Batam

In spite of the boys holiday camp I have been so busy that have not been good at updating the news here. I used their last week at camp to get an interview done with the Eu Yan Sang people and it was a truly great meeting. Learned a great deal and am trying to put it into some kind of form now. But with the boys being off school and off camp a bit tricky.

Last Friday we went over to Batam to see where Robert is staying. Quite a hassle the getting away from here - a lot of running around in the terminal and many checks and very busy with people. Also on the other end had to get visas for everyone etc. So this way the trip takes considerably longer than just the ferryride of about 1 hour. But we got there. It was dark when we arrived so didn't see much of the island. The resort where he stays is very funny though - Harris. It is by the seaside with own beach but facing the Singapore Straights, so wouldn't want to go into water there. But they have a great big pool and masses of activities. Robert has a junior suite there and they had kindly put in beds for kids. The kids are always so excited to go to a hotel anyway! All the staff are so happy and friendly all the time even though Robert complains that things don't work perfectly. I found the friendly and personal attitude makes up for that any time. The manager is a round happy Greek guy from Cyprus who is always around greeting people, answering phones, shaking hands, joining in karaoke and line dance. On the BBQ night the boys had their first go at karaoke with "twinkle twinkle".

Saturday morning Robert went to work and we explored the resort. Soon Beatrice discovered the kid's club "nanny" and was not to get away. They played outside, indoors, went fishing. There were two other kids from Singapore in the club for most of the day and all played really well together. And "nanny" Rofi is a real Mary Poppins - she really joins in the games and is not superwising the kids. So I didn't almost know what to do with my day! Got a lot of work done on my article, went to the gym and foot reflexology (ouch!!!). There is also a nice roof top spa that I will plan in for next time! In the afternoon we all went fishing with the kids club - just to a pond outside and funnily they all caught lots. Karl thought he won as he was the first one to catch a fish but later Raoul took one after the other. He thinks he caught at least 10. Beatrice got 6. We released the fish afterwards. (And when they went fishing the next day almost nobody caught anything at all - the fish knew already!)

The resort was very busy on the weekend - lots of local groups for daytime activities (a great attraction among others is a long "flying fox" that starts from the roof of the hotel and goes over the pool!) and a few big church groups for their gatherings. That ended in very loud and extremely bad karaoke style singing until late night under our window. Couldn't understand much apart from a few halleluja's from time to time but otherwise sounded like some really bad chinese pop. Well, I was so tired of my busy day that it didn't really matter.

On Sunday met Robert's big boss at breakfast, he was very nice and friendly to us, talked about his 4 kids and let Robert have a day off. Not that it mattered much because the kids just wanted to go to kids club anyway. With bribes and threats we managed to drag them away for a little swim and lunch in between play. Beatrice had been keen to go bowling - there is an alley at the resort - so we went but after 5 rounds she had had enough and ran back to play. Karl followed soon. Which left Raoul, Robert and me bowling for all 5 of us. Raoul carried the heavy balls bravely and was happy with his strokes no matter if he hit. Well at least great stamina. But we are all rubbish at bowling and really only went because Beatrice wanted it!

None of us got sick or had any problems at all. So I guess Robert must have been really unlucky with his Batam belly and that gave him very hard time for the first couple of weeks. Hopefully better now.

So we didn't manage to do any sightseeing at all. Next time I'll know and just send the kids to club and go shopping on my own. On the way back to ferry could see a bit of the surroundings. It is really still a developing country in spite of it's proximity to Singapore. Many many wooden huts on roadsides, just like some remote corners of Bali. Roads full of holes, buildings broken or unfinished. It will take ages to catch up even with Malaysia. But people seem to be very laid back and happy.

We will not have to move which is really good news. I would hate to do it again so soon. So now just looking forward to going to Europe in 20 days time!

Meanwhile the boys have started a holiday camp at a preschool near us. At first they were not really sure if they liked it and told me they wanted to go to their own school instead. But as their school is closed and doesn't have a camp there is no choice. By now they have started to enjoy it actually. They have been doing lots of nice things - going to museum, theatre, big new indoor play, butterfly farm, baked gingerbread and pizzas etc. The teachers there were surprized after their first day that the boys could speak Mandarin. Next week will be Mandarin camp so we shall see how that goes. But I am really excited about them learning it. Hopefully they will get a good strong base by the time we leave Singapore.

I have my mornings off and can continue Yoga classes and other stuff I need to get done. Last week we had some interesting encounters here. There was a group of Estonian entrepreneurs visiting Singapore for what they call "innovation seminar" which is organized by a management magazine in Estonia. I know some of the organizers and got involved with the project a bit. Helped to arrange a meeting with the oldest and biggest traditional chinese medicine company in Singapore and could attend that meeting as well. It was very interesting to learn about the company but even more to taste some of their herbs that were integrated into a special lunch. They had created a special menu together with Conrad hotel's chefs and used many traditional chinese herbs. Each course had two dishes using the same ingredients - one a western version, the other a chinese version. Very exciting and interesting tastes and textures. Some I knew and use regularly but some were completely new for me. So my shopping list will be more adventerous from now on. Also great was to talk to the people in the group. I find it always very inspiring to meet somebody who has achieved something due to own smart ideas and creativity. My circle here is mostly limited to other mums and  there is not much brainfood in this interaction with a few exceptions. Hopefully I can keep up the momentum and take up some writing again.

Day after that we joined the group at dinner at Samy's curry which is a Singapore institution - at the otherwise posh Dempsey Hill, very simple and basic but great food. Later Sonny invited some of the group to his house and there were very interesting discussions, especially as among the guests was an Indian sikh from the University's School of public policy and he provoked quite a discussion about cultures and values, democracy etc. Must have been such an eye opener for the Estonians that our values of individual freedom and democracy are not that important here.

Robert has been working in Batam now for over a week and it is a different world, still very much a developing country and the working culture is very different from Singapore. In addition to that fighting with the Indonesian microflora that is new for his system. Not easy.

Change is no change

It was quite a rollercoaster week, the last one. As we are getting towards June we were planning our move away from Singapore and have already cancelled schools, apartment etc. On Thursday went to boys school for parent teacher conferences and said all the emotional goodbyes. Everybody was really sad as the boys have made so great friends at school and have really thrived there. Especially Raoul has found a lot of confidence and seems to gel really well with his teacher. In fact the way she describes Raoul makes me feel that he is a completely different child there and she has found a way into him that I have yet to discover. Karl is a bit naughtier in class although academically brighter and faster. He got a lot of praize from their Mandarin teacher - always hand up and wants to particpate and quick at picking up the language as well. Raoul in Mandarin class is more like the one I know at home - stubborn and only does what he wants to.

They even got farewell presents and all. And I thought I really don't want to take them away from this school.

Then Friday afternoon Robert had a meeting about a job here and on Saturday signed the contract. Which means we will be staying for a little while longer. Hopefully the market will have improved by the end of this project. Anyway, we are discussing all sorts of practical matters now like trying to lower the rent here or move to another flat as the prices have come down so much in the last year. That also means, that Robert will be with us in Estonia for only a week this time yet again. 

He is working in Indonesia in fact, but on the island of Batam which is just a 40 min ferry ride away. He'll commute weekly and some weekends we might go over and stay with him like a mini holiday - he stays at a resort with pools and kids club and all. So all set for a while, hopefully the landlord will be generous enough and we can save the hassle of moving!

Rawa pics for those of you who can't open picasa