It’s been rough for me and amusing for everyone around me the last couple days as I try to reset my body clock to my normal time zone.  We headed off to my parent’s house today and had a lovely time celebrating Mother’s Day and my father’s Birthday

I have lots to unpack and a ton of photos to sort through.  I will be putting together some catch up posts and hopfully sharing some of my follow up work now that I’m back in Canada.

I taught IT Training Strategies, PC Security, PC Troubleshooting, Web Fundamentals and HTML. This week we will be covering CSS and WordPress, both as a blogging tool and as a Content Management System.

I had a nice, quiet weekend. My family offered to take me on a day trip to Bromo, a nearby mountain, but I took a pass. Instead I rested, checked out some PS2 games I picked up and worked on the new website for the ASF. I think it’s coming along really well and it should be done before I leave.

I have two other projects I’m working on as well. I’d like to install AVG Free Anti-Virus, Deep Freeze and Anti-Executable on the lab machines here. They often have problems with their computers and I think this combination will do a good job of locking the lab down. The second project is I’m trying to get high-speed Internet installed here at the ASF. Currently they have no internet at all. It’s been a challenge navigating my way so far, but last night I got the number of a direct sales rep for a major ISP so I’ll call today and hopefully get the ball rolling.

Hope your all set to have a great week too!

However, because of the election – which is a national holiday – everything was all booked up.  So, instead we flew straight to Malang right after the election.  After a lovely day of rest, we packed up and headed off to Pekalongan, the city where my father was born and raised.  It was a long 12 hour drive to Pekalongan, but it was a fantastic way to see Indonesia.  After Pekalongan we visited Borobodur, Prambanan and Jogjakarta before heading home.

The reason I wanted to travel by bus and train was to have a chance to really see the country.  Airfare is relatively inexpensive, so we could just hop over the island, but all I’d get to see that way is the inside of airport and planes <grin>.  Taking the road trip was fantastic, because not only did I get to see Indonesia up close, but we stopped at every town to try the local food.

Indonesia is very regional and every region is fiercely proud of its food – it’s fresh produce and the local specialty, often Soto…a type of soup/stew that is eaten over rice.  It is very common to see Soto named after a place, like Soto Pekalongan or Soto Madura.  Also, every town has it’s own snack – seriously – it’s amazing.  It seems like every town has a store advertising Oleh-Oleh Khas Pekalongan, or whatever the city is, which sells and endless variety of snacks which seem to only be available in that one town!  My Aunt Lan called our trip Culinary Tourism <grin>.  It was fantastic.

I had a great time taking photos on this trip.  I love my new camera a lot .  I’m so happy I managed to get a hold of it before this trip.  This camera makes me look great, even when I’m shooting through a windshield .

This is a good example of a quiet Indonesia highway here on Java.  Beautiful, lush and open.  The roads here are quite good – I mean…at least as good at Québecs <grin>.

The countryside of Java is filled with farms: rice paddies, corn, sugar cane and more.  I managed to catch a tired farm hand taking a break from the sun and the field on a hot Javanese afternoon.

Cities here are a charming mix of old and new.  You can see the history everywhere you go in Indonesia, in the buildings, streets and faces…and you can also see glass buildings, billboards for Blackberries and iPhones and shiny new Toyota Kijangs, a 5-door car built here in Indonesia.

The mix of old and new always seems starkest to me in the streets, because there are motorcycles, WWII era VW jeeps, giant passenger buses with Spiderman painted on the back, bicycles, gleaming black Mercedes, vintage Vespa scooters, rickshaws, carts and sometimes even horses…all jostling for position as they dash madly off in all directions.

Crossing the street is a very special skill here, requiring keen eyes, nerves of steel and a profound faith that you’ll make it to the other side.  Sometimes, you even need to take a bit of break in the middle <grin>.

A curious, but common, occurrence is that the front of traffic at stop lights is always motorcycles.  It took me awhile to figure out, but its because there’s always one or two motorcycles at the front, just by sheer numbers.  And then, while the light is red all the other motocycles sneak up and line up waiting for the light to turn green.

It’s amazing what people fit on a motorcycle here. Especially the number of people.  I have seen a family of five on a motorcycle – but I didn’t quite managed to get a picture of them <grin>.  This is a good example of what I mean; kids often sit in the front.  I really like that his family is all wearing helmets.

My Uncle has a really nice van that we took on our road trip.  There was lots of room and glorious, glorious air conditioning.   However, what my dad really liked was that we put the seats up in the back and turned it into a bed.

I’m not saying he used it…because I don’t have to

I’m also hoping to complete some project work while I’m here.  I will be evaluating Deep Freeze for their computer lab, which is a system which projects public computers so only the administrators can change or update them.  I am also looking to redo their website and perhaps set up the ASF on GoogleApps to give them their own email, calendaring and collaboration system.  It’s an exciting opportunity, but the Internet infrastructure here is still developing and great web tools don’t help much if your pipe isn’t big enough.

Anyways, I’m very encouraged and energized by the first couple of days.  I’m looking forward to the rest of my time and hoping I get lots done.  I’m also confident that I’ll be in touch when I return and that I don’t have to finish everything by next week.  <grin>

On Saturday, April 11th I was given a wonderful welcome to the Agapé Social Foundation. I had seen pictures of the Agapé Social Foundation online, but this was very exciting to finally see it for myself:

My father and I were formally introduced to the staff:

Agapé Social Foundation Staff: Agus, Pii, Nining, Asih, Dr. Yohandoyo, Erva and Sean Yo

We also met a group of the students at Agapé, all of whom are participants in the Foster Child program which sponsors their education.

When we arrived the children all lined up and welcomed us one by one with the traditional Javanese greeting of touch our hand to their face as a sign of respect.  It was very nice. <smile>

We were even treated to some song and dance by the children which was wonderful!

Here’s the song they sang us.

Everyone here has been wonderful.  It’s been particularly great to have some time ahead of the bulk of my volunteer work to meet and spend time with the staff and being able to have some great prep time.

I’m really looking forward to my first day of teaching tomorrow.

Yesterday my dad flew back to Jakarta and today he’ll fly home to Canada.  He took fantastic care of my while we were together and was great to travel with.  I am very lucky.  I spent every day for the last three weeks with my dad and we had a great time.  This will be an unforgettable trip for many reasons, but one of the most important will be the time I spent with my father and his family.

Starting tomorrow I will begin teaching at the Agapé Social Foundation, the non-profit organization founded and run by my uncle Dr. Yohandoyo.  I will be teaching IT skills from PC Security to Web Development.  The staff here are very eager to learn which is a dream for every instructor.

I am staying with my Uncle and his family – who are wonderful and taking very, very good care of me.  So, I’m not on my own here in Indonesia, at all.  But I am without my dad…who I know is excited about returning home and seeing my mom and their dog, Daisy<smile>.  I’ll miss him these last two weeks in Indonesia, but it will also be good to have some of my own time and memories on this trip.

Salamat Jalan Papah – I hope you have a safe trip home.  I’ll see you again in a couple of weeks.

And then there is the Indonesian Mall.  These things are enormous!  West Edmonton Mall, located in Western Canada, is still the largest mall in the world as far as I know…but it’s more like a sprawling city with a roof.  The malls in Indonesia don’t have the luxury of flat, Canadian Prairies to build on.  So they build up.  And the build with gorgeous attention to detail.

I spent some time at the new Emporium mall in Jakarta with my cousins and their families.  We had a great time, did some shopping, stocked up on snacks and went for a great dinner of noodles at local favourite for Bak Mie, a chinese noodle dish.  However, despite the great time, I still can’t over just how huge this mall is:

For those of you counting at home…that’s six…S-I-X levels of air conditioned, tiled, mirrored, gleaming, perfectly lit shopping.  The only sad part of the shopping here at all is the fact that the Indonesia Rupiah has rallied against the Canadian dollar since we arrived and I’m down about 10% on the exchange rate since we arrived <grin>.

I also have some great photos of a mall in Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia.  I’ll be sure to post those as well.

In Indonesia, the restaurant is often referred to as the Rumah Makan – or Eating/Food House, although the term “Restoran” is also commonly used now.  On our first morning in Indonesia, my father was interested in exactly one thing and it wasn’t going out for breakfast.  He wanted breakfast to be brought to us…and he wanted Bubur Ayam.

Bubur Ayam is Chicken Congee (a porridge made with rice).  In Indonesia, this is a common breakfast food and vendors with a cart or small rig on the back of a bicycle wind their way through narrow neighbourhood streets calling out or clanging a spoon against a porcelain bowl ringing out the announcement of morning among the rooftops.   Dad was very excited with the prospects of Burbur Ayam for breakfast…but we waited and waited and nothing.

Just as we had given up, I heard a call that sounded enough like “Bubur” for me sound the alarms <grin>.  My dad jumped up and ran downstairs from the bedroom, where we were hiding from the already grueling morning heat of Jakarta in the only air conditioned room in the house, to see if he could catch us some breakfast.

He was successful, and I was able to watch the vendor assemble our breakfast on the portable kitchen he had set up on the back of a motorcycle.

It was a much more involved process that I imagined, and I’m really grateful I was able to watch him.  It was great to see how Bubur Ayam is assembled, especially since it is a favourite at breakfast buffet’s here…so I’ve been able to put together my morning porridge like a pro here.

Here is the finished product:

On top of the Bubur is fried shallots, Jah Quay – a type of chinese fried bread, cut into think slices, green onions and shredded chicken.  This is, of course, served with spicy Sambal – a sauce made of chili peppers and probably has the best claim to being the national food of Indonesia.  Along side the porridge and the chili Kropoek, a crunchy cracker made from tapioca flour and then deep fried is also served.

The Bubur was savory, delicious and wonderfully silky smooth which was a great counterpoint to the crunch and chewiness of the toppings.  Burbur Ayam is one of the many things my dad has added to the list of things I need to learn to cook while I’m here.

If we’re lucky, I’ll even manage to grab step by step photos of a cooking lesson and I’ll blog the whole thing.

This picture is from my first morning in Jarkarta, after I took the sunrise picture.

These roof tiles are extremely common in Indonesia.  This was also taken from the roof of my Cousin Arif’s house.  This is one of my favourite pictures I’ve taken on this trip.  I love the tiles, the cat wandering of the roofs and the glimpse of the TV antenna.  It’s a good snapshot of Indonesia; things may seem old here…but the modern and the new is always just around the corner just waiting to pounce.

Today is national elections in Indonesia; I know there is always some concern about unrest during Indonesian elections. My family here has been off to vote and back again, and there isn’t even a hint of trouble. Today we’re going to try and visit the cemetary where my grandfather rests and then this evening we return to Jakarta to prepare for our flight to Malang tomorrow.

Hopefully there will be more frequent updates soon. Internet access has been a bit more spotty than I was hoping. Once in Malang I hope to track down a good Internet cafe with a speey(ish) connection .

Until then, Salamat Sore!