The heart of summer - just past half way

Anna with her friend Katy

Whilst the daily institution of the afternoon film is playing, I get a chance to write.  And what a wise person that was who institutionalised that in summer holidays!  With little ones still waking around 6am and older ones not going to bed until after 9pm, it's a little tiring.  All good though with 2 swims a day if needed, no morning rush and lots of time to simply play, create and relax.  This can only go on for so long, however, before the effects of no routine and sometimes boredom set in. It's been particularly hot and humid these last few weeks, the sort of heat that saps you and just makes you want to sleep.  The Cypriots deal with the heat in the normal way - a long siesta in the afternoon and then the place comes alive in the evenings.  We continue to try with somewhat limited success to get our kids into this groove!

Weekend with friends at a lovely house near Paphos 

Since the end of June, we've had lots of time at home together, various play-overs with friends and a few trips to the beach.  Fortunately it hasn't been the deathly slow July that last year was, purely because we're much more settled here now and know what to expect. Some days have been difficult to find anything happening (nothing is open for kids until 4pm!) and other days have been all a bit too social with far too many kids in our apartment and me flopping into bed at 8.30pm wondering "how did today end up so crazy?"  Sam & Anna have been at home with me, whilst Jessie spent 2 weeks at a gymnastics summer school and Gus attended his school summer programme complete with rock climbing, swimming and football.  Ross travelled for about 10 days in total this month and I went snooping around for houses to rent that have a yard for the kids to play in.  You never know, next blog might be from a different house!


Only one more week until we head off on holidays for a month.  First we will spend a few days in Cyprus at a lovely old village house by the sea which has kindly been offered by some friends. Following that, we travel to western Europe to spend time in Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium.  It will be good to have a decent break as a family; our first longer holiday together in quite a while.  


A few recent pictures of life in summer holidays over the past month:

Cyprus coast near Aphrodite's Rock

Aphrodite's Rock

Siesta time.......

What lies beneath

A modern city with ancient street sweepers

I have just returned from Baku in Azerbaijan via Moscow today.  It was good to be back in the Caucasus, and I enjoyed the opportunity to engage with our team in Azerbaijan.  It was fascinating to visit Baku so soon after the Eurovision song contest.  When I was in Baku late last year, preparations were in full swing and now the city is basking in the aftermath.  It's quite a remarkable transformation for the city. Inspiring on one level, but somewhat disturbing on another when you consider the poverty levels that affect the rest of the country.  The government has literally invested billions into the city.  Over 1000 London taxis were purchased for Baku prior to Eurovision, and grand architecture that would look more at home in Paris than the Caucasus has been built across the city.  Even the road from the airport into the city is walled on both sides by ornate architectural works for the road's 20km length.  It's only when you hear that behind the walls lie sprawling and largely impoverished communities that you are reminded there is a very different side to this country.   This is immediately evident beyond Baku, and poverty levels throughout the rest of the country are very high.  In particular among the large numbers of displaced persons from the frozen conflict with neighbouring Armenia that reside in Azerbaijan.

During the evenings thousands of people come out to walk along the large seafront boulevard in Baku, and the old city is alive with crowds, carpet sellers and markets.  The seafront boulevard and old city are fine models of architectural design and innovative use of public space.  Azeri families dress up and walk together in the evenings on the boulevard, sometimes stopping to have a photo taken together (a ritual that goes back for many years).  However as I walk with the crowds and look at the faces, for me there are some profound societal pieces missing, and something feels 'wrong'.  No amount of grand architecture, fine public space, impressive light shows or modern technology can compensate for the lack of a vibrant and free civil society. Government reforms have made some progress in this area, but there is still a long way to go. It reminds me in some ways of Dubai, which I once heard described as an 'artificial version of Las Vegas'. 

So I leave somewhat perplexed.  Impressed by the architectural wonders of Baku, but restless at the facade this represents of a country seeking to define itself as a modern and progressive state.  

The modern and the old

The Eurovision song contest venue

Jessie........... (at the moment) By Jessie

Everything is going well at the moment but I am still missing EVERYBODY in Australia. Some days at the moment it gets up to 45 degrees. (Celsius!) Everyday I am going to gymnastics summer school which gets long and tiring but it is (for me) the best thing in the world. As some of you know, my birthday is coming up and what I really want is a bar!!!!


 Jessie: Hey, mum. I really, really, really absolutely want a bar for my birthday! Mum: (laugh) Dream on. The chance of you getting a bar is 1 out of one hundred. Especially one that costs 450 euro. Jessie: But how come girls on YouTube have one???   Mum: I don't think I can answer that at the moment.
Here are some photos of my gymnastics:

Today I learnt how to do a front handspring by myself!!! My goal by the end of the summer is a back handspring which is SOOOOO hard.

Fasouri Waterpark: Best Day Ever

Hi. Its angus typing. Yesterday for dads birthday we went to Fasouri (water park). This is a video of me on the scariest and steepest slide in the park. It is called the kamikaze.

Yesterday I was a dare devil because I went on a pitch black strait down slide. At the end there is a big jump which leads to the pool.This is a very funny picture of me on the black cannon. (that is what it's called)

This is another video of me on the pro bowl. It is just like a  toilet - but better. At the beginning you go through a tube and when you are going fast, you do a sharp turn then shoot out into the toilet and go round in circles until you slow down and go through a big hole in the middle of the bowl and you land in very deep water.

Here is the last video of me on the black cannon.

Summer in Cyprus

Thankfully, the precious moment has come when I have finally made TIME to write a blog.  I often feel so sad that some wonderful parts of our life here get missed in the hectic day to day of 4 kids, school commitments, arvo activities and "what's for dinner Mum?"


So this blog is like a catch up...I'm hoping that as I sit quietly at my desk on this balmy summer evening all the memories of the past couple of months will come flooding back.


I will begin with Sam.  Back in April when Julie Smith was visiting and we were in the car driving along and chatting (intelligently) about home domestics at this stage of our lives; Sam interrupted and said "Mum, do you remember when we lived in Australia and you had to clean the bathrooms?"  Priceless.  Yes Sam, I do, and everyday in Cyprus with Monica cleaning them for me is like a gift.  Hopefully you will remember the wonderful result of this: - that Mummy actually played with you and got very good at Lego as a result.

Sam is back in the pool with renewed spirit this summer; jumping, splashing, ducking under, swimming to the wall and fretting about the plug in the deep-end.  He makes a tremendous amount of noise; I think his volume control is permanently jammed.  I'm hoping he's going to take to the Kids Stage School that's starting up down the road in September.

This July he'll be hanging out at home with us then in August we're travelling to visit friends in Copenhagen and Belgium with a lot of exciting stuff in between.  Sam is already planning the rides he'll be going on at Legoland in Denmark.  Similar to this is his obsession with waterparks, one of which we'll be going to this week for Ross' birthday family outing.   


Now let's move on to Angus.  A tired boy today who just returned home from Camp Jubilee; a 6 day summer camp in the Troodos Mountains.  He had a blast: camp songs, Jubilee dance, ping-pong tournaments, swimming & diving, disco, camp-fire, hiking, fun sports and heaps of group activities with some lively young British students as leaders.  Surprisingly, in a camp of nearly 100 kids, he and Jessie were put in the same small group for the week.  They got along famously on camp which was great to hear however it only took an hours car drive home for the bickering to start again.  What is it with 8 & 9 year old siblings?


Before camp began, he finished third grade, played his guitar in a couple of music concerts (including a solo rendition of "We Will Rock You" by Queen - gulp), went on a Scout Camp, enjoyed competing in many races at the School Sports Day, and has been getting into Judo with a local Cypriot 'sensai'. He's generally like a shark, needs to keep moving to survive:) 

Yellow Belt - passed!

Angus standing 'at ease' in his Cub Scouts ceremony

Anna and I have had a significant week this week.  Our last one 'just us together' before she starts school in September.  She's telling everyone she meets at present "when the summer finishes, I'm going to start Pre-School.  I'm a big girl, yes I am!"  Now that she's out of nappies, our final challenge to prepare her is to get her to eat fresh fruit.

Unfortunately that's not banana we're seeing

Yesterday we took off to the beach together and played in the water and the sand.  I think the sentimentality of the day was far more significant for me; I just wanted something to mark the final day of little one's at home with me.  Lets face it, it's been almost a decade!


Anna has 2 really good friends at present.  There's Katie, whose Mum says needs an "Anna fix" every few days and who cries hysterically every time she has to leave our house.  Then there's Hadley who lives up the road and invites himself over regularly.  She's at that lovely stage of sharing well then fighting then crying then hitting then getting distracted and playing nicely again.  I'll miss that.

Anna had a ball with her Nan & Pop recently.  There was a  game for everything with Nana and Pop was very generous with the ice creams.  What a precious time for a 3yr old to spend so much time with her grand-parents.  Hopefully the photos will serve as great memories in years to come.

Last but not least is Jessie who at present is growing up all too quick.  It's hard to convince an almost 10yr old that staying a kid and enjoying her youth is a good thing.  "But I WANT to grow up quickly Daddy!" she said in a recent conversation just prior to our little 3-way project of culling about 60 "friends" on Facebook.  Her accelerator, our brakes.


Jessie is also hyped but tired from Camp Jubilee this week.  She roomed with a lovely girl called Annie whom she does gymnastics with and came home wearing her clothes and telling me of the website we 'have' to start buying clothes from.  She was surprised to win the award for best camp journal and she surprised us by hugging Sam & Anna and telling them she missed them!  In the same breath, however, she said she didn't want to come home; just stay on camp all summer.

What a week!

Other memories for Jessie this past couple of months...

Jessie: Mum, I just HAVE to play the violin. I just LOVE that instrument.  Can I give up the flute?Mum: "No".  As a result, Jessie has very craftily managed to ask her friend's sister to bring back her old violin from Canada this summer that she can "borrow" for a year.  In Year 5 they all need to learn a new instrument so this will be a good chance to feed her insatiable musical appetite.  She's loved having Anna 'Piana' (a 15yr old) come to our house and teach her piano.  It's all coming back from her lessons when she was 5 and 6yrs and it's lovely to hear the ivories being tinkled regularly in the house.


Jessie is also still loving gymnastics, and recently had a end of year show.  As per normal, the festivities were kicked of by a blessing a long homily in Greek from one of the local Orthodox priests.  Another three or four elderly gentlemen also spoke, apparently making some sort of political statement about the division of Cyprus.  What better a venue for a bold political statement than a children's gymnastics event......

Cyprus is in the full swing of summer now, with temperatures on most days in the high 30's or 40's so the pool has been getting plenty of use.  Still trying to avoid swimming during siesta time, when all the neighbours are asleep.

Well that's the four of them: a busy, loud and enthusiastic bunch, and settling in for a long summer in Cyprus!

Jerusalem and the West Bank

The Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock

Last week I travelled to Jordan, Jerusalem and the West Bank in Israel/Palestine for meetings with our team in both locations. World Vision has had development and relief programs in the West Bank and Gaza for more than 30 years now, with a national office in Jerusalem. World Vision's programs focus mainly on education, agriculture and health. It's always a challenging place to visit, and I think the complexity and intractability of the Israeli/Palestinian situation tests a persons world view, politics and faith like few other places on the planet.  Even the old city of Jerusalem, where three of the most holy sites in Islam, Judaism and Christianity are located within a stones throw of each other, is a place that polarises opinion.  Underlying tensions and the ongoing potential for volatility is evidenced by the significant security and military presence throughout the city. The richness of history in the Holy Land is superimposed with a present reality that is tragic on many levels.  I've always felt a certain heaviness when travelling in Israel and Palestine.  Sometimes you only become aware of this when you leave.  

The Western Wall in Jerusalem

The thing that strikes you most about a visit to Jerusalem and the West Bank is the continued construction of new settlements by Israel, which goes on unabated despite the sanctions of international law.  Construction of these settlements is illegal, and the activities of the settlers themselves results in a situation where abuse of even the most basic human rights is rampant.  It's hard to understate the impacts of settlements and related dislocation of proximate Palestinian communities.  The following clip tells the story of one family in East Jerusalem who is dealing with the loss of their house to illegal settlers.

The separation wall and a settlement

The settlers themselves are driven by various motives; for some it is religious and political zeal, aligned with Zionist cause of laying claim to the former biblical lands of Israel; for others the motivation is more economic, where people are attracted by the various subsidies and incentives offered by the Government to relocate to the settlements.   There are now more than 130 settlements across the West Bank, and the continued development and construction of new settlements is a major obstacle to any future peace process between Israel and Palestine.  Security measures imposed around the illegal settlements are draconian, most recently seen in the construction of a separation barrier through the entire West Bank that has literally cut many Palestinian communities in two, and separated families from agricultural land they have owned for generations.  

Another new settlement

The old souk in Hebron, covered with wire
mesh to protect from rubbish and objects
thrown down from above by settlers
illegally occupying adjacent houses.

There is probably no city more impacted by the issue of the occupation and settlers than Hebron in the West Bank.  Hebron is the ancient city of Abraham, and thus has great historical significance for Muslims, Christians and Jews alike.  Within the old city of Hebron, 500 settlers live in the midst of 30,000 Palestinians.  Radical in their approach, the Hebron settlers have severely disrupted life in the city for Palestinians, and the curfews and restrictions on movement on Palestinians imposed by the 1500 Israeli soldiers based in the city are among the harshest on the West Bank.  Hebron has a tragic history, which continues to play out in the present. 


We visited Hebron and walked through what was once a bustling market.  Now many shops are empty, and above the market a wire mesh has been installed to catch the objects and refuse thrown down from the illegal settlers who now occupy houses above.  Palestinian children are routinely harassed as they walk to school, and there are frequent outbursts of violence in the city.  If you have some time, it's worth reading some accounts of serving in Hebron by former Israeli soldiers at:  www.breakingthesilence.org.il

The tomb of Abraham

A visit to Israel and Palestine raises many more questions than answers in my mind, and prospects for a lasting peace agreement seem distant.  As with everything, there are two sides to every story, or in the case of the Holy Land, probably more like ten sides, but it's hard to escape the underlying root cause issues resulting from the occupation. I believe in a God of justice, mercy and grace, and it's not easy to see any of these elements in the current situation in the Holy Land.  


On a final note, the trip from Tel Aviv to Cyprus is only a half hour flight, but actually takes about 6 hours from door to door because of the time needed to get through security in Israel.  I always feel special to receive some additional hospitality from the security folks at the airport.  The stamps in my passport don't help much.  To quote the security guard last week 'it appears you have visited many of our enemies in the last 12 months'.  Such is the nature of polarised opinion in the Holy Land.

The old city of Hebron

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built above
what is thought to be the crucifixion site. Note
the ladder below the top right window.  This
ladder has been there since atleast 1852, as the
various denominations who look after the
church cannot agree on who is responsible to
remove it. 

View towards the Dead Sea from the Mount of Olives