Boy, it seems like forever since I've written. Nothing terribly exciting has happened around here (once Tris got home from Tokyo) so I guess I've just put off until I've had a few thoughts to jot down. Tris came home Monday night and we were so happy to see him! His opinion of Tokyo is that he'd love to live there for a year or so to explore the area but it's probably one of the most expensive cities in the world. The city was clean but it was a city, full of people. We had a surprise for him when he came home: I'd painted our main living area green-brown. It feels more like a home and to be honest, I felt a little more like me when I was able to slap some paint on the wall. My friend Dalenea helped me out and between the two of us and a 3 month old we painted 2 walls and spray painted my brass (blech) curtain rods. Matthew was especially happy because one of his biggest complaints is that this house is too white, and doesn't have nearly the same character as our Copperfield Road home. Tris brought us each a little something, and mine was a watercolour print. We'll get it framed and then probably put it up in our room. It's funny how we change over time because years ago one of my grandparents (can't remember which one) had something similar in their house and I thought it looked old and grimy. Now I love the look of these prints!

For those who plan on staying with us...we've bought you a bed! It's a sofa pull-out bed, one that is closer to the floor than a Canadian bed, but it's more comfortable than that old pull-out we used to have. No metal bars sticking you in the back! Apparently it will be here in 4 days: the factory has to cover it in the material we've picked. I have to tell you the price because it's outrageous...2.1 juta, which is about $230 (with the exchange rate change...I think). For a couch that pulls out! Unbelievable! We waited years for a new couch for years and when we finally got some they were $750 second hand (and the original owner paid hugely for them...gave us a great deal); they were wonderful and cozy though, weren't they? Sigh...

There are a few things I've been thinking about and are interesting to me regarding how life is just 'different' here. Here are a few examples for you:

*when you get out of the shower you don't really care if the towel you are drying off is dry because it's just as warm as the shower...we've never experienced "cold towel" here.

*teeny tiny ants crawl around on our kitchen counter, and eventually you learn to just squish them and continue on what you are doing. Ants happen.

*hair and nails grow really fast here. Seriously, no joke. Must be the greenhouse environment!

*1 hour all-body massage: 61,000 rp (maybe $7). Tris went on Tuesday night and decided it's a once a week thing. We're excited for when people come because we hope to direct our company at least once a week to a massage. You CAN hire someone to come and do manis and pedis as well as massages at your home, but I think it would be kind of weird having some stranger in my room (for the massage). Maybe now that we have the sofa we'd consider it. I think half the fun is getting out of the house, mind you. A note on massage: when I went a few months ago for a wonderful body massage at "Jamu" in Jakarta, it was a great but kind of weird experience. Two things (negative) that I remember is that 1: I really had to pee near the end of the hour and she wanted to give me a 'stomach massage'. Uh, I don't think so. Thankfully I knew how to say "tidak" (n0). 2: The masseuse (okay, we can't get away with calling them massage therapists, so yes, masseuse) straddled the back of my legs so she could really get at my back. Yup, that was an awkward moment for me. The 2 positive things about the place? The atmosphere was incredible. All of the places in North America that have that 'cracked cement wall' look and the soothing sounds in the background just don't have the authenticity of these places. The smell, look and sound are truly unique and 'earthy'. The second thing that was memorable, other than the wonderful massage itself, was the drink that they give you afterwards. No one really knows what's in it, but it almost tastes like the smell of Frangipane. I think that Frangipane is what heaven is going to smell like.

*transporting goods is just not the same here. If you want a few metal pipes, a few bags of sand and maybe a 18 L jug of water moved from one neighbourhood to the next, you employ a few strong young men to do it. I guess some contractors don't own trucks and don't trust ojegs (moving anything by motorcycle is possible here...except anything larger than the bike itself).

Now, check out the calves on these guys...obviously they walk for a living! Whereas my friend and I will only walk before 9 am, these young guys have to walk in the heat all day to wherever their boss wants the goods. By the way, look at the background. We live in an absolutely beautiful little bubble in Indonesia, that's for sure. Everything is well-groomed and green. Unfortunately that is not the case for a lot of other areas of Indonesia. What is curious is that you can have huge towers of apartment blocks and businesses, and then RIGHT beside the tower, next to a fence dividing the two areas, is a bunch of little run-down plywood and metal shacks, very reminiscent of colonias in Mexico. If only I could have my camera on me at all times...

*sometimes living here in this beautiful environment isn't always "lovely.' Last night Matthew slept on our couch because his room was FULL of flying ants, or termites. He woke up this morning with a bunch of mosquito bites on his neck because he wasn't under the protection of his mosquito net. There are a lot of dead rats, toads and on the side of the roads because of the rain, as well. Kind of gross but at least they're outside!

Thanks for reading.