Stray cats, shopping malls, still jet lagged

Oy. Trying to sleep through the night this time sans sleeping pills, so I'm writing to keep myself awake just a little longer. Today was the best day yet. Cultural awareness orientation. Actually quite well done. We took the bus to another swanky hotel across town. The colors here are bright. Perhaps it's to make up for the lack of color in the sky (no such thing as "blue" up above). I've noticed this layer of haze that never seems to lift (like the clouds and the sky got stirred up until a sort of gravy hangs above us instead), thus, the buildings abound with smatterings of purple, orange, yellow, blue, etc. Sort of like someone colored in Jakarta with a box of crayola and then stood back and went, "Yup, that looks about right! Should distract people from looking up." (sorry guys, said I was exhausted, can't claim to make any logical sense in such a state) The hotel we went to was mostly orange. I dug it. A fabulously educated and funny woman lead us through some very insightful discussions about preconceptions, miscommunication, open minds, mental conditioning both cultural and otherwise, etc. Good food for thought. And speaking of food, I'm being fed like a stuffed pig these days. Can't say I know what I'm eating. Looking forward to arriving in my city where I have to fend for myself and actually learn how to cook. Translation: get skinny.

After our morning of deep thinking, we took a 180 degree turn and experienced a shopping mall for the purpose of buying cell phones. There was 3 hours allotted on the schedule to accomplish this activity. At first I was puzzled by such a huge chunk of time for one simple task. Afterwards, I understood. Indonesians are not, ever, in a hurry. Ever. They walk slowly, talk slowly, and handle their transactions not so fast. Thus, a group of ten needing 7 cell phones total did indeed take close to 3 hours. By the time we were done, I collapsed in the back of the bus, after buying (and yes, I did feel remorse for doing this, but, when in Rome...) DVDs for the equivalent of 70 cents each. Pirated indeed. It was either that, or sit in a Dunkin Donuts filled with cigarette smoke (you can still smoke anywhere you want here, and people do) while I got starred at, pushed around, and ingested far too much caffeine. Hence, the bus.

While spending so much time en route to various locations, I've seen a lot of stray cats running around the streets. And it makes me sad. They're so skinny, so dirty, and because I couldn't afford my rabies shots before arriving here, I can't touch them. I want to take them all home. When I get home. Which will be on Wednesday. Until then, I'm restricted to watching them fight in the alleys and hide under cars. I just hope they don't drink the water. (Cooper my darling, Mommy will be home...in about 10 months...break my heart)

After the mall it was over to the home of the brilliant speaker from this morning. I'm so glad I got to visit an Indonesia house filled with the authentic stuff of a South East Asian Muslim family. The place was four stories high. White walls. And a spiral staircase that lead up to a rooftop garden. Very angular, tall, and cramped actually. In Jakarta there is no such thing as personal space, so you must build up, and keep it narrow. The part that was hard to swallow was the Australian Muslim in attendance who gave us Americans a little "talk" on what it means to be part of his religion. Now, I know I'm just a stupid Yank, but I've taught Muslims for two years now, and I do know a think or two about where my students come from. I don't care who you worship or how you do it. "God" is great, "God" is good, thank you for my food, Amen, rah rah rah. What I do have a problem with is arrogance, blindness, and hypocrisy. And this man was not in short supply of any of these. Needless to say, us ELFs couldn't wait for the food to begin, and for this darling religious "advisor" (not being snarky, that's what his business card calls him) to eat as much of it as possible so that we could enjoy it in silence.

The bus ride back to our little temporary abode was lovely. I really like the people I'm marooned here with. We're from all over: some east coasters, some southerners, some pacific northwesterners, and some in between. All of us cool cats. All of us seasoned and some of us sassy. Although none of the other ELFs are from my little world in Chicago, I do feel like I have a little bit of home with me. Thanks for that. And goodnight ya'll.

Sleeping through time zones

I cannot believe I slept through a Balinese massage. As in, I was in my bed in my hotel room, papers strewn across it, clothes piled on top of it, and me...dead to the world, when I should have been stretched out on a different bed in the hotel spa, allowing someone to work through the airport stagnation in my body. Just goes to show how powerful this jet lag stuff can be. And massages here are SO cheap. Like, the average price for a 90 minute massage is $15. And I slept through that!!!

Now I sit, waiting for the sleeping pill I was forced to ingest to take effect. Thought I'd jot down some observations before the sand man welcomes me once again.

1) You pay for water here. At a place of dinning. Water is always bottled for safety reasons, thus, it arrives at your table, straw in place, at 10000 rp ($1.00) per serving. No more endless cup after cup. (except for in my swanky hotel...we're spoiled in house)

2) The sun comes up in Jakarta, but it is not "sunny". At least not lately. The air is thick here, with the fumes of so many people in such a small space, so when the sun rises before 6am and everyone has finished morning prayer, it's light out, but in that sort of hazy L.A. feeling one gets when one lives out West. Very David Lynch...with an Asian bent.

3) Apparently there is no real legal age at which one can operate or ride on a motor vehicle. And if there is one, no one cares. I literally saw a ten year old on a bike, waiting for a light to change this afternoon. My heart stopped. His feet didn't even reach the pedals. Then I saw the "driver" was merely chatting with someone off the bike before remounting. Moments later, I saw a family of four on another bike. Father, Mother, child, and toddler. Toddler did not have a helmet on, so Mother was holding the child's head in her hands....lordy.

4) One never knows what one is eating, even after one reads the label. The amazing meals at this hotel have been an adventure. What looks like scrambled eggs tastes like grits. What I thought was a sausage roll was actually a banana and chocolate concoction. What should have been a sweet dessert tasted like coagulated rice with loaded sweetener. I have a feeling I'm going to lose a bit of weight before this is done.

5) I know more than I think I do. I've only been teaching English to international students for 2 years. Why did they hire me again? Little did I realize that the teachers I will be working with at my University (Universitas Brawijaya) have an average score of 450 on their TOEFL exam. To those of you not in the ESL profession, that equates to about a fourth grade reading and speaking level. Maybe lower.

6) My knowledge will get me far. I've already been asked to speak at a conference on graduate schools in the United States at the end of the month. This event will be held on the island of Java, but in another town. Not sure of the details just yet, but I think I'll have to be flown there, and I hear the area is nice. Lordy.

And with that, I'm going to let sleep take me back to dream land. I wish I could post pictures, but I cannot locate the chord that connects my camera to my computer just yet. I'm hoping I packed it so well it's just hiding from me. If not, I'll have to look into buying another one. Sorry for the delay. And goodnight.

Jet lag in Jakarta

It's Saturday morning, and I can't sleep. So much to take in over the last few days. I've flown on planes with ten seats across and two stories high (I'd forgotten how amazing international flight are. So many movies, socks and toothpaste). I've sat in Hong Kong's bright and shiny airport looking out at the mountains engulfing the planes that bring people to and from their destiny. And now I perch, unable to sleep, in my hotel room in Jakarta. Feeling waves of bewilderment, sadness, excitement, and wonder.

This is one hell of a city. A third world New York. Packed, hot, sticky, with eyes starring at you in all directions. The people here seem sweet. Even the men at the airport helped me pull my three oversized, overweight suitcases with grace and genuine kindness. Once at our hotel (a beauty on the website but surrounded by slums in reality), we showered (western bathrooms here, thank god) and went to find food. I like the hot air. Always have enjoyed humidity. But the air conditioning in the restaurant was chilling my bones, reminding me of Chicago in March. The food was also not what I expected. My plate of fried rice with seafood was served as an upside down cup of rice with prawns and squid (not my favorite). Since I've been told not to eat cold vegetables for fear of food poisoning, my cucumbers remained untouched.

My fellow ELFs (English Language Fellows) and I went to get converters for the electrical sockets. Word to the wise. They cost $2 here and $30 in the States. And the one I got in Chicago, feeling oh so prepared and savvy, I can't even open due to my lack of scissors and over packaging...ah, the many lessons I will soon learn.

I'm adjusting. I'm suffering from culture shock and a seriously confused sense of time. But I'm happy to share this with all of you. I miss you. I miss Chicago. My cat, my front porch, all the lovely people that I've shared eight years with. I plan to return. But before then, I'll be here. Doing things I never thought I could or would do.

The sun is rising. 5:46am. Hazy city outside my window. A day of orientation and more culture shock for sure.

This is my first blog. It's going to be under construction for a bit. Bear with me.

Love,

Court