A Little on the Lighter Side

In one of my earlier posts (before we left for Indo) I wrote about things I might experience here; specifically rambutan and rupiah. And as I thought through my more recent thoughts/entries I decided I wanted to dive back into the light hearted child-like excitement for Indo that I had in previous postings.

I finally tried rambutan the other day. In case you've forgotten it's that crazy lookin' "hairy fruit" as the locals call it. Like many of the favorite fruits here in Indonesia, inside that wild outer shell is a large seed covered in a rubbery fruit. It was actually pretty darn tasty. To get to the juicy innards you have to first bite through and break off the hairy 'jacket' that encases the seed. Then you just pop the whole thing in your mouth and chew and suck until you've cleaned the fleshy goodness off from around the seed. Of course there is always the chance that you grabbed a not-so-stellar rambutan from the bunch which tends to be relatively flavorless. But in general it is a mildly sweet and typically juicy experience.

The other foreign object I wrote about was rupiah, the currency here in Indonesia. I always enjoy greeting friends that have returned from trips abroad and scoping out the cool bills and coins they bring back. So this particular experience held a special place in my heart :) The going rate for a US dollar in rupiah is about 9,100 (unless you try to exchange in Meulaboh...you can only squeeze 8,500 rupiah/dollar out of them). That tends to make the math quite interesting. After our first afternoon in Medan I wasn't sure I'd pick up on the language quickly enough to understand the pricing system. It's one thing to learn "satu, dua, tiga, empat, lima, enam..." (one, two, three, four, five, six...) But when prices are all in THOUSANDS of rupiah?!?!

Thankfully the language has come faster than I thought it might. Now a trip to the market or a conversation about annual family incomes is not quite so intimidating. The money system has actually provided a unique system by which I have been able to monitor my progress in learning the language. I can keep score in a game of badminton, bargain for a sack full of passion fruit, or even calculate and discuss rice yields and income per farmer with our lovely staff. And since the exchange rate is so excellent I'll be sure to bring home a few thousand to show and share with you all :)

A pleasant surprise I've had since my arrival here has been the motor bikes (that's Indonesian-English for dirt bikes or mopeds). The only word that can accurately (yet inadequately) describe the terrain here is "rugged". And traveling all around Aceh Jaya on dirt bikes is certainly no walk in the park. But man is it fun! I've had the opportunity recently to practice driving and let me tell you...there's no "training wheels" option available here. My first drive was from one of our paddy (rice) fields. I started it up in the choppy grass leading up to the field, traversed a nearly impossible stretch of dirt and gravel and hopped a gap between the dirt and the asphalt about 4 inches across. Even then it's not exactly smooth sailing. Huge trucks that were brought in to haul rocks and dirt out of Calang as they build new roads take their toll on the simple road that USAID built through the downtown area. The way is riddled with pot holes (and even sections of road that are simply missing...), violent bumps, unmarked detours, crazy 12 year old boys on scooters, random piles of sand and rock...I'd love to get a dirt bike when I get back to the states. It would cut down both of gas costs and my 'carbon footprint'. And the feel of the wind in your hair and the purr of the bike beneath you is so liberating! I would say that after the practice I've had here even the worst roads and trails the States have to offer would prove to be a drive in the park. And don't worry mom...I always wear a helmet :)

Well, I think that's enough for today's blog. It's been raining here all day so we've been trapped in the office with nothing to do but blog, read, and pray (oooooh sweet release. I've been longing for some good downtime like this.) So now I will go do the latter of the three.

Praise be to God that the past few days have been filled with wonderfully challenging (yet encouraging) conversations and work assignments. Tomorrow morning we chat with the country director and the Calang staff about the 'co-op' and future of FH Indonesia. So keep us in your prayers!!!

:)