Goodbye

It was exactly a month now.

This is how Sorowako said goodbye to us

This was when Hiro just heard that we're leaving. He called Mat and told him that he wanted to drink that night. We had a good drink and dance with our friends. Thanks for the supports!

Crafting/Sewing group.

Thanks for the super yummy seafood lunch in Lampia, and the beautiful kebaya :)

I should have been packing when Juno came with a bottle of African alcohol (hey, can't remember the name!). Hiro ended up having dinner in Karebbe again that night haha.

It was supposed to be a surprised farewell party. Too bad Jeff sent me an email that he wouldn't come hahaha. Thanks for arranging this, Mariko & Miwa!

And this was really a surprise! - with SWL ladies

With Hiro's colleagues and staffs in Karebbe

Our last HASH - and circle

How the school said goodbye to Iki

Thanks for sending us at the airport

Salonsa area - where we lived- from INCO's airplane :p. Thanks God we got flight!!!

There were even my lovely friends saying goodbye to us in Manado

And I think this would be my last post about Sorowako...... Goodbye...... :)

Things I'm glad I did in Sorowako

We moved out of Sorowako for almost a month already. How time fled away!

Sometimes I wished that I am still dreaming. That when I'm awake later, we would still be

in our green house in Melati 40. Would still see our maid Maria first thing in the morning cleaning up my kitchen. Boy, she is one thing I miss the most about Sorowako!!!

I didn't write much about our lifein Sorowako when I still lived there. too bad!!! I always used "too busy" as

an excuse, but now I regretted. I want to be able to read our memory living there in the next ten years just simply by reading this blog again ;p

This would be a long post, I bet. Because within 1.3 years our life in Sorowako, there were sooo much things happened, unwritten :(

Partying. They all were lots of fun, eventhough most of the parties are actually farewell parties. Seriously, I didn't expect such party in the middle of jungle like sorowako!!!!

I miss the monday morning coffee, when the ladies gather to share some stories or planning of the week. The wives Gin and Tonic o'clock, when usually Hiro had to have dinner in Karebbe because I was too drunk to cook for him. The unique Baby shower. Canasta cards game, though I just came for coffee because I don't play cards. Also the house crawl, when wives 'crawl' from one house to another for afternoon cocktails. Boy, it was soooo much fun.

Not to mention the kids' party, usually birthday parties. Iki had his birthday twice in Sorowako. I had birthday surprise for Hiro last october at TAB (where the community have dinner together every wednesday). Where else in the world two toddlers could sit on the bar drinking soda, eating peanuts, while talking to the bartender?!

The SWL (Sorowako Women League), a community where all women - expatriates and locals- gather to party haha! Living in the jungle can make women very creative!!

The mining tour, with the SWL ladies. I am really glad I joined them to visit the INCO mine!! It was really once in a lifetime experience!!! Breathtaking view, and amazing experience. Eventhough then our bus got stuck in the mud and we had to wait for about 1 hour under Indonesia"s midday sun for help.

Sewing/Crafting club, which is held every Tuesday. At first I only came for coffee and chit chat, but then i started bringing my jewelry making kits and enjoyed making beautiful pieces there!!

I learnt to make a pretty handbag too from Mariko, and yes I did finished it in a month!!

Sorowako Volunteer Community (SVC). We did a lot together, ladies! Milk run, school visit, garage sale, and all the meetings. I won't forget waiting for the always-late-for-one-hour bus for the milk run. I won't forget when our bus got stuck in the mud during school visit in Malili. I won't forget the meetings (eventhough boring sometimes :p). I won't forget little Abrar and Sisfriani.....

Golfing

I started golfing in Sorowako. It was damn 10,000 IDR for 9 holes game. Where in the world you could play golf with such price?!?!?!

I miss mariko and juno now, and our morning golfing together. Also the super talkative Christina Andersen who always brought camera during golfing. Too bad I didn't get the pictures from her before she left....

I am not a good player but I miss golfing...

The food.

*drooling mode: ON*

Mie ayam and bakso Pak Untung, coto makassar in Pasar F, pisang ijo, kepiting saos padang n cumi black pepper saucenya Lampia, and KAPURUNG!!!!! I miss Rud and his best kapurung. I really love kapurung, so million thanks to Rud and Anisah to cook it for me just before I left Sorowako :)

Sports.

I did a lot of sports in Sorowako. Boxercise, jogging, hashing, golfing, belly dancing, touch rugby and basketball. I was in good shape there. There's always Maria or Marhana taking care of Iki so I had all the time for exercising!

Our vacation.

We were always nervous before vacation, because we always didn't know until the day before if we could get flight from sorowako-makassar or not. It's INCO's flight, and our company is only contractor so we could only get leftover seats. It was only 45 minutes flight to makassar, but if we dont get flight, it would be at least 12 hours drive!!! Iki always got car sick whenever we had to drive....!

Anyway we were glad we went to Bali, Moyo Island (Amanwana), and Kuala Lumpur for our vacation during our staying in Sorowako. Iki and I also had short holiday together with the ladies from Sorowako. It was my first time shopping after drinking wine. Boy....felt sooo good, though the next day I was pretty surprised to see how much I shopped hahaha

Rafting.

We really miss our green raft. We went to the lake like almost every weekend!!

We spent new year's eve on the raft. It was beautiful day, breathtaking sunset, and perfect full moon, but then thunderstorm came after dinner time. Scary. Really scary. I was thinking if we were really crazy. Floating on a steel boat in the middle of the lake during thunderstorm?!?!?!

we got sooo much mosquito bites. How stupid, we didn't bring insect repellant in the jungle!!! But then we had the most beautiful sunrise. Japanese has to see sunrise on New Year day, so it was definitely an unforgettable New Year for Hiro. Especially to be able to eat Japanese new year food like ozouni and osechi on the lake. Too bad I left the soba for New Year's eve at home!!! (I just brought the soup haha)

We did our last rafting, and I was really really glad to (at last) jump from our diving range. Well, I used floaties, but hey....Matano Lake is one of the world's deepest lake!!

And I miss our green house on Jalan Melati 40. I miss the flowers from our garden and the tree house too. Look at the picture, Hiro could even play golf in our garden LOL. And most of all, I miss having my pretty nails!!!!!!!

I miss sorowako. It was our home for 1.5 year only, but it has a very special place in our heart.

Tante2 belajar ski :p

Just got back home. My whole body is painful, from toes to my fingertips!!!......We went to Shiga, Nagano again for one night ski and onsen trip. After spending my birthday freezingly waiting for Hiro training Iki skiing again, at last today morning Hiro made me did my first ski ever.

So I am 30 and just started ski. Of course I fell down for sooo many times, and the Almighty Trainer kept shouting at me impatiently. I completely understood iki's feeling now. All his pain and tears during his training with Hiro. I felt like crying too. At the end I was all sweating and had no power to stand up anymore. All my OLD bones and muscles are screaming now :p

I am too scared to imagine our next ski trip. On our way home Hiro mentioned it already, perhaps sometime pretty soon. I usually strongly said no to ski until last night, when he said that he went up to top of the mountain alone, and see a breathtaking view. View he wanted to share with his family. He said that he hoped someday the three of us could go up there to see it (and the only way to fulfill it is that me skiing down with them). Hopefully he won't be too old by the time me and Iki could ski properly hahaha

The Big THREE

It's now 00:03. I turned 30 exactly 3 minutes ago. OMG, 30!! though whenever I look at the mirror I still think that I'm 27 hahaha!

Just finished manicuring my nails. With no color anymore now. This never ending houseworks will just ruined it the next day. It's good to spend the last seconds of my 20's doing something I enjoy: cleaning the cuticles :p. At least tomorrow morning I will have clean nails :D.

I don't know how it feels to be thirty. Last year me and my good friend in Sorowako whose birthday at the same month planned to have a tequila party at my place. Because according to her, turning 30 is a BIg thing, that MUST be celebrated hahaha. But alas now we are in Tokyo. Instead of partying all night long, I said goodbye to my being 20's alone in my cold living room. But this way I get more chance to think of how life brought me up to this point, and wondering where would it bring me next.

We are going to Shiga, Nagano again for ski tomorrow. Hiro and Iki, I mean. I can't ski, so I will spend my big thirty birthday waiting and watching my beloved ones skiing. I kept saying that I would wait inside a restaurant, but at the end I just enjoyed being frozen while watching how my little boy learnt and got better.

Anyway, Happy Birthday to me. No cake, no party, but full of surprises from my bestfriends. Thanks God for the great 30 years of life. Bye bye 20s, I am now ready to be 30's (with 20's appearance! hahah)

mommy's bike

this kind of bicycle is all around tokyo. its like one of main transportations, esp for mommies. with childseat and basket to put on groceries.

its my first time riding it today. i cant remember when was the last time i rode bike. perhaps in junior high school?!, but amazingly i could safely brought iki on it today haha. we went to kumon's trial class and then public library with my friend tomomi. too far to walk, so she lent me a bike from her friend. i cant believe i did it, pretty good! i should have asked a bicycle for my birthday gift!

ski

today was iki's second real ski, and he is pretty good already. he could slide by himself already. his problem is that he cant stop! which is a very big problem hahaha!

he loves ski as much as hiro loves it. i think he would be even better ski player than his father? :p

tomorrow they will ski again. and me? poor me is always freezing waiting for them. well, i cant even walk properly on the snow haha

yochien

its iki's first day at school today. at first he was shocked and shy to see a lot of children (the school in sorowako was a small school), but then suddenly he started to talk talk and talk in english. i knew he would be fine so i just left him afterwards. he was fine. when i picked him up later at 2pm, he just said hi, gave me a hug and then ran away with his friends.
he told me at home that he loved school and made many new friends, but he couldnt remember any name haha. oh boy...

first night

we moved in today. to the same apt building where we used to live before, on the lower floor. we've been busy unpacking the whole day and now the house is still a total mess.
iki can't start school yet. his leg was injured in manado and he can't walk at all now. i regret that i left the stroller in sorowako @_@. i have to carry him everywhere.

oh well...time for rest now. tokyo is snowing on our very first night in this house.but i think i am ready with my thick pajama,wool socks, dawn blanket and of course electric blanket too!!!!