This is Indonesia

I realize that we've been a little remiss in talking about life here in general. We've had some amazing travel, which is always fun to talk about, but I hope this new series will be entertaining.

When you live in a place like Indonesia, a lot of the time, things just don't make sense. Those of us who live here use a few phrases so that we can just shrug our shoulders and go on with life. This new series will try to describe the meaning of "This is Indonesia" or more commonly, "T.I.I."

We haven't been invited to any weddings yet, but we've heard a lot about all that goes into them for wealthy families here. A wedding is even more of a social statement here than it is in the U.S. While we usually send a save the date card months in advance and then the invitation weeks in advance, Indonesians try to have the invitation arrive as close to the date as possible. The reason for this is that when you receive a wedding invitation in the mail, you normally just throw it in a container you keep by your door. Then when the weekend comes around, you look through the stack and see if there are any events you need to attend. Of course, if you sent your invitation too long ago, it'd be buried in the stack and your special day might be forgotten.

In that same spirit, I interviewed a couple planning to honeymoon in the U.S. next year and they handed me their wedding invitation. It was about 4 inches by 6 inches and at least an inch thick. It opened to reveal a very fancy inviation, but on the outside, it was surrounded in denim complete with pockets and a zipper to look like blue jeans. Not only do you want to keep your invitation at the top of the pile, you want it to be memorable. T.I.I.

Four Nights in Bangkok

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we did what all good Americans do and took a weekend trip to Bangkok. We had worried before we went there that it was not going to feel like much of a vacation going from one big Asian city to another, but Bangkok is really nice. It's still a developing South East Asian city in many ways, but at the same time, nothing like Jakarta. It's clean and organized, nice sidewalks, great public transportation, etc...

We waited too long to book a cheap hotel, so we cracked open the piggy bank and stayed at the J.W. Marriott. It was an awesome hotel. We also ended up getting a mini suite as they were out of non-smoking regular rooms, so it made staying there really worth it.

I had heard that sex is on display and for sale in Bangkok, but we were shocked by how in your face it really is. Near our hotel in the area called Nana, there are prostitutes on every corner and in every bar. They even have "strip clubs" where the girls stand on stage in a bikini top and thong with a number pinned to their chest, presumably so that you can just say what number you want to order for the night. We also found a bar called Hillary Bar on the same street!

One really cool thing we did was eat at this restaurant called Vertigo. It's on the very top (62nd floor) of the Banyan Tree Hotel. It's a converted heli pad that's now a trendy bar and restaurant. It's completely open air, so our table had a rail, a small hedge, another rail and then a straight drop of more than 600 feet. Not for the acrophobics! It is definitely the most unique and coolest dining experience we've had.

Another thing that made our trip was we found a place with homemade corn tortillas, carnitas, barbacoa, margaritas, the whole bit. It was awesome.

Oh yeah, we saw some temples and stuff, too.

Marine Ball

Every year the Embassy hosts the Marine Ball. It's held to honor the marines and celebrate their anniversary, but it's also a chance to dress up and dance with a 5-course meal and an open bar! John and I went to the Marine Ball in Athens in 2001. However, because September 11th had just happened, they held it at the Ambassador's residence for security reasons. It worked well as Athens is a significantly smaller post than Jakarta. This was much different, as it was held in a big hotel ballroom with a ton of people.

Some friends decided to have a pre-party beforehand, so we were all ready to go by 4:30 in the afternoon! Everybody joked it felt like prom. By the time we left the ball at almost 1:00 in the morning, I decided my feet have never hurt quite that much before.

It's not often you get the chance to see co-workers and friends all dressed up (with real bow ties!) Our friend Alex is the marine in the picture with us. Each marine is posted in Jakarta for just one year, so we've already had to say goodbye to a few.

Welcome to Beijing

After four full days in Shanghai, we hopped on Southern China Air and took the short flight to Beijing. The flight attendants provided endless entertainment for the rest of the trip because even though their announcements were in English and Chinese, it all sounded like Chinese. As a result, our friend Brent spent the rest of the trip giving us his best attempt at recreating the experience.

Our friend Perry had planned to come to Shanghai, but his wife had come down with what they originally thought was chicken pox. When we arrived in Beijing, they still hadn't been able to diagnose what was wrong, so they were keeping her in the hospital. They did a spinal tap so that they could test the fluid for a few possibilities. Over the next several days, the spinal tap continued to leak, so there was nothing supporting her brain! They ended up staying in the hospital for the entire time we were there, so we were worries and it was too bad that we didn't get to hang out. Fortunately, she's recovered.

Beijing was a more tourism oriented time for us. On our first day, we went to one of the less touristy areas of the Great Wall. It was really great because you had to hike up the mountain to get up to the Wall. It was nice to be in cool fresh air. The views were amazing, as was finally getting to see the Wall in person.

You see some really funny signs when you're overseas, but I think those in China top the list so far. Click on the photo and read the instructions for climbing the great wall. The funny thing about our trip to the Great Wall was that after we left, we weren't talking about how we'd just seen one of the wonders of the world or how beautiful the view was. All we could talk about was the tube chute you could ride to get to the bottom of the mountain! (click on the play button if you are so inclined)

Into the Orient

A couple weeks ago, Hillary and I made our first trip to China for some sightseeing and visiting friends who are stationed there. The trip all came about when one of our friends in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia wanted to take advantage of the week long holiday at the end of Ramadhan by visiting the East.

We started our trip in Shanghai where our friend Justin is living. On our first full day there, we went to Shanghai's famous fabric market with stall after stall of fabrics and tailors. Hillary and I both had several dress shirts made for about $11 each (amazing price since these are now the nicest shirts I own). I also had a tux made since we're going to be going to the Marine's Birthday Ball soon and I figured paying $100 to have one made to my specifications was a better deal than renting one for the same price! I also had a suit made for about $70. Not to mention that they had all this ready for us two days later!

We did our fair share of sightseeing, but the trip was also great because we were able to hang out with our friends who we got to know well in DC. Our friend coming from Riyadh provided entertainment as he was trying to make up for lost time in the land of women in burkas, where they are completely covered except for their eyes.

I don't want the post to get too long, so I'll just say that Shanghai is an amazing city. It feels very European in that there are huge sidewalks and people walking everywhere; cafes and stores lining the streets. Very different from Jakarta. I'll also recommend that if you go, the fall is a great time to go. Our friends say that the pollution there is horrendous, but we only had one night in Beijing that was as bad as they say it is most of the year. More to come on the time in Beijing.

Happy Birthday - Indonesian style?

To celebrate John's birthday weekend, we had a party at our apartment on Saturday night. It was a fun time and a lot of people showed up. One great thing about the foreign service is getting to know people from all over the world. Of course there were Indonesians and lots of Americans there, but also Australians, British, Irish and even some Italians. There is a quintetto of 5 Italian women playing violins, viola, cello and piano who are here for a six-month stint performing around Jakarta. Three of them showed up with one of our guests after their show was over, and even played a bit of music for everyone!

The highlight of the night was around midnight, when we tried to celebrate John's birthday, it being Sunday at that point and his actual birthday. However, four things happened at once. I flipped the light switch a couple times and tried to get people to sing Happy Birthday. One of the Indonesian girls came out of the kitchen with a flaming banana(?) One of our guests on the patio wanted to come in and see the festivities, but instead walked straight into our glass patio door which was closed. She was fine, but unfortunately almost everyone saw her do this and started laughing hysterically. While everyone was laughing, John was suddenly doused with water and wine, which some of the Indonesian girls poured on him and completely soaked his hair, face and shirt! Supposedly it's an Indonesian tradition to do that to someone on their birthday. Needless to say he never got his birthday song or even the banana! However, it was one birthday celebration he won't soon forget.

The mildly attractive game

After a great deal of searching, I finally found a team for full field soccer. The league is made up of teams from all over the world, usually dominated by one nationality. The team I found is mostly Brits and Irishmen.

We played our first game on Saturday night under the lights in South Jakarta on one of the widest soccer fields I've ever played on. Our team is decent, but we were up against the team that one every game last year by several goals. Our opposition featured a few ex-professionals, several ex-semi-pros and even one guy who played for Cameroon in the 1990 World Cup. (Pic at left.)

It's a little sad when you say that 6-1 is respectable, but with that kind of opposition, I don't feel too disheartened by the loss.

Lombok

A friend of ours rented a villa on the island of Lombok for a month, so we went out there for a long weekend with a few other friends. The island is just east of Bali and everyone says it's a lot like Bali used to be before it became a tourist destination.

It's an amazingly beautiful island. We pretty much just hung out the whole time, cooking fish that we'd buy in the markets, relaxing in the pool, or playing bocce ball on the beach. We also made a trip to the south side of the island, which really hasn't had much tourist infrastructure develop, but has amazing beaches. While we were there, we hired a boat to take the six of us out into the bay. If there was anything you could say about the boat, seaworthy would be the right word.

The entire time we were there, we noticed a bar that advertised "Crazy Time" from 9:30-10:00 that included buy one get one free on all drinks. We had talked about going there the entire weekend, but since we were cooking big meals every night, it was hard to make it before 10:00. On our last night we succeeded by setting an alarm clock. We made it to "Crazy Time," and with four drinks in front of each one of us Hillary requested Country Roads by John Denver (a song that is infinitely more famous outside the U.S.). The best part was when the fiddle player asked Hill to play a solo in the middle of the song.

Dreams and Quakes

You may have heard about our recent earthquake in the news. On the night of Wednesday, August 8, we went over to our boss' apartment with other coworkers to watch Office Space. At about 10 p.m. we went home and went to bed.

The next morning I woke up and checked my email before going to work and saw an email with the subject "Earthquake" from my parents, which just inquired as to whether or not we were okay. I checked out the news and sure enough there had been a 7.4 magnitude earthquake only 65 miles from Jakarta at around midnight. We slept right through it...

But that's not to say that it didn't affect us. Right after we woke up that morning, Hillary told me about the awful dream she'd had. She dreamed that we were at a dinner party and that through the window we watched the three other towers of our apartment building explode, and ours was next. Her brain definitely knew something weird was going on and somehow worked that into a dream.

At work, we found out that our boss had been evacuated from his apartment and that he said it sounded like the building was falling apart. He ended up sleeping on a coworker's couch since he had no where to go. When he went back the next morning to get dressed, there were new cracks in some of the walls and chunks of plaster on the floor. Luckily, there was no real damage from the earthquake in Jakarta. But hey, now Hillary and I can say we've been through our first earthquake. Plus, it's good to know our building seems sturdy!

Everyone's gotta make a living

Just north of Jakarta, there are hundreds of tiny islands and many of them have small resorts. A couple weekends ago, we decided to go out there for a getaway. To get there, we had to take a large speedboat that had been converted into a ferry for an almost two hour ride. It had rows of seats like an airplane and no air conditioning. That ride sucked.

It was really nice to be out on an island. No pollution and no traffic, and the water was crystal clear. We were able to just relax, read, play scrabble and snorkel.

On our way back on Sunday afternoon our taxi was passing through an area of town not too far from our home when we approached a police check point. When the police saw a car with two white people in it, they made us stop. We were asked for our passports, which we didn't have. John had his drivers license, but I didn't have any ID, as I didn't want to bring my purse to a small resort. Then the shakedown started...

The cop asked John if he would step into his "office." We were on the side of the street and the only things around were little shops and stalls. When he got out of the car, the guy started to explain how his commander couldn't just let us go. John told him where we worked, but he still kept rambling on about how his commander needed "something", which translates of course as a good bit of money. John finally asked how much. We weren't going to try and pay off a cop, but we were curious to know how much it would have cost us...

After calling the embassy's security staff, I think the cops realized that they weren't going to have much success with us. They finally just let us go. An interesting experience. Oh, and the government here issues embassy employees a local ID card so you don't have to carry your passport with you, but it takes about three to six months after arriving here to get your card. From then on we have been carrying a photocopy of our passports with us!