Random Pix

Random sights in Malang and a mosque.

More Wedding Pix

Look at our tired faces! ;p
I thought that the water was a stack of glasses until I walked close to it. They're like capri suns, but water cups. LOL!

Wedding Crasher

I was Leela's plus one at this Indonesian wedding. It was quite elaborate and oozes of cheese! But it was loads of fun!

KFC

This is the KFC I was blogging about earlier in the week. Yes, it's KFC! LOL

First Week

This is Clara. She's the new love of my life! She is the most alert, active, and sweet 8 month old baby ever!

Winding Down

We've been able to hang out with some of the teachers who normally work with the moms and kids here. It's been great hearing about their work and the visions they have for their programs.

The "business" part of the trip is just about over. Leela and I will be heading out to Bali tomorrow morning and we'll be able to get some R & R. It'll be nice since we've been running around town like crazy... Enjoy the pictures! Leela has posted pictures of our trip on her blog as well.

It is Finished!

It was quite a full week for us! Today was my last class with the moms in Polehan. They weren't shy about asking questions and participated in the different activities I had planned. It was such a great experience and I can't believe my time with them is over already! Yeah! I think they were really receptive to everything I presented, some even took notes! One of the moms told me at the end of the last session that she found the classes very helpful and it totally made my week and the trip worthwhile!

Finally, Indonesia!

We're finally here after hours and hours of traveling. On the way to the place we're staying at we stopped by what seems like the most structurally outrageous KFC in the entire planet! Haa haa ha... I'll post up pictures later and you can tell me what you think. ;)

Before dinner I was able to meet with some of the staff who work with the women I'll be teaching these next 2 days. It was really awesome to hear about how they were moved to develop their program and the things they are trying to do with the local women.

After talking to them, it finally hit me that I am here, in Indonesia. It feels like these past 3 years of my life has come full circle; the direction I have been guided to has been completed...

Anyhow, the heat isn't so bad here. I prepared for the worse, so it's not as bad as I thought it would be in Malang. However, when we stepped out of the plane in Surabaya, it was nasty! What is hard is getting used to the humidity... :/ Other than that, it's not bad. Mangoes are in season right now... YUM! But too bad Durians aren't. ;p I'm sure most of you can care less about that fruit though!

Today is gonna be a full day and my first day of teaching! I'm sure Leela and I will sleep very well again tonight, like we did last night. The mosques have their morning prayers at 3 am, daily. Luckily, we were awake already and I was able to hear their call to prayer and singing from the nearby mosque. It was interesting...

Awake for 2 Days!

I can't believe it's been 2 days since we've had a good night's sleep! Yes, we're still awake and coherent! Haa haa haa... We're having good times though! Our flight for Surabaya, Indonesia will leave in about an hour and then we have a full day ahead of us. As long as I don't get to the point where I'm so tired that I slur my words... I'll be fine. ;) I start classes tomorrow already! Wow!

Killing Time in Singapore

Yeah! (N) hours of flight time and a layover in Narita, we're almost in Indonesia. It was day time for what seemed almost like forever when we were in the air. I can't believe we've lost a whole day traveling! We have about 5 hours to kill, but no where to go cuz it's early morning here. Leela's more excited than me, I'm just tired. LOL. I think once we arrive in Surabaya it should hit me... if anything, the heat and humidity will! :) Hope all is well at the home front.

Our Departure

Time flies like an arrow and fruit flies like a banana!

It's about 8:44 a.m. & I'm just about finished packing... & in about 3 hours we'll be head out to the airport. It's been a long week running around town & preparing for this trip. But it's been good... it'll be even better when we arrive in Indonesia though! I'm not sure how often I'll have access to the internet, but I'm going to try to update this blog every other day & upload pictures when I can. :)

The Deal

For the next two weeks, this is what my schedule is looking like so far.

Oct 13, Monday - Travel 
Oct 15, Wednesday - Arrive in Surabaya, afternoon/evening meetings (we lose a day going there)
Oct 16, Thursday - Morning language lesson to study Bahasa, Indonesian. 
           We have a couple afternoon  health education sessions at Polehan, with the moms.
Oct 17  Health ed. sessions
Oct 20  Travel to Bali
Oct 22, Travel back to Malang, final meetings
Oct 23, Travel back to US
Oct 24, Arrive home

When the prep stuff is done... I think I might finally feel the excitement for this trip!
For everyone who's keeping us in your thoughts and for supporting us, Thank You!