Monkey Road

On our way back to catch the ferry to Banda Aceh, we drove on “Monkey Road.” This monkey was brave enough to sit & wait for an orange Elissa was holding…& he was justly rewarded!

Bungalow

Here was our $10/nite stay – pretty basic, but we couldn’t beat the price! It was right on the ocean so we got a nice breeze which was great since the power was out a good chunk of the time :)

Ahhhh.....

So nice to have a breather…

Valentine's

We took a real deal ferry to a little island off Banda Aceh called Sabang to celebrate. We met one of the ship’s crewmen who took us up to the captain’s quarters.

Trip to Banda Aceh

We made our 1st trip to the capital of Aceh for our first prenatal appt & to celebrate Valentine’s. This was a ferry setup on the way to accommodate for a bridge still out from the tsunami…check out the ramps (planks)…no room for error here - a little scary to be honest!

Shell Hunting

We were walking along the beach here in Calang & happened to glance down & see this shell pictured on the left….looks vaguely familiar to this drawing of a 1 mo old fetus! Or maybe we’ve just got babies on the brain :)

In More Detail

We’ve recently created another blog called “In More Detail” (see link above). This gives a more in depth pix of our life here - if you’re interested, send us an email & we’ll gladly give you access!

& the Answer is....

For all those tired of waiting...here's the answer to our "gross snack" poll!

FHI Picnic

A tarp picnic by the sea…

Beach Day Trip

So we had a chance to hang out for a fun Saturday with our new team member Jos (far right) & the crew from FHI (Food for the Hungry In’tl) – another likeminded group here in Calang.

Back of Our Home

This pix was taken after we put our contract down in Nov. The back cement slab had 2 cement table-like things which have since become our sink & stove area. The little room off the left is well, our little room.

Crepes

So Feb 5th was “Int’l Pancake Day” – we cheated a little & made our 1st crepes since moving in a month ago. Brenda K – thx for teaching us how to make ‘em what seems like so long ago! This pix’s taken in our recently enclosed kitchen area. See pix above for look at the original…

Frequent Visitors

No, we don’t have cats…but these 2 have just seemed to make theirselves at home (only @ meal times – weird!)

1st Package

Wow, thanks to our brother Michael, we got our 1st package since moving here – Microsoft Office for Mac – helps that he works for Microsoft :)

Night Life

This pix’s taken from our back porch – the boat out on the bay uses bright lights via generator to attract fish to them…

Straight Up Sugar

E saw our neighbors chewing on what looked like a white root. When she asked what it was they replied “tebu” – what in the world is that?! Well, they went & cut down a stalk & brought it over in pieces…sugarcane! E’s 1st taste of unrefined sugar – awesome!

Goat Adventures

This goat's eating from J’s hand – quite friendly! Afterwards, he tried to follow J into the house for more food, so we had to shut the door. He stood out on the porch “baaing” or whatever goats do, it was pretty funny. I told J there was someone @ the door for him….

Our 2nd goat adventure won’t have a pix (we don’t think you’ll mind)…Elissa was preparing dinner last Saturday night and we had our front door open for a breeze. Jason was in the backyard working. All of a sudden he heard Elissa scream. Jason ran into the house expecting to find a snake or large bug, instead he found two goats mating in our living room!(not our goat friend from pix above) It was quite the experience… they were quickly escorted to a better place…outside!:)

Blessing Ceremony

We had the chance to go to our 1st Acehnese ceremony since we moved here 3 weeks ago. This was a blessing ceremony for these 2 new parents. Moms & babies here usually don’t go out of the house ‘til about the 40 day point after their birth. This was a New Year’s baby, so they waited ‘til the 30 day point to celebrate her ceremony. After this ceremony, the mother & baby freely go about town.

Below E’s holding the newborn coated in baby powder…we’re not sure if she coated ‘cuz it’s hot so to soak up sweat or to make her skin look whiter – both are pretty normal reasons here!

Fajita Meat, Water Buffalo Style

So we thought we’d try our hand @ the closest thing to beef here – water buffalo – it tastes like chicken…just kiddin’ – just like beef actually, yummy!

Private Beach

A 10 minute trek over rock & thru tall grass opens up to this gorgeous little bay w/ not a soul in sight…don’t need volume on this one, you’d just hear the wind blowing around. At the very end of the clip, J’s on a rock in the distance waving – a bit hard to see, but go for it. :)

Mie Goreng

We’ve found a great little warung (café) right on the beach where we can order the best mie goreng (fried noodles) in town…all for a total of $3…we’ve come here about 3X in the last week!

Swimming Bay

Well, since E’s pregnant & all we’re feeling especially blessed to live by beautiful places to swim…this former lifeguard’s gonna be swimming for 2 for the next several months! :)

Refuge

Here’s another friend, a litte rhino beetle, that sought refuge in our “not yet screened” bathroom…

Kami Baru Hamil

(WE’RE JUST NEWLY PREGNANT!) We went out to eat to celebrate this new little life at the restaurant with the rickety bridge we blogged about earlier. We are so excited to be three!

Break On Thru To the Other Side

This is one of the guys working @ our place. He’s currently situated in our soon-to-be bedroom. He used a hammer to break thru the cement wall between the bathroom & bedroom to put a door in. Elissa will especially be thankful for this quick exit because…………

Our Daily Bread

This takes on a whole new meaning when getting wheat bread is a 2 hr trip away…we enjoyed our 1st loaf since moving to Aceh – a taste sensation! (Who knew we could ever get so excited about bread?!)

J Hard @ Work

While we have a couple great guys @ our place helping w/ most of the renovations, J’s also busy helping us get setup – what a guy!

Awkward Load Crossing

This guy is crossing a temporary bridge made of tree trunks with three benches tied to the back of this motorbike. The one on top extended out over his head.

Awkward Load

While waiting we took the golden opp to snap another great example of “things people carry” while driving a motorbike.

Rush Hour

We just went to MBO to pick up our new team member, Jos. He’s in front of us on the motorbike in this pix. We were all “stuck in traffic” waiting for more coconut tree trunks to be unloaded to strengthen the bridge…