December 17, 2011......The Power of Nature

They know how to do a few things right, here. Like have a thunder and lightning storm. Two days ago the kids and I were out running a couple errands. We soon started to drive through some serious rain. We could hear a little thunder and see some lightning in the distance. But what continues to catch me off guard here is, where there is one storm there are often several others in the area or about to be. The first clap of thunder close to us made us all jump out of our seats. It took my brain a few long seconds to determine that the loud noise and cause of the car shaking was indeed thunder and we were not just hit by something. The storm was so bad by the time we got to the grocery store that the kids all had their hands over their ears. They were afraid to get out of the car. They were afraid to stay in the car. Ryland thought for sure the lightning was going to hit us. And his fears were not completely unfounded. Lightning hit the ground here just a couple weeks ago.

I looked around the parking lot and did an internal debate. We were out of a few critical items and needed to make a stop. Right or wrong, I took a cue from the locals who were still going and coming from the store, albeit quickly. I reassured the kids that we were going to be ok – it wouldn’t be as loud in the store. We made a run for it.

It was quieter in the store and electricity managed to stay on, despite several threats to cut out while we were there. The storm was still going pretty strong by the time we got back out, though it had moved out of our immediate area. Several traffic lights weren’t as lucky as those in the grocery store, but we got home safe and sound.

The tropical environment makes you pause in awe of nature between storms as well, even when you live here year round. Last Sunday evening Paul and I put the girls in the double chariot, Ryland on his bike and went for a run along the nearby coastal trail. At each picnic table there were locals (not many tourists in the wet season) eating with family and/or friends. There were kids playing on the grass and sand, adults sitting in camp chairs having a chilled glass of wine, and others just sitting on the grass with book in hand and camera at the ready. All were waiting for the approaching sunset.

As we ran along, taking in our surroundings, Paul and I looked at each other with understanding. These are a few of the reasons why we are here. To learn to stop and pause more often; to breathe the ocean air deep in our lungs and allow it to replenish our souls; to make more time to just have a picnic; to pause long enough to let the powerfulness of nature reach our conscious brains and to teach our kids to make this a way of life.

December 16, 2011.......Running Bare (with clothes on)

I finally brought my barefoot running to a whole new level. It wasn’t preplanned or intentional. But I guess it was meant to happen.

It’s been about 2 years since I have run with typical running shoes and I have come to love the freedom of running with non-supportive shoes. It all started with my coach, Lisa Keller announcing that I just HAD to read the book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. about two days after I started the book I was hooked. I now have a mix of shoes that I adorn when heading out for a trot, from Vibram Five Fingers to Zoot triathlon shoes (like pull-on slippers). I have also run without anything on my feet for short periods on the treadmill or around a track.

Lately I haven’t been running much at all and I was jonesing for one when I woke up this morning. Paul had to be at work early again so I decided that the kids and I would go on a little adventure of sorts. We figured out how to get the double chariot and Ryland’s bike in the car. We planned to drive up to this area we are interested in living, park, put the girls in the double chariot, Ryland on his bike and I would get in a little run as I pushed the chariot. Our objective was to run through part of the neighborhood to check it out and to end up on the coastal trail.

I made sure I had drinks and snacks for our 15 min car ride, cool water to pour over the our heads during the run, even colder water to drink, more snacks for the kids on our little adventure, sports drink for me, sunscreen, bike helmet, camera, sunglasses. Check. Check. Check.

We got to location, got everything out and put back together. Water over everyone’s head; water down everyone’s throat; sunscreen on all exposed parts; helmet on Ryland. Loaded up the chariot – kids, water, camera, snacks, sunscreen, phone. Ok! Lets to do this. Final check before locking the car…I look down at my feet. Flip flops. Uh Oh. Hmmmm. This might be a show stopper.

Well, let’s try it. We've invested too much to just put everthing and everyone back in the car and go home. First few steps…not too bad. Would actually be better if the flip flops were more mickey mouse. They are the moldable kind – you put them in the oven and then wear them to mold them to your feet. But I hadn’t done that yet. So they had more arch support than I wanted and were overall too cushy. No big deal unless you are running. And my stride was already messed up, trying to push a double chariot. I didn’t want an injury. Hmmmm. The trail looks pretty clean. Maybe I can just do it barefoot. The trail is concrete so maybe not too too hot yet. Let’s try it.

It worked out great for most of the way. The last little bit I had to put the flip flops back on because the trail along the coast is asphalt, which was way too hot without some sort of protection for my wimpy feet. All in all, it was a complete success! I might get a couple blisters, but we got the run in and had fun doing it. We got to the beach, had a little break, potty break, another little “shower” to cool down, warm drink (cold doesn’t last long here) and made it back without incident. Woohoo!! Celebrate the little victories!! Then, quickly back to A/C to cool down and rehydrate!

December 10, 2011....Bike riding in Darwin!!!!

Here are some photos of the kid's enjoying their bikes...so happy we were able to put them on the air shipment!

December 10, 2011.......Paul's posts on Facebook

December 10, 2011.....Oh the weather outside is....HOT?...Chrissy Vacay?

My Christmas memories of sights, smells, etc. are stored on one side of my brain. Memories of tropical environments are stored on the other. They are trying very hard to link up...hasn't happened yet! We are trying...went for a drive after dark last night and saw some pretty cool displays of Christmas lights. There is Christmas spirit here, just WARMER spirit than we are accustomed. I saw a house last week that had some white fluffy material stragetically put around the yard to make it look like snow had gathered there. Cool idea! We're not alone! Our new friend Tracy, from Pennsylvania, was telling me that she cranks up the air conditioning in her apartment before she plays Christmas carols. Another great idea!

I can't believe there are only 2 weeks left before Christmas. Paul and I haven't bought a thing. I am refusing to get worked up about it this year. We will soon have to do a little SOMETHING, though. We do have 3 little kids. The kids and I have put up some Christmas decorations, including a little tree. We have also been playing Christmas carols. It's just funny to be driving around tropical land, signing songs of snow, cold and fireplaces.

The Christmas food and weather might be different here, but the general principals are still the same....getting together with family and good friends, eating a lot, giving presents and Santa Claus. We've been asking around, especially to the locals, to find out what Christmas looks like here and it's not that different. My hairdresser (who did an amazing job, BTW) was born and raised here. Her Christmas is a mix of local and German traditions because her boyfriend's family is from Germany. That is one thing that makes Darwin interesting - a wonderful mix of people.

In general, Darwin is a good amount of different...you don't have to worry about the water, lack of english speaking (although the accent is still difficult to understand), or the lack of western medicine. The sanitation standards are the same. There are similar holidays and traditions. But it is enough different to really broaden all of our horizons.

The language intrigues me. It's not just the accent, which I love. Its like everyone speaks like a teenager. But they ARE cool, not just trying to be. There is this "everyone is the same, its all good, mate" kind of atmosphere. My hairdresser this morning, said (on more than one occasion) "No drama" in place of saying something like "Cool". And its all the abbreviations. Our friend, Nancy (also from the US) got a message, "Going to Brissie for a Chrissy vacay." Indeed, the abbreviations are so common they have even made a grammer rule...

If the word is more than 2 syllables long, find a way to shorten it.

This is often done by taking the first syllable and adding an "o" at the end. You will even hear these words on the radio or see them on signs. "Aboriginals" becomes "Abos", “present” is “pressie”, “ambulance” is “ambo”, "Salvation Army" is "Salvos". More efficient? Depends if you are saying it or you've just arrived and are trying to understand someone else saying it. Either way, it's interesting for sure.

December 5, 2011......Kids Update

I wrote this last Monday and didn’t get it posted!!

We had a great weekend with the kids. Saturday was the ConocoPhillips Kid’s Christmas Party. It was fun. There was an inflatable water slide, kiddie pool and jumping castle outside the local rocking climbing facility. Inside, they had adults belaying the kids on the rock climbing walls and a large kid’s jungle gym. Add good food and Santa Claus to hand out gifts and you have a kid’s Christmas party. We even met some nice kids. It was HOT, though. We drank lots of water and after the party we had a nice dip in the pool at home.

Sunday was relaxing. Paul took the kids out to the pool while I got some work done. Early afternoon we went for a drive so the kids would nap. Sunday evening we went to a park with some new friends to see the annual Carols by Candlelight. We sat on a blanket on the grass, listening to choirs, soloists, and groups playing various musical instruments, all making beautiful Christmas songs. There were lots of people in a huge amphitheater. Of course Santa showed up on stage toward the end so sign along. Then we watched a fireworks show. It was probably the longest show I have ever seen. Pretty impressive. The kids really took to our new friend, Mr. Lincoln, who was born and raised in Africa and told the kids lots about it. Sounds like the property they grew up on had a massive grass yard, where he had a pet monkey and gazelles. Pretty cool.

It is difficult to get in the Christmas spirit with all the heat. This past weekend’s festivities definitely helped. In our air shipment, which should arrive today, we have a few Christmas decorations and a little artificial tree. Decorating with the kids will also help. We have been trying to figure out what new traditions we will have here and what old ones we want to keep. Most everyone does cold seafood for Christmas dinner here. We’ve thought about it, but it will be tough to go without the turkey! Maybe for New Year’s Day we will do a prawn dish.

There is a local competition for the best Christmas light display (winner gets $1000). On line you can look up who has entered the competition and where they live so you can go see them. That should be fun.

The kids are doing well. We’ve all had little bouts of stomach upset. Our systems are getting used to the local supply of bugs. The older kids have also had a few nightmares, probably a combination of the big changes, heat, newness of everything. They are getting more settled now – the past few nights they have all slept well.

We have been researching options for schooling next year (new school year starts the end of January). There is a private Waldorf school (aka Steiner school) here that we are excited about. It seems to be very nurturing and well established, with teachers very experienced in the Steiner curriculum. Ryland has a slot there if we choose to take it. We are also continuing to research the private international school here. We will see!

In the meantime we have been doing some school at home. It’s interesting how kids are different. Kaelyn loves to spend time coloring. Ryland wouldn’t necessarily seek that out, but if he deems something useful work he is all over it. He has written a letter to Aine (our dog) who is still in quarantine in Sydney. Last week we had to do a big grocery store run. While I worked in the kitchen he spent about 40 minutes making our list. I helped him spell the words and he wrote them down. When we got to the store he found the items on the list and crossed them off as we put them in the cart. He was way into it. It was wonderful!

The kids all miss our dog and cat. Paul and I debated whether or not it was a good idea to import them to Australia. The process was difficult and costly for us, not to mention difficult for the pets. Given how much we all miss the animals we are happy we are doing it. It will be another month before we see them and we can’t wait. The kids and I have done up a little care package to send them which seemed to help. We also have a person hired to take Aine out to the exercise yard within the quarantine twice a week and to give Harmony (our cat) some extra love. She emails video and photos of both animals to us. It’s good to see they are alright. Harmony is still a little grumpy and probably will be until she is settled back with us.

December 5, 2011......Mail address

Some of you have been asking us for a new address...we can receive LETTER mail through the ConocoPhillips "pouch mail" system, so you only have to mail it to this US address and we will get it. Merry Christmas!

ConocoPhillips
NAME (Paul, Carolyn, Ryland, Kaelyn, OR Johanna Barry)
Darwin Pouch
P.O. Box 4569
Houston, TX
77210

December 4, 2011....Different - good, dangerous and confusing

You have to expect things to be different so far away from home. And they are. Surprisingly, though, there are more than a few things here I wish I could just infuse back home. Don’t get me wrong…this place has its share of problems/issues too. It’s just some differences are kind of surprising and a nice change. For example, it seems from all our dealings with people of any authority that most everyone here is a PERSON first and foremost. Their primary job is not to figure out how you are trying to pull the wool over their eyes or scam the system. It seems that they are primarily there to help you.

One example...arriving in Sydney. We go out through security and collect our bags. In addition to our 3 little kids and 5 carry-on bags, we now have our 10 large checked-in bags. We go through customs. No issues. Then we get in one of the lines for quarantine. Johanna (our 2 year old) announces that she has to go pee. There is no bathroom in this area. She still doesn't give us a ton of advanced notice so we feel pressured to figure out  a solution sooner rather than later. A security guard says, "No problem, I will just escort you two back through customs and security to the bathroom, wait for you, and then escort you back to your family." OK!! THANK YOU!

Another example…customs issues with an incoming package from my sister (which is another story). One phone call to Sydney…guy at the other end takes time to hear my story. He tells me exactly what to do to resolve the issue – where to send my email, what (out of the whole story I told him) is relevant to the people who will get my email. He told me what would happen next. I did as he said. A short time later I get a reply to my message. “Carolyn, Thank for your email. Your goods will be released shortly.” DONE. Amazing. There just seems to be an underlying trust here. And lack of red tape.

When Paul and I went to get our driver’s licences, we expected the worst. When I moved to Alaska from Calgary, it took almost a whole day to get a new licence. I had to wait in line, study for a test, wait in line, take a written test, wait in line again, paperwork, photo, payment, wait for printing. Now we were 2 people, with 3 little kids to keep occupied. We were not optimistic. A little paperwork, a short wait, very quick eye test, payment, photo, DONE. We were all completely done and out of there in probably 40 minutes!!

In my opinion, if anyone should ever have to do a driver’s test it should be people who have to learn to drive on the other side of the road. We are just a hazard out there. Well, I’M a hazard. Case in point…on the way TO the Motor Vehicle Registration I came close to pulling out in front of oncoming traffic. I was distracted. I was looking left to make a RH turn, just like I had done countless times before. My subconscious was fully in charge. I would have pulled out in front of the quickly moving, very close, oncoming traffic on my right had Paul not been in the car and yelled at me. Whew. That would NOT have been good. Thank you so much, Love.

Some other things are just different. And confusing. And sometimes asking other people to rid you of your confusion just confuses them. Fueling up. The car is finally approaching empty and I have to figure out what to put in it. I find a station and pull in beside the building to figure it out.

First I pull out the manual. Not immediately obvious what the answer is. I guess they assume you know what you are doing in that department. Hmmm…I’ll just pull up to the pumps and ask that nice gentleman over there. I pull up, think to first open the cover on the gas cap and look for directions inside. There is a sticker. Great! It says “Ethanol (E10) Fuel Suitable”. I look at my options. They are numerous…Gas, Unleaded, Diesel, PLUS ULP, Premium 98. Hmmm...

OK, back to Plan B. Let’s ask. The nearby gentleman doesn’t know. He thinks I can use Unleaded, not sure about the PLUS ULP. Uh oh. OK, plan D? Let’s go inside and hope that the person behind the counter is a little more knowledgeable. I tell him what is printed on the sticker inside my gas cap cover. He says I can use the PLUS ULP. OK.

When I go back in to pay for the gas I ask him what the difference is between Gas and Unleaded. Gas is a lot cheaper and I am wondering if they still have leaded gas here. It is right in the line with the other pumps. He says, “You mean Unleaded?” I ask again. He says, “You mean Unleaded?” This is starting to sound like my first “Who’s on First?” conversation. I tell him that’s ok…I’ll Google it. I ask Paul. He thinks Gas is actually gas, like propane, not gasoline. Oh! I guess propane doesn’t require a special, separate area here. It might not even require special training to operate.

The theme? I guess they just leave you to it here and if you don’t know what you are doing…well, your story might end up in the next book of Darwin Awards.

December , 2011....Swimming

We now understand why everyone told us we HAVE to have a pool in our yard. It is just HOT and the pool is so so nice. We are in it at least once a day and our little kiddos are growing fins and gills!

A few photos of our little fish...

December 2, 2011....My first tropical dance

It was over almost as soon as it started. And it wasn’t the kind of dance I would have chosen. I was also making little noises. Come to think of it, it was more of a hopping thing than a dancing thing...I guess it really wasn’t a dance at all.

I was picking up our gym bag to load it up with snacks and drinks for the next outing. You know what happened next. There was something crawling between my feet. Initially I couldn’t see what exactly it was. But I knew I didn’t want it between by feet and I definitely didn’t want it crawling up my leg. The kids were at the table, perplexed at what they could see of my little display. Until they came around the corner.

I went to the cupboard under the sink and chose my weapon…Cockroach Killer Spray. This battle was going to require something more than a shoe. There was a reason he had gotten to grow as big as he was. I was fairly sure he had outrun danger before. But he hadn’t yet crossed me. I got a little spray on him but he was still moving out. He sought refuge inside the gym bag. He was a smart little guy. I had to dump out the contents to get him on the run again. SPRAY!!! The spray was just shooting out of the can. He finally started to slow down. Then he stopped. The only thing moving was his twitching antennae.  I blew the end of my pistol (err I mean can). Carolyn 3, Cockroaches 0.

December 2, 2011....A couple pictures

Biology lessons abound...ants eating a cockroach.

Metal crocs are ok...