Babies in a Bus: November 2013

Friday, November 15, 2013

Community

One of the biggest culture shocks for me in Bali so far has been the immense sense of community I feel here. Living in a villa with so many other people is amazing, but watching and talking to the Balinese about family is truly an experience. They're so affectionate and understanding towards little ones, and after trying to research why (and battling to find answers) I asked our taxi driver (who had two kids of his own, a 14 year old son and 11 year old girl).

He said that in their religion it was believed, babies were reincarnation of an ancestor and are seen as gods, and because of that they are treated so highly. For me it seemed so bizarre, I have always been around multitudes of religions, but to see my little Lilly-Mary as a god just seemed so foreign and unbelievable. After watching our driver play with her though, I could see his conviction.

It's shameful to admit, but when I watch the men of Bali play with Lilly-Mary, my mind would automatically jump to whether he was gay or not. A terrible stereotype but one that is really portrayed in western culture, that men who care for children are either gay or have another agenda.

It was such a sad realisation. Men are demonized so much in western culture, they are almost too scared to be seen as kind to children (especially if they're not related)but here in Bali, men are very, very affectionate to kids, they will happily hold babies and coo cheerfully.

I'm often told how lucky I am to have a husband who is so hands on with his child, and I truly am! But watching the men here, it just seems so very normal.

In addition to that, I love how welcoming Bali is. I love that I can now walk down the street and know our neighbors. I love that despite the language barrier, I can bond with other parents here as our babies play.

A lovely little family just down the road from us, I love how big their little boys eyes are!

Alba's little legs

The villa where we are staying

Friday, November 8, 2013

Lilly-Mary's first flight- Bali

Bali

Lilly-Mary's first flight

As we drove to Perth we began to feel uneasy, we were going to Bali for an entire month! Not only with our beautiful 7 month old, but with a group of talented creatives.

Aaron is charming, and Lilly bear is charismatic and cute, but how would my severely socially awkward self fare meeting so many new people? And what about all these youthful and gifted people?! We weren't cool, young and hip anymore. Our idea of a big night out is getting to watch half a movie before falling into an exhaustion fueled coma. I was nervous to say the least... And I could tell the same worries were eating at Aaron as well, we grew tense in the days leading up. A combination of excitement and apprehension began to take over, what exactly had we gotten ourselves into?!

Luckily our fears were completely unfounded! The people here are wonderful, the food is delightful and we couldn't be having a better time :)

So, onto the tale of Lilly-Mary's first flight.

I'm not going to sugar coat it.... IT WAS A MIRACLE!

She slept the entire trip (which is only a short 3.5 hours from Perth) We had planned the flight to coincide with her normal routine, in the hope she would be asleep by the time we boarded but the few days leading up, her routine had gone completely out of the window. So we had thought there was no hope and were going to be flying with a screaming baby, she surprised us all when she snuggled into the ergo and went into a baby coma.

Now in saying that, I'm not sure if I would actually recommend that to future baby toting travelers, and here's my reasons:

1. Not all babies are the same! And to be honest, I'm pretty sure there is no chance that Lilly-Mary will sleep through a flight again.

2. It was exhausting! Not only did we stay awake the entire trip, but our flight was also delayed 45 minutes, which left us cranky, hungry and weary. When we eventually got to Indonesia it was 12.30. By 2am we had arrived to our villa in Ubud, just in time for Lilly-Mary to wake up fully recharged and ready to play. By the time we went to sleep, Aaron and I weren't exactly on friendly terms. We then spent the next day going around hot and humid Bali, getting to know everyone on exactly 3 hours sleep...

So far, Bali has been amazing, the people of Ubud are some of the kindest, happiest people I've ever met and I can't wait to share all of the adventures we get up to.