Malang kota yang indah.

Translation: Malang is a beautiful city. And it is. Cool breezes in warm fluid air. Tropical birds singing new and joyous songs. Smiling faces, palm trees, apples, sunshine, and the ever present sound of motorbikes. So much to type, so little time before my first staff meeting.

To be quick for now: I'm staying in University Guest housing while my place is fixed up. The accommodation I arrived expecting to stay in was inhospitable (moldy walls, broken windows, mosquitoes excited to bite the foreigner). What would take ten minutes in the States to fix took two hours here to negotiate. My room at the guest house is not bad. The toilet flushes and I have a standing shower (plush digs!), but the place is currently under construction, so my quiet time is relegated to the wee hours of the night. And the wireless is down. Hence my lack of blogging while I am introduced to Malang. Sorry guys, doing the best I can here to get by one day at a time.

Within a week I hope to be in the Recktor's spare house. He's the big man in charge of my University, and his offer to let me stay in his "extra" house is very generous. It has more space than I could use, but it's furnished, with curtains for privacy and an enclosed outdoor garden that I will have all to myself. Guests are welcome! There is more than enough room, with beds for my friends and family. It's on University grounds, and close to the gym, post office, mall, and coffee shops. My co-worker, Wayan (from Bali) has already agreed to go to yoga classes with me. And once I get a motorbike of my own, I'll be one of the locals (sorry Mom, I have to get one, there is no other way to travel in these parts).

I've not started teaching yet. That's next week. I'll be "team teaching" all of my classes. I have mixed feelings about that, as it's new to me, but I'm trying to go with the flow and adjust my expectations. Resistance is not part of this culture. So when I came back to my guest room last night and found tiny ants crawling all over my toiletries, I didn't scream. I just quietly took my alcohol swabs and doused the suckers until they ran screaming. There is a saying here (I'll translate), "Wherever there is something sweet, there will be ants". And how.