Kwaj Blog

As Time Runs Out, I See Better the Clouds in My Way

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:04:08 +1200

With just five weeks to go before our departure from paradise, the tearful goodbyes have begun. Many friends are departing for their summer month(s) away to the States, so we say goodbye to most of them long before our own bags are packed. As I watch my older children navigate this rite of passage, my heart just throbs, but even after a sad wave to a friend leaving for the summer and who we won’t likely see again anytime soon (perhaps ever), my nine-year-old son agreed that it is far better we came and met these folks and experienced this than to have spared ourselves the heartache but also the blessings.

Last night I sat on the beach stargazing with some friends who are about to leave, and as we periodically scanned the beach around us with a flashlight for ghost or coconut crabs encroaching on our personal space, I thought how profound the cloud formations overhead were. For a few minutes, we could see our favorite constellations, albeit a little tilted from how I view them from the Massachusetts sky, and then for a few minutes, our view was clouded over. A shooting star was occasionally seen, as was a satellite (not this particular night, however). Then the clouds drifted over, and even though we knew the stars were still there, we had to TRUST that they were, since we couldn’t see them. That’s how it was for me to live here in this tiny place as a stay-home mom with a small child still at home. Some days I could see clearly and embrace all that this place had to offer. Other days, I felt the cloud roll over and fog my clarity. I had to TRUST that my clarity would return. I often felt squished by the fishbowl life and the impossibility of being anonymous when I just needed a few moments to feel that way. I needed to go to the grocery store and not have somebody ask me, quite publicly in the cereal aisle, why I took my kids to the hospital that particular day. That would cause me to fog over and lose my grip a bit on those days, until the stars came back into focus and I could once again navigate my way.

From another angle, I hope I tried to shine bright most days, but other days, I let a cloud of frustration or being overwhelmed dull my brightness. I did not always awaken to seize the day, but I think I was mostly honest with myself on those days. After the eighth knock on the door somedays, I decided to give my introverted, very private self permission to stop answering it or to turn the nonstop throng of the kids’ friends away. We let some in somedays, and other times we kept our time sacred and private. For me, it was the balance I needed for surviving in such a small population in such a remote place. And the conclusion I have come to is that, “Bonnie, that is perfectly okay.” There is no “right” way to do Kwaj. The only caveat to that is my recipe for living here, which includes these three very important things: To stay open-minded, to remember we are guests of our host nation and not act demanding or self-entitled, and to remain keenly aware that whatever battle you fight, that same person is going to end up as your kids’ sport coach or in your Sunday School class. You must be forgiving and move on, or you will be miserable. You must exercise a good dose of grace. The only way I personally could ever fill my supply up enough to occasionally get this part right was to go to the Lord. Nobody else has the power to offer it on their own. Only the One who defeated the cross has the endless supply of grace needed for the tougher moments in life.

So now, as I take my last trip across the placid lagoon waters on a friend’s sailboat, or I camp out with the family on the beach at the other end of the island, it all looks so much clearer. Time running out on something will do that for you. Our newspaper “publication” here is called “The Hourglass”. That’s how I feel about Kwaj...the sand is running out of our particular hourglass on Kwaj, for the time being, anyway. This place grew me in ways I could have never anticipated, but unlike the sand slipping out of the bottle with five weeks to go, my lessons learned can stick with me. When the clouds roll in back in Boston, and I temporarily can’t see ahead of me, I can remember that the stars will be seen once again. I will just need to hang on and recall the moments laying on my back looking up at Kwaj’s brilliant sky, praying that those crabs kept a comfortable distance while I took a moment to search the vast and beautiful universe from the tiny dot I lived on for a short while on this great big planet.

A LEGO in My Pocket

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 08:45:54 +1200

I recently went on a brief “retreat” as a mom to Honolulu by myself for three days....something that sounds so exotic when you live somewhere cold, but something which really is just island hopping for us. However, from here, that means re-entering the United States and being 5 1/2 flight hours, an ocean, and a country away from my family. Not my typical retreat, of sorts, when a getaway weekend with a girlfriend used to be an overnight to a Bed and Breakfast in Rockport, MA, just over an hour from where I lived at the time. Certainly it wasn’t anything I ever pictured myself doing when I had needy babies in the house. Anyway, it was a Mother’s Day present of sorts from Mark, and we had travel miles to burn. It was a great way to refresh myself before the next wave of major life transition hits. In many ways, it already has.

As I got off of the plane at 3:30 AM local time and rushed through customs to get to baggage claim, I realized I had a LEGO in my pocket. It was a stunning reminder that no matter where you are and what you are doing, once you put kids on this planet, being a mom defines you...at least a significant chunk of you. I went on this little trip to find the rest of me again, but I was reduced to smiley tears when I saw this little red LEGO roof piece tucked in the fabric of my jean shorts. I had helped my third grade son retrace his steps earlier that afternoon (right before my flight) to find the pieces of the diorama he did for a book report; as he “scooted” home with the box in hand, several LEGO pieces apparently had gone AWOL between here and the school. I must have absentmindedly shoved that one into my pocket, only to find it almost 10 hours and one large ocean later. It struck me as so poignant: It’s part of my job to help the kids “build” their character, strength, wherewithal, etc., to face another move, adjust to a new neighborhood and new school, and do the whole fast-paced Boston life all over again. How painful (and yet how rewarding!) the transition to Kwaj was. There were tears of not meeting friends instantly, and there was the feeling that everybody knew what they were doing but us. Boston will be a return to the familiar, to some extent, but we have become islanders in many ways, and readjusting our gauges for metropolitan life looks a little overwhelming from this end of the pond.

After a day or two of restaurants (and not cutting anyone’s food but my own or escorting anyone to the restroom!) and shopping for teacher end-of-school-year gifts, I settled down and sat by the pool on a chaise lounge and even sometimes, when feeling like getting away from people, on my balcony. I prayed for a sense of calm. I sat one day by the ocean at dusk and asked God to clear out all thoughts in my head that were anxious and untrue and replace them with a flood of His truth. Have all of my anxieties vanished? No, but I did hear loud and clear that I do not have to do this alone. He holds the other LEGOs ready to attach to the ones I am trying to build. He has answers I don’t have yet. He knows the old friends with whom we will pick up where we left off, and He knows which new teachers await my kids, which new colleagues await my husband, and which new friendships await us all. He knows how I will move into my first house, jetlagged from 17 hours of travel, and still get kids registered in their schools on time, and buy two cars before our five-day company allowance of rental car runs out. He knows the challenges we will face, and He knows the answers to problems I haven’t even posed yet. I am already worried about the red roof pieces and where they will go, but He wants me to trust Him to build from the bottom up.

Honolulu initially was a very crowded, claustrophobic place for me. When we first arrived in August 2007, and even since then, it felt just like another crowded city, with too many tourists, but a beautiful venue. Even subsequent trips through it have been spent rushing around to Walmart to get school supplies or seeing doctors. It is not a place that usually connotes “relaxing” to me, since for us, it has always been a mad scramble to suck in as much civilization as possible before going back to the isolation of our tiny island world. However, knowing that it was my second-to-last time before leaving this part of the world, I soaked in the palm trees, the aqua blue of the very calm ocean, the smell of plumeria and pineapple or coconut, either from the lotion on other people’s skin or in the tropical drink the waiter just made one table over. It was a peaceful place for me this time because I stopped and just appreciated it. My agenda was to relax and be alone. To cry, to laugh, and to speak to the Father as the pink-orange sun set in the sky. When I looked around and saw kids frolicking on the beach and at the pools, my heart ached for my own children, and I could picture the last visit here on our move back onto the mainland this July. I determined we were going to get our swimsuits on early in the AM and just swim and play when we all come together. But more than anything, I was reminded this trip that I can’t and should not attempt to do anything without the Builder and the LEGOs He gives me. I may think certain pieces are important, but in the end, His promise is to build us. It’s not up to me which pieces and in what order. So, once again, I try to discipline myself to hand the soon-to-be chaos of my life over and let Him order our world. Wish me luck!

Matthew 6:25-27, 34

“For this reason, I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is life not more than food, and the body than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life’s span?....Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

The Latte Lady

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:58:57 +1200

I recently had to move across the island to a different house right around the time we were trying to decide if we were going to stay a third year or not. While being closer to school and town and having a great view of the ocean waves from sitting on our patio were huge pluses, it was almost too much on top of the stress of trying to make such a major decision. I kept asking: "God, is this Your answer? Is this Your provision for me to stay another year? Or is this just a beautiful gift (no dishwasher and one bathroom only aside) to enjoy, seeing the ocean from all of the front windows, for a few months left here?" I didn't have an automatic answer, but I knew He would answer me. I just didn't know when.

Then along came the "latte lady." She was someone with whom I did volunteer work and whom I had gotten to know a little throughout the year. She also shared my passion for top-notch espresso drinks, something hard to come by on our tiny island. What's more, she had a super-automatic espresso machine, something I was saving up to buy by selling all of our no-longer-used goods at home. When I inquired about how it worked, I just expected a brief lesson. I enjoyed a morning sitting on her beach, drinking lattes with a third friend and watching David and my latte friend loading hermit crabs into his little plastic pick-up truck. I did not expect a phone call 3 times a week with a made-to-order espresso drink brought across the street to my house just as the kids were off to school and before my eyes fully opened to start my morning. It seems simple enough, but her gift of friendship in this way was so much more to me. It was a gift and a hug from the Father. It was an "It's okay to just enjoy what I bless you with today. You don't always have to know about tomorrow. Just enjoy today." It kept me stable during a tough time of before, during, and after a major life-changing decision to return home. It was a shared interest that was allowed to blossom and bless in my last few months here. And it was a smiling friend at my door with a warm mocha or caramel machiatto in the morning, which is a tough time for me anyway. Even my three year old learned to greet her, and if my older two were busy eating breakfast when the latte wagon arrived, they knew her as my latte lady. :) She'd come in, and we'd exchange an empty, clean cup from a few days before with a new one, filled with whatever magical concoction she created in her kitchen that morning.

It seems true that we mostly make our friendships based on common interests. One friend of mine on the island and I share political frustrations as well as lengthy discussions about serial episodes of LOST and the older X-Files series. We could drink coffee and talk about that for hours, almost forgetting the little preschoolers playing at our feet. Another friend and I laugh about so many of the same things and enjoy analyzing people dynamics on the island and how different people function in this tiny island world. But my latte friend has brought a gift she is likely somewhat unaware of....a reminder that the Father desires to gift us and love us in all circumstances. I am sad I am only here a few more months now to enjoy this new friendship, but I also know she came into my life at a very specific time and in a very specific way. It helped me see I can accept some things in the now and not stress about the future. If you are a coffee or tea enthusiast, you know that a shared cup is a meeting of the minds and hearts. :) People bond over java like they bond over dance or a joy of music. My engineer husband bonds with his friends over tweaking existing programs to offer more.

So, yes I am still leaving, despite the on-island move to a house we will enjoy for only 5 months, but I have a chance to experience the island from a slightly different perspective and to enjoy new neighbors. People bond here quickly. For all of the things that do perplex me about the island, that is one thing that I have observed. Common interests are discovered very quickly as time is always unknown, and friendships may only go on a short time before this transient society shifts and moves again. I am so grateful for my latte friend. What she brings me goes beyond the caramel sauce dripping on top or the amazing consistency of the foam on top. It calms me down and makes me stop and smell the brew. :)

A Little Red Scottish Beanie and the Winds of Change

Thu, 5 Mar 2009 20:36:57 +1200

When my oldest son, now 9, was 3 years old and starting preschool on the campus of Stanford University, where my husband was attending grad school, he used to migrate immediately to a little red Scottish beanie in the dress-up bin. If he wasn't wearing it before I left, he almost always was when I came to pick him up. It was a security and transition item for him. It freed him up from being my son for a few hours (in his mind) and let him be a preschool kid and feel safe being left. When he put that on, he could be free and imaginative. I would often return to pick him up and see him obsessing over putting a number puzzle together over and over again, but the hat would be on, and even if he stayed at the puzzle center most of the free time, the hat was on, and he was a free little bird for a few hours. It became such an attachment, that as we left to move to Boston, his preschool teachers told him to take it with him to Boston. That is how it came to reside at the bottom of my toy box.

Over the years, he has put it on again here and there, but now, six years later, my second preschool-aged son wears it at age 3, not in any way knowing the significance of it. As the third child and having a very social personality, he doesn't need the hat to help him adjust. It's just a hat to him. But when I saw it on his head this morning, it made my heart go back in time to a more anxiety-filled first child going to preschool for the first time and then, following that, moving from CA to Boston. The hat was so important. I am pretty sure I need a hat like that right now. My entire family does.

You see, we just made a very difficult and painful decision to not extend our stay here on Kwajalein for a third year. It isn't painful because we don't want to go back to Boston. It is painful because we will likely never come this way or get this opportunity of a lifetime again. It is painful because life is easy, slow, and simple here in many ways. It is safe. Our children have wonderful freedoms and opportunities. They get to exchange culture and learn new things in a very different and unique environment. They have stretched themselves, and I am so proud of them. It is also painful because I know my husband would love another year to accomplish more here to broaden his career. It is painful because we have developed some wonderful friendships here. And living across the street from the waves crashing to the shore is both therapeutic and peaceful. All of my front windows and patio look out to that view. When will I get that again? It is painful because we have adjusted on some level (and now it's time to go already!). We aren't anxious to get back to car maintenance, the economy, the responsibilities of owning a home, the rat race, the constant media overload (advertisements and such), etc. I'm not even that desperate for Walmart or drive-through lattes at Starbucks anymore. I miss it on some level, but on the other, I don't. It breaks my heart to see my children now look at each event in our last five months here as a "last experience" and already anticipate goodbyes to friendships. My older son even expressed sadness at not being able to dance in the Marshallese Christmas program again this year. Apparently that meant a lot to him this year, and I might not have found that out had we not been facing his new change ahead.

But I remember well the fears and anxieties we had to conquer to approach this strange new life in the first place. I remember well the prayers, tears, and excitement of a family of five in prayer together asking God to bless this new adventure. And my heart definitely split its time between here and Boston the entire time we were here; it never fully resided here alone, perhaps because I knew an end was ahead eventually and because I never was able to fully conquer the desire to be back with loved ones back home. I cannot wait to be reunited with them in daily life. But it is the end of a chapter, and so we mourn in healthy ways until full acceptance comes. It is a process, just like getting my rusty chain back on my bike again. You can't skip steps: There is an order to things.

One of the deciding factors to our decision was that the preschool cannot accommodate my preschool-aged son because of his three main food allergies. There are no issues with this back home. The preschool my daughter attended had no problem handling food allergies. So, alas, we decided staying became a lifestyle issue for him in his growing development (and all of his friends are moving on to preschool). I'm glad the preschool here was honest about handling his safety, but not accepting him based on something that is somewhat manageable is frustrating. But again, we chose to live somewhere for a while that has limited resources. We cannot expect this to be "a Little USA." Many people here do. We didn't want to come with or adopt that attitude. We are guests of our host nation, nothing more and nothing less.

So, as we get ready for the winds of change at our house, we may each take a turn putting on that little red Scottish beanie, or something like it. Switching gears keeps life interesting, but transitions can be tough. We place our hope in the Father who brought us here and will get us home. And we ask that He helps us make good use of the time left on our tiny, remote, tropical island....enjoying experiences here and hopefully being used by Him to bring encouragement, sunshine, and love to others here who need it. In the meantime, I am thinking of asking my 3-year-old if it's my turn yet with the beanie. He doesn't seem to "need" it right now, but I think I am having a moment where I do.

Our Aussie Adventure!

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:39:41 +1200

What do you get when you buy blue sparkle nail polish and raspberry bubble bath? A great vacation!

Now, for those of you shaking your heads and wondering what on earth that has got to do with our trip to the Land Down Under, I really do have a good response. I have learned over the years that a vacation is what you make of it, how you set expectations, and how you set the tone for it. I have also learned how much my kids need to identify with us parents...what makes us happy, relaxed, etc. For Caroline, we have a tradition of getting one new nail polish color together each trip. And we do our nails the same. For New Year's in Australia, we got blue sparkle nail polish (a clear tone with literal sparkle confetti inside). We put that over our pink first coat for sparkly New Year toes! My kids know that a good book or X-Files episode while sitting in a warm bubble bath is a favorite way of relaxing for me, so we bought a huge bottle of Aussie bubbles and that's how we relaxed at the end of most days (not in the tub all together!)....each taking turns in the warm bubbles in the fun big bath tubs of our serviced apartments. We even brought Scuba-Diver Barbie along to enjoy bubble baths and the apartment pool; we did not escort her to the Great Barrier Reef, however, much to Barbie's great disappointment. She did not have the proper diving certification. :) We also brought along Slamwich, a new game we got for Christmas, and we had fun playing that in the evenings. When I remember this trip to Australia and Guam, it will be not just the furry koalas I got to pet, but it will be our small celebrations as well, complete with bubbles and sparkles! It was how to relax together in a different place. It was how to feel at home.

Thank you for your patience with my first paragraph. Now onto other stuff...Australia was a wonderful experience....the kids did great, and we got to do more than I thought we would. It was all about expectation. We expected them to need "down" days of just playing and not high-paced running around, and they actually did better than we thought. We accomplished much more in each city (Cairns and Sydney) than we thought we would. Nobody was sick (other than one small wheezing attack), we had safe travels, and we mostly had gorgeous weather. We attribute that to our prayers and the prayers of our dear ones for us ahead of time. God does indeed care about the things we pray about and that we share with Him. Cairns had a nice tropical feel....hot like Miami and sticky like Kwaj. We were certainly not out of our element there, even though the a/c was welcomed! It was a lovely smaller-town feel. Tour buses pick you up for most of your booked attractions, although Mark did drive the "other side of the road and other side of the car," Aussie way on the one day we rented a car to drive to Port Douglas and the Hartley's Crocodile Adventures park. Sydney, on the other hand, was a bustling city but cleaner than many U.S. cities. We got around there mostly by walking city blocks, ferry, monorail, and subway. It was cooler in temperature but still experiencing the Australian summer.

Before I get to koalas and crocodiles, I want to comment on Aussie culture in general. People are wonderfully friendly and very welcoming to families. Even ticket pricing at zoos and other adventures was geared toward saving families money. We stayed in serviced apartments for several reasons: Families with more than 2 kids have a hard time finding a hotel room anywhere that doesn't insist on getting two rooms; we had a kitchen to save on meals by cooking a few dinners and fixing our breakfast every day in the room; and laundry facilities were right in our apartment room. This way we travelled light with only 5 outfits each and could launder as we needed. I discovered that zip lock bags were handy for everything from doling out laundry powder amounts to packing David's allergy-friendly meals. We discovered that the Aussies have outlet switches for every outlet so when you want the power "off" for the outlet you use for your toaster, you simply switch that one off. They also have a "half flush" and "full flush" option on their toilets (I have seen this elsewhere as well) to save water and only use a big flush when necessary. Isn't this exactly what you wanted to know about Australia? I'm glad I could help! :) Truly, my only complaint is that, although there are a few great coffee houses, overall, their coffee culture doesn't meet my coffee snob standards. They do french-press a lot of their coffee, but I just wasn't digging their java too much. That’s not bad as my only complaint! :)

A few words about words, as my oldest son was so intrigued by this, and hopefully we adults got to using the right terminology by the end of the trip:

U.S. English /Aussie English
Target (the store) = target. (yes, with the period!)
Stroller = Pram or pusher
Ketchup = Tomato sauce
Vacation = Holiday
Sprite = Lemonade
Elevator= Lift
Soccer = Football
Swimsuit = Cozy
Burger King = Hungry Jack's
Drugstore = Chemist
Parking Lot = Car park
French fries = Chips
and my personal favorite...
Green/red peppers = Capsicum

Yes, indeedy, we tried to order peppers on our pizza only to find out they didn't know what we meant. We later cracked the code: Ask for capsicum! :)

[I know my South African friends will laugh at me as they use much of the same terminology, and I should be used to it by now after communicating with them all of these years. :) ]

One highlight of the vacation: Mark got to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef (outer reef), while the older two kids and I got to snorkel out there. Three-year-old David wore a life jacket and can claim that he indeed did "swim" in the Great Barrier Reef. :) The older two kids and I enjoyed a brief ride on a semi-submersible, where we saw Nemo's complete set of Reef friends.

In addition to our day out on the Reef, while in Cairns, we also took the Kuranda Scenic Railway through the Kuranda rainforest, seeing gorges and waterfalls; we then took the SkyRail back, which was perhaps one of the highlights for the kids--whether it was the cool SkyRail across the treetops or the torturing Mommy, who is afraid of heights, I'm not sure. :) While in Kuranda, we went to Kuranda Koala Gardens, where I held a koala while the kids pet it. It was very snuggly. It is also one of the few places left in Australia that let you cuddle a koala anymore. They are allowed to be cuddled for only 30 minutes a day. We also were able to pet a mommy kangaroo with a joey hanging out of her pouch. And the kids also visited a Venom Zoo where all 3 kids held a python together, and they heard an explanation on the tarantulas, scorpions, and millipedes.

Hartley's Crocodile Adventures was a wonderful experience. The kids saw a live "Croc attack" show and then saw it reenacted again live outside their ferry window as we boated through salt-water-croc-infested waters. At this park, the kids also saw many other native Aussie animals and pet a baby crocodile. We heard about the 10 most poisonous snakes in the world that reside in Australia. To the kids' delight, we also learned that for a short time when they are weaning, baby koalas (joeys) eat their mommy's poo to develop a good stomach lining and digestive system. This was definitely a popular discussion among our almost-9-, almost-6-, and 3-year-old children!

On our last day in Cairns, we enjoyed walking down the Esplanade, frolicking at a huge sprinkler playground that took up an entire city block, and then swimming in the Esplanade lagoon pool that is geared toward children with shallow waters and a slow gradation that slopes like beach waters...sand and all. It had fun decorative sprinklers and also took up a city block. It was a fun, free attraction along the beach front, especially at this time of year when there are "stinger nets" and alerts out because of the high population of painful "stinger" jellyfish in the waters of tropical Cairns. This is where the name "stinger suit" comes from...something scuba enthusiasts probably already know.

Another note about our time in Cairns was that at night, after the kids went to bed, we'd sit on the balcony and read. It was incredible to hear the different bird life chirping and communicating....definitely sounded very lively and different than the birds we even have on Kwajalein. It truly felt like you were in a rainforest. It was one of my first "senses" to experience Australia, and it was very memorable. It was the first time I felt like I really was somewhere a bit different than I'd been before. Mark felt that way as he saw the taxi buzzing us down the “wrong” (according to American highway laws) side of the street! :)

On to Sydney we went, where we discovered they have Family Fun Days on Sunday where you can ride the subway and buses all day cheaply, so we planned our Sunday outing to be the furthest away from the city so we could get more bang for our buck. We rode southwest of Sydney to the wonderful Featherdale Wildlife Park, which was one of my favorite places. There we fed kangaroos and wallabies out of our hands, pet more koalas, and saw some amazing wildlife, like a Tasmanian Devil. The kids were able to get much more hands-on with the animals here. David was absolutely enamored with wallabies at his eye level! It was very hard to pull him away, until he accidentally tripped on one of their legs, and then he was very sad thinking he had hurt the animal (he didn't).

The next day we visited the infamous Sydney Aquarium, which was one of the best aquariums I have ever been to. It had several tunnels under which you could walk and see manta rays, tiger sharks, and all sorts of creatures swimming above you. It was there that we met the only two dugongs in captivity in the Southern Hemisphere (dugongs are similar to manatees....sailors used to think they were mermaids). That week, we also went to the Taronga Zoo, where you ferry over and take a cable car up to the top where you can look out and see the amazing Sydney Harbour, Sydney Opera House, and famous Harbour Bridge as you walk down through the zoo. We decided to try out Sydney's very small-attraction and very old theme park, Luna Park, where the kids went down huge slides in sacks and rode traditional rides like carousels, the ferris wheel, and bumper cars (ask David what a thrill that was for a three-year-old who doesn't regularly ride cars on Kwajalein to actually be crashing them!). The only attraction playing at the Sydney Opera House for an affordable price and targeted toward children was Le Grand Cirque, an amazing contortionist and trapeze/stunt circus performance that entertained our kids thoroughly, except for David, who preferred to rock his own theatre seat and take notes to try performing the stunts at home (wish I was kidding!), but at least we experienced the famous Opera House in some way. And we ended the week in a way that suited our oldest son quite well: The Powerhouse Museum, which to his delight had a Star Wars hands-on exhibit as well as many other science-type exhibits. It was complete with a 3-to-6-year-old section where you could pretend to be a construction worker and load bricks (made of foam), build houses, assembly-line the bricks, etc. Caroline and David had the time of their lives being "Wendy" and "Bob the Builder" for an hour.

As a side note, some of the native Aussie animals we met and learned about throughout our entire trip were: kukkuburras and cassowaries (both birds), wombats, wallabies, wallaroos, kangaroos, koalas, dingoes, bilbies (like a rabbit), flying foxes, green tree frogs, blue-tongued lizards, ghost bats, sea turtles (Crush and Squirt on "Finding Nemo") and blue penguins.

A words about flights and Guam. Our only flight option from Kwajalein is Continental Micronesia. We could either fly 5.5 hours the opposite direction to Honolulu to catch a direct flight to Cairns, or we could fly the "island hopper" (actually a very big plane) more directly that touches down in several of the Federated States of Micronesia before getting to Guam. It touched down in Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Chuuk (most Americans know this island as "Truck") before heading to Guam. We thought this would be horrible as a flight....taking almost 7 hours to get there with all of the stops, but it actually was nice to get off for 30 minutes at each of these islands. We spent one night and day in Guam before boarding an 8 PM flight to Australia. Guam is like Hawaii...very American in a tropical setting. It has a nice beach front and some fun shopping, but one day was plenty for us to fill since it was just a stopover. It allowed the kids to rest. Coming back, we flew a 1:30 AM flight to Guam and then 6 AM on to Kwajalein, arriving 5:20 PM on Kwaj (two-hour difference), so it made for a long day, but the kids slept on and off through most of the flights. It was not too horrible.

This blog truly doesn't do our recent trip to the Southern Hemisphere justice, and for those of you just joining our blogs, please don't read this as a "braggy Christmas letter." We just wanted to recount the highlights and express the wonderment of seeing another part of the world. It was a vacation of a lifetime, and we are so grateful we got to go while we live in this part of the world. Our oldest son had to work on the plane on an outline for a talk he is giving in his third grade class this week. It had to be on something he was very familiar with to practice oral presentation for 10 minutes. He was able to write out his experiences of his trip, and it actually helped me form my "report" for this blog. I am so grateful our children had this enriching experience. We learned a lot about ourselves, our level of patience (we did pretty well most days, overall), and our ability to adapt and be guests in another country (again...we do that every day here on Kwaj, but in the relatively "familiar" presence of many other Americans). We learned how big the world is and how cultures blend everywhere you go, making the history unique and the culture rich. We appreciated that, other than the "getting on each other's nerves" and typical arguments, our kids travelled very well and "went with the flow." We tried to take on the popular Aussie saying: "No worries, Mate!" and hopefully we brought a little bit of that back with us. If you ask 3-year-old David to articulate his feelings about his trip to Australia, he would likely say he mostly was excited to see Nemo in the underwater observatory, to hold a python, and to hand-feed a kangaroo. How many 3-year-olds can say they've done that? Now, if only such an accomplished 3-year-old was potty-trained.....hmmm...

(As for pictures, we need a few days, but we will get them up on the photo album part of the site soon. Also, I plan to finish writing a blog on what charity and giving look like on Kwaj during the Christmas season. I was so proud of our women's charity organization and what they accomplished this holiday season, and I think it is of some interest to see how the cultures blend in "exchange dinners," supply "drops" to outer islands, and toy drives here in the Marshalls! Stay tuned.)