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
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
posted by jonathan adventures at 3:54 PM
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