Hi there everybody. Natalia and Adam here. We're having a baby!!!!!! Yay! Natalia says that I am the writer, so it is my responsibility to get some words on this page about the little baby that is on the way. It's been a while since we've written, and we haven't even finished the full honeymoon story, yes we got to Bali and we didn't remember what a computer was. We'll finish that later. First, let's talk about this little baby.
The baby's name is--just kidding, we don't even know that yet, and we wouldn't say because that would ruin the fun of the baby pool, which we have started at http://elkinsbaby.babypool.com. At this site, you can bet some money on the baby's name, weight at birth, etc. You can win 20% of the pool, and the rest goes to the baby's college fund. :)
We've already found out the gender of the baby--it's a girl! I think she's going to be a soccer player. She just kicked and I'm pretty sure I saw Natalia's stomach bounce out of the corner of my eye. Natalia definitely felt it.
Natalia is, as of this date 22 weeks and 6 days along, according to the fact that we had the ultrasound where we found out the baby is a girl last Tuesday, and it was 22 weeks and 5 days at that point. 8 day's later, and I think we've got it worked out correctly based off of that.
Natalia is feeling good. She had morning sickness for the first 3 months, but that has subsided for the most part. Now she is feeling fine, she has a good appetite, and she has gained 12 lbs, and is looking bigger. I'll post some pictures soon. Her bellybutton is starting to look pretty stretched, and her belly looks good overall. Very smooth and round, like she ate a watermelon whole. Maybe not quite that big yet, but you get the idea. She doesn't like it when I poke her bellybutton with my finger.
Natalia went to the grocery store and walked around there for 3 hours trying to find stuff for different recipes, and she felt like that was the most exercise she had gotten in a while. Thus we decided we are going to try and walk two or three times a week, but nothing to over-exerting. Erin, my sister, said this would be a good idea.
Speaking of food, Natalia has had a few cravings, such as pickles, and Nutella on toast. To be clear, not pickles with Nutella on toast, but who knows that might be good. Amy and Christopher had brought up some jelly and honey from their trip to the Smokey Mountains a few months ago, and sometimes Natalia will have that on toast. I've noticed she's definitely eating more carbohydrate laden foods during the pregnancy, and I think I have too. I've maybe put on one or three pounds myself. Ha!
Hmm, what else? That's all we can think of right now, but please respond with any questions you might have, and don't forget to check out http://elkinsbaby.babypool.com.
Talk to you soon. We'll keep you posted.
Adam and Natalia
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Friday, October 17, 2008
Wedding Pictures!!!
Here's all the pictures Shelly took at our wedding. If you want the full size pictures let me know and we will mail you copies!
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| Wedding Day - Getting Ready |
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| Wedding Day - Adam and Natalia |
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| Wedding Day - Wedding Party |
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| Wedding Day - Family Portraits |
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| Wedding Day - Ceremony |
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| Wedding Day - Reception |
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Taman Mini
The day after Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee arrived was also the day before the reception in Indonesia, and so we decided to spend this day at Taman Mini, which is a theme park that is very close to Grace and Berthus' house. Taman Mini means Miniature Park. It is named as such because the park contains a large pool with miniature islands that represent the islands of Indonesia.
We picked up Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee at the hotel and then we went to the park. We were suprised when we arrived that there was hardly anybody at the park. This was likely because of Ramadan, and Natalia said it was normally more crowded. Not that we were complaining--it made it very easy to get around and see all the sights.
The first place we visited was the aviary. This was really neat because we saw all sorts of exotic birds, all of which were native to Indonesia. The aviary consisted of several large domes, which were split into two areas. The first area contained birds from Eastern Indonesia, and the second area contained birds from Western Indonesia. The zookeeper said every month they would open up the doors so they could visit each other. Just kidding about that part.
The aviary was really cool, and we saw many different birds. Mom and I talked to a Macaw for about 5 minutes, and we got it all on tape. I was taping for most of the time, but I did get a picture in front of the peacock cage. Don't worry, the pictures get more exciting later on...
After the aviary, which all of us really enjoyed, Dad and I especially, we got on the skyway, which was a cable car that was carried across the entire park. From the cable car we got a birds eye view of the park, and could see the miniature Indonesia islands very well. Here's a picture of the islands.
We actually got two rides across the skyway because we got to the landing area on the opposite side of the park, and the attendant just sort of waved us through! We got a chance to pass everybody, which was sort of fun, and back at the first landing area there was sort of a bump when you landed, and since Natalia and I landed first we got to see everybody react to this, which was pretty funny, let me tell you.
After we rode the skyway we checked out a few of the other sites, which included different churches of the area, which were true churches, and we were able to take a walk through an Islamic mosque. Very interesting.
Another part of the park contained the houses of Indonesia, which you could walk through and look at the architecture of all the different types of houses built in different parts of Indonesia. We only walked through one house, which was very much like a barn. It was interesting because it was built on stilts and you had to walk up two very steep flights of stairs to get to the living area. The upper living space was a very large room that was considered a common living area. It had ventilation on each end, which also made it very barn-like, and then it had smaller rooms all along the sides of the room, and each of these smaller rooms would house a family.
Once we got done checking out the house examples, we went to check out the lizards and snakes. I'm not sure what they call this place. They call big bird houses aviary. What a great name. I guess lizards are too ugly to have a name for where they live. Anyway, we went to where the lizards and snakes live, and we saw many snakes, including the Indonesian Spitting Cobra, and a Monitor Lizard, which is about two feet long. Natalia said this was the same lizard that was stealing the fish out of the Koi pond in her parents' garden! We then went back to the main attraction in the snake-and-lizard-iary, which was a Komodo Dragon. We actually got to walk up and touch the Komodo Dragon, which was pretty cool. Here's the picture of Natalia and I with the Komodo Dragon. It was pretty docile, but I was half expecting it to go, "RAAHHHHHH," and then go after my arm. Fortunately that didn't happen.
So that was pretty cool, and if we hadn't gotten enough of touching scaly animals, they had another feature close to this with a very large python. They let us go up and hold the python, which was really cool. I went first, and here's the picture. You can really feel how powerful the snake is. It's not slimy at all, but I could tell the snake was like, "You know what, this guy thinks he can keep a hold of me, but I could just squirm right out of his hands and coil around him if I felt like it. Well, I just ate that chicken yesterday so I think I'll just play along for now." Ok, so the snake didn't actually say that, but it did squirm around quite a bit. It was interesting because you could feel the scales of the snake sort of bristle out in a wavelike manner, which made it harder to hold onto, and would allow it to back right out of your hands if it really felt like it.
I thought I was really brave to go up, until my nieces went up and held the snake. There was also a little turtle walking around the snake area, and we got a really cute picture of Catherine and Celine.
We all had a really fun day, and it was nice to have a fun outing with Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee on their first full day in Indonesia.
Next up...the big reception!
We picked up Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee at the hotel and then we went to the park. We were suprised when we arrived that there was hardly anybody at the park. This was likely because of Ramadan, and Natalia said it was normally more crowded. Not that we were complaining--it made it very easy to get around and see all the sights.
The first place we visited was the aviary. This was really neat because we saw all sorts of exotic birds, all of which were native to Indonesia. The aviary consisted of several large domes, which were split into two areas. The first area contained birds from Eastern Indonesia, and the second area contained birds from Western Indonesia. The zookeeper said every month they would open up the doors so they could visit each other. Just kidding about that part.
The aviary was really cool, and we saw many different birds. Mom and I talked to a Macaw for about 5 minutes, and we got it all on tape. I was taping for most of the time, but I did get a picture in front of the peacock cage. Don't worry, the pictures get more exciting later on...
After the aviary, which all of us really enjoyed, Dad and I especially, we got on the skyway, which was a cable car that was carried across the entire park. From the cable car we got a birds eye view of the park, and could see the miniature Indonesia islands very well. Here's a picture of the islands.
We actually got two rides across the skyway because we got to the landing area on the opposite side of the park, and the attendant just sort of waved us through! We got a chance to pass everybody, which was sort of fun, and back at the first landing area there was sort of a bump when you landed, and since Natalia and I landed first we got to see everybody react to this, which was pretty funny, let me tell you.After we rode the skyway we checked out a few of the other sites, which included different churches of the area, which were true churches, and we were able to take a walk through an Islamic mosque. Very interesting.
Another part of the park contained the houses of Indonesia, which you could walk through and look at the architecture of all the different types of houses built in different parts of Indonesia. We only walked through one house, which was very much like a barn. It was interesting because it was built on stilts and you had to walk up two very steep flights of stairs to get to the living area. The upper living space was a very large room that was considered a common living area. It had ventilation on each end, which also made it very barn-like, and then it had smaller rooms all along the sides of the room, and each of these smaller rooms would house a family.
Once we got done checking out the house examples, we went to check out the lizards and snakes. I'm not sure what they call this place. They call big bird houses aviary. What a great name. I guess lizards are too ugly to have a name for where they live. Anyway, we went to where the lizards and snakes live, and we saw many snakes, including the Indonesian Spitting Cobra, and a Monitor Lizard, which is about two feet long. Natalia said this was the same lizard that was stealing the fish out of the Koi pond in her parents' garden! We then went back to the main attraction in the snake-and-lizard-iary, which was a Komodo Dragon. We actually got to walk up and touch the Komodo Dragon, which was pretty cool. Here's the picture of Natalia and I with the Komodo Dragon. It was pretty docile, but I was half expecting it to go, "RAAHHHHHH," and then go after my arm. Fortunately that didn't happen.
So that was pretty cool, and if we hadn't gotten enough of touching scaly animals, they had another feature close to this with a very large python. They let us go up and hold the python, which was really cool. I went first, and here's the picture. You can really feel how powerful the snake is. It's not slimy at all, but I could tell the snake was like, "You know what, this guy thinks he can keep a hold of me, but I could just squirm right out of his hands and coil around him if I felt like it. Well, I just ate that chicken yesterday so I think I'll just play along for now." Ok, so the snake didn't actually say that, but it did squirm around quite a bit. It was interesting because you could feel the scales of the snake sort of bristle out in a wavelike manner, which made it harder to hold onto, and would allow it to back right out of your hands if it really felt like it.
I thought I was really brave to go up, until my nieces went up and held the snake. There was also a little turtle walking around the snake area, and we got a really cute picture of Catherine and Celine.
We all had a really fun day, and it was nice to have a fun outing with Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee on their first full day in Indonesia.Next up...the big reception!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee's Arrival
On the 19th of September Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee arrived. Aldo, Berthus and I woke up and got ready that morning, and we left at about 11:00 to head to the airport. We needed to be at the airport by 1:15 to meet the group when they arrived. We got there just at 1:15 and were at the arrival gate by 1:25 or so. So we had gotten there a little late, and in addition we had no way to call Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee to try and figure out where they were. We waited and waited, and waited for about two hours, and we finally got a hold of them at their hotel. As it turns out, they were taken to the hotel by a shuttle service. As I had experienced when you walk out of the arrival gate, there is a mad rush of transportation service people who will very aggressively try to sell you their services. When Natalia and I had arrived, Aldo and Natalia handled it like old pros. Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee ran into the same taxi service solicitation, but fortunately were greeted by a man who worked for the shuttle service of "The Sultan" which was the hotel where they were staying. This man helped them get out of the madness and got their luggage in the car. The only downside to this was they couldn't contact us until they got to their hotel. As Mom, Dad, Erin and Lee were happily on their way to the hotel, Berthus, Aldo, and I were at the airport growing more and more concerned, yet also bored. There was one spell of excitement when Gunawan, a movie star in Indonesia, got off the plane. Apparently he was on his way back from Mecca. I acted like I was from the American press, "Yes, we American photo journalists use point-and-shoot cameras," and I was able to snap this picture: 
As you can see, not just anybody could have gotten that shot, but since I towered over everybody else it made it easy. I guess I could always be a photographer in an Asian country, if I ever felt like it. At the time I took the picture, I had no idea who this guy was, only that everybody was snapping pictures and crowding around him. I showed Natalia and Jane this picture later and they could barely contain their excitement.
So afterwards, we went to The Sultan where everybody was staying and met up with Mom and Dad. Erin and Lee were tuckered out, and had already gone to bed. Mom and Dad were troupers, and were up for dinner.
It was about 6:00 or so, and we got in the car and went to a great little restaurant where they served Indonesian food. They had very good Gado Gado, which is like potato salad with lettuce, and peanut sauce, and chicken satay, which, if you're not familiar with it, is grilled meat on a stick, served with hot sauce. Both were very good. Here is a picture of Mom and Dad at the restaurant. Both are looking a little tired!
We had fun and it was good to see Mom and Dad. We took them back so they could rest for the next day.
As you can see, not just anybody could have gotten that shot, but since I towered over everybody else it made it easy. I guess I could always be a photographer in an Asian country, if I ever felt like it. At the time I took the picture, I had no idea who this guy was, only that everybody was snapping pictures and crowding around him. I showed Natalia and Jane this picture later and they could barely contain their excitement.So afterwards, we went to The Sultan where everybody was staying and met up with Mom and Dad. Erin and Lee were tuckered out, and had already gone to bed. Mom and Dad were troupers, and were up for dinner.
It was about 6:00 or so, and we got in the car and went to a great little restaurant where they served Indonesian food. They had very good Gado Gado, which is like potato salad with lettuce, and peanut sauce, and chicken satay, which, if you're not familiar with it, is grilled meat on a stick, served with hot sauce. Both were very good. Here is a picture of Mom and Dad at the restaurant. Both are looking a little tired!
We had fun and it was good to see Mom and Dad. We took them back so they could rest for the next day.
Back to the Blog
Hey all. I've got no other plans today but to take a marathon run at this blog. Let's see if I can get in all the remaining stories I mentioned, and maybe even some pictures!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Back home now! Still catching up on the blog
Hey All,
We got back home yesterday, and we are still catching up on the blog.
Yep, after Mom and Dad arrived we were busy from then on. We had the reception, which was amazing, then flew to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where we visited several temples, including the Borobudur Temple, which is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. We then traveled to Bali, where we stayed at the Hyatt resort for five days. Let me tell you, it was rough, especially the constant pampering, delicious food, and countless fun things to do.
Of course, you know this means many more stories and pictures, which I haven't had a chance to post yet. Now that we are back home again in Indiana, I do believe I should have a chance to add new stories from the last part of our Honeymoon.
Stay tuned!
We got back home yesterday, and we are still catching up on the blog.
Yep, after Mom and Dad arrived we were busy from then on. We had the reception, which was amazing, then flew to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where we visited several temples, including the Borobudur Temple, which is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. We then traveled to Bali, where we stayed at the Hyatt resort for five days. Let me tell you, it was rough, especially the constant pampering, delicious food, and countless fun things to do.
Of course, you know this means many more stories and pictures, which I haven't had a chance to post yet. Now that we are back home again in Indiana, I do believe I should have a chance to add new stories from the last part of our Honeymoon.
Stay tuned!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Trip to Surabaya
Hey all, I wanted to jump on here and give you an update of our weekend excursion to Surabaya. One legend states the city is named after a shark (sura) and a crocodile (baya), which fought for the title of "World's Toughest Animal." I'm not sure how they forgot to include the tiger in this contest, because I think the tiger could take out either a shark or a crocodile, assuming a neutral start, where neither animal had an advantage. The toughest part would be deciding how to start the fight. In a high school wrestling match they have that slightly awkward starting point where one wrestler sort of mounts the other. Well, what we need is something like this for a land based mammal that attacks with its claws versus an amphibious reptile that attacks with its teeth. Maybe start them off in an open field with no grass, but then the tiger gets a slight advantage because of it's ability to run. Then again, if you have water involved you give a huge advantage to the crocodile, who can just sink below the surface and set up a surprise attack. It's a difficult scenario to work out, and believe me, I have though about it for quite some time. This was a big topic of discussion in the bachelor pad of '05, with Ted, Doug, and I, and the discussion continues on today, unresolved, even after video proof on YouTube that the Tiger handily dispatches of the crocodile in an open field fight. Sorry Doug, but the crocodile just doesn't have what it takes to match up to the unstoppable force of the tiger.
Back in the bachelor pad, we never broached the subject of crocodile versus shark, as the city of Surabaya has. Though now that I think about it, it would be an interesting fight. At least in croc vs. shark, the obvious neutral starting point would be a water based fight. I'd put my money on the shark, but if the crocodile was able to clamp down and put the shark into a vicious death roll, that could turn the tables quickly. Also remember, the shark needs to keep swimming to keep the flow water moving through it's gills. If the crocodile was able to figure this out, it could just grab hold of the shark's tail and stop it from moving. However, I don't know if the crocodile could figure this out with it's walnut sized brain. I'm sure the tiger, with it's larger brain, and natural superior cunning and intellect, could likely figure this out in a jiffy, if it didn't decide to simply annihilate the shark with brute force.
Needless to say, this type of legendary background instantly qualifies the city of Surabaya for high marks in my book. But look! In all this prattling on, I haven't even told you a single thing about our trip! Silly me! Let's take you back to the story.
When we left off, we technically had not even started, and thus we resume at the very beginning of the story. Grace, Natalia and I flew into Surabaya on Saturday morning on Garuda Airlines. Jane, Natalia's sister and her husband Heromin picked us up, along with their little girls, Catherine and Celine. The ride back was fun because I got a chance to meet my new nieces and brother in law, and was good to see Jane once again. Catherine and Celine were singing, so I joined in for a few rounds of ABC's, Itsy-Bitsy Spider, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and a few other childrens' songs. I thought I could maybe teach them a few, but they seemed to know all of them already. They tried to get me to sing the Barney song, but I refused, but I sang every other song with them, and they knew all the words.
We arrived at Jane and Heromin's house and got the grand tour. Similar to Grace and Berthus' house, Jane and Heromin's house also functions as a business. They do gift box construction, calendar printing and binding, and book binding. There were about 50 workers there, and they had several assembly lines with conveyor belts that were being used at the time to construct boxes. There were many young workers folding boxes and placing them on the assembly line, with one "efficiency expert" at the end, overseeing everything. I thought it would be cool to tape the assembly in action, so I went up and got my video camera. I must not have heard the lunch whistle because once I got back with my camera many people were resting, some were sleeping, and things were not nearly as exciting. I taped the equipment anyway, and the people resting. I could tell that some people were happy to be taped, and others were not. I told Heromin later that I didn't mean to embarrass anybody if I did. He said, "What, are you afraid they are going to sue you?" :)
Heromin and I had a very interesting conversation about his business. I asked him if he ever considered exporting his products to the US or elsewhere. He said he had thought about it, but the problem is the Indonesian exporting "standards" are sometimes known to change. It seemed to me, as Heromin described it, this would make the export process unreliable. One shipment may be approved, and the the next shipment, produced exactly the same, might not be approved. The other option would be to import the raw materials from the country you eventually wanted to export the final product. Apparently the export authority in Indonesia takes into consideration the fact that the destination of the final product is the same as where the raw material came in from. Basically, if we get the raw materials from the US, then they should have no problem importing the final products. The only problem with this option is that the extra cost of shipping in these raw materials would decrease the profit margin enough that it wouldn't make it worth the while to do this, according to Heromin.
Once we went back up to the house the girls were ready to perform. Catherine played the piano impeccably, while Celine dance beside her. I also got this on tape. I realized later that while I was taping everything, I wasn't doing a good job of taking pictures. However, I did end up with some good pictures later on in the trip, which I will share with you.
Jane and Heromin had a full day planned out for us, and we started off by heading to the mall. The first stop was the hair salon, where Natalia, Jane and Grace got the full treatment. I call it a hair salon, but it was really more like a massage parlor. Natalia pointed out that I could stick around for a hair cream bath, which would help to fortify and strengthen the roots of my hair. I thought, "Wow, sounds great!" This was before I knew you could get a full back, foot, and arm massage at this place. When I found that out, I asked Natalia how much this cost. She told me 65,000 rupias, which sounds expensive, right? Well, it's actually about $6.50. For the foot massage, they focus on the pressure points on your foot, which there seem to be several right behind the ball of your foot, and some right on the front of your heel, and some on the ends of your toes. Those were the ones I noticed mostly, at least, because you can definitely feel it when they apply pressure. I told Jane the girl had "thumbs of steel." I thought the massage was pretty good, but wait until we get to day 2, and I'll tell you about the other massage place we visited....Hey now, don't get the wrong idea!
That evening we ate at a Korean restaurant where we sat on the floor, with a gas stove built into the table. We ordered a "family style" meal (I'm sure there's a name for it, but I don't know what it is), and they brought all types of food, and a soup that they cooked on the burner in front of us. The soup was my favorite, and it tasted like some sort of delicious cabbage stew. Hey, what can I say, I've got Scotch-Irish blood, I like the cabbage.
Here's Natalia, Catherine, Celine, and I after we ate. Aren't they so cute?
That evening we stayed at a resort hotel, which was very nice. I woke up in the morning to sounds of Catherine and Celine playing outside the door, asking when "Paman Adam" was going to wake up. This means "Uncle" in Indonesian.
Here's a view of the pool from our room. There were about 3 or 4 different sections to the pool. I was still in "taping mode" so I didn't get any pictures of the pool or resort up close. You'll have to see the tape later.
We went outside and enjoyed the pool for a while. It was about 7:30 in the morning but it already felt like it was about 80 degrees. The pool felt great, and then Natalia and I hit the sauna. What a morning. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, we walked into the lobby for the free breakfast. This was the continental breakfast to end all continental breakfasts. There were about 7 different tables, including the main table with a standard Indonesian breakfast with rice and vegetables, and various meats. On the other side of this table was a more American style buffet. The side tables included a full milk and juice bar (not just O.J and grapefruit. I'm talking Mango, Papaya, Pineapple, among a few others). They had an omelette station, and beside it they had a pastry table. I can't remember what all they had. I think they even had a smoothie station. I taped it all, being the good tourist, so I'll have to review it and then give you the full list. It was really above and beyond what I would have expected, and I guess what I have come to expect in general.
Here goes my take on the difference in what to expect as far as service between the US and Indonesia. In Indonesia, you can't always expect the same level of amenities, i.e. the hotel rooms might not have a t.v., the bathrooms might not be as nice, it might be hot as heck because there is no A/C in some places, but I can almost guarantee the employees will fall over themselves to try and better your experience, which to me seems quite rare in the US. This might be because many of these types of jobs in the US are held by employees who might be working towards bigger and better things. College students, and the like, who maybe do like their job at the mall, but it's not their life. In Indonesia, the same mall or waiter job might be the only job some folks can aspire to. They care about the job more deeply, and this really shows in their actions at work I realize there is likely a flipside to the coin that deals with the social and economic status of many folks in Indonesia--many are poor. Instead of veering further off course, I'm going to get back to the story of our trip to Surabaya, with the promise that I am going to try to find what all contributes to these differences in service I see between Indonesia and US.
After the exceptional breakfast we checked out and headed to another mall. Little did I know we were headed towards another foot massage. This was a reflexology place where all the masseuses were from China. There were two to a room, and I was in the same room as Heromin. This massage started with a foot bath, and they dried your feet and wrapped the one they weren't working on at the time with a towel. They also focused on the pressure points like the place from the day before, only they did it with even more pressure. It was about an hour long, and it was excruciating. It felt like they were taking scoops of flesh out of the bottom of your foot whenever they poked the knuckle of their pointer finger into it. It hurt like heck, but then they would give you a break for a while and rub your feet. I came in feeling kind of drowsy, and this really woke me up. I looked over at Heromin and he seemed to be falling asleep while getting the same foot treatment. What a pro. I tried to remain stoic during this intense session, but the masseuse detected a few times, through either my flared nostrils or the my raised eyebrows, that I was suffering. I wanted to get the full effect of the massage, so I didn't want her to back off. Heromin told me how to say, "More pressure" in Chinese, and I didn't bother learning how to say "Less pressure," I just told them I would emit a loud scream if it got too intense, so they should just listen for that. At the end of the massage, my feet felt sore in some spots, but felt great overall. I'm pretty sure this type of foot massage is intended for long term benefits rather than any sort of instant pleasure. Five days later my feet still feel great. I can't really describe it, they are just sort of loose and comfortable now, and I feel like they could handle lots of walking. I would definitely recommend this type of Reflexologie massage. 120,000 rupias ($12).
After this visit, we looked around the mall for a while and then visited the food court, which was in the shape of a big circle (wow, different!), only this food court had kiosks that were themed after different areas in Indonesia, so you could get food from virtually any area of Indonesia. There were many, probably close to 50 different food kiosks. I thought this was pretty cool, but I was unfortunately not hungry enough to try all of them.
We headed out to the airport and took Lion Airlines back to Jakarta. It was a great trip, and we all really enjoyed it. Thanks for your hospitality Heromin and Jane, and I loved meeting you Catherine and Celine. I can't wait to see you again.
Back in the bachelor pad, we never broached the subject of crocodile versus shark, as the city of Surabaya has. Though now that I think about it, it would be an interesting fight. At least in croc vs. shark, the obvious neutral starting point would be a water based fight. I'd put my money on the shark, but if the crocodile was able to clamp down and put the shark into a vicious death roll, that could turn the tables quickly. Also remember, the shark needs to keep swimming to keep the flow water moving through it's gills. If the crocodile was able to figure this out, it could just grab hold of the shark's tail and stop it from moving. However, I don't know if the crocodile could figure this out with it's walnut sized brain. I'm sure the tiger, with it's larger brain, and natural superior cunning and intellect, could likely figure this out in a jiffy, if it didn't decide to simply annihilate the shark with brute force.
Needless to say, this type of legendary background instantly qualifies the city of Surabaya for high marks in my book. But look! In all this prattling on, I haven't even told you a single thing about our trip! Silly me! Let's take you back to the story.
When we left off, we technically had not even started, and thus we resume at the very beginning of the story. Grace, Natalia and I flew into Surabaya on Saturday morning on Garuda Airlines. Jane, Natalia's sister and her husband Heromin picked us up, along with their little girls, Catherine and Celine. The ride back was fun because I got a chance to meet my new nieces and brother in law, and was good to see Jane once again. Catherine and Celine were singing, so I joined in for a few rounds of ABC's, Itsy-Bitsy Spider, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and a few other childrens' songs. I thought I could maybe teach them a few, but they seemed to know all of them already. They tried to get me to sing the Barney song, but I refused, but I sang every other song with them, and they knew all the words.
We arrived at Jane and Heromin's house and got the grand tour. Similar to Grace and Berthus' house, Jane and Heromin's house also functions as a business. They do gift box construction, calendar printing and binding, and book binding. There were about 50 workers there, and they had several assembly lines with conveyor belts that were being used at the time to construct boxes. There were many young workers folding boxes and placing them on the assembly line, with one "efficiency expert" at the end, overseeing everything. I thought it would be cool to tape the assembly in action, so I went up and got my video camera. I must not have heard the lunch whistle because once I got back with my camera many people were resting, some were sleeping, and things were not nearly as exciting. I taped the equipment anyway, and the people resting. I could tell that some people were happy to be taped, and others were not. I told Heromin later that I didn't mean to embarrass anybody if I did. He said, "What, are you afraid they are going to sue you?" :)
Heromin and I had a very interesting conversation about his business. I asked him if he ever considered exporting his products to the US or elsewhere. He said he had thought about it, but the problem is the Indonesian exporting "standards" are sometimes known to change. It seemed to me, as Heromin described it, this would make the export process unreliable. One shipment may be approved, and the the next shipment, produced exactly the same, might not be approved. The other option would be to import the raw materials from the country you eventually wanted to export the final product. Apparently the export authority in Indonesia takes into consideration the fact that the destination of the final product is the same as where the raw material came in from. Basically, if we get the raw materials from the US, then they should have no problem importing the final products. The only problem with this option is that the extra cost of shipping in these raw materials would decrease the profit margin enough that it wouldn't make it worth the while to do this, according to Heromin.
Once we went back up to the house the girls were ready to perform. Catherine played the piano impeccably, while Celine dance beside her. I also got this on tape. I realized later that while I was taping everything, I wasn't doing a good job of taking pictures. However, I did end up with some good pictures later on in the trip, which I will share with you.
Jane and Heromin had a full day planned out for us, and we started off by heading to the mall. The first stop was the hair salon, where Natalia, Jane and Grace got the full treatment. I call it a hair salon, but it was really more like a massage parlor. Natalia pointed out that I could stick around for a hair cream bath, which would help to fortify and strengthen the roots of my hair. I thought, "Wow, sounds great!" This was before I knew you could get a full back, foot, and arm massage at this place. When I found that out, I asked Natalia how much this cost. She told me 65,000 rupias, which sounds expensive, right? Well, it's actually about $6.50. For the foot massage, they focus on the pressure points on your foot, which there seem to be several right behind the ball of your foot, and some right on the front of your heel, and some on the ends of your toes. Those were the ones I noticed mostly, at least, because you can definitely feel it when they apply pressure. I told Jane the girl had "thumbs of steel." I thought the massage was pretty good, but wait until we get to day 2, and I'll tell you about the other massage place we visited....Hey now, don't get the wrong idea!
That evening we ate at a Korean restaurant where we sat on the floor, with a gas stove built into the table. We ordered a "family style" meal (I'm sure there's a name for it, but I don't know what it is), and they brought all types of food, and a soup that they cooked on the burner in front of us. The soup was my favorite, and it tasted like some sort of delicious cabbage stew. Hey, what can I say, I've got Scotch-Irish blood, I like the cabbage.
Here's Natalia, Catherine, Celine, and I after we ate. Aren't they so cute?
That evening we stayed at a resort hotel, which was very nice. I woke up in the morning to sounds of Catherine and Celine playing outside the door, asking when "Paman Adam" was going to wake up. This means "Uncle" in Indonesian.
Here's a view of the pool from our room. There were about 3 or 4 different sections to the pool. I was still in "taping mode" so I didn't get any pictures of the pool or resort up close. You'll have to see the tape later.
We went outside and enjoyed the pool for a while. It was about 7:30 in the morning but it already felt like it was about 80 degrees. The pool felt great, and then Natalia and I hit the sauna. What a morning. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, we walked into the lobby for the free breakfast. This was the continental breakfast to end all continental breakfasts. There were about 7 different tables, including the main table with a standard Indonesian breakfast with rice and vegetables, and various meats. On the other side of this table was a more American style buffet. The side tables included a full milk and juice bar (not just O.J and grapefruit. I'm talking Mango, Papaya, Pineapple, among a few others). They had an omelette station, and beside it they had a pastry table. I can't remember what all they had. I think they even had a smoothie station. I taped it all, being the good tourist, so I'll have to review it and then give you the full list. It was really above and beyond what I would have expected, and I guess what I have come to expect in general.
Here goes my take on the difference in what to expect as far as service between the US and Indonesia. In Indonesia, you can't always expect the same level of amenities, i.e. the hotel rooms might not have a t.v., the bathrooms might not be as nice, it might be hot as heck because there is no A/C in some places, but I can almost guarantee the employees will fall over themselves to try and better your experience, which to me seems quite rare in the US. This might be because many of these types of jobs in the US are held by employees who might be working towards bigger and better things. College students, and the like, who maybe do like their job at the mall, but it's not their life. In Indonesia, the same mall or waiter job might be the only job some folks can aspire to. They care about the job more deeply, and this really shows in their actions at work I realize there is likely a flipside to the coin that deals with the social and economic status of many folks in Indonesia--many are poor. Instead of veering further off course, I'm going to get back to the story of our trip to Surabaya, with the promise that I am going to try to find what all contributes to these differences in service I see between Indonesia and US.
After the exceptional breakfast we checked out and headed to another mall. Little did I know we were headed towards another foot massage. This was a reflexology place where all the masseuses were from China. There were two to a room, and I was in the same room as Heromin. This massage started with a foot bath, and they dried your feet and wrapped the one they weren't working on at the time with a towel. They also focused on the pressure points like the place from the day before, only they did it with even more pressure. It was about an hour long, and it was excruciating. It felt like they were taking scoops of flesh out of the bottom of your foot whenever they poked the knuckle of their pointer finger into it. It hurt like heck, but then they would give you a break for a while and rub your feet. I came in feeling kind of drowsy, and this really woke me up. I looked over at Heromin and he seemed to be falling asleep while getting the same foot treatment. What a pro. I tried to remain stoic during this intense session, but the masseuse detected a few times, through either my flared nostrils or the my raised eyebrows, that I was suffering. I wanted to get the full effect of the massage, so I didn't want her to back off. Heromin told me how to say, "More pressure" in Chinese, and I didn't bother learning how to say "Less pressure," I just told them I would emit a loud scream if it got too intense, so they should just listen for that. At the end of the massage, my feet felt sore in some spots, but felt great overall. I'm pretty sure this type of foot massage is intended for long term benefits rather than any sort of instant pleasure. Five days later my feet still feel great. I can't really describe it, they are just sort of loose and comfortable now, and I feel like they could handle lots of walking. I would definitely recommend this type of Reflexologie massage. 120,000 rupias ($12).
After this visit, we looked around the mall for a while and then visited the food court, which was in the shape of a big circle (wow, different!), only this food court had kiosks that were themed after different areas in Indonesia, so you could get food from virtually any area of Indonesia. There were many, probably close to 50 different food kiosks. I thought this was pretty cool, but I was unfortunately not hungry enough to try all of them.
We headed out to the airport and took Lion Airlines back to Jakarta. It was a great trip, and we all really enjoyed it. Thanks for your hospitality Heromin and Jane, and I loved meeting you Catherine and Celine. I can't wait to see you again.
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