Monday, August 30, 2010

The weekend






Jesse and I had a fabulous weekend. I did another HHH run south of the city while he was busy finishing his first week in the clinic. Sunday we had a fun day roaming around Jakarta looking for an indoor rock climbing gym we heard about. It's not there anymore, or at least we could not find it. We are getting more comfortable doing these sorts of things. It's pretty fun getting to know the different areas and meeting more people, there are lots more events on the horizon and we hear about new fun, cheap things to do daily. That's the great thing about here is that everything is fairly cheap.

The posted pictures are from the run on Saturday. I put these up to show kind of where we were, and did I mention it was a torrential downpour the entire run? It was awesome never the less. The pic of me (jessi girl) is in front of a scooter lot. We haven't quite figured out what these are but they are EVERYWHERE! I'm not sure if people park there for work or if it is a sales lot or something. The pic of Jesse is of him in front of the motorbike he wants. It's a Ducati Mototard. I know it's a funny name for a bike.

Today, we are off to Singapore for our first visa renewal. We are excited to be in a different city for a night. The next post will be of Singapore so look out!!!

Apt Pics




Here are some pictures from our apartment. Jesse was using his creativity and snapped these at night a few days ago. The cat is our house mate for the moment. Her name is Sadie, she belongs to Sara and Travis.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Run pics






Pics from our run last Saturday. The pic of us looking fresh and clean is pre-race. We were significantly muddier after. Other pics are from the run and drinking in the circle after. The guy in the group photo all the way to the left in Neil from Australia. We hung out with him last weekend. He's pretty cool. Sorry some of the pics won't blow up, someone must have loaded them that small.

New View





Jesse and I are getting along just fine here in good old Jakarta. Yesterday, we went on a fun walk to a different monument in an area that was about a twenty minute walk away. We decided it would be a good idea to just start walking and see where we go to and we ended up there. It is a similar monument to the Washington Monument except it is shorter and has a big fake flame coming out of the top. It was surrounded by a humongous park where families gathered and were flying kites and lazing around on the grass. This is definitely a place where we can run to, around and from and get a pretty good workout in. The only problem with this is that we will have to get up at 5a.m. to do it. Due to the heat and traffic. We don't need to get hit by any cars here. Across the street from this statue was another huge weird sculpture of horses inside of a fountain. I realize these aren't great descriptions and for that I apologize. Unfortunately, Jesse and I forgot to take our camera along so I decided to snap some other photos from our "new" apartment window. I say new because it is new to us but our friends, Travis and Sara, whom we are staying with have been there for about a week now. This is where we will stay during the month that Travis is gone, after that we will start looking for our own place.

The pics taken from our balcony and are of the swimming pool area, my favorite place these days, the one with the neon green pond looking thing is shit river from a different view, then some of the buildings around the area. The Marlboro package was found in our freezer when were moving out and yes, if you were wondering it has a blackened lung on it. Sorry, the picture quality is not so great. They do this so people think twice before lighting up. It's a pretty gross picture.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

HHH Run, Wendy and Peter Update






Last Saturday Jesse and I decided to partake in a running group called the Hash House Harriers. We didn't even think to look up the local group because we thought that's just what it was, a local running club. Well, it's not. HHH is an international phenomenon that has been going for a very long time. Hashing as they call it originated in 1938, and apparently started on Monday nights with a group of Colonial British men to rid themselves of weekend hangovers. They did this by planning running routes in rural areas, then drinking a ton of beer afterwards. This is exactly what happened. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. All they said in the email was bring a change of clothes and don't wear new shoes. Well before the race, Jesse had on a pair of shoes, that certainly were not new, they only looked new, but they made him pour beer into his shoe and drink the beer out of the shoe. There were three others along with him that had to drink out of their "new" shoes. The route was a beautiful one going along rice patty fields and through small villages in the jungle. It was not an easy route and was about five miles long. We basically ran straight uphill for 45 minutes until we got to the top of the "mountain" and then it was downhill from there. Along this way I stepped in what seemed to be a huge pile of slushy, muddy, shit. It may have been just mud, but I think it must have been mixed with poo because the smell was horrendous. There are pictures of us pre and post race. As you can see in the post race picture we are all WAY, WAY dirtier than when we started. Post race they had food and beer for us. As much beer as you wanted to drink but you had to be careful because they make you drink take drinks of beer for outrageous things, such as, Jesse and I kissing in the circle. It wasn't even like we were making out either, just a little peck. They made us take drinks because it was our first run, and because I was wearing a dress post race. Overall, it was a really great time. We will probably partake in the event again.

On Sunday, we met with a couple named Wendy and Peter. Wendy is from Davenport and her parents live just right around the corner from Keith and Carolyn. Oddly enough they were in Davenport the exact same time this summer as Jesse and I. They said they walked down Fernwood Ave almost every day. I'm sure we saw them too. Also we found out Jesse know's Peter's ex-wives stepdaughter (i know it's a little complicated). They went to chiropractic school together. What a very small world. Wendy and Peter took us for lunch to the American Club and then drove us around the city to areas we haven't been to yet. It was a wonderful day. I suspect we will be hanging out with them more and more. Thanks Mrs. Tinsman for the contact!!

The other pics included in this post are of our apartment building called, Thamrin City, and a picture of Jesse standing in front of the river by our building. This river may look nice in the picture but it is actually nicknamed "shit river." It has a sort-of nuclear green color and is totally filled with grossness, garbage, and probably bacterial shit. If the wind is blowing just right you can get a whiff of the pungent, ripe smell of poo. The other pic is of a unique building that seems to have a crown on top. I'm not sure if this is a residence or a business park, but it's a pretty building.

Overall, we are enjoying ourselves. It gets better daily. Jesse is working and I am keeping myself busy reading, working out (about 2 hours a day) and hanging out by the pool. Let's hope I get a job soon.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Jakarta, Indonesia






Jesse and I have now been in Jakarta for almost two weeks. This city is HUGE!! We haven't really ventured out of the areas we know too much until now. We are starting to get out and do more things other than going to the mall. That's pretty much all we did the whole first week. Well.....I may be exaggerating a bit. We also went to the pool a lot and we have been working out on a daily basis. I think we will find more entertaining things once we get acclimated a bit more.

The movie theaters here are unreal. There is a "Premiere" theater that you can get tickets to for $10USD and you get your very own lazy boy recliner with a little cubby next to it to store your belongings and in the cubby are blankets so you can get cozy. It's pretty amazing. We also went to the regular theater which was only $2.50USD and it was still pretty awesome. Comparable to a really nice theater in the US. We saw "The Last Airbender" in the Premiere theater and Salt in the regular theater. Salt was really good.

Jesse and I have some exciting things coming up. Today, we are going to run with a local running club, which we are really excited about. We would run on the treadmill at the apartment building but every time you start to actually run on the treadmill it abruptly shuts off. It's really unpleasant, so we are excited to have this opportunity. Tomorrow for lunch we are meeting Wendy and Peter. Wendy and Peter's number was given to us by Mrs. Tinsman in Davenport, IA. They are good family friends. We are really excited to meet with them.

I've uploaded some pictures we have taken. Of course while we have been here we have had to partake in usual American activities such as, going to Dunkin' Donuts and Ace hardware. Dunkin' Donuts here is just as good as it is in the US and their iced coffee is very delicious. Normally we wouldn't eat here but we were starving and our friends told us that was the only safe place to eat in that area. Either way it was good. We ventured to Ace hardware because they have pretty much everything you could ever need. We only got glass cleaner. But they do have Bianci bikes that are pretty nice. When we start making a bit more money we are going back there to buy some.

Overall, our experience here has been great so far. We are very optimistic and grateful to have this opportunity. There are much more interesting post to come so keep checking our blog for updates. I will try and do it more often now since Jesse has internet at his office. Peace, Love and Rock n' Roll.

Annerson and Harry





While in SF we were so grateful to stay with Annie and Harrison. They have a beautiful apartment in Russian Hill and are in the know on the cool things going on in SF. We had a wonderful stay with them and are grateful to have gotten to spend time with them. We played ping pong one night for about an hour and drank delicious red wine. Then visited a really cool mural that was their friend organized the painting of in the Mission. Miss you guys!!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

more summer goodies






here are some goodies from the summer. I hope you enjoy. with love, J

more summer goodies






here are some goodies from the summer. I hope you enjoy. with love, J