Wisnu' s birthday


Last year, as a rookie mom I did not do much.
1. Trying to look for balloons -- went to Kalibata mall and got the balloons blown by the Jakarta Book centre staff and took a taxi from kalibata mall which actually only less than 500 meters. I made an appointment with a balloon seller to come to our house to blow some balloons.

2. Preparing the hats for the birthday boy ,his father and his lovely cousin
The night before the D day, I burnt the midnight oil striving to produce the most fancy hat for the birthday boy. It took me hours to find the ideas and to glue the crap papers. At first, my husband only watched what I was trying to do, and about 2 a.m he found out that the progress was not much. Then he helped out. Bingo!It only took him few minutes to come up with what I would say a masterpiece. I smiled at him for letting me push my limit!!

3. Making my own birthday cake
My son is allergic to cow's milk and I absolutely could not afford the expensive Disney birthday cake. So what? I always murmur it to my self "the first has got to be impressive". With the help of a genius friend, we made carrot cake (which recipe I discovered from one year old child guide book) which turn out to be more expensive since the ingredients are imported and the effort was totally exhaustive. I had to let my husband go to the children education seminar alone while I was baking the cake. How's the cake? Only Wisnu and Oom gatot who was interested in tasting it! The rest of the guests enjoyed the normal cake from Bu nani.

Wanna see the result?

Not bad, huh? Not bad at all--


That's what happened last year. This year, we are in Yokohama-- far away from relatives but there are some friends. Hiroko, the project planner, suggested that we go to Izu peninsula. We impulsively signed up for it since we had the naive idea that it would only cost 13,000 yen for the four of us for that wonderful two day trip. When we found out that it would be a way more than that, what can we say?

For one thing, the cancellation fee would be 30 % from the total fee. Second, it's summer and it's perfect time to go there. Third, next year we will go back to Indonesia and a chance like this is hard to find : on a trip with some nice Japanese friends.

On the other hand, we are moving away from this Foreign Student House we are living in this September. We need to find an apartment and so far we have not found suitable one in terms of the price. To tell you the truth, we might need to pay three months rent fee in advance.

Come to think of it, I started teaching again this week. I have some money and we could allocate other expenses post for this unforgetable-will-be trip. It'd better be unforgetable!

So, here we go!!! This monday we are departing for Izu Peninsula.

http://izu-sakuraya.jp/photograph/beach/shirahamabeach1.htm

If a Child Lives With...

If a child lives with criticism
He learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility
He learns to fight.
If a child lives with ridicule
He learns to be shy.
If a child lives with jealousy
He learns to feel guilty.

But if a child lives with tolerance
He learns to be patient.
If a child lives with encouragement
He learns self-confidence.
If a child lives with praise
He learns to appreciate.
If a child lives with fairness
He learns justice.

If a child lives with approval
He learns to like himself.
If a child lives with security
He learns to have faith.
If a child lives with acceptance and friendship
He learns to find love in the world.

We were children once and there is a child inside every of us. Should we blame those who brought us up when we fail to have those ultimate qualities? Are we aware that we should live side by side with others to learn the qualities we lack of? Are we aware that people around us could learn to posses some of those they lack of as well ? Do we have the courage to show, instead of telling others how to live with those values?

When we have our own children or live with children around us, do we teach them what they should live with? Or do we justify our negligence by saying that we did not acquire those qualities in our childhood? Are we supposed to blame our spouse or significant others for failing to set up the examples for our little beings?

if we live with those values, we learn how to live with others. In doing so, we learn to be happy and how to make others happy.

An earthquake-- that's what it takes

If you happen to be a foreigner who have been in Japan for three months and rely on the public transportation, you would say that it's very reliable, well-organized and on time.

You would be familiar with people queuing nicely and patiently.




Saturday, July 23 we went to Meguro for lunch invitation from the Finance Attache. We could actually just go home at around 2 pm, but we decided to go to Kinokuniya at Shinjuku.

Around 4.30 pm I felt the building was shaking. I know that Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone areas, but when I had to experience it, it's a different story.

Due to the earthquake, the elevators were disactivated and we had to take the escalators from the building. We still could find something to eat around the Takshimaya area and people seemed not to be affected by the earthquake.

Then at around 6 pm we went to the JR station heading to Yokohama. We saw a long line for the JR, but we thought it was just like any other ordinary Saturdays. When we checked the time table, the train would not arrive until 8.30 pm. Hmm... this is unusual. My husband suggested that we took another train so we went back to the hall where people buy tickets. Then the nightmare began.

Gradually, people came from different exits and were concentrated at the hall. Some people looked confused and asked questions to the station officers. Some officers blocked some train platforms. We just stood there not knowing what was going to happen.

In less than 5 minutes there was a big crowd there. We could barely move then we stood in front of elevator. I held my 5-week baby tightly while my husband carried our 2 year old son. Fortunately both of them were sleeping. People went nuts. They no longer behaved like Japanase usually do. They pushed here and there trying to make ways. The police were invisible. I shouted for help but most people do not understand English. Even if they do, they were in a rush trying to get to the platform. We did not know where to go, or who to ask.Before we knew it, we were squeezed in the middle of panicked people. We screamed for help begging them not push us aside. I was so terrified that I bursted into tears not knowing what to do. My husband tried to protect us, but people kept pushing. Some of them started yelling loudly in Japanese but they kept on pushing.

In my desperation, there was a young Japanese woman passing by. Seeing me crying frantically with my baby in my arms, she said, " Come on, go ! Don't stay here". I yelled at her, " Where to? We can't move !They kept on pushing! We can't get through". She asked again," Where are you going?" . I shouted, "Out. to an open space, my baby can't breath". My tears ran down on my face. The lady was also squeezed by people. She yelled in Japanese at another lady wearing blue shirt who was standing behind me and had been hugging me trying to calm me down. From their body language I guess they were trying to figure out how to get us out . Then both of them shouted in Japanese, I don't know what they were saying, but those people stopped pushing and gave ways to us. At last, we could leave the crowd and get some fresh air.

I did not know how to thank them. What I felt was that I could not stop my tears and my body was trembling --imagining what could happen unless they dragged us out of there.

Then, those ladies mentioned that the trains were suspended due to the earthquake. It means we definitely could not go back to Yokohama that night. My husband was trying to make phone calls to his friends. The chances are staying at Odaiba or staying at a hotel. Hotel, yeah right, we could not afford it. To go to Odaiba means we have to take a taxi and it might cost a fortune for us. Luckily there were some friends from JDS program who were still staying at the Washington Hotel. A friend from Odaiba contacted them to pick us up to the hotel. We waited at the South exit and mbak Asni picked us up there. I could not help shed my tears when telling mbak Asni what we had been through. Thank God, we have lots of nice people around us.

Mbak Asni allowed us to use her room that night. A very nice room. For free.
The four of us slept there, together, peacefully.

In the morning, we left for Yokohama, the trains went back to normal.

Lesson of the day: Pray wherever you are. Your life is on God's hand, no matter how reliable human-made transportation is.

Siapa bilang aku tidak sayang sama adik?


Aku usap-usap kepala adik kalau dia terbangun dari tidurnya dan menangis keras subuh-subuh. Walaupun aku masih mengantuk dan sulit membuka mata. Tapi sambil mengisap ibu jari kiriku dan memejamkan mata, aku bisa mengusap-usap kepala adik!

Aku juga sering mengajarkan adik : ini namanya hair, nose, mouth, ears, eyes, head, kaki, atas, bawah, kiri, kanan. Juga bagaimana caranya melambaikan tangan sambil mengucapkan: dadah!

Kadang aku juga bacakan buku cerita yang biasa ibu atau aji bacakan kepada aku : bzzzz, bee! Meskipun halaman bukunya terbalik dan aku tak hafal semua kata-katanya, tapi aku bisa menunjukkan gambarnya dan beberapa kata dari buku itu.

Walaupun aku tidak hafal semua bait Trishandya, dan hanya tahu " Oom... mama.." aku bisikan kepada adik sebelum tidur jika aji belum pulang dari latihan aikido dan kami semua mau tidur.

Jadi jangan larang aku untuk memanjat tempat tidur adik, atau tidur di sebelahnya. Aku ingin memperhatikan wajahnya dari dekat dan memperhatikan tangannya yang meninju-meninju ke udara.

Kalau aku pencet hidung adik, itu karena aku gemas lihat hidungnya yang begitu kecil. Aku tarik rambutnya bukan karena ingin menjambak, aku ingin tahu apakah rambutnya sama dengan rambutku.
Aku lepaskan kaus kaki dan sarung tangan adik, karena mungkin adik kepanasan; aku saja kepanasan dengan singlet tanpa lengan dan celana pendekku.

Tapi mengapa setiap kali adik menangis, ibu pasti menggendongnya? Sedangkan kalau aku menangis, tidak selalu digendong. Padahal aku sudah teriak, " ibu, aji, gendong". Ibu masih sibuk saja memasak, dan aji tidak bergeming dari komputer.

Aku juga tidak mengerti kenapa adik dapat susu ibu dua-duanya, setiap saat. Aku hanya boleh minum dari botol susu dan hanya pada jam tertentu. Kalau adik minta menyusu karena haus, lapar dan ngempeng, lalu bagaimana dengan aku? Aku juga ingin minum susu kadang karena haus dan lapar dan juga ingin ngempeng. Ibu jari kiriku sudah bengkak aku hisap. Makanan yang ibu masak kadang-kadang terasa aneh di lidahku, tapi aku lapar dan ingin minum susu seperti adik.

Sejak adik lahir, ada begitu banyak barang aneh di rumah. Aku tidak mengerti kenapa ada kaus tangan dan kaki yang tidak muat aku pakai. Juga kenapa ada stroller yang begitu besar , muat untuk aku tiduri, sedangkan stroller ku kecil dan aku hanya bisa duduk di atasnya.

Kalau kita naik bis atau kereta, kenapa hanya adik yang digendong dengan jarik? Aku harus jalan kaki atau naik stroller. Dulu di Jakarta aku selalu digendong dengan jarik itu. Kenapa sekarang jadi milik adik seorang?

Dulu aku boleh membanting2 mainanku dan membuka dan menutup jendela sekeras-kerasnya. Sekarang ibu selalu melarang, " Nanti adiknya bangun". Padahal kalau aku sedang tidur, aku sering terkejut dengan tangisan adik, tapi bu tidak pernah bilang kepada adik, "adik, jangan keras-keras menangisnya, nanti bli wisnu bangun".

Ibu dan aji, aku juga sayang adik. Karena itulah aku suka menciumi keningnya. Karena itulah semua mainanku aku tunjukkan padanya. Karena itulah aku melempar bola kepadanya, supaya ia melempar balik kepadaku. Karena itulah di pagi hari begitu aku bangun dari tidur, aku hampiri tempat tidurnya.

Karena itulah, biarkan aku melakukan semua yang dilarang ibu dan aji.
Jadi, boleh kan aku mendapatkan perlakuan yang sama?

Aji's poem for our 2nd Wedding Anniversary

You mean so much to me
More than I could ever say
And even if you don't believe me
I mean it in every way

Whenever were together
Nothing can go wrong
And I'm starting to think
That with you is where I belong

Whenever we are together
I thank God that I'm alive
With you by my side
I know I can survive

You take away my sadness
You take away my pain
This feeling when I'm with you
Is nothing I can explain

I wish that I could be with you
All throughout each day
Therefore the smile on my face
Would never have to go away

I know you understand
That I'm in a constant fight
And your one main reason
Why my life is worth the fight

You’ve always been there for me
No matter what I’ve gone through
So I just want to take this time to say
Thank you and I love you…

Simple happiness

the most difficult question to answer
is and has always been
" Are you happy?"
especially when being asked
by your love one

I look up at the sky
searching for the answer
I still can not find
coz it gets cloudy sometimes
and that's not happiness

I listen to my favorite songs
feeling every beat of it
getting into the lyrics
but my heart aches
for my past and regrets
they brought back

I touch my sons' faces
as they are asleep
caressing their hair
rubbing their back
my heart is melting

a pair of brown soothing eyes
and huge and forgiving heart
where I belong to
I know for sure
never demand the answer

Firework

For the Japanese,
it means Hanabi festival.
what's so special about it?
you wear yukata for women
and jimbe for men
set a place to sit by the sea
with thousands of people
and watch the thousands of fireworks

I went to the red brick
with my husband and kids
his aikido friends



My son was so excited
that he did not want to sleep
eventhough he usually sleeps at 7.30
on that day, the firework just began 7.30
my baby was sleeping peacefully on my lap
maybe one day he'll remember this

my husband asked" are you happy?"
of course. just like everbody is.
but I have strange feelings I could not name it
looking at those fireworks on the sky

look at the soaring fire
it's just like my life, or yours
so colorful, so bright,
surounded by others
with different colors

yet, in a short time
it will vanish
just like that

For those miles away




I'm one month old now
I weigh 3.662 kg
I am 53.4 cm

( I was 2.745 kg
and 48 cm
when i was born)









Now, I can :
a. lift my head slightly for a few seconds when lying on my stomach
b. focus my eyes on people's face
c. grip your finger when you stroke my palm.
d. get startled by a loud noise or a quick movement, I will thrust out my arms and legs, then
draw them back and cry.
e. recognize my mother's voice well, and respond to it by growing quieter or more excited.
f. sleep -- and sleep -- and sleep 15 to 18 hours of sleep per day, often in the form of short naps.

JAKARTA....!!!

Aku paling sebel kalo denger lagu Koes Plus (waktu ada di indonesia--sorry ya oom Koes). Walaupun suamiku seneng nyetel atau main gitar lagu2 koes Plus, buatku tuh lagu2 kok yaa..gemana gitu ya. (sekali lagi, maaf ya oom Koes)

Tapi beberapa hari ini aku terkena penyakit home sick. Entah gara2 nya apa. udah aku coba mengobatinya dengan chatting dgn teman2, e mail, sampe nelp nyokap 'n sodara2, masih terasa juga tu sakit kangennya. akhirnya aku bisa nyengir dikit sambil bersenandung,"Ke jakarta aku kan kembali..i-i-i.. walaupun apa yang kan terjadi...". Nah lho! kuwalat ama oom koes siih ya?
jadi malah terngiang-ngiang tu lagu!

Mungkin orang yg sekarang ada di jkt bilang, "bukannya lebih enak tinggal di jepang?". hmmm... kalo yg enak sih ada juga, pertama: deket ama suami dan anak2 bisa ngumpul ama babenya (that's one of my wishes last year), banyak waktu luang (yg ini mah relatif, karena tokh akhirnya aku lebih malam tidurnya karena ngebrowse internet mulu dan bangun lebih pagi karena kagak punya pembokat), jalan2 (walau kudu mikir keras bagaimana caranya jalan2 yg tidak menghabiskan uang karena kudu bisa nabung bukan cuma survive), punya banyak waktu buat anak2 (ini juga kudu dipertanyakan, karena wisnu dan akira sering nangis ditinggal masak, beres2, nyuci, misahin sampah ala yokohama--percaya deh yg satu ini bener2 takes time!).

kalo ditanya, emang apa yg gak ada di yokohama?

1. martabak manis yg di deket milenia blok m
alaahh.. roombutter dan keju serta coklat dan kacangnya itu gak ada di siniiii!!!mau bikin ndiri, modalnya kegedean: kudu beli pan dan ragi yg entah harus dicari di mana dan resiko gagalnya tinggi. Boleh percaya atau tidak, aku tau betul bakalan puasa martabak setahun. Jadi malam sebelum aku berangkat ke jepang, nekad naik taksi ama si bik onah ngebela-belain beli martabak jam 21.30 malem. Untung waktu itu lagi hamil, jadi supir taksinya cuma komentar"ngidam martabak ya bu". Hari geneee (udah 8 bulan pregnant masih ngidam, yg bener aja!orang bukan?)

2. tempat facial dan pijet yg murah
badan rasanya kadang2 kayak dipukulin orang sekampung, man! suami juga capek berat bermalam2 begadang belajar plus bantuin ngurusin anak, aku kagak tega minta tolong mijetin! anakku, wisnu kalo dimintain tolong mijetin yg ada ngegelitikin. Ya... dengan sisa-sisa tenaga, paling aku balurin vicks sekujur badan ( itu juga vicksnya diirit-irit karena dikirim dari indonesia!)

3. ITC Cempaka mas
kenapa? barang2 murah-meriah: contohnya blus yg cuma 40 ribu rupiah (400 yen), kaos kaki yg 10 ribu (100 yen) tiga pasang , CD/VCD bajakan yang 10 ribu (100 yen) dua biji, perlengkapan bayi yang jual baju2 murah dan bahannya katun (kalo summer begini, walahhh wisnu maunya buka baju melulu).

4. buah2an
mangga, pisang tanduk dan uli buat digoreng (aku cuma bisa nemu pisang semacem
clavendish yang rasanya gak tepat banget buat digoreng), duren (sekarang blom musim ya?),nangka, rambutan, cempedak, jambu air dan bengkuang buat dirujak (hmm, apalagi kalo panas terik begini). Disini satu melon yg kecil harganya paling murah 350 yen , memang sih rasanya muanisss banget, tapi harganya kagak kuat!!! Lha kalo di ALFA, melon yg guede itu harganya cuma 12 rebu ,pan?

5. Tukang jualan yg lewat
malem2 : nasi goreng/mie tek-tek, sekoteng, sate ayam
pagi2 : tukang bubur, lontong sayur, ketoprak
siape yg kagak kenal ane ; si laper segala waktu. terutama alo malem2 abis nyusuin, ato abis nulis di blogger kayak gini.. di rumah udah kagak ada makanan, di kulkas kagak ada stok, yg ada cuma telor. Lha, aku kan kalo makan telor lebih dari satu biji sehari biasanya bisulan!
Pagi2 kalo lagi gak mood bikin sarapan, 2 orang bakalan menderita: sandy dan wisnu. Kesian juga mereka tiap pagi diumpanin telor ceplok ato dadar, paling banter roti .

6. Tukang ojek
ck...ck... kalo pas abis blanja, kudu ngusung blanjaan berisi telur plus pampers nya yg maha gede itu bari ngejar2 wisnu dan ngedorong stroller-ny akira apa ya gak senewen? yg kebayang tukang ojek di empang tiga melulu bawaannya!

7. gymboree
percaya atau tidak, kalo pulang dari gymboree wisnu pasti teler berat: tidurnya pulas dan besoknya makannya banyak. Lagipula di gymboree aku pun bisa ikut nyanyi dan nyontek stimulasi yg tepat untuk usia wisnu. dulu waktu di indonesia rasanya 80 ribu per coming tuhh berat banget (abis plus taksi bolak-balik 40 ribu plus beli makanan kecil ), lah di sini belum ketemu tempat macam begitu.

8. ojek payung
summer ini kadang ujan tiba2 (emang salahku juga gak liat ramalan cuaca sebelum pergi ato males bawa payung), urusannya kalo bawa anak: gak mampu naek taksi, gak bawa payung.either nunggu ampe ujan reda ato beli payung di 100 yen shop. mesti berapa kali beli payung?

OOhhh..jakarta..jakarta....

ALL WOMAN

He's home again from another day
She smiles at him as he walks through the door.
She wonders if it will be Okay
It`s hard for her when he doesn't respond

He says, " babe you look a mess You look dowdy in that dress
It's just not like it used to be ."Then she says. . .
I may not be a lady But I'm All Woman
From Monday to Sunday I work harder than you know
I'm no classy lady But I'm AllWoman
And the woman needs a little love to make her strong
You're not the only one

She stands there and lets the tears flow
Tears that she's been holding back so long
She wonders where did all the loving go
The love they used to share when they were strong
She says yes I look a mess But I don`t love you any less
I thought you always thought enough of me To always be impressed
I may not be a lady But I'm All Woman
From Monday to Sunday I work my fingers to the bone
I'm no classy lady But I'm All Woman
This woman needs a little love lo make her strong
You're not the only one

He holds her and hangs his head in shame
He doesn't see her like he used to do
He's too wrapped up In working for his pay
He hasn't seen the pain he's put her through
Attention that he paid Just vanished in the haze
He remembers how it used to be
When he used to say
"You'll always be a lady 'Cos you're All Woman
From Monday to Sunday I love you much more than you know.
You're a classy lady'Cos you're All Woman
This woman needs a loving men to keep her warm
You're the only one
You're a classy lady 'Cos you're All Woman
So sweet the love that used to be
We can be sweet again. . .
(song by Liza Stansfield)

At four in the morning, I dragged myself to the bathroom after breasfeeding my 3-week baby. I passed the kitchen and saw the dirty plates in the sink and 6 dirty milk bottles of my 23-month son to sterilize. I could not miss the sight of laundry at the corner. Then I remembered the list of groceries to buy. Sigh!

I felt embarrassed looking at my reflection on the mirror over the washtafel. Name it! Messy hair, tired eyes, oily face, unbuttoned and wet by the breastmillk duster. Sigh!
Suddenly the image of one of my best friends struck me. Let's name her, S. Whenever I felt exhausted for taking care of only two children and complained, I always tried to cheer my self up by telling to myself " I have wonderful children and loving and supportive husband , S could bear with much worse conditions, so put your chin up!".

The night before I read a blogger of a friend, Fia, and she wrote that S finally moved to Yogya. It's not that I got too sentimental being away from friends. It's just that I did not have a chance to say goodbye before I left for Japan and now that I lose contact with her and may not be able to trace her. The saddest thing is that on the day of my departure to Japan she sms me " Ken, I'm sorry for all the troubles". And I could not forgive myself for not replying her sms only because I did not have enough account in my simpati card and I was darn too busy to make calls to my husband's friend asking about the overweight luggage procedure.

Where was I when I was needed?

S means more than a friend to me. She taught me many things --how to live mylife, to be a wife, mother and true friend. We had disagreement and different values, lead different lives. I may not always understand her, and to her I have always been too ignorant, self-reliant and hardheaded, but she never gave up provoking her point of views.

Listening to her life story is just like watching a circus to me. The broken-home girl who met a charismatic man of her dream had to make a very risky decision to be able to marry the man. The struggling woman has to make the ends meet for three children and pay the installment for the house for the husband has his his own idea of making money. Yet, the depression she was going through-- two suicidal attempts-- to be able to cope with depressed husband and no money. She even had to be absent from work because she did not have money for the transportation fees. The worst is the pain she has to bear physically and mentally before deciding to leave Jakarta for Yogyakarta.

And the song of Liza Stansfield pictures her.

Just now I said to my husband, I can't help feeling sorrow to remember her. I had not done much to help her. I wish I knew how to.

I just can wipe my tears silently while typing these lines, hoping that she would find a better life and hope.

Untuk anakku: Wisnu dan Akira


saat kalian menangis
mengertilah, tangan ibu hanya dua
hanya bisa untuk memeluk salah satu dari kalian
tapi hati ibu cukup untuk kalian berdua

saat kalian tinggal di rumah
ibu menemani kalian bermain
ingatlah, akan ada saatnya
ibu harus pergi atau ke kantor lagi nanti
walau hati ibu tertinggal di rumah

jika kalian beranjak remaja nanti
seolah waktu kalian hanya untuk kawan-kawan
ibu akan ingat dan merindukan
saat-saat kalian mendekap erat

pada masanya kalian akan meninggalkan rumah
membuat pilihan hidup dan berkeluarga
kedua tangan ibu masih terbuka lebar
hati ibu masih cukup untuk mantu dan cucu
doa ibu akan selalu untuk kalian

On your 2nd birthday




Remember the old days, alexa?
We slept at the same room
listening to the same music
sometimes we fight over the toys
but we always miss each other

now when i miss you
i grab my father's handphone
and pretend that i talk to you
eventhough I just said :" aya, aya"




It was just like yesteday
on your 1 st birthday
I did not sing for you but cried
because i was not used to the crowd



Now you are having your 2nd birthday
I may not be by your side
or clap my hands to sing the song
or taste your must-be-tasty cake

but I will always pray
for your happiness
and will teach
my little brother to sing



"happy birthday, dear Alexa...
from Wisnu and Akira".

Hakkejima

If you love the sea side of Yokohama or miss Taman Impian Jaya Ancol (!), try to visit the Hakkejima. From Yokohama station, take the Keihin Kyuko Line (for about 18 minutes) to Kanazawa Hakkei station, after that take the sea side line (for only 7 minutes).



We went there on June 28, Sunday afternoon. The sun is so perfect to take pictures but no so friendly for strolling at the beach. Anyway, it's not the 1st outing for Akira, eventhough some people would be startled to see a two-week old baby at Hakkejima. At the background (perhaps it's not really obviously seen) is the beach-- crowded with people since it's summer and it's 34 degree celcius at 2 pm !



Though we are used to the heat in Jakarta, still we wished it was spring or fall season.



For wisnu the heat is bearable. He ran here and there, picked up the flowers eventhough I shouted at him not to do so. He asked to take a ride on the 200 yen train, but refused to pose for a good picture to send back home (I was trying to brag about his effort of being on his own to my parents).



You can tell from the picture, who is happier on the train ride: the father or the son? :)

Free admission places in Yokohama


If you happen to live in Yokohama and love to visit "free" places, here are some recommended places:

1. Nogeyama Zoological Garden

It opened on April 1 in 1951. Zoo hours is 09.30-16.30 but entrance is allowed until 16.00. It's closed on Monday and tuesday if sunday or Monday falls on a national holiday).

It's a nice, clean and children-friendly zoo. We can see zoo animals from a very short distance. We can take food and drink and have a picnic there. It's exciting place for children since there is a meeting place for animals where we can touch and pat small animals like rabbits, goat, sheep, chicken. Don't worry, they also provide antiseptic liquid soap for us after patting those animals.
Another good thing is that the zoo is not too big so that it will not be tiring for your kids to walk around, but I would recommend that you take the stroller with you.

How to get there? Take Keikyu line to hinode-cho station and take 10 minute walk from. Or, take JR negishi line to sakuragi-cho sattion and take 15 minute walk.

Check this out http://www.city.yokohama.jp/me/green/noge/index.html


2. Yokohama Municipal Children's Botanical Garden

If you love plantation or at least desire to introduce your children to all kinds of plantation (note: found in Japan), try this garden. From Hodogaya station on the JR Tokaido Line to Jidoyuenchi or municipal bus from Maita station on the municpal subway line to jidoyuenchi-mae and 1 minute walk.. The perfect time to visit this place is , of course, spring season.

There are information about the plants (unfortunately in Japanese) and some questions for the children to find out in the area to arouse their curiosity and stimulate their love for nature.
For complete info visit: http://www.city.yokohama.jp/me/kankyou/dousyoku/kodomo/

The 1st bite is the deepest

These past two weeks wisnu has been bottom-naked around the house. He kept putting his pant and diaper off. I was worried in the first few days, but then after consulting certain reliable web sites I found out that he is in the period of exploring his genital. Ooops!

You could probably imagine the look on my face during his exploration. Apprehensive? Anxious? Freak out? He put his penis in the glass, checking the color and said " ibu, biru (blue)" . Yes, indeed , honey, the glass is blue so is your penis because it is IN the glass. Come on, give me the glass and put your diaper on!

Then he took the guitar stand from the bedroom and laid it on the floor. He sat on it and put his object of exploration in such a way that I became speechless and dazzled. I wish I knew what to say. He looked at 'it' and me back and forth. What now? checking temperature, darling?

One afternoon, there was a children song (of course japanese children song) on the TV. I don't quite understand the lyrics, though. Wisnu was watching it too (bottom-naked, off course). The song clip shows a little girl only wearing a pant watching TV. Suddenly there is a mosquito biting the girl and the girl cried. Aha! This is a good teaching moment!

I said to wisnu, " look, wisnu what happen to the girl? the mosquitos bite her! If you don't wear your diaper and pant, the mosquito will bite you,too. It's summer time and there will be lots of mosquitos around. Come on, put your diaper on!" . For the 1st time, he surrendered! For the 1st time too, I thanked the TV program (usually they have weird programs).

One afternoon, my husband was on his computer catching his deadline and I was cooking for dinner. Wisnu was playing with the rolling window alone, this time with his pant and diaper ON!
suddenly he screamed frantically" Aarggh... ibu!! aarghhh..!". He bursted into tears and pointed at his left foot. My husband asked bewildering , " What is it? ". I checked his left foot and the spot he pointed. Bingo! A mosquito. " ooh..nyamuk, aji' I said to my husband calming him down (because he was also panicked) .Wisnu was still crying eventhough I already killed the mosquito.
When I explained why wisnu cried so loud upon seeing a mosquito on his foot, my husband smiled and said" the first bite is the deepest, right wisnu?". yeah, right. Now, comes a new challenge : I need to find ideas how to make wisnu understand that mosquito is not that scary.
Any good TV program on that?