On holiday

"What do you do on holidays, Ma'am?"

This is a common question from both my students and my fellow teachers. I learned quickly that by "holiday," they actually mean "weekend." My answer, sadly, is usually, "Not too much."

Living in a huge city like Jakarta, I feel like I should be out roaming around, visiting here and there, taking in the local culture, etc. I have plenty of friendly folks who will accompany me, too, so that's not the problem. I guess I've always been more of a loner by nature, and that hasn't changed since moving to a new country. I generally like to spend my weekends in solitude...catching up on work, recharging, and refreshing for the week to come. So, I've made it a personal challenge to accept most social offers - force myself to get out, socialize, and experience the world I inhabit.

This past weekend was an extra special treat, though. Friend and ELF Julianne came to visit! It is so much easier to explore a city when you have a travel buddy. Ok , ok...so we didn't do traveling so much as restaurant exploration, but mmmm, I'm okay with that.

There are a ton of restaurants in walking distance from my apartment, but I never check them out because I didn't want to dine alone. With Jules as my dining companion, we managed to try no less than six restaurants and one donut/coffee house. You can see a few highlights in here.

 Side: While, I still may have troubles getting down with eating a whole fish on my plate, endless fried everything, and the sambal (spicy red sauce) that accompanies nearly every Indonesian dish, it is all balanced out by the omnipresent fresh fruit juices. Every restaurant menu has a list of the juices where we would have a list of sodas. They are delicious, and (I hope) nutritious (you can't always tell how much sugar or milk has been added). And, I'm learning about so many new fruits! So far my favorites are mango, strawberry, and sirsak.

Last week, I watched the cafeteria workers from Sebasa beat down mangoes from the tree in front of my office. Now, that's fresh. There is also a "jambu" tree in front of the office. The teachers dip this watery and somewhat bitter fruit with a special chilly-sweet sauce that tastes something like eating pepper spray. Yes, they enjoyed watching the bule sweat and cough after even the tiniest sampling of this special treat.





Jules and I also did a bit of shopping. We were on a mission to find an evening gown for an upcoming Marine Ball hosted by the US Embassy. It's a formal affair, so floor-length gowns are expected. The problem is "floor length" is defined somewhat differently when it comes to Asian sizes, and Jules is every bit as tall as me - landing her in the "giant" end of things with me (not a good feeling). I side-stepped the issue by finding a tailor to make a dress, but many of the girls were hopeful that they could find inexpensive dresses in Jakarta. After going to countless malls (you would not believe the amount of malls around here - mall walking is a close second to Karaoke in the national sport category), Jules came up empty handed. But, all was not lost, because along the way, we found and experienced Kopi Luwak...roughly translated as "cat poop coffee."

 Jules, having lived in Indonesia for a year already, knew all about this exclusive coffee that is indigenous to Indonesia. Apparently, it's a big deal. Oprah said so. Also, a single cup of this stuff can run you $50 in America. And here's what happens. A cat-like creature called a civet (Luwak in Indo) eats the coffee cherries and poops them out after their stomach enzymes have done their magic. Then some lucky workers gather the magical excrement and turn it into a $50 cup of joe. Mmmm. Jules and I, along with my friend Miranda (from running) stumbled upon the kopi luwak cafe in one of the malls. Jules really wanted to see what the buzz was all about, so we went in. Lucky for us, the coffee only runs about $8 a cup here, which is still really expensive by Indo standards, but cheap enough to give it a whirl. Jules ordered a cup to share.

The girls with Sara Sidner, international correspondent for CNN

Before taking a first sip, a woman approached our table, explaining that she was from CNN. With a camera crew behind her, she asked Jules if she could record her first kopi luwak experience on film. Sure, why not? CNN apparently was doing a feature on Indo, highlighting several special treats that will air the week of Nov. 22. So, with much anticipation, glaring lights, and big fuzzy microphone floating in front of us, Jules took her first sip of the drink and passed the cup around. Tastes like...(drum roll....) coffee.We sipped, swirled, and sloshed but unanimously agreed that is still tasted like plain ol' coffee. Granted, none of us are coffee connoisseurs, but for such fan fare, I really expect to experience a miracle in a cup. Selah. At least it came in this pretty little bag.

But the fun did not end there. On the way back to my apartment, we passed through an area of Jakarta called "Menteng." This is the neighborhood where Obama spent a brief part of his childhood. I asked Miranda about it while we were sitting at a red light. Without a second thought, she threw the car in reverse, and we headed toward Obama's elementary school.




                                                                              In typical Jakarta style, the skies clouded over as we drove to the school. The rain let loose in a down pour just as we pulled up to the school. But being the crazy bules that we are, Jules and I bounded out of the car to get pictures with Obama's school. Miranda (the sensible native) stayed in the car, but threw an umbrella out after us with an amused look on her face.






There it was...looking pretty much like any other school (well, maybe a bit nicer than most in the area). There was, of course, a big plaque with Obama's face on it by the front gate and a bronze statue of him as a child smack dab in the middle of the courtyard. (Oddly, there is a replica of the statue in a Mexican restaurant we visited later in the weekend). He's supposed to visit in November, and will likely take a trip to his old stomping grounds. This maybe the closest I'll ever get to the man...half way across the world. ;)