First molar

After Christmas, Auro came down with a fever (40 degrees!), so we had to call the doctor. Luckily it's just a viral infection in the throat, so he doesn't have to take any antibiotics, but the past days have been a bit tough for him. With all the crying that (apparently) comes with a viral infection, I discovered a new tiny little tooth in the back of Auro's mouth: his first molar! For those of you who are still counting: this is tooth number nine ;-)

Buon Natale da Cesenatico!

I know! It's a little bit late to wish you a merry Christmas, but nevertheless: "Buon Natale!", "Zalig Kerstfeest!" and "Merry Christmas!" to anyone who is reading this!

Last week, we left Genoa and drove down to Cesenatico (on the Adriatic coast) where my in laws have just moved into a brand new (and I must say, really beautiful!) home. Then, on the 24th, my father, brother and his 'morosa' (girlfriend) joined us from Belgium. From the day my family arrived until the day they left, we stuffed ourselves with all kinds of delicious food carefully prepared by 'nonna Valeria' (Remo's mother). Two days ago, slightly heavier than when they arrived, the Belgian part of the family left and things quieted down a bit. My jaws now have some time to relax after all the laughter of the previous days. Definitely one of the better Christmases I've had!

 

Milestones

I can not believe I haven't posted any news in almost 2 months. It's definitely not because there was nothing to tell! Actually there have been some big changes! So, to get started again, here are some of the 'big' things that happened during the past 2 months.

We bought a car! With the help of my cousin and my father, we found a second hand Renault Scenic in great conditions and for a very reasonable price. We were actually looking for a smaller car to maneuver down the narrow streets of Genoa, but we were getting such a good deal, we couldn't let it pass by. And so now, for the first time in my life I have a car registered to my name!

Auro started walking! I believe that  Auro was physically capable of walking by himself for a while already, but psychologically he just wasn't ready yet to let go of my hand!(Or is this one of those things that every mother thinks of her child?) Anyway, on the 25th of November (so at the age of 14 months) Auro, all of a sudden, started walking around the room by himself. Unluckily for Remo, this blissful event took place while we were still in Belgium, three days before Remo joined us from Italy.

And then there was the big move to Genoa. On the 3rd of December, we (my father, Remo, Auro and I) left Begijnendijk with 2 cars (ours and my father's) to arrive 16 (!) hours later at the entrance of our new home in Genoa. The trip was long (1085 km) and tiring (2 hours of traffic jam in a tunnel in Switzerland due to an accident), so, needless to say, we were very relieved to arrive and get some sleep. My father stayed for the weekend and then drove back by himself. Strangely enough, the drive back took only 12 hours! What is it that they say about horses when they small their stable?

My mother

Last year, on the 2nd of November, at 15:45, my mother passed away. Yesterday, we got together in my father's place and had a dinner in her honour. Today, I just feel like sharing some photos of her...

September 1971 (my mom was 21!)

In September 2006, my mother came to visit me in Japan. After having lived there for nearly 7 years, I had finally convinced her to come to my graduation ceremony. She loved absolutely everything in Japan, except the traditional Japanese breakfast. This photo was taken at the breakfast table in a temple on Mount Koya where we had spent the night.

This photo was taken after my mom's visit to Japan. Over the last years, my mother and I had made a habit out of making little daytrips to different places every time I was in Belgium. In 2006, we went to Delft in Holland.

Peekaboo

Auro and I have been in Belgium for one week now and we have recovered from our jetlag (one day for every hour of time difference). Tomorrow, Auro and I fly to Bologna where Remo should be waiting for us. From Bologna we will drive to Genoa. The coming week(s) we will be very busy looking for an apartment, so it might take a while before I will write here again. But, as soon as we have found our place (and an internet connection) we'll be back!

10 things I won't miss

Ten things I will NOT miss
1. the cockroaches with which the whole apartment building seems to be infested (on average, we 'catch' 2 or 3 per day... and this is with all the possible holes they could come out of securely taped up!)
2. the dust/sand everywhere (Changchun really is just one big eternal construction site)
3. the 'aggressiveness' of people in crowded supermarkets
4. the spitting (actually more the sound that goes with it)
5. the 'collecting' of garbage on the streets
6. the smell of most taxis
7. the fact that 'they' occasionally switch of the electricity/water/internet
8. the tiny little sink in our kitchen
9. the fact of having the complete bathroom wet when you take a shower
10. being behind the Great Chinese Firewall (no Facebook, no Bebo, no Blogger, no Youtube!)

10 things I will miss

We have not lived here that long, but here are 10 things I will miss when we go back to Europe.
1. the size of our apartment (about 120 square metres)
2. the amazing variety of fresh fruit and vegetables in the supermarkets (great for vegetarians like us!)
3. the extremely child-friendly environment (the Chinese simply LOVE babies!)
4. the relative cheapness of things (we could easily live on one salary)
5. the short distance to the university (and therefore to work.... about 10 minutes on foot!)
6. the fact that Remo can be at home a lot
7. the crazy driving style of the taxis in Changchun
8. the sunshine throughout the whole winter (it might be freezing cold outside, but there is always a blue sky!)
9. the amazing internet downloading speed ;-)
10. the feeling of being safe in any part of the city

Packing

Two more nights in our apartment and we are leaving Changchun! And this time we are not leaving on a holiday. No, we are MOVING to Italy! Remo found a job in Genoa (that's northern Italy, west coast) and he has to start working one week from now. So, we are packing once again (sigh). Luckily Auro is helping out ;-)

Bribery

Usually Auro is not too fond of being held by people he doesn't know. And so, when this lady asked if she could hold him, I was sure he was going to let out a cry worthy of China's National Day. But, he didn't! Why? Because this nice lady had a beautiful red flag (with no less than 5 stars on it) that was flapping in the wind ;-)

Red

On October 1st in 1949, the Communist Party of China declared victory in the war against the forces of Chiang Kai-shek. So, today, the Chinese celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (=China's National Holiday) and therefore Changchun was red with Chinese flags. For days now, every other car in the city has been driving around with a small red flag attached to it's bumper or antenna. Today, we even saw a man holding 2 flags out of the window while driving! Not just the official buildings are proudly showing of their biggest flags, you can also see many flags draped from windows of the poorest looking apartment buildings. Really quite amazing for a Belgian like me. I honnestly don't think I have ever seen so many flags in my life. I mean, I have never owned a Belgian flag in my life and the only time I remember ever holding one, was when I was in primary school and the nuns in our school made us wave one when the king visited our town!

Second 'One'

The day after Auro's party, we left Kyoto and made the 2 hour trip to Dejima harbour in Osaka. There we had a second birthday party planned for Auro on Saturday afternoon. Because Jan Haring was scheduled to be hauled out of the water on the same day, we got up early and, while Remo prepared the boat (putting away the sails, lines and other stuff I don't know the correct name of), Auro and I got dressed for our last day in Japan and started preparing the things for the party in the afternoon (ordering pizza, buying snacks and drinks, laying out a couple of sheets for the children to play on...). We had everything carefully planned out, but because somebody (and it was not Remo!) had forgotten to keep the low tide of the early afternoon in mind, the boat could only be lifted out by 3 PM, which was unfortunately the exact time we had told all the guests the party was going to start. But, even though Remo therefore missed the first half of the party, it was a super super big and absolutely great birthday party! We had invited about 30 people and no less than 40 people showed up (8 children)! Auro was showered with birthday wishes and presents. Thank you all!!! And a special thanks to Nozaki-san, the harbour master, for letting us use the clubhouse, to the people of the harbour (Kido-san and Shinya) who came to sing 'happy birthday' to Auro (complete with guitar and drum!) and to mama-san (my former employer) who, without a doubt, brought the biggest toy (a complete entertainment board with buttons to push, pull and turn) and devoted her complete time to taking care of Auro and succeeded in keeping him entertained the whole time! And, thank you, Nakayama-san, for sending me these nice photos!

One

As I'm writing this post, I am sitting on the sofa of our apartment in Changchun. After having spent one month in Japan, we packed our suitcases again and got on the airplane yesterday afternoon. Eight hours later, we were here. Today, while Remo was chasing the cockroaches out, I spent most of the day disinfecting the floors, so Auro can crawl to his heart's content in a clean apartment. To finish this long day, I want to tell you about our last days in Japan.
As most of you know, on the 17th of September, Auro turned one. So, on Thurday afternoon, we celebrated that with presents and a cake. Auro enjoyed unwrapping his presents and even tried (very briefly) to blow out the candle on his cake (and Carlos was just in time to catch that moment!)

By the way

Just to make sure that none of Auro's milkteeth will ever feel 'left out' because it didn't get as much attention as the others, I have to mention this: last Sunday we welcomed tooth number eight in Auro's mouth! May it grow strong and white and chew many tasty things!

Sailing trip

Last Thursday, we left Osaka behind and went sailing for a couple of days. Together with 2 other sailboats (Catch 22 and Oceantech) we first sailed from Sakai to the island of Nushima (沼島), a small island about 5 km to the south of Awaji island. Just to give you an idea of how small: the island is 2.5 km² 'big' and has a population of about 600 people. On Friday, Auro and I explored the island (lots of shrines and temples, and a beach!) while Remo jumped into the water to clean the hull of Jan Haring. We had planned to leave Nushima the next day, but rainy weather kept us in Nushima until Sunday morning. Not feeling like going back to Osaka already, we (Jan Haring and Oceantech) decided to head for the harbour of Sumoto (洲本), on the southeast coast of Awaji Island. On the way we anchored in Yura (由良) to have our lunch and by the early evening we reached the quiet port of Sumoto. Remo started the next Monday morning with scraping off the last bits of dirt on the hull and after a big breakfast we started our trip back to Osaka, where we arrived 8 hours later... tired, but very satisfied and refreshed!

Change

In the almost 3 weeks we have been in Japan, Auro has undergone (at least in my eyes) a small transformation. Just as the first 3 weeks in Belgium have been the most difficult among difficult periods so far, the change that came after it has been the most amazing...
In only a couple of weeks Auro has learned how to

*smoothly go from stomach to back and visa versa (until recently, when he rolled over, it was mostly by coincidence)
*push himself up to sitting position (I very often find him sitting in his bed in the morning!)
*crawl forward (first with his belly on the floor like a soldier ducking overflying bullets, but now on hands and knees like a real crawling baby)
*walk around when you hold both of his hands
*pull himself up to standing position (using the sofa, a table or a chair, but preferably me!)
*understand some basic 'commands' (like "give it to mama, let mama have a taste, wave goodbye, clap your hands")
*understand that there is a certain order in actions (when I put the towel on the floor, he goes to sit on it and waits for me to bring him his food ... or... when I put him in the stroller, he looks for the seatbelt and tries to lock it himself ... or ... when I put a towel around his shoulders after a shower, he tries to wrap himself in it like I usually do)
*play by himself for longer than 15 minutes