Monday, July 28, 2025
We eat a quick breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express and walk 20 minutes (2 km) to the USA Embassy. It's easily recognizable with metal bars across all the windows of the high-rise. It's faster to renew our passports here than in the USA.
W has completed the paperwork so it takes less than an hour before we're walking through the Heritage Building on the embassy grounds. We learn that the USA helped Indonesia gain full independence after WWII. Indonesia declared its independence from Dutch colonialism on August 17, 1945. There were still battles; we sometimes hike up to the Dutch forts and can imagine the terror of the young men who were sent to fight each other.
The USA threatened to withhold funds to the Dutch government if the country did not relinquish their hold on Indonesia. It worked. In 1949, the Dutch signed away their claim on the islands.
W has read that we can't take electronics including phones, watches, etc. into the embassy. Most people check their electronics at the front desk but we have left ours in the hotel. I forget about the tracker in my purse and get #46 for pickup after we're done. It's strange not to use the GPS to get there, not to check our phone for facts, and to sit without clearing messages. Luckily there's a state-by-state video playing on multiple screens so we do a visual tour of the USA while we wait.
We head back to the hotel for our watches and phones. W researches locations for errands and meals. Dim sum is good at our favorite place. Someone said it turns into a den of iniquity at night. But during the day, families and business clients enjoy outstanding food and exceptional service.
We try the okra in oyster sauce, a hit with me but not so much with W.
During the afternoon, we run "big city" errands including some at a building supply mall. (Please take me there +20X for every time I have to go to Nordstroms!) There's so much potential: lights, tiles, and pylons. The translucent hoses are practically begging to be made into serpentine chandeliers with twinkle lights inside, don't you agree?
It pours twice during the "no rain forecast," each time as we are leaving a venue. We grab a taxi for $3-5 to the next place. The evening meeting is helpful for networking and setting our course for the future. We say a prayer together before it begins and another when it ends.
This motorcycle taxi driver describes our feelings on the way home. Ready for zzzz.
There's one last meeting at 9 PM, discussing a new crowdfunding platform for global projects. If you're want an easy way to help us promote it, PM or email me. It's going to have a big impact on worthy causes around the world.
Tuesday
We eat an indifferent but colorful breakfast in the hotel.
The Canadian embassy waiting area feels more "guest room" than institutional. The furniture is comfortably modern, the colors are warm, and the flag of Indonesia flies companionably beside the Canadian flag.
The staff is helpful and friendly. They offer options for getting our passports back. When we tell them we are hoping to catch the morning train, they hurry the process. We make it to the station 30 minutes early. Hurrah, O Canada!
The views from our train carriage are stunning. Modern life mixes with traditional farming on Java.
In the distance, the toll highway forms a backdrop to terraces where farmers work by hand.
Rivers flow between rice paddies.
We know we're almost home when the traffic increases: see the pillars overhead for a new "flyover" highway?
The restaurant has amusing monkey lights in the bathroom stalls.
Our friend is having surgery and so we drop by the hospital to see how he's doing and pray for success and healing. His sisters and family are there - and afterward, he begins a good recovery, thank God!
Wednesday
We're up early to call our moms and walk. The dogs romp the property while we check in with the electrical contractor. To measure where the lights go, a young worker climbs up the stepladder, standing on the top platform, tiptoeing !yikes! to hook the end of his tape measure on the moldings. Aaaaaah (what balance)! We hold our breath and he easily scrambles back to earth.
We drive downtown to see if we can find matching tiles for a serving counter. Before the pandemic, we purchased 4-packs of tiles from the discard section at a building supplier. Two 2'X2' (60cm square) tiles have been used on the kitchen counter. When one broke, we placed the pieces behind artwork: see the "wave" on the wall? One is hidden in W's office.
Will we find 4 more tiles with the same non-glossy sand-colored finish ... after 5 years? We're told there are no more but we root through the sale section anyway, getting dusty and dirty. Hey hey! Look. One last box leans between other patterns in the discount clearance pileup. The chances of finding a match are so slim that we consider it a God-bonus for the day.
We come back up the hill to pick up DrW, our favorite neighbor. She's taking us to #WaroengEthnic's new restaurant downtown. They have renovated a 1926 heritage building that belonged to a friend's grandma. 1926? We wonder if they'll host historical theme parties. 100 years ... a long time.
The renovators stripped layers of stain off the original doors and knocked paint off the hinges. They saved as much as "history" as they could. The 99-yr-old Dutch floor tiles are in great condition, too.
My $8 tenderloin is delicious. W helps eat the steak and takes my fried potato rolls: he likes tater tots.
DrW orders fish and chips while W gets his usual rösti champignon (hash browns with chicken and mushroom gravy.) The plating is colorful and appetizing, while the wait staff is attentive and friendly.
The company at the table is wonderful of course. We predict that #EthnicAceh will be a hit, especially with #EthnicBandung's well-trained servers and excellent cooks.
After dropping off DrW, we make a last stop at the project to meet the contractor and drop off the tiles. He says he now has enough for the sink and surround. Yay.
Renovations and building projects require innovation. We've just begun making the 1001 tiny decisions. We can tell that we were 30 years younger when we designed and built our two houses (in the USA).
Back home, we fiddle with the DIY light in the corner. A fancy bulb from our Jakarta trip creates a circus tent effect in the corner. It's not bright enough to illuminate the dining room but might be cool as a night light.
We put back the regular LED bulb for now.
Thursday
Another "no hike" day but we walk the neighborhood loop with the dogs just after 6 AM.
This 'bird' shape is from ? No idea, but it catches my eye on the pavement.
After two meetings, we go to buy groceries. I find a favorite cheesy snack, not always in stock. We're home by mid-morning with schedules synched for the weekend and coursework waiting on my desk.
Read more:
* The Lord gives strength to his people. Psalm 29:11
* We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:20-22
* [Jesus disciples asked him, ] Lord, teach us to pray. Luke 11:1
* God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
Moravian Prayer: God, we are stronger together than we are on our own. Help us to be in harmonious community with one another, encouraging and supporting each other, so that we can do the work you have called us to do. In your name, we pray. Amen.
