The Bule Arrives

Definition of 'bule' (boo-lay) : white (English-speaking) person, typically of Northern European descent; viewed as rich by the Indonesians and often referred to as "MISTER" regardless of gender

Although it is not my New Year's resolution, I have some serious blog catching up to do before I forget the details and funny stories. I just got done with probably one of the better holidays I have had in awhile. Ryan flew in to Jakarta to spend the holidays with me. I feel like one really lucky girl! I don't want to get all mushy on you guys but I have never been happier. He bends over backwards and drops everything to make sure I am well taken care of. He is loyal, loving, mature, fun, easy-going, responsible and non-selfish! He always puts others first. Just like my Dad! I love him so much. Since his visit and our travels were the most recent (and freshest in my memory), the next several posts will be focused on our adventures while he was here! 

In the cab to get some dinner

I had been anxiously awaiting his arrival since he purchased his flight ticket earlier this semester. The days just seemed to drag by. We stay pretty busy at school so the months (and various weekend getaways I took - which I will blog about after I finish this series) seemed to help time go by a bit faster. Before I knew it, he was on a plane to come and visit!

Waiting for him at the gate seemed like eternity. I had set up a travel agent to help him get through customs since Jakarta can be pretty overwhelming at first, especially for a brand-new flyer. And to think, he had never been on an airplane before this visit! On top of that, being a white Western male has its pitfalls here.. especially in government-based facilities like the airport aka "bandara". Ask anyone about Indonesia's government and they will tell you just how backwards and unjust things can be. Makes me feel pretty blessed to be from a not-so-corrupt country.

Anyway, Ega was of great assistance at the airport. I was in constant contact with him while I waited for Ryan's plane to land. The arrival was late - which is expected in Asia - it seems like zero flights ever arrive or depart on time. When I first moved here a year and half ago, it was really frustrating at first as an American but I have pretty much adjusted to it.. maybe too much.. I have been judged for my constant late arrivals to see family and friends.. sorry about that guys!

Ryan rides in a bajai ("bah" and then "ji" - rhymes with eye)

I had waited over an hour after Ryan's arrival and yet there was no sign of my handsome Irish boy exiting customs! I called Ega and asked to speak to Ryan who informed me that his luggage never showed up so he was filing a claim. I quickly texted him my current address so they could file the missing report and before I knew it, he was walking up to me with the biggest hug and kiss! To be wrapped up in his arms after 6 months felt so so good! I totally disregarded the Indonesian culture and covered him in smooches! Sorry ya'll, I couldn't resist (doing that or writing it!)

I thanked Ega for all his help and we were finally on our way to my apartment! I forgot what it's like to be a foreigner in Indonesia. Oh my goodness - thanks to Ryan's ever-glowing Irish paleness and freckly face, we were bombarded by "Taxi Mister?" over and over again. I got frustrated and told him not to even make eye-contact or address them. We laughed about it though because I explained to him how things were just fine and dandy til he showed up at the airport and now I couldn't snag a cab in peace!

Although Ryan was in town, I still had a week of school remaining. The kids had just finished up their semesteral testing and we had to return results, key in results, print report books, meet with parents and celebrate Christmas with a small class party!

 Here are some pictures taken with my new HD camera - awesome Christmas gift compliments of Ryan - of my homeroom (form class) just a few days before break. They are a fun bunch of 27 ten-year olds!

He is so articulate and fun!

One of my favorite photos. Loved the Christmas spirit!

Playing UNO. They TOTALLY make up their own rules. Such cheaters!

The kids brought in sweet and salty blood pressure inducing snacks and I enjoyed every bit of it! Holiday caloric intake was heavily welcomed. We watched a couple movies and the kids played card games. I played UNO with them actually for a couple rounds but then became a complete sore loser and told the kids they were totally making up rules -- which they WERE! I mean, honestly - since when have we EVER allowed more than one type of Wild Card in UNO? And just because you have one card left, that doesn't automatically declare you the winner! You still have to get rid of it! But no.. they reassured me they knew the rules and I played the old-school way. I threw in my cards and called them cheaters (all in fun of course).

While I sat in teacher conferences later in the week, Ryan played basketball with the guys. I admit, I have never ever seen him play before.. and it was nice to see his competitive side. Minus the sweat of course.

New basketball socks for my little athlete

I came home with so many chocolate sweets, cookies, jewelry, scarves, spa kits, candles and clothes! I know they are just showing their appreciation and I am grateful for it because I know that when I go back to teaching inner city, it's a whole different ball game.

Our first Charlie Brown Christmas tree

Although I had school during Ryan's first week here, I did manage to get him out to get small taste of Jakarta. How so? Well, we had a checklist of things he had to do while in Indonesia:

1. Durian - the mother of all fruits. He absolutely despises it by the way and was totally burping it for a week straight after eating a durian-filled donut from Dunkin! I got so angry with him! I already hate when people burp but to burp and then breathe on me... I almost snapped. He apologized and said he couldn't help that the smell was so atrocious. Poor kid. It actually made him sick.. for a week..
2. Ride in a bajai - I had Ryan only appear on the curb to get in after I did my bargaining in Bahasa because otherwise I knew the locals were going to try and rip me off!
3. Celebrity Fitness - I just had to show him how much more awesome my gym was compared to his back home. We didn't get to take a class together but we did do some weight lifting together and cardio like in the old days. I think some of the men at the gym were surprised to see a male helping a female in the male-dominated weight lifting area who wasn't a trainer.. the butt slap probably didn't help.. -______-
4. Roti boy - These bad boy deep-fried snacks are so good and addicting that they should be illegal. Especially because they're only 80 cents. He made sure to snatch one every time we came across one.. whether it be Jakarta, Malaysia or Yogyakarta. Unfortunately, our inner-fat kid came out every time we made contact with a Roti boy so there are no pictures but just Google that -ish and click on images. Goodness melting in your mouth... I think I'm salivating now.
5. Grocery shopping - An exhausting experience that he didn't believe until he experienced it himself (we went to buy a Christmas tree). Price checks? Forget about it. Tell them never mind. And watch them hand it to an employee to place back on the shelf STILL lacking a proper barcode. Oh Jakarta.
6. Marche - delicious made-in-front-of-you-food-type-restaurant with organic everything. Super healthy as long as you stay away from the dessert section. I love the freshly blended juice. This place is going to be a hit in Cali. They need to open one in West Knox. Mark my words.. click the following link to find out more. Marche Restaurant
7. Cream bath at Hair Code - To Westerners, this is a very feminine concept but in Asia, the men here are actually very confident. You will see them carrying their significant other's purse (and for more than 10 seconds), pushing the stroller, getting a pedicure (minus the polish of course), a massage and even a deep conditioning treatment - alone! I just had to introduce Ryan to this 1 hour luxury. I didn't take much convincing though. He was knocked out in his chair after about 10 minutes. Lucky for him, the super embarrassing photos are on his iPhone. ;)

Those were just a tiny snipet of the page long list of things I told Ryan he needed to check out while abroad. I've included photos from the first week Ryan arrived throughout this post but here are a few more for you to enjoy from his first week here!

Wine nights

1 bottle down.. 3 to go!

Isn't your boyfriend SUPPOSED to let you win? Not this one.

On his way to the gym. We rode separate motorbikes!

Pancakes for dessert. NOM NOM.

Save the cows! Eat chicken!

While we were finishing up an exhausting week of conferences and other last-minute teacher tasks, we still had some entertainment. The music teachers actually came in and did some caroling! I tried to upload the video clip but it isn't working. Perhaps I'll try again later.

We also had a little teacher Christmas party. We exchanged gifts and played some games.

There's no I in TEAM!

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Mira tries to guess the word "camel" LOL

Although the week ended on a very fun note, I was definitely ready for some travelling with my love bug! I will post about our remaining adventures soon! :)

xoxo amber

**UPDATE** 

Here is the caroling video as promised!

 

 

Livin' Life in Lombok

Sorry for the delay in the post. It is really hard to keep this blog updated when there are so many exciting things going on. :)

In my last post, I told you about our arrival to Bali. After a 4 hour ferry ride, we arrived in Lombok safely. It took some time before we could actually get off the boat as they had large buses similar to Greyhounds as well as motorcycles and vans they had to remove first. It amazes me how talented the Indonesians are at making things fit in what appears to be a limited area. I guess that's why there really is no such thing as personal space here.

After some bargaining, we arranged to be dropped off at the small hotel we were staying at.

The view from our front door

It was a quaint little place but in the Senggigi location which was perfect. That's the tourist-y area of Lombok where you will find all sorts of neat little bars and tour guide companies.

We stayed at a placed called Baleku. My favorite part about it was the outdoor shower! I could totally have one of these at my house one day. Don't freak out though - even though it was on the balcony, the walls were high enough for privacy. The toilet was also outside too which was kind of gross though because I get really nauseous thinking about wet toilet paper.. but to go potty with frogs croaking at night was kind of cool..

They had free breakfast there in the mornings but Julia was a bit grossed out by the roaming neighboring cats and insects buzzing about so we ventured down the road to see what else we could find. I got this super-fattening banana pancake which wasn't even all that great. I don't even think they used pancake batter. It had more of the consistency of a crepe or something similar to that. I was pretty disappointed. I stuck with a fruit bowl and a roll after that.

Banana and cinnamon pancake

Since the hotel had motorbike rental for approximately $5.00 a day, we decided to take full advantage of it. We are both pretty independent people so we got our own motorbikes and took off to explore. I took some amazing pictures of the scenery.

I took hundreds of photos while in Lombok on the motorbike (don't worry Aunt Ruthie, I pulled over first) so it is pretty impossible to upload every single one of them. However, I will attach some of my favorites.

I thought riding on the motorbike was going to be a bit nerve-wrecking simply based on my experience with Jakarta traffic and motorbikes but Lombok is way more pedestrian and driver friendly. Riding the bike felt natural! I loved the feeling of being free to venture out and check out things on my own at my own pace. Here are some of my favorite shots.

The motorbike I used

One of the first shots I snapped

God is amazing!

Straight ahead are the Gili Islands

I loved this little straw hut. It was a food stall.

Helmets! TBIs in Nursing School have me paranoid for life

Sunset

I read a book here while I waited for the sun to set.

Reminds me of Tennessee. And the paved roads were appreciated!

Driving around Lombok reminded me a lot of home. It made me miss everything about Tennessee, especially Knoxville. The mountainous scenery was beautiful and so peaceful compared to the hubbub of Jakarta streets. Too bad the weather will be rainy in December. I'd love to take Ryan there when he comes to visit!

I met up with Julia later that night to go get some pizza and drinks. Look at this creative strawberry "adult slushy" they gave me! He said if it wasn't too my taste, he'd add a bit more flavor.. and he did. Anddd it was amazing.

YUMMY

We had a great time and met some interesting people there that night. The band they had performing was awesome! I really enjoyed their music. I wish I would have found out their name. Overall, I would say the night went well until Julia lost her passport. :S

She had gone to the beach, not realizing her bag wasn't with her. All of her money and everything was gone and never returned. It's really sad that we still have people like that in this world.

I didn't let the loss of her documents keep me from having fun though! The following day, I made a new friend named Nandy while I was walking along the road looking for a way to "top-up" my Simpati (minutes on my phone). It was pretty good timing really because the walk alone would have at least taken 45 minutes! After he introduced himself, he asked if I wanted a lift to the place that could place more minutes on my phone. I agreed and then he took me back to Baleku so Julia could use my phone (since hers was gone). After she was settled, I went with Nandy on his motorbike to do some souvenir shopping and to take some surf lessons since Julia wasn't going to be leaving Baleku anytime soon. I was super excited as I had been wanting to learn to surf the moment we landed in Lombok!

We found a place with a decent price. I changed into my wet suit, did a brief tutorial on the sand and then I was ready to hit the waves. Let me just saying that surfing is wayyyy harder than it looks.. and I truly admire surfers who have lost limbs to shark attacks and yet still continue to surf and rock at it! It is really a work out! It's all about using your core to push yourself UP from a push-up position to a standing position that not only allows you to balance the board but maneuver it as well. It took several tries but eventually I got it! I wouldn't say I'm a professional and for every wave I missed, I got a mouthful of salt water, but it was totally worth it.

Here are some pictures, compliments of Nandy. He was a great friend and tour guide while I was there!

It's all about positioning the feet

How to steer the board

Hanging with my surfing lesson teacher

Me and Nandy hanging out after my surfing lesson

Push up position

This part is super hard in the water

Testing out the waves

After I was done hitting the waves, Nandy said he'd help me do some gift shopping around town. So I hopped on the back of his motorbike and went to explore the other side of Lombok! He took me to this small shopping area that had little stalls filled with different gifts you could buy. I originally bought Ryan a shirt in the largest size they had but after trying it on, I realized it was more of an adult medium and since he's been working out, he needs an adult Large at least.. ;)

SO I got a t-shirt out of it! I did get another gift but I can't say what as it is a surprise for some of my friends back home. :) I will send it back with Ryan to deliver!

After I was shopped out, we found a photo booth and snapped some pictures as a memory of my new friendship in Lombok! Next time, Nandy said to bring Ryan. :)

Here are some pictures from the photo booth:

Me and my new friend Nandy!

On our way back to drop me off at Baleku, we stopped by a little satay place which had chicken, beef and chicken INTESTINES!! BLAH. I thought I was imagining it when Nandy began to draw these squiggly lines in the sand but nope, it was just what I thought. I ordered ayam instead (chicken). Satay is a pretty popular meal here. It's basically like a kabob without all the veggies.

The grilled corn we had with dinner

We also got rice (from the plant itself which was beyond cool - I always wondered how rice actually grew in a rice paddy) and a freshly blended juice drink. We sat on the ground in this designated picnic type area on mats and ate our dinner. I was starved! I think the surfing lesson really burned a lot of calories!

I also had some grilled corn which was made fresh over a pile of coals. That was pretty neat and it was only like $1.00. I paid for Nandy's satay meal as a way of saying thanks for taking me around Lombok and showing me around. I met some local children 

who were eager to have their photo with me after Nandy translated. Some of them were actually his students! He snapped a photo of me with the kids. I felt like Mother Teresa!

I was dropped off at Baleku and slept well knowing that I still had a great time even tthough my vacation didn't involve Mt Ranjani or snorkeling in the Gili Islands (I had to loan Julia money so she could take an alternative way back to Bogor).

The next morning, I said goodbye to Julia and loaded up my things into a scheduled transportation pick-up and was safely delivered to the dock and boarded the ferry. I met a sweet Australian couple who had just graduated from Law School. They were so adorable. The girl was of Indian descent and the guy was just a typical, white Australian. They were backpacking for two weeks, compliments of their parents as a graduation gift. Seeing them together made me miss Ryan more than ever! GAH! I can't wait until he arrives here in December!

The ferry reaches Padangbai

The ride to the airport was interesting.. the Baleku staff arranged my transport from the Baleku homesetay-ferry-Dana Guesthouse (Bali) but as usual, things didn't go as smoothly as planned. It was absolute chaos getting off the ferry because they had so many "groups" organized with different companies to get to lodging. I found my group and hustled with a big blue suitcase over the gravel road in the scorching heat. The sunburn from surfing didn't help either. We walked to some shady back alley and they had us loaded up into different buses depending on our final destination. I was suddenly informed that they would not take me to my hotel in Bali! I became very frustrated and just boarded the bus headed to Kota/Airport. I was so squished. I basically had to sit on the lap of the guy next to me. Awkward..

Eventually, the buses were PACKED and people were like, hanging out of windows to be able to breathe. Of course, this came as no surprise to me as it is the Indonesian way to do things but the "bules" were not the least bit happy with the intrusion of their personal space. Can you blame them? One guy had to have his surfboard attached to the top of the van with tweed. That didn't last long as the driver had to pull over and basically shove the surf board through the windows on top of people's

Rice wrapped in bamboo

heads or shoulders because he feared the "polisi" (police) would pull him over. People were climbing out of windows to exit the bus whenever they reached their designated destination. I mean, there was simply no way to unload all the bags and suitcases and people to let one person out. It was quite entertaining actually. One guy was like, "EVERYBODY SAY CHEESE!" (snaps photo)

The driver then made everyone even MORE angry because he suddenly refused to take the people to the airport. They started arguing with him but of course the language barrier made things even more difficult and so I tried to smooth over the situation by speaking in Bahasa Indonesia but he was flustered so it really did no good until I suggested they call the company, which they did, handed him the phone and he changed his mind real quick.

We were dropped off at the airport. I was annoyed because my flight didn't leave until the next morning but I didn't want to be stranded in an unfamiliar place. I eventually booked a $10.00 hotel room about 10 minutes from the airport and got some shut eye (maybe 4 hours) before boarding the plane the next morning.

Although financially the trip was unexpected and frustrating, I realized I could take a vacation alone and still make friends and not get lost. Therefore, I was inspired to book a trip to Surabaya in Sepetember to check out Mt. Bromo. I am so glad I did!

I will have to blog about that next!

xoxo amber

PS - I have no idea what that white blob is below but I don't know how to get rid of it..

I'm going, going - back, back - to Bali, Bali..

Every August, Indonesia has about two weeks off in celebration of Ramadan, a Muslim holiday. The whole country basically goes on vacation! I love it. I will definitely miss it next year when I am back home but the summer break in June and July will make up for it.

I decided to travel with my friend Julia since we had a lot of fun last time we were in Bogor. She's so free-spirited and adventurous. Those are the kinds of people you definitely want to vacation with. And she isn't clingy! So it was nice to be able to go off and do my own thing.

We left on a Wednesday afternoon. The airport itself was quite interesting. We were relaxing at the Starbucks until we could check-in when this scene right out of Maury or Jerry Springer erupted! It made me miss my trashy reality TV shows back in the States. This couple had the whole airport staring as the girl stood up and started shouting at her significant other. I'm not sure if it was her husband or boyfriend but he obviously was in trouble. Maybe he cheated on her. I don't know. It had to do with his phone -- that much was evident. The angrier she got, the louder she would like bark at him. Literally. And then he'd have her sit down out of embarrassment and then a few moments later, she'd go off on him again. It got so out of control, that she tried to hit him and picked up the table which ended up knocking her coffee all over the place. Then she stormed off! Security did nothing. I'm not sure if it's cultural or not but people don't intervene when trouble arises. Which is a bit scary to be honest...

Eventually, we were on our way to Bali. The plane ride itself was horrific! I don't know what was up with the cabin pressure but my ear drums felt like they were going to burst. I was in so much pain but I think part of that was due to my sinus infection. I travel all the time and even the international flights don't hurt my ears like that particular flight did. It took a couple hours before my hearing was back to normal.

Jakarta is near the top of Java

We landed in Bali and stayed the night at a hostel called Dana Guesthouse.

The perfect getaway

Our little room was it's own little brick building with a closet for a bathroom (that's okay though). The water wasn't hot so I was pretty bummed about that but the owner's dog was protective and slept in front of our door all night. The breakfast was yummy too. Best egg sandwich ever!

Although Dana Guesthouse was completely out of the way but they did have free motorbikes and an amazing resort within walking distance. We had a late dinner and relaxed by their pond. I had the BEST tomato soup, ever! My favorite thing though in Indonesia is the hot tea. It is as organic as it gets. The tea leaves are placed in a hot tea kettle (usually made of glass) with a metal strainer you press down on. Then, you just pour yourself a fresh cup of tea. I had peppermint tea to help open up my nasal passages. It was wonderful and soothing! A great way to end a painful flight.

Our security for the night

Because most of Bali is Hindu, there are lots of religious type sculptures for worship in the area. Dana Guesthouse had some beautiful pieces that I just had to snap some photos of (with permission of course). You will notice in the pictures to follow that there is a little set of what appears to be bamboo, flowers, and incense.

The Hindu god Shiva

The offering is lit every morning and night for the gods. It brings peace and security. You will see these all over Bali, including temples, restaurants and even the front gates of homes.

Look closely and you can see the incense or offering

The offering

I must say it is amazing Indonesia has such vastly different religions on islands just hours away from each other. The island of Bali is mainly Hindu whereas Java (where Jakarta is located) is mostly Muslim. And yet it seems that everyone gets along so peacefully. In Indonesia, all religious holidays are celebrated. That includes Christian, Islamic, and Hindu holidays. Chinese New Year is also celebrated and you can find Buddha statues all over. That's how it should be. Everyone seems to get along just fine! I really respect that about Indonesia. I think the worker at Dana Guesthouse was impressed that I recognized Shiva. I thank my friend Pratiksha for that! We met in high school and because her family is Hindu, she explained her beliefs. Here is a throwback picture of us at an Indian celebration back in the day. I borrowed her clothing. People thought I was Indian!

Oh to be 115 pounds again...

I also saw this pretty spectacular tree in front of our little homestay. I instantly thought of you, Kelli! How WEIRD is this tree? Its roots were growing out of the ground.

Does anyone know what kind of tree this is?

 

I have a tea obsession

The next morning, we were off to Padangbai (Puh-dong-bye) to catch the ferry to Lombok. They have fast boats available too but the ferry is only $4.00 versus a $60 one way trip on the fast boat. Although the ferry ride is a bit slower (maybe 3 hours), it was relaxing because we were on the top of the ferry so I got to recline and work on my tan (or sunburn, rather). You always meet interesting people on your travels here! It was so funny to look around and see the Indonesians covering themselves with sarongs (a colorful, long but light-weight cloth with a variety of uses) or newspaper to avoid the darkening of their skin.

Whereas the "bules" or Europeans/Americans were working on their tans and were soaking up the sun as much as possible. I should have put on sunscreen though. Tanning on the equator is completely different from tanning in the West.
 

Say no to skin cancer

I must say the most memorable part of this trip was walking around the bay area until it was time to load the ferry. I was pulling my heavy suitcase up this insanely steep hill (my work out for the day) with Julia's duffel bag on top. We were in search of a little snack to hold us over on the ferry ride. On our little food search, we came across a dead cat on the side of the road. This is another cultural difference in Indonesia compared to back home. Road kill is rather common and is very rarely moved off to the side of the road unless someone decides to be a good Samaritan and move it. I had to do a double-take though because this was like a FREAK ACCIDENT. Not only was the cat dead, but it was covered in blood and one of it's eyeballs (I kid you not) was hanging out of its socket. I thought that was something that only happened in cartoons! I felt the blood rush from my face. I'm not sure if that was worse than seeing the cow being freshly slaughtered in the Thousand Islands or not but it was pretty close. Needless to say, I lost my appetite. If my P5 Joy students from last year are reading this, I'm sure you guys would have enjoyed it. I can just hear the girls screaming out of disgust and the boys saying, "AWESOME! I want a picture with it!"

On our way to catch the ferry, we saw some roosters caged up. :( Sometimes, I secretly imagine myself removing the cage and screaming, "Roosters. Be free!" I have never seen so many roosters until I moved to Indonesia! Unfortunately, they were for sale and probably not as pets..

Foghorn Leghorn

Part two coming up soon. Hope you enjoyed the post!

xoxo amber

Lombok Update Coming Soon!

I know it's been awhile since I've last posted. I just got back from a relaxing (well, mostly) vacation in Lombok with my friend Julia. I have so much to share so it may take a few days before the entry is actually posted. Be on the look out soon though!

Lombok sneak preview. Reminds me of home :)

xoxo amber