Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

 

‘It’s okay. Jakarta is okay too. You’ll do fine living there.’

Out of nowhere, a friend who lived in Singapore said that to us to ‘cheer us up’ after seeing how we faced the big flood last month, and deal with daily traffic jams here.

The thing is, yes we live in Jakarta, and we have to face all that, … but, no, we didn’t feel ‘trapped’, ‘disadvantaged’, ‘wanting to leave’, or anything.

I mean, we ARE doing fine here.

…

Many do wonder about us, our family and HOW we’re coping with everythingNow. I know of many who have relocated to Jakarta or who are still thinking of relocating to this busy city.

And many do wonder about us, our family and HOW we’re coping with everything.

Well, by this month, we have officially been in Jakarta for THREE years.

And, yes … we are doing fine =)

[THIS was what I wrote back in 2012 about our big move to Jakarta, and THIS was how it felt on the day we left Singapore for good]

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Here are three common questions we get from others when they ask about us living in Jakarta :

How can you cope with everything?

Are the kids doing alright?

Do you miss Singapore?

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And here are our thoughts on them:

How can you cope with everything?

Well, every country has its pros and cons. There is no ‘perfect’ place to live (gotta wait till we’re all in heaven one day! =)

To Wilson and I, we believe we can always choose how we wish to move forward.

We believe we can always choose how we wish to move forwardWe can choose to feel thankful for what we’ve been blessed with, and live with whatever inconveniences we happen to face daily, without complaining about them incessantly.

Or, we can focus on the many ‘negative’ things about Jakarta and live unhappily everyday.

Right now, we believe God wants us to be in Jakarta and that He has a purpose and a calling for us, so we are of course fine with it.

If one day, perhaps years from today, we are to move and relocate again elsewhere, then we’ll just see how things go =)

Wherever we are, as long as we stick together as a family, and as long as that’s where God wants us to be, that’s what matters most to us.

It’s all in the mind and heart, I guess.

…

 

Are the kids doing alright?

We believe young kids will naturally follow their parents and learn from their ‘adaptability’ in the new country.

If BOTH parents are fine with the move, stable, settle down steadily, and help the children in adapting with the new environment … I truly believe the children will do fine too.

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[A good stroll along Orchard Road]

 

Do you miss Singapore?

Of course I do miss loads of things about Singapore.

The convenience of public transportation, the cleanliness and orderliness of everything, the wonderful libraries, the many free play areas for kids, the many fun public events organised, etc! =)

(Including its coffee- shop’s Teh-Peng, sugar cane, Char Kway Teow, Katong Laksa and boneless chicken rice!)

 

[East Coast Park]

 

Anya and Vai still have loads of memories of their growing up years spent in Singapore too.

But, having said that, this is what we do and what we’ve also shared with the kids :

Yes, we treasure our memories, but if we are now in Jakarta, instead of always looking at what we had in the past and NOT have today, let’s value what we now have, especially things that are NOT available in Singapore.

Things like:

– We can now enjoy more seafood, dessert and authentic Indonesian cakes, etc (because food naturally is more affordable here)

 

 

– We get to see our big family more often (Back in Singapore, the kids hardly spend time with their grandparents and relative, because we fly to Jakarta only 1-2x a year)

– We can travel and explore the mountains and beaches more during holidays without leaving the country

– The kids can now have piano and tennis lessons!

 

 

– We have a part time helper coming three times a week!

– They can attend a good Christian school, that focuses on the integration of their christian faith into everything that we learn in life, instead of just focusing on academic achievements

– We are exposed to more opportunities to serve God and be involved in the ministry

– We get to see more smiling people who happily tolerate and welcome the existence of playful children and families in the society

 

 

– We can now see Daddy everyday!
(He was a ‘weekend Daddy’ in the last one year of our stay in Singapore)

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Okay, I’ll stop here.

The list can go on and on.

There are lots of things that we now can enjoy, which we didn’t have before.

And we choose to focus on this, instead of what we don’t have.

We choose to learn and count our blessings everyday.

And this, I must say, helps a lot when we first relocated to Jakarta three years ago.

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Did you go through a big move with your family?

How did you cope? Any tips to share?