The other day my big girl’s tooth fell out and I said automatically, “Just wait for the tooth fairy to come” and she replied, “I know the tooth fairy is just you and babeh (dad) and so is Santa.” I looked at my sweet husband, who had no idea what was going on because hisContinue reading “I Think I Wanna Be a Daydream Believer”
Category Archives: Discovering the City
Why Does Yoga Class Always Make Me Cry?
I have a brain that is custom-built for non-stop pondering. Come to think of it, “pondering” seems like too gentle a word for what goes on in my mind. It’s more like a round trip of planning, doubting, freaking out, worrying, appreciating for a moment, and then, bam, worrying, planning, and around and around itContinue reading “Why Does Yoga Class Always Make Me Cry?”
A Year of Brain Freeze
I have had quite a year of it. I moved to Bali. I went a little crazy. I started a new job. I had yet another rooster moved. I scurried around, ducking and weaving from the constant noise; a rooster here, a jackhammer there, the constant banging of construction, and the thumping bass shaking myContinue reading “A Year of Brain Freeze”
A Love Letter to Jakarta
Well Jakarta. It’s time to say goodbye. Seems like only yesterday that I was reading the Lonely Planet when deciding whether or not to take a job in this city. The Guide said, “Stay away from this city unless you like bad air, rubbish and endless traffic that never moves”. That was 12 years ago,Continue reading “A Love Letter to Jakarta”
“Educating the Loss of Identity” or “Let the Children Be the Teachers”
Through these Covid times with school shutdowns and everyone trying to homeschool their kids and make sense of each subject and ask their children to sit down and be quiet and listen as the teacher talks to them through the screen, we may start to be reminded of our own education. And how we neverContinue reading ““Educating the Loss of Identity” or “Let the Children Be the Teachers””
A Public Service Announcement for Men
Hey men. I heard a rumour that you don’t like women. I heard that you don’t like listening to music or watching movies or reading books made by women. Or about women. I heard that if you walk into a room and it’s a bunch of women sitting around that you want to slink rightContinue reading “A Public Service Announcement for Men”
Does My Bum Look Big in Covid?
In the words of the great philosopher, Boom Crash Opera, “These here are crazy times”. Here we all are working from our bedrooms, scared that we won’t see our families for an indeterminate period of time, going crazy with the anxiety of the unknown future, how long this will go on for, whether our children’sContinue reading “Does My Bum Look Big in Covid?”
Feeling a Little Merdeka
I am really feeling the buzz of Indonesia Independence Day this year more than any other. I don’t know if it’s the joy of a public holiday, the excitement of the kids playing traditional games outside or the resounding cries of “Merdeka” blasting out from the houses in my area as the Indonesian anthem playsContinue reading “Feeling a Little Merdeka”
The Jakarta Clash: Do I Stay or Do I Go?
The other day a friend shared a message from Facebook to our chat where the start of the post read “I would like to highlight how a sprawling, chaotic country approaches the Covid 19” and I took a breath – did I want to open up this message and the whole can of worms ofContinue reading “The Jakarta Clash: Do I Stay or Do I Go?”
What on Earth is a Kampung?
If you have never been to Jakarta, or Indonesia, you may never have seen or heard of a kampung. Basically it’s a village community which maybe, in some places, is surrounded by rice fields or plantations of some kind, whereas in Jakarta it may be right beside a huge shopping mall, or just behind yourContinue reading “What on Earth is a Kampung?”
Lost in the Alley Ways 