Trip-ping on NZ

J and I, being the somewhat travel crazy couple that we are, decided several months ago that in order to take advantage of living on this side of the planet we needed to get busy traveling to our list of destinations, no matter how painful it may be traveling with a 3 year old and a baby. And it being our first Christmas away I had a desire to spend the holiday with friends/family. So I contacted my Australian host family (from when I was an exchange student with AFS in high school) to find out where they would be for xmas and if they'd like to spend xmas with a family of 4. They said they would (silly, silly people) and that they would be at their vacation home in New Zealand. So we started to plan. We researched. We talked to people. We made bookings. And then we went to Bali for 10 days in October when LC was 3+ months old and realized that we may have made a very big, expensive mistake in deciding to take this NZ trip.

Well...we didn't make a mistake. We had a marvelous time! (Now, don't get me wrong. There were some tears, some complaining, some time-outs, some vomit, but all in all it was a good trip).


The flights
-Um, sucked.

-We booked with Singapore Air because we had such a good experience with them flying here from the US. The coach seats looked relatively spacious and comfy (we were fortunate to be in business class), the food was good, and the flight attendants were exceptional. Well, unfortunately this route to NZ didn't use a plane from their usual fleet and we were stuck on a plane with much smaller coach accommodation, right across from the kitchen! And this was an overnight flight. Here we are a family of 4 with 2 small kids right across from the bright, noisy kitchen from like 10 pm - 7 am. So the kids slept very fitfully and J and I slept a total of 1 hour, max. It was awful. The staff was great though, and the food was good, but we will be writing a letter of complaint, in addition to the complaining we did during the flight.

-Our route to NZ: Jakarta-Singapore-Auckland-Queenstown. About 18 hours of travel. 6 hour time difference. Remember the craziness??

-The return flight, which was a daytime flight and where we moved seats, was much better. But it was long, especially since LC was far too interested in what was going on around him to sleep. I mean, why sleep when there were people! and movies! and activity! all around, even if his eyes were red and teary and he was obviously in great need of some rest?

Queenstown
-The most beautiful and majestic area of the planet I've seen.

-Truly stunning and inspiring and gorgeous.

-Did I mention amazing?

-The town itself is funny. It's sort of this backpackers paradise, but also oozing cheap-touristy-"come on our boat tour! or bungee jump! or plane ride! or wine tour!" signs and shops everywhere. And it's expensive - all of NZ is expensive. Especially coming from cheap Indonesia, but even compared to the US it's expensive there.

-None of us suffered too much from jet lag, thank god. Matter of fact it totally worked in our favor. Both boys slept well and late for the first week of our trip. It was glorious to be able to sleep until like 7:30/8 every morning!

-The first day it rained, and this was pretty much the only day it rained for the next 10 days. We had great weather while we were there. Sunny and in the 60s-80s - perfect! Since it was raining we went on a winery tour at Gibbston Valley Wines, which has the largest underground wine cave in New Zealand. The wine was good and the restaurant was excellent (J made it a habit to always pick the best meal on the trip, so I was constantly salivating over his meals and stealing his food whenever possible. But shshshsh, don't tell him).

-C is a big fan of trains, so we took him on the Kingston Flyer steam train. It was an old train that is still powered by coal, and it was thus named by C as the "the stinky train". We all really enjoyed the ride, although driving there on the windy road didn't sit well with C. This is not where the vomit comes in, but we did have to stop a couple times.

C is saying "toot toot!"

-The night before we went on the train ride C woke up soon after going to bed feeling sick. We hung out in the bathroom thinking that he was going to be sick, and sure enough he did (vomit episode #1). He was better by the following morning though. Guess it was something he ate...

-By far one of the highlights was my horseback ride through Lord of the Rings country. It was spectacular. I signed up with Dart Stables for the Ride of the Rings tour, which was a 1.5 hour ride through areas where they filmed the 3 movies. We rode through Lothlorian forest where Galadriel and other elves lived, past Amon Hen where Boromir was defeated by orcs, and ended at Isengard and with a majestic view of the Misty Mountains and Methedras where the fellowship was forced to turn back because of Saruman's storm. It was a truly spectacular experience. Thank you J for taking the kids so I could go on this amazing ride!

Misty Mountains and Methedras

A view from my ride - the property there is called Paradise and you can see why

-While I was on my ride J took the boys up the mountain behind Queenstown on a cable car for a gorgeous view of the area.

-We also took a couple short hikes, C played at a park, strolled around Queenstown, slept, and enjoyed the perfect temperatures and smelled the sweet air.

Christchurch
-C talked a great deal about the snow he saw on the mountain tops in Queenstown. Since it's been 1 year since he saw snow and basically doesn't remember it, we thought it a good idea to take him to the Antarctic Center so he could touch snow and feel cold again. The center is home to the New Zealand, Italian and US antarctic programs. The center has several attractions, including a polar room with snow and cold like you'd feel in Antarctica. It even has a simulated storm so you can feel how bitterly cold it must get there. C didn't want to stay long (that's my boy!) and we didn't subject LC to it. I think J had the best time in there! There were films and lots of information on living in Antarctica and about the Antarctic programs, plus several penguins.

-We walked around Christchurch and enjoyed the beautiful botanical gardens. C and I smelled the vibrant roses, C climbed trees, and C especially enjoyed their awesome kids playground.

-I lost an entire day to being sick. This is where vomit story #2 comes in. I got sick in the middle of the night and was out of commission the following day. J was once again stuck taking care of both kids while on vacation. He definitely earned a few gold stars on this trip. So, for pretty much the first time in my life I got food poisoning. In New Zealand. Not in Mali, or Ghana, or Uganda or Ethiopia or Indonesia (don't get me wrong, I got sick in all those places, just not with food poisoning). But New Zealand - go figure.

-While I was sick J took the kids to the aquarium and shopping. I think they actually had a good time (for the most part...).

-On our final day we went to Akaroa, which is a small town on the coast that at one point was settled by the French. There is still a little bit of Frenchiness in the town, although not much. We went there because that's where my uncle now lives. He officially moved there with his wife 1 year ago and is now the resident architect for the whole area. He is swamped with work. They are also building their own house and I can tell from the drawings it's going to be amazing. I had never met his wife before so that was really fun, and I hadn't seen him in 9 years. I think he really enjoyed spending time with C and LC and both J and I had a really nice time catching up. We unfortunately couldn't go on the dolphin harbor cruise like we had planned thanks to my queasy stomach, but we still had a very nice time. I wish we could have stayed longer - next time we will hang out at their house for a few days instead of spending time in Christchurch.

Kawau Island
-1.5 hour drive from Auckland airport and 30 minute boat taxi ride to Hokimai Bay.

-We stayed with my Aussie host family who has owned the house for about 15 years. After I left Australia they soon moved to New Zealand for my host dad's work. They lived in Auckland for a couple years and bought the house when they left for Taiwan. My dad, mum and brother were there for the holidays and it was wonderful to spend 4 days catching up and feeling like part of the family again. I hadn't seen my host brother in about 15 years. He's 29 now! A man! It was weird, but really great to get to know him again. C right away liked him too (he liked them all, but especially him). I think he related to him as an older brother, and it was very sweet. Unfortunately my host sister couldn't be there. She lives in London now and has a very full life. I got to talk to her on the phone, but I sure wish she could have been there! I've actually seen more of her than the others though, with her visits to the US and my travels through London.

-We had a very relaxing time, ate good food, enjoyed the weather and the pretty views. We also went for boat rides around the harbor, took a nice little hike, went looking for seashells, and had lots of good chats.

View from their house


Auckland
-We walked the pants off Auckland and tired the whole family out. We walked around downtown but it was pretty boring. We thought the harbor area would be more interesting then it was. We thought it would be like Harbor Place in Baltimore, but it was much more of a yacht club and less developed for tourists than that. We then walked to the space needle like tower but decided not to go up it. We then walked to Victoria Market which we thought would be really cute with restaurants and good shops but it was much more chintzy. We then walked to Ponsonby Road which is supposed to be a fun area of town. It did look like it would be fun but by that time we were getting very tired (we did go back there for dinner and had our best meal in a New Zealand restaurant at The Living Room. It was a nice New Zealand send off!). And yet we then walked back to the hotel! So, while we saw much of Auckland that day, we weren't terribly impressed. It's a nice city, but nothing much worth talking about.

All in all
-We had a fabulous time and would recommend a visit. We look forward to the next time we go when the boys are older. New Zealand is most noted for its beauty and outdoor adventures, and yet with 2 small kids we were very limited in what we could do. I think it will be such a great time when the boys are pre-teen or teenagers and we can do all the exciting things there are to do there.

-The boys did really great. LC really rallied and didn't give us a hard time over missed or delayed naps and was generally very pleasant. C seemed to have a good time and also behaved well, but was ready to come home to his familiar environment and toys and nanny.

-We definitely kept busy, and tuckered the kids out!

All tuckered out

Concerns for Kenya

Since the mayhem over the elections broke out in Kenya just a week ago I have been checking in with the news and with the Flametree blog that I regularly follow. The author has been diligent about writing and if you are interested in what's going on there I recommend checking in with her blog. I find it so much more insightful to hear a voice other than a reporter's when something like this happens. She mentions a few times about the surrealism of the situation - that despite the violence and strife surrounding her she must carry on with daily concerns. I remember feeling similarly after 9/11, and after the flooding here in Jakarta last January. I remember the odd feeling of having this ache in my heart and these fears for other people and this abstract knowledge that my life may change as a result, but that the reality of my day didn't change very much. I still had to go to class and do my homework (I was in grad school when 9/11 happened), or take care of C and find a house during the floods. Anyway, here's praying the Kenyan political parties figure out a solution.

Speaking of floods, rainy season has hit with a vengeance and there are once again floods in and around Jakarta. However, the situation is not nearly as serious as it was last year and the damage has been much more localized. Our complex was not affected last year so we have few concerns that we will experience any flooding.

Majestic New Zealand

Until I have time to write about our trip, feast your eyes on these...

From Queenstown looking towards Glenorchy

Queenstown

Looking down onto Akaroa

Happy New Year!

We're wishing you a very happy new year and hope that all your wishes come true! B, J, C, and LC

Barbie

You may be wondering why I would post something with the title "Barbie". Well, I did a pretty fun thing this morning. All of the Mattel Barbies in the world are made in either China or Indonesia. Mattel Indonesia grants one tour/month, and one of those tours every year is granted to the AWA. Only 20 people get to go and I was lucky enough to have my name drawn in the lottery. So, this morning I drove to eastern Jakarta and toured the factory.

This one factory employs between 5,500-10,000 employees depending on the production demands and, if I'm remembering correctly, ships up to 1,000,000 Barbies/week. The factory only has an export license so all of the dolls have to be shipped out of the country and then imported back before they can be sold in Indonesian stores (stupid, I know). The place was immense, as you'd expect. And just thinking about the organization of producing all these little parts was mind boggling, even to my Virgo self. What I was most astonished by was how much hand work is involved in each doll. Every outfit is sewed by a woman on a sewing machine and all the hair is stitched on by a woman on a sewing machine. Then there are the "groomers", the women (I keep saying "woman" because over 80% of the production crew are women) who actually brush her hair, braid it or tie it up, and put on the hat or crown or sunglasses or whatever accessory she's shown with. Then there are the painters, the women who paint on the make-up by using a cut-out face mask over the face and running the face under a paint sprayer. And finally at the end there were the women who hand fixed the dolls to the packaging. It was incredible. I just assumed most of the work was done by machines, but instead so much of it is by hand. They say that producing one Barbie takes 3 minutes of actual work, and from design phase (headquarters are in California where all the Barbies are designed) to engineering to finished product takes about 1 month.

In the factory there was a huge map of Indonesia with a Barbie doll affixed to every part of the country. Each doll was dressed in clothes that were typical of that part of the country. It was quite cool. But the only Indonesian Barbie they sell is the Sumatra Barbie. It was definitely not the most interesting one though. The Barbies now wear underwear (I really don't know why, they don't have bras on and its not like they used to be anatomically correct) and their size proportions are much more realistic. She now looks like a shapely but fit young woman. If you remember, the first dolls, which debuted in 1959, had measurements that were nearly impossible.

And after the tour they fed us lunch and gave us a Barbie doll!!! I have to admit that the little girl in me is thrilled. I haven't owned a Barbie doll in like 20+ years and with having 2 sons I assumed I'd never have any girlie things in my house. But here I am with a Princess Barbie! Well, C has a Princess Barbie. I of course gave it to him and he loves it. My wonderful little boy loves his Barbie doll. I couldn't be happier! Of course he laughed like crazy when I took her gown off and she was naked. But I'll take it. And now she's taking a bath with him (all I could think about was that her beautiful ringlets were going to be ruined! I guess I'm still such a girl inside).

Christmas and such

Santa came early this year, carrying a big bag o' presents. Since we're leaving Saturday for our grand adventure in New Zealand, we asked Santa to deliver most of the presents last weekend. Especially the big ones. Like C's new Batman Bike! It was a huge hit as expected. He is racing around the complex, feeling the wind in his hair, showing off to the girls... He really was in need of a new bike too. He had outgrown his tricycle and I felt a little bad watching his little legs peddling furiously as he tried to keep up with the big kids (and even kids his own age). Now he has a bike that is a little on the big side and has an adjustable seat, so it should last a while. LC didn't score nearly as big in the Christmas windfall. He has all of C's baby toys and doesn't know the difference anyway.

Christmas is more visible here than I had expected. There is Christmas music playing in the malls, decorations adorning shop windows, plenty of ornaments and fake Christmas trees. Thankfully it isn't overkill though; it doesn't make me want to throw up from all the dripping tinsel and jingle bells. It would be awfully silly if it were overdone anyway; it's already a little odd to see Christmas decorations in a Muslim country in the tropics.

In other news, C is really turning into a little boy. He has entered the "poopey head" phase. Evidently it is HILARIOUS! All of a sudden he will yell out, "poop!", and burst out laughing. He and his friends amuse each other endlessly yelling out different phrases with the word "poop" in it. I read that this is a healthy phase because they are developing their sense of humor, so I waver between laughing along or ignoring it depending on my mood. What I don't tolerate is the screaming. Agh. It's amazing how loud one 3 year old can be, and especially a group of them! He also seems to have a harder and harder time listening. We will repeatedly tell him no to something and he will do it anyway. The time-outs are returning with increased frequency lately, and we're getting quite sick of it. I'm bracing myself for the likelihood that this will last a while.

As for LC, he is entering into one of my all time favorite ages. I feel that for the first 6 months a parent is making a deposit on the fun and wonder that comes in the next 6 months. LC is rolling over more and more often. He is always quite happy with himself when he does it, until he realizes he's stuck on his belly. He is laughing more easily now as well. His father is particularly good at making him laugh and smile and he has a wonderful full giggly laugh that is totally addictive. He is sleeping better too most nights. He has slept through the night or straight through until 4 or 5 a number of times in the last week or two. There are 2 main problems though (there is always something, isn't there?). He wakes up too early. Sometimes he doesn't go back to sleep if he wakes up at 5, and he almost never goes back to sleep if he wakes up at 5:30. If we make it until 6 I feel fortunate. I think it's crazy for a 5 month old to wake up so early, but maybe it's common. The other problem is his sleep has become totally random. One night he'll sleep through the night, and the next he'll wake up 5 times. I rack my brain trying to figure out why, but I can never come up with a consistent reason. It's maddening. And of course now that he's rolling over more he's probably going to sleep poorly again. Plus we're going on a major trip that, based on our Bali trip experience, is going to totally mess him up again. I just pray it doesn't take us 5 weeks to get back on track!

What other bits of randomness can I tell you... Work is in the lull before the storm I think. January is certain to be crazy and I expect I'll have to work close to full time. It looks like I'm going to have to open a project office, manage it, hire employees, and both do and oversee the technical work for the project to be up and running in March, all on 50% time. It makes my belly flip over just thinking about it. So let's move on to...

Our vacation to New Zealand in 4 days! (I'm going to ignore the fact that we're quite unprepared for this). I can't wait for the majestic views, cooler temps and fresh air! We're spending 4 days in Queenstown, 4 days in Christchurch (one of which will be seeing my uncle who now lives nearby), 2 days in Auckland and 4 days with my Aussie host parents (from when I was an exchange student in high school) on this island west of Auckland. I think it's a good itinerary, except for the 2 kid factor. We may be a bit insane to do this; I hope we don't end up having a miserable time... This of course depends on LC and how well he sleeps for us and how hard of a time he gives us about his naps. Having a nanny is great for so many reasons, but the down side is that he's accustomed to only sleeping in his crib and won't sleep easily in the car or stroller. Let's hope he learns how quickly on this trip! When we planned it we knew it could be very challenging. But, we've never been to Asia before and we have a lot to see in this part of the world. So, we need to start before we run out of time.

So, I'll have lots to talk about in the new year, and hopefully I will have time to write. Here's wishing you all happy holidays, safe travels, good gifts, much merry making, and warm toes!

Happy December

I was going to wait until Christmas to post this photo, but I really can't wait. I mean, come on! can my son be ANY CUTER?! It feels like cruel and unusual punishment to deny you the joy of this photo for any length of time (yes, I know I'm such a modest mom). Plus, I'm hoping during our two Christmas celebrations we'll snap a couple more gems. Enjoy!