"The worst Easter Ever"

This past weekend has had some highs and lows. But at the end of it all Chloe dubbed it the "Worst Easter Ever."

The worst part of the weekend was an old and dear friend concluded a protracted battle with breast cancer and died on Easter Sunday. She was young and leaves behind a young family who now are profoundly grieving. Extreme pain accompanied the cancer so she is relieved of that awful reality but making it all the more heart wrenching she married her long-time partner last week.

It was surreal to be in Bali and be checking Facebook to find out how she was doing. The posts, from her beloved and unbelievably devoted sister, told us about her wedding including photos of that special day. There were many congratulations and well-wishes for matrimonial happiness all tinged by the sad reality of her illness. And then, sadly, but a few days later RIP.

Chloe and Ava have been really sad about the little boy who now has no mother. It seems to have hit them as a shocking idea. Watching their eyes grow wide as that possibility works is way through their brains is interesting. I know it's making me even more thankful for what we have and I hope it will do the same for them. They very sweetly wanted to do something for the little boy whose mother passed away. On the brainstorming list was taking him to the PNE, to Jasper, and extravagant gifts. But we talked our way through those ideas and Ava consulted her "Smart Girls' Guide to Manners" book and is now thinking of writing him a letter. But really, there is nothing that will make this boy's loss better.

In light of that devastating news nothing actually compares. If you're a child with unrealized expectations of a family day or whose chickens die there are other sources of sadness.

Alex was involved in an Ultimate Frisbee tournament this past weekend and we rented a villa near the beach with another family who has two daughters who are friends of Chloe and Ava.

The guys played Ultimate for the Bali Boolay's (Gringos) against teams from Australia, Singapore and Jakarta while their families hung out doing other things.

Ava had a little crisis moment when coming home from the banquet after the Frisbee tournament. She was talking very earnestly to her friend who had a totally blank look on her face. I asked what was up and she wanted to know if the earth wasn't here and the solar system wasn't here what would be there. And if it was nothing, how would we know it was nothing because we wouldn't be there to know anything? And how could she be sure that she was herself anyway and that there actually is an earth and a solar system? She became panicked and said "this is really scaring me, Mom." Her first existentialist crisis.

On Sunday we took the girls to a family Easter "Egg-stravangaza" at a big restaurant on the beach front. The day was beautiful, the sun was shining, there was live music, great crafts for kids, hanging out with friends, body surfing and boogie boarding on the beach in front of the restaurant. But somehow the Easter Sundays where we hunt for eggs in the frozen back yard are apparently much better and both Chloe and Ava expressed their disappointment with the Easter Bunny. Sigh...

We arrived home last night to learn that three of our four Bali chickens died. Chloe was devastated and worried that she didn't care for them well enough. She has been very dedicated and done a great job making sure they're fed and kept happy. The sad thing is that they caught some sort of virus which we're told comes once a year through Bali and has no treatment. Chloe said in a very sad moment tonight, "I've never had so many things die that I care about all at once."

Guess this is life. Highs, lows and everything in between...

Riah

Eat Pray Love: Another day in paradise or a fool's errand?

Those who have read or watched Eat Pray Love will remember Elizabeth Gilbert's journey to Bali happened because on a previous trip she met a local fortune teller, Ketut Liyer, who told her she would return to help him. So in her now famous year of eating, praying and then loving she returned to Bali and the rest is history (and a international best selling book and a block-buster movie).

So here we are in Ubud, Bali and we live not far from Elizabeth Gilbert's famous soothsayer. Our driver, Made, knows of him and today he brought Alex, me and my sister, Sascha to have our fortunes told.

We arrived at a typical Balinese family compound with a sign outside that read:

Mr. Ketut Liyer, Medicine Man, Healing and Meditation, Palm Reading, Balinese Astrology, Painter and Woodcarver and Home Stay.

The compound seemed to consist of several buildings including a kitchen, little houses for sleeping, a washing area and a temple along with the requisite Bali dogs, some cats and caged birds. In addition to the typical family compound set up this one also had several waiting room type chairs, a fridge full of overpriced beverages and deli-counter-style numbers to secure a place in line. There were five other foreigners in the yard waiting to see Ketut and the Balinese drivers sat on the sidelines reading newspapers and talking on cell phones waiting for their clients.

After about an hour Sascha had her turn with the fortune teller. I had gone off on an errand and didn't catch what she had been told. When she was done I sat down on a palm leaf mat next to this elderly man of uncertain age. He wears a sarong and has very few teeth left; when he laughs, which he often does, there is a lone prominent front tooth visible. Ketut was very enthusiastic as I sat down repeating “oh, so so so pretty, hehehe;” the actor in the movie did a very good depiction of him so if you've seen the movie you can imagine it all! He was very warm and sweet.

Here is my fortune:

• I am going to live until 100 years.

• I am going to be very rich, “you understand rich?”

• I will have only one husband.

• He cautioned Alex not to work at night because some man may come to the house in the middle of the night and whistle and all will be lost for Alex.

• If we break up with each other it would be “very very bad.”

• I should not drive fast because there are too many traffic accidents so we should drive slowly and carefully.

• When he asked me what work I do I told him I'm a nurse but that I don't have job. He looked alarmed. “Why no job?” I said “for resting,” which didn't appease him. So Alex and I both tried “for looking after children.” Still not settled. He looked me carefully in my eyes and said “Oh, no, you must get job when you get home.” He suggested if I don't I won't be able to work ever again.” Geeze. Just as I'm getting to be quite comfortable in my mini-retirement looking after children here comes this guy telling me I have to get a job again. Sheesh!

So there I was feeling rather satisfied at my good fortune, and then Alex sat down and I overheard his fortune. While I'm delighted that he also has a good fortune, it was exactly the same as mine. The difference between our fortunes was that he told me to get a job and Alex that he is very powerful and influential and should write papers to help people (this before knowing Alex's profession or penchant for research).

And after the session Sascha told me that she had also the exact same fortune. And Alex told me that the woman he chatted with from London, Ontario, had told him she got the same fortune too. So it seems that the soothsayer's real genius is knowing that foreigners will pay for a promise of a good life. Although we had previously been told that the price is “an offering” (whatever the person wants to give or can give is acceptable) we were told by one of Ketut's handlers (his son) that the fee is 250 000 IDR. This amounts to about $30 which is a veritable fortune in Bali. Sascha, Alex and I all gladly paid the fee and went on our way with the confidence of knowing we will be happy, rich, and live until 100 years old...

Sascha describes the experience as an expensive compliment...

Riah

Anika Visits Me

My visit with Anika was fun, super, awesome, lovely, happy, fresh, impressive, and wonderfully nice.

Highlight number 1: Pizza at Three Monkeys. Getting to go for pizza at my favourite restauarant in Bali, the Three Monkeys with my friend Anika was spectacular and the drinks we had were off the roof. We had mocktails that were rainbow.

Highlight number 2: Getting to learnhow to scuba dive on Gili Trawangan. With Anika we went to Gili T for five days. On the second day we were there we went for an intro PADI course to see if we wanted to learn how to dive. We had a great instructor named Vanessa. On the first day we learned the basics and we went to the pool first. In the pool we got to put on the diving equipment and practice diving skills before we would hit the ocean.

After our little pool session went to our place next door and hit the sack.

The next day we went into the ocean and got to see a lot of fish. We saw clown fish, rainbow fish, puffer fish and rock fish and way more fish than I could have imagined. While we were under we had an unexpected encounter with a Trigger Fish. It attacked us as our instructor Vanessa held us up high while she kicked off the trigger fish with her fins. It was kind of creepy. After the trigger fish we got out of the water and went in to shore. After the diving and ever since my ears have been hurting a lot. It feels like I'm on an airplane and when I yawn my ears pop. I do not want to go diving again because of my sensitive ears.

Highlight number 3: Waterbom (a big water park). The opportunity of going to Waterbom and going on crazy scary water slides plus tubing little rivers and down water slides was great. But including Anika it was even better. I liked it because we could go on double tubes together and we could go down more water slides because our weight would be more. Some water slides you had to be a certain weight and by putting us together we were like the weight of an adult.

What was special about the visit? My best friend, Anika, had come from the other side of the world to see me and my family and to do all of this cool stuff (including surfing) with me.

by Chloë

BALI by Chloe

Beautiful Bali full of culture, character, love and life

An outstanding assortment of species that includes animals and plants

Lots of rice paddies as far as the eye can see

Inspirational music, dance and art.

Ava's first trip to space

We recently took a trip to a little island called Gili Trowangan rated by Lonely Planet as one of the top 10 places on earth to visit. While we were there the kids had the opportunity of a lifetime and got to try scuba diving. Yes, at the ripe old ages of eight and 11 they got to scuba dive! She was extremely nervous and I wasn't sure she would go ahead with the whole program, but with the help of an amazing dive instructor, Vanessa Lil from Scotland, the kids dove and had a great time. Here is what Ava wrote about the experience:

Today I took a diving lesson. My instructor was very nice. Her name is Vanessa. Under water we played with little plastic rockets. We each had one. We counted to three with fingers and then threw them at each other. (We swam in the pool because I had to learn first). We did flips and hand stands. She taught me "Dive Language" (when you're under water you can't talk so you use signs). She showed me the signs for "turtle," "clown fish," "my ears hurt," something's wrong," Let's go up," "I like it down there," "shark alert!" " A moray eel," "I love this!" and "RRRUUUNNN!"

When you dive you get an extra breather for in case a friend loses air. They call it an octopus (I don't know why.) We fooled around with our octopuses. Vanessa stuck hers in my wet suit and pressed the "shoot air" button. I did it to her arm.

Before long it was time for me to go. Before I left she gave me a sruprise. I got a Bubble Maker towel, a Bubble Maker tattoo, two bubble maker stickers, a certificate, an activity book and an invitation to come back!

The next day I went diving in the ocean. I was REALLY scared. But since it was just me and Vanessa if I didn't want to go under I didn't have to. But I started off going one meter and then I did the down signal and we went two meters deep. We swam inside a school of fish. We saw a very rare fish: Baby Bum Headed Parrot FIsh. It was giant! The full grown ones are as long as me! I saw a giant mountain of coral, it was so big that I had to bend my knees to not touch it. We stayed under for half an hour. It felt like two seconds. Vanessa carried a blow-up flag so the boat would follow us and we would not get lost. Vanessa helped me do a flip. We saw a lot of Red Tooth Trigger Fish. We also saw some parrot fish. And some yellow fish with black stripes. We also saw some Butter Fly Fish and Pygmy Snapper. It was the funnest thing I ever did in my life!

At dinner time, before we ate, we got drinks and we saw Vanessa. She Came and sat with us. My parents ordered a drink for her. I was telling her about how in Maui at the Aquarium they had a shark breed thing. We both were sad about people eating shark fin soup. Vanessa ran to her house and came back with a shark tooth. She gave it to me!

My mini pledge: Tomorrow I will see Vanessa for the last time on this trip. But I promise I will find her some time. She was the best non-school teacher I ever had. I WILL SEE HER AGAIN. Signed: Ava

The Value of Rice by Ava

Rice in Bali is very valuable. For example, we saw a man who spilled some rice and he picked up every little grain of rice, one by one. And before there was money the Balinese used rice. I think it's because they know how hard it is to grow rice.

Ava

Bad days can happen, even in Bali or Trouble in Paradise

When we decided to move from Vancouver to Yellowknife and were considering how we'd handle the extreme cold, a friend pointed out that weather, good or bad, doesn't cause one's state of mind. Similarly, being away from the pressures of home and missing most of winter doesn't mean that life is without challenges. I keep intending to write a post about this because we mostly write about fun and adventure which may leading people to imagine the angels singing and skies opening to the heavens over Bali. By now there have been enough circumstances that have sufficiently irritated me so I can authenticity describe some of the drawbacks of being here.

Where oh where did my I Pod go? (and watch and phone and binoculars)

We've been enamored by this lovely summer-cottage type house we're renting and by the staff who work here. We are fed great food, our children are treated like gold, and we enjoy their company. The last thing on our minds has been the possibility of theft. So when we couldn't locate Alex's watch in January we assumed it was misplaced and would turn up. Same with the binoculars. And then the cell phone. But when my new I Pod Touch that Alex gave me for Christmas disappeared recently and can't be found anywhere (in spite of ransacking the house several times) it makes one's mind turn past absent mindedness and to more sinister possibilities. No one seems to think that it could have been an intruder so I'm left either believing I'm totally crazy and have lost my memory or wondering if it was taken by someone closer. And of all things to lose, the I Pod is such a useful tool - it's got all of the photos I have taken since we left home, a contact list, music I use at the gym, and has been so much fun on this trip. How I wish we'd enabled the security features on it before it was lost!

Our last attempt at getting it returned is going to be posting notices offering a reward and if the I Pod isn't found I'll put it out of mind and replace it when we get home. There are many more important things than an I Pod and, in a place which puts much emphasis on karma, if there are any sticky fingers people live with theirs.

“You've ruined my life”

Our children didn't want to be plucked from Yellowknife and transported thousands of kilometers to the other side of the world. And in spite of all of the amazing things that they get to do here, they'll tell you they want to go home yesterday. In fact, Chloe's complaints to my mother when she first arrived in Bali in February led my mom to offer to bring Chloe back to Canada. This rescue plan became obviously absurd once she saw how engaged Chloe is in life here. But even still, Chloe has told me “you ruined my life by taking me away from skiing.” So, not to put too fine a point on it, family life continues with the same moments of fire and fury as it would wherever we are. People still have their ups and downs, likes and dislikes.

“Too damp, too dank...”

We recently spent nine nights in air conditioned hotels and a villa with friends visiting from Canada. It was blissful! The cool air when sleeping and dry sheets reminded me just how humid it is where we're living. The humidity at our place ranges from a low of 73% to a high of 85%!!!! Consider that in summer in Yellowknife the humidity is about 35%. There's no air conditioning or possibility for dehumidifiers (there aren't even real ceilings in the house). What that level of humidity feels like is climbing into a wet bed at night or putting on wet clothes in the morning. There were nights in the beginning when I would wake up thinking someone had poured water on me! Getting up in the morning and choosing what to wear is fun. It always begins with a sniff test to see which clothes are the least musty. If they haven't been worn in a few days or weeks, they smell like a mushroom farm... Mmmm, fungi. The scary thing is that it's to the point where I am becoming desensitized. I had some flip flops with cloth straps and I went to put them on at the gym but someone had left me a note telling me my shoes stink. So me, with my bloodhound sense of smell couldn't tell my shoes smelled like mold!

Our plan has been to move down to the beach for the or the last three weeks we're in Bali, but now we're considering increasing that time. It's a longer commute to the school, but it would be so nice to be in a drier climate for a bit...

What does it all mean? I guess what this all makes me think is no matter where you go, there you are. There is good and bad in everything and I suppose I have to just appreciate the good and decide how much of the bad is acceptable. Will I risk more things disappearing? Not sure. We may move along earlier. Do I risk inflicting suffering on my children by having them away from home? Absolutely (they just look like they're having too much fun and I don't believe that they're suffering). How much moisture is too much? Well, I'm getting to think that four months, several ruined bathing suits, some mouldy runners and gum boots, two mouldy back packs, innumerable ruined pictures where the ink has run may be the answer to that question...

Riah