One of the surprising things about this super urban city is the amount of fruit trees and berry bushes everywhere. There may not be a lot of green grass but there are tiny strips of land around apartment buildings and whatnot (in my area). On those strips of land, fruit trees grow. In the summer, you can see fig trees, apricot trees, plum trees, and orange trees. Today, I saw what looks like a blackberry bush.
You could essentially live off the land here.
Just sharing an observation, that's all.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
Organizing
Ever since I returned from vacation about three weeks ago, I've noticed a surge of motivation, energy, alertness. Prior to vacation, I was in a fog, as I mentioned in a post, from being so tired, stressed, and too busy. My thinking processes slowed down to the rate of molasses and I was constantly forgetful (putting things in the wrong places, turning off lights in a room forgetting that someone was still occupying it, etc). Vacation helped and what's also helping is that I've weaned DB to two feedings a day. My body is becoming less taxed after nearly two years of growing a human being and then sustaining said human being with food. I remember the same surge of energy after I weaned A.
So, when I realized that a vacation week of making only two decisions daily (what to eat and whether to swim in the pool or sea) subsequently lifted the brain fog, I needed to simplify my life more. I can't eliminate much but I can super-organize it, as far as I am able with the unpredictable nature of my job and expat life that defies organization.
Now, I've never had to be a super-organized nerd - and I say "nerd" affectionately because I think all nerds are wonderful - because I didn't juggle so many things like I do currently. It doesn't mean I was less busy before but I was able to stay on top of things without needing an organizational tool or a calendar. I don't really have great organization skills.
To learn some organizational skills, I went to ol' reliable Google and stumbled on the concept of homemaking binder. A homemaking binder is simply a central place to keep everything in order to keep your home running (and whatever else you need to keep running). You keep everything you need in it and you can put in anything you want: contact list, birthday/anniversary list, daily/weekly/monthly planner, task list, cleaning schedule, meal planner/recipe lists/inventories, anything related to kids like school, activities, etc, home maintenance reminders, budget/financial planner, auto maintenance log, etc. You can find many printables on the Internet for free that you can print and fill out for your use -- and they're pretty printables, too :-) It's whatever you want the binder to be but the point is that everything is organized, listed, and put in one central place.
A central place seemed like a good idea, especially since I have no desk. I'm terrible because I keep the calendar on my computer and phone (which syncs with G's calendar so we can see each other's schedule and not double-book ourselves), the grocery list on the whiteboard in the kitchen, the meal planner is usually written down on a piece of paper or on the whiteboard, various stuff on my computer, and I write to-do lists in a notebook which I also jot down ideas and thoughts so the notebook itself is disorganized. The notebook is never in the same place and it migrates from the bedroom to living room to kitchen and back to living room.
So, I've started a binder and it's still a work in progress. My binder isn't just a homemaking binder; it's also a language and work binder. It will help me tremendously to use my time efficiently when I am focusing on language study with its various tasks and projects which are simultaneous so that's a lot of balls to juggle in the air. I can also schedule activities for the girls by keeping it all in the binder. I can also write down work-related tasks (not language) in one category, instead of intermixing the tasks with other tasks on one list so the list is just long and jumbled and not prioritized. Anyway, I could go on and on.
Even though my binder is still a work in progress, I already feel less stressed. I am finally adjusting to the hectic, unpredictable expat life, balancing work and family, and adjusting to the strange nature of my job that isn't like any 9-to-5 job in the States. I won't say that I've arrived but I am getting there.
Cheers!
So, when I realized that a vacation week of making only two decisions daily (what to eat and whether to swim in the pool or sea) subsequently lifted the brain fog, I needed to simplify my life more. I can't eliminate much but I can super-organize it, as far as I am able with the unpredictable nature of my job and expat life that defies organization.
Now, I've never had to be a super-organized nerd - and I say "nerd" affectionately because I think all nerds are wonderful - because I didn't juggle so many things like I do currently. It doesn't mean I was less busy before but I was able to stay on top of things without needing an organizational tool or a calendar. I don't really have great organization skills.
To learn some organizational skills, I went to ol' reliable Google and stumbled on the concept of homemaking binder. A homemaking binder is simply a central place to keep everything in order to keep your home running (and whatever else you need to keep running). You keep everything you need in it and you can put in anything you want: contact list, birthday/anniversary list, daily/weekly/monthly planner, task list, cleaning schedule, meal planner/recipe lists/inventories, anything related to kids like school, activities, etc, home maintenance reminders, budget/financial planner, auto maintenance log, etc. You can find many printables on the Internet for free that you can print and fill out for your use -- and they're pretty printables, too :-) It's whatever you want the binder to be but the point is that everything is organized, listed, and put in one central place.
A central place seemed like a good idea, especially since I have no desk. I'm terrible because I keep the calendar on my computer and phone (which syncs with G's calendar so we can see each other's schedule and not double-book ourselves), the grocery list on the whiteboard in the kitchen, the meal planner is usually written down on a piece of paper or on the whiteboard, various stuff on my computer, and I write to-do lists in a notebook which I also jot down ideas and thoughts so the notebook itself is disorganized. The notebook is never in the same place and it migrates from the bedroom to living room to kitchen and back to living room.
So, I've started a binder and it's still a work in progress. My binder isn't just a homemaking binder; it's also a language and work binder. It will help me tremendously to use my time efficiently when I am focusing on language study with its various tasks and projects which are simultaneous so that's a lot of balls to juggle in the air. I can also schedule activities for the girls by keeping it all in the binder. I can also write down work-related tasks (not language) in one category, instead of intermixing the tasks with other tasks on one list so the list is just long and jumbled and not prioritized. Anyway, I could go on and on.
Even though my binder is still a work in progress, I already feel less stressed. I am finally adjusting to the hectic, unpredictable expat life, balancing work and family, and adjusting to the strange nature of my job that isn't like any 9-to-5 job in the States. I won't say that I've arrived but I am getting there.
Cheers!
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Am I Cut Out For Motherhood?
As I went through college, I had many plans in my ambitious heart. I was going to have a career and make X amount of money, driven by a quest for security. Marriage was definitely in the plans and as for having children, I was absolutely devoid of any feelings about it. I didn't really see myself as a mother and, to be honest, I didn't have a great respect for motherhood. I suspect, looking back, I was influenced by rampant feminism which exalts career over motherhood. Be a homemaker who stays home with her kids? Not me.
Then, I became a believer just before my last year of college. My ambitions and fierce need for a hefty savings account to protect me from all the trials of the world slowly disappeared. I learned to put my self-worth and my security in the Son. The desire for marriage and the lack of maternal urge remained.
Since the Son changed the many plans in my heart, I didn't get a career that I envisioned. It wasn't because the choice was taken from me. Instead, I pursued the Son's calling on my life clear across the Atlantic Ocean to another country for two years without a single regret about the direction my life was taking. Then, I got married. I still had no urge to have kids but I wasn't opposed to them either. Motherhood seemed like such a thankless task. Almost uncool. I wasn't really suited for homemaking and motherhood because my gifts and skills lie elsewhere.
I actually chose and pursued motherhood with heartfelt prayers because a loss of a precious baby, who the Father planted in my heart to my surprise. My priorities and the many plans in my heart changed. After discovering that our baby no longer lived, I suddenly understood the value of a child and how motherhood was a noble calling. The loss changed me irrevocably.
With one baby in heaven, the Father has blessed us with two girls. Am I cut out for domesticity and motherhood now? Of course not. As I pointed out above, my gifts and skills lie elsewhere. My skills and gifts are not in hospitality, organizing, decorating, baking, teaching at a preschool level, making cool crafts with the kids, and things pertaining to homemaking and motherhood. I stumble through each day making mistakes and struggle with feelings of inadequacy often.
As I said, motherhood is a calling. If I have learned anything in my life about the numerous callings the Father placed on me, I was never equipped in the first place and the Father never abandoned me to obey His calling on my own. He always equips and brings about fruit. One doesn't have to have amazing parenting and homemaking skills to be a mother; the most important part is the grace the Father extends to a mother. The grace is bottomless and always sufficient. If my kids turn out to follow the Son with all their hearts, it will be because of His grace, not my skills or the lack of.
If anything, the feelings of inadequacy are the perfect sign that I am where I am supposed to be....completely reliant on His grace. That's the way to go.
PS: If you can't follow my thread of reasoning here, it's because I wrote this at midnight and I ought to be in bed.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Summer Time, Fourth of July, and Vacation
This summer has been really nice and cool so far. This morning, it's about 75 degrees outside with cool breezes running through the house. The temperatures climb into the mid-80s and it's still humid, as evident by the hair around my face curling into waves (not pretty ones). Our building heats up by the end of the day and if the breezes aren't blowing in the right direction, our apartment will get too still and warm. I would feel sorry for the girls when they play and their hair get plastered to their skulls with sweat. They spend their days in underwear and diaper, respectively. By 6:00, it's hot enough that we'll turn on the klima so the girls (and us adults) can cool down and get comfortable for bed. Some days, the building will heat up in the relentless sun and it's too warm to cook. Nevertheless, this summer has not been as hot as last summer. It was downright miserable then and I was in my last weeks of pregnancy on top of that.
With the breezes comes the dust. Our house is covered with a layer of dust. The soles of my feet are always dirty from walking around barefoot. Poor baby D, her knees and top of her feet are black from crawling around. It necessitates a new step to departing the house - wipe down her knees and feet so she'd be presentable to the outside world.
Another thing about summer is the summer produce. It's always so lovely to eat all summer long - the fresh, juicy fruit and light vegetables. We eat fruit here that we normally wouldn't in the States - a type of melon that, when cut up, goes nicely with chopped peaches; apricots; sweet cherries; green plums. We also eat the ordinary fruit like watermelon, grapes, kiwis, peaches, and nectarines. There is a store that sells a particular type of cherry tomatoes (here, they're called "seker domates" - sugar tomatoes) that I am obsessed with and I pop them into my mouth or eat them with feta cheese. DB seems to like every fruit I've offered to her, although she will only eat kiwi to a point.
We spent the Fourth of July at the beach on the Black Sea, just like last year. It was a bigger crowd this year and it was pretty fun. We didn't stay for s'mores and the sunset this time with an early bedtime for the littlest.
Two days after celebrating the Fourth, we left for a weeklong vacation in Cyprus with friends, Michelle and Shannon and their two girls about the same age as ours. They transferred their timeshare to a resort in Cyprus and invited us along. We stayed in a condo facing the sea and we watched gorgeous sunsets from the couch through the wide balcony doors thrown open to the breezes. The restaurant at the resort was staffed by Pakistanis and they made delicious Pakistani food. I couldn't eat enough of it. I was overjoyed to eat ethnic food, besides Turkish food and my own cooking. We rented a car and in Cyprus, they drive on the opposite side like Great Britain.
We mainly spent the vacation swimming in the pool where A was finally brave enough to put her face in the water and to jump into the pool without us catching her. She's turning into a fish and the sun is turning her into a brown nut (did I just mix my metaphors?). DB got her eighth tooth during vacation and loved the pool. On afternoons when she was crabby from teething and bad naps, she was easily lifted out of her crankiness by the spending time in the pool. The beach was nice, the waves were wonderful, and the Mediterranean Sea is warmer than the Black Sea.
We really needed a vacation. We were staying pretty busy and I had (and still do!) so much on my plate that my brain function was slowing. I was sinking into a fog, forgetting things, finding things in unusual places (for instance, a bag of curry powder in the freezer - ?!), and I could not think clearly. Case in point, I brought the camera for vacation but forgot the memory card. I also forgot floats, toys, books for the girls. You could call it the mommy brain but it's not; it has happened before I was ever married and having kids. It usually happens when I am stressed and have too much going on. It took about 6 days of vacation for the brain fog to finally clear and I felt more alert. The only decisions we had to make were whether we'd go to the pool or beach and what we were going to eat. I didn't have ten thousand things running through my head, anxiety over decisions to be made, a long to-do list, and the frustration of not being able to do it all (a job and raising a family). Ah, the simple life.
The monthlong fasting has started here so things seem to be pretty quiet. I am thankful for that. I know it sounds terrible but I confess that I look forward to the monthlong fasting, despite the reasons for their ritual. The city is just quieter and there is less traffic as people disappear to their summer homes out in the country or on the beach. The work of building relationships slows down for a bit and I can catch a bit of rest.
There is an express supermarket that is opening up one block over from our apartment and I'm pretty excited about it. The full-sized supermarket by the same name is in a mall that I drive to about once a month for pantry staples and paper items. Hopefully the express supermarket will carry everything I need and I don't have to make those monthly trips to the full-sized one anymore and daily trips to multiples stores. I mention this to provide a snapshot of our daily life - we go to multiple stores around our block everyday for fresh produce and for dinner ingredients. This express supermarket will cut down the time spent going to different stores and should have everything we need at a decent prices, even gluten-free items. Yay!
Here's a cultural tidbit: the folks here feed their babies differently than we do. For example, they don't have a problem feeding candy and ice cream to their babies and I don't do that with my babies. I'm always surprised when people give DB suckers, chocolate, and ice cream. The good thing is, they don't expect her to eat it right then so I'm always able to put their gifts away and eat it myself. Kind of a nice perk :-)
That's all I can think of to share. Even though I forgot the memory card to our camera, I took a few pictures with my phone. Here they are:
With the breezes comes the dust. Our house is covered with a layer of dust. The soles of my feet are always dirty from walking around barefoot. Poor baby D, her knees and top of her feet are black from crawling around. It necessitates a new step to departing the house - wipe down her knees and feet so she'd be presentable to the outside world.
Another thing about summer is the summer produce. It's always so lovely to eat all summer long - the fresh, juicy fruit and light vegetables. We eat fruit here that we normally wouldn't in the States - a type of melon that, when cut up, goes nicely with chopped peaches; apricots; sweet cherries; green plums. We also eat the ordinary fruit like watermelon, grapes, kiwis, peaches, and nectarines. There is a store that sells a particular type of cherry tomatoes (here, they're called "seker domates" - sugar tomatoes) that I am obsessed with and I pop them into my mouth or eat them with feta cheese. DB seems to like every fruit I've offered to her, although she will only eat kiwi to a point.
We spent the Fourth of July at the beach on the Black Sea, just like last year. It was a bigger crowd this year and it was pretty fun. We didn't stay for s'mores and the sunset this time with an early bedtime for the littlest.
Two days after celebrating the Fourth, we left for a weeklong vacation in Cyprus with friends, Michelle and Shannon and their two girls about the same age as ours. They transferred their timeshare to a resort in Cyprus and invited us along. We stayed in a condo facing the sea and we watched gorgeous sunsets from the couch through the wide balcony doors thrown open to the breezes. The restaurant at the resort was staffed by Pakistanis and they made delicious Pakistani food. I couldn't eat enough of it. I was overjoyed to eat ethnic food, besides Turkish food and my own cooking. We rented a car and in Cyprus, they drive on the opposite side like Great Britain.
We mainly spent the vacation swimming in the pool where A was finally brave enough to put her face in the water and to jump into the pool without us catching her. She's turning into a fish and the sun is turning her into a brown nut (did I just mix my metaphors?). DB got her eighth tooth during vacation and loved the pool. On afternoons when she was crabby from teething and bad naps, she was easily lifted out of her crankiness by the spending time in the pool. The beach was nice, the waves were wonderful, and the Mediterranean Sea is warmer than the Black Sea.
We really needed a vacation. We were staying pretty busy and I had (and still do!) so much on my plate that my brain function was slowing. I was sinking into a fog, forgetting things, finding things in unusual places (for instance, a bag of curry powder in the freezer - ?!), and I could not think clearly. Case in point, I brought the camera for vacation but forgot the memory card. I also forgot floats, toys, books for the girls. You could call it the mommy brain but it's not; it has happened before I was ever married and having kids. It usually happens when I am stressed and have too much going on. It took about 6 days of vacation for the brain fog to finally clear and I felt more alert. The only decisions we had to make were whether we'd go to the pool or beach and what we were going to eat. I didn't have ten thousand things running through my head, anxiety over decisions to be made, a long to-do list, and the frustration of not being able to do it all (a job and raising a family). Ah, the simple life.
The monthlong fasting has started here so things seem to be pretty quiet. I am thankful for that. I know it sounds terrible but I confess that I look forward to the monthlong fasting, despite the reasons for their ritual. The city is just quieter and there is less traffic as people disappear to their summer homes out in the country or on the beach. The work of building relationships slows down for a bit and I can catch a bit of rest.
There is an express supermarket that is opening up one block over from our apartment and I'm pretty excited about it. The full-sized supermarket by the same name is in a mall that I drive to about once a month for pantry staples and paper items. Hopefully the express supermarket will carry everything I need and I don't have to make those monthly trips to the full-sized one anymore and daily trips to multiples stores. I mention this to provide a snapshot of our daily life - we go to multiple stores around our block everyday for fresh produce and for dinner ingredients. This express supermarket will cut down the time spent going to different stores and should have everything we need at a decent prices, even gluten-free items. Yay!
Here's a cultural tidbit: the folks here feed their babies differently than we do. For example, they don't have a problem feeding candy and ice cream to their babies and I don't do that with my babies. I'm always surprised when people give DB suckers, chocolate, and ice cream. The good thing is, they don't expect her to eat it right then so I'm always able to put their gifts away and eat it myself. Kind of a nice perk :-)
That's all I can think of to share. Even though I forgot the memory card to our camera, I took a few pictures with my phone. Here they are:
 |
| 4th of July with other American expats |
 |
| The Black Sea, taken from the cliff. Can you spot people swimming? |
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| The first few minutes of acclimating to the wrong side of the car and the road |
 |
| Early morning view of the Mediterranean from the condo |
 |
| Our little water bug |
 |
| This picture doesn't do justice to the gorgeous sunset - taken from our balcony |
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Getting Used To It
Last night, I put on a dress, did my hair and make-up, and went out.
Alone.
G stayed behind and put the girls to bed. As I opened the front door and crossed the threshold, I felt as if I were stepping out of the hectic mommy life into a carefree life. As I walked to the bus stop, I savored not having my little girl strapped to my body and holding hands with my big girl or wrangling with a stroller while making sure A keeps her hand on the stroller as she walks along. I savored not having different thoughts running frantically through my mind of ten thousand things I had on my to-do list. I left all that at the threshold.
The weather is very lovely now. I am thankful that it is June and the temperatures are still in the 70s. The breezes are refreshing and I do not need to turn on the AC unit yet. I was perfectly comfortable while waiting for the bus.
I got on a bus and I spent the ride sending text messages with a dear friend in the States. Normally, I would be hanging onto the girls as the bus lurches and stops in the chaotic traffic.
At the third stop, I got off and I walked along a tramway lined with shops, window shopping a bit on the way. I turned left on a cobblestone street and stepped inside an art studio. I'd gotten dressed for a gallery opening.
The artist, an American, had done a collection of work over two years, painting different parts of this city. Her style was to take pictures of interesting features of different buildings and paint a composite of those photographs in one painting. Each painting represented an area of the city. I liked her style but found the color scheme much too dark for my taste. I wasn't planning to purchase a painting and the somber colors cinched it for me. I talked with the charming artist and complimented her technique and said nothing of her choices of colors. All the other attendees were unfamiliar Americans, sipping on refreshment. There was a guitarist and singer providing background music.
I talked with the studio owner and his wife. She led me to the back where she was holding a painting that G bought from another opening. We both walked up the cobblestone street and stopped by a framing shop, across from a beautiful, old Orthodox church. I'd been in there once during Mass and the church was completely empty. It was sad.
We discussed the frames, I selected one, and the worker said it would be ready in an hour.
I continued to talk with my friend as we headed back to the studio, enjoying the evening breezes coming off the water. She went inside to continue her hostess duties. I hung back and found messages on my phone from a mother of a young baby. We commiserated over bad naps, exhaustion, frustration over lack of time and productivity. I didn't really want to talk to the American strangers inside the studio.
I looked up from my phone. The man who framed my painting had brought the painting over in less than an hour. I paid him and found my friend and bid her goodbye.
As I waited for a bus, I marveled at how fairly empty the sidewalks and streets were for a Friday night. Possibly the protests have something to do with that. The first bus that stops at my bus stop came along. It was packed to the brim. I would be able to step just inside the door and not move an inch further. I let it pass.
I took the next bus which wasn't as packed but it filled up along the way. I squeezed out at my stop with my painting, its glass and frame intact.
The sun had already set but the sky was still light when I walked along the newly paved and widened sidewalk to my home. I suddenly realized that I was finally used to the city. I was actually enjoying it. I didn't mind the press of the crowd on the bus and hanging on for dear life while the bus careened around corners. I was really okay with the urban life, as long as I can get a break from it periodically. I was glad that I was out alone, not to have something else distracting me, and to muse over my adjustment to the city.
Maybe this city isn't so bad after all.
We have secured a place to live while we come back to the States for 6 months next year. It is cute little white house with a gigantic yard in North Carolina. I look forward to the open spaces, the big yard, the roads less traveled. Yet, I'm okay with this city.
I'm content in the here and the now.
Alone.
G stayed behind and put the girls to bed. As I opened the front door and crossed the threshold, I felt as if I were stepping out of the hectic mommy life into a carefree life. As I walked to the bus stop, I savored not having my little girl strapped to my body and holding hands with my big girl or wrangling with a stroller while making sure A keeps her hand on the stroller as she walks along. I savored not having different thoughts running frantically through my mind of ten thousand things I had on my to-do list. I left all that at the threshold.
The weather is very lovely now. I am thankful that it is June and the temperatures are still in the 70s. The breezes are refreshing and I do not need to turn on the AC unit yet. I was perfectly comfortable while waiting for the bus.
I got on a bus and I spent the ride sending text messages with a dear friend in the States. Normally, I would be hanging onto the girls as the bus lurches and stops in the chaotic traffic.
At the third stop, I got off and I walked along a tramway lined with shops, window shopping a bit on the way. I turned left on a cobblestone street and stepped inside an art studio. I'd gotten dressed for a gallery opening.
The artist, an American, had done a collection of work over two years, painting different parts of this city. Her style was to take pictures of interesting features of different buildings and paint a composite of those photographs in one painting. Each painting represented an area of the city. I liked her style but found the color scheme much too dark for my taste. I wasn't planning to purchase a painting and the somber colors cinched it for me. I talked with the charming artist and complimented her technique and said nothing of her choices of colors. All the other attendees were unfamiliar Americans, sipping on refreshment. There was a guitarist and singer providing background music.
I talked with the studio owner and his wife. She led me to the back where she was holding a painting that G bought from another opening. We both walked up the cobblestone street and stopped by a framing shop, across from a beautiful, old Orthodox church. I'd been in there once during Mass and the church was completely empty. It was sad.
We discussed the frames, I selected one, and the worker said it would be ready in an hour.
I continued to talk with my friend as we headed back to the studio, enjoying the evening breezes coming off the water. She went inside to continue her hostess duties. I hung back and found messages on my phone from a mother of a young baby. We commiserated over bad naps, exhaustion, frustration over lack of time and productivity. I didn't really want to talk to the American strangers inside the studio.
I looked up from my phone. The man who framed my painting had brought the painting over in less than an hour. I paid him and found my friend and bid her goodbye.
As I waited for a bus, I marveled at how fairly empty the sidewalks and streets were for a Friday night. Possibly the protests have something to do with that. The first bus that stops at my bus stop came along. It was packed to the brim. I would be able to step just inside the door and not move an inch further. I let it pass.
I took the next bus which wasn't as packed but it filled up along the way. I squeezed out at my stop with my painting, its glass and frame intact.
The sun had already set but the sky was still light when I walked along the newly paved and widened sidewalk to my home. I suddenly realized that I was finally used to the city. I was actually enjoying it. I didn't mind the press of the crowd on the bus and hanging on for dear life while the bus careened around corners. I was really okay with the urban life, as long as I can get a break from it periodically. I was glad that I was out alone, not to have something else distracting me, and to muse over my adjustment to the city.
Maybe this city isn't so bad after all.
We have secured a place to live while we come back to the States for 6 months next year. It is cute little white house with a gigantic yard in North Carolina. I look forward to the open spaces, the big yard, the roads less traveled. Yet, I'm okay with this city.
I'm content in the here and the now.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Protests
It's been about a week since protests have been going on here. I'm not going into why and how or offer an analysis and opinion. We are not citizens here and this is not our fight. I am sure you have seen on the news about the protests and you should have plenty of information from different news sources. The protests began with a simple issue and it has morphed into a bigger, complex issue involving the Prime Minister and his style of leadership. People are discontent and expressing it through protests and social media. Freedom of speech isn't sacred here as it is in the States and people have been arrested for "inciting protests" on social media. The government is monitoring the social media and tracking down addresses. So, for that reason, I err on extreme caution here on the blog.
The protests have spread to other cities mainly in the western part of the country. The eastern part is mostly aligned with the Prime Minister who share the same conservative values as they so they are silent. The western part is mostly secular who may not agree with the PM's actions. In my city, the protests are mainly on the other side of the Strait. On my side of the Strait, the only hint that anything is going on is when people begin banging pots, pans, cow bells, blowing whistles, honking horns, flashing lights, and marching through the streets and blocking traffic, every night at 9pm. They do this in solidarity with the protestors. Each night, the expression of solidarity decreases in the length. All the marches so far have been peaceful, although the protests in two hotspots in my city have drawn some clashes with the police, as in other cities.
The air here is supercharged with tension and excitement. It'll be interesting to see what will come out of this. I'm not sure protests here have any effect on the leadership and policies so my guess is that it will fizzle out. I'm amazed that it has lasted this long. It's not another Arab Spring, as some news sources are saying, because the characteristics are different. I wasn't surprised this would draw some news coverage but I am amazed at the sheer amount that it has garnered already. I think it's because of recent instability in the Middle East.
So, friends and family members, do not worry about us. Even if things change (and it can change swiftly), we are under very good care of our company who are monitoring the situation and send us daily updates, advice for our safety, and contingency plans. Our neighborhood is quiet and we have seen no marches or gatherings of any kind around our block. Life continues as usual; shops are open, buses are running, people are going about their daily business, and we are doing the same, albeit in an alert state.
We love you.
The protests have spread to other cities mainly in the western part of the country. The eastern part is mostly aligned with the Prime Minister who share the same conservative values as they so they are silent. The western part is mostly secular who may not agree with the PM's actions. In my city, the protests are mainly on the other side of the Strait. On my side of the Strait, the only hint that anything is going on is when people begin banging pots, pans, cow bells, blowing whistles, honking horns, flashing lights, and marching through the streets and blocking traffic, every night at 9pm. They do this in solidarity with the protestors. Each night, the expression of solidarity decreases in the length. All the marches so far have been peaceful, although the protests in two hotspots in my city have drawn some clashes with the police, as in other cities.
The air here is supercharged with tension and excitement. It'll be interesting to see what will come out of this. I'm not sure protests here have any effect on the leadership and policies so my guess is that it will fizzle out. I'm amazed that it has lasted this long. It's not another Arab Spring, as some news sources are saying, because the characteristics are different. I wasn't surprised this would draw some news coverage but I am amazed at the sheer amount that it has garnered already. I think it's because of recent instability in the Middle East.
So, friends and family members, do not worry about us. Even if things change (and it can change swiftly), we are under very good care of our company who are monitoring the situation and send us daily updates, advice for our safety, and contingency plans. Our neighborhood is quiet and we have seen no marches or gatherings of any kind around our block. Life continues as usual; shops are open, buses are running, people are going about their daily business, and we are doing the same, albeit in an alert state.
We love you.
Catch Up
The last time I posted, we were about to leave for two weeks in the States. We arrived at my father's in SC for a few days before heading to our conference in VA. It was Easter and A's birthday. We celebrated her birthday on my dad's back porch with cake and ice cream. The next day was Easter Sunday and we went to church with my dad and stepmom. After that, we spent about a week at the conference and my mom and stepfather were able to come up and spend time with Ava towards the end of our conference. Soon after, we returned here.
Spring here was long and very lovely with the temperatures gradually rising. It stayed in the 60s for a while and then in the 70s for another long while. In Florida, spring is about two weeks long, ha. We might see weather in the 70s before it climbs into the 90s and stay there until after September. Maybe I exaggerate but that is how I remember Florida. I have enjoyed seeing the trees bloom here and I appreciate spring so much more after a cold winter. Even now, it's early June and the temperatures are still in the 70s. The sun warms our faces while the cool breezes keep the sting of heat away.
We are continued language and I have just one more session left. I thought I would finish in early May but there were cancellations that just prolonged the ending. G went on a trip over Mother's Day weekend. He took A shopping before the trip for my gift and had all the gifts ready and stashed in his closet for me to find on Mother's Day. A made a present for me at school and also picked out a bag of colored glass rocks. G, instead of shooting down her idea, helped her by developing the gift idea more with a pretty glass jar and lid. It now sits in the bathroom with the blue glass rocks filling the jar.
Last week, we took a work trip out east where we could encourage friends there. Nothing spectacular happened except a pretty sunset, a fence covered in raw wool, and thunderstorms. In spite of the storms, it was still dry there and our lips were splitting.
I think that's all in a nutshell.
Spring here was long and very lovely with the temperatures gradually rising. It stayed in the 60s for a while and then in the 70s for another long while. In Florida, spring is about two weeks long, ha. We might see weather in the 70s before it climbs into the 90s and stay there until after September. Maybe I exaggerate but that is how I remember Florida. I have enjoyed seeing the trees bloom here and I appreciate spring so much more after a cold winter. Even now, it's early June and the temperatures are still in the 70s. The sun warms our faces while the cool breezes keep the sting of heat away.
We are continued language and I have just one more session left. I thought I would finish in early May but there were cancellations that just prolonged the ending. G went on a trip over Mother's Day weekend. He took A shopping before the trip for my gift and had all the gifts ready and stashed in his closet for me to find on Mother's Day. A made a present for me at school and also picked out a bag of colored glass rocks. G, instead of shooting down her idea, helped her by developing the gift idea more with a pretty glass jar and lid. It now sits in the bathroom with the blue glass rocks filling the jar.
Last week, we took a work trip out east where we could encourage friends there. Nothing spectacular happened except a pretty sunset, a fence covered in raw wool, and thunderstorms. In spite of the storms, it was still dry there and our lips were splitting.
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| Storm to the left, sun dropping behind the mountain |
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| Raw wool hanging out to dry before being sold to factories |
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| Wild poppies were blooming. I love the bright red splashes everywhere. |
I think that's all in a nutshell.