Selamat Idul Fitri!

Today is an Islamic holiday, Idul Fitri. It marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting, and the holiday can last about a week. People feast and visit family, and it can be really difficult to get anywhere because the streets can be packed from all the travelers.

Last night we went up to the Dago Tea House, where we had a view of the city to watch the fireworks going off everywhere. Today, since we couldn't do too much, we took off to get out of the city. I went with some friends to what we heard was a tofu factory, but there wasn't much production going on. There were some great fruit popsicles, and some fresh and very tasty fried tofu.



After that, we took an Angkot (a van-like form of public transportation) to Maribaya, where there were supposed to be hot springs. We did find a hot pool, but it didn't look that great, but it was really worth going there for the waterfalls.





And we saw a monkey.



Can you see it? It's right there in the middle. Looks like a macaque, don't you think?

All in all it was a really nice day. Now here's an unrelated pretty picture (of a sunrise):

Bandung! and food

Well, I'm now in Bandung for the rest of orientation. The city is a couple hours away from Jakarta, and it's a lot nicer. Jakarta was super crowded and smoggy, and Bandung seems a little less congested. The view from the hotel is very nice; we can see basically the whole city and the mountains to either side.

Bandung is known for its clothes shopping, but it's also a place where you can get any kind of food you want. I've eaten pizza and pad thai, as well as traditional Indonesian, of course. I end up eating fish pretty often.



The food is cheap, but we're not supposed to eat the cheapest food, which is from the street vendors. It's not recommended because we don't know about what kind of water they've been using, and we're not to drink from the tap. Could make us sick.

We've gone a couple of times to eat at the nearest mall (of many; this one is within walking distance). At sundown everyone is going out to eat after fasting for Ramadan, so the mall is very busy and there are lots of families out with us.

One thing that's great about Indonesian cuisine is the fruit. There's so much fresh fruit, all sorts, and growing seasons aren't like the US. Indonesians drink a lot of fruit juice, and, for example, strawberry juice is just strawberries pureed in a blender and poured into a glass. It is also fantastic.



Here's me at the Holland Bakery by our hotel, with some komodo dragon-shaped bread. I'll talk more about food later, and about stuff that we're doing, but for now I've got to get to Bahasa Indonesia class. Sampai jumpa lagi!

Tectonic turbulence in Jakarta...

Well, maybe you'll see on the news when you wake up that there was an earthquake today in Jakarta, around 3pm. I'm fine; everything is fine. I was just sitting in my hotel room on the seventh floor, and I definitely felt it. The building was swaying enough to feel it, and there are plenty of cracks in the plaster, but nobody was injured around here and all the buildings are fine. We went outside and waited for a while while the hotel got checked out, and then we came back inside. It was definitely an interesting experience.

Meanwhile, orientation has been going well. A lot of people have come to talk to use about different opportunities for people that we'll be working with, and ways to get more involved in helping people improve their English. We've also been eating very well, since breakfast and lunch (and coffee breaks) are buffets at the hotel. Yesterday we went to the Fine Arts Museum and saw some pretty cool paintings.

So, anyway, I have now been through an earthquake. That's something I couldn't say before today.