A few weeks ago I visited Tamand mini (mini Indonesia) with my host family. It's basically a giant park that has miniature replicas of the different provinces of Indonesia and their cultures. The park also has an bird conservation center so we got to see a lot of the tropical birds that are native here. By the end of the day I think I had about 6 different kinds of birds be placed on my shoulders. I even had a cockatoo mock my laugh which, as many of you know, is really obnoxious so that was the highlight of my morning. We only got to visit 3 provinces but it was a lot of fun and I am told that we will be able to visit again soon enough.
Earlier this month, my host dad asked me if I wanted to be entered in a race ( I have been going out to run almost everyday here so he figured I would enjoy the experience) and so on October 6th my host family and I participated in the Jakarta 5k Race for Cancer. We woke up at 4 am and drove down to Jakarta for our race. it was so weird to actually see a lot of "bules" (foreigner in Indonesian). For once I looked more like a normal indonesian then I did a foreigner! The race was quick but fun, and at the finish line we all got our medals. I really enjoyed being able to go and knowing that I was helping a great cause was even better. Hopefully we will be able to sign up for another one later in the year!
Okay and lastly…
This past weekend, my family and I returned from a 4 day vacation to Derawan island. Derawan is a tiny little island off the east coast of Kalimantan/Borneo so, it took a 2 hour plane ride and a 3 hour boat ride to get there. The plane rides weren't too bad, after taking so many flights with YES abroad I've gotten pretty used to them. The boat ride on the other hand was by far the best part of our travel. Or at least that's how I felt, most of the others in our group found themselves getting headaches and motion sickness whereas I just thought of it as a 3 hour roller coaster. There were 15 of us packed into a small blue boat with a driver and 1 other fellow indonesian in case there were any emergencies. I had thought that the ojecks (motorcycle taxis) in Indonesia were fast but I have never seen anyone drive faster then the driver on that boat. We were hitting the waves at lightning speed and so we spent 3 hours inhaling the strong scent of gasoline while getting roughly bounced up and down and trying not to hit our heads. It was fantastic. We finally got to the island and it was absolutely beautiful to say the least. The rooms we stayed in were all held up by wooden stilts dug deep into sand so every morning we got to wake up and look right into the open sea. Just a short walk from the shore and our rooms was a small village. Like most places in Indonesia there were a ton of small food stands, stores and of course, cats. But, everyone was so happy and it was a lot of fun to see so many people enjoying themselves just by sitting on their front porch with relatives or friends. We got to do a lot while we were there. By the end of the 4 days I had held a baby sea turtle, gone snorkeling, swam in a lake with stingless jelly fish, seen some of most beautiful beaches, and even watched as little kids played soccer with a coconut shell that was lit on fire.
Well.. Thats basically all of the big things that have been going on here in Indonesia I promise I'm going to try to blog more!!
oh and here are some pics of the places I've been and the things I've done!
Earlier this month, my host dad asked me if I wanted to be entered in a race ( I have been going out to run almost everyday here so he figured I would enjoy the experience) and so on October 6th my host family and I participated in the Jakarta 5k Race for Cancer. We woke up at 4 am and drove down to Jakarta for our race. it was so weird to actually see a lot of "bules" (foreigner in Indonesian). For once I looked more like a normal indonesian then I did a foreigner! The race was quick but fun, and at the finish line we all got our medals. I really enjoyed being able to go and knowing that I was helping a great cause was even better. Hopefully we will be able to sign up for another one later in the year!
Okay and lastly…
This past weekend, my family and I returned from a 4 day vacation to Derawan island. Derawan is a tiny little island off the east coast of Kalimantan/Borneo so, it took a 2 hour plane ride and a 3 hour boat ride to get there. The plane rides weren't too bad, after taking so many flights with YES abroad I've gotten pretty used to them. The boat ride on the other hand was by far the best part of our travel. Or at least that's how I felt, most of the others in our group found themselves getting headaches and motion sickness whereas I just thought of it as a 3 hour roller coaster. There were 15 of us packed into a small blue boat with a driver and 1 other fellow indonesian in case there were any emergencies. I had thought that the ojecks (motorcycle taxis) in Indonesia were fast but I have never seen anyone drive faster then the driver on that boat. We were hitting the waves at lightning speed and so we spent 3 hours inhaling the strong scent of gasoline while getting roughly bounced up and down and trying not to hit our heads. It was fantastic. We finally got to the island and it was absolutely beautiful to say the least. The rooms we stayed in were all held up by wooden stilts dug deep into sand so every morning we got to wake up and look right into the open sea. Just a short walk from the shore and our rooms was a small village. Like most places in Indonesia there were a ton of small food stands, stores and of course, cats. But, everyone was so happy and it was a lot of fun to see so many people enjoying themselves just by sitting on their front porch with relatives or friends. We got to do a lot while we were there. By the end of the 4 days I had held a baby sea turtle, gone snorkeling, swam in a lake with stingless jelly fish, seen some of most beautiful beaches, and even watched as little kids played soccer with a coconut shell that was lit on fire.
Well.. Thats basically all of the big things that have been going on here in Indonesia I promise I'm going to try to blog more!!
oh and here are some pics of the places I've been and the things I've done!
