Quick lunch

After our 'amazing' little visit to the public toilet of Imadegawa station, we left the station to meet an old friend of mine during her lunch break. Carmen, who, by now, probably knows for certain whether she passed her PhD exam, definitely passed the "Am I allowed to hold you, Auro?"-test and successfully carried Auro all the way to the restaurant and back! In return, Auro politely waved goodbye before we left!

Apology

I'm fairly certain that people who have gone to public toilets in Japan before have never given it much thought, so I feel I should mention it here: when you have a baby with you, Japanese public toilets are so benri (便利=handy)! Almost all public toilets have at least one cubicle which has a special seat for babies. I have to admit that, before I had Auro, I very often used this seat to put my bag on and never really appreciated it's real value. With this post, I officially apologize to all the baby seats in Japanese public toilets for not seeing how handy they are! I really wish they had them in Belgium or Italy too (I always had to put Auro on the floor close to me), not to mention Chinese public toilets... And while we are at it, maybe airplane companies should also consider installing them. I don't have to explain to you just how much 'manoeuvring' it requires when you need to go and there is barely enough space on the dirty floor to put your feet.
Anyway... here is Auro in the toilet of Imadegawa station!

Bravo

For many months now I've been trying to teach Auro how to clap his hands together, but he never showed any interest. The other day, all of a sudden, he reasponded to my "bravo" by clapping his hands together! Now, every time I say "bravo", he drops whatever he is holding and starts clapping his hands! So, maybe he will not only be able to blow out the candle on his cake, but also to congratulate himself on his first birthday!

Reunited

About 2 weeks have passed since Auro and I arrived in Japan after a long and tiring, but nevertheless sleepless flight. Auro was 'slightly' over-tired and hardly slept at all the first night here in Kyoto. Completely jetlagged and (again) in a new environment, surrounded by new people and expected to fall asleep in a strange bed... it all was a little bit too much for Aurino! I was patient with the crying and screaming until about 2 am, but then I had absolutely no energy left. Luckily, Remo was there to take over and, ready to make up for the 2 months of being separated, he comforted Auro, sang to him and eventually just slept on the floor next to his bed.

After that first night, Auro quickly overcame his jetlag and his initial confusion, and after only a couple of days he started sleeping normally again. Just in time for the conference, symposium and meetings that I came here to attend. Remo stayed with Auro during the day and I was able, for the first time since Auro was born, to go out the whole day without having to worry about him getting hungry or sleepy! And, of course, we have also visited Jan Haring in the 2 weeks we have been here! The first time I took Auro to Osaka to see the boat, we stayed only for a couple of hours. Remo had prepared a car-seat for him in the cockpit and after having tied his seatbelt safely, we went out for about an hour and a half (there was no wind!) to accustom Auro with the idea of sailing. He did not complain ;-) Then, last Sunday, we traveled there again (2 hours and 4 trains from the north of Kyoto to the south of Osaka!), but this time we stayed a little longer, because we wanted Auro to get used to sleeping on the boat (no sailing). The back cabin, that had been reserved for him, seemed to be to his likings and he slept very well in the long and narrow bed, behind his safety net! Next, we are planning to try a short sailing trip for a couple of days!

Last days

Tomorrow, Auro and I are flying to Osaka, where Remo (hopefully) will be waiting for us! Here are some pictures of the last days in Begijnendijk.

Auro has been trying to skip his morning nap, but sometimes it is just stronger than himself ;-)

Auro loves taking all of his toys out of the bag and throwing them around. And in the end he still wants a mobile phone or some keys to play with...Auro on his uncle's shoulders... for sure the highest place he has ever sat!

My mother

Two days before going back to Belgium, more precisely on Monday evening, we finally did what we came here to do: we parted with the last physical remains of my mother. As she had requested more than once, we enthrusted part of her ashes to the sea in Turkey which she was so fond of. My mother, who was the reason for many more things in my life than just me coming to Turkey this time, now has a final resting place from where she can gaze at the rocky coast of Kiris and keep an eye on her apartment that had become her favourite place over the last couple of years!

Numbers

The fact that we are relaxing in Turkey, does not mean that Auro's physical and mental development has taken a break. On the contrary! Here are some numbers.

* Auro's weight (measured just before we came to Turkey): 8900 grams
* Auro's height (also measured just before Turkey): 75 cm

* number of breastfeedings in a day: 2 (we recently replaced the afternoon-milk with some fruit and/or a cookie)
* number of 'frietjes' (=French fries/chips/pommes frites) Auro has refused to eat so far: 0 (He definitely IS Belgian!)
* number of ready-made babyfood Auro opens his mouth for: 1 (couscous with vegetables... everything else needs to be fresh!)
* number of shiny white (and amazingly sharp!) little teeth: 7 (number 7 saw the light right here in Turkey)
* number of (airplane) flights Auro has been on in his life: 18
* number of countries our little globetrotter has 'visited' so far: 8 (Belgium, Italy, Austria, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau and Turkey)

Gözleme

The other day, my father needed to catch up on some lost sleep, so tante Els, Auro and I took the car and went out for lunch. We drove to a nearby restaurant where we ate on of my favourite Turkish dishes:gözleme. Gözleme is a hand made and hand rolled pastry, filled with feta cheese, potatoes or spinach (these are the 3 most common fillings), and then cooked over a griddle. When the gozleme is cooked, little brown round eye-shaped spots appear on the pastry and this is how the origin of the name for the dish is explained: 'göz' apparently means 'eye' in Turkish.

Adrasan

Two days ago, my father, Els, Auro and I took the rental car and drove to Adrasan (about one hour to the west of Kiris). Whereas the beach here in Kiris consists of little (and sometimes bigger) pebbles, Adrasan has a little inlet with an almost sandy beach. Also, to walk into the sea requires less of an acrobatic effort in Adrasan, as the beach doesn't immediately drop from ankle-shallow to waist-deep (though this does occassionally provide some amusing and entertaining sights!). Anyway, after a good (and cheap!) lunch, we swam in the sea, had a walk in the excrutiating heat (so Auro could take a nap in his stroller), had another refreshing swim and finally went to a nice restaurant on the river (extra nice because it's a place where my mother has not been forgotten). Amazing how the heat disappears near a river under the cover of green trees! A great place to end a surprisingly tiring day.

Neighbours

Last Friday (July 24), my father, Auro and I took the plane from Brussels to Antalya in Turkey. We are staying in my mother's favourite place in Kiris. Since we've arrived here, we haven't really done anything noteworthy. Except for swimming, sunbathing, going to the market, drinking and eating of course! And always in good company! (see picture of my father drinking the local beer in company of our Belgian neighbours)

the Dutch

Today, the 21st of July, is a national holiday in Belgium. Actually it is THE national holiday of Belgium. On July 21, 1831, Leopold I took the oath as king and Belgium officially became an independent country. All of this happened after the Belgian revolution, during which the Belgians declared their independence from the Dutch.
Yesterday, and this has of course nothing to do with the above, my good friend Ilona came from Holland to pay us a visit. We hadn't seen each other in over a year and we had some catching up to do. We sat in the garden the whole afternoon, where Ilona became best friends with the dog (Kazan kept bringing her pears from the garden, which she kept throwing away and he kept coming back with new ones). Also Auro was completely charmed by my Dutch friend... or was it by the big leather (and therefore extremely chewable) belt she was wearing?

Sand

The day Auro turned 10 months, my friend Pascale picked us up with her car and drove us all the way to the Belgian coast (for Belgian standards 2 hours is a very long drive!). The coastal town of Blankenberge is very well known among Belgians and on a hot sunny day the beach is ususally packed with people. Luckily it wasn't that hot, nor that sunny, so we could enjoy the sandy beach to our heart's content. Especially Auro was impressed with the 'sandiness' of the white sand, because he wouldn't stop touching it. He took some in his little fists, then let it slip through his fingers, only to pick up some more. Of course there was also the occasional sand-tasting going on, but I think he quickly understood that sand is not meant to be eaten. Smart little boy!
To make our sandy day complete, we also paid a visit to the sand sculptures festival, which is held every year in the dunes of Blankenberge (11 Euros!). This year the theme is 'Pete Pirate and the Barnacle Bill', so lots of pirate ships, treasures, sea monsters and ... Michael Jackson!

Last minute

Tomorrow, Auro will be 10 months old, but today, while he is still 9 months old, his 6th tooth came through! And I can assure you this one is just as sharp as the other five.Two teeth on the bottom and four on the top: his mouth is in balance again... at least for now ;-)

Socializing

Over the past couple of days Auro has been confronted with many new people. The whole family gathered here for a barbecue, friends came to visit and we went to visit friends. He has been surrounded by people who, for almost 5 months, have been looking forward to seeing him. Unfortunately almost none of those people have been able to hold him without setting of a siren of loud and persistent crying, audible probably even to his father who is on the other side of the world in Japan!
Auro has always been a bit of a mother's boy, but from the moment we have arrived here in Belgium it seems he has completely abandoned the idea of ever socializing with people who are not his 'mama', his 'papa' or (luckily) his 'opa'. To be quite honnest, I don't know how to help him feel more relaxed with other people, but I'm afraid I can't force it much. I suppose I will just have to trust Auro and give him the time he needs to master his social skills...

Discoveries

Today, I made two discoveries.

The first one was this morning when I inspected Auro's mouth (which I started doing regularly since his gum turned white) and saw that 'tooth number 5' had decided to come out! Congratulations, Auro! Five down, fifteen to go!
The second dicovery came later in the afternoon and I can't really take credit for it since it wasn't me, but Els (my brother's girlfriend) who made it. She discovered that we have a tree in our garden that bears cherries. At least we think that's what they are. They look a little different from the ones we are used to, but they have the same sweet taste. My parents bought this house when my mother was pregnant with me, so I actually grew up here, but I never noticed that we had a cherry tree. What a strange but amazing discovery, wouldn't you say?