came in. This wasn't a "port", but just the beach where large, brightly painted canoes came to shore bearing fishermen and the day's hauling. The sun was bright and the beach was bustling with fishermen and customers busy bargaining the price of fish, and the beach was filled with manta rays, small sharks, and large fish being cut up and sold. It was incredibly colorful and active and a lot of fun, and one of my favorite memories of West Africa.

Purgatory

I think I have entered the "bla" zone, purgatory, a black hole. I have no energy to do anything and have been procrastinating everything I possibly can. I feel like a blob, which I'm sure is due in part to the big blob of a belly protruding from my mid-section. The rain every morning has not helped either, as that seems to have set my mood for the rest of every day.

I have been so busy for so long and now I am ready. Waiting. Our furniture is here, the baby's room is ready, baby's clothes are washed, plane tickets bought, lists of what to pack are made, and now I just need to wait. This train has come to a full stop and I'm finding it hard to start up the engine again for even the smallest of tasks. I'm not wanting to do much and have little energy to do any of it. I am trying to convince myself that it is ok to be a slacker, to relax, and to be a bum. However, this is not really in my nature, at least not for more than a day or two, so it is not an easy transition.

I leave for Singapore in 17 days. 17 days of waiting to get on a plane, and then more waiting after a short period of settling into our new temporary digs for the baby to come. And then of course our lives will be thrown once more into a tailspin and I will berate myself for even once second of not enjoying this restful, slow period.

C's horse and carriage ride

Evidently there is a resident horse and carriage in our neighborhood, and the owner generously takes children on short rides from time to time. C had the opportunity to take a ride the other day. He had fun, as you can tell.

Some women with their babies watching the horse and carriage.

Update on friends' baby boys

A long time ago, in a land far, far away (the Sultan Hotel, to be exact) I wrote about a couple baby boys that needed some strong positive energy and prayers sent out into the universe for them. I had just learned that the sister of one of my best friends had to deliver her baby (Little A) at 24 weeks and that another friend's son (Gabriel) would have to have another heart surgery.

I am happy to report that Little A is still strong and has every intention of exploring our wide world. I have been following all of his updates and despite some very rough patches, he is doing well now and gaining weight, digesting breast milk, breathing on his own, etc. He had to have eye surgery but his parents report that it went well and they do not expect he will be blind. One big concern is that he was diagnosed with periventricular leukomalacia, or PVL. PVL is characterized by the death of the white matter of the brain due to softening of the brain tissue. Premature babies are at the greatest risk of the disorder. PVL is caused by a lack of oxygen or blood flow to the periventricular area of the brain, which results in the death or loss of brain tissue. The doctors will have to monitor how this will effect him in the future and they may not know just what effects this may have on Little A until he's 18 months old when they assess some developmental milestones. Hopefully he will continue to prosper and there will be no need to worry in the end.

The other little boy I mentioned is my friend Emily's son, Gabriel. He was diagnosed with D-Transposition of the Great Arteries, minimal Pulmonary Stenosis, and a bicuspid valve 24 hours after he was born. Within about 10 days after birth he had to undergo open heart surgery. He is doing great, and as you can see below, by far one of the best looking boys in the world. Unfortunately he will have to have another heart surgery next week to repair some scar tissue, and Emily has asked that friends post his photo in order to generate as many prayers as possible to help him come through smoothly and successfully.

So please, send out a prayer or positive thought or energy or whatever you want to call it for Gabriel and Little A. Thank you!

Language acquisition

Satu, dua, tiga, empat, lima, enam, tujuh, delapan, sembilan, sepuluh. This is what I'm currently hearing coming from the other room as C recites 1-10 in Bahasa Indonesia (BI) to his nanny. He counts better than we do now.

I had high hopes before coming here that C would become fluent in BI. Instead we found a fabulous nanny who speaks unbelievable English. I think this is for the best - when it comes to my child I don't want there to be any miscommunication. But the downside is that he won't be the fluent BI speaker I thought he would. I am happy though that he is learning some. The baby-to-be will, I imagine, be a fluent BI speaker if we stay long enough. I already plan to ask the nanny and the other staff to speak only BI to him, as there is absolutely no better time to learn a foreign language than when you're a child.

J and I are moving slowly in our own BI acquisition. Our tutor comes at night but has had to cancel several lessons, and J and I have not been exemplary students. It is hard to bust out the BI when everyone speaks English so well. We are making progress - BI is not a difficult language - but we really need to practice it. My memory is crammed with BI words that I am not using, and I know there's just not much more space for this kind of unused knowledge in my minuscule memory.

I've also noticed that BI is usurping the space that Bambara (the local language of Mali) used to inhabit. I have had to bite my tongue several times so I wouldn't ask a question or respond in Bambara instead of BI. I was far from fluent in Bambara, but after 2 years of living in a village in Mali, I was certainly conversant. Over the years much of that ability has faded from memory, and now I'm afraid it's going to be completely commandeered by BI. Fortunately I believe my French language abilities are safe; I think I drilled French into my brain for long enough that it isn't going anywhere.

The big boy

C in his big boy bed. The transition has gone fairly smoothly, and so far he doesn't seem interested in going back to his crib. There might have been a minor occurrence this morning, just a little fall and screaming and crying at 4:45 a.m. He evidently thought he needed to get out of bed. Fortunately the fall didn't scare him off and he's back in his bed for a nap. But hopefully it was scary enough to get him to call for us next time (and at a more reasonable hour).