A Taste of Olympic Town 2010

Here is a mere glimpse of the Olympic craziness from the perspective of a tremendously jetlagged Canadian woman upon immediate arrival from travels below the Equator...it was 37 deg celcius when I left, thankfully it was 15 deg celcius when I arrived in Vancouver!

Arriving at YVR International Airport 24 hrs ahead of my anticipated schedule allowed the opportunity to participate in some of the festive activities happening in downtown Vancouver.

It was Awesome!

I have never been a huge fan of the Olympics, but that being said, they are here, it is happening, let's enjoy it! So we did.

Mum and I were to meet Julia at Waterfront Station in the early afternoon last Saturday. The bonus of Julia being late was that mum and I got to observe about 547,000 people wandering, rushing, sitting, waiting, looking, wondering, asking, seeking, eating, meeting, coming, going, non stop throughout the hour. If you are a people watcher you are already thinking, "Fantastic!" And it was.






<--- 3 generations of wild women..... :-)

One the really neat things we saw was a group of sharply dressed young men who looked to be a navy uniform, although their white hats were a little large in comparison to our Canadian uniform hats. Soon enough we found out that they were Russian, and they were here with the Russian Tall Ships. On the way back home to mum's while on the Sea Bus, we saw the ship. Pretty awesome.














The day was BRILLIANT, it doesn't get any better in February! We bought some scrumptious deli food and ate on the dock at Granville Island.







While we were on the bus, heading across the bridge headed to G.I. someone seated at the front started singing the Canadian National Anthem....it brings tears to my eyes remembering it. The bus was packed with every nationality imaginable and every walk of life, within moments we were all singing. What struck me most was that as a Christian, with so much in the world focusing on free will and the universe, as opposed to the traditional Christian God, the line "God keep our land, Glorious and Free" was sung with absolute gusto and pride.

One of the street performers was a very talented and engaging fellow on a very tall unicycle, I was so captivated by the crowds, most of whom were decorated in some variance of National pride, red, or flags, or maple leaves..... many other nations were represented also. But for me, RED was the colour of the day. It was everywhere. Flags were being worn as capes, with pride, such as would be worn by a Super Hero. Hallelujah for pride in a Nation with freedom in every area of opportunity.

Although I was only a part of the excitement for one day, it will remain in my memory as one of the most exciting days I have ever spent. Electric and contagious enthusiasm filled the air, outbursts of song and boisterous greeting of strangers filled the streets, Canadian Flags dominated attire. Incredible!


Any of you who know my lovely mumma will not be at all surprised when I tell you that at one point Julia and I thought we had lost her! She had spied this lovely mascot and darted down the block to meet him. Forgetting that we did not know what she was doing or where she was going, like a little kid who sees a bouncerama across the lawn...she was GONE. Whew, then we heard her,"Rebecca , Julia, come and take our picture!!" It was hilarious! I love my mumma.

That was one of the best days of my life to date, since I am only 1/2 way to my 90th birthday, I anticipate many more of equal or greater value.

Life is Good.

I love being Canadian!

"God keep our land, Glorious and Free, Oh Canada we stand on gaurd for thee. "

Ode to Jet Lag: For Herve and Christine, my new friends

Herve, Christine and their beautiful family arrived on Canadian soil after a long journey from France, on Friday night. Coincidentally, I arrived back on Canadian soil on Friday night also, after a long journey from Indonesia....we are all experiencing different levels of the dreaded Jet-Lag. Here is a little humour I could not resist jotting down while in the airport on Sunday, the final leg of my journey home, in the forefront of Jet Lag.

Enjoy!

Sunday, Feb 21st, 2010.... 2:15 p.m.
Can you die of sleep deprivation? Or does it just feel like it? Oh my goodness, if that lady walking around here with the clipboard comes over to ask me if she can ask me 'a few simple questions', I may throw up. the best part of my current travel situation is that I am traveling alone...that means if any little challenges come up or this tiny little irritation of no sleep causes an irrational response to the announcement, " Any passengers requiring a little extra assistance or traveling with small children may now approach the entry desk at Gate 14.", I won't have to worry about embarrassing anyone or apologizing for blaming them for something I am THINKING about. This may sound a little over the top if you are unfamiliar with that casually bantered about phrase....Jet Lag.

If this is a familiar experience for you, you are most likely nodding your head with a knowing smile playing upon your lips. That is, it would be your response if you are not currently sitting in an airport, feeling the scourge of that ridiculous phrase...Jet Lag!

Who called it that anyway? What kind of description is that? Lag? Are experiencing a slight 'lag' in our step or general demeanor? I really haven't noticed a lag at all! Say that 10 times in a row really fast - lag lag lag lag lag lag lag lag laglagal! Arg! What a dumb word... I am starting to hate that word. Oh great! Hear comes that pushy lady with the clipboard again. LADY! Which part of 5 hours of broken sleep in the past 72 hours are you not getting here?..oh, heh heh, she is talking to the guy behind me...oops! Oh my gosh, did she hear me? um, did I use my outside voice? Oh my gosh, did she hear me....Oh I am so sorry, all I really want is some sleep... It's not a good excuse for my lousy attitude I know. Please forgive me? It is so out of character for me. Honestly, usually I am pretty upbeat and optimistic in any situation. Oh when they say it is worse coming home, they weren't kidding. Who are THEY anyway?!

Little reality check

Why is it when you are waiting for the milestone biggy events, they take so long to get to... but are so quick to wind up? I have been here for 12 days, only 6 more and I will leavin' on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again! Woosh, it is flying by.

We are making fantastic use of our time together though.

You know you are hangin' with a real friend when you both laugh hysterically over absolutely ridiculously frivolous hogwash. Too fun! There are many more photos, but since we are both a little challenged by the technical side of life and a little too weary to worry much about it at the moment, this is all ya get!

We went and tried wigs on in this gigantic mall, oh my gosh, I have never been in anything like it. Funny thing about being over here, it seems like everywhere you spend money, there are new best friends. Suffice it to say I have a few new best friends! ;-)





Another afternoon, we were so hot, soaked through from humidity hot, we decided to be goofy and pose in front of the camera... hence the last photo! After we were done we remembered that there is a/c in the house!! We are having a lot of fun and shedding a lot of tears...mostly laughing tears.

Those are the easy to share moments.

The thing that I find the most difficult to describe are the extremes throughout the city. Extreme opulence next door to devastating poverty. Marble and glass snugged up to the side of a rotting wood frame draped with torn, faded, remnants of fabric which is covered with a bent rusty metal sheet with holes throughout. Both are dwellings are somebody's home.

We drive by street vendors valiantly offering their wares while semi trucks and trailers pass within inches of their bare or flip-flop shod feet. What has impressed me tremendously over the past few days is the effort that is so apparent, both in and out of the city. Approx 14 million people live in the city of Jakarta, and most of the local residents that I have seen are either on their way somewhere or in the process of a days work. It is hot, it is humid, it is dirty. Everywhere. Yet people courageously stand in the middle of the most incredible un-choreographed maze of traffic I have ever seen in my life. They will possibly make a few dollars a day.

In my sheltered upbringing, I have never had to be half as brave as most of the people I have seen here. Reality is not always kind. As we pass by, I am not blase or becoming desensitized, but there is a shift happening inside of me. I trust that as I see and experience more of this 'life', God will give me wisdom in processing all of it. He will speak into my life in new ways, ideas to help less fortunate people to be able to be self sustaining in a new or improved way. These are not new ideas to me, but there is certainly room to improve most of the time.

I do not want to forget the laughter I have shared with my friend in the silly moments of our short time together, but I also do not want to forget the many, many, people we have passed by, whether in the car or on foot. Perspective can be a very good thing. There is so much opportunity to make a difference. My anticipation is for more; growth, courage, heart, compassion, sound business ideas, and yes....laughter.

A funny thing happened on the way to the store...

How many times have you heard a story about someone from Vancouver who went to Mexico and met their Canadian next door neighbour by the pool in Play del Carmen?

Well, back in the 70's/80's I think it was Hawaii, but we seemed to have expanded our travels.

So my first night in Indonesia, I happily followed Kim to a ladies gathering where my ear quickly picked up on a familiar accent. Hmmmmmm, I started chatting with M#1, who is one of Kim's friends, she and her hubby have travelled the world, worked all over the place, but originally she was from England. Yorkshire to be exact. I knew I recognized the accent! One of the ladies I used to work with(M#2) was from Yorkshire and one of the fellows I work with now was from Yorkshire.

sidebar....Actually, another funny little fact... they are all M's! Do you think all of Yorkshire is named with M as the first initial???

I sent my current co-worker, M#3, an email and said, "Wouldn't you know it? I have traveled down below the equator and met a lovely lady who is originally from Yorkshire?" He promptly emails me back, "Oh my, what area is she from? I am from Bradford." I told him I wasn't sure but the next time I saw here I would be sure to ask.

Last night, on our way back from a family sporting event, we came across the path of a fine fellow who Kim has gotten to know, he is originally from B.C. He introduced her to his brother in-law who is over visiting from Canada. She asked him which part, he tells her Western Canada, the central interior actually. She perks up a bit and says, " Oh, which area, I have family around there?" He brightens up and says, "Quesnel?" Tris's ears perk up and he leans over and says,"Well do you know Bob and Betty Smith?" Brother in-law's entire face busts into a huge smile, " Well, I'll be, they are really good friends of ours! Known them for years!" So they exchanged a lot of little funny tidbits regarding the well known facts they share about Uncle B and Aunty B! I love this stuff!

Well wouldn't you know, my hostess with the mostess ( literally the best hostess!) let me tag along to another gathering of lovely ladies tonight and low and behold, M#1 was there! Straight away I said ," M#1! I heard back from M#3, he is wanting to know which area of Yorkshire you are from, he is from Bradford." Well, she waves her hand in such a way as to say, "oh of course, I know it well" then she replies, " I was from Hull, I used to pass through Bradford every day on my way to and from work!"

We all laughed and sighed over the fact that our great big world just isn't all that big these days.

M#1 then shared a story about when she was a teen living in Hull, knew a young fellow who was a wonderful mentor. He came from a family that had older brothers, but she didn't know them. One day , many many years later, while in Sydney, Australia, and stuck in traffic, there was a car beside her with it's window rolled down. She could hear them talking, and there was no mistaking that Hull accent! After a few questions and confirmations about areas that they had lived in, they quickly come to the realization that he is one of the older brothers of her friend/mentor from her teen years!

I love it when I hear stories like this. It just seems to make the world all that more cozy or something....you know what I forgot to ask though? Did his name start with M too?!

Thinking outside of the box

One of the best parts of going to a different place has got to be finding different and funky foods. I remember as a kid, we went to Puyallup, Washington once, for a black powder rendezvous. Walking through the aisles of an American grocery store was quite exciting. So many different brands of candy ! We bought a huge variety of types and flavours to bring back to share with our friends at school. That was actually the first time I ever saw the 1/2 size cans of pop. Isn't it amazing what actually stands out in your memory? I have never forgotten that.

Every time I travel to any area that has 'different' types of food, I always choose as much as I can to bring home. It is kind of fun, especially if you are in an area like, oh let's say....Jakarta? and you have no clue what some of the 'fun food' might be.

That brings me to a recent event in which 2 current residents of the White House participated. ( for anyone who does not know, Kim and Tris's last name is White, it always brings a corny smirk to refer to their place as the White House) There is a grocery store in the local mall that has a lot of international foods , over here, Canadian is the International food ~ wink! They even have frosted flakes for a mere 118,400 Indonesian Rupiah. For fun why don't you google that amount into a currency converter....gasp! That is for a 430 gr box.

We decided this was the perfect shop to pick up a few of the unusual , fun and funky foods that would be well received back home on Vancouver Island. As we were browsing we came upon an Asian food section, there were lots of interesting little packages of things that resembled sweets but you can never be too sure. Amazingly, dried shrimp balls can look like an apricot roll, and if there is no English on the package....? Who's to know?

One of the packages had these crazy little dark brown discs about the size of 4 quarters stacked on top of each other. They were covered in a fine coating resembling straw dust. Is this sounding like anything you have ever seen in a barn? Two Canadian chics, each with a great sense of humour, examining a package of sweets that resemble something found in a barn in Merville ....one says to the other ," Why don't we get these and put a bunch in a little pile somewhere so when the rest of the family sees them, they wonder what it is?" The other one says," Oh my gosh, that is hilarious, I am SO buying these!"

Well, yesterday afternoon presented the perfect opportunity for such a prank. We were headed into to Jakarta at about 3:30 p.m. for church, not to return until 9 ish.... plenty of time for this little bit of fun to seem realistic.

What you may be unaware of is how many strange and crazy critters just show up indoors in this neck of the woods. One time Kim posted about the large snake that was enjoying a little vacation behind the toilet in their downstairs bathroom... yeah, the one they let me use! So for us to present this scenario was really not that much of a stretch.

Waiting until the last moment to set the scene, I scampered over to the little gap between the corner 0f the fridge and the wall that leads into the kitchen. Perfect! 7 perfectly shaped little drops of ???? By this stage of the game they no longer resemble a disc shape, I was quite creative in the restructuring and molding of these little gems. Quick, out to the car, give Kim the thumbs up, now, forget about it until later....

9:40 something p.m. we arrive back home. The way this played out you would have thought they were reading a script! oh my stomach still hurts from laughing so hard!

Tris walked past the fridge into the kitchen, did something then turned around to come back out, I noticed his eye flash down to the little mound of brown on the very white smooth tile. He looked.... he looked again...."What?!" he looks extremely puzzled, "What the heck is that!?" as he points to the pile. Kim by this time has busied herself setting her laptop up on the kitchen table, I have deeked around the corner by the piano, because I am already overcome with mirth. I was wondering how I was going to get through this without blowing it.

Tris called the kids to come and look, they were all aghast, what on earth could that be. The best part was that no one was getting too close, so it looked even more realistic. They were scratching their heads and looking at us and each other, what in the world? Kim decides to ramp it up a bit, I am trying not to pee on the floor, nor draw attention to the fact that I am dying laughing inside. She kneels down in front of the pile and says something like, " Ew, that's so gross!" then she picks a piece up! I am not going to survive, Abby is shrieking, "Ewww, Ewww, she picked it up!!! Mom, gross, oh my gosh, she picked it up!" Everyone is so fixed on Kim by this point , I just collapse into a chair and start to allow the muscle spasms in my stomach to take over. To really freak everyone out, Kim proceeds to poke her finger into the perfectly shaped little brown mass and then take a bite out of it!!! Oh please, stop, I am going to die from pain I am laughing so hard. Tris has clued in obviously but the kids have not. Oh it was just so funny.

This morning Kim came down and heard me typing, she said she is going to write on her blog and post the photos that were taken strategically throughout the entire Case of the Mystery Brown Pile. Then she said that Tris told her later that he really believed it at first. There has been a komodo dragon in the neighbourhood, mysteriously appearing inside peoples homes, and he knew that was the only critter big enough to leave droppings that size. The cincher for the reality check was when Kim picked it up, he knew then that there was something funny going on, she would never touch poop!

For photos please look on the right hand side at blogs that I follow, click onto Tris and Kim's Indonesian Adventure, it is worth it!

Flip Flop Thong

Day 4 of my great Indonsian Adventure is about to begin. Let me tell you little bit about day 3 ...

Yesterday was one of those, "Quick, breathe, now onto the next thing!" kind of days. It was great but I could not keep that pace up for long. First thing in the morning, Kim and I headed to the market with Ami and Harris, their house helper and driver. It is about a 10 minute drive from their house, through an incredible selection of twists and turns and vehicles and bikes and people. There are over 14 million people in Jakarta, I am starting to understand in a very small way what that means. Driving in any area of commerce is like being in the middle of a production of a well orchestrated movie, and you wonder where all of the 'extras' came from. Oh, and they are all driving some sort of vehicle. Another analogy might be similar to watching the activity on an anthill. This is no exageration.

We arrived at the market in one piece thanks to Harris's expert ability. As we hopped out of the car, I was cogniscent of the fact that my feet needed careful direction as the ground is a myriad of texture and levels. Because of the rain, which is incredible in itself, there are patches of wet and muck sporadically situated along the entire walking surface. Ami goes ahead of us for if she is seen entering the market with us, the prices of the fruit and vegetables would realize a quick increase. Kim and I wander along behind, she seems completely unaware of everything as she guides me to our destination, you can tell she has been here before. I probably look like a small child entering a candy store, eyes wide open, head swivelling back and forth for fear of missing anything.

As she suggests an entry point into the market I am aware that it looks as though we are headed down a fairly dark alley with stalls and a roof throughout. Looking down at my feet, my internal register spikes as I nearly step onto a wet rotting heap of "compost". Reajusting my compass, I follow along. The tables are beautifully landscaped with the wares of each vendor. In no way am I suggesting that all of the wares are beautiful! Uhhhh, no! The dead chicken peices and animal organs spread out on plywood with flies doing a Riverdance....not in MY bling book.

Kim is looking for fabric to make a special baby boy quilt. We walk up to a counter where there is nearly as much merchandise as 1/2 of Fabricland, although displayed much tighter as the whole shop is about as big as a 6 ' x 12' box. As Kim is chatting to the lady ( in Indonesian by the way!) about colour and texture, my eye has been drawn to movement on the ground. Approximately 2" from Kim's strap covered barefoot in Birkenstok, there is a cockroach, for all intensive purposes attempting to master the dryland backstroke. It is about 2 1/2" long, shiny gold and brown, swimming for all it is worth. The like minded seamstresses are completely oblivious to the 'sporting event' that is taking place at their feet. I quickly realize that I am staring intensely at a level of morbid interest. In my mind I am thinking, "Rebecca, you have heard about cockroaches forever, in movies and books, so now you are face to face, please, it is a bug!"

We move along winding through the stalls following pathways, passing a young man snoozing in stretched out fashion on the top of his motor bike. Amazing what you can accomplish in the right environment. Suddenly I am aware that one of my feet feels wet and my flip flop is sort of resisting following my foot. (Okay, time for a sidebar: seems to me that not many years ago my thongs would have been stuck! When did underwear obtain the right to utilize the descriptor of summer foot wear? Flip flop or thong? I find that almost as distracting as when they changed the words to the Canadian National Anthem! Who makes these decisions? I want to write a letter!) I manage to retain the right to move forward with my FLIP FLOP attached to my foot. I quietly whisper to Kim ,"I don't even want to know what has just splashed up onto my foot." She smiles knowingly and keeps on going. In case you missed it, the funny thing about what I just did was whisper.... do you think there are a whole lot of english speaking merchants in this little village market in the locals area of town? Yeah, so did I mention that this was only day 3 of my Indonesian adventure?

Don't worry there will be more.

If the shoe fits, wear it!

Is there a DNA gene between comedic experiences in life being hereditary? This is the kind of thing that happens to my amazing Mumma all the time. No, Seriously! All the time. Are you ready?

So I woke up at abot 5 a.m. the morning I started my trip to Jakarta. Sadly my flight from Vancouver was not until 2 a.m. the next morning...I had the worst head cold , oh man! I missed my last sunday at church for awhile, spent the whole day snoozing, drinking 14 gallons of various fluids, psyching myself into some kind of travel minded state for my 8:30 p.m. flight from Comox.

I arrived in Vancouver, happy to have free wireless in the airport. Helps pass the time for sure.

Feeling pretty crummy, decongestants popping like smarties, stretched out (as much as one can!) in the 2 seat gap between armrests in the international holding area. Would really pay any amount of money for sleep and a cleared head...

When I checked in online I thought I was being pretty smart choosing a window seat, well, I now recommend the aisle! The seats are so closely placed behind one another that you can't just slide out , without appearing extremely familiar with your neighbour. I was seated next to a lovely couple, "Mr." & "Mrs."who appeared to be in their early 60's, originally from China but have lived in Edmonton for the past 30 years. I was very cogniscant of the fact that they slept for most of the first 10 hours on the flight, although at breif moments I did help sort out the challenge of the little tv for "Mr."

By the 10 hr point I really need to visit the loo, I noticed that "Mrs." was awake and seemed ready to head to the loo also, so I touched "Mr." lightly on the shoulder and asked if he would mind if I skooched out to use the ladies room. "Of course, certainly certainly, just let me get my shoes on." he says most happily.

Well, he hands me a couple of empty glasses and starts fishing around for his shoes...I am thinking ,"Mr." I am the one going to the loo YOU don't need your shoes on..... anyway...he fishes and fishes. Then he starts to get serious, he is crouching in the aisle and crawling partway under the seats reaching as far as he can looking for his shoe. I am, as you can imagine, getting a little concerned, did I mention not having been to the ladies for over 10 hours???? so I reach down and start fishing around also. I am pulling out newpapers and a spare blanket, he almost trips someone as they are headed to the loo also, but it is dark, most people are sleeping , I am thinking that noone was expecting to find a body crouched in the aisle "fishing" under the seats! Yes time is passing, yes my bladder is beckoning to me gently (!!!)

Finally he says, "Aha!" and victoriously holds up a black slip on shoe! yeay........uh, that is my shoe? I turn the overhead light on and look down...OH mY GOsH! I am WEARING HIS SHOE!!

I was so shocked! I could not beleive it! How the heck, what , huh! Oh my gosh! I was so emberassed and bewildered! He starts to laugh, but oh the look on his face! If it was anything like mine...Oh we laughed so hard, it was almost hysterical! "Mrs." came back from the ladies and when she saw us she looked so puzzled, what on earth was so funny. Well I still had his shoe on, we were laughing so hard, people around us were very curious, craning their necks, standing up and looking over the seats. He is on his hands and knees with my shoe in his hand, chuckling away, I am sitting pointing to his shoe on my foot, just about dying with laughter.

Very quickly it was apparent what had happened. We had both taken our shoes off, he was stretched at an angle and one of his shoes must have fell into my section of floor. When I realized I was going to visit the loo, I felt around in the dark , with my foot, for my shoes. As I slipped my left foot into my shoe, it didn't feel right and instantly I slid it over to put my right foot into the "right" shoe! The rest is history!

For the next 4 1/2 hrs, periodically one of us would make a quip about shoes, my shoe, nice shoes, would you like a pair like this, would you like to borrow my shoe, where can I get a pair like that, what size are your shoes? It was pretty funny.

I told "Mr." that the good thing is we now have story to tell and we would never forget each other.

What a great flight!