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A major disappointment

Spicy veg soup for dinner anyone?  

I brought home a bottle of instant tom yam paste from the supermarket for our dinner.

Google translator helped me to work out the german instructions but did not stop me from pouring too much water into the pot.  The result was a super diluted vege tom-yam soup like no other.

I added what I thought was salt (I seem to be more clumsy and ditsy these days -  E came home and pointed out it was something else) and later, took on E's suggestion to add beef stock and curry powder for taste, alongside with some  real salt.  

The concoction now looks like tom-yam but taste spicy and sweet (we think it's because of the onion powder I used as salt). I am too disappointed to eat but E is enjoying his 3rd bowl of spicy and sweet veg soup garnished with some premium olive oil. 

Letting the meow out of the bag

I am in my second trimester; our baby is due in November.  I am happy and excited and anxious and nervous and everything else.  

Since being pregnant, I've experienced tremendous mood swings and a serious lack of energy. I know it's my hormones going wild and my body working hard. But still - I found it not too easy to adjust to the change and felt even cranky about my extreme tiredness and desire to sleep all the time (thankfully I escaped the dreaded "morning sickness" - experiencing only mild nausea in the late evenings - when there was not much going on).

I avoided writing here because I felt too exhausted most days - taking afternoon naps when I could and going to bed super early (even when we were in Brazil!). I also feared I would end up writing a lot of bleeeeurgh entries and the  world would see I had become a proper Ms. Grrrrumpy. As for the drawing blog - well , I couldn't even bear to see it, let alone post things on it. Which I know, does not augur well for my New Year's Resolution or intention to get back to creativity. 

Thankfully I'm feeling much-much better these days: my wild mood swings have, for the most part disappeared; my appetite is almost back to normal (no more funny and strong cravings for hamburgers or Malaysian food or carbs) and best of all; various parts of my body have stopped hurting. I suppose this is what people refer to the "honeymoon" second trimester. 

Last days here

Yesterday's lunch outing turned out to be so much better than expected.

We communicated in English; G made a huge effort not only by trying to speak in a language in which she was uncomfortable with but also by accommodating to my schedule and preferences. I appreciated this very much, especially having met a number of people (elsewhere) who would have preferred to remain silent or not have the time.

We had a pasta lunch - cooked in front of us. On the way out, we bumped into G's manicurist. G and her greeted each other like old friends, hugging and kissing, while reconfirming an appointment for a future date.  I have not met a cold and distant Brazillian yet.   

Making commenting easier

Leaving comments on this site had become so tedious lately, involving countless log-ins which led to nowhere (even for myself when replying to comments).   I don't know why I didn't look into this earlier.  But I have. And found out the problem was due to an overlooked checked box under "settings".  Problems solved.

Incidentally, I am about to have lunch with one of the wife of E's colleagues. She speaks very little English and you all know about my state of Portuguese. Let's see how this outing pans out.  

Slumming it in Salto

Salto is about 100km from Sao Paolo.  This is E's next place for work ...and mine for lounging around. 

I got a little bit worried while in the car to our hotel:  it seemed as if it was situated in the country side, with nothing of interest nearby (notwithstanding the factory that E is visiting).  What am I going to do during the day? The thought of being holed up in a tiny hotel room filled me with dread. 

My concerns have however eased considerably since then. Indeed,  I am typing this from the balcony of our sunny room. It overlooks a courtyard which is filled with white deck chairs and 3 reasonably sized swimming pools .  There are lush palm trees nearby.  The hotel is huge - hosting a massive garden, a couple of tennis courts, several dining rooms and bars and comfortable verandahs. Such a  far cry from the past 2 hotels we stayed in which were lacking facilities (there was a dirty swimming pool at the hotel in SP even).  

I spent most of yesterday basking in the sun - taking advantage of the weather which I will miss when we are back in Switzerland. Reading, surfing the internet and even doing  a spot of work (not much) on a cushioned deck chair by the pool (only thing missing was a caprinha in my hand). All this after I had finished jumping up and down, upon realising discovering that this hotel is more of a country retreat.

More of the same today! 

 

We were in Sao Paolo

E's brazillian colleagues thought I would find this a novelty

I've been missing in action.  

We were all over the place in Sao Paolo: meeting up with various people (mostly E's colleagues), spending a lot more time in the car -the city is massive and the traffic is often heavy ( although not as bad as the ones in KL in my view) , marvelling at how expensive most things are (they are not far off from Swiss prices) and eating delicious Brazillian and Japanese food (usually buffet) at trendy restaurants (did you know there is a large Japanese population here in SP?).

The city reminds a lot of KL or Singapore: friendly and warm people, lots of familiar looking tropical fruits for breakfast and massively constructed buildings and roads. It is however, a lot cooler and less humid than both South East Asian cities -which is very pleasant (and perfect weather in my books).  

Nice to see  women dressed up and wearing heels while out and about; completely different to Basel. The weather in the latter is to be blamed of course: I for one can't imagine trotting around there in high heels or open necked dresses, especially if I'm walking around or jumping on and off trams (which I typically do). I was elated to be able to wear stuff from my HK wardrobe here. I also found a place around our hotel to get my hair and nails done. All this made me realised that I really do miss my more groomed HK- self when we are in Basel.  

 

Pictures from Olinda and Recife

One of the old churches in Olinda (of  which I couldn't view the inside - it was closed during lunch time.)  I found the combination of blue skies and coconut trees delightful. 

 

This one (also in Olinda) I managed to view.  Lots of old sober looking paintings and statues typically found in old churches. Not much to shout about.

 

Olinda: The view from a high tower

 

Recife: The view from our hotel room 

A few hours in Olinda

I spent a few hours walking around the historic city of Olinda (c.17km north of Recife) a couple of days ago, while E was at work, accompanied by one of E's Brazilian colleague and an English speaking guide.

The city was founded in the 1500 by the Portuguese and is a "Unesco World Heritage Site".  It is situated high up on a hill with lush tropical green surroundings and has a number of old churches (constructed by the Portuegese), cobbled streets and multi-coloured structures which were once houses. I found the city pretty and cheerful.  

My Brazilian companions were incredibly warm and friendly - offering me copious amount of coconut water and cartola* and introducing me to other delicious local food - not unlike Malaysians (is it the sunny climate which makes people so hospitable I wonder?).

*Cartola: is a popular dessert consisting of a pancake made from tapioca flour and filled with sliced banana, sugar, melted cheese and cinnamon. I thought I would find it overly sweet ; but no, it was awesome.

Notes from Recife

Good day from Recife, where apparently, the weather (sunny but cooler, breezier and less humid than KL) is like this through out the year. Amazing grace. 

A few funny things happened to me yesterday when I was out and about.

1. While I went to get my nails done: The first shop I went to, just next to our hotel, was closed. There were however two ladies chatting by the side of the road as if they had just come back from jogging. One of the woman approached me to say (in Portuguese of course) that the nail shop was closed but she was available to do my hair. She took a key out of her jogging pants and opened the door to the hair salon, which was adjacent to the nail shop. I was deliberating about this, tempted but thinking about time. In the meantime, she kept taking pix of my handbag saying she liked it and even asked me to hold it out to her so she could take better pictures (que?).  My state of confusion increased when she made some motions as if to ask me to sell the bag to her or to buy one for her and she would pay. I tried to explain (in Spanish) that I didn't speak any Portuguese and looked at her friend nearby for some support or understanding.  The friend was making a whirling gesture to her head as if to tell me to ignore her friend who was nuts.  Any intention to wash and blow dry my hair quickly vanished as I rushed off.   

2. I found another shop which offered mani/pedi in a building which housed a super market. It was really more of a hairdresser offering nail services; there were at least 2 men getting a hair cut and a mani at the same time. The television screen was showing a documentary about a Chinese man teaching mandarin to a whole class room of young Brazilian students. The woman doing my nails, (like a few other people I met before)  asked me whether I came from China (communicating via Portuguese and hand signals).  I said no and said Malaysia . She (nor her friends) didn't have a clue where that was (like a few other people I met before).  I said circa Thailand and before I could finish the sentence, she squeezed myarm and said "Oh! Thai!!!". I'm guessing that would also be my faux identity in Sao Paolo if people there are also unfamiliar with Malaysia. 

3.  I went to the supermarket to get necessities like water, etc. I stopped by the loo on the way out and struggled to open the door, finding that it was blocked by someone, who upon realising I was pushing and  trying to enter, stepped aside to let me in. It was a  50? something woman who was incompletely dressed - wearing only a black brassier and a skirt. I was heading to a stall when I realised she was following me: she tugged my hand, said something and showed me her back. Ah, she needed help. I clipped on her brassier and she said some words in Portuguese to me and walked towards the mirror like it was the most natural thing in the world. 

Alo from Recife

We arrived here yesterday afternoon, after a 25 hour journey which started uneventfully from Basel Airport (Basel-Frankfurt-Sao Paolo-Recife). The toughest part was the 3 hour wait (which started at 5am) in the dismal domestic section of Sao Paolo airport. It was crowded: we couldn't find any lounge and all the restaurants were still closed. The queue into the airplane destined for Recife was chaotic: It contained several split-offs and because the signboards were pretty unclear, also people heading to other places within the country (they were refused entry at the gate of course and ended up walking back down, against the crowd, causing more chaos).

***

Recife is by the beach and is very sunny, with a maximum/minimum temperature of 30c/24c. Once unpacked and refreshed, we joined E's colleagues for a late lunch by the beach wearing light summer clothes which was a great pleasure as we had left a chilly and wet Basel.

Lunch was mixed seafood cooked in a thick coconut sauce and grilled cod with lots of onions and potatoes -served with rice and grated coconut: nice reminder of coconut flavours typically found in the dishes from Malaysia (I've been missing Malaysian food so much lately).   

It started getting dark after 5.30pm. This surprised me.  But the sun reappeared very early this morning - it was as bright as day at 5am. Looking out from our hotel terrace, I could already see so many people walking /running along the beach/streets. What time did these people wake up? 

Going to Brazil

Parents in law (PIL) arrived last weekend to spend time with LE: he  was on his school holidays.  Family stuff took a lot of my spare time and I was in classes from 9-5pm. All this left me with very little time to write here. 

* * * 

E has work to do in Brazil and I will be accompanying him. It will be my first time in South America. I'm looking forward to it. 

We start our long journey this afternoon.   

Sunday morning in the Zoo

We finally brought LE to the Zoo last Sunday. I say "finally" because it's been on my to-do list since last October but we never got around to doing it, be it because of the less than sunny weather or preference to stay at home overcome by inertia and pacified by our reasonable sized garden. This time, we were both intent on making it happen: wanting to encourage LE to run around, in order to regain confidence on his recovering leg, as suggested by the physio therapist last week. 

The day was chilly and we warmed ourselves by running here and there: It seemed to me that LE  enjoyed looking at the crocodiles, seals, ponies and clucking hens the most while my favourite viewing were the elephants and giraffes. All of us also spent some time admiring the lions, white wolfs and orang-utans. I'm not much of an animal fan yet I enjoyed the experience and found myself repeating to E about how incredible the planet is, to host such a diverse collection of living beings. I know I only noticed it because I was seeing the zoo with a four year old.

Tools for resolving conflict

Packed last few days: We were meant  to have classes today, despite it being Good Friday. However, the schedule was thankfully rearranged a few days ago with 9am-8pm sessions these past two days as a trade-off. Such long hours (pfft) but luckily, I found the subject ("Tools for Conflict Transformation") fascinating and the workshops (using the tools on our own case-studies) not only entertaining, but also illuminating, for typical daily conflicts and even for internal dilemmas.

Sharing a few key points: 

Detangling: We should try and detangle the "underlying goals" of the parties which is intangible, from "behaviour" which is visible. Even when the behaviour is terrible or unacceptable.  Typically, we tend to respond to the behaviour instead of  the underlying goal: this is especially true in the case of children: parents often punish bad behaviour and overlook to address their underlying goals. Adults also often do the same to one another. {I have to say that I fall into this trap when I become annoyed with MIL for her comments that I'm too old to have children when she is probably concern for my/future baby's health). The underlying goals can be legitimate or illegitimate: the former for example relates to fulfilment of basic needs (survival, freedom, identity, well being) and the latter for example results in unjust and hurting another.  

Outcomes: Also, when a solution seem impossible, we are much better off thinking and speaking about likely outcomes to the conflict -as a starting point to think about the underlying issues. Possible outcomes like a mathematical equation (e.g. A wins & B loses; B wins & A loses, A&B lose, A&B compromise; transcend - a solution which provides benefit for both) or  via a sorting method which considers four outcomes relating to the past and future (e.g best possible outcome in the future(good outcome in the past); worst possible outcome to avoid in the future (good experiences in the past).  

___

Interesting factoid: Did you know that approaching conflict peacefully is part of children's primary education in a number of schools in Norway?* Our Norwegian lecturers told us that their day jobs involve organising the curriculum and teaching kids as young as 5 the same conflict transformation tools they brought to us.  The children's case studies include popular fairy tales or even making the difficult choice between having to learn something in class vs. wanting to play outside. Impressive and progressive don't you think? Makes me want to live in Norway.  

*probably not the one attended by him

Always something to do

Especially when we have Little E with us and I have classes and deadlines for essays. Time just flies. 

I submitted my last essay due this week yesterday and celebrated by eating a cheese burger from the English pub in the city, sitting in the sun, on the way back to the apartment. My first burger in 6 months or even more; it just felt like the right thing to do. 

Today, E and I met up after lunch to pick up LE from school to bring him to a physio - we are told everyone around him should encourage him to run, walk, have fun and avoid making any comments about the way he walks.

The three of us had a lovely time in the evening after coming back home exhausted; he is now in bed and I'm so thankful that we all don't have to rush out early morning tomorrow.  

What plans for the weekend? Maybe a trip to the zoo with LE, if the weather continues to be gorgeous. Also to properly read this fascinating site which I found by chance, coming across this post first.

Finally...Part 2

So, what’s new aside from having wifi at home in Basel?

1. Spring is here at last. We started having some seriously good weather last week and officially switched to 'Summer time' yesterday. Good bye dark nights and heavy winter coats; hello sunglasses and picnics in the park. I heart the fact that we are now able to spend more time outside. Last Wednesday, 2 friends and I found a sunny spot by the river to have lunch and a natter. Yesterday, Little E and I attempted (unsuccessfully) to pull out the weeds from the garden after coming back from a wander around the neighbourhood (and seeing the horses are back in the fields).

2.  We collected little E a few days ago. As usual, it’s super to have him with us. He has been talkative and made us guffaw a few times. Yesterday’s gems include: (while watching an advert for the film ‘Avengers’) “Papi, as I am little now, when I am 30, can I watch the film for old people?” and (while we were out for the walk) “…that wooden house is cooler than a rhino!”.

3. I continue to fill my working hours with peace studies: Assignments are piling up and I’m becoming more sceptical compared to a few months ago, getting into heated discussions with course mates whom I believe to be too righteous and sprouting too much feel-good popular clichés. Of course, I continue to disagree with the extremism of the capitalist system etc. Still, at least in that world, no one is pretending that the ultimate motive is NOT about showing how much better you are vs. everyone else, or exerting control or or world dominance.  

 

Finally...

I have wifi at home in Basel! 

Hurrah and Hurrah! 

Eating well

I've been paying attention to what I eat: trying to consume only healthy stuff since we returned here in early February, in line with my 2012 goals (to be healthy, fit and fabulous). 

Confession: It has not been an entirely smooth ride. I.e. I've had a few setbacks along the way. For example when E and I held a tasting party of two; also, a few weeks back saw me devouring bars of chocolate at meal times, something I haven’t done since I was an undergraduate in Nottingham. Egad.

But … I'm not going to beat myself up for my lapses. Because I think I’m doing well overall and have made a vast improvement, especially when I compare my eating and drinking habits now vs. when I was in HK.  In HK I typically skipped breakfast and drank my dinner (even when I ran a lot). Nowadays, I try to eat 3 healthy meals a day and snack on fruits and yogurt. I also seldom drink anything stronger than sparkling water whenever we are out and about.

I’ve seen the light; my paradigm has changed. I’ve realised that *I* need to be responsible and take care of my body. My parents in law, seem well, but like my parents cannot travel anywhere without bringing along their little pouch of pills from which they extract 10 or so tablets each morning as a dessert to breakfast. 

What a stark contrast to my late grandmother who did not have to rely on any medication even when she was in her late 70s or 80s.  She was healthy and mobile and attributed it to her being very careful about what she ate. I also remember her drinking a lot of hot plain water.  

Learn to speak German already! (part 2)

So, I went to the supermarket again to try and sort out our rubbish situation.

It's getting out of hand with the trash in the kitchen accumulating with no where to go.  I don't know whether you know but here in Basel, there is a charge for household disposals and because of this, one is only allowed to use the council's blue bin bags for household waste. The thing is, I just couldn't figure out where to buy them.  E had mentioned the supermarkets but I never  found them whenever I went to the shops (usually by myself, in a rush, in between classes).

Yesterday, I went to the co-op specifically to search and sure enough they were not to be seen anywhere despite my scrutiny and slow walk down each aisle. Like in HK, the assistants couldn't help me when I asked them - only here they were more polite and I felt guilty for not speaking German (in HK, they would ignore me/shrug or say "no" in a 'get out of the way' manner) and it was only after much googling on my iphone that I realised that I would have to ask the cashier for them.

Which I did - using the words "Bebbi Sacks". Still I couldn't get the cashier to understand me. I was finally helped by a young lady who was standing behind me in line and whose groceries I had earlier rescued from falling to the floor. She told me I should ask for "Abfall Sack" from the woman manning the magazine/cigarettes kiosk within the supermarket.

Progress...? So, I went there and asked for a pack of 1o of the small 17 liter Abfall Sacks (CHF12/ USD13)  but was impatiently handed the larger 35 liter ones (CHF 23/USD 25). I struggled to remember how to say the numbers in German and there were others behind me, so I meekly gave up and took what was held out. Sure enough, I found the Abfall Sack way too big for me when I got home. I will have to wait for the rubbish to accumulate for another 2 weeks before I bring the trash out. 

 

Learn to speak German already!

I'm still missing WiFi connection at the city apartment - which is a bugger and part of the reason why I've ceased to post here as frequently. I received a number of posts from the wifi provider yesterday and hastily tore them opened, eager to find out what's happening, but like all other correspondences, they were in German. There is nothing for me to do but to ask my German speaking friends to translate them tomorrow.

It's been a frustrating to not be "normal" and understand what is happening here. I thought not speaking Cantonese in HK was inconvenient, but at least then, my bank/phone mail or any other written or official instructions, directions, communication were in English.  Here, everything is mostly in German; sometimes in German, French or Italian.

Yesterday, it took me 10 minutes to figure out how to withdraw cash from the ATM (from my new Swiss account -yay): Second guessing the options in German and finally extracting cash by trial and error. I stalled so much the first time, getting my card returned whenever I guessed the wrong option, that I gave up and let all the other people go ahead of me and only took my turn again when every single person had left and there was nobody else waiting.

Funny, if you told me I would feel stupid and illiterate for not speaking German before I came here, I would not have believed you. 

 

Conflict and Hair

On Conflict:

We are midweek into Week 2 of the new semester and already there are a number of issues simmering and approaching conflict territory ... amongst us - the participants and administrators. We are taught again and again that conflict per se is not an issue; it is the way it is resolved is key. Hence, it will be interesting to see how the issues play out in reality, especially amongst all of us, the people who say they are interested in peace and transforming conflict.

* * *

More importantly, On the topic of Hair. I.e. My hair:

So, I was argh-ing about the state of my unglamorous looking hair on FB a few weeks ago seeking genuine feedback and possible solutions. I went for a hair cut and took on two suggestions from friends: J's advise to use Moroccan Oil and S's statement of using hair iron. E duly came back with Moroccan Argan Oil, shampoo and conditioner from his US trip and I went out and bought an expensive but surely-worth it professional ceramic hot iron from a Swiss hairdresser near here. I have used all the items and they have provided tremendous results. I am once again contented with the texture of my hair and no longer pining for the HK (or Malaysian) hairdressers to blow dry my hair. 

 

Studying and reuniting with LE

   { on the tram to the mountains - last autumn}

I had a good 1st week back at school. It started off gently, with an intensive get-to-know-each-other session and continued on with introductory topics relating to "conflict transformation". I.e. different approaches to deal with conflicts and a lengthy discussion regarding economic game theory and prisoners dilemma type of situations to justify actions which otherwise don't make sense.

In between, I enjoyed a few de-briefing lunches and even drinks with a few people from the batch which started in September (like me), getting hysterical about events we observed in classes and especially at an evening lecture which we thought was a waste of time and I particularly disliked. Why? Because the guest speaker used his 7 (8? 9?) year old son with long blond hair to propose cute childish ideas on "how to achieve peace" to wrap up what I thought was a state-the-obvious presentation. Such a cop out and as expected, the adorable son induced a lot of awww and thunderous applause ... for the father. Sorry to be a bitch, but really, the exploitation of the child (look how aware my son is about the sorry state of the planet) made me cringe. 

All of us were required to make a group presentation, on Friday morning, drawing points from the lectures and discussions from the previous days. I was part of a group of 4 which chose to present on Nigeria (we had a new colleague from the country in our team). Not for the first time, I realised that I really enjoy studying, analysing and suggesting ways to improve the conditions in a random and unfamiliar till now case-study; more so than than the tedium of calculating weighted average cost of capital or playing around with a discounted cash flow model to provide a valuation which needed justifying.  

*** 

Elsewhere, E and I were reunited with each other and with Little E on Thursday evening after what felt like 4 long days. I can't begin to tell you how much I love hanging out with the two Es, how attached I am with LE and how sad I felt saying goodbye to him last Sunday afternoon, when I left him with Parents In Law in the house in the country to go back to the city (hint: significantly more sad than parting with E, who was off to Shanghai for work). LE went back to his mum this morning and PIL back to Spain. We all have had a few really nice past few days. 

Over at Draw Bin Redraw

 

A drawing of yet more houses at  Draw Bin Redraw. I don't know whether you noticed but I changed the title of the new blog because I was confusing this one and the other with the too similar names. I haven't moved my scanner to the apartment in Basel yet but because I wanted to make sure I posted every Monday and Thursday - I resorted to using my iphone as a scanner and then photoshopping to apply different textures.  I'm happy with the outcome. 

 

Back to school

School restarted yesterday with a bunch of new students joining us. There are more young post graduates coming from Latin America and Africa as well as a few older ones from Switzerland. After more than 3 months of holidays, I'm looking forward to getting to know the new students as well as settling into the routine of discussing and writing about peace and conflict matters on a weekly basis.

The issue of not having wifi internet connection at home in Basel should also be resolved in the next few days. The magic of having a proper residence permit. For not only have I successfully opened a bank account, I've also been able to secure a package from the telecom company to provide us with wifi in the next coming days and 3G for my phone. Doesn't sound like very much but it is significant progress for me who has had to rely on E for every other thing since July last here. Not easy when he is away or is at work. I certainly do feel more comfortable and settled since the permit arrived in the post last week.

Of chicken pox and removal men

 

The focus is still on Little E and his chicken pox. Thankfully, the medication and the cream seem to be helping: the spots are smaller and drier and LE is chirpier compared to the past few days. It's quite sad to see a small boy struggling with itchy spots all over his body including where he had his cast for his broken leg, close to his left eye, in his ear and inside his mouth. There are tears now and then and I can only provide a hug when he tells me he is hurting (typically in between cartoons or while we are applying the cream which he finds too cold).

***

Elsewhere, my furniture arrived from HK to the city apartment two days ago. Yay.

No lift is truly shite  when you live on the 4th floor: I had made a point to the moving company that we are living on the fourth floor without any lift and happily paid the required premium needed to carry the furniture based on the number of floors. Nevertheless, the two delivery men, like all others before (e.g. the German company delivering our bedroom furniture, Ikea men with the kitchen tables, E and I moving our stuff) appeared dismayed and unprepared when they first saw this and during the subsequent trips up.  

I know the men are strong and capable, but still, sigh...: The furniture were chunky, unlike the flat packs from Ikea or our stuff contained in manageable sized bags. The Indonesian made bed and wardrobe were particularly heavy made from teak wood. The staircase in our old apartment block is windy and old while the space in between the floors is small. 

We communicated somehow during the next 4 hours (some German, English, Spanish and French) and during this time, I found out that they had come to Zurich from Kosovo for work opportunities and had little children to fend for. One of them even showed me a picture of his two little daughters (aged 5 and 3). They told me they didn't know that our apartment block was not equipped with a lift (their pay being independent of this fact) and were short staffed. I gave them some water, chocolate biccies and more than usual amount for tip and after they left, and thought about life in general (including the fact that I had not anticipate the guilt I would habour by living on the 4th floor without a lift) while I cleaned up. 

More on chicken pox

Lucky E, who has never had chicken pox, has had his blood tested and found to be immuned for the 4th time (!) despite being in very close contact with an infected person. This is good news for him (and me), especially work wise, as he would have to otherwise rearrange his domino-like travel schedule for the coming months.

Little E did not have it as easy, suffering from a fever and all the discomfort associated with the pox last night. Moving him into our bed at 3am helped, but only as much as what TLC in bed can offer to an unwell 4 year old. We were unable to address the spots with cream due to shorter working hours of pharmacists in Basel. Now I realise exactly how important Fasnacht is.

We are hoping LE will be more comfortable tonight: his cast has been replaced by a softer leg guard this morning at the hospital and we now have the cream. E and MIL spent a long time attending to each of LE's spot, watched by FIL and me. The poor love was in tears confused with the spots and his lighter and shorter cast but cheered up when read "The Ravenous Beast".

Chicken pox in the house

Dressing Little E this morning was more challenging than usual: he was very reluctant to help and kept moving around. I noticed a few spots on his neck and thought he felt warmer than usual. I mentioned it to MIL who is a medical doctor and she diagnosed chicken pox - which was subsequently confirmed by LE's paeditrician. No wonder he was complaining about being itchy and scratchy yesterday! Poor LE. I hope he will bear the next few days well. Thankfully, I've had chicken pox before.

Cannot be persuaded

There are carnival participants living in our building: a prop (in the picture) has been parked on the ground floor. Ooh.

Meanwhile back at the ranch in Alsace:

Little E has decided that I'm his favourite today, inching close to me whenever and wherever I move and refusing to leave my side even at meal or nap time. This creates interesting dynamics with the grampies who are excited to see him and want to spend time with him.

I've talked to LE gently about spreading some love with little impact. Grandma, who is a witness to some of his "I don't like nor want to" head shaking responses is cross with him and shows it but at the same time prefers that I don't persuade LE, wanting him to want her naturally vs. fulfilling an obligation. What to do?

The funny thing is, LE is not like this with me all the time. Some days, I'm far from his go-to person. Indeed, he has a few times even rejected my attempts to play with him much like what he is doing now with his grandma. So I do know how frustrated she feels. Only thing is I don't verbalize it (well, maybe only to the G).

 

The Carnival

Five of us had boarded the train to spend the day in Liestal (17 km away from Basel) after a brunch in town. We watched the processions and after that hopped from one bar to another (like everyone else) while waiting for the evening activities. The atmosphere was festive yet civilised, despite the litres of beer. The swiss are very orderly.  

We were standing on top of a platform watching the procession when I spied a wolf standing next to a red riding hood and took the first picture. A friend of E and I, P, who was born and bred in Basel and had participated in the Fasnacht until she was 20 noticed and asked me whether I wanted a better picture and went ahead to tap the wolf on the shoulder. Both the wolf and red-riding hood kindly complied much to my delight.

E and I made it back home before 10pm nd I woke up a few hours later to witness the Morgestraich in the old part of the city. It was impressive: the way all the lights went off at 4am and how the costumed people with lanterns on their head started marching down the streets playing their drums and wind instruments so earnestly. I felt sure that if I were local, I would be more than a willing and active participant.  

 

Scenes from the Carnival

 

 {The waggis threw confetti, oranges, flowers and sweets to the people on the street} 

 {Wiki on Fasnacht says that Waggis are "an affectionate spoof on the Alsation farmers who, in the distant past, regularly rolled up to Basel markets to sell produce". Also that the red nose is due to their over indulgence in red wine} 

 {I took this picture in a bar. This chap's trousers were rolled up to show his red socks. Shame I couldn't fit it in this frame. He looked like he came down from a Mountain}

 {After the procession, the carts were left by the roadside - the streets and bars were heaving before the start of the evening procession which involved huge bonfires)

{Some kids were breaking the unwritten rule of picking the confetti from the floor and throwing it over others nearby. Only waggis are allowed to throw things} 

 {Lots of little kids and parents enjoying themselves; lovely to see really}

 

{A group of US footballers showing up all the way to Liestal to play drums for the carnival}

 

Watching the celebrations

E and I had a good time yesterday: We spent most of it in Liestal - watching the procession for Fasnacht. I would like to  post some pictures and say more about it but there is a little boy tugging at my arms to dance along with him to his favourite Iron Maiden song "Dance of Death".

The return of everybody

 

 

The picture above comes from a notebook I bought from a book store at the train station in Frankfurt  a few weeks ago. I find the illustration beautiful; I am especially taken by the owl (The girl and especially her tights are cute but I'm a little bit concerned that I can't see her mouth). The shelf at the book store was full of other pretty things by the same illustrator: variations of notebooks, pocket mirrors, little pouches, phone covers but I told myself I could only choose one item. And so I did.

* * *

So, the long weekend is here at last. E will be arriving home shortly and we will be picking up Little E en-route to our other home. Parents In Law are also on the way there, having left their home yesterday - their car no doubt heaving from all sorts of delicious supplies from Spain. It is LE's second week of school holidays and the PIL will be spending quality time with him. With LE in the doting hands of his grampies, E and I will be able to join some friends for some Fasnacht related celebrations tomorrow. It will be my first time. I've been told that the procession or Morgestraich on early Monday morning is really something special to see and one should make an effort to watch it. The Azura from a few years ago would have said "...so come on, let's party on Sunday until 4am!!!" (yes, really, with 3 exclamation points). Today, my words are: "So, how about we make sure we go to bed early on Sunday evening in the city flat?" 

 

Draw Bin Redraw

I started drawing every day when I was completing my thesis in 2004. I enjoyed it immensely. It allowed me to focus on something else besides my thesis and best of all, it was free entertainment - something I appreciated very much as I was a skint PhD student who couldn't afford a lot of things and whose only other activity was my part-time work which I needed to support myself and repay my debts.

I stopped drawing regularly around 2006, some years after I relocated and was working as an analyst in stock broking. The working hours were long and when I had time outside work - I typically chose to run or party. I did take art classes in 2009, in a moment of "I have to reclaim things I enjoy", when I was in HK but that didn't last more than 4 sessions due to late evenings at work. Since then, I would pick up a pen or a set of water colour but it didn't feel right: I felt rushed and uninspired.

I'm not working incredibly long hours now and am often left to my own devices (when I don't have a reflection paper or group projects to submit in school that is). And I'm feeling the change in the air: I.e. I feel like drawing and painting and even want to work on an illustrated story - even if the reader is LE or young D and MZ in Singapore. I've decided to start a blog called Draw Bin Redraw where I can hopefully harness ideas and inspiration. I've started the ball rolling by pasting a few of my old drawings that I like. The aim is to update the blog at least twice a week: for example Mondays and Thursdays. 

 

 

Things that I like

{My companion from Copenhagen which came home with me one November in 2009. He is happy to be finally out of the box}       

{The very solemn couple from Mongolia, living in Vintage crockery land. He might look in control, but in reality, she is the goddess}

What I did yesterday

1. Further de-cluttered my wardrobe. This time, I tried every single item on and put aside the items I just couldn't see myself wearing again. For example, an old favourite black and purple woolen dress that I bought in Toronto in October 2008, a black woolen dress that saw better days in Hong Kong and a never-worn striped skirt I bought last autumn. I don't know what I was thinking about (that I have another body maybe?) when I got the latter as the stripes are so totally wrong for my body shape. See what I mean?

2. Went out and got a hair cut. I pleaded for more shape, so that I can manage my hair better and have a more sophisticated and glamorous look vs. the college-girl style that I despair my hair has transformed into (when, what, how, why?!). Language was a real problem though: the hairdresser, J, spoke only a little bit of English and we communicated slowly and through the help from her translation app. This was, I think (?) better communication than the last time. I wouldn't say that my hair has much more shape now: J tells me it's because of my not wanting shorter layers at the top. Well, at least I feel less neglected now, which is always great when I'm feeling in need of a boost, albeit for the princely sum of 80 CHF (USD89)*.   

3. Took advantage of Thursday's late night shopping and went grocery shopping. I brought home some more brown rice and salad which has been my staple food these past days. I also picked up the ingredients to bake some scones: G, my friend from school will be coming around this afternoon for tea and we will be testing out the oven. Company is something I'm very much looking forward to having been by myself these past few days.   

* Interesting that wash and blow dry count separately and often exceeds the cost of a hair cut. I observed at least two women just having a cut. J asked me twice whether I wanted a wash AND a blow out and reminded me how much they cost when presenting the bill.  

Some pink on a Friday

{Flowers on a street in Bali (2010)- I heart that Island}

{What we needed in Hay-on-Wye in 2008}

         

3 links

Catherine in Orla Kiely 

Closet in Sketches

How to improve photos

Random Blues

 

{still a favourite picture .. taken in Montagu in South Africa}

 {A light house on one of the Black Lizard Islands off Menorca)

{View from a weeing fisherman's boat - Menorca}

{A neighbour's car last summer}

 

I like this city

I went for a walk by the river and passed by the old town. The streets in the latter, close to where we live, appeared somewhat busy and lively. It has been like this these past few days, with the spirit of Fasnacht already in the air. I have been told that the celebration of the festival in Basel is the biggest in Switzerland and that the locals take it very seriously indeed. I've been admiring the size of the various Paper Mache about town: these ugly giants (typically sporting shaggy hair, big nose and long teeth) are currently e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. I've seen them on rooftops, sign posts, terraces, in the display windows of both fancy shops and corner kiosks, bars, restaurants, and roundabouts. I took this picture below to show you what I mean.   

There were a number of joggers by the river. A good sign as I was wondering where one should go running here in the city. I took the pictures below as the sun was setting. The city is beautiful and I'm very happy to find myself here. All I need to do to be happier here is to learn German and relaunch my career. Especially with the recent good news {yay} that my residence with my work permit is apparently in the post.    

 

3 things

Here are 3 things I did today (aside from taking pictures from my iphone, surfing the net, asking for hair advice on FB, going out for a walk by the river and inserting a new banner to this blog).

1. I squeezed the oranges which were languishing in the bowl for some juice. The juice tasted good. I had to stop myself from making a second glass. Why didn't I think about doing this earlier? We have too many oranges to eat and I have been chucking away a lot of the older ones. I will certainly be repeating this practice tomorrow. 

2. I continued to unpack my stuff (from their boxes where they have been hiding since last July) into our apartment. It took me some time (mainly because I was multi-tasking -i.e. also checking emails, FB comments and tweets, taking instagram pictures). I'm done with the kitchen (for now).  Here is an instagram picture of some colourful fridge magnets to make you happy.

3. I found a stack of drawing pens and colour pencils lurking in a box (together with a mountain of other forgotten art supplies). They urged me to do something - anything. So, I hastily drew a teapot which was sitting in front of me: the only teapot I have now, which incidentally is also a very recently acquired one: My mother gave it to me last month (when I visited her), right after I remarked that it was a nice tea pot. Once upon a time, in a distant land (and life), I had many cute teapots. But I gave them all away when I was packing up to come here. I can't believe that I didn't save ANY. I'm still on minimalism etc mode* but come on ...I should have known that a cute teapot to brew tea in is surely a necessity!   

 

{Instagram picture of the drawing}

* You wouldn't think so, I know, if you were my brother in law helping to carry my check in bag last month in Singapore

I really like this letter

http://www.todaysletters.com/2008/08/small-metal-box.html

It's all about how equipped you are

 

 {The letter from school}

I mentioned before that despite the snow, LE and class mates went out for their weekly morning in the forest. This is consistent with the old letter from school (see picture above)I found while de-cluttering a desk in the other house and also what was often told to me when I was living in England and complaining about the wind and rain.

Actually, I quite like this mentality and think I could benefit from it if I took the trouble to. Yes, I have to confess that I have been happily squirelling indoors for the most part of the last 2 weeks. Mostly to mother LE who has been out of action but also because I preferred to stay snuggly and warm with my cups of tea and be able to feel my toes on the days when LE was not with us.

The temperature is soooo much better now at 0-5c (vs. minus 17c previously) and I'm back in our city apartment. Sufficient inducements to be out and about.

Tasting party for 2 last Saturday

 

So, which Spanish wine to serve in July? After a series of discussions, E has agreed to my proposal of being more imaginative with our selection and foregoing the likes of Ribera del Duero (which E looooves) and serving lesser known wine which *we* have discovered to be outstanding and are excited about.

Red is sorted - but not the white. We are excited about this red which E first discovered while assembling a hamper for his parents at Christmas. Not just to serve but also for our bodega. As for white - well, E is not much of a white wine drinker and I haven't come across a memorable white in recent months. I do however, remember a delicious Albarino from Riax Baixas while wine tasting in HK but cannot recall the producer and have been googling and checking out sites like this for familiar looking labels.

In the meantime, E ordered a few bottles for us to sample: 6 bottles of white and at my behest, 2 bottles of better Cava to compare against Champagne. They arrived from Spain last Friday. We kicked off the tasting session with the 2 bottles of Cava and agreed that they disappointingly tasted like the sparkling wine that they are. Needing to prove our point, we of course had to (very necessarily) crack open a bottle of champagne as soon as the cava were finished. We had a great Saturday evening. 

 

{I like the clean design of this bottle but not so much the cava} 

{I thought I preferred this cava...and then E told me he had swapped the glasses} 

{Not a surprise: we thought this was the best}

Pictures from Bali (2010)

 

 

 

I took these pictures in 1H10 (using my better camera) when I joined 4 others for a girlie holiday: LS was getting married and we took ourselves off to Bali. The bride to be and 2 gal-pals flew in from Malaysia, G came from Singapore while I made my way from HK, arriving a couple of days earlier due the flight schedule and costs.

At the airport in Bali, I was detained by immigration and brought to a room where I was searched t-h-o-r-o-u-g-l-y. My bags and passport were also confiscated; the former sharing my fate. I remember having to persuade the officers not to cut the lining of my then (Orla Kiely) carry on. The authorities were suspicious that I was travelling alone - funny as I'm sure this book had spurred a lot of solo female travellers in search of spiritual fulfilment (and love) to Bali.

Once convinced I was clean, I was given a seat in a the guest room and offered a can of coke and spiced cigarettes by the immigration officers while they completed some paperwork and chatted with me. I had declined both, but was cajoled into taking the drink (I caved in to appear friendly). Below is a picture taken of me, using my camera, by the person who first stopped me and my bag -before I was led into the other room for further questioning and strip searched. It was a strange and funny experience (funny only retrospectively; I was worried when it happened). Looking at this particular picture reminds me of the ridiculous situations I sometimes find myself in (and also the first hair extensions I had - they were not too good).

 

                     {I'm surprised that I don't look more grim}

What we like watching

It would be an understatement to type that E enjoys watching American crime series (his top three favourites are this, this and this). In Spanish. Sometimes he changes the language for my benefit. I watch them either drowsily or spooked. It's one or the other and there is no in between.

I complain about the bad voice acting i.e. Spanish dubbing when I'm awake, in between clutching at E's arm or diving to cover my face with a pillow. E disagrees with me and thinks the Spanish voice overs are so much better than their original ("more authentic and adjusted to the type of person vs. the natural voice which sometimes just don't fit - for example Bruce Willis' more macho I-don't-care-about- anything Spanish voice").    

What do I like? Comedies. Sometimes drama- when I'm not sleep deprived and can sit through long dialogues. I hate anything with horror and violence. They are totally pointless in my opinion. (Yeah - I'm just like my mother). I've mentioned before that I'm really enjoying the fabulously fluffy sitcom D-D-D. Well, E, knowing that I won't be zzz-ing or eeiks-ing while watching this, has acquired more of the episodes for our collective enjoyment.

We have been watching quite a few episodes these past days. We are close to finishing Season 2 and I find myself still cheering yay whenever Stacy is on the screen. 

 

                            {Picture of Stacy sourced from here} 

Post script: We have now watched all the episodes in Season 3 and can't believe Season 4 has not started. Spoiler alert: I stopped cheering for Stacy and indeed went "oh no!" at her during the last few episodes. 

LE and the English language

LE speaks German in school and Spanish with his Papi at home. What about with me? I speak English with him and he speaks Spanish to me. We seem to get by ok - needing E occasionally for translation. How do we communicate with each other when it's just the two of us? I use Spanish words when it's important (e.g. "it's muy peligrosa - entiendo?!") while he mimes whenever I'm confused. So far, his various actions (e.g. "it burns", "it's falling", "the grasshopper") have always prompted a laugh from me.

English is fast becoming his 3rd language: (4th if we consider that he also speaks Swisserdeutsch). Indeed, these past few weeks LE has surprised us by saying out full sentences in English to me. This morning it was "Azuri, switch off the tele..." (of course, "please" appeared shortly after). I am amazed by a four year old's capacity and ease of picking up and using new words. LE is no doubt clever.   

* * * 

I enjoy reading English books to LE. Regardless of the fact that English is(was?) not his spoken language. During the Christmas holidays, we frequently read "Splish Splashy Day". On the aeroplane to-fro, cold day indoors and some times before he went to bed. He especially likes the character "Grover" (known as "Coco" in Spain) because of his big red and round nose. I thought about a book I had bought from a store at HK airport for young D in Singapore called "The Ravenous Beast" which turned out to be roaring success not just with D, but also his older cousin as well as kindergarten mates. But it was not to be found in any of the English bookstores I scouted while travelling. We finally found it on-line. The book arrived in the mail a few days ago and we have been reading it together every night before sleeping. He calls the book (literal translation from Spanish): "the dinosaur who eats everything".   

 

 

Post script: E thinks "The Ravenous Beast" is surprisingly aggressive to be a book I would like and recommend. I agree. At the same time, how I can not? It's so funny and the art work is so pretty!

 

Flowers

 

                            {Orchid garden - Singapore}

                       {On a table, at a restaurant in Little India in Singapore} 

                {vintage tile in the bathroom of our flat in the city}

Solving the "What to wear?" issue

 

               {organising my dangly earings by colour}

               {and clothes by colour & pieces I would wear together}

                      {a useful list of what works} 

I wore dresses most of the times after I arrived in HK. It made dressing a lot easier and I enjoyed the femininity and glamour that dresses offered. Indeed, I could count the number of times I wore trousers (typically denim) in a year: three or four times when I felt like participating in casual fridays.   

Outfits have changed now that I'm in Basel: I don't have many casual winter dresses and my thermal clad legs also prefer the tough fabric of denim against the cold wind encountered while walking or hopping on-off trams. In fact, these days, I'm even wearing jeans almost exclusively. This (and the fact that I no longer spot extended lashes) often makes me thing I've regressed and become unglamourous and I hate to type this... b.o.r.i.n.g.

Looking at the pictures on blogs like this and this have however inspired me. I spent half a day re-organising my wardrobe, grouping separates that can be layered together; matching colours. I'm pleased with the outcome and as usual (after reorganising my wardrobe) feel more in control.  

It's not too cold outside

Let's talk about new paradigms and goals

 

I mentioned before that I was working on my 2012 and that I had come up with a number of points. Well, here they are. 

My top ten goals for 2012 (not in order of importance)

:: Living a happy family life with the two Es and having a lot of super moments

:: Being healthy, fit and fabulous (even during winter)

:: Knowing my new home city well - the culture, language, people, places of interest

:: Selecting and reading 10 good books ("good" to be decided)

:: Drawing/writing a book in collaboration with the G (gulp)

:: Having fun organising and executing our party in July

:: Forming and investing in strong friendships here 

:: Raising significant £ for a cause (charity/activity to be decided)

:: Spending time thinking about my day, goals right after waking up

:: Enjoying and excelling in fantastic work which provides not only career progression but also fun and supportive colleagues

My chosen paradigm:

:: I can have anything I want - yes, indeedy, in fact I empower myself to have what I want

:: I have so much to offer

:: I am healthy and strong

:: Money and opportunities are abundant and flowing into my life

I'm glad to have come up with them as I now feel like I am on a well defined course instead of acting on default.   

 

 

Somethings to look forward to

 

 

We will be picking up LE tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to spending time with him. We won't be able to run around the house pretending to be flying cats: LE broke his leg while skiing down the slope last week. I felt quite sad visiting him last Sunday after the accident: he looked tired, sad and confused about the cast. :-( But I hear he's doing much better and is able to maneuver himself to play with his toy cars etc. 

I received a few positive emails this mornings: One of which relates to my Balinese furniture potentially arriving here at the end of the month from HK. To cut a long story short: events transpired and I arranged to ship them from storage in HK to our new apartment here. It was costly but I was (am) embracing a mantra of "abundance" (money and opportunities are abundant and flowing into my life). Another email was from the shoe company saying they received the boots I posted from Ingolstadt and will provide a credit note as promised. Yay.