Rats Prefer Snickers

Just in case you were wondering, rats prefer Snickers candy bars over other leading brands.  And here is the proof.

My parents sent a package recently with the above candy.  The rats, having successfully nibbled through the envelope, were met with a choice: Snickers, 3 Musketeers, or Buttefinger.  They ate all the Snickers, all but two of the 3 Musketeers, and left the Butterfinger unscathed.  That's about how I would have eaten them, as well.

Celebrations

In the life of an MAF pilot, the first day to solo in a new location is a significant event.  A few weeks ago, David made his first solo flight in Papua, and a crowd of MAF staff and national workers were on hand to give him a ceremonial water dousing.  

Luke and Zoe fill buckets as we wait for David to arrive.

The children managed to douse me as well.

So David's new schedule of rising very early (he likes to be airborne by 6) is having an effect on me, a wanna-be morning person but truth-be-told night owl.  Yesterday I was napping by eleven, after having already done several hours of chores and homeschooling with L and Z.  

Part of my fatigue is also due to post-party recovery.  I do this to myself every time one of the kid's birthdays rolls around.  I dream big, plan an ambitious party, and nearly kill myself in carrying it out.

Grace's birthday party was this past weekend, and she chose an "Around the World" theme.  It took a lot of prep and imagination; I found myself thinking more than once, "in the U.S. this party would be so easy: buy the chips, buy the salsa, buy the decorations, buy the pinata, buy the lasagna, buy, buy, buy!"  And here, it is make, make, make!  But, all said and done, it was very fun and totally worth it.

We set up Mexico out in the yard, where the girls snacked on chips and salsa and drank horchata (a rice-based drink) and whacked at a home-made pinata.

Then we journeyed to Hawaii, set up at a friend's house, where the girls sipped on pineapple juice, made a lei, then did a hula dance.  Very fun.

After that we had the main course in Italy, which was lasagna and Italian cream sodas.  

For our after-dinner tea, we traveled to Great Britain and solved mysteries.

We wrapped it up by having cake and ice cream in the good ol' U.S.A.  

A follow up to my last blog post about Carter's snake: he thinks she will soon lay eggs (still not sure how he knows this).  He is so sure, and I am still skeptical.  Recently he came home from school and told me, "Darryl wants one of the baby snakes, and so does Jonah." And I said....wait for it..."Don't count your snakes before they hatch."

**Warning to my mom and others with snake phobias - there are snake photos in this blog post!!!**


First, an update on the birds - they are gone!  Hallelujah, Amen.  It was not without a good bit of tree-banging and praying.  David said he heard them over by the airport one evening, squawking away.  They can stay over there and keep the airplanes company from now until eternity as far as I am concerned!


Right about the time the birds left us, we became caretakers of a new creature, this time a lovely green tree python.  See, this is how your children can change you.  If reptile-loving Carter weren't my child, I probably wouldn't find myself slamming on the brakes to check out a dead snake in the middle of the road like I did recently.  I digress.


Ever since we found out we'd be moving to Papua, Carter has been dreaming of having a green tree python as a pet.  He planned for it, researched it, purchased items when we were in America to go in a snake cage.  And two weeks ago Carter's "Verdi" came home (if you haven't read the children's book Verdi, you should - it's a great little story about a python who doesn't want to grow up and change.  Heartwarming.  Really.)


As Steve Irwin would say, isn't she a beauty?

This past weekend we hosted two Papuan girls, Mey and Ivan, from a local school that does English training and discipleship classes for high school graduates.  Part of their training requires them to do a home-stay with an international family for a weekend.  We tried to give them a "typical" American weekend (as typical as you can get in Papua) - a high school basketball game, waffles and cartoons on Saturday morning (our standing family tradition), and a cookout and games with friends.  We also decorated cookies for St. Patrick's day, but I spared them the green grits.  

They are sweet girls and I enjoyed getting to know them and learning about their culture a bit.  

So I started this blog post yesterday and because of internet issues I've had to finish it this morning, but that just gives me a chance to report on the crazy night we had.  First there was a massive thunderstorm that rolled through.  Then, at about 3 a.m., David shakes me and says "Earthquake!" I was so confused, but keenly aware of the bed shaking and the pictures on the wall rattling.  I stood up, wondering if I should go to the kids' room, not knowing how earthquakes work and if it would get stronger, and then it was done.

You can see a map and details here.  David is supposed to fly today to the area near the epicenter.  Between the earthquake, storms, and local people demonstrating every other day, Papua has proven to be a wild place!!

The Birds

I usually love birds.  I love to watch them fly, I love to hear them sing.  But lately, not so much.


We have had a major bird problem ever since we arrived in Papua.  It all started long before we arrived, when a large flock of starlings roosted in a neighbor's tree.  Every evening, for months, these birds would announce their presence with loud shrieks and chirps as they swooped in from all directions.  The neighbors finally got fed up with the birds, and cut down the tree.


So the birds moved all of 20 feet, to a tree in our yard.  When we first arrived and heard the birds, we were rather amazed.  They were SO loud, and SO punctual.  It was rather fascinating to watch them arrive - landing in the tree, flying up again and around the MAF base as if calling their friends to join them before coming to roost in our tree.


  I can't even describe how incredibly noisy these birds are.  They make a tremendous amount of noise when they first settle down for the night, but then any little noise or disturbance gets them all flustered and they squawk for 5 or 10 minutes before settling down again.  It's like there is a newborn in the house.  We tiptoe around, shushing each other, reminding each other not to slam a door or yell, lest we wake the birds.  It's ridiculous.


Noise can have an amazing effect on a person.  I was feeling sort of stressed out one day, and a friend pointed out to me that noise can be a huge stressor living overseas.  I hadn't really thought of noise as stress, but it's so true.


I remember my first visit back to the U.S. after living in Indonesia for two years, and how quiet it seemed.  I lay in bed at my parents' house, and there were no roosters crowing, no toads croaking, no mosque call, no motorcycles zooming by - nothing, but an ear-achingly quiet that almost throbbed in my ears.


In addition to our birds, we hear jet engines all day long (David would say that's a lovely sound; he is entitled to his opinion, I suppose), an Indonesian preschool (really, I don't mind that so much - I love hearing the kids belt out their abc's), and at least twice a week a drum and xylophone band practices next door.  After a few weeks of listening to them practice the Indonesian national anthem, Grace said in frustration, "You'd think they'd have that one down by now!"


So noise is a constant in our lives, and usually we are able to tune it out.  But these birds - they were getting to us, and last week we reached our breaking point.  My normally gentle, peace-loving husband started telling me how he's fantasizing about shotguns and a bird bloodbath.  We take turns in the evening going out to whack on the tree with a baseball bat to scare the birds and hope they will go roost elsewhere.  The birds, of course, don't think too highly of the bat treatment, and one night they gave David the ultimate bird insult.  After a whacking session he walked in with a large black blob of bird poop on his shirt, which only galvanized our resolve to rid ourselves of these birds once and for all.


And their feathers!  I haven't mentioned their feathers, which are all over our yard, and the little downy feathers make their way into the house, leading me to find a new meaning for the phrase *exercise in futility* - trying to sweep up feathers!


The past two nights the birds have swooped through the yard, and passed us by to go roost in a neighbor's tree.  We are hopeful, but I'm not ready to say the bird saga is over just yet.  The baseball bat sits by the door, ready to be grabbed and whacked.


If that doesnt work, does anyone have any ideas as to how we can rid ourselves of these birds???

Betah

It's been about a month since we first arrived in Papua.  Boxes are (mostly) unpacked, furniture is in place, we are in a school and work routine, and we are starting to feel "betah" - at home. 


Papua is vastly different from Kalimantan, in many ways.  The current weather season, for one, has taken some adjustment.  Right now it's angin barat or "west wind" season, and every afternoon, a mighty wind blows through the house, making the curtains fly...

...and blowing all kinds of dust and dirt into the house.  And that is something else that is different here - how quickly the floors get gross.  For now, I am choosing not to have a house helper, so I am working hard to stay on top of the chores - but really, that's not such a bad thing.  I recently wrote on the MAF blog about how the chores are good for me, which you can read here.   


Our days start earlier here, and that has been an adjustment.  If David is flying, he has to be at the hanger pretty early...

...so by mid-morning I feel ready for a nap!  David says the terrain interior where they fly is wild and beautiful, with mountain peaks reaching above 14,000 feet in places.

The people are beautiful, too, with a totally different look from the interior people of Borneo.  

Many of the people interior, and around the town where we live, use net bags called noken, which they hang from their heads.  It's amazing what they can carry in them.  Often in the afternoons an old grandma comes to our house, carrying several kilos of pineapples in her noken.  It makes my neck ache just to watch her.


Carter has been on the lookout for any new and different critters - especially of the reptilian variety - and while he isn't currently keeping a snake, the cage is all ready for one, just in case.  He was happy to spot this tree frog in a neighbor's tree.

I have missed my little canary Zip that I had in Borneo (sadly, we just learned of Zip's demise; rest in peace, little bird).  But I am so happy to have a pair of black and white songbirds living in a tree in our yard.  They sing and dance all day long, and are fun to watch.

Carter and Grace are adjusting well to their new school - I will try to blog about that soon - and Luke, Zoe, and I are enjoying our time together homeschooling this semester.


So...our work and school routines are falling into place, the house is arranged, we're adjusting to the climate...and now we're ready to look beyond ourselves and become involved in the local community.


One way we hope to do that is with the Papua Harapan School.  This school, started by an MAF'er a few years ago, exists to help Papuan children - especially ones from interior areas where educational options are limited - have the opportunity to get a quality education.  


This weekend, we, along with another MAF family, hosted a few of the Papua Harapan kids in our homes for a few hours of games and hanging out, just to get to know them.  They are amazing, intelligent, and fun children, and we thoroughly enjoyed being with them.  

We look forward to spending more time with these kids, and becoming more involved in the community.

First Impressions

The Borneo Mama has landed in Papua, but the tyranny of the urgent is keeping me from changing up my blog to reflect our change in location.  Bear with me!


We left Savannah a week ago on a cold and blustery morning.  After three days en route, we and our four kids, 17 suitcases, and 11 carry-ons, arrived in the city of Sentani.  I used to think traveling to Borneo was bad, but flying all the way across Indonesia added a whole new layer of fatigue to the trip.  It just seemed so wrong to travel so far west, then south, just to back east and north.  But - we made it.

Waiting to get our first glimpse of Papua

The flight arrived early morning and the views of the mountains and Lake Sentani were fantastic.

We live on the MAF base right across the street from the airport, so starting about 6 in the morning we can hear passenger announcements and airplane engines warming up.  Other new sounds for us are the voices of dozens of preschoolers singing their hearts out at the preschool across the fence from our house.  I was serenaded yesterday by a pair of black and white birds that were just lovely, but some not-so-lovely noisy birds come to roost in a tree by our yard every evening - literally hundreds of them, and they squawk and chirp and make the most racket.

Looming behind our house is Cyclops Mountain, which is often shrouded in clouds.  

The kids have enjoyed the playground that is on base.  Within a few hours of our arrival, our kids were running around the base with new friends.  I forgot how dirty my kids get living in Indonesia, from all the playing outside and sweating.  But they are happy!  

We've been working to get our house set up this week.  Thankfully all our stuff from Kalimantan had arrived and now it's just a matter of finding a place for everything.

Chaos reigns for the moment, but hopefully not for long.  I love my new kitchen!

All kinds of things are growing around our house - so far I've spotted pineapple, chili peppers, mango, papaya, and avacado.  

The MAF team here has been very gracious to help us with our settling in.  They've provided meals, helped us unpack, taken us around town, and answered our questions.  Even though we've lived in Indonesia for a while, this is definitely a different Indonesia than where we were before, and it's going to take some time to acclimate.  But we are excited and grateful to be here!


Back to the unpacking!

A rare moment - sitting together with both of my brothers.  Hooray for Christmas togetherness!!!


Every Christmas my dad gets a cake.  A few years ago he wanted a cake that said, "Happy Birthday Jesus" and instead it came out "Happy Birthday, Red".  Last year he asked that "nothing" be put on the cake.  So they had a cake with "Nothing" in nice red letters.  This is what he got this year:

Dad said he wanted one word to encapsulate our Christmas this year, and this was it.


I guess it is a little chaotic, but it sure is fun.  The kids are running around like crazy, the kitchen is overflowing with good things to eat, and my brothers are keeping us entertained on piano and guitar.  

We spent a few days in the country with David's family, having Christmas with them.  It's so peaceful where they live; I took several walks around their property to soak in the quiet. 

The kids enjoyed time with their grandparents, making cookies, and checking out library books.

Zoe, accommpanied by her very musical grandmother, sang "Away in a Manger" for us.

Last week we took Carter and Grace on a field trip to court to see their grandfather in action.  We watched as he weighed evidence then made decisions as to whether young offenders had to stay in detention until their trials, or if they could go home.  I think it was sobering for C and G to see kids - some who were their ages - come shuffling in to the courtroom in shackles and handcuffs for their hearing.  It was heartbreaking to hear the proceedings for one boy who had served his time, but had a mother who said she didn't want him, and no one else who could take him.  I couldn't see his face, but I could tell from the slump of his shoulders that he felt no one cared about him.  I almost stood up and shouted, "We'll take him!" as he was taken back into detention to await a foster home.

Another field trip we were able to do recently was a tour of Savannah.  I forget that my kids haven't grown up here, and don't know all the history - the city's as well as our family's history, so we started at Bethesda, where D's family served as house parents, then went on to see our various homes over the years, and the Baptist Center, where my grandfather pastored.

The Indian chief Tomochichi's grave

Then Aunt Mary came to town, and her visit included a trip to one of our favorite places, the Tea Room.

This furlough the kids have really enjoyed taking part in children's activities at church.  Zoe was able to dance as an angel in the Christmas program, and she loved every minute of it - especially wearing a costume.

A few random photos:

Recently we saw this white sparrow - which is apparently quite rare - at my parents' bird feeder.  It made the kids miss our little canary that we left behind in Indonesia. 

Oh, the love of a grandmother, that would allow a granddaughter to go crazy with the face paints.

Today we had to stop by Wal-Mart and it was a complete zoo. I couldn't believe all the masses of people, and all the masses of stuff the masses of people were buying.  This is the part of Christmas in America that drives me crazy, and makes me yearn for our simple Christmases in Indonesia.  

But there are definitely aspects of Christmas here that we love, the first thing being family.  Other things that come to mind are cooler weather, fun Christmas activities in the community, and ready-made eggnog.  

My computer keeps crashing, and I am taking it as a sign to finish this and get to bed so I can get up early to be the first to say "Christmas Eve Gift!" (first one to say it gets a gift - so goes our family tradition).  

Merry Christmas, dear readers!  May you be blessed beyond measure this Christmas season.