An unproud car owner

I am ashamed to publicly announce that I am now the owner of a new car. Well, ashamed is probably not the right word, but I am definitely not proud about it. But I have discovered that living in Jakarta is very difficult without a car, unless you:

• live within walking distance to your office;
• live within walking distance to a shopping centre;
• live within walking distance to your child(ren)'s daycare(s)/school(s);
• are happy taking taxis (inconvenient unless you are going to a major landmark or know exactly where you are going, and have lots of small bills), bajajs (three-wheeled auto-rickshaws: only good if you want to go short distances, willing to bargain, and are happy inhaling exhaust fumes all the way to your destination), buses (usually not recommended due to the time it takes to get you anywhere, plus the high crime rate), or ojeks (motorcycle taxis: considered pretty dangerous unless you are happy to have scratches or worse to your limbs!) to get around the city.
  

So, I have had to throw away my environmental ethics and purchase a car. A new one, even. And it took me ages to get this car.

Basically, what one needs to do is to identify a car dealer, provide 5 million Rp to the dealer so he would start the process of getting the car for you, provide a down payment for the car (more than half the price of the car) and give a copy of your Indonesian ID card so that the dealer can begin the process of getting the legal papers, then as soon as you provide the rest of the funds, you will get the keys to your new car.

Sounds simple, no? Well, deceivingly so. And deceived I was. It took exactly 6 weeks for me to get the keys to my new car, due to a combination of factors:

• negotiating an international transfer of funds from my French bank account to a local bank account of the car dealer;
• trying to transfer funds via the internet and an ATM from my local bank account (which I could not open until I had my Indonesian ID card, which is issued more than one week after the official visa is issued, which takes more than one week after arrival in Indonesia) to that of the car dealer without knowing that one needs to get a "token" (a small device that looks like a calculator) for all internet transactions;
• the car dealer not happy with my Indonesian ID card;
• the car dealer lying about the availability of the colour of the car that I wanted (things may have been quicker had I wanted a black or a silver car, which are the most common colours you would find on the streets of Jakarta);
• the car dealer not being honest about the time it takes to get the legal papers processed.

It was only after I wrote a not very nice letter to the car salesman's boss, that the whole process was speeded up by a couple of days.

Funnily enough, when I complained about this to a colleague who has been living in this country for nearly 10 years, he said, "what, you got a hew car in 1.5 months, that must be a record!" Sigh.

So the lesson to be learned from this is what, exactly? That one needs to write nasty letters to get anything done in this country? No, what I learned from this episode is to be very careful of people's recommendations. Think twice before taking recommendations of someone unless you are sure that you can really trust this person. I made the mistake of going with the car dealer recommended by my office's driver. Who is rumoured to be taking some sort of commission from car dealers.

Next time I act on someone's recommendations, I am going to be just as careful of the person who is recommending something, as much as of the thing/person that's being recommended.

image taken from www.cardekho.com/Toyota/Toyota_Avanza/pictures

Raising multilingual child(ren)

Having grown up bilingual and bicultural, I am quite determined to bring up June multilingual. From even before she was born, I have spoken English to her, while my husband speaks in Japanese. The nanny we had in France was francophone. Since moving to Jakarta, June has been going to a French daycare 3 days a week. In August, when daycare centres and preschools start again, we are planning on putting her in an English-speaking preschool 3 days a week and a French-speaking daycare 2 days a week. We will soon get a nanny, who will probably speak Bahasa Indonesia to her.

According to the Multilingual Children's Association, there are two most common language systems in multilingual families. The language system I grew up with was "Minority Language at Home", where Japanese was the language spoken and used at home. My parents refused to use English with me, even when it was clearly my preferred language; I am glad that they did, though, because I can speak Japanese fluently. With our daughter, we use the "One Person, One Language" system.

In my job, I work with and encounter multilingual people on a day-to-day basis. From my own experience and from observing others, I contend that there is no one who is "perfectly bi(multi)lingual". While it is true that many people are able to speak two or more languages with ease, it is very uncommon to find people who can use--that is, speak as well as write--two or more languages to the same level of sophistication. There are people who can write well, but I have yet to encounter anyone who can write flawlessly and sophisticated in two more languages, especially when it comes to things that are technical/scientific, and/or require a lot of expertise/specialized knowledge. I am not saying this is impossible--but very uncommon.

For me, it is important for June to have very strong English language skills. Sure, she should be able to speak Japanese fluently, so that she is able to communicate with her extended family members. It would also be nice if she could understand the language of her birth place, France. And of course she should learn the language of any country where she be living in--Bahasa Indonesia, for one. But ultimately, I would like for her to have solid English reading/writing skills, which I expect would be important and advantageous for her future.

Considering that in France, June spent most of her waking hours during the week in a French-speaking environment, and since our move to Indonesia, continues to be exposed to French on a regular basis, it is not a surprise to us that the first comprehensible word June uttered (aside from "mama" "papa", etc.) was French. Words she currently regularly uses are: tiens, de l'eau, doudou, dodo. She also speaks"words" that do not really mean anything in any of the three languages she is exposed to, but she has attributed fixed meanings to them. Since our move to Jakarta, I have noticed that June's English language skills are lagging behind--although I know she understands all languages quite well, her level of English comprehension is suffering, probably due to the fact that she is only exposed to it 1-2 hours a day.

It was thus a great joy to hear two days ago the first English word uttered by June: "apple". We probably would not have realized what she was saying, except for the fact that I was peeling an apple when she spoke the word.

I will be working on increasing June's vocabulary!



image taken from www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/HipparchusGraviation.htm

Things I will miss about living in Paris...

It has been more than three weeks since we landed in Jakarta, Indonesia. I hope to be able to continue this blog in one way or another, but for now, we have been way too busy trying to settle in. So far we are merely surviving in this bustling city, not (yet) really enjoying what it has to offer!

I started the below list a while back, but did not have the time to complete it before I left. But I wanted to upload this on my blog, to mark my days in France!

Things I will miss about living in Paris:

• buying freshly-baked, still piping-hot baguettes every evening.
• beautiful cityscape: my favourites are the views of white/grey buildings tinted with pink right before sunset on sunny afternoons, streets lit up with festive decorations during Christmas season, and the Eiffel Tower glittering on the hour.
• well-dressed men and women: I just love seeing bright (yet tasteful) colours on older women, and men sporting fashionable scarves in Paris. It depresses me whenever I see middle-aged or older women who have just let themselves go; they often dress in drab, shapeless clothing.
• flower shops everywhere: it is difficult not to pass a florist while strolling along the streets of Paris. Whether for gifts or to add a splash of colour on a grey day, there are opportunities to buy flowers anywhere in Paris.

Things I will NOT miss about living in Paris/France:

• customer service (or lack thereof): why are people so rude in this country??? In no other country I have lived, does one need to pay to reach customer service of a consumer product! AND being put on hold so long on the phone, when I am paying by the minute to reach someone who could potentially solve my problem!
• dark, dingy, smelly metro system.
• frowns and furrowed eye brows of French people trying to understand my poor French.

To add, after my short time in Jakarta--things I already miss about Paris:

• being able to walk across the street to a bakery.
• being able to walk a few minutes to reach the closest supermarket to buy almost anything I need.
• being able to go for walks in parks that are located all over the place!
• fresh cheese and wine. I haven't had any since we left Paris.
• the great range of organic products that we could purchase, almost anywhere.

blowing up mountains

(photo taken from Orionmagazine.org, no copyright info available)

I laughed for a full minute when I read this header the other day: Science confirms that blowing up mountains harms mountains. Yes, the reason why Grist.org is one of my favourite environmental news sources is because of its sense of humour.

The content, though, is no joke.

According to the blog, scientists have proved that "irreversible environmental impacts" and increased health risks for local residents occur as a result of mountaintop mining. In an article in journal Science, scientists are calling for a stop in issuing of new mountaintop mining permits.

I first learned about mountain-top removal mining in Orion, a magazine I subscribe to. According to the article Moving Mountains, tops of mountains are being blasted away in order to extract coal. Non-coal material that's extracted/blown away, such as forest and soil (including whole ecosystems that inhabit tops of mountains!) are simply dumped into the valleys, burying streams and polluting water sources. This practice also increases the occurance of flooding and mudslides, leaving residents of nearby vulnerable to such "natural" disasters.

Incidentally, I had the opportunity to attend a symposium where one of the co-authors of the article in the journal Science mentioned in the Grist.org blog gave a keynote speech. She was heavily pregnant at the time, and I remember being very pleasantly surprised to see her in the fieldtrip (hiking in a national park in Queensland, Australia) the following day. A true inspiration for me--being pregnant (and having children) does not necessarily need to hinder our professional and personal activities, as well as aspirations! I gave birth to my own daughter June a little over a year after I met this environmental scientist.

As the terrible news of the horrible catastrophe in Haiti floods the media, one cannot help but think, why has the aftermath of the terrible earthquake that hit Haiti on 12 January been as devastating as it has been? Why were there so many deaths--as a result of huge numbers of buildings collapsing, inability of the government to deal with the disaster, already poor people desperate for things to eat?

As was the case after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, it is now, more than ever, necessary to emphasize the social, cultural, and policy-based components that determine the extent of disasters when they strike; natural disasters do not just happen; "socio-natual disaster" are made.

Bébés nageurs

June が７ヶ月になったころから、近くのプールで Bébés nageurs へ通っています。直訳すると「赤ちゃんスイマー」ですが、基本的には、水に慣れさせるための水遊び。お風呂もあまり好きでない June ですが、最近ようやく慣れてきて、水の中で大泣きする回数は減りました。

日本ではオムツが取れないとプールに入れないようですが、フランスでは水中用のオムツが売っています。おしっこは通してしまうようですが、大きいのがもれるのを防ぐようです。

パリでこの Bébés nageurs クラスをいくつかの団体が開催しているようですが、我々が通っているのは、Archimède のです。２人のインストラクター（もう一人、ヘルパーがいます）に対し、４－８グループ（赤ちゃん＋親、両親の場合がほとんど）がいます。プールは３０度前後の温められています。

私は大学卒業するまで競泳をしていいました。June に水泳選手になって欲しいわけではないけれど、水を怖がる子どもにはなって欲しくないと思い、始めました。日曜の朝早く、毎週頑張っています。

ode to my breastpump

You came to my house over a year ago, when I was getting ready to go back to work. You were disguised an a sleek black backpack. Not only did you accompany me on the daily commute on the Paris metro, you even came with me to Turkey and to the US. Yes, two international flights under your belt!

Everyday, you would do your work, 15-20 minutes at a time, sometimes up to three times a day. You worked superbly and efficiently, in my office, at home, and in public toilet stalls. You extracted out of me more than enough for what June needed.

Yes it's true that June did not learn to take the bottle, and much of the milk that you pumped out of my breasts was not consumed by her. However, your played an important role in keeping up my milk supply--and I am eternally grateful to you for that.

I no longer need you, as June is eating enough solids during the day, and now that she is over one year old, she is able to drink cow's milk during the day. The last pumping session was over two months ago, and the last of the frozen milk has now been drunk by June.

Thanks, breastpump. You helped maintain my milk supply , you saved my breasts from engorgement, and you allowed June to take small amounts of milk when I was unable to be with her. I can say with pride that except for the first week of her life in the hospital, June did not have to drink a drop of formula. I have been able to raise her on my breastmilk alone.

Rest your motor in peace.

ステンドグラス 初めての作品

ずいぶん前のことですが、２００９年２月に始めたステンドグラス、５月にようやく終わりました。途中写真を撮らなかったので工程を全て見せることができないのが残念。ガラスを切り終わった後は、やわらかい鉛でできたフレームにガラスをはめていきます。この過程は、どんどん作品ができていくので、とても楽しく早く進むことができました。ここの一番の難関は、「工」の形をしているフレームをきちんと開けて、ガラスを入れること。つなぎめ（フレームとフレーム同士が交差する部分）は特に注意しなければなりません。

右の写真は、この作業に使うツール。
左の写真の真ん中にあるのは、鏡。壁の写真が映ってしまってちょっと見難いですね（ちなみに、壁の写真は全て、このアトリエで作られた作品）。


さて、この作業が終わったら、すべてのつなぎ目をハンダゴテで固定しなければなりません。この工程もかなり大変。「ハンダゴテで作品がきれいになるか醜くなるかが決まる」

と先生に言われ、かなり緊張しました。

これが終わったら、全てをきれいに磨きます。

完了したこの鏡、リビングの窓に飾ることにしました。夕方になると日が入って、とてもきれいです。

さて、次はコーヒーテーブルを作ることにしました。これには曲線もあるので、うまくガラスが切ることができるかが不安です。