The weekend of youth

This was the weekend for the youth of the world at ISKL and in our apartment. The stars converged to bring the young to the forefront. First there was graduation of the Class of 2008. In among the speeches and the awards and the accolades, and just after the tossing of the hats in unison, I found myself in a familiar place... realizing that my job is done and this celebration belongs to those students whose stories are just beginning in so many ways. Their exhuberance, their tears, their last few moments with friends and, in some cases, family. It was their night, and I just allowed myself to dissolve into the doorway and move on out of their lives. I can only wish them well. My job is done.

Today was a day for youth as well - youth of the baby kind - as we moseyed on to breakfast with Nancy, Pedro and Jamie. Along the way Irini and Jamie shared some friendly moments on the sofa where their infant manners were as lovely as ever. They started with simple sitting next to each other, and slowly they lost their balance, reached for each others arm, head, face, you name it. By the end of the photo opportunity (as it turned out) they were a ball of arms and legs on a sofa. Absolutely cute!

The day continued, however. Only this time it was Irini's opportunity to hang out with the teenagers. I joked about having Irini doing wonders for the social life, and they all laughed, but in some ways it was very true. Here were three graduates (from last year) asking to have lunch with us (and Scott and Rebecca too) only to meet Irini. Ahhs and ohhs were the norm, and Irini proved that she can hang with the best of them. Instant success.

So, as graduates return for a visit in KL, and as students become alumni and move on, and as Irini grows by the day, it is apparent that the youth of the world is slowly becoming part of our fabric of society and lifestyle. We are, after all, teachers for that very reason. We love it!

Winding down...Speeding up.

It's the end of May already. How fast did this month go? Just yesterday it seems like we were on Spring Break and now, with the coming of June, the classes are nearly over, a few grades are missing but mostly completed, and the final touches on student comments are being made. Exams begin tomorrow. Classes end tomorrow. The 2007-08 school year is officially winding down. Being the first place where we have spent a "6th" year in, it's quite impressive how easily it went by. Now all that's left is the little stuff - fixing up the office space, grades and final reports, signing out, and getting ready to head home. Natalia is more thrilled than I am to get to Greece and sink our teeth into a nice juicy souvlaki. I will need to move from the academic mind-frame to the summer mind-frame, but I am sure it won't take long.

As the academic year winds down, the summer is steamrolling toward us, larger than life. Suddenly we are talking about what to pack, how to travel with an infant. What, really, do we need to take with us? Will we be prepared? Will we forget anything? How does one feed an infant and hang on to an arm rest for dear life at the same time as a plane goes through turbulent weather? Luckily, this only applies to the father. The mother is perfectly content going through whatever weather the world has to offer, but now instead of picking her head up from her nap and offering it to her husband, she will check the baby to make sure she's okay.

In less than two weeks we will be in Athens! We can't wait to land in Athens and show little Irini the olive trees, the blue blue Aegean and the countryside that have been so powerful in the formation of who I am. We can't wait for her to take a walk in the park outside the apartment in Marousi, and put our hands on my mother's, Anna, favorite cypress tree. In many ways, this is Irini's introduction to her past and her future. When Malaysia is a chapter we've moved on from, Greece and Colombia will still be there. The pillars of cultural identity and inheritance. Who she will become we cannot say, but we certainly hope that, as she grows up, she will embrace both Greece and Colombia and allow them to be a wonderful and integral part of her being. She is destined to be a citizen of the world, to be sure, but there is nothing wrong with having a place to call home, or, in this case, a couple places. :-)

Our plans in Greece and Colombia include a lot of staying "at home", getting used to being in different living environments with a baby on board. We expect that the onslaught of visitors will be somewhat overwhelming at times, but given the nature of our lives it is something that we are counting on. Fortunately, Irini is a social little thing, happily being passed from one lap to another. With each hand off she welcomes the new lap owner with a smile to brighten anyone's day.

But they also include a fair bit of taking Irini to see stuff, to be there, to feel, smell, taste, and see the things that make the world so diverse. A Greek Orthodox baptism for Irini. A drive to the Peloponnese. A walk around Athens' old-town with a frape under the Acropolis. A swim below the ruins of Sounion. Meeting her 90 year old maternal great-grandmother in Bogotá, Abuelita Celita. Trying the tropical fruits Natalia grew up with and misses so much. Enjoying her cousins and rest of family who are so excited to finally meet her. A weekend road-trip to Villa de Leyva. A walk at the ciclovia on a Sunday morning in Bogotá. A visit to Creppes & Waffles. We can't wait. Seven weeks of 'doing' to do and "familying" to be. It should be fun. :-)

In the meantime, it's not all work and no play. Just last week we took Irini downstairs (yes, we do this often, don't worry) and, dressed in a little water-proof bathing suit (though topless in true European fashion), plunged her into the pool. Her head stayed largely above water, but we wanted her to enjoy being in water. As would be expected, she went from apprehensive (particularly as the water was somewhat cold) to happy as can be! We are so glad she enjoys the water. Perhaps we can put her in a novice scuba-diving course over the summer. Do they offer infanct classes in underwater breathing apparati? :-)

Summer jet-set...

This is a different kind of blog entry. All dates and numbers and no real substance... so far. The substance will be filled in as we meet up with friends and family, share experiences and introduce Irini to the world! Our plans are set for the summer, tickets purchased, seats arranged, cots in order, and we just wanted to share them in case you had a chance to mosey our way over when we're there.

June 9th - 15th: Athens
June 15th - 19th: Prague
June 19th - 22nd: Athens once again
June 22nd - July 15th: Bogotá
July 16th - 27th: Athens
July 27th: Return to Kuala Lumpur
July 28th: Year 7 in Malaysia begins (can you believe it?)

Will we see you?
We'll be paying our self-imposed carbon offsets well into 2009, I'm sure. :-)

The sun lives with us.

As I wrote my previous blog entry, I stole a moment or two in the bedroom to check on Irini. She was put to bed by Natalia who took off for a bachelorette party of a friend. She gave me a kiss and told me that Irini isn't sleeping, but is just roaming around her bed. I went in there to check on her. Irini was, in fact, moving around with the pushing of her legs. She tends to go around in circles that way, but doesn't seem to mind. She saw me as I stood there and gave me a massive smile, somewhat hidden by the four fingers that she so effortlessly held inside her mouth. I smiled back and watched her for a while before leaving quietly.

I returned a few minutes later to see our little baby putting herself to sleep. She has learned how to do it now, by placing one or more fingers in her mouth and sucking furiously at first and more intermittently as she lulls herself to sleep, and moving her opposite hand and placing it gently around her nose. I am not sure what it is that she thinks she is holding, but adorable it is for sure. When we were doing ultrasounds when she was still in Natalia's womb, for moths we could not see her face because her hand was in the way. We've realized that this look, the one she has now, is probably exactly why it was the she could not be seen. But, really, for the image of her putting herself to sleep, I would happily give up 6 months of ultrasound darkness.

I write on. She begins her night's sleep. She will wake up for a 10 minute period sometime in the middle of the night and then, at about 8 am we will be there to witness her return to the light, where her body will shift this way and that as it stretches every possible muscle that it can, she will flop from one side to the other and then she will look up, trying to focus as well as she can, and see us smiling at her, at which point she will share with us her huge smile, and bring the sun into our very bedroom as she does each morning. How fortunate we are to have her. I smile just writing about it. :-)

Friends, fellows, countrytikes!

Natalia rushes to remind me that Irini is developing a social life that is worth mentioning in a blog. Certainly she is the life of the party regarding the adult population of ISKL (where we work), but perhaps more impressively, she is becoming a social animal.. that is to say the mommies unite to do some "group" parenting sessions while the little ones look at the walls, the rattlers and, on occassion, each other without much of an interaction. Pictures of more than one little baby are a hot commodity and - now that digital technology is here to stay - immediate feedback, "ah"ing and "oh"ing is a necessary part of the event. Moms of the area are happy as can be, particularly those who have some time to spend with their little ones.

Irini has two good friends right now. Isabelle is a young girl born here in Malaysia but quickly - as in 24 hours - was adopted by our friends John and Melissa upstairs. Isabelle lives on the sixth floor, with a more awe-inspiring view of the surrounding areas than Irini who lives on just the 2nd floor. But Irini is closer to the pool, a popular destination for mothers and little tikes alike around here. Isabelle is three months older than Irini, and so much more able to relate to the fact that there is a real 'person' in Irini. As Irini watches much of the time, Isabelle is actively trying to grasp at Irini's nose, hair, arms, anything she can get her little hands on. They are both wonderful to watch, and watching we do a lot of while passing the time away for Melissa and John.

The other little friend is Jamie. He was born just two days before Irini in the very same delivery room area as Irini. That is where the similarities end. He is tall (like his parents) and blue eyed, with hardly any hair at all on that little cute head of his. Irini has a rounder head and a full set (obviously) of hair. She is quiet while he tends to be a little more Mediterranean in his disposition (after all, his father is Portuguese). Pedro and Nancy are a delight to hang out with as well, and we take walks around the golf course on occassion. Natalia and Nancy also steal some time away to organize mini play dates for Jamie and Irini. If you ask Laurence, it's too early for any kind of dating, play or otherwise. :-)

And then there were three...

By now the realities around the Ampang apartment have changed quite a bit. A while back - it seems much longer than it's been - Sammy and Erika hugged us goodbye and decended the escalators at the KL Central Train Station on to track 2 northbound, first to Thailand (Phuket and Bangkok) and then, by plane, to Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh and onwards), where, we are certain, they are enjoying each and every minute of Viet culture. Their final push will be the end of the month, when they move on to Hong Kong and then back to Europe.

We already miss them sorely, we must admit. We miss their smiles and singing to Irini in the back seat of the car (albeit in a rather tight fit). We miss their just showing up in the late morning to have breakfast, just hang out, check their email, or perhaps to watch TV. We miss the competitive nature of their table games (Yatzee and the "dice game"). Now they're gone and we have to assume that it will be similar one day when Irini too embarks on her own solo journey's without us. But that, hopefully, is a while off and between now and then there is much to do, to see, people to meet and cultures to blend into and live within.

For the time being Irini impresses everyone with her smile, with her quiet and rather philosophical demeanor, and her manner of being. She often puts herself to sleep with little or no crying at all, she smiles very very often and has begun her attempt at conversation. Without knowing exactly what the conversations is, of course, we talk right back and the vowels keep flying in all sorts of directions. It is rather amazing, if one thinks about it, what a 4 month old can do. She can stop entire classrooms and instantly magnetize everyone to rush toward her. She can make everyone - every one - in a room smile with anticipation of getting to meet her. She can bring an entire party to a halt as they all look at her trying to keep her head up. She can watch a volleyball practice and enjoy it thoroughly. Her only difficulty so far has been the attendance at large party-like gatherings where there are very large crowds and high-volumed music. The crowds alone seem to have little effect. Dad is already happy that she doesn't like the "party scene" but would rather be in a gym or walking (aka: being carried) down a school corridor.

Life is good. She is a living example of how simple things can be the most rewarding. A morning stretch on the cot. An afternoon nap on Natalia's stomach. An evening splash around while bathing. A smile that lasts all day long. Our journey to Ithaka is well under way.