Back scratching t-shirt

I found this idea on pinterest and immediately knew Erlend would love it as one of his favorite things is to have his back scratched.

 Can you see the little hand wanting to join in?

Alia loves it - for 10 minutes at a time :-)

I = phone

My phone has been having a hard time lately.

I use it a lot more since we have moved here. 

Recording language sessions, 

taking a lot of pictures for culture study or updating family at home, 

entertaining Alia while I try to get something done 

(I know, I know, horrible parenting - shame on me…), etc.

My phone is busy and it is letting me know that it is not happy about it.

It has been overheating (who can blame it, working hard in 35°C plus heat with high humidity?).

It runs out of battery fast and takes longer to respond when I try to use it.

Like I said, my phone is having a hard time.

As I looked at my phone this morning I realized that I am a lot like it lately.

Since we moved here, life has been more stressful than ever. 

Language sessions, 

learning culture, 

trying to stay in touch with people at home,

taking care of two little ones (who knew being a mama of two is so much more exhausting?!?), etc.

My brain and body are busy and they are letting me know that they are not happy about it.

I have been overheated and dehydrated (aka grumpy, who can blame me living in 35°C plus heat with high humidity?).

I run out of energy and patience fast and I am not as efficient as my German self would like and used to be.

Like I said, life has been stressful.

I was watching a sermon about stress this morning and afterwards I kept thinking about my phone and I. 

What do we need to recharge, to be usable tools, to function in this hot sweaty world of ours?

I know the only thing that really helps my phone is to be recharged, being plugged in the its ‘source of life’ aka electricty (if there is no power cut…)

Without recharging my phone will be “dead” and unuseable soon.

I think, again, my life is the same.

The only thing that really helps me is to be recharged from the source that gives me life - God!

God, my Creator, my strong Tower, my Sheperd, my Comforter, my Re-charger.

Sure it does help to take a nap, 

to eat some extra chocolate (oh how I wish I was a stress-loose-weight person and not a stress-eater) or some other relaxing activity, 

but the only thing that gives me real rest is to plug into the ultimate power source – God!

Spending time with Him has never been as important as now.

Reading His Word, talking to Him and filling my thoughts with truths about Him.

That is where I get perspective, resfreshment and rest.

How awesome is it, that no powercut in the world will ever separate us from our God!?

Deutsch/German:

Mein Handy und ich

Mein Handy hat es in letzter Zeit nicht leicht.

Ich benutze es viel mehr seit wir hier her gezogen sind.

Zum Sprachunterricht aufnehmen,

zum Bilder für Kulturstudium oder Familie zu Hause machen, 

zum Alia unterhalten während ich versuche irgend etwas zu erledigen 

(Ich weiß, ich weiß, schreckliche Erziehung – Schande über mich!), usw.

Mein Handy ist sehr beschäftigt und es lässt mich wissen, dass es darüber nicht sehr glücklich ist.

Es überhitzt sich (wer kann es ihm übel nehmen bei 35°C Hitze und hoher Luftfeuchtigkeit?)

Die Batterie wird schnell leer und es braucht reagiert sehr langsam auf meine Kommandos.

Wie gesagt, mein Handy hat es nicht so leicht.

Als ich heute morgen mein Handy angeguckt habe, habe ich realisiert, dass es mir letzter Zeit genauso geht.

Seit wir hier her gezogen sind ist unser Leben stressiger als je zuvor.

Sprachunterricht, 

Kultur studieren, 

versuchen mit Leuten zu Hause Kontakt zu halten, 

auf zwei kleine Kinder aufpassen (mir war nicht klar, dass Mama von zwei Kindern zu sein so viel anstrengender ist!), usw.

Mein Gehirn und mein Körper sind sehr beschäftigt und sie lassen mich wissen, dass sie darüber nicht sehr glücklich sind.

Ich bin oft überhitzt und dehydriert (d.h. grantig, aber wer kann es mir übel nehmen bei 35°C Hitze und hoher Luftfeuchtigkeit?)

Mir geht die Energie und Geduld schnell aus und ich bin nicht mehr so effektiv wie ich als typische Deutsche war und gerne sein würde.

Wie schon gesagt, das Leben hier ist stressig.

Heute Morgen habe ich eine Predigt über Stress gesehen und danach habe ich über mein Handy und mich nachgedacht.

Was brauchen wir um wieder aufzuladen, so dass wir brauchbare Werkzeuge in unserer verschwitzten Welt sein können?

Ich weiß, dass das Einzige, was meinem Handy wirklich hilft ist, aufgeladen zu werden, also mit der “Quelle des Leben” verbunden zu werden, was für ein Handy die Elektrizität ist (natürlich nur, wenn es keinen Stromausfall gibt).

Ohne Wiederaufladen ist mein Handy bald “tot” und unbrauchbar.

Ich glaube, dass mein Leben ähnlich ist.

Das Einzige, was mir wirklich hilft wieder aufzuladen, ist mit der Quelle verbunden zu werden, die Leben gibt – Gott! 

Gott, mein Schöpfer, mein starker Turm, mein Hirte, mein Tröster, mein Wieder-Auflader.

Sicher hilft es einen Mittagsschlaf zu machen, 

ein bisschen extra Schokolade zu esssen (ach, wie ich mir wünsche, ich wäre ein Stress-Gewicht-Verlierer und kein Stress-Esser), 

oder irgendwas anderes zum Relaxen zu machen, 

aber das Einzige was mir wirkliche Ruhe und Erholung gibt, ist, mich an meine Energiequelle, Gott, anzuschließen.

Zeit mit Ihm zu verbringen war noch nie so wichtig wie jetzt.

In Seinem Wort lesen, mit Ihm zu reden und meine Gedanken mit Wahrheit über Ihn zu füllen.

Dort bekommen ich Perspektive, Erfrischung und Ruhe.

Wie genial ist es, dass kein Stromausfall der Welt uns jemals von unserem Gott trennen kann?!

The international life

Today we just wanted to post a picture that shows how international our job is

In this picture there's a German, a guy from the Netherlands, an American and I am from Norway.

The American is married to a woman from the country we live in, the Dutch is married to a German and I'm also married to a German. 

We also have other colleagues from the UK and Canada, and in the town further north we have some colleagues from Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.

Personally I love it. We have the coolest conversations, and we get to hear stories from, and learn new things about, countries that we previously had no contact with.
It also results in some pretty confused children...

(We are also hoping to be joined by a Swiss/German couple... hint-hint, if you read this, you know who you are ;-)

5 years ago

5 years ago I said YES when Erlend asked to marry me. So glad he asked because 5 years later my answer would still be the same.

getting engaged at Chatsworth House (aka Pemperley)

We have made so many memories together since then and today we made a new special one.

We went on our first pappa-Mama-Alia-date.
A cinema just opened in town, so we took Alia to the movies for the first time.
Alia loved it and we had so much fun together!

Today I am so thankful for Erlend and the man he is and has become but also for the family we have become.

If anybody is wondering where we left our other child, he was having loads of fun doing his favorite things (napping, eating banana and hanging with loads of people who think he is cute).

Traffic in Palu...

I have been collecting photos for a while now to try to give you guys a little glimpse into the quite... diverse traffic here in Palu. It is a very strange town, because it is one of the province capital cities, and that means everyone who is rich in this region lives here. At the same time though, it is also the capital city of a quite remote region... and that is something one will notice quickly.

For example is this a relatively common sight; ox carts. 

And on the other end of the scale, we have these. Not as common of a sight, but occasionally you will see a european luxury car like this Mercedes or, more common, BMW's.

To own one of these you have to be very rich, because the import tax on these things, I have been told, is 100% of the original price... 

This is what most people drive, 125cc scooters. These are popular because they can carry up to 6 people, 4-5 sacks of rice, double bed frames... anything basically. They can be rolling food stands, taxies and most importantly, they are easy to drive for drivers from 6-7 years old and up. 

These bikes are less common, because they are a lot more expensive, but they sure are fun to drive. Normally no more than 200cc, but that is plenty, because it is in reality impossible to drive any faster then 70-80 km/h because of the dense traffic.

Old Vespa's are popular among younger people, and they usually modify them quite a lot. 

Here is one with marine camouflage paint and antlers up front.

Having kids involved in traffic, like mentioned earlier, is also normal. Like in this picture, there is a young kid, maybe 10 or 11, sitting on a sack of rice on top of a pile of coconuts, while the driver was driving like a lunatic through town. Oh, and by the way; he was smoking cigarettes.

Pickup trucks are very popular. There's 1000's of them all over town.

Anything from this old clunker to highly modified, brand new Toyota Hiluxes and Mitsubishi Pajeros. People love them because they can be used for anything.

 If you don't have any cargo in the back of your pickup truck, it works well as a people carrier.

And if you do have stuff to carry, a pickup truck is good because you can just keep piling stuff on top until everything you want to bring fits.

We don't have a pickup truck, so this is what we had to do...

They even have motorbike pickup trucks. Very practical, but intensly dangerous! Especially with a younger driver... no surprises there, I guess.

A "boxtruckmotorbike."

Modifying is huge here, you can have almost anything done to your car or bike. This guy decided to make his bike look like a car... Nice not to have the wind in your face, especially considering how dusty this town is.

Now we get to the section of vehicles for the people who don't own a bike or a car.

This is a becak, basically a bicycle taxi. The locals are usually quite a bit smaller than us foreigners, so they can fit 2 at the time, but the only time I rode in one, it was very tight and very uncomfortable. But if you need more space...

 ... just hire a dokar. In a few words: a very fancy looking horse carriage.

The blue van on the left is by far the most common public transportation. Known as the Angutan Kota, Angkot or here in Palu, Taxi Biru. These guys drive around very slowly, pick up anyone who needs a ride, and takes them where they need to go. If you don't need to go where the other people want to go, you just have to wait until they have been taken there first, and then you'll be taken where you wanted to go later. About 4-5 people would fit comfortably in one of these, but I have once been in one with 19 other people.

There are also a few different vehicles that are not common anywhere else:

 Like this thing... what ever it is supposed to be

And these: Datsun Go. Nissan is relaunching the brand Datsun as their cheap-car-brand, and this country is one of very few where they sell them. Is is a very popular car. Much more comfortable than a bike and very cheap. VERY cheap.

Last picture is just of a normal day in Palu traffic

Do yo see how all those people on motorbikes are cutting in front from the right? That is very common here, and when you almost hit them, honk the horn out of frustration, most people just look at you with this face that seems to be saying "how dare you honk at me to warn me that you almost killed me when I cut in front of you on a busy street."

It is also very normal that people overtake others, and when they see you coming towards them, they honk their horns and wave their arms trying to say "when I'm driving down the wrong lane, you should get out of my way or we will crash!"

Every day in traffic here really is a test of my patience...

-E-

rain = free shower

What a perfect mix for fun water games: rain and 30 Celsius weather

hospital

That week my language helper had to go to the hospital and was diagnosed with Typhoid fever.
A few friends and I visited her yesterday.

We all tried our hardest to look very sad for the picture, even though we had a fun time together.

Last night my friends fever was very high again, please keep her in your prayers!