Joy in Indonesia: August 2011

I have been meaning to start a blog for several months now. The problem, really, is getting started. Other people's blogs interest me, make me cry or laugh. I have ideas that I would like to share, but none of them seems right for a first blog post. What is worth writing about to start out?

There are many beginnings in my life right now: beginning to live in a new place, learning a new language, being pregnant and giving birth for the first time--becoming a mother. Almost everything feels new!

Yet, at the same time, it's amazing how quickly we adapt to a new place. When we took Zoe to Jakarta to visit the American embassy and turn in her passport paperwork, I just wanted to go home. Home to Salatiga, to the house I'm living in for a year during language school. And looking out my windows at banana trees, red-and-white flags, and my neighbors' homes is so familiar. Only understanding part of the conversations around me also feels fine, now. Yes, I can communicate much better than I could when I arrived here in March, but I do not really mind that I sometimes do not know what people are saying. And even my little Zoe, who is still very new, is growing so quickly!

So, to honor what feels like the most significant beginning that I am a part of right now, my daughter Zoe's birth and life, I will share some pictures of her in her first day of life and current pictures!