I hired a housekeeper today. They are pretty common, not only among expatriate staff, but also many Indonesians. They are called pembantus which means “House help” Sometimes they even export themselves to […]
Duck and Cover
Here is a primer on Indonesian politics as seen from a bule’s eyes. A bule is a foreigner or more specifically, a white person, but I’m assured there is no discriminatory connotation. […]
Greasy Palms
It was Indonesian Independence Day this past weekend. To honor the day, the embassy relaxed and had “FUN DAY!” An afternoon of games and snacks and music. By games, I mean gunny […]
A Peaceful Home
We’ve a peaceful house. Or so my daughter tells me. We found geckos in our house. Last night it was 2. Tonight it’s 5. I can see one peeking at me right […]
The Third 24 Hours
Nearly slept through the night. We need to be up early anyway for a meeting at the school. We successfully navigate a taxi to the school using only the name of the […]
The Second 24 hours
Fitfully resting since 3 am, I wake for good at 5 AM. We’ve a ride coming at 6:30. I am fatigued. I’m not in tears, but I can feel them close. I […]
The First 24 hours
Holy, Crap! On the ground now in Jakarta just over 24 hours. My, oh, my. Overwhelmed doesn’t begin to describe it. Arrived from Hong Kong last evening and collected at airport by […]
Jet Planes
All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go…. We held a going away potluck/party. This was originally planned for our daughter, but quickly changed to a whole family event at a […]
F.A.S.T Indonesian
I’m now two weeks into my F.A.S.T. Indonesian course here in DC. I have now idea what F.A.S.T. stands for. I know that it is 29 weeks shorter than the regular course. […]
The Huggers
Sky lanterns are paper balloons with a wax fuel pellet suspended from the bottom. You light them and let the paper balloon fill with hot air and then release it to fly […]
Secret Asian Man 