No Pool? No Problem

Boring. That's how some of my friends' children describe my home. No pool, no tennis court, no playground, no Xbox, no Playstation, no Wii. The only saving grace is that we have a computer hooked up to a 42" TV so a whole group of children could amuse themselves watching YouTube or playing online games. But really, the only time we do that is when we have guests. The girls do just fine without computer games; all they need is a bit of imagination and a lot of space.

So exactly what do they do here in this place that has nothing but a car park? Rollerblade, skate-scoot, skip, play catching, water guns, water bombs, etc.

I especially like the camping pretend-play they engage in, complete with "food" such as seaweed on a stick (leaves wrapped around a twig) and orange shish kebab (pieces of lime skewered with a twig).

There was also the time when the kids in the neighbourhood adopted a stray kitten, taking turns to play host (that meant keeping the kitten in a box outside the front door). But that little adventure ended when the estate caretaker took the kitten away amidst outcry from the children.

Today was pretty interesting too. A neighbour got some coconuts down from one of the trees in the estate so we had a little coconut party at the carpark. The milk mostly didn't taste very good but the kids enjoyed scrapping out and savoring the flesh.

After that, the girls and their cousins gathered little stones and pounded them to powder which they collected into little jars. I don't know what the idea is behind it and it looked to me kinda like the hard labour that slaves or prisoners are made to do, but it kept the kids amused till dinner time.

So no, it appears this place is not boring after all. As the girls have shown, it's not where you are but what you choose to do with yourself that makes the difference.