Thursday, 31Aug06

Highlights: stayed at home, Fokus interview

There was no reason to slug it out with Jakarta traffic today, so I saved myself the cab fare & time, and worked on my computer from home today.

Lydia is back from Singapore, and we worked out a plan to look for a maid (“pembantu”). At $40/month,, why not? We’re thinking about hiring a driver,,, because taxis will nickel & dime you to death as a primary means of getting around! ($80-100/month),,, but we have to figure out getting a car first. Hmmm.
And we have to pull the final installment of our year’s rent out of thin air by tomorrow too! =/ it’s common practice here in Indonesia- but as an American new to this particular tradition,,, it sucks!

I’m putting my plan together for the rest of the year… hoping to schedule travel throughout Indonesia & the neighboring countries about 40% of my time here. I have to check that against my budget to see how much of a pipe dream that may be…
For the rest of my time here I’ll likely be working with tutors to improve my bahasa & looking for opportunities to volunteer at places like Asia Foundation or Heffernan & Zorge- and soak in some of the high powered & intellectual air as they research what’s going on in Indonesia historically & politically these days,,, and hopefully can explain it down to my level.

Oh! I met a former Inlingua teacher (Pak Ishak Noordin) yesterday at the embassy,,, who got my primary Indonesian teachers hired at my language school in Washington DC! (=
Ibu Sri, Ibu Uppy & mbak Corinna,,, he says hello! Ha ha. Small world!

Later today some friends Brook & I met from the Kemang Festival, last weekend, came by & wanted to interview us for their magazine, Fokus Realita. They were mostly interested in an Americans perspective on Indonesian culture, and what our impressions of Indonesia have been so far. It was a fun conversation,,, not unlike many that pop up on any given day around here. I just hope I don’t taste shoe leather when their next edition comes out. (= Here’s Dolly, Benny, Rudy & Indah

"Fokus" interview 

Wednesday, 30Aug06

Highlights: Embassy (my badge), train the trainer training, met a bunch of Americans on Fulbright

Shared a cab to work today with Brook,,, always an opportunity for interesting conversation there! (= and hadn’t set two feet in the embassy before I was scrambling to get across town to meet Regional English Language Officer at his office.

I’m participating in an effort to teach English to Indonesian Marines for a month in Surabaya. Between my boss, the RELO & myself, we figure the most effective approach is for me to help improve the English of a few Marines who already speak English moderately well- so that they can continue “teaching” their peers after I leave.

I’m excited about the opportunity to meet my Marine peers in Indonesia,,, help them out a bit & get to know what life is like for them here. From what I heard today, their language lab facility is a step removed from non-existent. Still using reel-to-reel?

Hopefully we can get around the ‘lack-of-investment’ obstacle with a little can-do spirit & creativity. That’s what the Marine Corps is made of! A lack of finances & an abundance of creativity (= ha ha! Perfect.

In the process of learning how I’ll be training the trainers, I was introduced to a group of 20 or so Americans on Fulbright who are training to go out to 10-15 different towns & cities across Indonesia and teach English to high-school students here for 9 months! Great group of guys. I sat in on their practice “lessons” and watched them introduce games to teach how English adverbs are formed; and basic vocabulary exercises; and the value of descriptive words & adjectives.

I’ll definitely use some of their techniques when it’s my turn to be the teacher in Surabaya next week!

Adverbs lesson...
RELO is co-located with the Fulbright office

Indonesia's newest "soon-to-be" native speaker English teachers 

They invited me to have dinner with them at Café Pisa, a pretty nice little resto-club in central Jakarta. I let Brook know,, and before you knew it, there was another Rhode Islander connection taking place!

I never knew that Rhode Islanders had such a strong connection with their home state! Seriously,,, from the sounds of it, most of them are proud to trace their family heritage back to Roger Williams,, the founder of this fine state from the 1630s. (= Brook is 13th generation Rhode Islander… They find each other on all sides of the planet & get so excited to meet fellow Rhode Islanders! Ha ha. Funny.

insert night out with Fulbright friends video...

Tuesday, 29Aug06

Highlights: Embassy, store (stocked the armory of mosquito spray), met the neighbor (Jim + daughter)

One of today’s main projects was figuring out how I’m going to pay the $8,300 remaining for our rent by this Friday. I’m supposed to get Overseas Housing Allowance, but I’ve been here 3 months & haven’t gotten a dime from them yet- so,,, it’s not a simple or user-friendly process. I got the “welcome aboard” run-around, with 3 different offices all pointing to someone else I should go see… ah! Good times! I love bureaucracy.

On my way home I stopped by the closest mall to the house, (D’Best) and loaded the home armory with anti-mosquito hardware. We’ve got sprays,, lotions,, smelly things to drive them away. We’re only missing mothballs I think. Whatever it takes to not repeat another night like last night! Worth it…

We met our neighbor tonight too! Jim & his 11 year old daughter Hallie. Really nice folks,,, both American. I think Jim works on or with the Jakarta Stock Exchange, and Hallie was working on a power point presentation for her 6th grade class! 11 years old! How do you like that! I know some 30 something Marine pilots who struggle to figure out power point! Ha ha. That’s funny.

Monday, 28Aug06

Highlights: laundry emergency, walk around the neighborhood, worst night in a long time

I stayed at home most of the day today. The owner of the house is having the house professionally cleaned still,,, polishing the floors, the sofas were taken to the cleaners today (kinda sucks without the sofas) ha ha… but I can’t complain!

I’m at the point in my laundry cycle where I have no more clean pants left. (still have some spare drawers,, so the emergency isn’t drastic yet), but we’re brushing up against hard times. We have a washing machine in the house, but the key to the back room was missing in action for a few hours… then I had to figure out how to use it. (no,, it’s not as intuitive as an American washing machine!) I got the pembantu (maid) from next door to come help me out (= and did my first load of laundry in over a week! Whew!

Next step,,, finding a clothesline. Hmmm. That one required a trip to the store. Back to the household necessities section: iron, ironing board, clothes drying rack (2 kinds), nylon cord, etc…

The trip was interesting. I took a “bajai”,,, a popular mode of transportation around here. It’s like a scooter, with an orange, volkswagon-esque bubble built around it. It could possibly be the most under-powered vehicle on the streets in any part of the world, except a rider lawn-mower maybe. (= it’s cheaper than a taxi- and zigs & zags through traffic like a champ! There’s no meter- price is always negotiated. It’s best if you have some idea where you’re going & what’s a normal price. Americans look like wallets with legs here sometimes. (=

Bajai video...

clean floors video..

By the time I got back, the cleaners were just finishing up for the day, and Brook & I were off discovering parts of the neighborhood for dinner. Our new friend Indah came along.

Neither Brook nor I are quite sure how this happened,, but tonight was possibly the most miserable night I’ve had in a long time. It was war with the mosquitoes like I haven’t experienced since a summer Boy Scout camping trip once in the woods of Maine.
I crawled into bed,, swatting a few pesky leg-biters & trying to ignore the rest,,, but by 3am it was impossible to put up with!

I got up (3am), and took a shower- not sure what else to do. On my way back from the shower- I spotted my sunscreen with deet… lathered some of that on me, and THANKFULLY passed into oblivious sleep for 4 more precious hours.

Of course I overslept the next day. =/

Sunday, 27Aug06

Highlights: walking around the neighborhood with Brook & the Kemang festival

Lydia had to go to Singapore today to extend her Indonesia visa & meet with the Fulbright program office. She was getting up just as my “excited to be here” energy was wearing off and I was ready for bed (at 6am).

Later in the afternoon, when I came to life again, Brook arrived with his luggage from the hotel, and the two of us took off to walk around the neighborhood & get to know our surroundings. (memorize the name of the main road at least, and a few landmarks).

The area we live in is close to the center of ex-patriot activity, so there are a lot of cafes and stores that cater to a western crowd nearby… but we’re not in the middle of it, so our immediate surroundings still have an Indonesian feel to it.

Speaking of the authentic feel, one disadvantage of our beautiful new home was inescapably noticeable this morning: a smell only a farmer could ignore. It was powerful enough to send Lydia into lawyer mode & draft a new clause that we should consider inserting in our lease agreement, in case the house becomes “un-inhabitable” due to the smell.

Later in the day, Brook & I figured out where the odor was coming from. There’s no septic tank under the house,,, but an open-air sewer system that runs directly under our front driveway to the street, and ‘downhill’ towards the river.

I asked the guard at the front gate if, upon flushing the toilet, the contents of said flush, travel out of the house, into the open air system, and onward towards the river. He answered in the affirmative- and since this is the hot, dry season, there are some days when the smell is, um,, more noticeable than others. He assured us that the rainy season makes the smell go away. Mother Nature’s way of flushing out the gutters here. =/ (engineering genius?) ha ha perhaps for the 2nd century Romans.

So my little paradise here isn’t perfect- but I wasn’t gagging or anything. The foul wind only blows occasionally.

Brook & I continued up the street, and found a few landmarks.

"Happy Anniversary Republic of Indonesia!" 61 years of Independence.

And we kept walking until we found the Kemang Festival (about 1 mile up the road).

It was fun browsing through the bookstore, meeting people in the streets & stopping in a few cafes. People came out of the woodwork for the festival. Parking was such a challenge, the city opened the cemetery for scooter parking! Huh… never thought I’d see that.

Saturday, 26Aug06

Highlights: check-out of hotel & move-in to new house! 6-hours of shopping for house stuff

It was so nice today to check out of the hotel!

Home for the last week 

It’s just exciting to have a home,,, a home base,,, an address,,, a place to come back to after trips,,, a place to start discovering Jakarta from,,, a place to leave things- so I’m not packing everything I own & living like a turtle the whole year.

Speaking of everything I own, between Lydia, me and our luggage, we needed two cabs for the ride to southern Jakarta! Brook came along too.

Oh man! It was so exciting walking through the house again! it’s beautiful. Among my favorite features are the high ceilings, the open kitchen, nice furniture, broadband internet (included) is up & running! It’s in a beautiful community (which I think meets 90% of embassy standards) with a great pool across the street. We have a friendly & helpful owner- who is a real-estate developer.

new home video:

Apologies if I didn’t clarify this earlier, and some of you were wondering who Lydia is… she’s a friend of a friend who was looking for a roommate to split the cost of living in Jakarta for a year. She is a lawyer & PhD candidate on a Fulbright scholarship from the University of Washington, Seattle, studying geography & post-disaster development; and she was a classmate of Jeff, my USINDO friend who dropped out of the program after 3 days in Yogya. Jeff put us in e-mail contact & I said I was happy to help. We’re still getting to know each other, but she’s been easy going, fun to be around, and now she’s my housemate.

After getting settled a little, we made a list of things we need: sheets, pillows, blankets, dishes, silverware, glasses, trash can, food, pots & pans, etc…
And then we went to the mall.

The mall here in South Jakarta (Gandaria) is unlike anything I’ve seen in Indonesia yet. Very international & cosmopolitan. Starbucks & Coffee Bean,,, ok- I expected that. But Italian pizza restaurants, French bistros, an American breakfast menu?? Live entertainment… Huh!

CiTos mall video:

After lunch, we ventured into Matahari department store to tackle the “to do” list. It was a 6-hour shopping marathon! =/ uggh…

I really had no idea it would last that long. I don’t think I’m cut out for that many hours of continuous shopping. Just getting sheets was an exercise in patience… they don’t come in complete sets (ie. Matching fitted & flat sheet). Ugghh.

We had to fill an entire house with the basics. All the stuff that is so easy to take for granted, like a trash can & broom, scissors, a tea kettle, salt & pepper shakers, toilet paper, towels, pillows, blankets, plates, forks & spoons (they don’t use knives here to eat usually)… all that stuff. Whew! And that’s before we hit the grocery store.

All together- we dropped about $1,000 between the 3 of us. (= When I walked out of the store- I needed 7 guys to help me carry out the bags! I was practically on a first name basis with half the staff by hour 4. ha ha

picking out sheets...

grocery store segment of the shopping marathon
the number of bags to be carried out, and all the people who helped at some point or another 

The ride home was interesting. I memorized our new address in a flash (I’m excited to have one),,, but the name of the major street that takes us there,,, uh- that was a problem. Apparently none of the cab drivers knew where Jalan Bunga Mawar was, and the 10 minute drive to the mall turned into a 45 minute ride home through every back-alley in our entire subdivision. We stopped for directions at least 5 times; which I don’t have a problem with- as long as the cabbie doesn’t pretend to know where something is & gets us further lost.
We finally made it home! And although I was exhausted- I got a 2nd wind when it came time to unpack everything & continue getting settled in (including the new feature of cable internet from home!) woo-hoo! (=

Friday, 25Aug06

Highlights: Embassy adventures, signing the lease agreement, meeting Brooks

This morning I met my boss at the embassy & continued the checking-in process. At the embassy bank I had to establish an account, then get a letter to prove my odd status as someone assigned to be here but who is not officially an embassy staff member before I could cash a check.

FAO? Where is that office? Well, I’m under the DAO but not on their staff. Will you help me anyways?
I get some funny looks at first, but the Indonesian staff here loves that I can speak bahasa Indonesia & a few expressions in bahasa Jawa. It’s like making instant friends. I got a $6,000 check cashed as a 1st payment for my house, and if I can get the landlord to be patient for about a week, I can orchestrate a money transfer through the embassy for the remainder of my $14,300 rental payment until my Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA) kicks in.

By 6 tonight, Helen & Ricardo (our ace realty team) came to the hotel with the lease agreement & I signed the dotted line!

signing the dotted line with Ricardo (Helen's husband & Realty partner), and Lydia
in the lobby of Cemara hotel, with the paperwork to move into a house tomorrow 

I’m pretty excited to finally have an address! A home base… a place to leave my stuff that’s not a hotel room! My new address is:

Jonathan Brown
Jl. Bunga Mawar 39
Roses Townhouse unit 1
Jakarta 12410

A few hours later, Lydia & I met up with a fellow American in paradise… Brook: a 35 year old Rhode Islander who has been working with disaster relief operations in Indonesia for the past several years. He’ll be here in Jakarta for 3 months & was looking for a place to rent,, finding little success for such a short period. We may be in a position to help him now. In the meantime we met on the roof (between the pool & the bar) and shared stories about who we are & what brings us to Indonesia!

He’s seems a great guy, and we enjoyed going out for dinner with him. He flew to Aceh the day after the tsunami, and was there when the second 8.3 richter scale earthquake hit Nias & the northern Sumatra area several months later. He was in Yogya helping with Merapi evacuations when the earthquake hit there. On the 4th floor of his hotel, with 9 stories of concrete & steel above him,,, he said that was the scariest 55 seconds of his life. The ground moved violently, like your mother shaking you out of bed on a bad day,,, but in rapid lurches 1meter in each direction. Even though this 6.2 earthquake was smaller in magnitude than the wavy one he experienced in Nias over a year ago, he was much closer to the epicenter of this one, and the violent shaking vs. the slow wavy motion made it much worse.

Very interesting listening to his stories.

Jl. Jaksa video...

interesting establishment we saw earlier in the day...
complete with a menu of services... i'm impressed there are alumni!
 

Brook & Lydia in Jakarta

a Jakarta specialty 

Thursday, 24Aug06

Highlights: saying goodbye to Shinta, using the mall as my wireless internet haven, final negotiations with the house! embassy with Lydia

Shinta had to get on a plane & go back to her 14-hour work days & 7-day a week work week… whew! How is it possible to not burnout after 2 years like that?? Whatever secret recipe she uses in her food,, I want some of that! Oh wait,, well maybe I should be careful what I wish for. (=

After seeing her off, I went to my new wireless e-mail refuge… the mall. I found a comfy table,, armed with a brownie & guava juice (10am) and banana cake (11am),,, an electric outlet (so my lappie could sip electricity straight from the wall) and super-fast internet connection. I was set for 4 hours!

In the meantime,, the home negotiation effort was in a full court press! After zipping a few messages back & forth,,, we got it!!! We got the house I wanted (=

The deal isn’t quite set in stone yet… there remain two primary obstacles: the embassy & my means to spontaneously produce one year’s worth of rent up front + a deposit!

First; the embassy. I need permission from the security officer before I can sign a lease. In short, he has to visit the place himself to see if it meets some basic crime/terrorism safety precautions (gate, guards, lights, off-set from road, safe neighborhood…).

Second; the money. It’s highly unusual in the states to be asked to put up a year’s worth of rent + a refundable deposit before you move into a place,,, but that’s how rentals are done here. =/ ugghhh!
Our rental agent, Helen was a rock star for us today. The original asking price was $1500/month, and 1year contracts are the norm. Both Lydia & I are here through next June/July, so it didn’t make sense to pay for 2 months we won’t be here; and Lydia is on a Fulbright scholarship, meaning she has to stretch $1000/mo as far as it will go.
Through Helen, we talked the owner down to $1300/mo rent & a 10-month lease! (=

Woo-hoo! Now all we have to do is come up with $13,000 + $1300 deposit ($14,300) by this weekend,,, in American dollars. And I have to get the embassy to approve the house, so I can sign the lease, move in by the weekend & stop paying hotel fees every night! No worries then… I think I have a few spare $1,000 bills laying around in my laundry drawer for emergencies such as this (= ha ha… or maybe the bank of mom & dad can help out!

We’ll work the details out. The important thing is that we got a great place waiting for us. I’m set for my victory dance.

Lydia & I went to the embassy to see if the bank there can cash our checks. They can for me! (an embassy semi-staff member), but not for Lydia. =/ Hmm,, just another challenge we can overcome! It was still a good day.

Wednesday, 23Aug06

Highlights: house-hunting! Sinetron shoot, fruitless embassy run, and a movie at home

At 7:30 this morning we all met up in the lobby & took a cab to south Jakarta. “The McDonalds” is apparently a good-enough reference to get us to the right neighborhood in Cipete. (= try that in the states!

Honestly, I like Jakarta more, the more of it I see in the rear view mirror. The southern suburbs are a lot nicer than the megatropolis, crazy traffic-feel of downtown.

Helen Mayanti (Matracipta properties) was our trusty realtor today,,, and one of the most professional ladies I’ve had the pleasure of working with. On-time, organized, knew every neighborhood, and could tell us what to watch out for (good & bad)… and a great negotiator on our behalf.

We looked at 6 homes today… 3 of which Lydia & I were excited about,,, one in particular I’m hoping for.

Most of the homes here were asking for $1200-$1500 a month. Some were a bit older, many were unfurnished (or the furniture selection made us wish they were…) and almost all had various sized broom-closet living spaces for live-in maids. Some have pools, most have tile floors and little gardens.

The home I liked most had nice furniture, Spanish style kitchen, 3 bedrooms, internet (all set up! The only place), in a gorgeous gated community, and we met the owner- who seems like a good guy. Maman- you would love this place! Flowers everywhere (= They’re asking $1500/month,,, we’re hoping to bargain them down to $1200. wish us luck!

Lydia, me & Shinta at our first stop
This is the house i'm hoping for... 

walking through a few homes with Helen & Ricardo!


Lydia by the pool... 

We stumbled upon the shoot set of a Sinetron production! (Indonesian soap operas) Ha ha.. Mbak Yuti & my Yogya host family would be sooo jealous! I’m not sure if being westerners, interested enough to come in & look around was what got us in the door,,, but we watched them film a scene- which was fun & funny. Hob-knobbing with some 20-something celebs for a few moments.

sharing a moment with the Sinetron dancers... ha ha
 

Sinetron video.

I had to rush back to the embassy for a security briefing (so I can get my building pass). Negotiating traffic in Jakarta is a job for the Transporter… best left to the professionals. Jakarta drivers are impatient, difficult to predict,, ah! I’ve already described the experience of being a cab passenger here. It’s nuts.
And crossing the street? It’s like a live game of frogger. You take your life in your hands every time. Forget about crosswalks & orderly opportunities to pass safely from one side of the road to the other. You would never get there if you waited for someone to stop or slow down for you.

Anyways- I walked through security right at 2:00 & hustled off to the security managers office,,, only to find no-one there. They switched venues on me! Ah! By the time I got that figured out & pointed in the right direction,, 20 minutes had passed by- and sure enough,,, “you’ll have to come back next week.” =( ahh!

I spent most of the rest of the day recovering from all the running around we did earlier- got my 15 minute complimentary back massage from the hotel with Shinta, and watched my pirated copy of “The Break-up” with Jennifer Anniston & Vince Vaughn. (= Funny flick. I think I can relate to a few scenes in there.

Tuesday, 22Aug06

Highlights: checking-in at the embassy, househunting, mall & movie

I’m getting started on the check-in process here at the embassy.

If any of you remember the old TV show “get smart”,,, getting into the embassy feels a bit like that. (= Security is the business they’re in. Even I feel slightly uncomfortable in there- and I’m an American! Ha ha.

As a Marine FAO (Foreign Area Officer), I’m the odd duck in a flock of geese; because I’m not a full time embassy staff/employee. (Army FAOs are…) I fall under the wing of protection- without having many of the benefits (housing, transportation privileges, finance & admin support...) =/ hmmm. That’s above my paygrade.

But that’s all-right, because I’m happy to be here! My purpose for being here is a bit unique anyways. (learning the culture, customs & language)

I rushed through Jakarta so quick 3 months ago, that I’m just now meeting my in-country boss. Ha ha. He’s a busy guy, but has been very supportive so far.

Housing is the next big issue on my agenda. There seem to be a lot of bureaucratic obstacles leaping up out of the floor-boards regarding “suitable” places to live,,, and the sadly necessary scenario of getting permission to live in whatever place I find. I know they have safety & security in mind,, I keep reminding myself.

It was good to see Col Richards again! although busy doesn’t seem to do his work schedule justice these days. He had about 3.5 seconds to smile & say hello today as we passed in the courtyard. (=

The embassy ate up a significant part of my day, and I can’t say I got a lot done there- but it was good to see the place. It’s interesting how bahasa Indonesia is such a rare skill set.

By 2pm, I ran back to the hotel to meet up with Lydia & Shinta and go house hunting with our first realtor. What seemed so organized in the e-mail trail leading up to today quickly unraveled when the realtor seemed to forget that she agreed to pick us up from the hotel & show us a few apartments & houses this afternoon. =/ hmmm.

A few last minute phone calls later- and her assistant showed up. We saw a very classy high-rise apartment, but the gym, pool, lobby,,, basically everything outside the actual apartment seemed much more impressive than “home” itself. =/ next!

Well that was it for today… so to kill time, the 3 of us went to the mall (Indonesia Plaza) to walk around.
Obligatory commentary: ok. The mall here is fancier than most malls in the states- and showcases stores (Gucci, Luis Vuitton, Calvin Klien, etc) that few Indonesians could afford, outside of Jakarta.

There were at least two live bands playing,, a bowling alley behind the Red Tomate restaurant, and one of the fancier gyms in town on the top level (possibly with apartment complexes above the mall). Fancy enough? Ha ha

Indonesia Plaza mall video...

Lydia, moi & Shinta at the mall
the girls at the movies. nice seats huh? 

We watched “Miami Vice” in what is possibly the most plush theatre outside of Hearst Castle… suede recliner seats! Tickets here are $6,,, (three times pricier than in Yogya)

The movie was fun- for anyone who enjoys watching two characteristically macho Miami studs casually leap from Lamborghinis to cigarette speed boats & non-chalant evening runs to Havana in flashy threads to impress their new Chinese mafia girlfriends,,, and all on a Miami-Dade cop salary. (maybe “the department” footed some of the bill for that).
I’m not sure how Don Johnson feels about Collin Farrell calling himself “Sonny” for 2 hours on the big screen… but the day was saved in the end, and an adequate number of expensive toys were blown up or shredded, so I guess we got our entertainment’s worth. (= should Siskell & Ebert sign me up to write their movie reviews now? Ha ha (=

Monday, 21Aug06

Highlights: hanging out with my friend Shinta, and sharing a stomach ache (bad dinner decision) & a strange Japanese movie.

It’s hotter & muggier here than Yogya,,, (I remember being my first thought of the day, as I headed out of the air conditioned hotel). Today is still a holiday, so my check-in at the embassy will have to wait for tomorrow.

My friend Shinta, from Batam, is here & we hung out today. This is the first time I’m meeting a friend from the other side of the internet. We sent some e-mails back & forth when I was in language school (thanks to Jeremy showing me his favorite website) ha ha, and have kept in touch since.

She’s a naval architect working in a shipyard on Batam island (near Singapore) as a ship-building engineer. Pretty smart girl.

We ate at Hoka hoka Bento (which was probably a mistake), and then killed some time in the mall walking around & watching a movie (Ashura),,, which was a strange science-fiction/martial arts movie in Japanese with Indonesian subtitles. I think I got the gist of most of it. Ha ha. Although dinner wasn’t sitting very well for either of us later in the day.

Sunday, 20Aug06

Highlights: saying goodbye to Yogya, flying to Jakarta

My host family is going to a few weddings this weekend in Solo, and for the last few days, we’ve had upwards of 25 “guests” (brothers, sisters & cousins + their kids) sleeping on the floor & just about every open space in the house besides the garage.

I think the singing in the shower is what got me up & out of bed in the morning (= ha ha. Nothing that Indonesian Idol should know about just yet,,, but talent is brewing.

Saying goodbye to the Rochmadi family is hard. They’ve been so good to me! I’m going to miss them,,, and probably little Ojik the most. He always has a soccer jersey on (usually coordinated with the team he’s supporting that day), and is glued to my side when I’m home (= In this house, 20 minutes rarely passes without the sound of laughter coming from someplace. I’ll miss that. Even the predictability of mbak Yuti & the morning Gosip TV, followed by Indonesian Idol & Sinetron (the cheesy version of Telemundo soap operas)… ha ha.

My flight doesn’t leave until 6:30pm, so I had a little time between the family leaving for Solo (1pm), turning in my rental scooter (4pm), and heading off to the airport (5pm),,, so I joined Nina & her friends for lunch.

Later, Nina, Nana & I got into a big discussion about something or other,,, the nature of man, politics, or some such thing- I was probably in way over my head (= but it was fun kicking the subjects around,,, and most importantly- kept my mind off of saying goodbye until the last possible moment.

My flight to Jakarta (50min) was only 45 minutes late… it was the taxi ride to the hotel I was more worried about. The driver had to ask directions 4 times,,, and I probably wouldn’t have said a thing about it, until he missed a turn in a round-point,,, and instead of continuing around the circle, he threw the cab in reverse to get back to the turn,,, and then 10 minutes later hit the curb (I’m sure there’s a dent & missing paint…) as he was attempting to turn around.
Jakarta traffic is a form of chaos only the locals feel comfortable with. It’s like moving from the Midwest to Boston for the first time. Blinkers are never used, the lines in the middle of the road mean nothing, and the horn is a means of expressing yourself every 30 seconds. A quick “beep” means “I’m here”. A slightly longer “beeep” means “hey! Move over! I’m trying to get around you,,, slowpoke!”. And the ever-recognizable “beeeeeeeeeeeep” of anger is akin to calling someone a jackass. I heard all three on my way to the hotel… and I’m sure the last one was directed at us a few times.

He really had no idea where the hotel was… he just wanted the $10 fare so bad- he would have said anything at the curb of the airport.
Welcome to Jakarta!

Saturday, 19Aug06

Highlights: hanging out with Anjas (temples + Merapi), hanging out with Nina (movie + Cheers)

Another former USINDO tutor & friend- Anjas- came over to pick me up this morning, and we went around Yogya visiting a bunch of the smaller Hindu-Buddhist temples that few foreigners go to see. (Sambisari, Sewu, and 2-3 others I can’t remember the names to…)
Many of them are half hidden; off the main roads in little residential areas, centuries old temples mixed in with neighborhood houses.
Many of them blend both Buddhist and Hindu symbols in the same temple complex. It’s interesting how much symbology these two religions borrowed from each other.

Yogya temple tour with Anjas...

this temple was buried! and only semi-recently re-discovered
another small "neighborhood" temple
inside one of the Hindu temples... 

nice blend of Buddhist architecture (upside down bowl shape in the middle) with Hindu architecture (the twin pyramid, squarish towers)
me & the gate-keeper
Anjas making friends
a "hidden" temple off the main streets, in the middle of a small neighborhood