Seattle, 27 October 2001.

We finished the dinner  in Seattle, Washington.. when Tim told me and Astrid how much he enjoyed this trip, and wondered whether it was possible at all to finish his Senior High there in Vancouver, Canada.  We've been to so many different places around the globe, and yet this is the city that he feels so connected. Since we wanted the best out of him.. how could we say no?

We visited mom's youngest sister ( aunt Phyllis ) in Victoria, Vancouver Island the following day. Rented a car at National and drove to the ferry station. It took us quite some time to get there, but it was worth it.
We spent like an hour or two with her ( she was in her wheel chair ), and went back to Vancouver that night. And we knew it there and then, that Tim will enter the Beautiful University of British Columbia in Vancouver, very soon... The picture on the left was taken in aunt Phyllis home in Victoria, the very first trip we made to visit our distant relatives, the STAVERMANS.  Aunt Phyllis had many children and we met some of them the following year.. Karen, Laura and Tony.


San Francisco, 22 August 2002. Since we couldn't get a seat to Vancouver with Cathay Pacific, I decided to change the destination to Frisco, and then rented a big Van, and drove it up north. We left Frisco the following day, at 9am, and reached Salem, Oregon at 8pm the same day. Busted a tire left us no option but to remain over night at Salem.
Tim was glad that we blew one as he could learn to change it. "Another day in paradise" said a guy who passed by, thinking about Phill Collins. We did have lots of fun!!

We finally made it to Vancouver two days after leaving SF. Fun ride and lots to see. Went straight to Tim's Home Stay parents in W60th, without a single map in hand. Not bad for someone who's only been to Vancouver once in his life. Steven and Meera were the right choice for Tim, and spending two years with them, seemed like a very short while for TJ.

TJ was accepted at Prince of Wales High, and earned his place in the Principle List on that very first year. Bravo Tim!!, especially for a 16 year old kid who's away from his loved ones, and having to go adopting the new culture and stuff. And boy.. he also worked part time as waiter. As part of the school program , Tim had to collect a certain amount of social hours, which he did by nursing children and... assisting the coach of the girls soccer team .

Broadway, Vancouver
Mid October 2004. Gogor, Tim's close friend from Global School Jakarta, joined him in sharing the cost of two bedroom apartment, located at midway between UBC and Vancouver downtown. A very convenient place, where you can find almost everything you need in 10 minutes walking circle.. and that includes the Future Shop where we bumped into the beautiful Goldie Hawn. Starbuck was just next door. Nice Life!   On the right picture, Tim and Gogor, took a trip with us to Whistler, where most  of the winter Olympic games are going to be held in 2010.


Barcelona, 27 October 2007.
Another October visit. This time in Spain, Europe, where TJ spent one semester of his "Student Exchange Program" in Sade University, Barcelona. The city is beautiful, we even had "eyang kakung", dr Sunoto with us, watching the famous soccer team in Nou-Camp.
Had lots of fun and spent lots of euros eating all kind of Spanish and Catalan dishes. This time we travel with Ryanair, the low cost carrier. Believe it or not, the total fare per person from Girona to Frankfurt on that  new 737-800 was only 10Euros. Now that is what i called low fare!!

Tim is currently in his last semester in UBC, and very highly likely, he will not go home in 2008.
In the mean time we will probably go and visit him in summer this year, where he will have to work again as part of the University Program. Returning from Barca late last year, Tim managed to moved to a new place on his own, in downtown Vancouver, ( still a walking distance from almost any place, including Gogor's ). We wish him all the best, and until next update, have a happy surfing. We will keep you posted.