unexpected day off!
Hi all,
Our work plans fell though for the day, so we had an unexpected day off. Went to a big, crazy bookstore and bought another book because I was not good at rationing the 3 I brought with me. Tuesdays with Morrie. My parents like it, I think. The selection of books in English was not great. Lots of Danielle Steele. A zillion copies of the DaVinci Code. And lots of cookbooks, some big, beautiful art & design books. Some classics (Austen, Dickens, Shakespeare, etc.) but I was not feeling so in the mood for any of those books that I hadn't already read.
We also went to this big annual Indonesian handicrafts fair. It was neat. Lots of gorgeous batik, some beautiful pottery, nice baskets...I've seen so many beautiful things I'd love to bring home for people, but I have to keep reminding myself that bringing back lots of smushable and/or breakabe things is peobably not so smart.
Had a nice lunch afterwards. I've been loving the food. West Java is Sundanese, and I like Sundanese food. Rice at very meal, and I've been eating a lot of fried tofu, tempe, and fish lately. Since I've been eating in a lot of restaraunts lately, I haven't been eating as many vegetables as I usually do, but I bought a cheap plasic bowl and some bleach the other day, so I can wash fruits and vetegables in chlorinated water in my hotel toom now. Sundanese restaraunts will often bring small bowls of every dish they have to the table. you take what you want, and they come by when you're done and tally up your bill. Food is prepared in the AM, and sits in glass-doored cabinets to keep the flies away until it's all eaten. It was (surprisingly) not a very weird adjustment to eating so much room-temperature food. And the fruit here is pretty glorious. Mangoes, papayas, bananas are all fabulous. Mangosteen, soursop, snakeskin fruit, passion fruit...mmmmmmm...I am again of the opinion that I should live only in places where bananas and papayas grow wild. No more of this snow and ice nonesense.
I had really, really good beef sate for lunch on the 4th. Not a burger, but it was still cow. Very American I had meant to buy myself a can of cold beer on the way home, but I forgot. We finished our last interview that day with a lovely woman who had her kid and a neighbor chase us down on their motorcycle as we were drving away. They had a plastic bag wtih a knot tied in the top...they said it was a sample for us. They had me fairly well convinced that they had come running after s with a sample of chicken manure, but they were only joking. It was 4 bags of tea from their village. It was very nice of her. And after I had probably grossed out everyone in her store by playing with some puppies and letting them chew on my hands. I cannot understand the Muslim aversion to dogs.
Well, I should get back to the hotel and work on my interview summary. Day off from working in the field shouldn't mean entire day off from working at all. Otherwise I will be miserable upon my return because I will have a rediculous amount of work to do and much fuzzier memories of everything that I'm writing about.
Not sure when I'll be able to post again. I'm going to Jakarta on Thursday afternoon/evening and I'll be in Sngapore, renewing my visa, from Fri to Sun.
Hope you're all well.
-Janine
Our work plans fell though for the day, so we had an unexpected day off. Went to a big, crazy bookstore and bought another book because I was not good at rationing the 3 I brought with me. Tuesdays with Morrie. My parents like it, I think. The selection of books in English was not great. Lots of Danielle Steele. A zillion copies of the DaVinci Code. And lots of cookbooks, some big, beautiful art & design books. Some classics (Austen, Dickens, Shakespeare, etc.) but I was not feeling so in the mood for any of those books that I hadn't already read.
We also went to this big annual Indonesian handicrafts fair. It was neat. Lots of gorgeous batik, some beautiful pottery, nice baskets...I've seen so many beautiful things I'd love to bring home for people, but I have to keep reminding myself that bringing back lots of smushable and/or breakabe things is peobably not so smart.
Had a nice lunch afterwards. I've been loving the food. West Java is Sundanese, and I like Sundanese food. Rice at very meal, and I've been eating a lot of fried tofu, tempe, and fish lately. Since I've been eating in a lot of restaraunts lately, I haven't been eating as many vegetables as I usually do, but I bought a cheap plasic bowl and some bleach the other day, so I can wash fruits and vetegables in chlorinated water in my hotel toom now. Sundanese restaraunts will often bring small bowls of every dish they have to the table. you take what you want, and they come by when you're done and tally up your bill. Food is prepared in the AM, and sits in glass-doored cabinets to keep the flies away until it's all eaten. It was (surprisingly) not a very weird adjustment to eating so much room-temperature food. And the fruit here is pretty glorious. Mangoes, papayas, bananas are all fabulous. Mangosteen, soursop, snakeskin fruit, passion fruit...mmmmmmm...I am again of the opinion that I should live only in places where bananas and papayas grow wild. No more of this snow and ice nonesense.
I had really, really good beef sate for lunch on the 4th. Not a burger, but it was still cow. Very American I had meant to buy myself a can of cold beer on the way home, but I forgot. We finished our last interview that day with a lovely woman who had her kid and a neighbor chase us down on their motorcycle as we were drving away. They had a plastic bag wtih a knot tied in the top...they said it was a sample for us. They had me fairly well convinced that they had come running after s with a sample of chicken manure, but they were only joking. It was 4 bags of tea from their village. It was very nice of her. And after I had probably grossed out everyone in her store by playing with some puppies and letting them chew on my hands. I cannot understand the Muslim aversion to dogs.
Well, I should get back to the hotel and work on my interview summary. Day off from working in the field shouldn't mean entire day off from working at all. Otherwise I will be miserable upon my return because I will have a rediculous amount of work to do and much fuzzier memories of everything that I'm writing about.
Not sure when I'll be able to post again. I'm going to Jakarta on Thursday afternoon/evening and I'll be in Sngapore, renewing my visa, from Fri to Sun.
Hope you're all well.
-Janine
posted by Janine at 12:18 AM
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