Bali

So it has been over a month since I last posted, wow, where has the time gone? We had a nice Halloween here and now it's straight into Christmas lights and blow up dwarves on the street corner. We thought we would sneak away from the cold and have a Thanksgiving trip somewhere warm, and that destination was Bali. Though there's a major credit crunch, we could be out of Asia next year and wouldn't we be so bummed if we hadn't done some travelling in this part of the world.  So, Bali, here we come...first of all, it's not as close as I thought. It's a seven hour flight from Tokyo, longer than to Hawaii from here. Close to Australia and Singapore. It's a strict kinda place. The sign at the airport as you are getting your VISA says, "DEATH to drug traffickers". And they are serious. I wanted to take a picture of that sign, but there was a no camera and cell phone sign. I interpret that as "DEATH to picture takers".  Security is tight on the island as the terrorists who orchestrated the bombing a few years ago that killed over 200 people, most Australians, at a night club were just executed.  On our entry into the gated Four Seasons Resort, the car (from the resort) had to turn off it's engine, pop the hood and trunk and two armed men along with a bomb sniffing dog circled the car.  I guess I was meant to feel safe after that. Also, note to self, try not to leave compound.

But actually we did leave one day on a guided tour of nearby villages that sell stone and wood sculptures, saw some traditional Barong dancing, and took the boys on a safari park ride.  But you can just literally do nothing but lounge around the beach and pool and feel quite contented. It's low season in November so the resort was quiet (and maybe credit crunch added to that as well). So it was honeymooners and us.  The boys absolutely loved the pools. We had a little plunge pool in our villa that they were very happy to pop into at 8am before breakfast.  Then it was off to the other pool near the Kids Club. Then as we got braver, we ventured to the adults pool at the top of the resort..the "quiet pool".  They looked very small paddling around this great big pool. Aidan fancied himself like Michael Phelps. He hadn't been in a deep pool before, but now armed with the floaties, he just jumped right in from the little ledge and kept wanting to do that over and over. He likes to stick his head under water oddly enough.  Conor became braver and was paddling around by himself, but doesn't have natural recklessness that Aidan has. All in all, it was a fantastic 4 days, we got a little sun burned and a few mosquitoes got through the netting, but we would definitely go back again.

Thank God for Sling Box

It took a while but I now have American TV via Sling Box...it's these little pleasures that make living abroad easier.  My laptop which is wired to some LA based location is then connected to the TV with some cables, and I have to manouver through 6 Japanese screens and voila, we have everything we did at home and more.  Most importantly, I have TEVO. And yes I am still watching Dancing with the Stars. I am rooting for Brooke "Fake Boobs" Burns...wasn't her ex husband Beverly Hills top plastic surgeon? More importantly (maybe), Paddy and I have been following the baseball. We spent the weekend mornings watching the Red Sox play the Rays.  There are many Red Sox fans here, walking around the hood of Hiroo.  I, like a dork, scream out "Go Red Sox" when I see a stranger is wearing a baseball cap of our beloved team.  It takes them a second to react since they think I am a meek Japanese housewife pushing the stroller around.  Good to surprise people once in awhile.

Shanghai (Not a) Surprise

For Paddy's 40th Birthday we went to Shanghai for a quick 36 hr trip without the kids. We flew out of the local airport here called Haneda which flies to Korea, HK and China. Upon arriving at Shanghai, we realized we had landed at their local airport as well, and not so bright and shiny. I had heard that from the international Shanghai airport, there is a train called the MagLev which magnetically levitates at its peak speed of 430km/hr, faster than the Shinkansen.  Cool, huh? Instead we got a shady taxi that literally drove up on the sidewalk, instead of the driveway, of the Fours Seasons. "Here" wasn't meant to be that literal. 

Paddy had been to Shanghai in 1996 before the construction boom and so the city was new to him as well in some ways. Back then there were two skyscrapers, now the tallest building in the world has just been finished (until Dubai finishes theirs).  We took a guided tour of the Old City, where even two Starbucks have managed to sneak in. In the Old City, there is a 3 acre walled garden that was very pretty, filled with koi fish. Shanghai is famous for its dumplings which we saw being assembly line produced with amazing speed. They had to with the line of people waiting to buy them.  

In the center of the city is a park called People's Park. In 8 months in 2001, the goverment relocated 5000 families from the center and built the park practically overnight. They say the quickest way to get rich is to wait for the government to move your home.  The sheer speed in which buildings go up shocked me. The tallest building (the one with the rectangle cut out at the top) was built in 1.5 years by Chinese that worked 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week.  There are no unions there I guess.

I was excited to have some authentic Chinese food and I have to say the soups are very good. Real wonton soup is quite delicious. The dim sum was also tasty but I have to say the Shanghai Noodles were a disappointment. They are thick and chewy and rather bland in their oily stir fry.  And still, the Chinese restaurants just don't seem to care about ambience. It's all about the food.

So all in all, it was an interesting experience. The city still feels like one that is under construction; they still have to deal with pollution. It has a good buzz, but calling it the Paris of the East may be a slight exaggeration.

Shoe Fettish

Slim Jim has been trying on a few new looks. Should we be worried?  Note a gigantic Pooh has arrived on the scene thanks to Uncle Jamie.

Happy Birthday Paddy!

I should have posted this yesterday but one day late isn't so bad...Happy 40th Birthday to Paddy. We are celebrating tonight with Jamie (Paddy's brother) who is in town for a few days. Here's to a fun and exciting year (and to not thinking about the markets)! Home made chocolate cake seen here not made by me...

Squeaky wheel always gets oiled

Our final weekend in Shimoda was a little cool and chilly so we went to the floating aquarium in town. There were gigantic turtles and some cool tanks with manta rays, which I can't help but think about that Australian animal lover who died after being freakishly pierced by one in the heart. Anyway, I digress.  There was a sea lion and dolphin show, and in typical form, Aidan was clapping hands and giggling while Conor was clinging on to Daddy for dear life. He asked to go pee about 5 times during the show as an escape route. Paddy does claim he was able to squirt out a little urine each time. I have noticed that this is his trick to leave any situation he doesn't like, knowing that his parents would never say no and risk the prospect of soiled undies.  So young yet so manipulative.  So Conor made and early exit from the dolphin show and found some small less scary fish...Nemos. And of course while I was in the ladies room at the gift shop, I emerged to find the largest Nemo sitting on his lap. Paddy the softy had agreed he could have it. I tried to bargain down to the smallest Nemo. Hey, there is a credit crisis going on and we cannot be buying the largest Nemo in the rip-off gift shop. Conor, like Congress, voted no and proudly carted off his Nemo. In the car riding home, it filled the space between the two car seats and Aidan could have cared less about the big orange fish. He's looking for some french fries.

First Few Weeks of School

I have been a bad mom and not posted any first day of school pictures but frankly, the whole time was stressful for not only the boys, but for me as well. Now that it has been a few weeks and they have settled into a groove, I can finally share the drama. The boys both attend Willowbrook International school, a 5 minute walk from our home. Conor goes 5 days a week from 8:30 to 2p (shockingly long for a 3yo, no?) and Aidan goes Tues/Thurs for half days.  At 17months, calling it school is a bit of a giggle. The first week I stayed with Aidan as part of transitioning for the young age group and was subjected to lots of silly songs. One particular song was called "Teddy Bear" and all the adults danced side to side like a drunk teddy bears. It's a prenap song, as all the teddy bears end up laying on the ground at the end.  I can handle hokey pokey but have to draw the line on "Teddy Bear". No fathers could have kept a straight face.  See what us moms are subjected to? This first week, since I was there, Aidan was like a cowboy in class..running everywhere,washing his hands constantly at the sink and  could have cared less about the singing (What clean up song?)... This week though, a different Aidan has emerged. At dropoff, I need to peel him off my body and hand him to the teacher as I run away. Five minutes later when I peak back after dropping Conor off, I find him still dramatically doing "fake"? heaves with his eyes still shut..no hysteria though. I am not worried about Aidan, he's a tough dude. Conor though is another story...

Since Conor has been here, his atopic dermatitis has acted up and he goes on fiendish missions of scratching, so I feared that the anxiety of school and teacher to student ratio (6:1) would leave poor old Conor in a corner scratching his knees and elbows all raw. And on top of that he is criminally shy and thus goes mute when around strangers.  So I expected the worse, and braced the teachers for such, and it was pretty painful the first week. He cried ALOT. Even when another student got close, he would cry. I even cried on the way home one day. I felt so bad making him go to school, the kid has had so many changes this past year. We moved 5 houses in 10months. He didn't see Paddy for 3 months. Now he is surrounded by a new language and dropped off with strangers for 6 hours a day. I feared the potty training would regress but thankfully, he has only had one poopy accident. I expected it would take a month but miraculously, with a lot of encouragement and Pooh stickers he just stopped crying at dropoff after a week and now, seems to almost rush into the school when we arrive. We get a daily newsletter with pictures of what the kids have done that day, and you could see in the beginning, Conor off in the corner looking out the window or seated on the teachers lap while the rest of the kids were on the floor listening to story time. They should have blacked out his eyes so I wouldn't realize that was my child being anti-social. And now, we see him playing with a hoola hoop or sitting on a chair by himself next to the kids on the floor (It seems Conor hates sitting on the floor!) He seems to be getting encouragement from the other older, more verbal children too. At home, he is singing clean up songs, "find a seat" song and another mysterious mealtime song which ends with Itadakimas! So, we are making progress and I will not be getting that stress ulcer.