A New Normal

I hardly know where to begin.  There are so many things that seemed very weird (or you could say "foreign") just a few months ago, but are "normal" now.  This is all part of adapting to living in a different culture and a different place.  I will share a few of these things with you, and pasti (definitely) write about more in a future blog entry.  :)

Transportation
Almost everyone drives a motorcycle or scooter here and the rules are:

1. Drive wherever you want (yes, officially you are supposed to drive on the left side of the road, but you can drive anywhere as long as you don't hit another vehicle, person, chicken, etc.).

2.  Transport as many people and as much stuff as possible.

3.  Bigger vehicles have the right-of-way (in other words, if you want to stay alive then don't get in the way of a bus!).

transporting goldfish

Babies/Children
Children and babies are universally loved and admired here.  I now expect almost every person I see to want to touch and/or talk about Zoe.  If I take her out of her carrier or stroller shopkeepers will hold her for me while I shop, people I just met will pass her around when I am visiting someone who had a family member die, neighbors and complete strangers offer to babysit her.  I love how Zoe breaks the ice for conversations.  I practice some very simple Indonesian:

"Tidur?" "Ya, dia tidur." "Dia mengantuk tetapi dia belum tidur." "Dia bangun."
(translation: "Is she sleeping?" "Yes, she's asleep." "She's tired but not yet sleeping." "She's awake.")

"Berapa bulan?" "Hampir enam." "Sudah besar, ya!"
("How many months old?" "Almost 6." "She's already big!" Saying that a baby or child is big, and even fat, is a compliment here.)

Zoe visiting with our neighbors

Children are so highly valued here that as soon as a couple gets married they start trying to have their first child.  After having one child it is normal to wait for a while (5 years or so) before having another.  And the government here strongly encourages families to only have two children (because of overpopulation).  Some people have more than two children, but they have to pay additional money to put their "extra" children through school.  There are billboards and signs on cars that say "Dua Anak Cukup" (Two Children Enough) and there is a picture of a person holding up two fingers, one that looks like a boy and one that looks like a girl.  My Indonesian friends ask why Americans often wait so long before having children.  Also, why do Americans have their children so close together?  And why such large families?  I realized that I am getting used to the culture here because I was not surprised when one of my teachers who got married in August got pregnant right away.  I understood that she was very happy and that I didn't need to feel sorry for her to have such a short amount of time to get to know her husband before having a child.  That is just not how people think about things here.  This is a hard culture to struggle with infertility in.  On the other hand, it is easy to figure out how long most people have been married...just add about a year to the age of their oldest child.

I think that I will write about more of my "new normal" another day.  I read recently that it is important to write often when you have a blog.  I have not been very good at this!  Language school started back up today so tonight I am writing as I procrastinate from doing my homework.

Blessings to all of you who are reading this. I hope it is interesting to you!  Please let me know if there are things about my experiences here in Indonesia that you would like me to share about.  :)

With love,
Joy