mosi nets, power cuts, loose grasp on the local language - anyone else live off the beaten track??

[liger]

...but with access to Mumsnet obviously, so maybe not that unbeaten a track but...
what do you enjoy, what do you find difficult?

I am a SAHM living in Indonesia, there are good things and bad things about being here with a 2 year old and it would be great to share them, anyone else?

I think this is a long-shot, but I think a while back I saw a Mumsnetter in Nigeria, and one who had lived in Cameroon would love to hear from you?

do any of you all living abroad like sleeping in a hammock? People in Nigeria/Indonesia, etc.

I love sleeping in a hammock and when I was pg and just after having dd, craved one but the way new houses (mine is new) are built in the UK, it is not practical to hang one.

I've never seen anyone in a hammock here. The locals seem to be able to sleep on walls, motorbikes, tree trunks, just about anywhere.

Dh used to sleep in a hammock years ago when he was in the Royal Navy. He said it's really comfy as there are no pressure points.

Sleeping in a hammock always reminds me of being sunburnt and sleeping in a net hammock in mexico. OUCH.

Suedonim and CamDoes, DH used to come here a lot during the last war with aid and we ended up visiting friends here a lot over the years. So main reasons for moving here: familiarity with the area, having friends here, and it being still close enough for family to pop on a budget flight to visit DS anytime they fancy! We bought our house to use on visits when the prices were really low but ended up moving here to live.

Are all of you on postings then?

Its lovely to come back to lots of messages and some new names! We had a really lovely weekend away, on a nearby island, it is what keeps us sane!

Lovely mattress here I'm afraid Suedonim, its so well stitched I often pull back the sheet so that ds can use it as a 'bumpy road' for all his cars!

There are big differences between here and Africa, so even in off the beaten track Banda Aceh there is a substantial middle class, and EVERYONE has a mobile phone (with camera) and a motorscooter. There are of course communities outdside of Banda where malnutrition is common, but they will often have access to their own transport.

We are here as part of the Aid world, my partner works for a large NGO here, and I worked for the same organisation until I fell pregnant with ds and I didn't want to pass all that stress on to my unborn child!

It is very interesting being part of the same community as your old self but now as a SAHM, if that makes sense. Many of dp's colleagues have no idea what to talk to me about even though I am the same age and have the same background. Dp and I have concluded that they assume I am taking on some 1950's housewife role and that they don't get that its an active choice to spend these precious years with my child, and that I am fortunate to do so!

Suedonim, Cocoa, I know the rains must be a nightmare, but at least you have seasons! We keep being told that the windy season is imminent, or the rainy season is imminent, but it has been the same, for 9 months it has been exactly the same!

oh, and the 8th floor sent me reeling for a while, then I remember that not everywhere else has earthquakes like we do!

Sorry your dd has a cold Suedonim, I blame the aircon half the time!

liger x

We have two hammocks, but I bought them with us because I love them so much, one is in the living room hanging from the security bars on the window, and the other in the garden. They do use hammocks here but I've mostly seeen string ones.

I have slept in hammocks but they get uncomfy if they are too banana shaped, they need to be fairly level. They can also get fairly cold even at night, even in hot places as the breeze gets in through the hammock, you need to wrap your covers all the way around you!!!

at all your decent mattresses. Chairs and sofas are rock hard here, too.

PAL, erk! at the sunburn. You'd be lattice-patterned! What language do they speak in Bosnia? I've read about Brits buying homes in Croatia and Romania, is that happening in your area too?

Liger, interesting that Banda Aceh is so well developed. Because of the war and the remoteness I had expected it to be more basic. There's certainly a step change between Java and Africa. We visted Yogyurkarta which is really nice and very interesting. I think one of the monuments, Prambanan was badly damaged in the earthquake they had ?two yrs ago. It's worth a visit to Borobudur tho.

Lol at your recation to the 8th floor. Dh worked on, I think, the 17th floor at Bursa Efek in Jakarta and they felt minor earthquakes regularly. It was, allegedly, built to withstand quakes. Dd was obsessed by the volcanoes, that one would appear in the school field and that I wouldn't be able to get her from school!

There is a considerable lack of earthquakes and volcanoes here but I spend many a happy hour worrying about tsunami and the fact nowhere in Lagos is more than 12ft above sea level. Apparently, if/when sea levels rise due to global warming, Lagos will be the first city in Africa to disappear beneath the waves.

language... heh heh heh, it depends who you ask! In this area it is ok to say that everyone speaks Bosnian, but move further south in to Herzegovina and a lot of people will claim it is Croatian, and move in to republica srpska and they say they speak serbian... and everyone actually lives in Bosnia.

No brits buying up here apart from us! There are probably some starting to buy in Sarajevo and Mostar by now, but this region is far more rural/remote. Croatia's prices have rocketed as a result of investment buying by foreigners. MIL bought and apartment on the adriatic 2 yrs ago and the value has gone up considerably. She's hoping to retire there though.

So are all these langauges actually the same one - a rose by any other name? I guess you speak it yourself?

The property thing is difficult isn't it. Obviously it's good for homeowners but awful if it ends up pricing out locals. There's no way we'll be buying in Nigeria, hehe! Apartment where we're renting sell for about £300K, an astromonical price considering the foundations of sand. But lots of them have been bought by Lebanese people as holiday homes.

essentially yes, just with differences in pronunciation as you move around. Also, in serbia and republika srpska more people use cyrillic. In bosnia there is a lot of turkish influence on the language as well, just as there is italian influence in some parts of croatia. I've been learning since I got here 18 months ago and can 'hold my own' now. I understand most of what I hear now but speaking is still slow!

Property price increases here tend to be mainly affected by expat bosnians who buy property whilst living abroad.

£300k for an apartment!! That's astronomical. You could buy a village here for that!

Sue, you may not be able to afford your Nigerian appartment but at least you have giant land snails and of course, oodles of lovely Guinness to drink By the way, our UK mattresses have come with us across half of Africa simply to avoid the foam ones, though the dc have happily slept on them for a couple of years

Princess, Bosnia is a part of the world I would love to visit, I imagine most of it to be very rural and developing so very interesting. Do you have dc? How are the schools?

Liger, in Africa too many people seem to manage to have a mobile phone and certainly all the young men aspire to have a motorbike so that they can get around easily and run a taxi service to boot.

(btw, its cameroonmama/nairobiorbust here, I have been having an identity crisis so apologise for all the name changing )

Princess - its great that you can hold your own with the language after 18 months, I have found it a struggle as I get limited time out and about to actually use the language. Circumstances here, mostly with dh's work, have made it very difficult for us to have the chance to learn properly, and now we leave in 3 months time, such a shame!

Sue do you get by on English or have you picked up any Yoruba ? I can still remember a few words of Hausa from childhood.

Dishyblonde (like that name ) I was comparing the phones and scooters directly to Africa, it is on a very different scale here, similar if not more so that London phone wise. I find it fascinating, all the implications that more communication has on a society.

And honestly barely anyone walks anywhere as everything is done on scooters. Even on the main shopping streets there are few people walking as people skip from shop to shop on the scooter!
I can't imagine an Africa where people aren't walking!! I get some real looks when I take ds out in his pushchair! But I guess it was the same when I was in Asia 10 years ago, its the phones that is the recent change.

I hope everyone is well

liger x

thanks liger . Part of my job is to teach english in the nearest town so that has really helped me pick up bosnian at the same time.

My ds is 4 and goes to the local nursery school. He loves it and is naturally picking up the language very quickly. Kids start school officially at 6 or 7 here so I don't know first hand yet what the schools are like, dishy. We just hear the normal grumbles from parents we know!

It's a beautiful part of the world. This region is very mountainous and is famous for having very fertile soil. We've tried to be self sufficient this year and so far it's been good. The story about the soil must be true!

What you're saying about mobile phones si true here too. Every child and adult seems to have one, and there's serious competition over having the best and latest models!! I think I get pitied for carrying a battered old nokia, without even a camera! Funny really because bosnians love to tell how hard life is here and how poor their country is and yet spend incredible amounts of money on mobile phones and credit... I think they'd think differently if they experienced life in some of the parts of the world that you guys have seen.

Ok, PAL, I have to ask...how on earth do you pronounce 'srpska'??? It looks like Cod-speak! Well done you for learning Bosnian so quickly. Ds2 did well at French at uni but says he finds it hard to speak to his French GF's family as by the time he's formulated an answer they've moved on to the next topic! Luckily his GF (will be his wife from next month!) also speaks English, as well as Arabic, German & Italian and is learning Spanish.

Liger, I'm afraid my language skills leave a lot to be desired. I picked up a bit of Bahasa Indonesia but Yoruba defeats me totally. I just know 'wahalla' which means trouble. That suits most situations out here. Ikwym about no one walking in Indonesia, that was one of the first things that struck me. Mind you, Jakarta was so polluted no one would want to breath the air outdoors for any longer than necessary. The cars fascinated me, too. Everyone had blacked out windows and drivers, except the uber-rich, who had clear windows so everyone could see them, and drove their own Bentleys, Porchses etc.

Dishyblonde or whoever you are today Giant Land Snails - yuk! Sometimes they escape from their baskets and you see them legging it away down the street - metaphorically speaking of course. Dd likes them, weird child. I've never tried the Guiness here. Dd1, who is in the UK, was somewhat startled after she visited us, to spot bottles of Maltina for sale in Aberdeen, lol!

We heard this week that dh's contract here is definitely ending in December. He's been offered a job in Sakhalin. I was even more when he said that once you arrive at the airport there's still a 14hr train trip to your destination. Anyway, he's said no, phew.

We've had to tell our driver and steward that we'll be leaving in December; cue much wailing and gnashing of teeth. My steward's face made me feel like I'd just kicked a defenceless creature. They both work for dh's company rather than us so even if we come back with another employer we'll have to say goodbye.

DS and his buddies have been capturing landsnails in the garden and BRINGING THEM INTO MY HOME. I threw one against the garden wall in a panic (not realising it was DS who had released it into the house). DS's buddy burst into tears, and I immediately felt terrible to have murdered the poor slimy creature. But I do. hate. snails. Especially giant ones.

And Dishyblonde, love the name. Keep that one. I need a name change. Will start thinking...

LOL sue at the thought of land snails legging it Once ds1 hid a huge pile of them in the back box of dd's bike, which was then left in the back of my car for the night, imagine my horror the next morning when confronted by a swarm of them and their silvery trails all over my car

Sue how many children do you have?? How exciting to have one getting married, will it be in France?

Glad you like the new name, chosen for me by my postnatal thread crowd, I think it is called irony

Sakhalin Sue . Now that would be off the beaten track indeed. Some good friends from Douala went there and claimed to have enjoyed it I take it your dh is an oil man then?

Dh used to work for Guinness and the market share dropped for some years in a row as people were spending money on mobile phones and getting credit than buying beer. I don't know which is worse

That age old beer vs credit dilemma! That's really made me laugh, didhyblonde!

And I'm really shuddering here thinking about giant snails. Yuck. Really very average wildlife here by comparison. I regularly have to scare eagles away from my chickens but that's about as exotic as it gets!

Srpska - if you roll the R and say it fast it kind of works, suedonim. At least that's how I tend to get away with it!!

clearly I meant DISHYblonde and not DIDHYblonde

dizzyblonde might be more appropriate

Dishyblonde, land snails in your car, eeuuugh!!!! I think I'd have to get a new car. I think your action against snails in your house was very commendable, Coco, and exactly what I would do. Some creatures were put on this earth to be murdered, loofahs and snails amongst them, hehe.

DB, I've got four dc ages from 32(!) to 11yo. Ds1 is married and lives in LA, ds2 is the one getting married in Paris. He lives in Scotland. Dd1 is 20 and also in Scotland then we have our 'baby' here in Nig with us. Honestly, it's a trial keeping tabs on them - there's been several occasions this year when all four have been in different countries, with not one of them in the UK eg ds1 in US, ds2 in France, dd1 in Spain and dd2 here.

Yes, dh is an oilman, for his sins. People I know who've been to Sakhalin say that Nigeria is a doddle in comparison. Dh has psoriatic arthritis and I don't think could hack the cold, tbh.

Lol at torn loyalties between Guiness and phones. I know which I'd go for and it wouldn't be the latter, hehe!

PAl, we have buzzards at home in Scotland. I love seeing them, so graceful. Do you have wolves or bears in Bosnia? I imagine E Europe to be full of them! Btw, I tried to pronounce 'Srpska' as per your instructions but just made a wet raspberry sound!

Hi there, I haven't had a chance to read all of the thread, and I don't get on to mumsnet as much as I used to, but I do live overseas.

We are based in Kazakhstan, have been there for 6 years, plan to stay quite a few more, we run an ngo.

I have nearly 3 kids, ds is 4 dd is 2 and dc is due next week, so I am in the UK for the moment. We head back after Christmas. I have also lived in Indonesia (East Java - Malang) so I love hearing about there too.

No mossie nets for us, more problems with cold winters (-30 C) in the winter.

chuckling at the raspberry sound, suedonim! I probably sound the same!

Winter has now started. The snow is here. It's pretty but I am definitely a summer girl at heart!

Well today, I met a woman from Serbia

Steppemum, good luck with number 3, its great fun having three littlies Kazhakstan is a place I would love to go, I have been to Uzbekhistan and it was fascinating. Do you speak Russian or the local dialect? What kind of ngo do you run?

Sue you are a pretty multinational family yourselves! Have you been expats for a long time? Have you heard the term 'third culture kids'? That's what our children are, having been brought up in a different culture to their 'native' one. Its quite fascinating...

wow, what an unusual story, suedonim (the woman of course, not your !).

Third culture kids. Will have to find out more about that. What nationality would any of your children say they are if asked?

welcome Steppemum and good luck for the imminent arrival of dc3! I would also love to hear more about your NGO if you get the chance. I was just chatting to someone this weekend about how nice central Asia is to live in and how warm the people are. I've long been keen to visit Tajikistan.

Dishy, I'm assuming you've read that 'Third Culture Kids' book, I read it recently. What did you think?

Hope everyone is well, only brief post now as I'm about to put ds to bed