I wasn’t sure coming back to Jakarta would ever feel so good (we came back last Friday). Especially when leaving the clean air, beautiful parks, great restaurants, and amazing efficiency that is Singapore. But it does feel so good to be home. We have our baby things now, we have help again, C has people other than his boring parents to play with, we have friends to hang out with, and we have space to spread out. I’m sure within a matter of a few weeks Jakarta will start to annoy us again, but for right now it feels great. And as we drove back from the airport, back onto our street where there were small children riding their bikes and men pushing carts selling nasi goreng and neighborhood guards chatting to eachother, I knew that this is a better place to be than Singapore. Jakarta is oh so much more colorful and interesting.
Then again, I’ve been thinking a lot about home. I’ve spent enough time living very far away from home to know about homesickness. What has surprised me this time around is that it has snuck up on me sooner than I expected. The reason, I believe, can mostly be found in my 2 wonderful sons. They have a fantastic family back home and they are missing quality time with them. We lived within walking distance of some of our best friends who also had children C’s age, and I so miss walking to the neighborhood park to meet them or sitting on our back patio having a bbq while the kids played in the back yard. And I have good friends back home who have just had their second babies or will soon, and I can’t believe that I probably won’t meet them and vice versa until LC is 1.5 years old. Sometimes I have asked myself if we were crazy to leave all that we had. And sometimes it feels that we were. But not for long, because I know that we are fulfilling a dream to live overseas and we would never be content until we realized that dream. I know that the experience our boys are having here will open up their worlds like nothing else can, and I believe they will be the richer and more wonderful for it. I know that career-wise it was a good move for both of us, especially J. I know that our friends and family still love us and that won’t stop no matter where we are. But, it is still hard at times to be away, to know the things that we are missing and what our boys are missing.
For now though, I’m going to focus on the fact that this feels like home, this place half way across the world in a tropical climate full of exotic food and dengue fever. And that before I know it this experience will be over and I don’t want to regret spending too much time thinking of my American home.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Saturday, July 7, 2007
2 weeks and still smiling
LC is 2 weeks old today! He and his brother have been keeping us busy, to say the least. Our lives have become the Grand Juggling Act, as we try to keep up with their varying needs, with my sleep, with J's work... Singapore has some wonderful conveniences and is a great break from Jakarta, but we are looking forward to getting home where we have all of our baby stuff, some help, and where J can focus on work.
So far LC seems like a pretty easy going kid. He rarely cries and when he does it's pretty easy to figure out the problem. He is still sleeping a lot, but is also eating a lot - I am already looking forward to longer stretches of sleep and a little more predictability. He is also a Grunter, and as such I have nicknamed him Sir Grunts A lot. What this is about we're not quite sure, but our best guess is his ploy to get held as this seems to be the best way to quiet the ruckus.
I am definitely tired, but I don't feel as tired as I remember being after I had C. You would think I'd be more tired with trying to keep up with a toddler as well. Perhaps my body and mind are just more conditioned to sleep deprivation thanks to 3 years with C, and this new addition isn't as much a shock to my system.
I have even managed to get out and see some more Singapore sites. This past week we walked around Fort Canning Park, went to Underwater World on Sentosa Island, and to the Jurong Bird Park. This coming week we hope to get to the Botanical Gardens and the zoo before leaving for Jakarta. So we are definitely keeping busy!
Well, Sir Grunts A lot is currently singing his song, so that's all for now.
So far LC seems like a pretty easy going kid. He rarely cries and when he does it's pretty easy to figure out the problem. He is still sleeping a lot, but is also eating a lot - I am already looking forward to longer stretches of sleep and a little more predictability. He is also a Grunter, and as such I have nicknamed him Sir Grunts A lot. What this is about we're not quite sure, but our best guess is his ploy to get held as this seems to be the best way to quiet the ruckus.
I am definitely tired, but I don't feel as tired as I remember being after I had C. You would think I'd be more tired with trying to keep up with a toddler as well. Perhaps my body and mind are just more conditioned to sleep deprivation thanks to 3 years with C, and this new addition isn't as much a shock to my system.
I have even managed to get out and see some more Singapore sites. This past week we walked around Fort Canning Park, went to Underwater World on Sentosa Island, and to the Jurong Bird Park. This coming week we hope to get to the Botanical Gardens and the zoo before leaving for Jakarta. So we are definitely keeping busy!
Well, Sir Grunts A lot is currently singing his song, so that's all for now.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Oh BABY!
He's here, he's here! Our newest bundle of love arrived just after midnight on June 23, weighing in at a healthy 8 lbs even. Unfortunately for this blog his name also starts with "C", so I will call him Little C, or LC for short. Labor was soooooo much better this time around, so much shorter, so much less painful, so much less pushing, and I think as a result the recovery is already going better. He is gorgeous, of course, and is sleeping A LOT! I have had to wake him to eat, although I expect that will change over the next few days. He is afterall not yet 3 days old. He looks a lot like his brother did when he was born, although he doesn't have quite the same massive cheek dimensions. C loves his little brother and is happily giving him many hugs and kisses, sharing his toys with him, wanting to hold him, etc.
This morning J got LC's Singapore birth certificate. It still feels a little crazy that my second son was born in Singapore! Tomorrow we head to the US Embassy to start the passport process. We expect it will take about 2 weeks, at which time we can go back to Jakarta.
Here are a couple of photos of LC.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Singapore photos
C and me playing in fountain at Clarke Quay
Merlion
Merlion
Boat Quay seen from boat ride on Singapore River
View of Singapore from boat
Another view of Singapore from boat
Chinatown
Thian Hock Keng Temple in Chinatown
Temple in Little India
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
A simple update
I'm happy to say I'm finally recovering from a truly miserable few days of mucus, fever, sleeplessness, pain, and discomfort. There should be a global rule that a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy will not have to experience any illness, as she really has enough to deal with just trying to move, sleep, sit, eat. Sunday, the day that C and J arrived, was for most of the day the most miserable day I can remember since being in labor with C. It is just not right to be in pain or discomfort from head to toe for hours on end when you're not even in labor. Finally having my guys with me definitely made me feel better though, and I have been on the road to recovery since their arrival.
Monday morning we took a boat ride on the Singapore River. C, being a typical boy in many respects, loves any sort of transportation vehicle. I am 100% convinced that nature plays a huge role in who boys become versus who girls become, and that it begins very early. One of C's first words was "bus", even though the collection of toys and books at home were an assortment of general, gender neutral baby items and neither J nor I ever thought much about the passing bus on the street, etc. In any case, so C had to that point been on a bus, train, car, motorcycle (we do now live in a city spilling over with motorcycles, so it was inevitable) and airplane, but never a boat. Now he has been on every major form of mechanized transportation vehicle, and his world is complete. We had a very nice ride, admired more of the city, and saw the somewhat famous yet relatively young Merlion statue, the symbol of Singapore. Our boat ride departed from Clarke Quay, a trendy area of town along the river that is brimming with bars and restaurants. Evidently Singaporeans love to eat, so this city is full of good food. At Clarke Quay we saw a Scottish, Moroccan, Cuban, and Mongolian restaurant, to name a few. Unfortunately, neither in Singapore nor Jakarta does there seem to exist an Ethiopian restaurant, much to our dismay. We love Ethiopian food, but it appears that African food just hasn't reached Asia yet, at least not this part of Asia.
Monday morning we took a boat ride on the Singapore River. C, being a typical boy in many respects, loves any sort of transportation vehicle. I am 100% convinced that nature plays a huge role in who boys become versus who girls become, and that it begins very early. One of C's first words was "bus", even though the collection of toys and books at home were an assortment of general, gender neutral baby items and neither J nor I ever thought much about the passing bus on the street, etc. In any case, so C had to that point been on a bus, train, car, motorcycle (we do now live in a city spilling over with motorcycles, so it was inevitable) and airplane, but never a boat. Now he has been on every major form of mechanized transportation vehicle, and his world is complete. We had a very nice ride, admired more of the city, and saw the somewhat famous yet relatively young Merlion statue, the symbol of Singapore. Our boat ride departed from Clarke Quay, a trendy area of town along the river that is brimming with bars and restaurants. Evidently Singaporeans love to eat, so this city is full of good food. At Clarke Quay we saw a Scottish, Moroccan, Cuban, and Mongolian restaurant, to name a few. Unfortunately, neither in Singapore nor Jakarta does there seem to exist an Ethiopian restaurant, much to our dismay. We love Ethiopian food, but it appears that African food just hasn't reached Asia yet, at least not this part of Asia.
This morning we went to Chinatown and walked too much in search of a certain temple and both C and I were dripping by the end of it. Singapore is definitely a humid place. From what I've seen, Singapore also wakes up late. Most of the shops don't seem to open until 11, which is extremely frustrating. I guess if I didn't have a toddler who wakes me up early I might not feel that way - I do love sleeping late and lazy mornings. But that's not the case and to be forced to lose one's morning because nothing is open, when mornings are your most solid block of time because of C's afternoon nap, is frustrating. So anyway, instead of a bustling, vibrant, noisy Chinatown, it was a quiet, mostly closed, clean and not terribly interesting area. As the morning progressed we did start to smell some really wonderful odors wafting from several little Chinese restaurants. Unfortunately we weren't able to stay for lunch, but hopefully we'll be able to return sometime and find out if the food tastes as good as it smells. We did visit a couple temples which were quite striking and made me more interested in visiting China some day. The more interesting temple was Thian Hock Keng Temple. This temple, "the temple of heavenly bliss", used to be located on the shore before land reclamation occurred, and upon landing all boatloads of Chinese visitors and immigrants would come immediately to pay homage to Ma Po Cho, the patron goddess of sailors, for granting them a safe voyage. It was a lovely temple with beautiful and intricate carvings, burning incense and small areas for prayer scattered around the temple. We didn't have much time to explore it, but we're glad we made the long, hot trek to find it.
More Singapore sites to come according to the baby's schedule...
Friday, June 8, 2007
Friday musings
I'm having a very introspective day, with thoughts and ideas and emotions flowing from one to another in a fluid and nonsensical dance. The cause, I'm sure, is due to the 6 days I have spent alone, to the wonderful book I am reading, to the blog entries I'm browsing that seem to mirror my own ponderings, to the fact that I'm about to become a mother for the second time. Really, it should read "a very introspective week" considering all the alone time I've spent in Singapore, but I was too caught up in watching an entire season of 24 to spend any time thinking! But today I have moved away from terrorism and white house conspiracies to reading about a fictional woman's realization that her mother is insane and that she has fallen out of love with her husband. Talk about a reversal of entertainment!
So this week I've had a lot of me time, and I'm eating it up. I've done some out and about activities, but mostly I've just been a couch or computer chair potato. I'm relishing in it, because it's temporary and because I know it will be a long time before I have this again. I've spent time staring out the window at the Singapore skyline, watching ships go past out at sea, or imagining lives in all the little apartment windows I see. I've washed baby clothes, carefully folding them, smelling them, remembering C when he was a baby, and imagining who this next little guy will be and how he will impact our lives and what our family will feel like years from now. I've talked with two best friends and my mom on the phone and been caught up on their lives, relishing in the easy chatter and the love of close friends and family. I've talked to C on the phone many times, and can't quite believe how different it is being away from my son now that he can actually talk to me and tell me about his day. He has the most precious voice in the world and hearing it over phone lines makes me remember how difficult it must be for his grandparents to only hear this over the phone. I've spent time reading my favorite blogs and loving how the internet has opened up this whole new community that allows for connections I would never otherwise have. The book I'm reading now, The Mermaid's Chair, is sweeping me off to a quiet, peaceful Carolina island full of gorgeous imagery, as well as the heartache and torment of imagining falling out of love with a spouse of 20 years. I can't keep up with all the thoughts that are whirling around in my brain today. I actually need J and C to come calm me down!
But unfortunately I need to bring myself back to reality and get some tasks accomplished on my to-do list: a fridge without milk, a hospital tour to arrange, a shower that suddenly has no hot water. I think I prefer the philosophical musings...
So this week I've had a lot of me time, and I'm eating it up. I've done some out and about activities, but mostly I've just been a couch or computer chair potato. I'm relishing in it, because it's temporary and because I know it will be a long time before I have this again. I've spent time staring out the window at the Singapore skyline, watching ships go past out at sea, or imagining lives in all the little apartment windows I see. I've washed baby clothes, carefully folding them, smelling them, remembering C when he was a baby, and imagining who this next little guy will be and how he will impact our lives and what our family will feel like years from now. I've talked with two best friends and my mom on the phone and been caught up on their lives, relishing in the easy chatter and the love of close friends and family. I've talked to C on the phone many times, and can't quite believe how different it is being away from my son now that he can actually talk to me and tell me about his day. He has the most precious voice in the world and hearing it over phone lines makes me remember how difficult it must be for his grandparents to only hear this over the phone. I've spent time reading my favorite blogs and loving how the internet has opened up this whole new community that allows for connections I would never otherwise have. The book I'm reading now, The Mermaid's Chair, is sweeping me off to a quiet, peaceful Carolina island full of gorgeous imagery, as well as the heartache and torment of imagining falling out of love with a spouse of 20 years. I can't keep up with all the thoughts that are whirling around in my brain today. I actually need J and C to come calm me down!
But unfortunately I need to bring myself back to reality and get some tasks accomplished on my to-do list: a fridge without milk, a hospital tour to arrange, a shower that suddenly has no hot water. I think I prefer the philosophical musings...
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Summer in Singapore
Many apologies for the long lapse of time between posts. It was a very busy week last week and then the "move" to Singapore, so I am just catching my breath after a couple days of sleep and rest and several episodes of 24.
I came here on Saturday, which was evidently a couple days too far into my pregnancy for Singapore Air's comfort. Fortunately we got it worked out ahead of time (after a very anxious day on the phone with them) and there were no problems checking in and boarding the flight. It all worked out, but as the days neared to my flight I started to become very nervous about waiting until the last minute to fly here. What if the baby decided to come even earlier than would be usual? It was something I did not want to find out. Now, I could deliver in Jakarta and most likely everything would be just fine. I know several women who delivered their babies there and they all had positive experiences. So the reasoning behind coming to Singapore is not really a fear of low quality of care. What I was afraid of was being in a situation where the nurses may not speak great English and of course my underwhelming abilities in Bahasa Indonesia would get me nowhere in a medical setting. If there's an emergency, I want to know exactly what's going on. Also, I don't like my doctor back in Jakarta very much. Since I knew I was coming here and this is my second child, I never bothered to find a different doctor in Jakarta. He was fine for my situation, but considering he is pro-C-section (ahhh!), which is so contrary to my beliefs, he is not the OB I'd want to deliver with. Yet another reason, and this is probably the most important: my blood type is RH negative. Only 1% of Indonesians have RH negative blood, compared to about 15% of Americans and Europeans (if I'm remembering that correctly). What this means is that if there was an emergency and I needed blood, they might have difficulty finding it for me (I did learn about a group of expats who are RH neg. that regularly give blood to maintain a blood supply for us. I will join it once I'm back). Again, NOT a situation I want to find myself in... And finally, J's company is paying for us to be here, so why not?!
Our temporary apartment here in Singapore is quite nice. We have a 3-bedroom so it is somewhat spacious. The furnishings are updated and there is a lot of light, as well as some great views of the city. There is a huge swimming pool and kiddie pool, an indoor and outdoor play area for C, and a resident's lounge which I have yet to check out. It is also conveniently located above a mall, so I need only go downstairs to go grocery shopping (and they deliver for free to the apartments, which is oh so convenient at 8 months pregnant), find a restaurant, pick up baby supplies, etc. It isn't within walking distance of much, but they have shuttles to different points around the city and taxis are fairly inexpensive. So, basically, it will be a nice place to live for about 6 weeks.
I haven't done much around town yet. And whatever I end up doing will be limited due to lack of general mobility I'm sure. I did get out and do some shopping yesterday. It's a fun time to shop in Singapore right now. For about 6 weeks from May-July the whole city has the Great Singapore Sale, where all the shops have big sales. As a result, my experience yesterday was part bliss, part torture. All of these sales and all of these clothes that are currently out of reach for me. I did manage to find a few things that I could use now and in the coming months, but mostly I just looked through shop windows and drooled and cried. I'm sure J is thrilled though, as I'm not able to run up our credit card bill. I have already planned, however, to return next June and have some fun (anyone care to join me for a shopping spree??).
A friend back in Jakarta introduced me to a woman who is also from Jakarta and here in Singapore to give birth. She is staying at the same place as me so I'm sure we will get to know eachother over the coming weeks. I also just learned of another woman in the same situation and hopefully I will be able to meet her as well. It will be nice to make some friends here with whom I can waddle the sidewalks of Singapore.
J and C arrive on Sunday, after C's big end-of-year concert at school. They are doing an Around the World theme and C is going to be an Indian, for the American West dance that his class is doing. Half of the class are cowboys and the other half Indians. They have been practicing for weeks and I have no idea what a group of 2 year olds are going to do. J will videotape it for me. I don't have high hopes that C will cooperate with them though. He refused to put on his halloween costume last year, and although I don't consider him to be a really stubborn kid, he definitely refuses to budge once in a while. At playgroup last week all the kids let their moms trace their body outline on paper for a coloring activity, except for C. He had no interest in that what-so-ever and nothing I said made a difference. I guess it's a good thing that he knows how to stick to his guns and doesn't cave into peer pressure (he didn't care at all that all the other kids were doing it). He does love coloring though. His activities at home consist mostly of going on walks/bike rides, playing with his cars, and coloring. Maybe my mom will have another artist in the family afterall.
I came here on Saturday, which was evidently a couple days too far into my pregnancy for Singapore Air's comfort. Fortunately we got it worked out ahead of time (after a very anxious day on the phone with them) and there were no problems checking in and boarding the flight. It all worked out, but as the days neared to my flight I started to become very nervous about waiting until the last minute to fly here. What if the baby decided to come even earlier than would be usual? It was something I did not want to find out. Now, I could deliver in Jakarta and most likely everything would be just fine. I know several women who delivered their babies there and they all had positive experiences. So the reasoning behind coming to Singapore is not really a fear of low quality of care. What I was afraid of was being in a situation where the nurses may not speak great English and of course my underwhelming abilities in Bahasa Indonesia would get me nowhere in a medical setting. If there's an emergency, I want to know exactly what's going on. Also, I don't like my doctor back in Jakarta very much. Since I knew I was coming here and this is my second child, I never bothered to find a different doctor in Jakarta. He was fine for my situation, but considering he is pro-C-section (ahhh!), which is so contrary to my beliefs, he is not the OB I'd want to deliver with. Yet another reason, and this is probably the most important: my blood type is RH negative. Only 1% of Indonesians have RH negative blood, compared to about 15% of Americans and Europeans (if I'm remembering that correctly). What this means is that if there was an emergency and I needed blood, they might have difficulty finding it for me (I did learn about a group of expats who are RH neg. that regularly give blood to maintain a blood supply for us. I will join it once I'm back). Again, NOT a situation I want to find myself in... And finally, J's company is paying for us to be here, so why not?!
Our temporary apartment here in Singapore is quite nice. We have a 3-bedroom so it is somewhat spacious. The furnishings are updated and there is a lot of light, as well as some great views of the city. There is a huge swimming pool and kiddie pool, an indoor and outdoor play area for C, and a resident's lounge which I have yet to check out. It is also conveniently located above a mall, so I need only go downstairs to go grocery shopping (and they deliver for free to the apartments, which is oh so convenient at 8 months pregnant), find a restaurant, pick up baby supplies, etc. It isn't within walking distance of much, but they have shuttles to different points around the city and taxis are fairly inexpensive. So, basically, it will be a nice place to live for about 6 weeks.
I haven't done much around town yet. And whatever I end up doing will be limited due to lack of general mobility I'm sure. I did get out and do some shopping yesterday. It's a fun time to shop in Singapore right now. For about 6 weeks from May-July the whole city has the Great Singapore Sale, where all the shops have big sales. As a result, my experience yesterday was part bliss, part torture. All of these sales and all of these clothes that are currently out of reach for me. I did manage to find a few things that I could use now and in the coming months, but mostly I just looked through shop windows and drooled and cried. I'm sure J is thrilled though, as I'm not able to run up our credit card bill. I have already planned, however, to return next June and have some fun (anyone care to join me for a shopping spree??).
A friend back in Jakarta introduced me to a woman who is also from Jakarta and here in Singapore to give birth. She is staying at the same place as me so I'm sure we will get to know eachother over the coming weeks. I also just learned of another woman in the same situation and hopefully I will be able to meet her as well. It will be nice to make some friends here with whom I can waddle the sidewalks of Singapore.
J and C arrive on Sunday, after C's big end-of-year concert at school. They are doing an Around the World theme and C is going to be an Indian, for the American West dance that his class is doing. Half of the class are cowboys and the other half Indians. They have been practicing for weeks and I have no idea what a group of 2 year olds are going to do. J will videotape it for me. I don't have high hopes that C will cooperate with them though. He refused to put on his halloween costume last year, and although I don't consider him to be a really stubborn kid, he definitely refuses to budge once in a while. At playgroup last week all the kids let their moms trace their body outline on paper for a coloring activity, except for C. He had no interest in that what-so-ever and nothing I said made a difference. I guess it's a good thing that he knows how to stick to his guns and doesn't cave into peer pressure (he didn't care at all that all the other kids were doing it). He does love coloring though. His activities at home consist mostly of going on walks/bike rides, playing with his cars, and coloring. Maybe my mom will have another artist in the family afterall.
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