We got up and out the door early on a Saturday morning for Jackson to try out baseball. We found his group and he joined right in. Everything was in Bahasa (the local language), but he managed and actually made a friend. While they waited in line for their turn to run, catch, or throw, they fooled around – giving each other High Fives and such.
Baseball in Bahasa
After two hours in the heat and humidity and waiting for what seemed like forever for his turn, we finally headed out, unsure of whether we would return. We decided not to make a decision that day, as we were both feeling pretty worn out. We’ll go back one more time and decide if we are going to become a baseball family. Here, the sports go year-round. So, there is not a baseball season and then a soccer season. If we join, we are ‘all in’.
Hot and sweaty, we hopped into a taxi and went straight to a dumpling making class! (Well, Jackson sat in the other room playing video games while attended class.)
It was so much fun! We stuffed and rolled and folded each dumpling with loving care. We packaged ours to bring home and enjoyed the professionally made ones – hot out of the steamer. She had a variety of chicken, shrimp, and pork dumplings for us to sample – and lots of sauces too.
They lady giving the classes lived in the U.S. for a few years before returning to Indonesia. She was full of personality and shared her story of how she started and is now continuing to grow her business. We all left feeling good: with full tummies and the knowledge that we supported a female entrepreneur.
It has been around 90 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity almost every day. We have a few dehumidifiers at home that need to be emptied several times a day.
We are happy in our house, although it is still quite empty. Our shipments are not expected to arrive for weeks, if not months. I have a full-sized refrigerator as well as an upright freezer. I am thankful to have a full-sized oven, with a gas stove top. Jackson and I made chocolate chip cookies this weekend, to welcome new neighbors. It was a bit of a challenge without measuring cups, a mixer, or cookie sheets…but we managed – and the cookies came out delicious! (This was a service project for cub scouts)
Cookies to welcome our new neighbors
Many things here are ‘app-driven’ – from ordering a taxi to having groceries delivered, so I’ve been working to set up all the apps on my phone. I’ve even worked out how to transfer money so that I don’t have to carry so much cash with me. At the office, I scan a QR code with my phone and pay for coffee or lunch automatically. It’s pretty cool! I’ve even ordered Starbucks and McDonalds on the app, and they delivered right to my door – and the cups are sealed with plastic, so no drinks are spilled!
McDonalds Delivered!
The traffic really is as bad as they say it is – especially when it rains! It took 3 hours to travel 7 miles! Taxis were stuck in the traffic, so there were none available to pick me up. I ended up taking a tuk tuk to a local mall, hoping the taxis would be more plentiful. They were not. It was an experience that I do not wish to repeat any time soon! A few days later, I heard that children were stuck on the school bus for hours in the traffic. Luckily, Jackson was not one of them.
Tuk Tuk in the rain
Overall, things are going well. We are finding our way and starting to feel settled.
We’d just arrived in Indonesia and I jumped in a bit prematurely to join this hike. We needed to pack our lunch and provide negative Covid antigen test results before joining the group. For anyone else, that doesn’t seem too challenging, but our cupboards were bare, and I did not bring any antigen tests in our suitcases.
Well, I was able to download an app that would deliver some bread and fruit to the house so I could pack a lunch.
Finding the test kits proved to be a bit more challenging. I asked at work and they did not have extras for personal use. I asked the house helper to purchase them while I was at work. She advised that she could not purchase them without a passport. Time was running out and someone suggested using another app to order the test kits and to have them delivered to the house, or I could book a clinic to come to the house and test us. I could not get the app to work. I was out of energy and did not want to deal with trying to book a clinic to come to the house. I do not speak the local language, and it was about 7pm the night before the hike. I finally cried UNCLE and called to cancel our plans. I’m still not sure if I was lucky or unlucky, but the person organizing the hike had extra test kits and had her driver deliver them to me! We were back in the game!
Up and out the door at 5:30am on a Saturday morning, we met at the rendezvous point for a 6am departure. 2.5 hours later, we arrived at the other end, to meet our guides. We used the ‘toilet’…Jackson’s first experience with a ‘squatty potty’! We stretched, re-boarded the bus and made our way to the starting point. Water and walking sticks were distributed. There was a mention that there might be a McDonald’s at the end of the trail, so the kids were awake and ready to hike.
Over little bamboo bridges, up stony hills, past the Indonesian military doing their drills, an hour and a half later, we made it to the top of the mountain. The intrepid adventurers continued down the other side of the mountain and were rewarded with views of a lovely waterfall. (I was not one of them…and stayed on top of the mountain with the park ranger and the bees)
The pack leader led Jackson back up the mountain to me (apparently some of the bees stayed with him), and we headed back to the cars, while the others splashed around in the river for a bit.
It was just as challenging going down the slippery stones as it was climbing up. Jackson slipped and busted his knee while fighting off the bees. We encountered the Indonesian military hiding in the bushes at several junctions. I’m sure they had a good laugh as we poked our way out of their jungle.
Owie!Indonesian Military in the jungle with us
After the hike, the parents popped into a coffee shop for a boost to survive the 3-hour journey home. I stayed on the bus with a sleeping kid (not mine), but I’m told they had to pay to enter the coffee shop and there were familiar toilets available! I did get an iced coffee, and it was just like Starbucks!
We met up with our ‘escort’ that helped us navigate the horrendous traffic on the way back into Jakarta. It was still a three-hour journey and I can’t imagine what the trip would have been like without our escort!
This was really hard, but we did it!! (and in case you were wondering, there was NO McDonald’s on the mountain.)
Mount Salak (Indonesian: Gunung Salak, Sundanese: Gunung Salak) is an eroded volcano in West Java, Indonesia. It has several satellite cones on its southeast flank and the northern foot, along with two additional craters at the summit. Mount Salak has been evaluated for geothermal power development.[1] According to a popular belief, the name “Salak” is derived from salak, a tropical fruit with scaly skin; however, according to Sundanese tradition, the name was derived from the Sanskrit word Salaka which means “silver“. Mount Salak can be translated to “Silver Mountain” or “Mount Silver”.
Many feral cats found their way to my parent’s home and their numbers continued to multiply-possibly up to 14 cats! My parent’s had a difficult time catching each one as the cats were not used to interacting with people.
Surreptitiously, a colony of cats living behind the local grocery were forced to be relocated and a cat lover named Pat was looking for a new place for these 20 cats to live.
My parents met Pat, who agreed to catch all of the feral cats and have them ‘fixed’, if my parents agreed to take in the grocery store cats. It was a win-win situation!
They now have a routine in feeding and caring for the multitude of cats. In the morning, mom prepares a mix of wet and dry food for the inside cats, the front porch cats, the side porch cats, the way back cats, and the side back cats. They do it again each evening.
My dad walks around with cat treats in his pockets and woos these feral cats. They all have names, and many come up to him on his daily walks for cuddles and treats.
Mom and Dad ensure medical treatment is provided to those in need. They are very well known at the vet’s office! Cats will often come into their house after treatment, and either run back outside when they are healed, or join the group of inside cats.
On my last visit, two of the previously feral (and now inside) cats climbed into bed with me one actually climbed into my lap and snuggled as close as he could get to me!! Just call me the cat whisperer! 😊
Wally G (Wal-Mart Greeter: He greets them everytime they come home!)
