"It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey.  The mind that is not baffled is not employed.  The impeded stream is the one that sings."

-Wendell Berry

Dear Friends and Family, 

As always, so much has transpired in the last 5 months, that I can barely believe it myself.  First of all, my new business, Koru Integration - working therapeutically with children, absolutely took off in March and I was booked solid until the end of July.  Local therapists, doctors and teachers recommended my work and I was able to build up my practice very quickly.  I am blessed and LOVED it.  The boys finished at the Waldorf School early June and it was hard not being on the same schedule as they were.  Parents were often interested in me doing intensives with their child during after school hours and during school holidays.  This spring, I applied for two jobs and got offered both positions.  I decided to take the position of Student Support Specialist for grades 1-5 at the Green school in Bali.  Please click on the highlighted Green School to see an informative video.  The school was originally based on Waldorf/Steiner philosophy and has since broadened its curriculum, and has become a world renowned international school for teaching sustainability.  I am very excited to be a part of this school community and to have the boys be at the school with me.  There are over 450 children in the school, grades pre-K through 12th from 75 different countries.  What a rich and cultural experience it will be for us!!!

To get here, the boys and I took two weeks, traveling through New Zealand and Australia.  My sister Jenny lives in Auckland and we spent a week with her, her partner and my new, sweet baby nephew Miro.  It was a huge seasonal shift from the warm summer days of Maui to mid-winter New Zealand, but it made for snuggly sleeping and LOTS of layers and hot tea/coco.  We then flew to Australia for a week and spent time with our friends Nick and Jen Brown and their two girls Zoe and Evie.  They are close in age to the boys and everyone had a blast playing.  The boys and I could not believe all the fun and interesting wildlife we saw - Kangaroos, wombats, koalas, kookaburras, king parrots and cockatoos.  I couldn't believe it all and my excitement made the boys laugh. They have no idea how good they have it.  I've been taking them to such amazing places all their little lives, that they just think it's all normal.  How crazy is that?

Stopping in the lands down under definitely made our transition into Bali much easier.  Luckily we did not experience jet lag.  We were travel tired (don't get me wrong), but only 2 hours difference from Australia, so we easily adjusted.  

We have now been here 3 days.  We are exploring our surroundings.  Learning where and how to shop for food, trying new fruits and foods, and learning something new every single day.  I love it!!!  I love that I am 44 and still learning something completely new every day.  Today we tried a fruit called Salak or snakeskin fruit. It has the texture and crunch of an apple and the taste of maybe a pear and pineapple.  A bit sour.  Very interesting.  Today we saw Luwak or Civets and learned that their poop is used to make a very desired coffee drink.  We DID NOT try it.  But we did pet and feed the Luwaks. 

Every day is filled with new experiences. I start work the 29th of July for orientation days and the boys start school August 7th.  Our next post will show you our new home and our new school.  We are excited to share our journey with you.  

It was very hard leaving my paddle community and dear friends in Maui, but I expect many will visit.  

The boys are excited to start school and to meet new friends.  We welcome a visit from you all and as always, our home is open to you. 
****Please remember to click on the red highlighted words to learn more.

Wishing you all a wonderful summer or winter, depending on where you are.  

Lots of Love, 

Hannah, Kai and Isaac