Observations After A Little More Than A Week

Well it's been a little over a week that we have been in Indo so I thought I would give you my feelings, observations, and experiences after one week.

I will start with a first for me that happened just the other day. So Ben and Amy ( the dorm parents we are filling in for) and I went to Semarang to do some shopping for the dorm. It is a 2 hour drive that feels long enough that you should be in America when you step out of the car... sheesh. Anyway on the way there we saw a police chase! Yep first one ever and it didn't disappoint. So this guy in a small SUV darts infront of us on the road and almost clips the car in front of us, then begins weaving back and forth as he flys through traffic. I though "Wow! Is that ok or should the police be after this guy?" Well a few seconds later I got my answer when a policeman on a tiny motorcycle (I mean barely larger than a scooter) sped by and almost rearended the SUV he was chasing. He then pulled up beside the driver and motioned him to pullover. The driver responded by immediately taking-off. It was then a game of cat and mouse with them both speeding through these overcrowded streets that if they went too far off the road they would end up in the sewer. This went on for about two miles I would say and eventually two other cops on a motorcycle about the same size as the first one joined in the pursuit. Eventually they pulled the guy over and when we passed them it looked like they were just standing there chatting it up. I don't know. Wish I had my camera so you could have seen... it was exciting to say the least.

Other Observations:

• It doesn't sprinkle here... when it rains, it pours.
• Traffic is INSANE!!
• It gets dark around 5:30pm and sunrise is about 5am.
• Spiritual warfare is very much a reality here.
• We are considered to be very brave by Indonesians because we live next door to a cemetary
• Jennifer can attest to the fact that food poisoning is not the best way to spend your first few days here- and it takes a lot longer than expected to recover from.
• It may take us a while to get used to buying things because all the money looks like monoply money. But it is REAL- and it goes fast! Things are more expensive that we remembered.
• There are no cell phone plans, which is nice but can be complicated when first trying to figure out how to buy pulsa (minutes).
• It takes longer than a week to get use to being woken up by the chanting from the Mosques.
• Traffic is INSANE!!
• Lots of delicious fruits-so much more variety here. Come try it!
• The pasar(market) is quite fun to walk through, just make sure not to sample the jackfruit that is on the cutting board next to the raw headless chickens.
• Everyone always smiles.
• Termites have a nutty taste.  Video of this to come!!
• Traffic is INSANE!!

But other than Jennifer being sick- we are beginning to get adjusted to life here and are hoping to fall into a routine within the next week or so. We also wanted to let you know of another way to connect with us. We now have smartphones so if you download an app called "whatsapp" then we can text each other for free. All you need is the app and then to put in our cell numbers which we can give you if you message one of us on facebook.