so far...

So far ...its been great! I am really starting to settle in and feel comfortable here. I am really enjoying getting to know Jakarta. It is a confusing and sometimes crazy city, but it's exciting!  I've been really busy trying to set up my apartment and make it more homey.... I had a hard time finding a couch I liked, but one of the fun things about Jakarta is...if you can't find what you want, have it made! you can have all kinds of things made here! Couches, chairs, tables, clothes, shoes! I love this! So I went to Duta interiors and had my fantastic Brown monster made. It can easily sleep 2 people because it is SO Long!!

 Then I found these very cool tables made from recycled boat wood at a Gallery over a restaurant in Kemang....SO exciting! I love the colors in the wood and can't wait to find a rug to accent them and then buy lots of fun colorful pillows and stuff!

Now I need a TV and something for the walls.....all to come in time.... I also found a awesome RED bar, and a sweet East Javanese wedding Chest....totally in love with these peices! In weddings the chest would be filled with the brides jewelry and goodies and then they would carry it on a long bamboo pole that fit through the holes arcoss the top....so cool! I can't wait to get more goodies!

So far....I've made some great new friends! I am really liking the people I am meeting here. Our Newbie Cohort is GREAT! We all get along and have fun together and are respectful and it seems like everyone one is very genuine. I am liking the vibes I am getting from all of them. Plus the returning teachers I have met are very friendly and open which makes life grand. Also, I am doing something I had a hard time with in Germany....I am meeting people outside of my school community!! It is SO nice to meet people who don't work at the school with me. It really opens up so many opportunities for new adventures, and you can see Jakarta in an entirely different way. I am SO grateful to Christina, Kristen, and everyone else who has introduced me to their friends outside of JIS.


So far....My school Rocks! I love my co teacher who is relaxed and easy going, I enjoy all the teachers on my campus, and I love the fact that so many of the teachers have started off the year eating lunch together in the staff lounge! I really hope they don't all disappear over the year, because I really like getting out of my classroom for lunch and having an adult conversation! There are some things that need revamping, but my classroom is HUGE and pretty well resourced so I can't complain too much. And the best part of it all...I am treated like a professional. Very satisfying.


So far....the travel opportunities are just as great as I imagined! I've already taken a weekend trip to a cabin in the woods and had a very relaxing and rejuvenating time. And Next week I will be going to Bali for a long weekend, Saturday through Tuesday!!! I am overly excited about this! Never knew if I would ever get to see Bali, let alone have it as an easy weekend escape from reality! I LOVE IT! Plus plans are in the works to travel Australia over Winter Break and spend New Years possibly in Sydney! I am speechless when I think of this....I've wanted to go to Australia for as long as I can remember....


So far....from home...it is hard realizing how far I am and how hard it is to go home for any reason. I am planning a return trip to Charleston for My Bestie's Wedding and I will be spending just as much time in the air traveling as I will on the ground spending time with her! it's insanity! but I love her and want to be there for her day... Plus, I miss my mom and I know this isn't easy for her... but I gotta do what I gotta do to live a satisfying life.

so far.... <3

Why does this keep happening to me??

I've become accustomed to being rejected here in Jakarta...

First there was the bedding incident at the Mall...

I went to buy pillows, sheets, duvet covers, and lots of good stuff to make my bed more comfy. I actually spent a good hour picking out the set I wanted, testing the pillows out, changing my mind a couple 15 times...I found these great goose down pillows that Kathleen had suggested to me, and even found a flat sheet to match the bedding set I liked. you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a flat sheet in this town! All bedding sets are sold with a fitted sheet, 2 standards pillow cases, 2 bolster pillow casses, and the duvet cover....no flat sheets.

So after spending a considerable amount of time picking everything out I went to the counter to pay... The ladies who had been helping me bagged up everything! there must have been 6 large bags filled with goodies and 6 ladies each holding one, standing in a row, waiting to hand me the bag when I was finished paying...

So I stood at the counter and found the total was around 3,350,000 Rupiah...
yes, I am dealing with numbers like this all the time now! I don't know how to cope!

Anyway, I pull out what's left of my brick of cash the school gave me to get settled and found that I was about 500,000 rupiah short of what I needed...

Backing the train up for a minute....let me just say, that all of my "friends" that were at the mall with me that afternoon had just bailed on me and went to the next store while I paid for my items...so no one was around to help me out. Could have really used a friend at that moment...

Next, I offered up my German card. I had been warned that some stores only except cards with "the chip" in them....so I was going to use my German card for sure! Plus that's where all the money is!

She must have tried that card 10 times, and it just wasn't working. So then I pulled out the visa...never had any problems with this card before, so it has got to work....

I also have never maxed out a credit card before...that is...I never maxed one out until this summer...OOPS! forgot I bought all those shoes and a new computer....That card got rejected as well...

At this point I was completely dumbfounded. I had no idea what to say or do, so I just grabbed my card and walked away, head hanging down, turning quickly to say sorry to the 6 ladies standing there with all that stuff bagged up! HOW EMBARRASING!

Looking back, I could have totally asked them to get rid of a few extra pillows and I could have paid with the cash in hand....but I wasn't thinking clearly! I've never been so badly rejected before!

This was only the begining....

Two weeks later I tried to buy a tv....guess I hadn't learned my lesson! BRING ENOUGH CASH!!!!

I basically went through the same thing....not enough cash...wouldn't take the card with the chip (who ever gave me that info was full of sh*t!)...even tried to wrestle up enough money between the friends that were there at the store....but no....got rejected AGAIN! Worst part was that I had gotten an Indonesian debit card that I assumed (big mistake!) would work like any other debit card I'd ever had. NOPE! they rejected that card as well!

Let's just say, I nearly have a nervous breakdown every time I approach a counter to make a purchase...large or small! it's getting kind of ridiculous!

Here's what I have learned....
1. go pre-shopping to pick out what you like and get a price in your head.
2. go to the atm and withdraw enough money, plus some, to cover the cost.
3. return to store and buy what you want with cash.
4. Walk out of store with item, not feeling like a loser!

The long Journey around the world

On July 23rd I made the LOOOOOONG trek around to the other side of the world and crossed the equator for the very first time!!! I must say, the 36 hours of traveling was well worth it!!!  I love Jakarta so far!

I began at 2 pm EST in South Bend by boarding the United limo with my 7 bags and heading for O'Hare airport....2 and a half hours later, and with the help of a lovely girl I met on the bus, I piled my bags on a luggage trolly and checked in for my flights!

I had 3 hours to waste at the airport so I treated myself to some delicious Macaroni Grill....

Chicago to L.A. was a 4 and a half hour flight and when I checked myself in for the next 2 legs of my flight the airline made me check my carry on luggage because it weighed over 15 pounds. Of course it did!!! I put everything heavy in it that I could to keep the other 5 bags from being overweight!!  Thank goodness they did not weigh the backpack I was carrying! they probably would have taken that away too!

LA to Hong Kong was a Whopping 14 hour and 50 minute flight....talk about painful! Cathay Pacific airlines does not have the most comfortable seats I have ever come across. In fact, I was so uncomfortable I didn't sleep much, and for those that know me well, you know I can sleep ANY WHERE!! So I ended up just watching a lot of movies. Once I made it to Hong Kong it was too early to do much at the airport....so I just sat for 3 hours....and waited...tried to guess if anyone around me could be teachers at JIS as well....I ended up guessing right ;)

Last leg of the trip was HK to Jakarta, another 4 hours and 50 mins...I was so over flying by this point! then I got on the plane and some woman took my window seat, but I was too tired to fight with her. I just wanted to get to Jakarta! Then a spark of light popped up from 2 rows ahead of me! Joanne was on my flight! oh, how LOVELY!! I was so excited to see a familiar face!!

We landed in Jakarta at 1pm on Monday July 25th. it only took...36 hours.....BLAH!! But at the end School reps were waiting for us, we gathered our luggage, and went straight to the hotel. There were quite a few people on our flight so we started chatting with some other newbies on the drive...it was so nice to have Jo with me as soon as I landed! what a comfort!

By this point all I wanted was a shower! Once I got that taken care of, I headed to the hospitality room where Steve Druggan, the same Deputy Head of school that welcomed me to Munich with beer a year earlier, was welcoming us to Jakarta with Beer... and a BRICK of cash! it's like 8550 Rupiah to $1, so we received 8,550,000 Rupiah to get us started in Jakarta....seriously...a BRICK of cash! I'M A MILLIONAIRE!!!! haha!

My long boring Journey was completely worth it!! I can't wait to share all I know about Jakarta with you so far....but you're gonna have to wait! Jet lag is still slowing me down! :)

More to come soon.....

<3 HUGS!