Lights Out

It's late in the afternoon. The power has gone out, again. It's
happened the majority of this week. I'm not really sure why though.
We hadn't had frequent power outages since December. And then, we
just figured it was because of thunder storms.

So a few things to do when the "listrik" goes out:
- Always check down the street to see if it's only your house.
- SMS (text) your friends to find out if it's also out in their area.
- Look in the pantry to see if there are any foods that don't require
cooking, let alone a microwave. Even the gas stove is connected to
the power.
- Remember where you last had the matches. Or at least remember
where your stash is. Make sure you're not down to your last box.
- Enjoy a candle lit bath - there's no better time!
- Invite a friend to use the bathroom, if their water is connected to
the power and they have a spacial engagement that's supposed to start
within the hour.
- Give thanks for iPods and Macbooks and catch up on some entertainment!

Gas Prices Increase 30%

On Friday, lines went out of the gas station and down the street. It reminded me of people getting cheap gas at the congested Alhambra Costco during traffic hour. Prices went up about 30% on Saturday. There have been organized demonstrations all week. Peaceful though.

Colored Batik

Here, you can see the same pattern duplicated in various vibrant
colors. If a fabric has additional colors, the first colors must
again be sealed in hot wax, applied with a paintbrush. The darker
colors are applied last, covering lighter colors still uncovered by
wax. All of the wax is melted off only after all of the dyeing is
complete.

The Art of Words

So yesterday, on a rare occasion, I was on the front porch with
Lidya, Pam and Merro. We were having a good laugh as Lidya, who is
always energetic and animated, went about telling her stories. She
started doing impressions of our friend from Germany. And then, they
wanted to do impressions of me!

It's funny how everyone has their words. Apparently, mine is
"Baiklah," which simply means "Okay."
When I think of Lidya, I think of "Loh!" a common expression that
doesn't exactly have a meaning. But always with a low sound,
downward tone and plenty of enthusiasm.
When I think of Merro, I think of "Sungguh?" which means, "really?"
This usually comes after I tell her some random story from home or
some of the mini-drama from life here.
Pam, I haven't yet narrowed down, but she's got the best faces when
she's telling a story.

Actually, they're all really good story tellers. They're so funny
and brighten my day! I like my friends. And I can finally
understand most of what they say when they're all talking in
Indonesian. Always a plus.

The Art of Batik

Batik is an art form. Designs are traced with hot wax on both sides of fabric. The fabric is dyed, the wax is melted off, and a design remains. It's a whole lot of work for a simple design. Large metal plates (like rubber stamps), called 'cap', are used for patterns. Various areas have their own designs. Many of the dyes come from various woods. Thus many Batik designs come in browns and yellows. It's pretty fascinating - though definitely under-appreciated.

Celebrating Friends

Tonight I went to a surprise birthday party for my friend, Merro. She turned 34.

I'm so lucky, I get to meet such amazing people. To think, 34 years ago, there was a plan for us to meet. I've always been told that there was a plan for my life (before I was even born). But that goes for her life, too - meaning that the plan for me was considered even before she was born!

It just felt special to realize that.

Even though she has been sick for the past few days, she was laughing out tears. It's like family away from home. I'm realizing I have a few of those. And it's been just 10 months. Definitely spoiled...

About 30 people showed up to celebrate her tonight! Oh! I have a funny story to share!

So one of her friends gave a gift to Pam for her birthday - not realizing it wasn't Pam's birthday. After some embarrassment, the gift was opened - a book from 1959! It was the guy's favorite book. Pages were yellowed, the cover was nearly torn off. Apparently, a well read book. And inside the cover, he had written "To Pam" with today's date and the man's signature. Though we could appreciate his thoughtfulness, we couldn't get past this classic piece of history... Only to look into this book - and realize that the ending pages had been torn out! Talk about a way to see if your favorite book was truly enjoyed by your friend!

So, if I am ever so thoughtful to give you the original copy of my favorite book - I hope you will take time to read it through to the end. Even if it's for someone else's birthday party.

Cheers!

Clara's Flying

I just came home to an empty house. It's never felt so quiet! Now
who's going to just stop by and brighten my day? The Kaembas went
back today. We were hanging out at the airport before they caught
their flight. Here are some shots as the sun began to set. See you
guys - in September?

Flying Fox!

Today was a Red Letter Day - which means, a day off! I went with friends and their English Club to Selecta. We had a dozen motorcycles and one car load full of people. They organized a couple English activities, but we most just hung out! They even have mini becaks that you can ride and pedal yourself!

And I went down the zip line, in flying position. They call it the Flying Fox. When I came back to the group, they said that they could all hear me screaming loudly!

Now, I'm off to dinner... one of our last with the Kaembas.

I like you because...

2:45-5:45 6 of us rode 3 motorcycles to Tugu Hotel, where we enjoyed the spa. Brenda said it was the best place in town! Rose petals and jasmine flowers filled a giant tub. Ahhh, a floral bath and a facial - at the same time! 6:00-8:00 15 people were at dinner, "Gloria" (Chinese food). We had the entire upstairs room all to ourselves. Of course, being in stationery, I made place cards! *What a paper snob, I know.* Inside each, I wrote, "I like you because..." - you stay up "late" and sleep "in" too! - you are sarcastic! - you are helpful! - you are funny (usually)! C; - your cheerfulness is contagious! - you give me high-fives! - you share stories about home with me! - you are inventive! - you absolutely love adventures! - you include me and it's fun! - you greet me when we randomly meet around town! - you have a passion for your kids! - you include me as part of your family Man, I'm sure going to miss these people... I'm so lucky to be able to celebrate my birthday with these friends, after spending 11 months here getting to know them, journeying with them. I really do enjoy their company. And it was so fun to watch them interact! I think only Kaylor knew everyone there prior to tonight. But by the time we left, we were making plans to go rafting, to go to the beach, to go camping... I love connecting people with each other! Merro and Pam gave me a CD of traditional Indonesian music! Juliana made me a set of jewelry from Indonesian beads! Donny and Kaylor gave me cash to go to the movies with a friend, including drink and popcorn! Hayley and MJ made me brownies! Karen and Iin gave me a book by Max Lucado, one of my favorite authors, and a Toblerone bar! Amanda and Jon gave me cash for art supplies! And Lidya and Ayub gave me a great Batik scarf! Love it!

Fun!

It's barely 8 pm and I want to crash. Today we had Amazing Race
Tidar for 8th grade. Check it out! They had an Easter egg hunt,
had to name security and cleaning staff, eat a taco and, after dizzy
bat, make a goal! There were 16 clues, 7 teams and a bit of fun
chaos. We closed with an ice cream party. Hope programs like this
can happen again, soon! It was worth all of the prep just to see
them enjoy themselves.

Selamat Ulang Tahun Kepada Saya

"Happy birthday to me"
I was surprised by a mini cake and gifts at Polehan! The kids sang
Happy Birthday twice and a song ("Cut the Cake") in Indonesian! Then
they counted to 29 for me to blow out the candle (It took forever;
I've never felt sooo old!) My favorite has to be the picture of us
with the kids - surrounded by their fingerprinted fish!!! So precious!

We had a special "I love you, Mom" day! (Mother's day is actually in
December.) The moms came by for some special sharing and games,
while I got to share color-yourself games and puzzles with the kids!
Thanks KidsMosaic!

Then tonight, my friends came over for the American Idol results
show, dessert before dinner, dinner at Malibu - delicious food!, and
a yummy chocolate cake and ice cream!

No better way to spend the day than surrounded by fun kids and friends!

40 laps, going on 50

Right before it was my time to swim, I had a few friends stop by the
swim-a-thon. They challenged me. They would sponsor me 5,000 per
lap up to 50,000 - if I would swim 10 laps in a row, non-stop.

In practice, I swam 40. As much as I knew I wasn't in a race, I
could do it. I should pace myself. It would push me, but I could
rest after only 10.

Jennifer and Juliana swam to my side.

I did it! And I kept swimming for my hour.

I was keeping pace with Jennifer, but then would need to rest. She
would pass me. My competitive side kicked in. I wanted to beat her,
even though it wasn't a competition.

I could tell my body was getting sore. For a moment, all I could do
was pray. It didn't matter how much I wanted this to happen. It
wouldn't happen without Him. Usually, I could get my mind to a
place of meditation. I could sing in the water and laps would fly
by. But these laps were getting painful. In the clear blue water,
the vision of His hand pulled me along like a toy in the tub. I was
swimming in the deep water, the water that was too deep to cross.
(Ez 47) The fruit is coming. It's on the horizon.

My goal was 45. At about 10-15 minutes left, I had finished 40! I
was exhausted, but kept pushing. People would stop to talk while I
was taking seconds to rest. I knew I had to keep going. I gave up
on the flip turns. Just kept pace. Just keep swimming. Don't
stop. At the end of the hour, I completed 50 laps. I swam the most
laps out of all the ladies. We've raised $201.70 of $2,000 needed so
far.

I like my name

Some people just reach a deeper part of me. They don't even realize
it. A word they share, a name they call... Some friends simply know
exactly how to make me smile. I love it!

Cupcakes

*Whew* It's been a busy week!

Yesterday's Amazing Race:
- 25 kids
- 7 teams
- 16 clues to find
- 2 hours of fun!
From Charis to the new SPRING house office, teams ran to find the
next clue. They rode bikes up the hill to our friends house, and
even came to my kitchen for tacos! They took quizzes and made
projects, competed on the field and spun around dizzy bat. It was
tons of work to organize, but tons of fun for the kids and everyone
who helped. After an ice cream party with sprinkles, crushed Oreos,
Reese's magic shell and Hershey's Chocolate syrup, we were all
exhausted. It definitely paid off to be able to make it happen with
the Kaembas before they head home.

Today's Day at the Pool/ Swim-a-thon:
37 people
9 swimmers, including Laurie, Emily and Emily - 3 jr. high girls from
WIS. They brought so much life to the ending hours of our day.
3 hours of swimming
2 giant trays of brownies made by Faythe!!
389 total laps!!!!
4 portraits
14 caricatures
And tons of snacks for the swimmers! Here are a few of the
delicious, chocolate cupcakes that Lelly and I decorated!

A Plethora of Hope

Sometimes, all I have is this irrational bit of hope. But with this
hope, I'm pushed to accomplish dreams. Well, even so, it's such a
great feeling to be pleasantly surprised when these dreams come to
life. It's true. Patience, the kind that is inspired by hope, is
endurance...

Dude, You're Missing Out on the Amazing Race, Tidar!!!

Last minute touches for today's 7th grade race! (A fun, end of the
year activity, which Kaylor, Donny and I are organizing.)

Super fun!!! You're missing out!!!

Self-Pronounced Fun Break!

Something I learned in college. Right before the insane week of finals, I took my dad's advice to take a break. Everyone else would be cramming. I'd be going to jump off waterfalls. Or taking a weekend trip to New York (Mind you, that was 12 hours, one way on a bus!).

When I'm about to be overloaded and overwhelmed, I just need to take a break.

This morning I was awaken by an unexpected phone call. I've had various interruptions yesterday and today. And I'm getting to the freak out point about a lot of big decisions - returning to the states, moving again, planning for the June trip, making arrangements, and organizing prep meetings and fundraisers.

Some people think I'm not working, or that, when I get back to the states, I won't be working until I find a 9-5 job and bringing in funds on a W-2. I'd like to see them try. (I know, I'm in a bad mood and I'm being mean.)

All that said, I do now declare: a Self-Pronounced Fun Break!

Around Town

A few common things around town. When people get married, they set up tents and have a party outside of their house. Speakers are set up in both directions on the sides of the road. Music blasts all day and all night. The whole neighborhood can hear! The average store. But this one sells gas too (in the drums). Individual packs of shampoo, laundry detergent and chocolate milk hang down across the front. And, of course, paddy fields. Love it!

Hanging Out at the Volcano

(Gunung Kelud) 6 months ago, this was a lake. Then, lava spewed out. And now, it's a baby lava dome - a bunch of lava rock, with sulfur smelling steam.

The Tanks

We had 8 motorcycles today. Half of them were "tanks"! Check these out!

We had to go down this sketchy hill.

And apparently, the brakes on the tanks aren't the greatest. So, to get down this sketchy hill, they hung on by a rope or had to have 5 people holding on to walk it down!

Here are the tank drivers!

Road Trip! (Cheap thrills, Part 2)

I couldn't figure out what this sign meant...

Do not pass.

The word for train in Bahasa Indonesia is "kareta api". So this is railroad crossing in Indonesia:

Backyard BBQ

Today I stopped by the *new* SPRING office. The Yayasan
(organization/charity, MSI) and SPRING offices have been combined in
a house, 3 houses down from mine.

We celebrated the move by a small backyard BBQ. Delicious!
Including french fries, green beans and carrots, shish kabobs (red
pepper, hotdog and pineapple), and slabs of meat.

There were just 8 of us. But it was kinda fun. I love BBQs!

72 Roses

Tonight we celebrated Faythe's birthday!!!

We went to their house at 7. Rose petals covered the entry floor.
Candles lit around the tables. And then 72 red, long-stem roses
awaited her on the center table.

I had the pleasure of helping Paul purchase her musical card a couple
weeks ago. She didn't even see us "scheming."

She said she feels more alive at 72 than at 50. She's really
enjoying life. She's really good and passionate about meeting
teachers up the river and training them. Wow, I'm so lucky to have
really gotten to know her through my time here. Happy Birthday, Faythe!