As I'm writing this I can hear the sound of thunder. So I'm taking a chance leaving my phone line and ethernet cables connected to my computer. Here, these lines are not protected from surges and so anytime there is a thunderstorm you risk your motherboard or modem being fried. Yes, we still use a modem here. However, most of the time we access the internet through the V-Sat but if I want to blog I need to use our modem as MAF internet blocks all blogger sites. Anyways, I will surge on... heehee... and keep typing in spite of the thunder which sounds like it is moving away from us.
One dilema that I'm kind of struggling with is how to deal with the local kids that come around. They want to play with our bikes and any other outside toys we might have. I feel sorry for them because they don't get to play with much stuff at all. But... our neighbours have tried to let the local kids play. They would limit the numbers they would let in their yard. However, now the kids are there at their gate first thing in the morning yelling out asking if they can play. And they don't stop. So our neighbour will go out and tell them that today is not a good day so they won't be allowed. But the kids will often still hang around in the hopes that she will change her mind. Or they will go in anyways if the gate is unlocked. The other problem was that if she let them play and then their time was up, they wouldn't listen when she told them. They would just keep playing. Part of this is that Indonesian kids, at least the ones around here, just don't respect their elders. They are not taught to respect and the respect is generally not earned by the parents either. It is not that uncommon to see a mother throwing rocks at her older boys. Anyways, until this point, I have not let local kids play in our yard. I will let them drink water or fill their water bottles at our tap and I will also let them come in to sell things but not to play. Expats who have been here for a long time compare the local kids to ants. If you have the sugar they will just keep coming and coming and will wear you out. So for now, I prefer to keep my home a quiet, peaceful place for my family alone. And of course any visitors we might invite... On that note I would like to say that our door is always open to any one who wants to come visit out this way....
Selamat Hari Minggu!