A Love Affair with Adventure: Masuk Angin, Accidental Naps, and Lots of New Fruit

My first week in Jakarta Summary:

Day 1: Monday

My first day in Jakarta I was exhausted. I had just taken a 30 hour trip across the pacific and had no idea what time my body thought it was. Sunday night I got settled into my friend and co-worker Ega’s apartment where I will stay this summer, and by Monday it felt home-y enough. Ega is a wonderful host and made me breakfast when I woke up on Monday. Then we worked a bit in the morning (we work from home mostly, but sometimes other places too) before going to the mall to get a sim card for my phone. At the mall we were going to change some of my money too, but then the most frustrating thing happened. Ega told me to bring newer and bigger bills so that they would be valued higher when I changed them. I had gotten new bills from the bank at home and thought they’d be just fine. The bank first wanted my ID which I had forgotten and then said that Ega could change the money with her ID but for a lower exchange rate (why? Who knows. Apparently they can just make exchange rates up). And then they said they wouldn’t change one of the bills because it had a J in its serial number… So stupid. Next the bank lady claims that the bills are damaged! So, she will have to change it for even less. I was mad so I told Ega we had to go somewhere else. It was crazy.

Next we had lunch at a restaurant in the mall. The food was good and I was happy to begin trying some Indonesian food. We ate some fried tofu, calamari, smoked mackrel, and a green vegetable that’s a bit like spinach, asparagus, and kale mixed together (sounds weird, but it’s very good I promise). After lunch I was sooooo tired. So, I took a three hour nap in the afternoon. Then Ega took me to the mall so that I could walk around a bit and buy a towel. We also bought some tempeh and a few other groceries so that we could make dinner. Ega made rice, fried tempeh, and some veggies. It was tasty and after eating I went to sleep again.

Day 2: Tuesday

I woke up with a terrible headache, felt feverish, and definitely had a cold. I tried some dragon fruit for breakfast, I slept the whole morning. and then Ega made me soup for lunch. I slept the whole afternoon and then Ega made me dinner. It was so nice of her to just take care of me after I got sick. She taught me the Indonesian word for catching a cold, “Masuk Angin”, which directly translates to “take in the wind”. Ega also gave me some Indonesian medicine that tasted like Jagermeister.

Day 3: Wednesday

On Wednesday I was feeling a bit better, so I tried to work more. I was so tired that it was difficult to work too much, so I napped in the afternoon again and then worked more in the evening. At this point I hadn’t left the apartment in like two days which is kind of crazy. We ate leftovers and had a fairly uneventful day. On Wednesday I noticed how bad my jet lag was as I couldn’t sleep until like 3AM.

Day 4: Thursday

Thursday for lunch Ega brought us food from the Warung which is a little restaurant downstairs in the apartment tower next door. We ate this amazing fish, rice, and fruit stuff that was a little like curry with artichoke in it. It was probably my favorite meal so far. After lunch I wanted to avoid napping so we went to this really cool cafe called Bookopi. We ate fried bananas there and drank tea while we work. For dinner we got chicken soup from another place and it was just ok. It was the first food to make me feel a little sick, so I don’t really want to eat it again. Later, I finally went to bed around 2AM.

Day 5: Friday

On Friday I stayed in my pajamas for a good bit of the day. I made pancakes for us for breakfast and then we worked most of the day. For dinner we made mexican-ish food. I made some gaucamole that was really quite good, and then some beans, onion, and peppers that were less good. We also ate this with rice and some corn chips (but the chips were terrible). Then we went to bed early as I hadn’t napped and was pretty tired. Luckily my cold was finally getting better.

Day 6: Saturday

On saturday we went to the Grand Indonesian mall to go shopping. The mall was huge and it was really fun to explore. Ega took me to a chinese restaurant where I ate noodles and dumplings and it was very good. We shopped around for a while and then made our way back to the apartment. We were too full for dinner, so we slept early since we had to get up for church on Sunday.

Day 7: Sunday

We woke up early, ate some croissants for breakfast, and then headed to the train to get to church. We got of the train at the big street Sudirman that’s closed on Sundays for people’s recreation. It was like a festival full of people hanging out and walking, running or biking. It was really cool to see. We walked to a bus and then took that to the building where the church was. It was an international church where they spoke English and it was nice to meet people. After church we went to another mall and had sushi for lunch. Then we walked around a bit and made our way back to the apartment. Then I took another marathon nap only to prove I’m still jet lagged I guess. Now I should stop blogging and get to sleep before I’m up too late again.

Underground:

Sadly I’ve been sober for days and have very little exciting news. But, I’ll keep you posted ;)

In the meantime, here’s how church went hahaha:

The church service wasn't that fun. I had a dream last night with this song about God in it and thought it was funny that they played the same song as Ega and I walked into church. Unfortunately the songs are all contemporary and I much prefer to sing hymns (even if they're off key and acapella like with the protestant community).

The sermon was also lacking and contrived. This guy was trying to compare the Hallel psalms that praise God to how people were liberated during Normandy in WWII. It was strange and very Jewish. And then he said all this stuff about Jesus being the lamb and sacrifices. And the whole thing was just to convince people to be grateful. It felt like a call to prostration in a weird and unhelpful way. It wasn't how I like talking about God at all. I much prefer an academic or historical discussion rooted in notions of love.

Then they had all these things that were basically commercials for different programs they're leading and it was weird. (They showed this awkward video about group marriage counseling and it was painful).

Then, THEY MADE ME introduce myself. I was so embarrassed I was shaking. Then after church a few people introduced themselves and there was the one who gave me her card. It was nice I guess.