Jenn's side of the story.

August 20th, 2015
Yogyakarta (Jojga)
Jennifer

So I thought I would invite myself to contribute to Jesse's blog, mostly for your benefit, because Jesse seemed to do a lot of whining in his previous post--the trip to Indonesia was pretty exhausting and challenging, but it wasn't all that bad. I would definitely like to thank him for taking care of ALL of the diaper changes on our 13 hour flight to HK in the tiny little bathroom with the tiniest little change table that would even make Asian babies be like 'this is TOO small!'

I could also point out that I knew Jesse would be thanking me when he got off of the plane at what would have been 2am our time and all he had to do was walk across the airport to our hotel in HK rather than save the $50CAD and commute into the city with all of our luggage and a jet lagged toddler from hell just to turn around and do it again the next morning for another 5 hour flight..but no one likes an 'I told ya so'.

Adjusting to a new time zone reminds me of when I was like 20 and could stay up all night drinking vodka redbulls and chain smoking until the sun came up, but without out any of the fun and 2x the anxiety the next day. Add a toddler in the mix and you've got a nice prescription for Zoloft :) :(

Ok, but seriously, we have nearly recovered from jet lag so we have decided this trip was a good idea after all. Benny is a huge hit in Indonesia. We have paparazzi following us around giggling all day long so Benny is developing a bit of a complex. We actually had a young Asian girl pick Benny up at the mall today to pose in pictures with him while all of her friends pulled out their iPhones. When they were done I told her it was $50,000 Rupiahs, but they thought I was joking! Benny is a fantastic ice-breaker though, I highly recommend everyone to bring a blonde-haired, blue-eyed toddler with them when they visit SE Asia, it will make getting directions much easier.

So we are in the city of Yogyakarta, known as Jogja by the locals. I have to say we would not manage very well if it weren't for the help of our friends from Jesse's school UGM. Novi and Cahyo have been our lifesavers here in Jogja and I don't even care if Novi is only our friend because she has a huge baby crush on Benny, I actually think her exact words were "You should breed everyday!" and Jesse didn't hesitate to reply "Well it couldn't hurt to try!" But really, without them I would still be standing in the middle of the Indonesian grocery store being like "ok, so what do I do with this?!". They have helped us complete all of our immigration requirements, are helping us find a home, and have been huge sources of comfort for us when we are so immensely overwhelmed with culture shock, not to mention we would have been dead trying to cross the street about a dozen times without them. As soon as we find a place of our own I will have them over for a terrible homemade Nasi Goreng. I should also mention that our host family at our current home-stay, Andelis Homestay, is also incredible. They are super welcoming and have been so good to us with Benny. They have a daughter a few years older than Benny and it is so good for him to be able to connect with another little person and even though they don't understand each others' language they manage to be friends, children really are our teachers, aren't they?!

Showering in Indonesia is the worst. If you don't know what I am talking about, the showers here are just fixtures attached to the wall in the middle of the bathroom, there is no separate shower like you have at home (forget about a bathtub). So, when you go to have your shower you fill the entire bathroom full of water. Like really, how do they do it? Actually, most people don't I suppose, they just have that little pail next to the tap and give themselves a little rinse, like what you might do in the morning before the walk-of-shame with your shoes in your purse. I guess that's why they have that sign Jesse mentioned about washing your feet in the toilet.

Tonight we went to an Indonesian cultural festival just down the street from our house. The traditional Javanese dance and music was beautiful. We were the only 'bulai' there and the emcee didn't mind pointing us out on stage and saying something in Bahasa and then giggling with the crowd, but it probably wasn't about us... One of the dances was a Javanese healing ritual, the costumes were so colourful and the dance was so elegant, Benny was completely in awe of the entire experience, it was beautiful. I just wonder if the dance will heal traveller's diarrhea because dinner was only 90cents CAD and that worries me a little.

All kidding aside, our week in Indonesia has been a blessing and we are so grateful for this experience. We would like to thank our friends and family back home who supported us in any which way to make this trip possible and the people of Indonesia who have welcomed us into their country and into their lives with such generosity and hospitality -- we are so thrilled to immerse ourselves in your culture, to learn your language, to eat your delicious food, and to become your friends.

Selamat Malam!

Jenn