First ballet class

Linnea had her first ballet lesson today after school. Considering she was awfully disappointed she wasn't allowed to do Hip-Hop (it's only for kids in Reception and up), I wasn't quite sure how this girly-girly tutu-heaven, pink galore activity was going to go down with her...

All the mums were in place today to help the little ones change, and then off we went to the school's dance studio. At least they were all really looking the part, they were so, so cute!

 

They learned so many things already today: "happy feet"(=pointy toes), "close the door" (=feet together), stretch the fingers, hands on hips, rise up on your toes, straighten your necks like a giraffe etc... It seemed liked a little bit too much information for Linnea, who had never tried this before, and couldn't really coordinate it all at once. But she did her very best, listening to all the instructions:

I thought it was a shame though, that discipline seemed to be so important already with these 3-4 year olds - Linnea got hushed on (!) when she laughed and was happy, and again when she excitedly said "-This is so much fun!!" - bless her...

 

Here is the whole little group:

I'm not quite sure she will want to go back next week. We will see. She seemed to have fun, but you never quite know with her. I hope so. She was so incredibly gorgeous..!

The little butterflies

Here is a little clip from today. They are being little butterflies, floating around, waving their wings... Aren't they cute!



It is Linnea who is laughing and giggling (and getting hushed...) by the way.

Hashing at the beach

Yesterday, Anna, Tina and I set a hash at one of the beaches up close to us. It's called Pantai Meragang, but everybody calls it Crocodile Beach - even though, as far as I've heard, noone has ever seen a crocodile there.

We laid the trail in through the jungle quite a bit, it was pretty thorny and jungly, mostly actually virgin trails; and ended up out on the beach so the hashers got a lovely run back to the tent, along the beach in the sunset. It was a really nice run actually!

 

We saw a kingfisher:

As I said, they got a nice walk/run back along the beach - isn't it beautiful?

Pantai Meragang and the South China Sea, at sunset:

Everybody arrived back at the tent, safe and sound.

As hares (=the ones who lay the run of the night), we got awarded a down-down. Here we are getting ready, one...

... two...

... three!!!

It was also my 50th run last night! That's the first time you receive a special award, and then you get awards at every 50th hash you do. (Some of our hashers have done over 1100 runs!!! The Brunei ladies hash is the oldest one in the world!)

For your first one, you get a Selangor wine goblet/glass, with the Brunei Hen House Harrier logo, your name and the date inscribed. Really nice! This is me getting my glass, a closer picture will follow.

(Thank you to Tina for all the photos!)

First swimming lessons

Today was the day for the kids' first After-School-Activities, ASAs. We decided already at the end of last term, that we would send them to the swimming club this term, since it's the term that is most regular.
So, today both of them had their first swimming lessons, with the Dolphins Club - the swimming club at school.

Linnea will do half an hour twice a week. She is in a group with four of her little class mates, and she seemed to take to the listening-to-instructions so-so this first time... It was a lot of fun playing with her friends, obviously... It'll come!
Here they are doing bunny jumps:

 

And here they are "driving motorbikes", with their heads under the water. It's Linnea out in the middle of the pool:

Watch her go!

And here is Lucas, and his group. They are having an hours lesson, but only once a week.

 

Practising kicking:

And after swimming, it was well needed, and deserved snack time!

Nathan's new set-up

Nathan has gone into the final phase of his training for the Around-the-Lake-Race (in NZ) in November. He has worked out a training schedule and put all this training times into our calendars, and keeps to them strictly.
But what do you do if it's already dark, or if it's raining too much outside?

You do this:

He has got a perfect set-up! With some new, very silent rollers - at home, in the AC in front of the TV!

Such a shame

I read in the newspaper over the weekend that the Istana (the Royal Palace) will be closed for Hari Raya this year, due to the risks of H1N1. Such a shame, but fully understandable of course.

I really, really enjoyed my visit there last year; and was so looking forward to going up there again. Ah well, next year!
If you wish, you can visit last year's amazing slide show here.

Not a single one!

It's been a hectic weekend this weekend, and I sit here now and realize that I haven't taken a single photo all weekend!! Not a single one! Crazy, and very unlike me. What's going on?

We went to the Yacht Club on Friday afternoon for a 6-year birthday party. "Whirlwindy" as always but good fun, especially for the kiddies. In the evening we attended an adult birthday party which for some of us didn't end until 5 o'clock in the morning... Guess who.
Saturday I went to a surprise baby shower in the afternoon, with an endless arrival of goodies, sweet and savoury dishes, mmm; and in the evening I went to a girlfriend's birthday celebration, with more goodies and wine.

Yesterday the kids and I went to this month's Kids Hash at Subok. Good fun as always, and I was mighty impressed because the run was rather a long and hilly one, even for the youngest - and both Lucas and Linnea did the whole thing by themselves! Without complaining once!
It really grabs them, this 'follow-the-paper' thing. They love it!

Now I have to go find my camera, can't believe it's been packed away all weekend...

Hot, hot, hot!

This past week has been very hot and sticky here in Brunei, with next to no rain at all. I've been exercising every morning after school drop off, and I've had huge issues with being overheated afterward!

Even though, I finish off my training with a bit of a cooling down period every time, and even though I've only taken cold showers every time - not only have my face continued to be as red as a stop light for several hours after workout, but I've also continued to sweat profusely (too much information?) until way after lunch time! More than once have I felt the need to jump through the shower for a bit of a mid-day cool off, and I've really been bothered about this.
I can't remember it being like this last year when I came back?

Then, one of my teacher friends gave me a scientific explanation:
Living here in tropical climate all the time, makes our blood thinner. So therefor when we get home to Scandinavia/UK etc in the summer time, we are still feeling cold when everybody else are warm. Starting off our holidays in jeans and fleeces f.e. With time, our bodies gets used to the temperature back there and thickens the blood again, so - when we get back here, we get overheated!
Apparently, it takes quite a while for the blood to thin back down, and that's why I've been feeling the way I have. Probably last year, when it was hotter back home and cooler here, the difference wasn't as big as this year - hence I can't remember this reaction from last year.

I have read though that red wine is supposed to act like a blood thinner - so I'll go with that! That's a 'diet' I can do!

Perth purchase

Since Nathan is flying short haul, he doesn't do any long trips away to any exciting destinations out here. Every now and then, he gets a Perth, which is the only overnight our short haul boys do. If you are lucky, you get it on a day when the stores are open, and you can get some shopping done.
Some wives send longer lists than others with their husbands, of things to get. I have never really understood that and am really curious to know what all these things are they so desperately need to get?

Maybe it's just that I'm not so fussy, if the tooth paste we normally use isn't there, I choose another one; or if there is no ham I buy salami this week etc. After having moved about here and there and everywhere I guess I have just learned to make do with what there is - otherwise you make your life really complicated.

But, this time in Perth - Nathan did actually bring back something, this:

Lucky he had some practise this summer mounting one in Denmark, so it didn't take too long to put it all together. Matt helped, and they were just about ready when Linnea came home from school.

And then we had the inauguration:

The kids have already had lots of fun on this with their friends. It's huge, 13 ft, and keeps them busy for hours! Will give them lots of exercise too! Great purchase!

Hash handle

I was back at the Hash on Tuesday, for the first time in over two months. It was really nice to be out in the jungle again, but gosh, it was a hard one! Up and down, and up and down... and up... and down... and up... and - you get the picture! Felt like it was never ending...

At the shout-up afterward, not only did I get the hashit (again...), this time for something that wasn't really my fault - but, I got my hash handle!
Our JM (=joint mistress, the one who leads the shout-ups) did a hash christening and we had to kneal to get awarded our names to be used at the Hash. A hash handle is a nick name really, could be something connected to something you have done or said, or to where you are from or... well, random sometimes.
My friend Tina who loves to pickle onions and other various things got called 'Pickled Lilli', another lady who comes from Bulgaria got called 'Beluga' (apparently the caviar comes from there?); my Swedish friend Anna got the name 'Ryvita' (I found that a really good name!) and me, well, I got the name:
'Call Girl'...

Apparently, it's because I'm so good at shouting out the calls we do in the jungle... Ok, all with good humour of course - but, what's wrong with 'Ikea'..? I would have liked that!

Next week Anna, Tina and I are laying the hash. It'll be my third one and we are hoping it'll be a good one. It's also going to be my 50th run (!), so it's time for my very first award! I'll tell you more about that after receiving it on Tuesday!

Blog celebrity

Recently I have been feeling like a real blog celebrity. At a bazaar last week, a lady approached me and asked if I was "the lady with the blog"? Ehm, yes - I have A blog..?
Well, she was newly arrived in Brunei, and had been reading my blog for a while - she had found it while googling for information about everyday life in Brunei before coming here, and got hooked!

Funny thing is - this wasn't the first time this has happened!
I got "found" by a German lady this spring, who was about to move here from Singapore, and we ended up emailing each other for quite a while. I helped her with some of her queries and gave her lots of information. We have since met a bit now that she is here, and it's rather amusing how much she knows about me - just by having read the blog.
Same thing with a Swedish (yay!) lady who is moving out here in October. She also found the blog, and have been emailing. I'm looking forward to meeting her too in real life!

And finally, a friend of mine have visitors at the moment from home - guess if she got a surprise when they asked her if she knew a lady called Boel?! They had googled Brunei as well before coming on holiday, found this and read all my posts! Ha ha!

(Plus, I do think most of my readers are actually people who live here..! Good way to keep up with what we are up to I guess!)

Our prima ballerina

The ASAs (After-School-Activities) start next week, and the kids have after much deliberation decided to get signed up for football (Lucas), swimming (both) and ballet (Linnea) for this term.
There was a bit of a choice, but we didn't really want to over-activate the kids, so we thought one activity each would be enough; apart from the swimming, that was already planned to happen this term for the kids.

Lucas will need some new football shoes, since it's been over 1 1/2 year since he last tried his luck on football - and we are working on the ballet outfit for Linnea, for now she is borrowing one of Hannah's. It's a little bit on the small side, but she is still very pretty!

Now we just hope she is going to like it!

Happy Birthday Malthe!

Yesterday was our friend Malthes 6th birthday. It got celebrated in grand style, with a Superhero pool-party, bouncy castle, lots of snacks and treats, 'kagemand' (= a Danish speciality), Superhero cupcakes and lots of play of course!

Birthdays gets more and more fun and important - and Lucas and Linnea are already planning what kind of cake they are going to have and what kind of parties it's going to be...

Who would've thought!?

Look at this picture - spot anything strange?

She is wearing a hair clip!!!
She actually asked herself to wear one the other day! Could you believe it??
I have also tricked her into wearing her hair up now in school twice a week, for PE - cause girls need to have their hair up for that according to school rules. (Probably not girls with as little hair as Linnea, but don't tell her that...)

Long weekend

We are enjoying our long weekend. Yesterday me and the kids spent the whole day at the Yacht Club relaxing (Nathan was working), having both lunch and dinner there.
The kids were in the water and running around playing with their friends for all the six hours we were there, with me not having to intervene of any kind at any stage! Only short breaks for food and snacks, and off they went again.
Here Linnea and her little friends are having a picnick:

It was a lovely day.

A great first week!

We've had a great first week back at school. Everything have run very smoothly and I've managed to keep on top of things, even the kids ever growing schedule - they are so busy!
The kids haven't seemed as tired as they were last year at school start, but instead settled in really well both of them, in their new classes. It's like the summer holiday never happened, they have just got right on with it!

Linnea is mostly upset there is no school tomorrow, and today she proclaimed "I looove my teacher!" and have been busy all afternoon making pretty pictures to bring in for her.
She has also already shown off what she has been learning in Chinese: "Ni-hao!"

We are having a long weekend off this weekend, since on Monday it's a public holiday due to the celebration of the revelation of the Quran. It will be nice.

Very cool

I have spent the last few evenings together with 'Blurb'. Blurb is a program that I downloaded from the internet, where you can make books.
They support the making of all sorts of books: photo books, cook books and what I have been doing - a blog book! I have now put this blog into book form, for me to keep! It's very cool! So far I've done the first year, and will continue and do the second year too. It's great, like a diary and photo book all in one!

I haven't ordered it yet because I'm still busy proof reading, but I will of course show you the finished result as soon as I get it.

Rainy days

The last few days have been very, very rainy here in Brunei. A bit unusual for this time of year, but I don't mind at all. It's kind of cosy to get to be "cold" (well, not really cold...), turn off the air conditioning and light some candles.

But today after school drop off, I got a bit caught in the rain. Just as I drove back to our house a huge rain cloud hit our area, and I didn't have any umbrella in the car (had lent it out yesterday...). And since the gate is always closed because of the dogs, I didn't want to get out just then, I would've got soaked.
So I sat in the car and waited, until it passed. At least, it does pass as quick as it starts, so that's ok.

Early birds

School starts early in the morning here in Brunei. We leave home between 07.05-07.10 at the latest, (mostly to get a good park at school) the mornings get a bit crazy at school - too many cars, not enough parking space. Well - not enough parking space close enough so you don't need to walk too far...
By 07.40 when the bell goes, the kids need to be sat in their class rooms and ready to start. It means having put their bag away, and their lunch box and water bottle in the right place. In Kindy it's enough they are there by 08.00, but Linnea is always there in time anyway.

A day like today it's even more chaotic at school, because it was pouring down with rain.
Rain in Brunei is not like any other rain I've experienced. It's not like it starts to slowly trickle and 'drip-drop' and then maybe accelerates. No, it's like turning on a tap, as far as it gets, all at once!
I hate driving in the rain, because you see absolutely nothing. The wipers doesn't make any difference, because it' so heavy. Many drivers can't be bothered turning on their head lights, so it's a real challenge to get to school down the motorway, especially at this time of year!

Two years later..!

This blog is turning TWO today! Two years of blogging, with as I said in my previous post - over 1000 posts! Oaw..!

I'm still just as into my blog as ever - it has gone a bit from being a tool to 'tell friends and family about our life' to a bit of a diary for myself too, and that's totally ok. It's become like a good friend I want to share things with!

I'm really happy to have as many readers as I do, considering it's quite a private blog. I do hope you all keep coming back!
I have made a few in-real-life friends thanks to it as well, which has been great!
Keeping this blog is giving me a lot back, so I will for sure continue, for at least another year - if not longer!