OblOgatory Post…get it?

Okay, okay.  I’m an English major.  I think this shit’s funny.  Sue me.

I can’t believe today is Friday already.  I’d like to update y’all on everything I’ve had going on, but that sounds like a lot of typing, so you will get a very abridged version with minor expansions on the parts that I feel like telling.  If you have questions, just ask, and if I skip over something, let me know.

As of last night, I finally landed in Jakarta at around 10 pm, so that is where I am writing this.  More specifically, I am typing this in my room at the Kost (boarding house) where EF is putting me up until I choose my housing.  I will have the opportunity to stay here (where it is cheaper), or move to an apartment.  Honestly, I doubt that an apartment will be much less expensive, as the Taksi (I think y’all can figure that one out) rides from here to my center are a little pricey, at least in traffic.

My room has its own bathroom (sans hand sink, and the shower is right above the toilet), a queen-sized bed, a television that I have yet to turn on, a desk, and a wardrobe.  The floor is ceramic tile.  There is an air conditioner that I’m told is very nice.  The only downfall, besides the lack of a hand sink, is that the room reeks of moth balls.  Like, nauseatingly so.  I found the “air freshener” culprits and double-bagged them.  I also bought some Orange Glade at Hero, the local grocery store.  Let’s just say that I don’t quite notice it anymore, but whenever I enter my room, the smell hits me like a wave.

Benny and Ardi, two Indonesian men from my Center picked me up from the airport last night and then brought me to the Kost, where my room is on the third floor.  They were wonderful, not letting me carry my own luggage, and making sure that the internet, shower, air conditioner, and door lock worked before leaving.  Benny read me the rules for my room, as they were in Indonesian.  I am not allowed to have a pet, play my tv too loud, use a blow-dryer or microwave, or entertain guests of the opposite sex.  I broke the blow-dryer rule this morning, and quickly learned my lesson when I killed the power to all three stories.  I guess I don’t want to know the repercussions to the opposite sex rule.

This afternoon, Jennifer, the DoS (Director of Studies) from my Center picked me up.  She commented that my Kost is much nicer than hers was, so I guess I shouldn’t complain about much.  Jennifer had a taxi waiting, and we went to the Mall Tamananggrek where our center is located.  Yes, this is like a normal shopping mall, and there are stores for pretty much anything you might need.  Mall Tamananggrek is four stories and has department stores, a grocery, a skating rink, a movie theatre, at least 6 bank branches…oh, and an English First Center.  Mall Tamananggrek is right next to Central Park, another large mall of multiple stories.  From what I gather, Jakartans love their shopping.  Kind of brings me back to ’95 when hanging out at the mall was the thing to do.

After my brief orientation, Jennifer had a placement test to administer, so I was given the choice to wait, or to try and run my errands on my own.  I chose run my errands, and I only had to return to EF once to ask for help!  Of course, I didn’t have to leave the mall, but shush. 

First item of business was spending money.  I was pretty convinced that I only needed to find an ATM, but Indonesian ATMs only give money if you have an account, so that was a wash.  I did find a currency exchange in the bank section of the mall, so I was able to trade the US dollars that I brought with me for Indonesian Rupiah, or IDR.  At the currency exchange, two middle-aged Muslim women let out a giant “Squeee!” when they saw me, and took turns taking their picture with the Bule (white person).

Next, I needed to find an electric converter, as my travel converter had only two of the three female parts needed for my laptop.  Jennifer mentioned that I could find one at Hero, and I kind of doubted her, but there it was!

I also needed to find some sort of dinner.  Benny and Ardi recommended that I didn’t walk around my neighborhood at night, and I don’t have a fridge or a hot plate, so I settled on some salami, cheese, and crackers.  I also bought some liters of water, as the tap water in Indonesia is impotable, and most importantly, I bought toilet paper, which apparently doesn’t come with the room.  Thanks to Heather O’Dell, who gave me travel toilet paper when I moved to Ohio ten years ago.  I’ve packed it with every move since for some reason, and I thought to bring it with here.  Life-saver, that was.

This post is becoming a bit long, so I’m going to wrap it up.  Perhaps I’ll regale y’all of my trip to Singapore and my last days in the U.S. over the weekend when I have nothing to do.  Until then, maaf.  (Maaf means “sorry” and it has probably been the most helpful word I’ve learned thus far.)