The Intern

Although our life isn't quite as funny as "The Office" we still have interns from time to time. Anna came & stayed with our neighbor friend named Lilis during her time here in Nov. & Dec. We were still cameraless at this point so all these pix are a big thanks to her!

Right around Thanksgiving time this year was when our neighbors were celebrating their yearly Sacrifice Day. Here Lilis (left) & Yuli/Alden (right) are busy with preparations for Hari Qurban. The fun part of this holiday for us is the cookie baking and sharing while visiting friends. Preparing & eating on the floor here is normal :)

Alden! He already looks so different now - the last weeks have flown by.

Anna's housemate Lilis teaches English at a local jr. high. Anna was able to join in on several occasions which they love 'cuz of a native speaker.

Same gender public affection is normal, just cross gender is weird here!

The 8th of every month women & children can come to the Posyandu (local health center) to have their kid weighed up 'til 5 yrs old, basic shots & sometimes even a health lesson and/or nutritious meal.

Here our neighbor Neli has put Epa in the scale as Syola watches on. E's trying to convert kilograms to pounds in her mind.


Syola's turn:

And last but not least, Lij

Elijah's probably the only white head that's peered out from this weigh station!

Here's what we refer to as "The Pink Book." It has each child's records in it - monthly weight, shots received, etc.

These faithful ladies come & give the shots, fill in the books and/or give the health lessons.

Jah loves books of all shapes & sizes. He even pitched a little fit when he couldn't have this lady's book.

Also really took to the baby scale, playing in, on & around it.

This time the kids were given water & an egg with broth & rice. Jah's trying to drink from a straw but wasn't very hungry as he'd just eaten breakfast.

Sitting together while the kids eat...


This year was our 1st Thanksgiving in Aceh. We decided to celebrate with lobster as we hadn't gotten in before thinking it was pricey. Turns out each lobster was only about $4 a piece! We got 2 great lobster recipes from Anna's Dad who evidently is a gourmet cook in his spare time. Jason made a fabulous Thai mango lobster soup. Here's our "recipe book & stand" otherwise known as our laptop on the washing machine.

Jason searched all over Calang to find these beauties!

J was the lobster slayer & E couldn't even watch for posterity's sake.

From plastic bag to pot...

Prep & more prep:

Elijah had his Thanksgiving feast first...

Here's our spread (eating Indo style of course) - had a few traditional foods like corn pudding, etc. but the lobster & quesadillas were a very fun treat for us here where nobody understands Thanksgiving!

Lij had a front row seat behind his baby gate so he wouldn't snatch all our goodies.

Finished off with apple crisp & ice cream (which has only come to Calang since we've been here) - yum!

Anna was sweet & brought us window clinger Thanksgiving decorations. We dressed Elijah up in his VA Tech Hokie outfit from Mom & Dad J as it was the only "turkey" thing we could think to put on him :)

During Anna's time J & Jos took a truckload of ladies up to visit the village where CAMA's irrigation project is in full swing. Here J takes one of his favorite stretch breaks pointing out elephant dung.

Anna in front of the irrigated rice field:

Anna took a few pix of everyday life here in Calang. It's fun to see her perspective too as these have become normal to us now. Like the awesome bay view from our office where the cows come home from the beach from the left...

And E arriving to the office from the right, not phased in the least by the cows on the path ;)

Tsunami warning sign:

Our neighbor kids Gilang (left) & Ebaal (right) playing with a new kitten.

The ever present sound of roosters crowing which we hardly hear anymore:

Our friendly neighborhood monkey who likes to steal food...

And Lilis & Anna's mode of transport:

Right before Anna took off for home we wanted to take her to one of our favorite beaches which we've dubbed "Burton Bay" in honor of finding it with our friends Andy & Tyler.

Here Lilis holds Lij before we hike the steep descent down the mountain to get to the more remote beach.

Taking Lij in our baby backpack is helpful for more rustic fun :)

And a fun family pix - thanks again Anna!