Mt. Merbabu Pics.

A few posts ago, I showed a picture of a nearby volcano and incorrectly called it Mt. Merapi.  This volcano does exist, but it is about 8 miles behind this one...Mt. Merbabu.  Mt. Merbabu is the volcano I am currently planning to climb.  It is only about 8 miles from my house, and very near the town we drove through yesterday.  Read yesterday's post for info on that trip.

I took this photo from Brooklyn's school soccer field this morning after I dropped her off.  They have a beautifully manicured soccer field.

This photo I took of the same mountain when I got out of school from the public soccer field.  The two soccer fields are vastly different.  One is nice manicured grass with metal soccer goals and nets, the other, a dirt field with bamboo goal posts without nets.  One of the reasons I believe soccer is so cosmopolitan is due to that fact that the overhead is very low.  All you really need is a ball!

While taking the photo from Brooklyn's school, I almost walked through this spider web.  I seem to walk through a lot of those here since I am taller than most, and my head reaches places that have not been "walked through" yet.

Everywhere here there are little "warungs" or stores that sell various things.  This one sells snacks and "bensin," aka, gasoline.  Because of the amount of scooters and motorcycles here, many people just buy a liter at a time.  You can see the glass bottles full of gas for sale.

Back-road Drivin'

Instead of doing homework today, I was invited by a coworker who has a car to take a road trip without any purpose...just the kind I like...

(Post Script-I forgot to add this picture yesterday.)  Andong Volcano is just north of Merbabu Volcano, and is dormant.  Both Volcanos, among others, can easily be seen on Google Earth for those of you who like that kind of thing.  (Ahem...dad.)

We went south into the mountains and stopped to pick up some friends near a market.  This is typical here, although it was late in the day so there was not much left to buy.

Across the street from the market was a bamboo yard.  The man seen in the photo is scrubbing down the bamboo in order to sell, probably as fence posts.  Green beans are growing in the background.

While not the best picture, you can see the types of animals and birds we have here are beautiful.  By the time we backed up and I was composing a better picture, the bird flew off...that always happens!

The higher elevation we were driving in must have been conducive to growing tobacco.  It was growing everywhere.  After the leaves are picked, they are dried and then put into bales like in the photo above.

While driving by a Mosque, we stopped and talked with some of the people sitting outside.  They were all very nice and cordial and we talked for a few minutes with them.

Many people keep goats and horses on their property, but have to walk to nearby fields to gather food for them.

The rice was a lot farther along in this part of Java, and the workers were all out in earnest doing whatever it is they do in the rice world.

There are no heavy machines used in the rice world, so, use a water buffalo instead.

This cracked us up!  This man was herding his ducks, there must have been 30+ ducks.  It was almost as if those ducks had traveled this road numerous times and knew exactly where to go.  I cannot say that before today I had ever seen so many ducks running (not flying).  It was pretty funny!

I posted a pic a few day ago of the what the horse drawn carts look like here in Central Java, here is one in action.  Notice the bag between the horse and cart...don't leave home without it!

Several times a week I try to get away in the afternoons and practice my Indonesian with some of our local neighbors.  Brooklyn was bored today (that's the last time she'll whine to me) so I took her with me.  After exhuasting all I could of my vast Indonesian conversational skills (or lack thereof) my friend wanted to send us home with some fresh young coconuts and a special sugar to eat with them.  When we got home we all tried this new food and really liked it.  The coconut milk was the best part in my opinion.  The soft inner flesh was also good with the special sugar.  Once again, the kindness, patience and friendliness of the local people is very comforting.  Rebecca and I both have already found special people to practice with, which is a blessing as we stumble over ourselves trying to make simple sentences.

Another Sunday Afternoon Bike Ride

After looking at pics from Google Earth, I set out today on my bike to find some nearby rice fields.  I rode right to them and enjoyed the surrounding beauty of a type of field unlike anything I am used to.

I don't know much about rice, but at least at this location it appeared that they were just beginning to sow the fields.  I hope to return later when the fields are more mature.  Also, when we get a clear day, the nearby volcanoes will appear in the background as well.

As with most places I go, there always seems to be a troop of playful kids that want their picture taken.  These guys knew the typical english phrase..."hey meester, take foto!"

Yard Work

Since we arrived in Salatiga our yard has needed some work. A common way to take care of them around here is to hire a gardener. It sounds a lot more luxurious in an American context, but it is basically just a yard man. It is a good way to provide simple employment to the local economy and practice language as well. Today, when our gardener came to begin his work, he didn't waste time in scurrying up one of the trees in our backyard, barefoot, to take care of a few scraggly branches.

Our Neighborhood

Although we have only been here a short time, everyday we see things to remind us we are not in Kansas (Colorado) anymore. While I cannot say what the rest of Indonesia does, here in Central Java, horse buggies are a common form of transport. Once I learn the language a little better I am going to take a ride on one of these.

Currently, we are without transportation, except for my bicycle. So, Brooklyn and I currently walk to school every morning and this is one of the houses that is on the way. Our walk to school takes about 20 minutes. For a few days I have noticed how the early morning light made a neat abstract in the humid early morning air at this house.

In Keeping with the Reptile Theme...

A friend of our's caught this lizard yesterday and showed me how it changed colors.  While it is not a chameleon, it sure could change colors drastically.  Normally dingy brown, he turned bright yellow and green when we agitated him.

Bedroom Surprise

This post is dedicated to the grandmas...

Last night, Becca excitedly (yet calmly) asked me to quickly come see what was in our bedroom.  Lo and behold, on her side of the bed, (of course) there was this slithery little thing about 7 inches long on the floor.  It looked like a snake but it had 4 legs.  I quickly scooped it into a plastic container to show to the girls and then searched the internet to see what it was.  After a little looking, we determined it was a skink.  Skinks are very similar to snakes and lizards and it sounds like there are numerous species of them.  If you look closely in the photo above you can see his 2 rear legs.  The front 2 are tucked in as he was getting ready to slither away this morning as I released him back into the great outdoors.

Our First Holiday

Today is Independence Day in Indonesia so we had the day off from school.  We were invited by some friends to go swimming at a local pool/hotel and had a great time.  We spent a few hours swimming and even had lunch by the pool.  The girls had a blast and did great.  The hotel grounds were beautiful and the setting was very relaxing.  We will be sure to return to this place and enjoy some more time in the water.

Madison was a little unsure of how her floaties worked today but she slowly began to get used to them.  Hopefully with some more practice all of our girls will take to water a little more and learn how to swim while we are here in Salatiga.

These were some water lilies growing near the swimming pool among other things.  Hopefully next time I will have some more time to get some more pictures of the property.

A Sunday Afternoon Bike Ride

With all that is going on in our lives now as we adjust to a new culture and try to learn their language, sometimes it is nice to put those things on the back burner and just enjoy a bike ride.  While I am still learning about the culture and speaking the language while riding, it is still not a formal setting, just a relaxed bike ride in the tropics.

Agriculture is big in our area, although not quite to the same scale we were used to seeing in Colorado.  All farms are prepared, sown, and harvested by hand.  Hopefully I will find some rice paddies soon and get some photos of those.  I have seen them while driving around but I don't know how to get back to them yet on my bicycle.

Bamboo...They use it for a lot of things here.  It is the world's largest grass species and once it germinates it grows faster than most plants of it's size.  It is growing everywhere.  Brooklyn thinks she will see a Panda  Bear any moment.  We tried to explain that most of them are in China, a long distance away, but she doesn't get it yet.

My old Schwinn.  This bike has been with me for a LONG time and it just keeps going.  This bike has seen almost as much of the world as I have; Canada, most of the Western USA, Mexico, Ecuador, and Indonesia.  Since I didn't have anyone to pose for me in my photo, my bike did the job fine.  There are numerous little trails and paths in our area.  It looks like I will have plenty to explore and see while we are here for the next year.

This is what most of the streets look like in our area.  This would be considered a large street.  As we walk along these streets they are lined with people doing various things.  The people here are the nicest we have EVER met in any country.  Their genuine desire to talk with you and look you in the eyes with a smile is really neat.  I cannot wait until I can speak a little better to really engage in some more meaningful conversation than just telling them my name, the name of my wife, how many kids I have, and where I am from.  But, that is more than I could say a week ago!

Future Plans

Mt. Merapi, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

Nearby our home in Central Java there are a few volcanoes. I find it ironic that everywhere we have lived outside of our hometown in Colorado there are very real, and very active volcanoes. Salatiga is still no exception as the volcano pictured above is only about 15 miles away. Mt. Merapi rises to almost 10,000ft. above sea level, a vast contrast to the humid jungle we are living in right now.  Mr. Merapi...we will meet soon.  In fact, a tea party on your summit sounds like fun!  I'll keep you updated...

On the Ground Salatiga, Indonesia

The Streets of Salatiga, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

Is it possible we have only been in Indonesia one week?! Having arrived into Jakarta last Monday and now living in Salatiga since last Friday the last week feels like four! We have accomplished a lot and still have a lot to do...but it will happen little by little.

I started language school today. The plan was to wait until September but I couldn't stand not knowing what was happening and what was being said so I got in today for school. Rebecca will work with a tutor for a month and then begin formal school as planned in a month.
Salatiga is a really neat town, very similar to our other jungle tours in Latin America, yet very different. If only I could record the call to prayer and play it for you at 430am you could get a good sense that you are not in Kansas anymore.
Also, our newest prayer letter is out for those of you who have not seen it.  Click here to view it.

Trip Details

Hong Kong Airport, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

Rather than repeat what has already been written, go to Rebecca's blog to read about our trip to the other side of planet earth. As she says, it was a great trip considering how far we traveled and how long it took. The photo above was our trusty steed from San Fransico-Hong Kong-Singapore; a Boeing 777ER. For those of you who get the opportunity to fly with Singapore Airlines, you will not regret it. It was the most enjoyable airline experience we have EVER had! They know a thing or two about customer service.  It was our first time flying on a Boeing 777 which was also great, very quiet and smooth.  The airports in Hong Kong and Singapore were the nicest we have ever been to as well, a very pleasant experience.

We are in Jakarta for two more days getting over jet lag and activating our work visas.  We will fly to Salatiga on Friday and hopefully begin the process of getting settled in for the next year.

Made It!

Were safely in Jakarta, Indonesia!  We arrived safe and well and the kids did great!  More details to follow...I need sleep!