Raising kids in Bali is easier than you would think. Two factors including the climate and affordable help, mean you can actually do other things than haul around a bag of baby clothes all day. Jevon is now 21.5 months and very active, so Ika and I will put him in a play group very soon. Around our neighborhood are other campur (mixed) and bule (foreign) kids, whose parents want them to interact and also want a break for couple of hours a day. There are several playgroups on the Kerobokan / Sanur area to choose from, including Lollipop and Red Rocket.
Yesterday our neighbors (he’s an Aussie, she’s from Spain) returned from overseas with their young daughter Isiah. They manufacture and sell clothing, so spend 4 months in Bali, followed by several months in Australia and Spain. I talked to the husband and he said they are doing okay, but its getting old having to move all the time.
Anyway its kind of cool that Jevon has a multi-racial cast of kids to play with. His best friend is Lovina, a little Japanese girl and he also has a posse of older Balinese kids who come over. Last time 3 of them were at the house, 2 of them left with a toy car each. On another occasion we noticed 2 sisters showed up with an empty bag! Ika and I laughed as these kids have nothing and Jevon has so many toys he won’t even notice. Just around the corner is a little black girl who is a bit young, but in a year or so she’ll want to come over I’m sure.
