Last Friday, 7 June 2013, was Rachel's first lunar birthday. As we did for Ryan, we played the Zhua Zhou game with her. We gathered items to symbolise different career paths and let her pick whichever drew her attention. Although we are not superstitious, we still carry out this traditional custom as a way of expressing our good wishes for Rachel, as we did for Ryan.
Not surprisingly, Rachel went for the music CD. Looks like music will be a big part of her life!
The stamp/seal caught her eye next. This symbolises someone high-ranking in office. This holds a lot of importance in olden Chinese times. Nowadays, I think it simply means that she will be very intelligent (in olden times, only the scholars can be officers or high-ranking officials). She gave the stamp a little push and it rolled away. Then she lost interest.
After that, the toy car. Driver? Mechanic? Engineer? Speed demon?
We reset the board and let her try again. This time, she went for the cash!
Then the computer mouse (IT line).
Shoes. A lady is never without a good pair of shoes.
Finally, she picked up the camera and the stethoscope before she crawled off. Enough!
After the game, we served Rachel a chicken drumstick while she had one foot in the house and one foot outside the house. This is so that she will always have food to eat wherever she goes. Rachel really chomped down on the drumstick and munched away!
Our second day in Jakarta was a business day for me. Richard took care of the children and took them out for lunch. He messaged me just before they left saying, "We are off to see the world." And that was that. After I was done, we had dinner together at Shang Palace in the hotel.
When the children got to sleep, I watched "Wrath of the Titans" on HBO. A small but significant detail, as I rarely have the chance to watch a movie nowadays.
On our last day in Jakarta, we went to Jakarta Old Town for lunch at Cafe Batavia. This is in a historical part of Jakarta and Cafe Batavia itself is housed in a lovely colonial building overlooking Fatahillah Square. Food was average but the restaurant was full of character and old-world charm.
Photo of the ladies' room. Lots of lusty photographs. Heh heh.
After lunch, we wandered around Fatahillah Square. It was a public holiday in Jakarta and there were plenty of people out and about. There were many buskers including these fire-eaters who drew the largest crowd.
Ryan was intrigued enough to squeeze to the front to take a look at them.
There were other, more modest, buskers like this old guy who was getting his puppet band to shake their booties. A little bizarre, actually.
Spongebob Squarepants was there too. Ryan was excited to see him at first but after he got up close, he was not impressed, as you can tell from the photos. He told me, "I want other Spongebobs".
Fatahillah Square is bounded by old historical buildings, many of which have been transformed into museums. Some still look well maintained, while a couple were pretty run down.
The atmosphere around the square was relaxed and casual. People were just milling around, enjoying the good weather and the laidback vibe. Ryan must have felt it too because he started tapping his foot and dancing to an imaginary beat.
Rachel had been asleep all this while but woke up just as we finished exploring the square. We popped back into Cafe Batavia to let her have her lunch. The rest of us had dessert!
We bumped into some Dutch national football personality at the restaurant ... but I don't know who he was, sorry! We suspected that the entire team was somewhere inside the restaurant because there was a small crowd waiting outside with football paraphernalia. (The match between the Netherlands national football team and the Indonesian football team was to take place later that night.) When we exited the restaurant, Ryan paused in front of the crowd, threw a hand up in the air and told everyone, "Here I am!" Hahaha! That got a good chuckle from everyone.
Up till then, we had been pretty lucky with traffic, but I guess if you've been to Jakarta and did not experience the horrendous traffic, then you've not been to Jakarta. We spent more than an hour in the cab back to the hotel, so much so that I was beginning to suspect that the cabbie was taking us for a ride (bad pun, bad pun). Just as I was crafting the best way to bring up the subject, I spotted the hotel from my side of the cab, so that eased my mood.
We decided to leave straightaway for the airport to avoid any more traffic woes. Turned out that traffic to the airport was almost non-existent, and we made it there in half an hour. We were so relieved that we just checked in and completely missed the fact that we could have asked to get on an earlier flight. Aargh. Anyway, did some shopping, had dinner and lounged around in one of the many lounges at the terminal. And that was pretty much the end of our trip.
We are back from Jakarta! Got in just before midnight, safe and sound. This time, both the children were awake throughout the flight. Here they are with some interesting freebies from SQ - a hippo hand puppet and a Madagascar two-sided jigsaw puzzle.
Actually Ryan didn't quite make it to the end - right after the plane touched down at Changi International Airport and started taxi-ing to the gate, he fell asleep. One moment he was telling everyone that he was back in Singapore, the next moment he was out cold. He stayed that way all the way home till the next morning.
Not too surprising, as it was pretty late. I was actually hoping that he would nap during the flight like he did on the way to Jakarta. He was pretty zonked for that flight, as was I, as we all woke up in the wee hours of the morning to be at the airport at 4.30 am. Thankfully, he was pretty cheerful and very good-natured that morning, despite being very sleepy and tired. Here he was, at the check-in counter, my little sleepyhead.
There were a few highlights of our short trip, including bumping into the entire Dutch national football team at our hotel and seeing Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben. The Dutch national team were in town to play a match against the Indonesian national team. I didn't get any autographs or photographs though I did ogle them a little, especially when they were in the swimming pool, hahaha.
Yesterday, we ventured a little farther from the hotel and spent the afternoon in Batavia in Jakarta Old Town. I'll tell you about it in my next post. For today, I want to share with you this place we visited on our first day in Jakarta - Yupi Land!
Do you know Yupi? The gummy jelly candy? It is an Indonesian brand. Ryan's nanny introduced it to him and she gives him a few from time to time, so Ryan is aware of what it is.
Anyway, there was a set up of Yupi Land in Pacific Plaza. It's quite tiny - just a short walk through a tunnel. At the entrance, you have all these trees, mushrooms, flowers, and animals like snakes and little elephants, and they are covered in Yupi candy... I kid you not. You can see each piece of candy on these things. You can touch them, press them and poke them and feel their soft gelatinous texture. At first I was a little amazed. Then I was a little disgusted. Ryan was happy though - it takes a lot to turn a child off Yupi, huh!
Less gelatinous structures inside the tunnel...
... although there were still a few here and there, like this white lamb and the green tree trunk (cut off at the left side of the photo). There was a Yupi candy piece missing from the tree trunk... hmm.
Ryan was so happy that he wanted to visit Yupi Land one more time before we left. Unfortunately (for him), the tunnel was closed when we went back again, so we just wandered around outside and examined the Yupi animals and plants surrounding the tunnel.
We are in Jakarta for a few days for both business and pleasure. It was a last minute thing, still do-able as we are going to be here for just a few days.
We took an SQ flight at 6.30 am yesterday. Had to get to the airport at 4.30 am! Everyone slept on the flight and Ryan continued sleeping all the way to the hotel. Thankfully, we were seamlessly transferred from the airport to our room - we even had our check-in done in our room. Shangri-La - you are the best.
I find Jakarta, or at least the area around the hotel, to be a lot like some parts of KL city. We are very comfortable - people are friendly and it's easy to get around. We can speak and read the language, plus food is familiar. Wi-Fi coverage is very good - even better than Singapore!
We spent yesterday shopping and sleeping - not a bad way to spend a day away from the office. Today is mainly business for me while Richard spends the day with the children. Wish him luck!
The highlight of our weekend was Ryan's little showcase at Shichida's Makoto Club. I am happy (and relieved!) to report that it went very well, and I am most happy that Ryan was happy throughout the event.
The audience was warm and friendly. Everyone had a smile for the children and good things to say. Huge thanks to all of Ryan's supporters! Special thanks to Swan and family who rushed from another event on the other end of the island, and Sue and her hubby, who came with a perfect little card and gift for Ryan! Teacher Hirin was also there, rushing over from Springleaf branch after her classes - Ryan was so happy to see her! Thanks also to Margaret and all at home for their love and well wishes, even though they could not be there. Ryan was definitely in a very positive mood that day!
Pardon the dirty patch on the wall - that's where Tiger brushes himself everyday.
The event started with a screening of one of the episodes of "My Perfect Child", which featured some Shichida children. The message was that building a bond between parent and child is a powerful foundation for nurturing and developing your child's best talents and character traits. I truly believe this to be the case.
Ryan went on stage after that. I was told that I could accompany him on stage if I felt that he needed help, but I decided to let him go up on his own. Turned out that he was marvellously independent!
He went through three sets of linking memory, some block play, poem reading and a song-and-dance. He had a false start for linking memory, although I think it was only noticeable to those who were familiar with the material. He was a little un-used to what was going on around him: the linking memory images were being flashed on the screen behind him and Teacher Erfi was sitting closely next to him with the linking memory story sheet and the timer. I could see his eyes darting around as he tried to take everything in while reciting. About 2-3 seconds into it, he mentally shook everything off and then he started over. All on his own. Actually that was the moment that I was most proud of. Something small that maybe nobody realised or noticed, but something big in my eyes - he knew he was not quite focused yet he didn't give up; he maintained his composure and got the job done. He clocked in at 2 minutes and 17 seconds, which is well below the time limit.
Block play was easy peasy, as you can see from the photo above. The pattern is made up of 16 blocks. Ryan completed it in 48 seconds, methodically and efficiently. Then he had to read a poem which he had never read or heard before. It was "Barbershop" by Martin Gardner, supposedly for six year olds. This was to showcase the fact that he can read and that he can read above his level. He did mispronounce two words - one was "quiver". He pronouced the "qui" like it sounds in "quiet".
Song and dance segment - he did a rap but didn't dance! I guess he was still a little shy. The song was a rap of the lyrics to "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom". Teacher Hirin told me that she couldn't really catch what he was singing about, hahaha! He rapped through the song so quickly!
Next we screened our video. Here it is! It's about 9 minutes. If you turn down the volume of the music at the start, do turn it back on when he starts on Chinese. That's when the music cuts out, and you can hear him talking.
I will talk about the video in another post, to highlight some points about the right brain stuff.
After the video, the other student came on - Tan Wen Yu. She was adorable! She did linking memory, recited a poem by heart and played her own award-winning composition on the piano. Brilliant! When she was playing on the piano, Ryan said he wanted to go up on stage and do his song and dance again! I guess he was inspired and a lot more relaxed, and felt that he was able to get some dancing moves on, heh heh!
Q&A with the parents was short. I think it was a little uneven because everyone was talking on different levels and stages. A little difficult for the audience to ask questions, and a little difficult for the parents to give accurate answers, because we may not be talking about children at the same stages. Plus, we may each have different objectives and goals, and different parenting styles and approaches. Even between the two parents on stage, there were obvious differences. Anyway, I hope that it was at least clear that there is no hard and fast rule. Every child is different; and the most important thing is to stay positive.
The other thing that was a relief for me was the chance to talk about Ryan and not come across as bragging. It is very hard for me sometimes when I am with non-Shichida mummies to talk about Ryan, even if it's just about his interests and hobbies. I mean, this boy can learn 80 flags in 15 minutes - how do I say that without sounding as if I'm bragging? Not everyone finds stuff like this inspiring, some people take it as showing off. In addition, I don't want him to be a party trick or a circus act. So I'm usually silent about all this and, in fact, none of my friends or family know that he learned all those flags, let alone in 15 minutes.
Having said that, it is a wonderful thing to be able to share what Ryan can do, to share our happiness that he is doing so well. Fortunately, Shichida parents are a receptive crowd because they are aware that every child can do what Ryan does, and they want to work with their own children to realise that potential. They know that I'm not touting Ryan as being unique or special because they know that there are many Shichida children who are more amazing. We can move beyond all that and talk constructively about what parents can do to nurture their children, which is the part I like to talk about!
After the Q&A, there was the presentation of the certificates to the children, together with some cash vouchers. They also got some stickers! All the teachers were very supportive and encouraging, and made Ryan feel so comfortable. In particular, I have to say a big thank you to Teacher Hirin and Teacher Nuraini for nominating Ryan for the event. They love and support Ryan so very much.
Ryan had a wonderful time, he enjoyed himself so much although he spent less than ten minutes on stage. I understand that it may not be a big deal to some people but, for our little family, it was truly something to remember. Not so much because Ryan got to perform, but because he got to experience such warmth and positive attention from so many people - such a wonderful boost for a four year old, and we are so grateful for that. Our little king was made to feel like a king, if only for a little while, so it was a fabulous day for us.
We are a family of four, living with our dog and cat in Singapore. This is a diary of our family life and our thoughts on parenting/family issues/life in general.
We hope the blog is as inspiring to you as it is meaningful to us. Do leave us a comment or email us at pinkiepirate(at)live.com.
