Hey all, I'm just posting to let you know I'm still here. A while back, lightning hit the building I work at, and fried the power cord to my computer (which, thankfully, wasn't plugged into). So I haven't been able to get online much lately. I'll post some new pictures after I get back from holiday.
Merry Christmas!!!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Dragonfruit!!! And vacation news.
Ok, so I got a dragonfruit the other day, and was really cheap (about 50 cents, normally 4 or 5 times that) so I decided to take some pictures for you, since I'm sure most of you have never seen one before.
Yes, it is really that color naturally, inside and out. I would describe the texture as like a kiwi, maybe a little firmer, and really crunchy because of all the little seeds.
The flavor is very mild, a little hint of citrus, and maybe pear. Eat it with a spoon, and scoop all the goodness out!
So Christmas vacation is going to be a surfing holiday, I'm going to be staying at the Ombak Tujuh villas (7 waves) near Pelabuhan Ratu. For New Year's I'm going to Bandung for a few nights and staying with a friend/partying. Bye for now!
--jared
Yes, it is really that color naturally, inside and out. I would describe the texture as like a kiwi, maybe a little firmer, and really crunchy because of all the little seeds.
The flavor is very mild, a little hint of citrus, and maybe pear. Eat it with a spoon, and scoop all the goodness out!
So Christmas vacation is going to be a surfing holiday, I'm going to be staying at the Ombak Tujuh villas (7 waves) near Pelabuhan Ratu. For New Year's I'm going to Bandung for a few nights and staying with a friend/partying. Bye for now!
--jared
Sunday, December 2, 2007
picture update 12/2
Hello, I have some pictures of recent stuff.
These are some Indonesian swimsuits. Notice the lycra jilbab, which affords the beachgoing Muslim woman maximum comfort, while preserving her modesty.
This hole was caused by the massive flooding a few weeks ago. Look at the second picture, it goes down about 2 feet.
These are some Indonesian swimsuits. Notice the lycra jilbab, which affords the beachgoing Muslim woman maximum comfort, while preserving her modesty.
This hole was caused by the massive flooding a few weeks ago. Look at the second picture, it goes down about 2 feet.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Bunny!
Ok, so a few days ago, I came home from work, and saw a creature dart into the garage. I thought it was a rat or something, but the next day it was on the driveway. So, now in addition to the stray cat, we have a bunny. It somehow knows to go to the bathroom door whenever it poops. Real cute.
Oh, and for Thanksgiving we all went out on Saturday night to Hazara, a really nice Indian restaurant in Menteng. Too bad we had to work on Thursday and Friday. Well, I'll try and get some more pictures up here soon. Ta ta!
Oh, and for Thanksgiving we all went out on Saturday night to Hazara, a really nice Indian restaurant in Menteng. Too bad we had to work on Thursday and Friday. Well, I'll try and get some more pictures up here soon. Ta ta!
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
11/17
Just saw a movie last night, "Enam", a typical Indonesian horror film. Now, I've never walked out of a movie before, but it was just so horrible that after about half an hour I just had to. The plot was that there was a group of amateur filmmakers who rent a house that burned down a few years ago, to film their debut. They're going for a "Blair Witch" type of film. Anyways, the guy that rents it to them warns them of a ghost or curse or something.
Anyways, the ghost looks like just a woman in a sheet, it's not scary, and just like every other Indo movie, it's shot with a handicam or something. When I told the office girls at work, they're like, "oh, what do you expect? It's an Indonesian movie." I've never seen such apathy towards movies, and that's why nobody Stateside has ever seen an Indonesian movie. They all suck.
Well, tonight is David's going -away party at Toscana, a REALLY nice Italian restaurant in Kemang. I went there a few weeks ago, and they have a to-die-for spaghetti carbonara with REAL bacon, not smoked beef.
Anyways, the ghost looks like just a woman in a sheet, it's not scary, and just like every other Indo movie, it's shot with a handicam or something. When I told the office girls at work, they're like, "oh, what do you expect? It's an Indonesian movie." I've never seen such apathy towards movies, and that's why nobody Stateside has ever seen an Indonesian movie. They all suck.
Well, tonight is David's going -away party at Toscana, a REALLY nice Italian restaurant in Kemang. I went there a few weeks ago, and they have a to-die-for spaghetti carbonara with REAL bacon, not smoked beef.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
11/13 A video clip of Margonda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wev0jdbLrjQ
A neat little video someone shot aboard an angkot. He starts at roughly across the street from the entrance to my complex, and drives down Margonda towards Jakarta. At about 1:30 you see Mal Depok on the left. On the right is where the new ACE Hardware opened, with an Index Furniture store.
About 2:02, on the right is Apotek Melawi, a big drugstore. You'll notice that the angkot (that's the little blue minivans) stop pretty frequently to pick up passengers. This causes all sorts of traffic jams. They will stop anywhere that there isn't a cop and pick up of let off passengers. The charge is only Rp.1,500 (9,000 is a dollar, for reference) and that can get you down the road a few kilometers. Longer distances charge more, but I don't know how they calculate it.
At 2:56, on the left, is a warung tenda, a tent food stall. Very cheap food, but you run the risk of getting some sort of stomach bug because the hygiene isn't very good.
Around 3:53, traffic stops; It's near the entrance to Pesona Khayangan, the other side of my complex. You can see the Pizza Hut sign on the right at 4:25. The motorcycle turning around, that's the break in the median that lets you cross the street to go into the complex.
At 4:37, you can brielfy see on the right, the windmill for Holland Bakery, a bread and cookie shop.
At 5:21 (blink and you'll miss it) on the left corner of the screen you'll catch a glimpse of a pink building, that's DC Billiards. Then you see an arm go in front of the camera, that's someone paying for his fare.
Well, that's as far as I got before my connection died. Anyways, if you keep going, there's a traffic light and a road that goes to the right, but keep going straight, and there's Detos on the left and Margo City on the right, with TB Gramedia (book store) just after Margo City. A little further down, and U.I. (the Univ. of Indo.) is on the left somewheres, and work is on the right. Well, gotta get going, planning classes and whatnot. Bye!
A neat little video someone shot aboard an angkot. He starts at roughly across the street from the entrance to my complex, and drives down Margonda towards Jakarta. At about 1:30 you see Mal Depok on the left. On the right is where the new ACE Hardware opened, with an Index Furniture store.
About 2:02, on the right is Apotek Melawi, a big drugstore. You'll notice that the angkot (that's the little blue minivans) stop pretty frequently to pick up passengers. This causes all sorts of traffic jams. They will stop anywhere that there isn't a cop and pick up of let off passengers. The charge is only Rp.1,500 (9,000 is a dollar, for reference) and that can get you down the road a few kilometers. Longer distances charge more, but I don't know how they calculate it.
At 2:56, on the left, is a warung tenda, a tent food stall. Very cheap food, but you run the risk of getting some sort of stomach bug because the hygiene isn't very good.
Around 3:53, traffic stops; It's near the entrance to Pesona Khayangan, the other side of my complex. You can see the Pizza Hut sign on the right at 4:25. The motorcycle turning around, that's the break in the median that lets you cross the street to go into the complex.
At 4:37, you can brielfy see on the right, the windmill for Holland Bakery, a bread and cookie shop.
At 5:21 (blink and you'll miss it) on the left corner of the screen you'll catch a glimpse of a pink building, that's DC Billiards. Then you see an arm go in front of the camera, that's someone paying for his fare.
Well, that's as far as I got before my connection died. Anyways, if you keep going, there's a traffic light and a road that goes to the right, but keep going straight, and there's Detos on the left and Margo City on the right, with TB Gramedia (book store) just after Margo City. A little further down, and U.I. (the Univ. of Indo.) is on the left somewheres, and work is on the right. Well, gotta get going, planning classes and whatnot. Bye!
Friday, November 2, 2007
More vacation pictures
Ok, so more pictures from vacation. This is out front of a Batak museum (Bataks being the native people here)
Same area, me in front of the King's Grave
Me posing by a waterfall
More to come. Also, Halloween Party pictures!
Same area, me in front of the King's Grave
Me posing by a waterfall
More to come. Also, Halloween Party pictures!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Saturday, left Depok at 6 to catch a flight to Sumatra. Got there waaay too early, and sat around playing cards for a few hours till I could get in. Then, the flight was delayed, twice, and I was finally able to board, 2 hours late. A friend picked me up at the airport, and we went to Lily's Cafe for a few beers. Went back much later (2 a.m.) to the same place to watch England kick France's butt in the rugby championships.
Sunday morning I caught the tail end of game 2 Boston vs Cleveland. What a disappointment, the first time in a long while of being able to see the Sox, and they lose it in the 11th inning. Later that afternoon I got a ride with Banzai, and he took me to the Sunday H3 run. It was just up and down this mountain, through some of the muckiest terrain I have ever encountered. I nearly lost my shoe in 2 feet of mud. There were a few children who washed everyone's shoes for about $0.30. So anyways, I got pretty hammered that night.
Monday, took a bus (actually a minivan, about $8) to Prapat. 5 hours in a minivan is not fun, btw, and I got a pretty mean sunburn from leaving it outside the window.
The first 2 nights were at Samosir Cottages, but moved to Hariara for the rest of the vacation.
The first night there was very fun.
As was the second...
I rented a motorbike, and got horribly lost in the middle of the jungle
And that was the good part. It just got muddier and rainier from there. I was in the jungles for over 4 hours. Not good. Anyways, more pictures coming up!
Sunday morning I caught the tail end of game 2 Boston vs Cleveland. What a disappointment, the first time in a long while of being able to see the Sox, and they lose it in the 11th inning. Later that afternoon I got a ride with Banzai, and he took me to the Sunday H3 run. It was just up and down this mountain, through some of the muckiest terrain I have ever encountered. I nearly lost my shoe in 2 feet of mud. There were a few children who washed everyone's shoes for about $0.30. So anyways, I got pretty hammered that night.
Monday, took a bus (actually a minivan, about $8) to Prapat. 5 hours in a minivan is not fun, btw, and I got a pretty mean sunburn from leaving it outside the window.
The first 2 nights were at Samosir Cottages, but moved to Hariara for the rest of the vacation.
The first night there was very fun.
As was the second...
I rented a motorbike, and got horribly lost in the middle of the jungle
And that was the good part. It just got muddier and rainier from there. I was in the jungles for over 4 hours. Not good. Anyways, more pictures coming up!
Monday, October 8, 2007
Weekend of 10/7
So, Friday David Chrys, Megan and I went to Eastern Promise in Kemang. I had the "All-day breakfast special" with real bacon and sausage. It was excellent, and is sorely missed. There's no IHOPs here, and normal breakfast is noodles or bubur ayam, a chicken porridge. Next time it's the pork chops. So later, we had beers and were out of there by 3:30.
Saturday I got up around 10, had some water, and fell back asleep, finally waking up for real around 4?? I went to Senayan City, got a book for my vacation and ate lunch at Burger King. It was just as good as America, but you couldn't substitute onion rings for fries. Have it your way, indeed! But it was the first real "big" burger I've had since I've been here. McDonald's only has Big Macs and regular burgers, so forgive me for going off on a tangent about Whoppers. Also stopped at an international grocer and got some Doritos and Dr. Pepper.
Today, Sunday, went to the stables with Chrys, it was the owner's wife's birthday. Had way too much wine, grapes, cheese, etc. Megan finally got some medicine for her kittens' ear mites. That's about it for my weekend. This Saturday, I leave for Toba in Sumatra for a week, relaxing on the beach. See you later!
Saturday I got up around 10, had some water, and fell back asleep, finally waking up for real around 4?? I went to Senayan City, got a book for my vacation and ate lunch at Burger King. It was just as good as America, but you couldn't substitute onion rings for fries. Have it your way, indeed! But it was the first real "big" burger I've had since I've been here. McDonald's only has Big Macs and regular burgers, so forgive me for going off on a tangent about Whoppers. Also stopped at an international grocer and got some Doritos and Dr. Pepper.
Today, Sunday, went to the stables with Chrys, it was the owner's wife's birthday. Had way too much wine, grapes, cheese, etc. Megan finally got some medicine for her kittens' ear mites. That's about it for my weekend. This Saturday, I leave for Toba in Sumatra for a week, relaxing on the beach. See you later!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Weekend of 8/30
Hi all! I know these are becoming more irregular, but not a lot happens around here save for the weekends. On Saturday I managed to convince Chrys, Meg, and David to join me on the Hash. It was in Cibinong, some place out in the boonies between Depok and Bogor. Very beautiful run, through 8.5 km of Cassava plantations, rice paddies and villages. It was interesting to see the different stages of production of the Cassava root, from growing, to harvesting, peeling and mashing to a pulp, and the big tubs of processed Cassava starch at the end.
Running through the villages (David was with me), we passed a big group of kids who had apparently never seen a white guy before. They called me "putih sekali" very white! I guess I need to work on my tan...
About 2/3 of the way through, we met up with the hashers that took "the long run", which was 19km! And these old farts ran right by us! We had the on-in, an hour and a half circle-up, the virgins got initiated, and we got dinner at the nearby restaurant. Container offered us a ride back to Kemang, to Eastern Promise, a local hasher's hangout. Chrys went home early because she was feelink icky, but the rest of us stayed till closing, around 2:30.
Chrys missed an excellent fight, between some Brits and Indonesians. I'm not sure who started it, but it was a fight about the pool table; I heard a crack, turned around, and there was a broken pool cue, some scuffling, and the Indonesian guy being dragged out, shouting "Get out of my f------- country!"
Sunday, no hangover, but a little sore. I rode my first horse at the stable (scary as heck!) and celebrated the stable owners' birthday with wine, cheese, and a traditional Indonesian dinner.
Yesterday I saw the Bourne Ultimatum; hadn't seen the previous movies, but it was full of action.
Well, that about sums it up! Catch ya later!
Running through the villages (David was with me), we passed a big group of kids who had apparently never seen a white guy before. They called me "putih sekali" very white! I guess I need to work on my tan...
About 2/3 of the way through, we met up with the hashers that took "the long run", which was 19km! And these old farts ran right by us! We had the on-in, an hour and a half circle-up, the virgins got initiated, and we got dinner at the nearby restaurant. Container offered us a ride back to Kemang, to Eastern Promise, a local hasher's hangout. Chrys went home early because she was feelink icky, but the rest of us stayed till closing, around 2:30.
Chrys missed an excellent fight, between some Brits and Indonesians. I'm not sure who started it, but it was a fight about the pool table; I heard a crack, turned around, and there was a broken pool cue, some scuffling, and the Indonesian guy being dragged out, shouting "Get out of my f------- country!"
Sunday, no hangover, but a little sore. I rode my first horse at the stable (scary as heck!) and celebrated the stable owners' birthday with wine, cheese, and a traditional Indonesian dinner.
Yesterday I saw the Bourne Ultimatum; hadn't seen the previous movies, but it was full of action.
Well, that about sums it up! Catch ya later!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
9/11
Hey, it's Tuesday, September 11th. Ramahdan starts on the 13th, and I'm a little nervous about it. I don't really know what to expect, but I know that pretty much everyone will be fasting from dawn to dusk. That means no food, no water, no cigarettes, nothing. But a couple of people tell me that it's just a big party during the night.
Ok, so Saturday we had the Spelling Bee at EF. I was the project manager, and oversaw pretty much everything, with loads of help from the office girls. We had 2 written elimination rounds, and pared 70 kids down to 36. Then there were 2 Jeopardy-style buzz-in rounds, and winners were declared. 9 kids got to go to the Regionals, 1 of them being an EF student. It took about 3 1/2 hours, and we were all tired, but it was a good feeling knowing that we did it with no major screw-ups.
After the Spelling Bee, I went with Chrys to Ranch Market in Pondok Indah. It's a good sized grocery store with lots of Western food. Ok, so here's everything I got that I haven't been able to find anywhere else: Campbell's tomato soup, Butterfingers, Pop-Tarts, Chicharrones (fried pork rinds), New England clam chowder, Chili, Old El Paso salsa, Pepperidge Farm cookies, V8, corned beef hash and 2 kinds of SPAM. I saw a bunch of other stuff that I decided could wait till next time, but it's such a relief to get some food that I can readily identify, even if it's mostly junk. I kinda spent more than I wanted to, but I'm happy. In fact, the other night I made tacos! oh man, do I miss taco night back home.
So Sunday, didn't do much, kinda lazed around the house all day. I've been watching a lot of tv, and catching up on all the shows I've missed. I saw the first season of 24, and I'm trying to find the next few. I am currently watching this show called "Lost", and I'm up to episode 8. I don't know if the title refers to the characters or the audience, but I'm as confused as hell. What is the deal with the polar bear?? Anyways, we've got up to season 3 at the house, so I'm trudging through it. Also found all 4 seasons of Family Guy, which is awesome.
Oh, Monday on her way home from work, Meg found a kitten. It is so tiny. We gave it some milk and leftover tacos, since the stores were all closed. We washed it up and it looks pretty healthy, but it's a real squeaker.
Ok, well I gotta get to work, I have a party class at 4, and we're going to the movies. Talk to you later.
--jared
Ok, so Saturday we had the Spelling Bee at EF. I was the project manager, and oversaw pretty much everything, with loads of help from the office girls. We had 2 written elimination rounds, and pared 70 kids down to 36. Then there were 2 Jeopardy-style buzz-in rounds, and winners were declared. 9 kids got to go to the Regionals, 1 of them being an EF student. It took about 3 1/2 hours, and we were all tired, but it was a good feeling knowing that we did it with no major screw-ups.
After the Spelling Bee, I went with Chrys to Ranch Market in Pondok Indah. It's a good sized grocery store with lots of Western food. Ok, so here's everything I got that I haven't been able to find anywhere else: Campbell's tomato soup, Butterfingers, Pop-Tarts, Chicharrones (fried pork rinds), New England clam chowder, Chili, Old El Paso salsa, Pepperidge Farm cookies, V8, corned beef hash and 2 kinds of SPAM. I saw a bunch of other stuff that I decided could wait till next time, but it's such a relief to get some food that I can readily identify, even if it's mostly junk. I kinda spent more than I wanted to, but I'm happy. In fact, the other night I made tacos! oh man, do I miss taco night back home.
So Sunday, didn't do much, kinda lazed around the house all day. I've been watching a lot of tv, and catching up on all the shows I've missed. I saw the first season of 24, and I'm trying to find the next few. I am currently watching this show called "Lost", and I'm up to episode 8. I don't know if the title refers to the characters or the audience, but I'm as confused as hell. What is the deal with the polar bear?? Anyways, we've got up to season 3 at the house, so I'm trudging through it. Also found all 4 seasons of Family Guy, which is awesome.
Oh, Monday on her way home from work, Meg found a kitten. It is so tiny. We gave it some milk and leftover tacos, since the stores were all closed. We washed it up and it looks pretty healthy, but it's a real squeaker.
Ok, well I gotta get to work, I have a party class at 4, and we're going to the movies. Talk to you later.
--jared
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
8/28
Hey all, it's Monday evening, and i'm at home, watching movies. I went to Poins Square last night and got a boatload of pirated movies. I saw Superbad, by the same guys that did The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, and I gotta tell you, it was the funniest thing I've seen in a while. I Also saw Delta Farce, with Larry the Cable Guy, which was utter crap. It's a good thing they only cost about $0.75 a movie, or otherwise I'd be really upset that I paid so much for it, along with another crapfest, Hot Rod, Andy Samberg's attempt at a movie.
So last week we had the Independence Day Games, and I was co-emcee. We had a cracker eating competition, spoon and marble race, and a game where a pencil is tied to your waist, and you have to try and get it into a bottle on the ground. It was good fun, and all the kids enjoyed it. On Thursday, I started feeling sick, and by Sunday I was coughing up hunks of something scary. I also lost my sense of smell for the day, which was kind of strange. I could taste salty and sweet and stuff, but no flavors, very weird. I started opening up bottles of mustard and stuff, but nothing, everything smelled like Styrofoam.
So today I went to the hospital, had a checkup, and got a prescription for some pills. I never really get sick, but since I've been here, I dunno. It could be the pollution, or the appalling lack of hygiene everywhere, or both, I dunno. I know I tend to ramble a lot, but I think this is the only creative outlet I get to express myself through.
My classes are going pretty smoothly, but once in a while, you give your students a test and then wonder where you failed as a teacher when you grade them. So Meta is leaving at the end of the week, and Felix won't be back until the middle of next month, which means there will be no Director of Studies for that period. Guess who was picked to fill in until then?! She's been really impressed with me so far, and I am also going to be the project manager for EF's annual Spelling Bee, so I have to plan for that.
So the pills seem to be working, I'm less congested and don't feel like death anymore. I will catch ya later!
So last week we had the Independence Day Games, and I was co-emcee. We had a cracker eating competition, spoon and marble race, and a game where a pencil is tied to your waist, and you have to try and get it into a bottle on the ground. It was good fun, and all the kids enjoyed it. On Thursday, I started feeling sick, and by Sunday I was coughing up hunks of something scary. I also lost my sense of smell for the day, which was kind of strange. I could taste salty and sweet and stuff, but no flavors, very weird. I started opening up bottles of mustard and stuff, but nothing, everything smelled like Styrofoam.
So today I went to the hospital, had a checkup, and got a prescription for some pills. I never really get sick, but since I've been here, I dunno. It could be the pollution, or the appalling lack of hygiene everywhere, or both, I dunno. I know I tend to ramble a lot, but I think this is the only creative outlet I get to express myself through.
My classes are going pretty smoothly, but once in a while, you give your students a test and then wonder where you failed as a teacher when you grade them. So Meta is leaving at the end of the week, and Felix won't be back until the middle of next month, which means there will be no Director of Studies for that period. Guess who was picked to fill in until then?! She's been really impressed with me so far, and I am also going to be the project manager for EF's annual Spelling Bee, so I have to plan for that.
So the pills seem to be working, I'm less congested and don't feel like death anymore. I will catch ya later!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Weekend of 8/17
Friday- Indonesia's Independence Day. Chrys and I went to the stables so she could ride her horses. I took some pictures of the animals they had there, a monkey, horses, and some peacocks. I was a little bored, but i got to walk around the complex a bit, and they had ice cream, which was cool. Coming back, we had to walk through the Depok train station, and there were little shops selling t-shirts and shoes and different junk. That night we just stayed in and watched movies.
Saturday, the day of the luncheon. All the teachers went to the American Grille (Sizzler's) in Pondok Indah Mall. I got a steak, but it wasn't that great. The luncheon was for Meta and Sheley, who are leaving in the next 2 weeks. Later that night, Meg, David, Chrys an I went out to Kemang. We had dinner at some little cafe, that went to the club Nu China. I had a very strong White Russian. We made them turn down the air conditioners because they were very cold and blowing right on us. After a night on the town, we came back and played Risk for a few hours before going to bed.
Sunday, I went to the pool. Indonesian women wear extremely modest swimsuits, covering their arms and legs. They look almost like very thin wet suits. Uhm, that's about all i can recall for Sunday, I don't really remember doing anything really exciting that night. I think I watched some Simpsons, Meg got season 5 on DVD at Poins Square.
Monday, long day. I started out at G-Labs, the Global Islamic School. I teach there every 2 weeks for 45 minutes. I don't see how this can possibly have an impact on 6 disinterested 3rd graders, but oh well. We got there a little late because of macet. “Indonesia banyak macet,” said my ojek driver. Yes, there are a LOT of traffic jams, probably because the roads are poorly designed, there are no traffic signs, and absolutely no one follows any sort of traffic laws. Margonda Raya is a road with 2 lanes going in each direction. I've seen up to 4 lanes of traffic on it at one point, and still, motorcycles drive up o the sidewalk to get around. The worst is when your angkot (small city bus) goes on the sidewalk or the curb to get around. Another strange thing about Margonda is that there is no double yellow line, there's just jersey barriers. So it's very hard to get where you're going. And god help you if you pass by your destination. You have to keep going about a kilometer up the road to find a break, then turn around, go back up, find another break, and come back again. In fact, coming from the south, if you want to turn into EF, you have to actually drive over the border of Jakarta, turn around, and come back into Depok.
Well, that's about it for now. Keep reading, and I'l keep you updated. Bye!
Monday, August 13, 2007
8/13
So, the weekend was pretty uneventful. "The Wrecking Crew" as we are called, Meg Chrys and I, went out Friday night to Amigo's. Damn expensive, but worth it. You can NOT find Mexican food anywhere. We had a pitcher of margarita's ($26) and it wasn't bad, but sorely lacking Triple-sec. After dinner, we went to a wine and liquor store, I got a bottle of Jamaican rum, Chrys got gin, and Meg had already gotten some Bacardi last weekend.
Saturday was a pretty lazy day, Meg and I just hung out around the house, and Chrys went to the stable to do her jumping practice. That night we ordered Italian from Barra Di Caffe, a little Italian place, had some gin tonics and rum 'n cokes. By the way, finding tonic water is almost as hard as finding liquor, I had to go to 3 different hypermakets to find it.
Sunday the 3 of us went to Citos, had dinner at some Portuguese chicken place (a had a steak with some fire-hot hot sauce), and saw the movie "Surf's Up". I have seen signs for the Simpsons Movie everywhere but nobody's playing it yet. Anyways, it was a funny, cute movie about penguins surfing.
So, I'll end with some pictures of the house, since no-one has seen it yet.
kitchen
My bathroom. Jeremy and Megan share the house bathroom.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Meta is quitting, and when Felix returns from Colorado, he's gonna be our new DOS (Director of Studies). Well, that's al for now. Take care!
Saturday was a pretty lazy day, Meg and I just hung out around the house, and Chrys went to the stable to do her jumping practice. That night we ordered Italian from Barra Di Caffe, a little Italian place, had some gin tonics and rum 'n cokes. By the way, finding tonic water is almost as hard as finding liquor, I had to go to 3 different hypermakets to find it.
Sunday the 3 of us went to Citos, had dinner at some Portuguese chicken place (a had a steak with some fire-hot hot sauce), and saw the movie "Surf's Up". I have seen signs for the Simpsons Movie everywhere but nobody's playing it yet. Anyways, it was a funny, cute movie about penguins surfing.
So, I'll end with some pictures of the house, since no-one has seen it yet.
kitchen
My bathroom. Jeremy and Megan share the house bathroom.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Meta is quitting, and when Felix returns from Colorado, he's gonna be our new DOS (Director of Studies). Well, that's al for now. Take care!
Friday, August 10, 2007
8/10
8/10
Hey all, I know it's been a while, I've been a bad blogger. Not much has happened over the past few weeks, but I did meet an Iranian and a Tehrani guy on the way back from dinner last night. I had Padang food at the place next door. They bring you about a dozen plates of food and charge you for what you eat. It's pretty cool, and you get to sample a bunch of different stuff. I had rendang, eggs Balado, chicken curry, and some other unidentifiable stuff. It's not cheap tho.
Monday, July 30, 2007
7/30
Ok, so it's weekend recap time.
So Saturday after class, Meg and I went to Citos for lunch and internet. We had lunch at Mother's Cook, a burger place. They always have really good food, and they put onions in the burgers for a little extra zing. The Simpsons Movie is out, but it wasn't playing at Citos yet... Then we went to the Mr. Bean coffee shop, as usual. I called home with Skype, so it was nice to chat with the folks. You have to buy an internet voucher to use the wi-fi, but for Rp. 100,000 (about $11) you get 8 hours.
So at around 7, we get the call from Chrys to go out, we wrap things up and get in the cab. We pick her up at her place, then stop at my place to drop off the computers. Chrys was wearing some new, very high heels, which broke right when she got in the cab. I found a safety pin to hold them together for the night. Then, we had to walk up the hill to get a new cab. Traffic was awful in both directions, and it took us about 15 minutes to get a taxi. After driving about 10 minutes, Meg realizes that she forgot her wallet. Well, we weren't about to turn back, so Chrys said she'd cover her.
The first place we went to was the Autumn Cafe, a wine bar with a band. We got a couple pitchers of beer, the girls had the Autumn salad, and I had the Spaghetti Carbonara. It's wasn't bad, but they use smoked beef here instead of bacon, which makes me sad. On my last bite, I fumbled and sent the contents of my spoon flying everywhere, some landing on Chrys. A few minutes later, she responded with a volley of mesclun, completely by accident, I'm sure. She later sang (or mumbled) karaoke to some song that she didn't know the words to, and of which Meg has some rather embarrassing footage. Around midnite we hopped a cab to Public, a club.
They were playing techno, quite loudly, we had a lot of beer, and some of Chrys and Meg's Indonesian friends stopped by. Worth mentioning are the bathrooms, which are surrounded by mirrors. Can make you self-conscious... So around 3-ish, lights come on, music dies down, and we shtumble out there. Chrys lost her safety pin, so she walked barefoot.
We got to my place at what must have been 4:30am, because morning prayers were blaring over the loudspeakers. For the next 3 hours we sat on the couch and watched That 70's Show on DVD. Meg fell asleep at some point and was snoring rather loudly. Chrys left at around 8am, as she had some horse-riding competition at 10 and a race at 2. Good luck, right??
I went to bed, woke up at about 2pm, er, and then for real at about 3:30, and went to meet Felix at Margo. He was reading some Clive Cussler book in Starbucks. I had some Japanese fast food at the food court.
(Begin rant)
Ok, here's how an Indonesian food court works. There's about 15 or so places to choose from, all lined up on the back wall. You place your food order at the window, and they give you a ticket. If you want a drink, you have to go to one of the drink islands in the middle of the food court. And you get a ticket from them. You take your tickets to the cashier at the other end of the food court and pay. Then you wait for the people to bring you your separate food and drink orders. If you want another drink, you have to go back to the island, get a ticket for the drink you want, bring it to the cashier, pay for it, and bring the ticket back to the island. It is so stupid.
It's the same way for department stores. You cannot take a shirt out of the department and walk around the store with it. When you see a shirt you like, you can try it on in the dressing room, but then you have to give it back to them. If you want to buy it, they give you a ticket and bring your item to the cashier, and you pay for it there.
(End rant)
Ok, so that was pretty much my weekend, and, it seems, every weekend. I haven't gotten bored of it, but it is becoming a financial drain. Well, I gotta get to class, so I'll post again some other time. Thanks for reading!
--jared
So Saturday after class, Meg and I went to Citos for lunch and internet. We had lunch at Mother's Cook, a burger place. They always have really good food, and they put onions in the burgers for a little extra zing. The Simpsons Movie is out, but it wasn't playing at Citos yet... Then we went to the Mr. Bean coffee shop, as usual. I called home with Skype, so it was nice to chat with the folks. You have to buy an internet voucher to use the wi-fi, but for Rp. 100,000 (about $11) you get 8 hours.
So at around 7, we get the call from Chrys to go out, we wrap things up and get in the cab. We pick her up at her place, then stop at my place to drop off the computers. Chrys was wearing some new, very high heels, which broke right when she got in the cab. I found a safety pin to hold them together for the night. Then, we had to walk up the hill to get a new cab. Traffic was awful in both directions, and it took us about 15 minutes to get a taxi. After driving about 10 minutes, Meg realizes that she forgot her wallet. Well, we weren't about to turn back, so Chrys said she'd cover her.
The first place we went to was the Autumn Cafe, a wine bar with a band. We got a couple pitchers of beer, the girls had the Autumn salad, and I had the Spaghetti Carbonara. It's wasn't bad, but they use smoked beef here instead of bacon, which makes me sad. On my last bite, I fumbled and sent the contents of my spoon flying everywhere, some landing on Chrys. A few minutes later, she responded with a volley of mesclun, completely by accident, I'm sure. She later sang (or mumbled) karaoke to some song that she didn't know the words to, and of which Meg has some rather embarrassing footage. Around midnite we hopped a cab to Public, a club.
They were playing techno, quite loudly, we had a lot of beer, and some of Chrys and Meg's Indonesian friends stopped by. Worth mentioning are the bathrooms, which are surrounded by mirrors. Can make you self-conscious... So around 3-ish, lights come on, music dies down, and we shtumble out there. Chrys lost her safety pin, so she walked barefoot.
We got to my place at what must have been 4:30am, because morning prayers were blaring over the loudspeakers. For the next 3 hours we sat on the couch and watched That 70's Show on DVD. Meg fell asleep at some point and was snoring rather loudly. Chrys left at around 8am, as she had some horse-riding competition at 10 and a race at 2. Good luck, right??
I went to bed, woke up at about 2pm, er, and then for real at about 3:30, and went to meet Felix at Margo. He was reading some Clive Cussler book in Starbucks. I had some Japanese fast food at the food court.
(Begin rant)
Ok, here's how an Indonesian food court works. There's about 15 or so places to choose from, all lined up on the back wall. You place your food order at the window, and they give you a ticket. If you want a drink, you have to go to one of the drink islands in the middle of the food court. And you get a ticket from them. You take your tickets to the cashier at the other end of the food court and pay. Then you wait for the people to bring you your separate food and drink orders. If you want another drink, you have to go back to the island, get a ticket for the drink you want, bring it to the cashier, pay for it, and bring the ticket back to the island. It is so stupid.
It's the same way for department stores. You cannot take a shirt out of the department and walk around the store with it. When you see a shirt you like, you can try it on in the dressing room, but then you have to give it back to them. If you want to buy it, they give you a ticket and bring your item to the cashier, and you pay for it there.
(End rant)
Ok, so that was pretty much my weekend, and, it seems, every weekend. I haven't gotten bored of it, but it is becoming a financial drain. Well, I gotta get to class, so I'll post again some other time. Thanks for reading!
--jared
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
7/21
7/21
Ok, I know it's Wednesday, but I'm doing a recap of the weekend.
So Saturday, I had my 4-hour business class, as usual. After the movie, Meg and I went to the mall and saw the new Harry Potter movie. It was good, but the ending left something to be desired. Plus, I hadn't seen the previous one, so I was a little confused about some parts.
Chrystina later met up with us to go out to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Jakarta. We took the long way as to avoid traffic, and it was a good thing, because it was totally jammed. When we got to the Hard Rock, we sat at the bar, and was still Happy Hour, so we got 2 pitchers of Angker for the price of 1. (beli satu, gratis satu!) I got a bowl of chili and fajitas, which took forever. Pretty decent tho. We had another pitcher after Happy Hour ended, and listened to the live band. There was an older British guy at the bar hitting on Chrystina (which is very typical), and she kept giving me the "kill me now" eyes. Upon leaving, he said, "Ok, goodbye, you crazy Americans!" A little while later, 2 other guys came in, and totally ignored us. 1 shorter, older, rounder guy, and 1 strikingly handsome guy. Chrys was kinda pissed that they didn't even acknowledge us, but when the handsome guy started dancing, it was obvious why they both came in together. Plus, they were speaking German.
The band was covering some rocking bands, like Rage Against the Machine, Green Day, and My Chemical Romance. I had a neck-ache for 2 days from headbanging, I think we all did. So we got the bill (over Rp. 600,000 for the 3 of us, yikes!) and since we were right around the corner, we got a taxi to Jalan Jaksa.
We started out at Memories cafe, like last weekend, got a couple large bottles of Bintang (awful, especially after Angker) and sat at a table. Almost immediately, this Indo guy comes tot he table and starts chatting with us. He works in Bali as a SCUBA instructor. He was a little tanked, and kept getting really close to Megan, who was mortified. At one point, he was laughing, and leaned in and gave her a bite on the shoulder. So we left, and continued down the road. We walked to the end on the road and met up with an African guy. We asked him a question or 2, but he wasn't able to help us... The 3 of us ended up in the Djaksa Cafe, in the bottom of a hotel. There was horrible, loud karaoke and a woman in a really disturbing looking outfit; a bra, see-through mesh shirt, and a tweed sports coat. It wouldn't have been so bad if she wasn't 50, fat, and butch. I was feeling woozy, so I just had some water, the girls had Bacardi and Cokes, a tequila shot and a screwdriver. I went outside for a few minutes and talked to an Indo named Lucky for a few minutes.
We left the bar, but weren't quite ready to go home yet. We went to a third bar, and tried to order 2 bottles of beer with 3 glasses, but we ended up with 3 beers. Which sucks, because it was near closing time. So the bar girl kept refilling our glasses, topping them off. It was not pretty. I'd turn around, and my glass was full again. We finally finished and shtumbled out of the place. The creepy Indo from Memories found us outside, but the bar owner shooed him away. We found a taxi and headed back to Depok. Chrys passed out in my lap in the back of the cab. We all went to my house and sat around and talked until sunup.
Ok, I know it's Wednesday, but I'm doing a recap of the weekend.
So Saturday, I had my 4-hour business class, as usual. After the movie, Meg and I went to the mall and saw the new Harry Potter movie. It was good, but the ending left something to be desired. Plus, I hadn't seen the previous one, so I was a little confused about some parts.
Chrystina later met up with us to go out to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Jakarta. We took the long way as to avoid traffic, and it was a good thing, because it was totally jammed. When we got to the Hard Rock, we sat at the bar, and was still Happy Hour, so we got 2 pitchers of Angker for the price of 1. (beli satu, gratis satu!) I got a bowl of chili and fajitas, which took forever. Pretty decent tho. We had another pitcher after Happy Hour ended, and listened to the live band. There was an older British guy at the bar hitting on Chrystina (which is very typical), and she kept giving me the "kill me now" eyes. Upon leaving, he said, "Ok, goodbye, you crazy Americans!" A little while later, 2 other guys came in, and totally ignored us. 1 shorter, older, rounder guy, and 1 strikingly handsome guy. Chrys was kinda pissed that they didn't even acknowledge us, but when the handsome guy started dancing, it was obvious why they both came in together. Plus, they were speaking German.
The band was covering some rocking bands, like Rage Against the Machine, Green Day, and My Chemical Romance. I had a neck-ache for 2 days from headbanging, I think we all did. So we got the bill (over Rp. 600,000 for the 3 of us, yikes!) and since we were right around the corner, we got a taxi to Jalan Jaksa.
We started out at Memories cafe, like last weekend, got a couple large bottles of Bintang (awful, especially after Angker) and sat at a table. Almost immediately, this Indo guy comes tot he table and starts chatting with us. He works in Bali as a SCUBA instructor. He was a little tanked, and kept getting really close to Megan, who was mortified. At one point, he was laughing, and leaned in and gave her a bite on the shoulder. So we left, and continued down the road. We walked to the end on the road and met up with an African guy. We asked him a question or 2, but he wasn't able to help us... The 3 of us ended up in the Djaksa Cafe, in the bottom of a hotel. There was horrible, loud karaoke and a woman in a really disturbing looking outfit; a bra, see-through mesh shirt, and a tweed sports coat. It wouldn't have been so bad if she wasn't 50, fat, and butch. I was feeling woozy, so I just had some water, the girls had Bacardi and Cokes, a tequila shot and a screwdriver. I went outside for a few minutes and talked to an Indo named Lucky for a few minutes.
We left the bar, but weren't quite ready to go home yet. We went to a third bar, and tried to order 2 bottles of beer with 3 glasses, but we ended up with 3 beers. Which sucks, because it was near closing time. So the bar girl kept refilling our glasses, topping them off. It was not pretty. I'd turn around, and my glass was full again. We finally finished and shtumbled out of the place. The creepy Indo from Memories found us outside, but the bar owner shooed him away. We found a taxi and headed back to Depok. Chrys passed out in my lap in the back of the cab. We all went to my house and sat around and talked until sunup.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
7/15
7/15
It's Sunday night, and I'm at Citos on the wireless connection. Yesterday was fun, where to begin? After my class ended, I went to the supermarket and picked up some toiletries. I was thinking of geting a new DVD player for the house because ours keeps crapping out. The average price is about $20-25 but you can get really nice ones with DVD recorders for about $320. I'm gonna keep looking around. I had a nap, then a shower, and met Felix at Timezone, the arcade in Margo City. We played a few video games with some of the receptionists at work, and at about 7, David, Megan and Chrystina showed up to go to dinner. Felix already ate, so it was just the 4 of us. We got into a Taxiku Taxi, and told him to go to Kemang. He had to stop and ask for directions at least 4 times. It was very aggravating, and the ride cost way more than it should have. His excuse was that he only knows Depok, but come on, if you drive a cab you have to know how to get around!
We got into another taxi, and within a few minutes we were in Kemang, and walked to Little Baghdad, an upscale restaurant. Appetizers were good, but I was fairly disappointed with the main course, in was bland and tough. Dessert was pretty good, I got the flan. And we shared a shisha (strawberry flavored). It was about 11pm when we left the restaurant, and we went looking for a club or bar. There wasn't much in Kemang, Chrys suggested Kelapa Gading, but we ended up at Jalan Jaksa in Jakarta. David had been there a few years ago, on vacation. It was full of foreigners, lots of Europeans and Africans. We started out in the Memories Cafe, had about half a dozen big bottles of Bintang between the 4 of us, and chilled out watching the band. Chrys pointed out the fact that 2 of the guys were dancing awfully close to each other, and looking around, I noticed a LOT of more stuff like that going on. Chrys was sure that the really tall woman was a guy, but I couldn't tell for sure. A very friendly woman, April, sat next to me and started talking to me. "Are you here alone?" Hmm...
Later, I had to use the bathroom, and another woman came up to me and asked if either of the girls I was with were girlfriends, or just friends. Hmm... Well anyways, Didi invited us to Club Absolute. Ok, this bar was even worse. It was full of guys dancing. the only women there were the bartenders, Didi, and April, who mysteriously followed us there. We had some more drinks, I had a few whiskey Cokes, and we just hung out. After about an hour, a fight broke out between a bunch of the Arabic guys there, they were throwing people down the stairs, it was quite unnerving. A bouncer came up and pulled all the guys downstairs. The cops came later, and were questioning everyone downstairs. Didi kept telling me I could stay at her place, but I graciously declined... About 3 a.m., we told her we were getting tired, and got the hell out of there.
We went a little ways up the street and found another bar, and had a few more drinks. The place closed up at about 4, and we hopped a cab home. Megan and I were having a discussion about great cartoons, and she mentioned the fact that she had brought some Animaniacs DVDs with her from the states. We got to Chrys's place, helped her up the stairs, and finally got to our place. Meg and I then had a few more beers and watched Animaniacs for about an hour. I went to sleep about 6 this morning. I finally got up at about 2 or 3 this afternoon, a little weary, but still good. David had a wicked hangover.
We went for dinner tonight at Citos, and ate at Izzy Pizza, which was awesome compared to the crap I've had recently. And now I'm here, writing this. So, I'm gonna leave it at that, have a nice day!
It's Sunday night, and I'm at Citos on the wireless connection. Yesterday was fun, where to begin? After my class ended, I went to the supermarket and picked up some toiletries. I was thinking of geting a new DVD player for the house because ours keeps crapping out. The average price is about $20-25 but you can get really nice ones with DVD recorders for about $320. I'm gonna keep looking around. I had a nap, then a shower, and met Felix at Timezone, the arcade in Margo City. We played a few video games with some of the receptionists at work, and at about 7, David, Megan and Chrystina showed up to go to dinner. Felix already ate, so it was just the 4 of us. We got into a Taxiku Taxi, and told him to go to Kemang. He had to stop and ask for directions at least 4 times. It was very aggravating, and the ride cost way more than it should have. His excuse was that he only knows Depok, but come on, if you drive a cab you have to know how to get around!
We got into another taxi, and within a few minutes we were in Kemang, and walked to Little Baghdad, an upscale restaurant. Appetizers were good, but I was fairly disappointed with the main course, in was bland and tough. Dessert was pretty good, I got the flan. And we shared a shisha (strawberry flavored). It was about 11pm when we left the restaurant, and we went looking for a club or bar. There wasn't much in Kemang, Chrys suggested Kelapa Gading, but we ended up at Jalan Jaksa in Jakarta. David had been there a few years ago, on vacation. It was full of foreigners, lots of Europeans and Africans. We started out in the Memories Cafe, had about half a dozen big bottles of Bintang between the 4 of us, and chilled out watching the band. Chrys pointed out the fact that 2 of the guys were dancing awfully close to each other, and looking around, I noticed a LOT of more stuff like that going on. Chrys was sure that the really tall woman was a guy, but I couldn't tell for sure. A very friendly woman, April, sat next to me and started talking to me. "Are you here alone?" Hmm...
Later, I had to use the bathroom, and another woman came up to me and asked if either of the girls I was with were girlfriends, or just friends. Hmm... Well anyways, Didi invited us to Club Absolute. Ok, this bar was even worse. It was full of guys dancing. the only women there were the bartenders, Didi, and April, who mysteriously followed us there. We had some more drinks, I had a few whiskey Cokes, and we just hung out. After about an hour, a fight broke out between a bunch of the Arabic guys there, they were throwing people down the stairs, it was quite unnerving. A bouncer came up and pulled all the guys downstairs. The cops came later, and were questioning everyone downstairs. Didi kept telling me I could stay at her place, but I graciously declined... About 3 a.m., we told her we were getting tired, and got the hell out of there.
We went a little ways up the street and found another bar, and had a few more drinks. The place closed up at about 4, and we hopped a cab home. Megan and I were having a discussion about great cartoons, and she mentioned the fact that she had brought some Animaniacs DVDs with her from the states. We got to Chrys's place, helped her up the stairs, and finally got to our place. Meg and I then had a few more beers and watched Animaniacs for about an hour. I went to sleep about 6 this morning. I finally got up at about 2 or 3 this afternoon, a little weary, but still good. David had a wicked hangover.
We went for dinner tonight at Citos, and ate at Izzy Pizza, which was awesome compared to the crap I've had recently. And now I'm here, writing this. So, I'm gonna leave it at that, have a nice day!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
7/10
7/10
Today is Tuesday. Sunday I walked around Plaza Depok for a while, because it's right there and I haven't really checked it out yet. On the top floor is an arcade and a small bookstore. On the underground bottom floor is a music store, a Dunkin' Donuts, and supermarket (of course). Dunkin' Donuts has sandwiches, you can get either a croissant sandwich or a Boston sandwich, which is on a bulkie roll. They also just came out with a line of dark chocolate donuts. Their slogans here are "The real coffee & donuts", and "America's No. 1 Donuts"
At the supermarket, I got some fruit (passionfruit and mangosteens) and an atlas, for school. For the record, I don't understand passionfruit. You open it up, and there's a big grey ball of snot inside full of seeds. Do you eat the seeds? they're awfully crunchy. I like the mangosteens though, really sweet and creamy.
David, Megan and I went to Hanamasa in Margo City for dinner. It's a Japanese style restaurant, where you get a plate of raw meat, and cook it at your table. It was great fun, once we got the hang of it. They also had shabu-shabu, where you boil your meat in a community soup, but we didn't try that. After dinner, we saw Transformers. Great movie!! It's been in theaters for about 2 weeks already, but I just haven't had the time. The special effects and CGI are amazing.
Also, on Monday our pembantu (maid) started. She washed all the floors and dishes. Today she started on laundry. I really hate doing my own laundry, especially when there's no clothes dryer.
Ok, well I gotta head to work. Bye!
--jared
Today is Tuesday. Sunday I walked around Plaza Depok for a while, because it's right there and I haven't really checked it out yet. On the top floor is an arcade and a small bookstore. On the underground bottom floor is a music store, a Dunkin' Donuts, and supermarket (of course). Dunkin' Donuts has sandwiches, you can get either a croissant sandwich or a Boston sandwich, which is on a bulkie roll. They also just came out with a line of dark chocolate donuts. Their slogans here are "The real coffee & donuts", and "America's No. 1 Donuts"
At the supermarket, I got some fruit (passionfruit and mangosteens) and an atlas, for school. For the record, I don't understand passionfruit. You open it up, and there's a big grey ball of snot inside full of seeds. Do you eat the seeds? they're awfully crunchy. I like the mangosteens though, really sweet and creamy.
David, Megan and I went to Hanamasa in Margo City for dinner. It's a Japanese style restaurant, where you get a plate of raw meat, and cook it at your table. It was great fun, once we got the hang of it. They also had shabu-shabu, where you boil your meat in a community soup, but we didn't try that. After dinner, we saw Transformers. Great movie!! It's been in theaters for about 2 weeks already, but I just haven't had the time. The special effects and CGI are amazing.
Also, on Monday our pembantu (maid) started. She washed all the floors and dishes. Today she started on laundry. I really hate doing my own laundry, especially when there's no clothes dryer.
Ok, well I gotta head to work. Bye!
--jared
Friday, July 6, 2007
7/6
7/6
Well, it's Friday night, I was feeling awful on the 4th, so yesterday I was taken to Rumah Sakit Umum, or the General Hospital. I had a translator with me, and I was prescribed Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) and Levopront syrup, and 2 other pills You may have heard Cipro a few years ago, when people were stockpiling it in case of an anthrax attack. It's just an anti-bacterial medicine, I don't have anthrax.
Uh, not much else to report, a few people are going on vacation right in a row, so it got me thinking about taking one. I want to go to the beach, I haven't been since I got here and that really depresses me. So I was thinking of a trip to one of the Gilis off Lombok. David said he went to Trawangan and had a great time. Beach, clubs, no police, lol. Well, I'm gonna get some martabak and call it a night.
-jared
Well, it's Friday night, I was feeling awful on the 4th, so yesterday I was taken to Rumah Sakit Umum, or the General Hospital. I had a translator with me, and I was prescribed Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) and Levopront syrup, and 2 other pills You may have heard Cipro a few years ago, when people were stockpiling it in case of an anthrax attack. It's just an anti-bacterial medicine, I don't have anthrax.
Uh, not much else to report, a few people are going on vacation right in a row, so it got me thinking about taking one. I want to go to the beach, I haven't been since I got here and that really depresses me. So I was thinking of a trip to one of the Gilis off Lombok. David said he went to Trawangan and had a great time. Beach, clubs, no police, lol. Well, I'm gonna get some martabak and call it a night.
-jared
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
7/4 -- Happy IndependenceDay!
7/4
Well, it's Wednesday, the 4th of July, which means nothing in Indonesia, but I still have my American pride. As I said previously, we went to the Outback on Sunday to celebrate. I am just about over my cold, but I couldn't sleep at all last night, I kept waking up with terrible cramps and the runs.
On Monday, as I was leaving for work, a man flags me down and says that our electric bill is 2 months late, and he's going to cut off the power. He said he wouldn't cut it if I paid him Rp. 50,000. Mighty suspicious, no? I was in kind of a hurry, and couldn't tell if he was bluffing, but I gave it to him and called my boss at work. She had a shouting argument over the phone with the guy, and he finally left. Well, it later turned out that yes, he got the number right, G7, but the wrong apartment complex. My boss, Meta, threatened to call the police on him, screaming, etc. Today, he came to the house with the Rp. 50,000 and offered his sincerest apologies.
Well, that's it for now, enjoy your holiday, Independence Day here isn't until the 17th of August.
--jared
Well, it's Wednesday, the 4th of July, which means nothing in Indonesia, but I still have my American pride. As I said previously, we went to the Outback on Sunday to celebrate. I am just about over my cold, but I couldn't sleep at all last night, I kept waking up with terrible cramps and the runs.
On Monday, as I was leaving for work, a man flags me down and says that our electric bill is 2 months late, and he's going to cut off the power. He said he wouldn't cut it if I paid him Rp. 50,000. Mighty suspicious, no? I was in kind of a hurry, and couldn't tell if he was bluffing, but I gave it to him and called my boss at work. She had a shouting argument over the phone with the guy, and he finally left. Well, it later turned out that yes, he got the number right, G7, but the wrong apartment complex. My boss, Meta, threatened to call the police on him, screaming, etc. Today, he came to the house with the Rp. 50,000 and offered his sincerest apologies.
Well, that's it for now, enjoy your holiday, Independence Day here isn't until the 17th of August.
--jared
Monday, July 2, 2007
7/2
7/2
It's about 1 in the morning Sunday night. I'm listening to various versions of Pachelbel's Canon in D major. It's the only thing on my iPod shuffle, and I don't have iTunes to change anything on it, so I've been listening to it just about every night to help me sleep. I know it by heart now, it's a beautiful song. I read Stephen King's "Cell" and he made a reference to it while I had my headphones on. Anyways, one of the characters called it the "song of memories." It does invoke a lot of emotions. It reminds me of mom, because she had me put it on her iPod before she left on vacation. It also makes me think of a person who disappeared from my life for a long time, then returned.
Things aren't always awesome around here, and it's a comforting piece to listen to. I'm still tooling around with my guitar, and can kinda play bits of it on string 6. Oh, and I also figured out "Babes in Toyland" on String 5.
*sigh* well, I'll leave it at that. Keep in touch!
It's about 1 in the morning Sunday night. I'm listening to various versions of Pachelbel's Canon in D major. It's the only thing on my iPod shuffle, and I don't have iTunes to change anything on it, so I've been listening to it just about every night to help me sleep. I know it by heart now, it's a beautiful song. I read Stephen King's "Cell" and he made a reference to it while I had my headphones on. Anyways, one of the characters called it the "song of memories." It does invoke a lot of emotions. It reminds me of mom, because she had me put it on her iPod before she left on vacation. It also makes me think of a person who disappeared from my life for a long time, then returned.
Things aren't always awesome around here, and it's a comforting piece to listen to. I'm still tooling around with my guitar, and can kinda play bits of it on string 6. Oh, and I also figured out "Babes in Toyland" on String 5.
*sigh* well, I'll leave it at that. Keep in touch!
7/1
7/1
So on the plus side, my boss doesn't think I have Typhoid. I'm feeling better, though still achy and congested. I got a thermometer at the pharmacist and I'm running about 37.1C, which is normal.
About a year or so I think, the US cracked down on cold and flu products containing Dextromethorphan, or DXM. The reason was, in high doses it's classified as a hallucinogen, and causes feelings of floating and such, like ketamine or PCP. And too many kids went robo-tripping, that is, taking large amounts of Robitussin, Coricidin, or other products containing the chemical. Here, it's dirt cheap and sold over the counter. Panadol contains 15 mg/DXM and 30mg/Pseudo ephedrine. Now that's not to say that anyone has or would, but if one wanted to start their own meth lab, it would be darn cheap to do it here.
Well, I just took some Wood's peppermint expectorant (plus mucolytic!), just has guaiphenesin, and a hell of a lot of mint.
Moving on to lighter news, today is July 1st, and we're going to Chili's to celebrate the 4th. I made the joke that the party should start out at David's house (he's a Brit) and then everyone leave him and come to my house, ha ha.
. . .
So tonight 4 of us went to celebrate the 4th at Chili's (well, Chrystina was celebrating Canada Day, and David was just there for the food). Trouble was, we couldn't find the place. And Indonesians -suck- when it comes to giving directions. Instead of just telling you that they don't know where it is, they'll make something up and send you on a wild goose chase, so as not to embarrass themselves for not knowing the way. We walked around 3 different malls in Blok M before giving up, and just went to the Outback Steakhouse instead.
It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it. A pair of crab cakes, an 8 oz sirloin plus baked potato, and a bottomless Coke set me back around Rp. 210,000 (about $23). Take into account that minimum wage in Jakarta is Rp. 900,000/month, and most people make at most 2-3x that, and you can see that this is not a luxury that most Indonesians can afford.
After that, we took a taxi home, the driver looked like he was falling asleep and kept weaving in and out of traffic, but then again, that's typical of Jakarta drivers. We -totally- bottomed out on a speed bump and the taxi started making a weird clunking noise. I was riding shotgun, so I could see the grimace on the driver's face.
So on the plus side, my boss doesn't think I have Typhoid. I'm feeling better, though still achy and congested. I got a thermometer at the pharmacist and I'm running about 37.1C, which is normal.
About a year or so I think, the US cracked down on cold and flu products containing Dextromethorphan, or DXM. The reason was, in high doses it's classified as a hallucinogen, and causes feelings of floating and such, like ketamine or PCP. And too many kids went robo-tripping, that is, taking large amounts of Robitussin, Coricidin, or other products containing the chemical. Here, it's dirt cheap and sold over the counter. Panadol contains 15 mg/DXM and 30mg/Pseudo ephedrine. Now that's not to say that anyone has or would, but if one wanted to start their own meth lab, it would be darn cheap to do it here.
Well, I just took some Wood's peppermint expectorant (plus mucolytic!), just has guaiphenesin, and a hell of a lot of mint.
Moving on to lighter news, today is July 1st, and we're going to Chili's to celebrate the 4th. I made the joke that the party should start out at David's house (he's a Brit) and then everyone leave him and come to my house, ha ha.
. . .
So tonight 4 of us went to celebrate the 4th at Chili's (well, Chrystina was celebrating Canada Day, and David was just there for the food). Trouble was, we couldn't find the place. And Indonesians -suck- when it comes to giving directions. Instead of just telling you that they don't know where it is, they'll make something up and send you on a wild goose chase, so as not to embarrass themselves for not knowing the way. We walked around 3 different malls in Blok M before giving up, and just went to the Outback Steakhouse instead.
It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it. A pair of crab cakes, an 8 oz sirloin plus baked potato, and a bottomless Coke set me back around Rp. 210,000 (about $23). Take into account that minimum wage in Jakarta is Rp. 900,000/month, and most people make at most 2-3x that, and you can see that this is not a luxury that most Indonesians can afford.
After that, we took a taxi home, the driver looked like he was falling asleep and kept weaving in and out of traffic, but then again, that's typical of Jakarta drivers. We -totally- bottomed out on a speed bump and the taxi started making a weird clunking noise. I was riding shotgun, so I could see the grimace on the driver's face.
Friday, June 29, 2007
6/29
6/29
Urg, *groan* I've been so sick the last few days. I ate at a Warung Tenda (food stall under a tent) about 3 days ago, and I must have picked something up. I have a low-grade fever, can't stop coughing, and am just worn out and achey. 2 Days ago I woke up and knew it was gonna be a bad day, like a premonition, you know? It was raining and I had a new class starting up, a conversation class. It went absolutely terribly. I was glad when the day was over. It was the first time since I've been here that I've been miserable.
Yesterday was ok, though. All the rain had washed the pollution out of the air, and I was able to see the mountains in Bogor. I didn't think to bring my camera. The sunset at the end of the day was pretty as well, but by then the haze was starting to come back. I don't remember eating anything all day except for some Vitamin C drink. When I got out of work, I still wasn't that hungry, but managed to eat a double cheeseburger meal from Mickey D's. Around 10 o'clock I downed half a bottle of pseudo ephedrine and passed out.
I woke up this morning around 10, had some coffee and took an ojek to Detos and got some juice and gum. I'm at the warnet now, writing this. I'm gonna get some lunch a little later and maybe some Advil for the aches and pains. I really hope that I don't have typhoid, but I wouldn't be surprised, since 3 other people here have had it.
From Wikipedia: "People with typhoid fever typically have a sustained fever as high as 40° C (104° F). They may also feel weak, or have gastroenteritis, headache, diarrhea and anorexia (loss of appetite). In some cases, patients have a rash of flat, rose-colored spots. The only way to know for sure if an illness is typhoid fever is to have samples of stool or blood tested for the presence of S. typhi.[3]"
Well, no rash yet, but all the other symptoms check out... I'll check with my boss. Wish me luck!
Urg, *groan* I've been so sick the last few days. I ate at a Warung Tenda (food stall under a tent) about 3 days ago, and I must have picked something up. I have a low-grade fever, can't stop coughing, and am just worn out and achey. 2 Days ago I woke up and knew it was gonna be a bad day, like a premonition, you know? It was raining and I had a new class starting up, a conversation class. It went absolutely terribly. I was glad when the day was over. It was the first time since I've been here that I've been miserable.
Yesterday was ok, though. All the rain had washed the pollution out of the air, and I was able to see the mountains in Bogor. I didn't think to bring my camera. The sunset at the end of the day was pretty as well, but by then the haze was starting to come back. I don't remember eating anything all day except for some Vitamin C drink. When I got out of work, I still wasn't that hungry, but managed to eat a double cheeseburger meal from Mickey D's. Around 10 o'clock I downed half a bottle of pseudo ephedrine and passed out.
I woke up this morning around 10, had some coffee and took an ojek to Detos and got some juice and gum. I'm at the warnet now, writing this. I'm gonna get some lunch a little later and maybe some Advil for the aches and pains. I really hope that I don't have typhoid, but I wouldn't be surprised, since 3 other people here have had it.
From Wikipedia: "People with typhoid fever typically have a sustained fever as high as 40° C (104° F). They may also feel weak, or have gastroenteritis, headache, diarrhea and anorexia (loss of appetite). In some cases, patients have a rash of flat, rose-colored spots. The only way to know for sure if an illness is typhoid fever is to have samples of stool or blood tested for the presence of S. typhi.[3]"
Well, no rash yet, but all the other symptoms check out... I'll check with my boss. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
6/26
6/26
Ok, I'm in an internet cafe on my way to work, and it's painfully slow, but I gotta update this every once in a while, so I'll talk about the weekend. On Saturday, after my class, my boss took me out to the Shangri-La Hotel and we had lunch at the Satoo Restaurant. It was a great international buffet, all types of food, British, Indo, sushi, Indian, Chinese... After lunch, she dropped me off at Plaza Senayan, and I walked around the mall for a bit. They just opened up a Coach store, so I browsed a bit, mostly women's stuff, I wanted a tie from there...
Felix SMS'ed me and said they were going to a nice Indian place for dinner later, so I hung out in the mall for a while, got the new peterpan CD (Indo pop) and then hopped a cab to Hazara. I had a Mojito at the bar while waiting for them to arrive, and then we ordered dinner. We had all types of curries, samosas, it was great. Not cheap, tho, it ended up being about $25/person. Felix was leaving the next morning to go to Yogya on vacation, so he hopped a cab home, and Sheley, David and I took a taxi to Kemang.
We ended up going to this bar called The Rock Cafe, it was about 9 when we got there. The cover kinda stung, Rp. 75,000, but included a drink, and a live show. The opening band was a group called Snow White, a couple of amateur girls singing cover songs. The guitarist was amazing, tho, He played a perfect version of "Sweet Child O' Mine". The main band finally took stage around 11:30, "Dewi Dewi", a band I'd never heard of, but they're apparently pretty popular here. It was 3 women singing pop music (kinda like Gwen Stefani now). It was about 2:30 when we left, and we each had about 5 beers over the night, so we were a little buzzed. We got a taxi driver who kept talking to us in Indonesian, and I think I was the only one who knew what he was saying.
(Oh, ha ha! They are playing Dewi Dewi on the internet cafe's radio!)
Well, that's about it fer now. Talk to ya later.
Ok, I'm in an internet cafe on my way to work, and it's painfully slow, but I gotta update this every once in a while, so I'll talk about the weekend. On Saturday, after my class, my boss took me out to the Shangri-La Hotel and we had lunch at the Satoo Restaurant. It was a great international buffet, all types of food, British, Indo, sushi, Indian, Chinese... After lunch, she dropped me off at Plaza Senayan, and I walked around the mall for a bit. They just opened up a Coach store, so I browsed a bit, mostly women's stuff, I wanted a tie from there...
Felix SMS'ed me and said they were going to a nice Indian place for dinner later, so I hung out in the mall for a while, got the new peterpan CD (Indo pop) and then hopped a cab to Hazara. I had a Mojito at the bar while waiting for them to arrive, and then we ordered dinner. We had all types of curries, samosas, it was great. Not cheap, tho, it ended up being about $25/person. Felix was leaving the next morning to go to Yogya on vacation, so he hopped a cab home, and Sheley, David and I took a taxi to Kemang.
We ended up going to this bar called The Rock Cafe, it was about 9 when we got there. The cover kinda stung, Rp. 75,000, but included a drink, and a live show. The opening band was a group called Snow White, a couple of amateur girls singing cover songs. The guitarist was amazing, tho, He played a perfect version of "Sweet Child O' Mine". The main band finally took stage around 11:30, "Dewi Dewi", a band I'd never heard of, but they're apparently pretty popular here. It was 3 women singing pop music (kinda like Gwen Stefani now). It was about 2:30 when we left, and we each had about 5 beers over the night, so we were a little buzzed. We got a taxi driver who kept talking to us in Indonesian, and I think I was the only one who knew what he was saying.
(Oh, ha ha! They are playing Dewi Dewi on the internet cafe's radio!)
Well, that's about it fer now. Talk to ya later.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
6/16
Hey everyone, I'm in Citos right now, (Cilandak Town Square) in the Mr. Bean coffee shop. I spent at least an hour pulling my hair out trying to configure my wireless connection, but finally got it to work, so I was able to Skype home. I got a few cool pictures of Depok and Sukamantri to show...
Yum! From Bread Talk, a bakery...
The view from the tent in Sukamantri...
3rd waterfall. You can see Fajar's head behind the rock.
Monkey's Tail, edible plant.
Well that's it for now! Hope you enjoy reading, I'm gonna go, talk to ya later!
Yum! From Bread Talk, a bakery...
The view from the tent in Sukamantri...
3rd waterfall. You can see Fajar's head behind the rock.
Monkey's Tail, edible plant.
Well that's it for now! Hope you enjoy reading, I'm gonna go, talk to ya later!
Saturday, June 9, 2007
6/9
6/9
Ok, so I'm up-to-date with this thing now, it's Saturday afternoon, and I'm in The Wiz warnet. Tuesday I went to Obonk for dinner, to give it one more shot, figuring it couldn't have been the only reason I got sick before my rafting trip to Sukabumi. I was wrong. Wednesday I came down with Suharto's Revenge, and still can't break wind without sharting. It's bad news.
Thursday I got a guitar on a whim, a Yamaha FX310, and I'm trying to learn, I had to stop for a day to let the blisters heal. Last night all the teachers went to Pondok Indah 2, and we got dinner at a Thai place, really nice, but kinda pricey. Afterwards we went to the Second Floor in Kemang, a lounge/bar. The smoke was a killer. My eyes were watering and itchy all night, and I couldn't hear for about an hour afterwards because the techno was so loud. Umm... I think that's about it, I picked up a DVD on how to play the guitar, and I'm gonna go home now and practice.
Later!
Ok, so I'm up-to-date with this thing now, it's Saturday afternoon, and I'm in The Wiz warnet. Tuesday I went to Obonk for dinner, to give it one more shot, figuring it couldn't have been the only reason I got sick before my rafting trip to Sukabumi. I was wrong. Wednesday I came down with Suharto's Revenge, and still can't break wind without sharting. It's bad news.
Thursday I got a guitar on a whim, a Yamaha FX310, and I'm trying to learn, I had to stop for a day to let the blisters heal. Last night all the teachers went to Pondok Indah 2, and we got dinner at a Thai place, really nice, but kinda pricey. Afterwards we went to the Second Floor in Kemang, a lounge/bar. The smoke was a killer. My eyes were watering and itchy all night, and I couldn't hear for about an hour afterwards because the techno was so loud. Umm... I think that's about it, I picked up a DVD on how to play the guitar, and I'm gonna go home now and practice.
Later!
6/3
6/3
Ok so Sunday morning a little before 6, we're in Sukamantri on Mount Salak, and I get some excellent pictures of the sun rising behind Gunung Gede. I take in the view, it's awesome. We have a few smokes, and Fajar goes to get breakfast. He comes back with gorengan, "fried stuff". It's hot, dripping in grease, and delicious. Sort of like a mess of battered onions and potatoes, fried in oil. Also had coffee and instant breakfast, sorta like a sweet porridge drink. Fajar goes back to sleep for a while, and I walk around and take pictures of monkeys and the campsite. Around 9 o'clock he gets up, we dismantle the tent, and he leads the way to the waterfall. He tells me that it takes 3 days to reach the top of Salak, and that hikers get lost and die every year, because the paths close behind you and you get disoriented.
There are 3 waterfalls, they get bigger the further into the jungle you go. I was told to watch out for lintah, leeches. So we passed the first 2, and kept trekking into the jungle, following the water upstream. We got to the 3rd waterfall, and it was beautiful. The water was extremely cold, but refreshing. Fajar got a couple of the lintah on him, about 1 cm long. On the way back, Fajar pointed out some of the local edible plants. Most interesting was the Monkey's Tail, a plant that looks like... well, a curled-up monkey's tail! He showed me how to brush off the hairs, and then eat the plant, explaining that it's better cooked, but still ok raw. The only way to describe the taste is like a really slimy cucumber. It wasn't bad, kinda crunchy, but was just oozing a clear, thick, choking goo. Probably better in a soup or something...
We got back to the campsite, took showers, and Fajar found another leech. "It sucking my butt!"
Had some nasi goreng at the little campground store, and a bunch of bikers rode into the camp. No, no, mountain bikers, from the Depok cycling club. Most of the guys were at least 50, and I couldn't imagine how anyone could ride 30 clicks uphill in this heat. So after lunch, it was about 1, and we started back down. It really began to heat up, but at least it was downhill. We passed a field where people were manually cutting grass and loading it into a pickup, as feed for cattle. Walked past cow pastures, poultry farms, and banana plantations. Fajar said he beleives that house we passed was owned by former President Suharto. We grabbed an angkot, switched onto another, and headed for the station.
Once we were just outside the station,Fajar pointed out the live snakes for sale, like cobras and pythons. He has a few anacondas at his house, as well as crocodiles, that he will skin when they get big enough. I saw a place that sold DVD's and they were cheap enough, about $0.55 each. I got Hot Fuzz, 28 Weeks Later (shite handicam copy), The Number 23 (same deal), and 300 (excellent DVD rip). So we hung out at the station for a while, let the first train go because it was too crowded, and got on the next one. More vendors today, selling kulit (fried skin, like pork rinds, but beef), fruit, drinks, and sundry goods. I saw a lot more beggars this time, like a bunch of people with portable amps singing to awful music for money. Got off the train, grabbed an ojek, and thanked Fajar for a great time in Sukamantri. It is worth mentioning that I did get a little bit of a sunburn for the first time since I got here. Looks like the pollution in Depok has a rating of SPF 30! Ha ha, well, that's about it for my weekend. Catch ya later!
Ok so Sunday morning a little before 6, we're in Sukamantri on Mount Salak, and I get some excellent pictures of the sun rising behind Gunung Gede. I take in the view, it's awesome. We have a few smokes, and Fajar goes to get breakfast. He comes back with gorengan, "fried stuff". It's hot, dripping in grease, and delicious. Sort of like a mess of battered onions and potatoes, fried in oil. Also had coffee and instant breakfast, sorta like a sweet porridge drink. Fajar goes back to sleep for a while, and I walk around and take pictures of monkeys and the campsite. Around 9 o'clock he gets up, we dismantle the tent, and he leads the way to the waterfall. He tells me that it takes 3 days to reach the top of Salak, and that hikers get lost and die every year, because the paths close behind you and you get disoriented.
There are 3 waterfalls, they get bigger the further into the jungle you go. I was told to watch out for lintah, leeches. So we passed the first 2, and kept trekking into the jungle, following the water upstream. We got to the 3rd waterfall, and it was beautiful. The water was extremely cold, but refreshing. Fajar got a couple of the lintah on him, about 1 cm long. On the way back, Fajar pointed out some of the local edible plants. Most interesting was the Monkey's Tail, a plant that looks like... well, a curled-up monkey's tail! He showed me how to brush off the hairs, and then eat the plant, explaining that it's better cooked, but still ok raw. The only way to describe the taste is like a really slimy cucumber. It wasn't bad, kinda crunchy, but was just oozing a clear, thick, choking goo. Probably better in a soup or something...
We got back to the campsite, took showers, and Fajar found another leech. "It sucking my butt!"
Had some nasi goreng at the little campground store, and a bunch of bikers rode into the camp. No, no, mountain bikers, from the Depok cycling club. Most of the guys were at least 50, and I couldn't imagine how anyone could ride 30 clicks uphill in this heat. So after lunch, it was about 1, and we started back down. It really began to heat up, but at least it was downhill. We passed a field where people were manually cutting grass and loading it into a pickup, as feed for cattle. Walked past cow pastures, poultry farms, and banana plantations. Fajar said he beleives that house we passed was owned by former President Suharto. We grabbed an angkot, switched onto another, and headed for the station.
Once we were just outside the station,Fajar pointed out the live snakes for sale, like cobras and pythons. He has a few anacondas at his house, as well as crocodiles, that he will skin when they get big enough. I saw a place that sold DVD's and they were cheap enough, about $0.55 each. I got Hot Fuzz, 28 Weeks Later (shite handicam copy), The Number 23 (same deal), and 300 (excellent DVD rip). So we hung out at the station for a while, let the first train go because it was too crowded, and got on the next one. More vendors today, selling kulit (fried skin, like pork rinds, but beef), fruit, drinks, and sundry goods. I saw a lot more beggars this time, like a bunch of people with portable amps singing to awful music for money. Got off the train, grabbed an ojek, and thanked Fajar for a great time in Sukamantri. It is worth mentioning that I did get a little bit of a sunburn for the first time since I got here. Looks like the pollution in Depok has a rating of SPF 30! Ha ha, well, that's about it for my weekend. Catch ya later!
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
6/2
6/2
I'm gonna try and do my best to remember everything that happened in the last 2 days, I broke it up by date, because I tend to get a little long-winded.
Saturday I hung out at the house till 4pm, when Fajar picked me up to go camping. "We go by train"... He picked me up on his motorcycle, we jetted to his house, and picked up his gear, then walked to the station. "Watch out for criminals" was his warning. This was not a particularly nice train station, crowded with vendors, normal people, and beggars. I put beggars in their own category because, well... I'll tell you later. The fare to Bogor is Rp. 1,500 for economy class, This is economy class in Indonesia. People crowd into the trains, some ride outside on top. "Boss, careful of your wallet, and put your backpack on your front. Beware of hypnotist. And let me know if anyone is watching us."
Slightly alarmed, I pressed him on the hypnotists. He said that people may try to talk to you, and distract you while reaching into your pocket and stealing your wallet. Thankfully, nothing bad happened on this trip. Vendors walked up and down the train, selling everything from stickers and cigarettes to fried tofu, oranges, and cold drinks. It started pouring on the train, and since it was economy class, the doors and some of the windows couldn't close. So we arrived in Bogor, ran to the station, and walked through and caught an angkot. We had to change angkots to get to our destination. It was prime rush hour, so we weren't moving at all. It's hot, and we're breathing exhaust fumes, it was terrible. We got as far as we could, and Fajar asks me, "Ok boss, we take ojek halfway, or walk?" We took the ojeks. It was slightly treacherous, washed out roads, we bottomed out a few times. Indonesians don't say oops or whoa, they say "Aduh!" So we got up halfway, took out our flashlights, and started walking. It was a full moon, so it wasn't too dark, but the cloud cover kinda hid the moon. After a little while, he stopped and lit his lantern. I remember it being very hot and humid, and you could see the steam rising off yourself. Fajar told me that you have to ask the forest for permission to take a whizz in the woods, or else be cursed. So I did... It was a long hike uphill, at least 2 clicks (km), and we were both sweating when we reached Sukamantri.
Formerly a WWII Japanese fortress, Sukamantri is now a campground. The exact location is 06 deg 40.533' S, 106 deg 45.093' E, according to my gps, about 33 km due south of my place in Depok. We set up camp, made some Indomie, Fajar played his guitar, it was cool. The next day is better...
I'm gonna try and do my best to remember everything that happened in the last 2 days, I broke it up by date, because I tend to get a little long-winded.
Saturday I hung out at the house till 4pm, when Fajar picked me up to go camping. "We go by train"... He picked me up on his motorcycle, we jetted to his house, and picked up his gear, then walked to the station. "Watch out for criminals" was his warning. This was not a particularly nice train station, crowded with vendors, normal people, and beggars. I put beggars in their own category because, well... I'll tell you later. The fare to Bogor is Rp. 1,500 for economy class, This is economy class in Indonesia. People crowd into the trains, some ride outside on top. "Boss, careful of your wallet, and put your backpack on your front. Beware of hypnotist. And let me know if anyone is watching us."
Slightly alarmed, I pressed him on the hypnotists. He said that people may try to talk to you, and distract you while reaching into your pocket and stealing your wallet. Thankfully, nothing bad happened on this trip. Vendors walked up and down the train, selling everything from stickers and cigarettes to fried tofu, oranges, and cold drinks. It started pouring on the train, and since it was economy class, the doors and some of the windows couldn't close. So we arrived in Bogor, ran to the station, and walked through and caught an angkot. We had to change angkots to get to our destination. It was prime rush hour, so we weren't moving at all. It's hot, and we're breathing exhaust fumes, it was terrible. We got as far as we could, and Fajar asks me, "Ok boss, we take ojek halfway, or walk?" We took the ojeks. It was slightly treacherous, washed out roads, we bottomed out a few times. Indonesians don't say oops or whoa, they say "Aduh!" So we got up halfway, took out our flashlights, and started walking. It was a full moon, so it wasn't too dark, but the cloud cover kinda hid the moon. After a little while, he stopped and lit his lantern. I remember it being very hot and humid, and you could see the steam rising off yourself. Fajar told me that you have to ask the forest for permission to take a whizz in the woods, or else be cursed. So I did... It was a long hike uphill, at least 2 clicks (km), and we were both sweating when we reached Sukamantri.
Formerly a WWII Japanese fortress, Sukamantri is now a campground. The exact location is 06 deg 40.533' S, 106 deg 45.093' E, according to my gps, about 33 km due south of my place in Depok. We set up camp, made some Indomie, Fajar played his guitar, it was cool. The next day is better...
6/1
6/1
Whew, what a weekend, I am exhausted. Friday was a national holiday, Buddha's day of enlightenment. I spent a good portion of the day at Margo City, the nice mall in Depok. I had lunch at Popeye's in Detos ascross the street, but they used the wrong oil, so my fried chicken tasted like fish, ick. Anyways, so I was in Margo, and I was browsing the book section, and there was a book on English Idioms, and I could not stop laughing at how poor the translations were. I got some comic books and a travel dictionary, and hung out in Starbuck's for a while.
I'm starting to pick up on the nuances of the language. Just about any noun can be turned into a verb, you just have to know the root word. Like, I didn't know what menyewaku meant, and it wasn't in the dictionary. I found the root word, sewa, which means "rent", you add "meny" and drop the "s", and you get menyewa, to rent. The -ku at the end is short for aku, I or me. So menyewaku means I rent.
So, then as I was walking to get an angkot home, it started pissing rain. In about 3 minutes, the streets were flooding, it was madness. But it stopped by the time I got to my stop, so that was good. What was not good is that it was still cloudy out, nearly 6pm (sun sets at 6 every day) and I had forgotten to take my bloody keys with me. Everyone was out for the day. Luckily Jeremy arrived after about 20 minutes and let me in. The rest of the evening it rained, but let up for a while so I could go to the Indomaret (like a 7-11) and get some supplies for the camping trip...
Whew, what a weekend, I am exhausted. Friday was a national holiday, Buddha's day of enlightenment. I spent a good portion of the day at Margo City, the nice mall in Depok. I had lunch at Popeye's in Detos ascross the street, but they used the wrong oil, so my fried chicken tasted like fish, ick. Anyways, so I was in Margo, and I was browsing the book section, and there was a book on English Idioms, and I could not stop laughing at how poor the translations were. I got some comic books and a travel dictionary, and hung out in Starbuck's for a while.
I'm starting to pick up on the nuances of the language. Just about any noun can be turned into a verb, you just have to know the root word. Like, I didn't know what menyewaku meant, and it wasn't in the dictionary. I found the root word, sewa, which means "rent", you add "meny" and drop the "s", and you get menyewa, to rent. The -ku at the end is short for aku, I or me. So menyewaku means I rent.
So, then as I was walking to get an angkot home, it started pissing rain. In about 3 minutes, the streets were flooding, it was madness. But it stopped by the time I got to my stop, so that was good. What was not good is that it was still cloudy out, nearly 6pm (sun sets at 6 every day) and I had forgotten to take my bloody keys with me. Everyone was out for the day. Luckily Jeremy arrived after about 20 minutes and let me in. The rest of the evening it rained, but let up for a while so I could go to the Indomaret (like a 7-11) and get some supplies for the camping trip...
Thursday, May 31, 2007
5/31
5/31
So today is Thursday, May 31st, and it's World No Smoking Day, so I'm gonna try not to smoke today. Indonesia is 5th in the world for smoking. They've been running ads and articles in the newspaper about it, but it's not really gonna make a difference. Cigarettes are so cheap here, about a buck a pack. And cigarette ads are all over tv, billboards, magazines. The trouble is, it is illegal to show anyone smoking in the ads, so they've been very creative. For example, about 1/4 of the ads on prime-time tv will show some extreme sport like mountain climbing or skydiving, and there will be no product shown throughout the entire commercial, but right at the end they will put "Djarum Black" in big letters, followed by the mandatory surgeon general's warning, that smoking causes cancer and impotency.
Billboards are really out there. Djarum just came out with "Djarum Cappucino", and they showed 10 white cups stacked up, with steam coming off the last one, so it resembled a cigarette.
I hate the traffic here, so I'm gonna rant on that for a few. Last night I got an angkot home from work, like normal. It was still rush hour, at 8:30 pm. I made the mistake of getting onto a completely empty angkot. See, when an angkot is full, it doesn't need to drive SO SLOWLY and STOP EVERY 100 FEET to try and pick up more passengers! So we pulled into the waiting area in front of Margo City and waited there for what must have been 10 minutes, and I was sweating my arse off, and the angkot driver is honking his horn, yelling at people to get in. I guess I can't blame him, but I had somewhere I had to be, and did not appreciate the wait. So, more people on the angkot, the faster it goes. Also, I don't know if i mentioned it before, but when you want him to stop and let you off, either knock a few times on the roof, or yell "kiri, mas!" which means, "left, sir" literally, but colloquially means pull over to the left side of the road, since they drive on the left over here.
Also in the news, May 29 marked 1 year since the mud volcano started erupting after a botched exploratory drilling program by PT Lapindo Brantas. 15,000 people have been displaced, and the toxic mud has already covered 1,500 acres. The latest plan is to build a 157-foot tall wall around it to try and contain it. It's a sad situation.
Well, I better be going, I have 2 classes today, and then the long weekend! It's some Hindu or Buddhist holiday tomorrow. So trims for reading, I appreciate the feedback, and I'll be back...
So today is Thursday, May 31st, and it's World No Smoking Day, so I'm gonna try not to smoke today. Indonesia is 5th in the world for smoking. They've been running ads and articles in the newspaper about it, but it's not really gonna make a difference. Cigarettes are so cheap here, about a buck a pack. And cigarette ads are all over tv, billboards, magazines. The trouble is, it is illegal to show anyone smoking in the ads, so they've been very creative. For example, about 1/4 of the ads on prime-time tv will show some extreme sport like mountain climbing or skydiving, and there will be no product shown throughout the entire commercial, but right at the end they will put "Djarum Black" in big letters, followed by the mandatory surgeon general's warning, that smoking causes cancer and impotency.
Billboards are really out there. Djarum just came out with "Djarum Cappucino", and they showed 10 white cups stacked up, with steam coming off the last one, so it resembled a cigarette.
I hate the traffic here, so I'm gonna rant on that for a few. Last night I got an angkot home from work, like normal. It was still rush hour, at 8:30 pm. I made the mistake of getting onto a completely empty angkot. See, when an angkot is full, it doesn't need to drive SO SLOWLY and STOP EVERY 100 FEET to try and pick up more passengers! So we pulled into the waiting area in front of Margo City and waited there for what must have been 10 minutes, and I was sweating my arse off, and the angkot driver is honking his horn, yelling at people to get in. I guess I can't blame him, but I had somewhere I had to be, and did not appreciate the wait. So, more people on the angkot, the faster it goes. Also, I don't know if i mentioned it before, but when you want him to stop and let you off, either knock a few times on the roof, or yell "kiri, mas!" which means, "left, sir" literally, but colloquially means pull over to the left side of the road, since they drive on the left over here.
Also in the news, May 29 marked 1 year since the mud volcano started erupting after a botched exploratory drilling program by PT Lapindo Brantas. 15,000 people have been displaced, and the toxic mud has already covered 1,500 acres. The latest plan is to build a 157-foot tall wall around it to try and contain it. It's a sad situation.
Well, I better be going, I have 2 classes today, and then the long weekend! It's some Hindu or Buddhist holiday tomorrow. So trims for reading, I appreciate the feedback, and I'll be back...
Thursday, May 24, 2007
5/21
5/21
FDA and FTC be damned, you wouldn't believe some of the crazy stuff for sale on the home shopping networks here. Remember the one for the belt that zaps your abs, supposedly giving you a workout? Well apparently it hasn't caused burning and scarring here, because they're still selling them. There's also a sauna belt. Somehow, I don't think that wrapping a hot metal band around your waist is gonna do much. The only before and after shots were computer generated, and totally unrealistic. There's also another machine, this one you stand on like a skateboard, and each side pumps up and down really fast. All it does is make the muscles and fat in your legs jiggle really fast. The host was shouting and pointing at the jiggling legs. This contraption is currently selling for around $400 US, and I can't imagine it doing much more than giving you muscle cramps. But it was fun to watch.
FDA and FTC be damned, you wouldn't believe some of the crazy stuff for sale on the home shopping networks here. Remember the one for the belt that zaps your abs, supposedly giving you a workout? Well apparently it hasn't caused burning and scarring here, because they're still selling them. There's also a sauna belt. Somehow, I don't think that wrapping a hot metal band around your waist is gonna do much. The only before and after shots were computer generated, and totally unrealistic. There's also another machine, this one you stand on like a skateboard, and each side pumps up and down really fast. All it does is make the muscles and fat in your legs jiggle really fast. The host was shouting and pointing at the jiggling legs. This contraption is currently selling for around $400 US, and I can't imagine it doing much more than giving you muscle cramps. But it was fun to watch.
Friday, May 18, 2007
5/18
5/18
It's Friday now, I've been busy for the last few days. Yesterday was a holiday, Ascension Day. Tuesday I was in Singapore. I took Garuda, and It was fairly quick. the cab picked me up at 3 a.m., so that was not cool, but everything went pretty smooth. Mr. Almad met me at the Hilton Hotel on Orchard Road in Singapore. I handed him the passport and a few hundred bucks, and he told me to meet him back here at 4. So I ended up wandering up and down Orchard Road all day. I would have liked to have gone to the Botanical Gardens, but it was raining all day. So I spent the day in Kinokuniya and Borders, 2 book stores. I got the new Foo Fighters live CD, the new book by Chuck Palahniuk, and Battle Royale. I ended up finding a wireless internet connection, which is how I posted the last update, and was able to call home with Skype. Not much else happened that day, I went to McDonald's and had the McSpicy, and chicken sandwich that gives Wendy's a run for their money. I also got a few magazines and candy bars.
So, at 4 I get my passport back, with my work visa in it and head to the airport. I went to the wrong terminal, so I took the monorail over. Oh, when I went to the duty free store, I saw an $11,000 bottle of scotch or rum or something, I took a picture, and I'll try and upload it sometime. Oh, and $1 US = $1.50 SGD.
Well, I think that's about it. I have a party class tonight, we're all going to Zoe's for dinner.
It's Friday now, I've been busy for the last few days. Yesterday was a holiday, Ascension Day. Tuesday I was in Singapore. I took Garuda, and It was fairly quick. the cab picked me up at 3 a.m., so that was not cool, but everything went pretty smooth. Mr. Almad met me at the Hilton Hotel on Orchard Road in Singapore. I handed him the passport and a few hundred bucks, and he told me to meet him back here at 4. So I ended up wandering up and down Orchard Road all day. I would have liked to have gone to the Botanical Gardens, but it was raining all day. So I spent the day in Kinokuniya and Borders, 2 book stores. I got the new Foo Fighters live CD, the new book by Chuck Palahniuk, and Battle Royale. I ended up finding a wireless internet connection, which is how I posted the last update, and was able to call home with Skype. Not much else happened that day, I went to McDonald's and had the McSpicy, and chicken sandwich that gives Wendy's a run for their money. I also got a few magazines and candy bars.
So, at 4 I get my passport back, with my work visa in it and head to the airport. I went to the wrong terminal, so I took the monorail over. Oh, when I went to the duty free store, I saw an $11,000 bottle of scotch or rum or something, I took a picture, and I'll try and upload it sometime. Oh, and $1 US = $1.50 SGD.
Well, I think that's about it. I have a party class tonight, we're all going to Zoe's for dinner.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
5/15
5/15
Ok, so I've got some down time, it's 5:30 a.m. and I'm in CGK airport waiting for my flight to Singapore. Yesterday was fairly uneventful, but I did get a cellphone.
Back to Sunday. We were driving through Bandung, on the way to Sukabumi, where the rapids are. It was really mountainous, but all the trees had been cut down and replanted with palms for cooking oil. A real shame, hundreds of acres of ugly, shorts palms replaced the rain forest that had been there. But Indonesia's facing severe cooking oil shortages. An even greater tragedy is that in a few years, when the trees are past their prime, they'll do a slash and burn, and probably send the dirt and sand overseas. Indonesia's been sending so much sand to Singapore that the government has had to hold special meetings on conservation and such.
Ok, so we drove through the mountains, past Gede Salak, the Snake-fruit mountain, past the former forests turned to palm plantations, past tea leaf farms and through several villages. The beggars in these parts don't tap on your window, they hold out butterfly nets, so you don't even have to slow down, just toss a few Rps and they'll catch em!
The peanut and cookie vendors tho, are ruthless. There were at least 6 guys selling the exact same thing, and every one of them asked us if we would buy something.
Ok, fast-forward to Sukabumi. We checked in, my tummy wasn't doing too well, but good enough. We were given a life jacket, a helmet, and a paddle, and led to the raft. The guide taught us a few basic commands, like forwards, backwards, duck, lean left or right. It was raining lightly, but the water level was normal.
The rapids were fairly tame, tho we did have a few close calls. After about 1/2 an hour we stopped for some kelapa muda, or young coconut. They hack the top off and give you a straw and a spoon. Felix got a "red one" that had a slight red tinge inside, and Meta said that those are the best. It was a lot sweeter than mine, I must say. But it didn't help my cramps any. So we floated onwards, down the river, saw a lot of dragonflies, and a bunch of 2-3 foot monitor lizards swimming and basking on rocks.
About 3/4 of the way through, we passed through a village where a bunch of naked boys were swimming. That didn't bother me too much, until they chased after us and 2 of them climbed into the boat. So they hung around for a few hundred meters and then we kicked them out.
Further down the river, more naked kids, this time they were yelling "Aqua Botol!" Aqua Botol is a brand of bottled water by Danone, and they use or recycle the plastic bottles for money or something. I've seen kids fill them with sand and shake them like a tambourine while begging for money.
Ok, so when we finished, they had a couple of action photos for sale, only Rp. 12,500. We were all soaked, and we crammed into an anggkot. Driving to the Augusta Hotel in Palabuhan Ratu, we passed by what looked like prisons. They were huge concrete structures 3 stories high, without windows, only tiny little holes, surrounded by fence and barbed wire. Apparently, they are used for swallows.
Swallows go in, make their nests by coughing up a gooey substance, and then the nests are sold for soup. Yum.
Ok, battery low, so I'll finish with posting some pictures of inside Senayan City, the 6 story mall I talked about last week.
You can't see it in the pics, but there's at least 1 basement level as well, with a Burger King.
Ok, so I've got some down time, it's 5:30 a.m. and I'm in CGK airport waiting for my flight to Singapore. Yesterday was fairly uneventful, but I did get a cellphone.
Back to Sunday. We were driving through Bandung, on the way to Sukabumi, where the rapids are. It was really mountainous, but all the trees had been cut down and replanted with palms for cooking oil. A real shame, hundreds of acres of ugly, shorts palms replaced the rain forest that had been there. But Indonesia's facing severe cooking oil shortages. An even greater tragedy is that in a few years, when the trees are past their prime, they'll do a slash and burn, and probably send the dirt and sand overseas. Indonesia's been sending so much sand to Singapore that the government has had to hold special meetings on conservation and such.
Ok, so we drove through the mountains, past Gede Salak, the Snake-fruit mountain, past the former forests turned to palm plantations, past tea leaf farms and through several villages. The beggars in these parts don't tap on your window, they hold out butterfly nets, so you don't even have to slow down, just toss a few Rps and they'll catch em!
The peanut and cookie vendors tho, are ruthless. There were at least 6 guys selling the exact same thing, and every one of them asked us if we would buy something.
Ok, fast-forward to Sukabumi. We checked in, my tummy wasn't doing too well, but good enough. We were given a life jacket, a helmet, and a paddle, and led to the raft. The guide taught us a few basic commands, like forwards, backwards, duck, lean left or right. It was raining lightly, but the water level was normal.
The rapids were fairly tame, tho we did have a few close calls. After about 1/2 an hour we stopped for some kelapa muda, or young coconut. They hack the top off and give you a straw and a spoon. Felix got a "red one" that had a slight red tinge inside, and Meta said that those are the best. It was a lot sweeter than mine, I must say. But it didn't help my cramps any. So we floated onwards, down the river, saw a lot of dragonflies, and a bunch of 2-3 foot monitor lizards swimming and basking on rocks.
About 3/4 of the way through, we passed through a village where a bunch of naked boys were swimming. That didn't bother me too much, until they chased after us and 2 of them climbed into the boat. So they hung around for a few hundred meters and then we kicked them out.
Further down the river, more naked kids, this time they were yelling "Aqua Botol!" Aqua Botol is a brand of bottled water by Danone, and they use or recycle the plastic bottles for money or something. I've seen kids fill them with sand and shake them like a tambourine while begging for money.
Ok, so when we finished, they had a couple of action photos for sale, only Rp. 12,500. We were all soaked, and we crammed into an anggkot. Driving to the Augusta Hotel in Palabuhan Ratu, we passed by what looked like prisons. They were huge concrete structures 3 stories high, without windows, only tiny little holes, surrounded by fence and barbed wire. Apparently, they are used for swallows.
Swallows go in, make their nests by coughing up a gooey substance, and then the nests are sold for soup. Yum.
Ok, battery low, so I'll finish with posting some pictures of inside Senayan City, the 6 story mall I talked about last week.
You can't see it in the pics, but there's at least 1 basement level as well, with a Burger King.
5/13
5/13
Urg, my head hurts so bad... We went rafting today, left @ 8:30, it's about 10 p.m. now. I've got a low-grade fever, I can't stop urinating, and every time I drink, my stomach clenches up. I've had loads of pepto tablets, they did nothing. We stopped and got some anti-diarrheal tabs, they didn't help much. When we got to the Sundanese place @ around 11:30, I had to go, bad.
I don't recall ever using an Indonesian toilet before, so I'll tell you how to do it. You should probably first remove your pants @ etc. Squat over the porcelain hole in the floor with the water in it. Make sure the bucket @ scoop are on your right side. Squat. When you're finished, use the scoop and flush the hole. If you've gone #2, pour the water down your backside and use your left hand to rinse yourself. When you're done, rinse off the hand using the water from the scoop (don't swish your hand in the bucket, that's gross) and put your pants back on. Go outside around the corner, and hopefully there will be a sink with soap. This is why Indo's don't eat with their left hands.
I'm to worn out to continue, but we took about 3 hrs to get there, 3 hrs doing the rapids, and then had lunch @ Hotel Augusta in Palabuhan Ratu. I did not feel well at the hotel...
Here's a picture of money. The highest note in Rupiah is the 100,000 bill. $1=9,000 but don't try and break at hundred at a local vendor, they usually can't.
Urg, my head hurts so bad... We went rafting today, left @ 8:30, it's about 10 p.m. now. I've got a low-grade fever, I can't stop urinating, and every time I drink, my stomach clenches up. I've had loads of pepto tablets, they did nothing. We stopped and got some anti-diarrheal tabs, they didn't help much. When we got to the Sundanese place @ around 11:30, I had to go, bad.
I don't recall ever using an Indonesian toilet before, so I'll tell you how to do it. You should probably first remove your pants @ etc. Squat over the porcelain hole in the floor with the water in it. Make sure the bucket @ scoop are on your right side. Squat. When you're finished, use the scoop and flush the hole. If you've gone #2, pour the water down your backside and use your left hand to rinse yourself. When you're done, rinse off the hand using the water from the scoop (don't swish your hand in the bucket, that's gross) and put your pants back on. Go outside around the corner, and hopefully there will be a sink with soap. This is why Indo's don't eat with their left hands.
I'm to worn out to continue, but we took about 3 hrs to get there, 3 hrs doing the rapids, and then had lunch @ Hotel Augusta in Palabuhan Ratu. I did not feel well at the hotel...
Here's a picture of money. The highest note in Rupiah is the 100,000 bill. $1=9,000 but don't try and break at hundred at a local vendor, they usually can't.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
5/12
5/12
Not much news today, I had to sit in on Chrystina's conversation class and observe. Not my ideal way to spend a Saturday. We did karaoke at the end, and I was in tears laughing.
I think I've got some stomach bug or something, I'm all achy and I have a serious case of the runs.
Went to Pondok Indah today. There's actually 2 malls, Pondok Indah I and II. I can't tell them apart, but one is on each side of a highway, and there's a skywalk connecting them. They both are about 3-4 floors and absolutely huge. Cab fare coming back was about 60,000. Took about 45 minutes I think, I kinda fell asleep. I got a card reader, so hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures. Well, gotta run, tomorrow I'm doing the rafting thing and I want to make sure I'm rested.
--jared
Not much news today, I had to sit in on Chrystina's conversation class and observe. Not my ideal way to spend a Saturday. We did karaoke at the end, and I was in tears laughing.
I think I've got some stomach bug or something, I'm all achy and I have a serious case of the runs.
Went to Pondok Indah today. There's actually 2 malls, Pondok Indah I and II. I can't tell them apart, but one is on each side of a highway, and there's a skywalk connecting them. They both are about 3-4 floors and absolutely huge. Cab fare coming back was about 60,000. Took about 45 minutes I think, I kinda fell asleep. I got a card reader, so hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures. Well, gotta run, tomorrow I'm doing the rafting thing and I want to make sure I'm rested.
--jared
Friday, May 11, 2007
5/11
5/11
Hooray for casual Fridays! So I took an ojek in today, and the driver tried to squeeze in between 2 trucks, and we nearly crashed. We ended up missing our turn, had to go on the highway, turn around, big mess. I'm very disappointed.
Last night we went to a steak restaurant, Kabonk!, I think is the name. I had the imported T-bone, which was about 2.5x the price of a local steak. Still a good deal at around $4.50 including veggies and fries. Steaks here are really thin tho, and mine came slathered in BBQ sauce, ick.
I went to Carrefour today to try and find a cable to download my pics off my CF card, and came up empty. I'm gonna try and find one at one of the bigger malls.
Ooh, so Sunday I'm going white water rafting in Sukabumi (sp?) with a couple of the teachers, should be fun. And I'm trying to look up the Betawi H3, they run on Saturdays, which is good because the Jakarta Hash only runs on Mondays, and I have classes. So I'll keep ya posted.
Catch ya later,
--jared
Hooray for casual Fridays! So I took an ojek in today, and the driver tried to squeeze in between 2 trucks, and we nearly crashed. We ended up missing our turn, had to go on the highway, turn around, big mess. I'm very disappointed.
Last night we went to a steak restaurant, Kabonk!, I think is the name. I had the imported T-bone, which was about 2.5x the price of a local steak. Still a good deal at around $4.50 including veggies and fries. Steaks here are really thin tho, and mine came slathered in BBQ sauce, ick.
I went to Carrefour today to try and find a cable to download my pics off my CF card, and came up empty. I'm gonna try and find one at one of the bigger malls.
Ooh, so Sunday I'm going white water rafting in Sukabumi (sp?) with a couple of the teachers, should be fun. And I'm trying to look up the Betawi H3, they run on Saturdays, which is good because the Jakarta Hash only runs on Mondays, and I have classes. So I'll keep ya posted.
Catch ya later,
--jared
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
5/9
5/9
It is Wednesday night right now, and I'm chillin' at the warnet next to work. Everyone's playing Warcraft, and there's loud rock n roll music playing.
Last night after classes ended, we piled into a car and rode to one of the malls down the street, because David had to exchange a shirt for the right size. After that was done, David and I had dinner at a little Italian Cafe next to the mall. David was well-known there, and they already knew what he wanted. The owner of the place asked me if I was a student here, and I told him that I was a new English teacher. He asked me, "Where are you from?" and I told him the US. Then he gave me the iciest stare o-O... David later said, "I felt that too! what was that about??"
That's the first time I've had any anti-American sentiment since I've been here. Anyways, the food came, and I couldn't find any loogies on the pizza, so I guess it was just a knee-jerk reaction...
So we took an angkot home, and Felix had just started the movie "Wild Wild West". I hadn't seen it before, and it was pretty funny. Felix says that all he does is watch movies. They're cheap, like 3 or 4 bucks for a DVD (pirated of course) and great quality.
Umm... lemme see, this morning I took an ojek to work to get a head start on planning for my classes. It's the High Flyer class that kills me. More than half the time is spent trying to keep the rugrats under control. Ariq and Nina are the worst little brats with A.D.D. that I've ever seen. They can't sit still, arg it drives me crazy. I also had my Trailblazers class, teenagers and preteens. They were good, but at the end of class Jonatan yelled out an expletive to another classmate, and had a look of death in his eyes. I pulled him aside after class, and asked if everything was ok. I've never seen anything like that before from such a young kid during a class (he's 11). Meta told me that he's been warned about that stuff. Jeremy kinda laughed and said he probably doesn't even know what it means. I tend to agree with Meta on this one, because he was clearly angry about something.
Well, I'm heading out, I'm meeting Meta for dinner at Zoe tonight. She said her driver can take me to convert my traveler's checks to rupiah tomorrow, which is good because I'm low on cash.
tata for now, and leave me some comments if you like!
--jared
It is Wednesday night right now, and I'm chillin' at the warnet next to work. Everyone's playing Warcraft, and there's loud rock n roll music playing.
Last night after classes ended, we piled into a car and rode to one of the malls down the street, because David had to exchange a shirt for the right size. After that was done, David and I had dinner at a little Italian Cafe next to the mall. David was well-known there, and they already knew what he wanted. The owner of the place asked me if I was a student here, and I told him that I was a new English teacher. He asked me, "Where are you from?" and I told him the US. Then he gave me the iciest stare o-O... David later said, "I felt that too! what was that about??"
That's the first time I've had any anti-American sentiment since I've been here. Anyways, the food came, and I couldn't find any loogies on the pizza, so I guess it was just a knee-jerk reaction...
So we took an angkot home, and Felix had just started the movie "Wild Wild West". I hadn't seen it before, and it was pretty funny. Felix says that all he does is watch movies. They're cheap, like 3 or 4 bucks for a DVD (pirated of course) and great quality.
Umm... lemme see, this morning I took an ojek to work to get a head start on planning for my classes. It's the High Flyer class that kills me. More than half the time is spent trying to keep the rugrats under control. Ariq and Nina are the worst little brats with A.D.D. that I've ever seen. They can't sit still, arg it drives me crazy. I also had my Trailblazers class, teenagers and preteens. They were good, but at the end of class Jonatan yelled out an expletive to another classmate, and had a look of death in his eyes. I pulled him aside after class, and asked if everything was ok. I've never seen anything like that before from such a young kid during a class (he's 11). Meta told me that he's been warned about that stuff. Jeremy kinda laughed and said he probably doesn't even know what it means. I tend to agree with Meta on this one, because he was clearly angry about something.
Well, I'm heading out, I'm meeting Meta for dinner at Zoe tonight. She said her driver can take me to convert my traveler's checks to rupiah tomorrow, which is good because I'm low on cash.
tata for now, and leave me some comments if you like!
--jared
Monday, May 7, 2007
5/6
5/6
Blah, this blog is getting to be a pain. It's Sunday night. This morning we all got up early and saw Spiderman 3 at Planet Hollywood in Jakarta. We met up @ 6:30 at the school but the durn movie didn't end up starting till 10. I loved Venom, great evil character. After the movie, we went to a hu8ge mall in Jakarta. Lots of high-end stuff there. When you walk in, Louis Vuitton is on your right, and Versace is on your left. It was 5 or 6 stories of shops, food, supermarkets, etc. They just opened up a Burger King on the basement level, and I heard that people stood in line for 2 hours to eat there! Lunch today was a lamb kebab roll-up and a Nutella and cheese crepe. We tried to go bowling, but it was league night, so we ended up playing pool instead. After all that, we were beat so we took a cab home.
Blah, this blog is getting to be a pain. It's Sunday night. This morning we all got up early and saw Spiderman 3 at Planet Hollywood in Jakarta. We met up @ 6:30 at the school but the durn movie didn't end up starting till 10. I loved Venom, great evil character. After the movie, we went to a hu8ge mall in Jakarta. Lots of high-end stuff there. When you walk in, Louis Vuitton is on your right, and Versace is on your left. It was 5 or 6 stories of shops, food, supermarkets, etc. They just opened up a Burger King on the basement level, and I heard that people stood in line for 2 hours to eat there! Lunch today was a lamb kebab roll-up and a Nutella and cheese crepe. We tried to go bowling, but it was league night, so we ended up playing pool instead. After all that, we were beat so we took a cab home.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
5/5
5/5
Last night I had my High Flyers class, mostly screwed around & played games. Did a few minutes of origami at the end, but none of us could figure out the instructions. Then I had the General English class, all young adults, mostly around my age. I like that class, too bad it ends next week. They were all really interested in me & asked a lot of questions. We talked about taboos in American & Indonesian culture. Talked about sports, food, & cost of living in America vs. Indonesia. It really is interesting to note that the U.S. is really a melting pot of cultures. I can't walk down the street without several people calling out "Hallo Meester" or "bule!", which is a slightly derisive term used to describe a foreigner. But an Indonesian wouldn't get a 2nd glance in the States.
After work, I had some nasi goreng at the Bubur Ayam warung next door, a slightly shady looking place, but really cheap & quite tasty. The one bad thing is the place attracts cats. I think I may have mentioned this before, but I want to re-state that the cats here are quite disgusting. They make awful screeching noises like a dying animal, they are always filthy, and several of them walk around with open sores. It's really hard to enjoy your bubur ayam (porridge with chicken) when a cat with oozing red sores is rubbing up against your leg.
So today, Felix, Sheley and I are going to Citos (pronounced Chee-tohs) Mall, somewhere on the way to Pondok Indah. They have wireless internet. You have to pay for it, but it is supposed to be pretty decent.
Oh, one last thing, I watched some tv this morning. I was really excited when Spongebob came on, but was fairly disappointed that it had been dubbed into Indo, and not subtitled. It was an episode that I had seen before, so it was pretty easy to follow. The voice actors did a good job sounding like the original characters. I changed the channel for a bit, and came across a chow where 2 teams were scrambling around in a kitchen. It took a second, but then I recognized the format - Iron Chef! Yes, Indonesia has its own official version of Iron Chef on channel Indosiar. It was great fun. At the judging they show all the ingredients & measurements for each dish, presumably so you can make it at home. The judges seemed unimpressed with the Iron Chef's dishes, but she still won. (By the way, the theme ingredient was tomato)
Last night I had my High Flyers class, mostly screwed around & played games. Did a few minutes of origami at the end, but none of us could figure out the instructions. Then I had the General English class, all young adults, mostly around my age. I like that class, too bad it ends next week. They were all really interested in me & asked a lot of questions. We talked about taboos in American & Indonesian culture. Talked about sports, food, & cost of living in America vs. Indonesia. It really is interesting to note that the U.S. is really a melting pot of cultures. I can't walk down the street without several people calling out "Hallo Meester" or "bule!", which is a slightly derisive term used to describe a foreigner. But an Indonesian wouldn't get a 2nd glance in the States.
After work, I had some nasi goreng at the Bubur Ayam warung next door, a slightly shady looking place, but really cheap & quite tasty. The one bad thing is the place attracts cats. I think I may have mentioned this before, but I want to re-state that the cats here are quite disgusting. They make awful screeching noises like a dying animal, they are always filthy, and several of them walk around with open sores. It's really hard to enjoy your bubur ayam (porridge with chicken) when a cat with oozing red sores is rubbing up against your leg.
So today, Felix, Sheley and I are going to Citos (pronounced Chee-tohs) Mall, somewhere on the way to Pondok Indah. They have wireless internet. You have to pay for it, but it is supposed to be pretty decent.
Oh, one last thing, I watched some tv this morning. I was really excited when Spongebob came on, but was fairly disappointed that it had been dubbed into Indo, and not subtitled. It was an episode that I had seen before, so it was pretty easy to follow. The voice actors did a good job sounding like the original characters. I changed the channel for a bit, and came across a chow where 2 teams were scrambling around in a kitchen. It took a second, but then I recognized the format - Iron Chef! Yes, Indonesia has its own official version of Iron Chef on channel Indosiar. It was great fun. At the judging they show all the ingredients & measurements for each dish, presumably so you can make it at home. The judges seemed unimpressed with the Iron Chef's dishes, but she still won. (By the way, the theme ingredient was tomato)
Friday, May 4, 2007
5/4
5/4
Last night-Pizza Hut. Had the Meat Lover's personal pizza, with the cheese-in-the-crust. They also had the "chicken sausage" in the crust, but I passed. 4 people @ the table, and the bill came to Rp. 160,000. As I have said before, the Rupiah is about 9,000 to the dollar, so do the math.
Found a wireless hotspot today. AOL Instant messenger worked, but internet didn't. Talked to Eric for a few minutes. Mom and dad weren't on Skype :( but it was about midnite, so they were probably asleep anyways. Anyways, gotta go prepare for my classes. Talk to ya later!
Last night-Pizza Hut. Had the Meat Lover's personal pizza, with the cheese-in-the-crust. They also had the "chicken sausage" in the crust, but I passed. 4 people @ the table, and the bill came to Rp. 160,000. As I have said before, the Rupiah is about 9,000 to the dollar, so do the math.
Found a wireless hotspot today. AOL Instant messenger worked, but internet didn't. Talked to Eric for a few minutes. Mom and dad weren't on Skype :( but it was about midnite, so they were probably asleep anyways. Anyways, gotta go prepare for my classes. Talk to ya later!
5/3
5/3
I had my High Flyers class again last night. Much better this time around. Sang a few somngs, did some classwork, etc. Got to remember to pace myself & not spend too much time on a single student. Also, keep the buggers under control.
Got a few tings from Carrefour, the supermarket across the way. Beer is cheap. I got some clog remover for the tub, but it isn't working. Have to remember to get some heavier-duty stuff + also a plunger. Today will be an easy day, just sitting in & observing. I'm dreading tomorrow. I teach the High Flyers AND I'm taking over Rachel's class. I think they're just finishing up tho. We'll see.
Had plans to go to the pool today, but I slept in. Meta treated us to Zoe last night, and my tummy was a bit upset this morning. So it's about 11:30 am now. I did a load of laundry (no dryer, tho, have to line-dry) and watched Oprah this morning (Also, I was told by Felix, that's not detergent, that's just fabric softener, so I'll have to do it again. he told me for the 1st 2 months he was here, he washed his clothes with just fabric softener. So they smelled nice, but weren't really clean). I'd like to go to the warnet this morning before work.
I had my High Flyers class again last night. Much better this time around. Sang a few somngs, did some classwork, etc. Got to remember to pace myself & not spend too much time on a single student. Also, keep the buggers under control.
Got a few tings from Carrefour, the supermarket across the way. Beer is cheap. I got some clog remover for the tub, but it isn't working. Have to remember to get some heavier-duty stuff + also a plunger. Today will be an easy day, just sitting in & observing. I'm dreading tomorrow. I teach the High Flyers AND I'm taking over Rachel's class. I think they're just finishing up tho. We'll see.
Had plans to go to the pool today, but I slept in. Meta treated us to Zoe last night, and my tummy was a bit upset this morning. So it's about 11:30 am now. I did a load of laundry (no dryer, tho, have to line-dry) and watched Oprah this morning (Also, I was told by Felix, that's not detergent, that's just fabric softener, so I'll have to do it again. he told me for the 1st 2 months he was here, he washed his clothes with just fabric softener. So they smelled nice, but weren't really clean). I'd like to go to the warnet this morning before work.
5/1
5/1
Yesterday was my first class with the High Fliers. Young kids, mostly brats. I didn't do too bad, but Meta came in & helped out.
Also, worth mentioning is that I walked to work. I took my GPS & it's about 1.75 miles. By Ojek, it's about Rp. 10,000 & by Angkot it's Rp. 1,500. (It's about Rp. 9,000 to the dollar) Ojeks are hired motorcycles and Angkots are little blue minivans with a bench in the back. So either way, it's really cheap & quick to get to and from work.
Today I took a walk to Mall Depok, about 15 min. away. They don't open till 9:30, so I walked the other way. I was looking for a bank to change my money and was coming up short. I had $170 and no rupiah. I did find a bank that would do it, and got a pretty good exch. rate (9,100 Rp. / dollar). They only took the 20'a tho. Also, I have a wad of traveler's checks, but I didn't ask about them.
The company van picked me up today. They had picked up Kristina from the hospital. She had her appendix removed. She also can NOT stop complaining.
--Note to self: Get some more button-down shirts. Polo's are a no-no, except on casual Friday.
Today I sat in on David's Trailblazers class. *yawn* Also Sheley's General English class. She can motivate them. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. They asked a bunch of questions about me, it was fun.
After classes, Felix, David, and I went to Cafe' Zoe. I had a really good Nasi Goreng pedas. After dinner we got a shisha, which is this 2-foot tall water bong with flavored tobacco. Rp. 30,000 split 3 ways means we hit that pipe for nearly an hour for about a buck a piece. We took an angkot home, and that's where I am now. It's about 11 p.m., so I'm gonna watch some tv and hit the hay. I'm teaching the High Flyers again tomorrow!
--nite
Yesterday was my first class with the High Fliers. Young kids, mostly brats. I didn't do too bad, but Meta came in & helped out.
Also, worth mentioning is that I walked to work. I took my GPS & it's about 1.75 miles. By Ojek, it's about Rp. 10,000 & by Angkot it's Rp. 1,500. (It's about Rp. 9,000 to the dollar) Ojeks are hired motorcycles and Angkots are little blue minivans with a bench in the back. So either way, it's really cheap & quick to get to and from work.
Today I took a walk to Mall Depok, about 15 min. away. They don't open till 9:30, so I walked the other way. I was looking for a bank to change my money and was coming up short. I had $170 and no rupiah. I did find a bank that would do it, and got a pretty good exch. rate (9,100 Rp. / dollar). They only took the 20'a tho. Also, I have a wad of traveler's checks, but I didn't ask about them.
The company van picked me up today. They had picked up Kristina from the hospital. She had her appendix removed. She also can NOT stop complaining.
--Note to self: Get some more button-down shirts. Polo's are a no-no, except on casual Friday.
Today I sat in on David's Trailblazers class. *yawn* Also Sheley's General English class. She can motivate them. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. They asked a bunch of questions about me, it was fun.
After classes, Felix, David, and I went to Cafe' Zoe. I had a really good Nasi Goreng pedas. After dinner we got a shisha, which is this 2-foot tall water bong with flavored tobacco. Rp. 30,000 split 3 ways means we hit that pipe for nearly an hour for about a buck a piece. We took an angkot home, and that's where I am now. It's about 11 p.m., so I'm gonna watch some tv and hit the hay. I'm teaching the High Flyers again tomorrow!
--nite
Monday, April 30, 2007
4/30
Nope, woke up @ 4:30 on 4/30 (actually, here it]'s 30/4). And just in time for morning prayers. It's kind of chilling to hear the wailing all around you. It's a little breezy on the roof, and in the middle of everyone singing "Allah ackbar!!", I saw a shooting star zip through the smog. That freaked me out to no end, so I hurried down and sat in my room. I could go for some nasi uduk right about now. I haven't eaten since the wedding about 14 hours ago.
...
I decided to take my gps and walk to work. it's about 1.75 miles from the apartment. On the way I stopped by Margo City. I got some pastries then some drinks. Walked the rest of the way to work, and I was a bit early, so I came to the internet cafe'. And that's where I am now. It's a few minutes past noon, and I'm gonna try and find something to eat. The other day I had McDonald's. They deliver. I had a burger and fries. Almost nobody uses ketchup, but copious amounts of sambal chili sauce squirted onto fries and burgers. Also, McDonalds serves fried chicken and spaghetti.
Ok, well I'm gonna go. TTYL!
...
I decided to take my gps and walk to work. it's about 1.75 miles from the apartment. On the way I stopped by Margo City. I got some pastries then some drinks. Walked the rest of the way to work, and I was a bit early, so I came to the internet cafe'. And that's where I am now. It's a few minutes past noon, and I'm gonna try and find something to eat. The other day I had McDonald's. They deliver. I had a burger and fries. Almost nobody uses ketchup, but copious amounts of sambal chili sauce squirted onto fries and burgers. Also, McDonalds serves fried chicken and spaghetti.
Ok, well I'm gonna go. TTYL!
4/29
4/29
Whew! I'm knackered like cream crackers. Today -- well, let me back up to last night for a sec.
We went to Amigo's, a mostly expat restaurant/bar. Mexican food & Bintangs (the local Budweiser) all 'round. They had a live band, which was pretty decent (Well, as decent as Indonesians singing Jimmy Buffett & La Bamba can be!). And then they played "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and I broke down. I had to excuse myself. Meta saw, & looked concerned. Apart from that, a good evening overall. The 2nd band sang more upbeat, contemporary stuff like Shakira.
I woke up this morning around 4:30, just in time for the morning prayers, Actually, it was the cat who had snuck into the kitchen that woke me up. It was making this awful sound, like a dying bird, or a baby. Strange thing about the cats here, they are all regarded like vermin. And almost all of them have really short tails, like they had been bobbed off.
...
So today we went to a wedding (actually, just the reception) of one of the former office girls @ EF. I was for sure the tallest & whitest person there, and there were @ least 1,500 people there. There was a LOT of food, and I tried to sample as much as I could. Everything was delicious. Lots of photo ops as well.
After that, Meta drove us to Pondok Indah. Big mall, lots of shops. Too bad I still haven't gone to the money changer. I got an iced coffee drink with Felix & Sheley. Felix is cool, he's from Colorado. Sheley's a hot ticket. Too bad she's ultra religious & a prude lol. Felix says they've been wearing her down. Saw a little of the Red Sox game vs. the Yankees. Wakefield was pitching, I think? Came home and crashed. Teaching tomorrow, so I gotta get some SLEEP. I predict I'm gonna wake up ~ 5:30. We'll see, it's been an hour later every night. I gotta go to bed, even tho it's only 8:30. Nite!
Whew! I'm knackered like cream crackers. Today -- well, let me back up to last night for a sec.
We went to Amigo's, a mostly expat restaurant/bar. Mexican food & Bintangs (the local Budweiser) all 'round. They had a live band, which was pretty decent (Well, as decent as Indonesians singing Jimmy Buffett & La Bamba can be!). And then they played "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and I broke down. I had to excuse myself. Meta saw, & looked concerned. Apart from that, a good evening overall. The 2nd band sang more upbeat, contemporary stuff like Shakira.
I woke up this morning around 4:30, just in time for the morning prayers, Actually, it was the cat who had snuck into the kitchen that woke me up. It was making this awful sound, like a dying bird, or a baby. Strange thing about the cats here, they are all regarded like vermin. And almost all of them have really short tails, like they had been bobbed off.
...
So today we went to a wedding (actually, just the reception) of one of the former office girls @ EF. I was for sure the tallest & whitest person there, and there were @ least 1,500 people there. There was a LOT of food, and I tried to sample as much as I could. Everything was delicious. Lots of photo ops as well.
After that, Meta drove us to Pondok Indah. Big mall, lots of shops. Too bad I still haven't gone to the money changer. I got an iced coffee drink with Felix & Sheley. Felix is cool, he's from Colorado. Sheley's a hot ticket. Too bad she's ultra religious & a prude lol. Felix says they've been wearing her down. Saw a little of the Red Sox game vs. the Yankees. Wakefield was pitching, I think? Came home and crashed. Teaching tomorrow, so I gotta get some SLEEP. I predict I'm gonna wake up ~ 5:30. We'll see, it's been an hour later every night. I gotta go to bed, even tho it's only 8:30. Nite!
4/28
4/28
Good morning! It's a little after 3. I'm still adjusting to the time difference. Yesterday was interesting. I sat in with Meta as she taught some young children. They were cute. Ha-young is adorable. Robby is a spoiled brat. We basically played games for most of class & then checked homework. After class, Meta treated me to dinner @ Cafe' Zoe. We had steak & fries and a milkshake. Delicious! Then we drove to the mall & I got a towel & Meta bought me a beer & some toiletries. When I got home, I watched a little TV & fell asleep on the couch. I'm going in @ 11 tomorrow, so I should get some sleep. I can't believe I'm going to start teaching on Monday! --Nite.
Good morning! It's a little after 3. I'm still adjusting to the time difference. Yesterday was interesting. I sat in with Meta as she taught some young children. They were cute. Ha-young is adorable. Robby is a spoiled brat. We basically played games for most of class & then checked homework. After class, Meta treated me to dinner @ Cafe' Zoe. We had steak & fries and a milkshake. Delicious! Then we drove to the mall & I got a towel & Meta bought me a beer & some toiletries. When I got home, I watched a little TV & fell asleep on the couch. I'm going in @ 11 tomorrow, so I should get some sleep. I can't believe I'm going to start teaching on Monday! --Nite.
4/27
4/27
It's half past noon. My room is fairly nice, if small. We (Jeremy and I) got some coffee this morning & chatted. We took a bus to an internet cafe' near the school, and I e-mailed home. I'm still very tired, and the heat isn't helping. I need TP, a towel, some writing instruments (I was still writing in pencil) and I need to convert my dollars into Rupiah.
We are going to a party @ EF. Rachel is leaving & I am starting.
It's half past noon. My room is fairly nice, if small. We (Jeremy and I) got some coffee this morning & chatted. We took a bus to an internet cafe' near the school, and I e-mailed home. I'm still very tired, and the heat isn't helping. I need TP, a towel, some writing instruments (I was still writing in pencil) and I need to convert my dollars into Rupiah.
We are going to a party @ EF. Rachel is leaving & I am starting.
4/26
4/26
I'm not sure what day it is, but it's fairly early in the morning. I just had a huge ham & cheese Hot Pocket. Also, is the size of the drink they give inversely proportional to the size of the meal? A %#&@% 2-lb hot pocket and they gave me about 3/4 of a cup of O.J. And it wasn't even good O.J. It looked kinda gray and definitely from concentrate.
...
My watch says it's 10:25, I think I set it to Taipei time.
Last night's movie was Bobby and it was dreadful. You'd think that with Anthony Hopkins, Marc Wahlberg & Lindsay Lohan, they could put on a decent show!
And now what is this? Mtv Films' "Freedom Writers"?? And someone really needs to adjust the tracking on this film.
OH GREAT, ANOTHER REHASH OF Stand and Deliver, Dangerous Minds, The Substiture, etc.
...
Ok, so the movie wasn't TERRIBLE, but I've seen the same story a bunch of times before. Now they're playing Pink Panther cartoons.
Flying over Taipei soon. Less than 4 hours till Taipei. I feel good. A little tired, but not too bad. My watch says 3:30, but I don't know if that's right. The sun is out. The plane got very chilly. I never got my ramen Noodles!
I really wanted to layover in Tokyo :-/
It has occurred to me that I am writing everything in pen. That means any mistakes stay on file.
You know, I probably would have paid more for this flight if they showed better movies... At least they're feeding us fairly well. Even if I didn't get that ramen >:-o
Dinner (or lunch? I thought it was more like breakfast time) was beef lasagna with veggies, a roll, egg salad, and fresh fruit, and a glass of wine. Very nice overall.
This movie (The Thief Lord) is utter garbage!
Amazing! Even though we can't smoke on the plane, the girls are carting around with cartons of smokes for sale.
$#&%!!! $12 a CARTON? How couldn't I? I just got 1. (I later found out a carton of Marlboro Lights can be purchased at any supermarket here for around Rp. 88,000, or about $10.)
11:20 a.m. I think. Taipei came and went. It looks like we're halfway through Borneo. Lunch was chicken & rice with a lettuce, shrimp & lotus root salad, fruit salad, & coconut custard. Not bad, but the chicken was kinda fatty.
I saw (Casino Royale. The rest of the day and tomorrow I wrote in pencil.)
Looks like I lost my pen. So the first thing that hits you when you step off the plane is the heat and humidity. Imigrasi was no problem. I was picked up at the airport, and driven to meet Meta. She is awesome. The school looks really nice. The office girls asked if I was a model. LOL! Driving to the apartment, I saw a bunch of kids (4-12) begging for $. They stand outside your car & tap on the window :-( sad. (I remarked to Meta that I had seen this, and she said, "You didn't give them any money did you? You know they're organized?" She warned me not to roll down the window around them, and just look the other way. Scary!!) We got pizza (BTW, pizza here comes with chili sauce and ketchup) and apparently "sausage" means sliced hot dogs.
I met Sheley, Felix, Rachel & David. We watched Night of the Living Dead & ate pizza. Talked about one of the teachers who is being a royal pain in the (butt).
I'm not sure what day it is, but it's fairly early in the morning. I just had a huge ham & cheese Hot Pocket. Also, is the size of the drink they give inversely proportional to the size of the meal? A %#&@% 2-lb hot pocket and they gave me about 3/4 of a cup of O.J. And it wasn't even good O.J. It looked kinda gray and definitely from concentrate.
...
My watch says it's 10:25, I think I set it to Taipei time.
Last night's movie was Bobby and it was dreadful. You'd think that with Anthony Hopkins, Marc Wahlberg & Lindsay Lohan, they could put on a decent show!
And now what is this? Mtv Films' "Freedom Writers"?? And someone really needs to adjust the tracking on this film.
OH GREAT, ANOTHER REHASH OF Stand and Deliver, Dangerous Minds, The Substiture, etc.
...
Ok, so the movie wasn't TERRIBLE, but I've seen the same story a bunch of times before. Now they're playing Pink Panther cartoons.
Flying over Taipei soon. Less than 4 hours till Taipei. I feel good. A little tired, but not too bad. My watch says 3:30, but I don't know if that's right. The sun is out. The plane got very chilly. I never got my ramen Noodles!
I really wanted to layover in Tokyo :-/
It has occurred to me that I am writing everything in pen. That means any mistakes stay on file.
You know, I probably would have paid more for this flight if they showed better movies... At least they're feeding us fairly well. Even if I didn't get that ramen >:-o
Dinner (or lunch? I thought it was more like breakfast time) was beef lasagna with veggies, a roll, egg salad, and fresh fruit, and a glass of wine. Very nice overall.
This movie (The Thief Lord) is utter garbage!
Amazing! Even though we can't smoke on the plane, the girls are carting around with cartons of smokes for sale.
$#&%!!! $12 a CARTON? How couldn't I? I just got 1. (I later found out a carton of Marlboro Lights can be purchased at any supermarket here for around Rp. 88,000, or about $10.)
11:20 a.m. I think. Taipei came and went. It looks like we're halfway through Borneo. Lunch was chicken & rice with a lettuce, shrimp & lotus root salad, fruit salad, & coconut custard. Not bad, but the chicken was kinda fatty.
I saw (Casino Royale. The rest of the day and tomorrow I wrote in pencil.)
Looks like I lost my pen. So the first thing that hits you when you step off the plane is the heat and humidity. Imigrasi was no problem. I was picked up at the airport, and driven to meet Meta. She is awesome. The school looks really nice. The office girls asked if I was a model. LOL! Driving to the apartment, I saw a bunch of kids (4-12) begging for $. They stand outside your car & tap on the window :-( sad. (I remarked to Meta that I had seen this, and she said, "You didn't give them any money did you? You know they're organized?" She warned me not to roll down the window around them, and just look the other way. Scary!!) We got pizza (BTW, pizza here comes with chili sauce and ketchup) and apparently "sausage" means sliced hot dogs.
I met Sheley, Felix, Rachel & David. We watched Night of the Living Dead & ate pizza. Talked about one of the teachers who is being a royal pain in the (butt).
4/25
(This is transcribed from my journal, so it isn't current yet)
4/25
This is very nice. I hope that baby cries all the way to Taipei... Are they going to play the safety drill in English?? Ah, there we go.
SHADDAP BABY!!! It's past midnite.
China Air has some smokin' hot flight attendants.
That damned baby won't shut up. There are gonna be problems... When is dinner? Or breakfast? I'm gonna eat that Snickers bar as soon as I can get a drink. I should probably try & get some sleep. But I don't know if I should just stay up & go on Indonesian time.
Dinner Wasn't bad. They ran out of pork & rice so I had shrimp with noodles, peas & cheese. It wasn't as gross as it sounds. There was also fresh fruit & a slice of cake.
Arg it's like 6 am or something & I can't sleep. I am exhausted but the seat is kinda uncomfortable and I'm 8 feet tall. The sun setting or rising on the right side of the plane (just to clarify, I had a seat in the middle of the plane between the aisles). I smell Ramen Noodles.
It is now 4 am in Anchorage. I got a few minutes of sleep so that was good. We are just refueling so I don't think they'll let us off the plane (they didn't, but a few people got on).
4/25
This is very nice. I hope that baby cries all the way to Taipei... Are they going to play the safety drill in English?? Ah, there we go.
SHADDAP BABY!!! It's past midnite.
China Air has some smokin' hot flight attendants.
That damned baby won't shut up. There are gonna be problems... When is dinner? Or breakfast? I'm gonna eat that Snickers bar as soon as I can get a drink. I should probably try & get some sleep. But I don't know if I should just stay up & go on Indonesian time.
Dinner Wasn't bad. They ran out of pork & rice so I had shrimp with noodles, peas & cheese. It wasn't as gross as it sounds. There was also fresh fruit & a slice of cake.
Arg it's like 6 am or something & I can't sleep. I am exhausted but the seat is kinda uncomfortable and I'm 8 feet tall. The sun setting or rising on the right side of the plane (just to clarify, I had a seat in the middle of the plane between the aisles). I smell Ramen Noodles.
It is now 4 am in Anchorage. I got a few minutes of sleep so that was good. We are just refueling so I don't think they'll let us off the plane (they didn't, but a few people got on).
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