‘Tis the Season to be Jolly….

So the latest edition to our list of websites we recommend (see to the right) is www.brownielocks.com – it gives a list of “bizarre, crazy, silly & unknown holidays & observances for the month” ie: December –
Bathtub Party Day – Dec 5 (can hear John's "amen" all the way from Morocco)
Int’l Volunteer Day for Economic & Social Development – Dec 5 (we’re taking apps on this one for Aceh!)
National Cotton Candy Day – Dec 7
Int’l Mountain Day – Dec 11 (love this one)
Cat Herders Day – Dec 15 (what?!)
Barbie & Barney Backlash Day – Dec 16 (isn’t this everyday?)
National Chocolate-Covered Anything Day – Dec 16
Clean Air Day – Dec 17 (this is for you Steiners) – also Jason’s Bday :)
Underdog Day -Dec 21 (everybody loves this one)
National Whiner’s Day – Dec 26 (yes, let’s just make this 1 day)

We’re clearly most thrilled with Dec 25 no question. However, this website claims authenticity so if you’re looking for just yet another reason to celebrate this month…read on!

Field Trip

There was a bird show at the zoo, but we were more interested in the class watching the pelicans than the pelicans themselves. Their matching uniforms (the kids that is) were so cute.

Jason as a Tree

Ok, apologies for the sideways view on this clip– normally we wouldn’t post it, but we think it’s funny enough to make the head turn worth it :) Check out this monkey crawling all over Jason…can guess which animals were our favorite?

Lip Games with Orangutans

This baby orangutan was a riot. Elissa played with him for about 15 minutes. Their time together culminated with this “lip game.” Check out this video of them…

Baby Monkey Hammock

This baby monkey was adorable just hanging out in his hammock!

Taking a Big Swig off Your Tail...

Sorry the monkey in this clip is so small (we can’t zoom with our camera when we’re shooting video) but this is like National Geographic type footage! If you look closely, you can see the monkey in the middle of the screen dip his tail into the moat in front of him. He then pulls his tail up to his mouth, sucks the water out of it, and drops it into the moat again. A bunch of monkeys did this repeatedly while we where there. Elissa felt like Jane Goodal and I felt like…a very mellow Steve Erwin – I almost said, “Have a look at that mate!”…almost. I thought the ability to use tools was what distinguished humans from animals.

Posing for Pictures

Here’s a picture of a common experience for us here in Indo – We didn’t know this family at all when they politely approached us at the zoo and asked if they could take a picture with us. We said sure and asked them to snap one with our camera too. Why not right? :) They told us where they were from and we told them where we were from and then they were off again. For some reason Indonesians love taking pictures with Westerners...

Lonely Monkey

This monkey loved holding Elissa’s hand even after he realized she didn’t have any food. We think he was a little lonely cause he was by himself in his cage :(


Here’s a closeup – Jason was a little jealous ;)

Friendly, Smelly Camels

Since we were able to find Ibu Siama much quicker than we’d initially anticipated, we had a morning to go to the Surabaya zoo. Quite impressive for 1$ ! The camels where a little stinky, but at least we could get close enough to pet (and smell) them. The animals were definitely much more accessible in this zoo than in zoos in the states.


Too bad we don’t smoke cause this would be a great “Camel” cigarettes ad! Gotta love these guy’s lower lips!

1930s Ice Cream Parlor

In Surabaya we came across the 1st ice cream parlor we’ve seen in Indo. It’s in an old Dutch building and evidently has been around since 1930. The ice cream wasn’t half bad especially since we were sweating like crazy in the Surabaya heat!

Finding Ibu Siama

So after our time in Semarang we took a 4 hr train to Surabaya – the 2nd largest city in Indo. When J was little his family lived here for about 4 yrs and a woman named Ibu Siama lived and worked with them. She ended up working for his family for about 10+ yrs – moving w/ them to Yogya and later Solo. So, here it is 15 yrs later & J wanted to track her down. He took an old pix (see above) & started asking around the area where she was last known to have lived…& found her! We took her out to lunch & had a good time :)

Mini Greenhouses

Photo by Bill Oberlyn

Saw this really cool farming technique on the way down from the temples. The farmers were using left over disposable, clear, plastic glasses as greenhouses for their seedlings.

Men with Guns Photo Op

On the way, we came across some Indonesian soldiers in training – they seemed to enjoy taking a break for a photo with some of the kids.

Photo by Bill Oberlyn

Geyser

On our mountain hike we came across a geyser. It was fun (albeit fairly stinky) to explore it up close.

9 Temples

We also went on a mountian hike to go see some fairly recently rediscovered temples from “ancient times” (that’s about the extent of our historical knowledge on these guys). They’re called the “9 temples,” but only seven have been found so far, so presumably there are a couple still waiting to be discovered.

Photo by Bill Oberlyn

Buddies

This little guy in the train station took to Jason right away – really sweet kid. They explored the old trains together and got some ice cream (after, of course, checking with mom to make sure it was okay :).

Tofu on the Go

This jolly, old guy had a great way of selling his tofu – look carefully & you’ll see the little peppers available too.

Train Runner

The little train went through several busy intersections, so there was a designated “flag guy.” His job was to hang on to the train, jump off before an intersection, run ahead, stop traffic, wave the train through, and jump back on the train again. I think he should get a raise because amazingly we didn’t hit or get hit by anything!

Generations

Here’s an interesting pix – the youngest workers (us) w/ the oldest…he came to Indonesia when he was our age…now he’s in his 70s!

Harvesting Bog

We snapped this picture from our train of guys harvesting the rich soil from the river bottom. They filled their boats up with the mud, dried it in the sun, and then sold it as fertilizer.

The Little Engine that Could!

Turns out the little engine that could was an old, Toyota Corolla 4 cylinder for our little train!

The Little Train...

One of the excursions during our retreat was to a train museum which included an old fashion train ride thru the Indonesian countryside.

"Fun Time"

The perfect candybar for our hike with team members in the mountains… We attended a weekend retreat with friends in the town of Bandungan (not to be confused with our home town of Bandung) outside of Semarang over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Dining on the Lake

Crissy also took us to a classy restaurant built in the middle of a lake. Here we are enjoying the great view on the lake at night.

Green Construction Materials

This pix was taken @ Crissy’s university – the bamboo stairs look quite precarious eh? Were not sure construction companies in the States would go for using bamboo as scafolding, but we hear they use it to build skyscrapers in Hong Kong. Anyway, you can’t get much greener than this – it’s all biodegradeable!

Crissy's Students

Here’s a pix from one of Crissy’s English classes at her university. Her students think she’s great – so do we!

Visiting Crissy

We visited Crissy in Semarang last week. She took us to a great Chinese restaurant with Greco-Roman / Cowboy décor! Nothing like eating kungpau chicken with Caesar and Billy the Kid staring at you!

Aerial Shots of the Coast 3 Years Out

Jason had been planning to ride a motor bike from Calang (our soon to be home town) back to Meulaboh while Elissa took our bags in the MAF Caravan. It rained straight for two days and flooded everywhere,though, so Jason ended up flying too. Because of the weather, the pilot flew low (1000 feet)and Jason was able to snap these pictures of the coast:

This first series is at a wider angle. It starts just below Calang and ends as we are landing at the Meulaboh airport...

These last two start just south of Calang as well, but are closer shots of the coast. They end at the palm oil plantation just east of the Meulaboh airport.

Early Thanksgiving

So last year we’d planned a Thanksgiving meal with our host fam, Arief & Poppy & friends the Maxey family. Unfortunately Arief had a stroke & so our plans were postponed…until now, a year later. We just froze the turkey & spent the last year joking about it “still being in the freezer.” This year we finally celebrated together & the meal was amazing (dare we say worth the year wait?!)

We have a couple other Thanksgiving celebrations coming up – with our sister Crissy & some of our team here in Indo…more pix soon – ‘tis the season to be extra thankful!

Tour of Calang

Jason got up early one morning and shot some pictures around the city of Calang. He started at the coast, climbed a little hill in the middle of town, and ended at the main intersection in town. Notice the NGO compounds, huge, empty WFP (World Food Program) tents, and new construction…actually almost everything is new construction because Calang was leveled by the tsunami. We’ve been told not a building was left standing and about 80% of the residents were taken by the waves.

Babi Hutan (Jungle Pigs)!

Okay, so the warthogs are out of control in Calang. Jason shot this picture from the kitchen of the FHI (Food for the Hungry International) guesthouse. The next day a herd of them crossed the street in front of us in broad daylight – seriously it was around noon – and another gang was digging around in the empty lot beside us. Did we mention before that our MAF plane almost pancaked a mom and her three babies when we flew into Aceh in May? I think it is time to “bring home the bacon!”...except that's really not a good thing here...

Octopus

J went out one morning to take pix around Calang. He came across some fishermen who’d just snagged an octopus…it’s all sandy in this picture from wrigglin’ around.

Squatty Potty

Ok, so we understand this pix is totally gross (taken at airport in Aceh)…however…it does show the typical bathroom setup here in Indo (although it’s usually much cleaner, seriously) The squatty potty to the left is simply as it’s name suggests & the cement container on the right is called a “bak.” This is filled up with water via a tap and then the dipper in the pix is used to scoop the water out & pour it on your body for bathing. The dipper is also used to flush the squatty potty. We just enjoyed our 1st hot shower in 2 weeks the other day…wow, that was nice!

When we move into our place in Jan, we’ll still have to install a few Western amenities like running water, a toilet & hot shower …you know, the basics :)

S…n…a…i…l Video

If you’re having trouble with patience…watch this video…it reminds Elissa of a song she learned as a child from the “Music Machine” album…in it a snail sings slowly “Have patience, have patience, don’t be in such a hurry…” anyone else remember this?

Since we’re on the snail theme, thought we’d share our favorite snail joke…one day this guy hears a knock at his door. He answers the door and looks around, but doesn’t see anybody. As he’s heading back into the house, he looks down & sees a snail at his feet which he picks up & throws as hard as he can into the woods. 5 years later there is a knock at the door. Again when he goes out, he doesn’t see anybody. As he is turning to go back into the house, though, there again is a ticked-off snail who says, “what was that for?!”…please don’t leave mean comments.

Top 7

We love hearing back from everyone, either via blog comments or emails. Here are our top 7 comments on our recent house pix post…enjoy!

#1 “I hope you don't have too many kids TOO soon ;-)”

#2 “This is silly, but I can't help looking at the picture of your house and thinking of that Corona tv commercial where they put Christmas lights on the palm tree. Too bad you're not moving in until January.”

#3 ”…Maybe it's bigger than it looks….”

#4 “Wow! Congratulations...a home by the sea! It looks cozy!”

#5 “From the looks of it, clean—but obviously without the Western size! :)”

#6 “Hi, Your house is adorable and I'm so glad for you!”

#7 “Hey, cute place. … So does this mean that you really DON'T want to come back to Mongolia?! I can find you a nice little cabin with a view of an ice-covered muddy stream...”

So anyway, apparently our home is “cozier, more adorable, cuter” & just plain smaller (however you say it!) than the norm in the US. :)

In our new community, these are the standard homes everyone received after the tsunami (with most folks having bigger families than us!) so you just might get lost looking for our place when you come to visit!

The Road to Our New Home Town

Here are some shots that I took last week of the road from Meulaboh (where our teammates are) to the city of Calang where we will be living. Most of it is quite nice now thanks to a new road put in by the Japanese, but there are still a few parts that are pretty rough.

Jason will be driving this same stretch of road tomorrow when we head back to Meulaboh.

Our New Place

Well, we'll move into this little home in the center of a small community come Jan. 1st - 2 bedrooms so visitors are always welcome...



...can't beat the oceanfront view :)