Swim meet and Raingutter Regatta

Today was a very busy day.  We started out by attending a practice swim meet for Audrey at the Australian International School.  It was an opportunity for the participants to try out competing in a swim meet.  Audrey did well placing 1st in two events and 2nd in a third event.  After it was over, she said that she had fun but wasn't keen to do more competition.  At least she enjoyed it and is a proficient swimmer.

After that, we made our way to the main Jakarta International School campus for Joseph's pack meeting.  The main event was the raingutter regatta which is a sail boat race where the boys build a boat from a kit and race them by blowing in the sail.  The boys had a blast and it was well attended.

As if that was not enough, we then made our way to attend the ward Christmas party.  We didn't have time to run home to make the mashed potatoes we were signed up for (due to traffic, of course), so we bought some potatoes and invaded the kitchen of a friend from the ward who lives in the same compound as the party.  We made it to the party with steaming hot mashed potatoes and had a great time doing skits and singing Christman carols after eating a Thanksgiving sized feast.

What a day!  We left the house at 8:00 am and didn't return until 9:30 pm.  Most people only do one activity a day due to the traffic, but we are gluttons for punishment, so we made three things happen.  Needless to say the kids were asleep as soon as they hit their pillows.

Air purifier - Round 2

It has been a few months since the previous air purifier died.  We recently noticed that Julia and I have developed a cough, and we suspect it is due to the declining air quality in our apartment.  So we bit the bullet again today and bought a new air purifier at Ace Hardware.  It is a significant upgrade from the other one as it made by Honeywell and is the most powerful one they had. 

After we unpackaged it, everyone wants to get their room's air cleaned!  We even felt extra ambitious and cleaned out the filters in our A/C units in each room in the apartment.  Not sure the last time that was done...  I certainly hope all this effort and expense helps out our lungs, won't be too difficult to get air purifier filters, and that the new machine lasts for more than a year...

Cub Scouts

Now that Joseph has turned eight a few months ago, we thought it was time to get him involved in scouting.  We had looking into it before, but the logistics seemed too much to make it happen.  Luckily, this time when we looked into it, they had a BSA cub scout pack that met at the American Club on Saturday afternoons which seemed doable.  So we signed him up and met the other boys and parents involved. 

Once the current leader of the Bear Den learned that I had been a scout as a youth and a scout leader before, he quickly passed the baton to me, so now I am the Den Leader.  I must admit that the logistics of coordinating cub scouts is exponentially more headache in Jakarta than it was in Houston.  However, Joseph is very excited to participate in the scouting program which as been a family favorite for four generations now. 

I attached some pictures of Joseph's uniform.  It is a mix of official BSA gear imported from the US and locally sourced content.  I continued the tradition of my father and sewed on the patches myself by hand.  Hopefully, he will have many positive memories of scouting as I did growing up.

 

 

 

Arundel Castle

After completing the first week of training for work, I wanted to get out of Gatwick for Saturday.  I thought about going into London, but I generally don't go into big cities for recreation.  As I was reading my Lonely Planet book and internet sites, I came across Arundel castle.  The castle itself was started in 1067 and is still occupied by the Duke of Norfolk. 

I always have been a fan of castles and have visited a couple castles in Norway and France previously.  It was only an hour away by train and looked promising.  So after a late breakfast, I boarded the train for Arundel.

I was impressed by how well the castle was upkept and throughly enjoyed the day roaming the town.  There was also an ancient gothic style catherdal in town as well.  It even had gargoyles...  I topped off the day with a quick dinner of fish 'n chips and headed by to Gatwick.

Arriving in England

I arrived in England yesterday for a 2 week training course.  I have looked forward to coming this country as a number of my ancestors emigrated from here to the US generations ago and I have wondered what it would be like to come to the lands of my forefathers.  I never have felt much of a connection to the UK and only a mild connection with Germany (which is where the other side of my family emigrated generations ago), so I really wasn't sure what I'd think of it.

Anyway, my initial impressions are that the UK is much like other parts of Europe that I have visited such as France and Norway.  Everything is clean and in good working order.  I must admit it is refreshing to take a break from the chaos of Jakarta. Of course, England does offer its own uniqueness as well.

Yesterday, I took a long stroll down some country roads near the Gatwick airport.  I enjoyed walking along quiet roads lined with hedges and taking glimpses of classic cottages that are covered by vines.  I even saw a small group of deer as I walked along. 

I must say that my favorite part of the UK is its people.  They have such a gift of language and love to put words together in humorous ways.  At church today, I was invited to have dinner with some of the members and we had a great time.  We ate too much delicious food, and had some great laughs.

I even spent a couple hours tracting the streets of Crawley with some of the LDS missionaries serving here.  We met some interesting people, and I couldn't help but reflect on how my great-great grandfather (I think) had served his mission here in the 1890's and wondered if my ancestors had walked down these same streets in the distant past.  It was definitely an experience I shall treasure for a long time. 

Here are some pictures I took from my walking about:

Pack activity at the fire station

Joseph recently joined the local Cub Scout pack here in Jakarta.  I also was recruited to the Bear Den Leader once I revealed that I had been a scout as a youth and leader a couple years ago.  Anyway, we had a fun activity as a pack at a local fire station.  The boys got to learn about fire safety and then go down the three story fire pole, ride on top of a fire truck down the streets of Jakarta, and spray each other with fire hoses.  The boys had a blast and the Kijang got a free wash!

It's Here

We got our new coffee table today. We love it! It has a rustic look and like the bench, is very solid. We are very happy with the pieces we had made at Batavia 3. They do not kiln dry so they only use old reclaimed teak. The coffee table is a rich dark color that is the original color of the wood. It gets darker with age. The shop said they did not stain the coffee table at all. As with the bench, we love all the natural imperfections in the wood. It is so tempting to have more furniture made.

Long weekend in Bali

After returning from summer vacation in Bali, we decided to take a vacation from our vacation and spend four days in Bali.  Idul Fitri (celebrating the end of Ramahdan) happened to be on Thursday and Friday this year, so it worked out well to head out of town for a couple days.  We met up with a family from our church and hung out by the pool and beach for most of the time. 

We did take a day trip to north Bali where we saw a Hindu temple complex, a waterfall, and a hot springs bath area.

We also ate an amazing seafood dinner on Jimbaran beach.  I rented a motorbike and took the kids for a ride as well.  Amazingly, the weather was perfect the entire time, and we didn't hear "Hotel California" a single time this go around.  :)

Weekend in Kuta, Lombok

Last year, I briefly stayed in Senggigi (NW corner of Lombok) on my way to Gili Meno.  As I took a boat along the coast of Lombok, I knew I had to come back and tour it on a motorbike.  I had heard that the southern coast of Lombok had some of the best beached in Indonesia, so I decided to explore it over the weekend. 

I flew out on the last Garuda flight after work on Friday.  After a two hour delay on the Jakarta runway, we were off!  I finally arrived in the Novotel hotel in Kuta, Lombok late Friday night.  This is the only real hotel on the southern coast, and I thought it would be good to try it out for future family trips. 

Kuta, Lombok is not be confused with Kuta in Bali. Lombok is about 20 years of development behind Bali, so Lombok is still the way it should be: pristine and uncrowded. :)

 Beautiful Novotel Hotel grounds.

View from the beach at the hotel.  The beach at the hotel was made from ooids (small circular carbonate grains).  The geologist in me thought that was pretty sweet.

I decided the climb the peak in the previous picture.

View from the peak.  The hotel in the center of the image.

I rented a motor bike and headed about an hour to the east.  The road was very rough, and I got a flat tire.  :(  Luckily, I made it to the next small town and got it fixed for $2 USD.

After lunch, I headed about an hour to the west of the hotel.  The roads were new, and the views amazing. 

I visited Mawun beach and the view was breath-taking.  Only a few people there enjoying the beach and small vendors selling drinks and sarongs.

I wrapped up the day with a dinner on Kuta beach.  While I waited for my food, some water buffalo strolled by.  Literally five feet from my table!

Sunday morning, I went for another ride out west and then headed back to Jakarta.  It was an amazing weekend, and I look forward to visiting Lombok again!

Fishing in the haunted pool

Since I had a good time fishing at the apartment the other day, I went to a local mall (Pasar Raya) and bought a fishing pole and some accessories.  I also had my driver pick up some worms (cacing in Indonesian) along the street where they sell all kinds of pets.  I decided to check out an old, abandoned swimming pool next to our apartment to see if I could catch anything.

 

The abandoned pool.  I set up in the shade where the old bar (for serving cold drinks) was.

 

I caught an eating size bawal hitam on my first cast!  I caught two like this.

 

I also caught several of these little guys.  They remind me of sunfish back in Texas.

 

 

I ended up catching quite a few fish in about an hour, and I just tossed them all back.  Right as I was packing up, an indonesian guy strolled over, and we chatted a bit.  Turns out he works (and lives) there, and he is actively stocking the pool and a smaller pond nearby from the other ponds at the hotel.  He said there were 6 bawal hitam, 1 two pound snakehead, and lots of medium size catfish in the old swimming pool I was at.  He said I was welcome to fish as I pleased, and I assured him that I would not keep any as he likely needs them to feed his family. 

 

He also said other ponds on the property had much bigger fish (which agrees with Tedi's account).  I feel like Jeremy Wade as I am investigating where the "River Monsters" are hiding.  Next time, I'll have to try another area of the hotel grounds.  :)

 

He also told me that the staff avoids the old pool area due to the frequent sightings of ghosts.  He said he personally saw a little boy and girl running around the old pool late one night.  I guess I can't say I am surprised as the hotel has been around since the 1970's...

Fishing at the apartment

Yep, that's right, I went fishing at my apartment this afternoon.  After work, I went for a stroll around the complex to a mostly abandoned area behind the hotel that has a fairly big pond.  I decided to sit down next to a local guy with a fishing pole and strike up a relaxed conversation in Indonesian (mixed with English).  Before long, Tedi offered to let me fish a bit with some worms as bait.  I ended up catching two baby snakeheads (one of them below) and a sunfish-like fish. 

For the uninitiated, snakeheads are notoriously aggressive eaters that are currently wreaking havoc in Florida (due their illegal introduction) and are native to SE Asia.  They even have lungs and can survive quite a while outside of the water.  This little guy put up a decent fight for his size, and I thoughly enjoyed the experience.  Tedi told me that they can get as big as 4 kilos (~9 lbs) in this pond during the rainy season and are quite tasty.  Needless to say, I will be back to that side of the complex in the near future with a fishing pole of my own!

Trip to Beijing, China

Last week, I took a business trip to Beijing, China.  The original plan was to bring Julia and the kids, but plans changed when Julia couldn't get a visa (as previously mentioned).  Luckily, my visa came though and so went by myself to the training course. 

My initial impressions:

You have to be careful as the locals like to charge high prices to foreigners.  Sometimes you can negotiate down, but other times not.  I did however, meet many nice people and enjoyed the efficiency of Chinese society.

Public transportation was pretty extensive and traffic wasn't an issue during my stay.  The roads are big and the buildings are spread out in the city, which I didn't expect in an asian city. However, smog was really bad. It made Jakarta air quality look great and that is no compliment. Apparently, they made temporary changes back in 2008 to clean up the air for the Olympics, but unfortunantly, that didn't last long.  The Bird's Nest stadium above was built for the Olympics and now is barely visible as you walk by.  You can feel the air as you breath... not good.

Many people rode electric bicycles with manual pedals as backup.  This is a novel idea that should be used in other places more.

 

 

I did have a bit of time to see some tourist spots like Tiananman Square and Forbidden City (pictured above).

I also visted the Gread Wall at Mutianyu about an hour outside of Beijing.  The Great Wall was the highlight of the trip and after an hour of hiking one way, I had to turn back as my legs turned to jello.  It got progressively foggier as well, so my friend and I decided to move on after about 2 hours on the wall. 

All in all, it was a memorable trip and it is great to back home in Jakarta.  :)

Gone to America

Julia and the kids left for Texas on Sunday night to spend time with family and friends during the summer break.  They flew Qatar airlines and seem to have had a good trip (well, as good as it gets traveling to the other side of the world with three kids).  ;)

The original plan was for everyone to come to China with me next week, but there was complications getting visas, so we had to scrap that and get new tickets for Julia and the kids.

Anyway, Julia and the kids are excited to spend lots of quality time with our loved ones in Texas, and we feel blessed to be able to spend so much time with them even if it is concentrated to only one part of the year.

More new furniture

Last week, our new bench was delivered.  It was made by a local shop called Batavia 3 that specializes in making custom furniture from old, recycled teak.  The teak often comes from old houses that have been demolished. 

We saw the bench at her shop the first time we stopped by and were intrigued by the rustic look of it.  Apparently it hadn't sold because most buyers want the entire piece completely sanded smooth.  Julia and I like the rustic look of the bench, so we had the shop add some Dayak style carvings (inspired by my Iban headhunter shield that I got from my mission days on Borneo island).  The Dayak style carvings on the upper portion of the bench replaced the previous carvings taken from a old house in Madura island (that we didn't care for).  The result is striking and interesting to look at and is as solid as a rock.  It is also quite confortable to rest on as well.

We also commissioned a coffee table that also will have similar style carvings and character in the wood.  We look forward to it being delivered in August.

New furniture

Julia has been wanting to get some quality Indonesian made furniture even before we arrived in Jakarta. The other day, one of friends in the apartment complex was selling a nice teak piece that Julia really liked so we bought it and had our cleaning guy bring it over to our place. It is solid "old teak" and is quite heavy. We are quite pleased with the quality and style of it as well.

Now we'll have to figure out how to get and any other pieces we acquire back to the USA. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Doss

Thoughts on food storage and preparedness

I was raised in a LDS home that valued self-reliance and preparedness.  I have many childhood memories working with my parents and siblings in the family garden raising our own food.  Now as an adult, I would like to teach these values and skill sets to my own children and also be as prepared as we reasonable can be. 

Back when we lived stateside, we had a small (mostly defunct) garden in raised beds and a couple months worth of food and water.  It was a good start, but we never did reach the ideal goal of a year supply due to a variety of reasons, the main one being that we frequently moved with my job. 

Now that we live overseas, it is even more challenging.  As I talk with other expats, I have come to realize that we all feel a bit vulnerable knowing that we don't have our family network nearby to rely on in an emergency.  Luckily, we have made many friends here in Jakarta and are actively involved in the Mormon church here which makes a great network for us.  The catch is that few expats stay around for much more than 2-3 years, so the network is always changing.  Also, I have not found a place to buy supplies for long-term food storage in Jakarta.  Even so, I think it is prudent to have a plan for preparing for possible emergencies.

We currently have a couple weeks worth of food, water, and butane for a small, portable cooking burner.  We also have the other basics like 72 hour kit, flashlights, batteries, hand tools, 5 gallon gas can, a small tent, etc.  I think a reasonable goal is to work up to having a 3 month supply of food.  We can always eat it down before we leave.  We are also planning to increase the number of edible potted plants on our balconies.  We also considering staging long-term food storage (shelf life >25 years) at family members' houses back in Texas so that they can use it if needed, and we can also pick it up when we return.

Any more than 3 months of food is likely just going to be given away when we leave and never used under any reasonable scenario.  It would allow us to ride out the most likely emergency situations like significant storms, flooding, earthquake, volcanic eruption, power/water outages, and even short-term civil unrest.  If things get worse than this, the company should evacuate us to a safe place.  Also, if I was laid off, the company policy is to pay for my family and myself to get back to our home location and we would then get our stored food storage.

If we encounter an end of the world situation, well then, all bets are off.  Obviously, we would not be able to count on hopping on a plane or boat to get back home.  And traveling from Indonesia back to Texas without modern transportation is a bit beyond my current skill set.  In reality, I am not sure I'd want to be one of the "lucky" ones to survive the initial crisis.  As has been popularized by so many recent movies and other media about the end of the world, it wouldn't be a fun time anyway. 

Although, finding a deserted island to live on does have some appeal (I thoughly enjoyed reason Robinson Crusoe).  After all, Indonesia has ~18,000 islands and only 1/3 are populated...

Indonesian wedding reception

Last night, we attended a wedding reception for one of my co-workers.  The event was held at a large hall purpose built for holding gatherings like this one.  There were literally hundreds of guests in attendance and abundant food located a different locations around the venue.  We stayed for about an hour until it started to get too hot and the kids started getting too tired.  It was nice to be invited and socialize a bit with some of my co-workers.

The couple are from west Sumatra near Padang and are wearing traditional dress.  I didn't take the picture below, but one of my other co-workers did.

Camping

Joseph and I went camping last night on a father and sons' campout with friends from church.  We went to the same place as last year, but got a different campsite.  The road to the campsite was significantly rougher to get to the new site.  My friend's mini-van had trouble climbing the loose rock trail, but the Kijang climbed like a champ.  We had a great time and headed back to Jakarta mid-morning.

Citatih River Rafting

I joined a group from our church to go rafting on the Citatih River last Saturday.  We left Jakarta at 5:30 am and arrived at the Cherokee rafting place at 9:00.  It has been raining quite a bit the last few days so the river was pretty high and that made for a very exciting ride.  I think the rapids varied from 3-4 on the rafting scale.  A few of the guys got tossed out of the raft, and we only had one minor injury.  We rafted three hours, had lunch and headed back.  We made it back to Jakarta at about 7:00 pm.  Needless to say the traffic was heavy, but we still had a great time.  This is the second time I have rafted this river and look forward to doing it again if the opportunity presents itself.  :)

Doss