A New Type of Saturday

I never thought I'd be spending my Saturday nights with Jillian Michaels. Yet here I am. It's Saturday night in Semarang, Indonesia and I found myself engrossed in a non-intentional version of Bikram Yoga in my living room, led by none other than The Queen of The Biggest Loser. She promises fast results. At this point, how can I resist? So at 8:22 pm I sit, dripping in sweat, writing of my life.

The week has proved productive. I've mastered the art of calling for a taxi which has allowed me to explore a bit more. I've tried a number of Indonesian dishes that (as stated in my last entry) have left my stomach begging for nothing more than a saltine cracker topped with honey. The one dish though that has yet to disappoint is Gado Gado. A bowl full of vegetables, rice balls and a hard boiled egg are delivered with a side of peanut sauce to top (see right). Ummm, yes please! I'll have three. What does seem to disappoint however, is my table-top stove. After 2 attempts at making a cheese quesadilla, what ensued was a heap of black ash. I ate it nonetheless, then came to terms with the fact that my deep rooted relationship with quesadillas will have to be put on hold for ten months. Not only can I not find tortillas (I brought only two packages from home) but the cheese here is stupid expensive. A small wedge of good cheese goes for a cool $14. I just can't do it (Susan, are you reading this???). This is something only Jillian Michaels is smiling about, I'm sure.

Also productive this week is my budding friendship with the lovely man who picks me up in the morning and drives me to work. Pak Muntholib is simply lovely. He speaks virtually no English but has successfully taught me how to count to ten, the words for grilled chicken, the words for goat satay (I'll never do it, Dad. I love Fred too much), the names of a few streets, and also that in Indonesia we eat ... rats. I still have to check on this one, but he is certain that the English equivalent to the word he taught me is rat. Dear God. PLEASE don't let me accidentally taste a bite of that. I'm an open-minded human being but the line has to be drawn somewhere. I am drawing it at rodents. In the spirit of 9-02-10 day, how do you not recall the time when Brenda and Donna were in France and Donna accidentally ordered brains from the menu. Poor thing.

I've also made some serious progress on my course curriculum. On the agenda this semester is a discussion on American music, with an emphasis on rap. What better way to bring Eminem into the classroom? Other topics on the agenda are immigration, American cinema and Muslim-Americans. It should be remotely interesting, if not for the students it will be for me. The Department showed me my office (see above)... it's not so bright and super isolated and I can hear the rats in the ceiling playing chess, so I spend most of my time in the larger Department Office.

A last few things. I've learned that Indonesians take showers at least twice a day, and think it strange if you don't. Great. Did they not get the memo that I went to college in Santa Cruz? Showering bi-daily is not really our forte. I didn't bring enough clothes. The amount of sweat that one produces on a daily basis makes it impossible to re-wear. My laundry bills are about to be through the roof. There are Indonesian-English cognates (see above). Hallelujah! I've taken my vitamins everyday for a week (Mom, are you proud?). I also realized that I haven't taken my toe ring off for 4 years. Shouldn't I get some sort of prize or something?

Pictures of Semarang are on their way. I hope to have them up before I leave on Tuesday.

I hope all is well.

Be well. Be safe. Give someone a hug, please (because I don't get many over here).

Noreen