The Liquid of the Gods

This year I finally got around to joining the Indonesia Heritage Society, something I've been meaning to do since before we even moved here. They do a range of activities, including consulting with and giving tours of the National Museum, sponsoring a variety of lectures and study groups on some aspect of Indonesia, and organizing Explorer groups which explore places in and around Jakarta. I joined one of the Explorer groups, and now every other week a couple of the members organize a tour for the group to visit and experience something new about Indonesia.

Two weeks ago we went to the home of an Indian woman who has lived in Jakarta for 20 years. She owns a very good Indian restaurant nearby and loves to cook. She taught the group about different spices used in Indonesia and taught us 3 different Indonesian recipes (see a future post for more details).

Yesterday our tour was at the Equil Mineral Water bottleing plant. The factory is located at the base of Mt. Salak, about 1.5 hour drive from Jakarta. The drive there was typical of life on Java - constant traffic and end to end towns. But once we arrived at our destination we found peace, quiet and beauty - not something you'd typically find at a factory! The surrounding grounds of the bottling center were really lush and serene, in keeping with the equilibrium of their product. The factory was actually quite small. Most of the space was filled with cartons of water, while the space for bottling took up just 1/5 of the warehouse. It was immacutely clean and spacious, and the workers all wore gloves, masks and hairnets. The bottles and caps are sterilized and the room in which the water is bottled was a grade 3 clean room (or something like that) - meaning they had 2 separate disinfecting rooms leading to the bottling room, similar to a surgery room.

The main reception hall is of European design made of marble and filled with art. In front of the hall is a beautiful Koi fish pond filled with mineral water from the source (probably some of the most expensive and healthiest fish anywhere!). After the factory tour they gave us a presentation on mineral water and how Equil compares to other brands. I had not known beforehand that the term "mineral water" is a very select and protected description for water. In order for a brand to describe their water as "mineral water", they have to meet 4 criteria as set out by Codex, a joint standard as adopted by EU countries, WHO and FAO. The criteria for natural mineral water (as distinguished from any other drinking water) is that:
1) It comes from a natural spring source or a bored hole
2) It fulfills the Codex's criteria from the physical, chemical and microbiological points of view
3) It does not undergo any treatment except carbonation
4) It is bottled at the source

The water used in Equil mineral water is from an aquifer 80 meters underground that is fed from rain coming through Mt. Salak. The water is 150 years old and is not pumped to the surface, but comes up naturally. They don't treat the water in any way (except for carbonation for their sparkling water) and it is bottled at the source, so it meets the Codex criteria. During the presentation we also learned about the different mineral contents of popular mineral water brands. For example, Perrier used to be (I don't know how they corrected this if it's not allowed to be treated) very high in nitrates, which can cause cancer or Blue Baby Syndrome in babies and small children. Many of the mineral water brands are bottled in Europe. But when thinking about how heavily farmed Europe is and the wars that have been fought on that land (resulting in higher nitrate content and other pollutants), I wonder if drinking European mineral water would be so safe considering that it hasn't been treated. Equil marketers are finding it difficult to open up international markets for their brand because it is from Indonesia, which is considered in the world to be "dirtier". But really, perhaps Indonesian mineral water would actually be safer than any other brand!

I also don't think often about the taste of water, unless it's very noticeable. We do not drink tap water here as it's not safe enough, instead we buy the Aqua brand bottled water (owned by Danone). During the presentation they had us do a taste test between Equil and Aqua. I was very surprised at what a huge difference there was! Equil had a far smoother and slightly sweet taste to it, whereas Aqua had a less pleasing taste and even had a bit of an after taste. Now we're not going to change brands as it would just be too expensive to use only Equil water; however, I did end up buying 6 cartons of their sparkling water (I have had it before several times in restaurants so I already knew I liked it).

Another interesting thing about this company is the mystic beliefs of the owner. He used a shaman to help him find the water source and consulted a Feng Shui expert in designing the facilities. The water source is located next to the main building and has been decorated with a satue and stepping stones over the bubbling brook, as well as a Hindu type open air enclosure. The tour guide explained that many people have felt something especially "spiritual" or different when walking through the Hindu enclosure, or when drinking straight from the source. I have to say it did feel different to me - the air felt heavier and my heart sped up a little. So maybe there is a spirit protecting the water!

It was thoroughly enjoyable tour and I was impressed with the company and the facilities, and best of all their water tastes great! The owner plans to build villas nearby for natural living and an escape from our current hectic life styles - maybe we'll be here long enough to enjoy it.

Around the world with a conversation

I took some time the other day to scan my favorite blogs and explore new ones and I found a whole list of blogs written by expats living in Indonesia. Many of them wrote about the bombing that occured here in Jakarta in July, and when writing about it all of them expressed their deep sadness for the expats and Indonesians who were harmed in the tragic event, and their own bafflement at this horrendous act and their deep love of this country.

Their writings and conversations made me think back to the conversations I've had over the years with fellow Americans and people from many different countries and the profound sharing of our lives and our cultures that is involved. In particular I thought about my experience as a Peace Corps volunteer (PCV) in Mali, W. Africa from 1996-98 . This was a seminal experience of my life, an adventure that introduced me to my beloved husband, career and Africa. Every PCV embarks on their journey with a specific Peace Corps assigned job - for example I was tasked to be a "natural resources management extension agent" (yes, quite a mouthful!). Many PCVs also take on secondary projects because either they are interested in them or they are asked by their community to help in that way. My secondary project was to work with the village midwife, which is how I became interested in my current career of public health. The work PCVs do is the first of three goals of Peace Corps, which is to "help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women."

I've always considered this goal to be very important of course; however, it is really the second and third goals of Peace Corps which I believe to be the most significant. These two goals (to educate foreigners about America and to educate Americans about foreigners/foreign countries) address the idea of cross-cultural awareness and the sharing of experiences and values and beliefs among people from different countries. I believe most returned PCVs have found the most meaning and the most enduring benefit of Peace Corps to be this sharing and education that they have both received and given. As a matter of fact, many exchange programs, such as AFS, were established in order to heal the wounds of war and to prevent future wars from starting. After all, when you know and love a person from a foreign country, war and strife in their country becomes profoundly personal. If more Americans had know more Iraqis, would we have let Bush invade their country? Maybe not. If more Americans knew more Sudanese and Somalis, would we continue to do virtually nothing? Again, maybe not.

Sometimes I've been surprised by the effects that these cross-cultural exchanges can have, or how long they can last. I have relationships with foreigners that have lasted decades and I suspect will last forever. We share a love for global travel and new experiences, and have shared special moments in eachothers' lives which will never be lost. And it is amazing the effect a person can have on another's ideas about a whole country, either for good or for bad. And coming home from my adventures has been an educational experience as well. It has given me an opportunity to see my home country with new eyes, to enable me to be more open-minded about its flaws and to appreciate its beauties. I also learned more about my own family from these absences, and how their deep interest and insightful questions made me realize how much they care for me and how interested in the world they truly are.

Traveling the world is an amazing opportunity that I cherish on a regular basis. It reminds me just how harsh and how lovely people can be, and how different we are but moreso how similar we are no matter where we are from. It provides the most amazing opportunities, and I believe the best education a person can gain is through global travel. I feel blessed that my sons are experiencing life in a different country, and pray that they these benefits will last a life time.

Sa wat dii kha, Thailand!

In September we went for a palace gazing, suntanning, eating infused week in Thailand. And it was lovely.

Last year we celebrated (albeit in a totally non-Muslim way) the end of Ramadan by staying in Jakarta, which was actually quite relaxing. There was no one here, the streets were empty, so the pollution magically departed with all the cars and people and we were left with sunny skies and quiet - quite a change for Jakarta! However, it was also a little depressing because all of our friends were off enjoying some wild adventure while we stayed here. So this year I really wanted to get out of dodge, and since Thailand has been at the top of our list for years that is where we headed.

We spent the first 4 nights of our trip in Bangkok. I was there in 2008 for a work conference, but I only saw a little bit of the city. The first thing you notice about Thailand is that you've arrived in a whole different class of place compared to much of Asia, certainly compared to Indonesia! The airport is modern and sparkly and huge, as if to puff out its chest with the knowledge that it is a regional hub. Continuing with its modernity is a fast, well built highway into town. Maybe because we're not used to reaching such high speeds here in Jakarta, or maybe because our taxi driver really was a bit of a maniac, but both J and I were holding on tight to our seats the whole way into town. So...maybe it's a good thing that we can't go so fast in Jakarta.

I had received a recommendation from a friend to stay at the President Park Suites while in Bangkok, as it was inexpensive and spacious. We had a huge 2 bedroom apartment for about $100/night, which included breakfast and a tuk-tuk shuttle to the nearest sky train station. It was very nicely appointed and evidently quite a find (2 other guests asked us how we found out about it).

The morning after we arrived we set off to see the Grand Palace. Much to the pleasure of the boys, we decided to take several different modes of transportation to get there: tuk-tuk, skytrain (a notable difference being the seats nearest the doors have a sign posted requesting those seats be reserved for monks), and finally river boat taxi. The boat taxi took us down the dirty Mae Nam Chao Phraya river, past some small houses and hotels and a few impressive temples, to where we exited for the palace. Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) and the Grand Palace house a series of strikingly beautiful buildings, murals, statues, and grounds that are, well, fit for a king. The decoration on the outside of these buildings is incredibly intricate and spectacular, it is inspiring to imagine the amount of time it took to adorn these structures. We spent the whole morning wandering through the palace grounds until we knew the children were about to disown us. So off we went to lunch (I had a surprisingly good Thai meal at a nondescript restaurant by the pier) and then a taxi ride back to the hotel for LC's nap.

That evening we fed the boys and put them to bed and then left them with a babysitter (J, being the worry wort that he is, almost convinced himself that our sweet petite Thai babysitter was going to steal them while we were gone). J has a friend in Bangkok so we went out on the town with him. Our first stop was dinner at Cabbages & Condoms, a somewhat famous landmark in Bangkok. The restaurant was conceptualized to both promote family planning and to generate income to support various development activities in Thailand. All the flowers in the restaurant were made out of condoms, as well as a few "condom superhero" statues. The food was good and it was a fun experience, and all for a good cause! After dinner we headed to Patpong, Bangkok's famous red light district. We went to watch one of the famous Ping Pong shows. If you don't know what I'm referring to I'd rather not explain it on this mostly family-friendly site. I will just say that it was certainly an "interesting" show, J was very disappointed but we're glad we did it, and I doubt we'll ever do it again.

On our final day in Bangkok we hired a tour guide through Chang Thai Travel to take us to Damnoen Saduak, a floating market about 100 km from Bangkok. We aren't typically people who hire tour guides, as we enjoy just wandering at our own pace and know we'll remember very little from a tour anyway. However, on this trip we didn't want to hassle with transportation difficulties and didn't want to have to deal with figuring out what we're supposed to do. It was a bit pricey, but we're glad we organized the tour. A comfortable air conditioned bus picked us up from the hotel and a very nice lady who spoke pretty good English (both J and I were surprised that the Thais don't speak better English since it's such a popular tourist destination point and is a regional hub) provided us with good information about the sites we passed and where we went. On our way to the floating market we made a stop at a sugar cane plantation. They demonstrated how the sugar cane is produced, and let us taste this wonderful caramelized candy they make from the sugar cane. And of course we made the mandatory stop at a craft shop, which was full of tourists and random trinkets from Thailand.

Finally we arrived at a small "port" beside a canal, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. We quickly boarded a long boat for a ride through the canals, passing rice fields and river houses along the way. It was very interesting to have a glimpse of life on the water...the front doors of all the houses faced the canal and all had some sort of pier for people to dock their boats. There were several general stores along the canal that also faced the canal, as arriving by boat is the main way to approach the shops. The we arrived into "town" - the main market area that is built along the canals. While you can access the shops from land, the main way is definitely by boat. There are shops built on land, but there are also women selling produce and snacks in boats tied up to the piers. There was abundant color and activity and it was a lot of fun!

The following day we returned to the airport to take our Bangkok Air flight to Ko Samui island, which is on the Eastern side of the Thai peninsula. We also considered going to Phuket or Krabi on the Western side, but because we went during the rainy season we heard the Eastern side is drier. I think we made a good decision as it only rained twice while we were in Thailand and both times was at night. The flight down to Ko Samui was an easy 1 hour, and Bangkok Air was great for a budget airline (they fed us and gave the boys nice toys!). We had learned beforehand (I love Trip Advisor!) that taxis on the island were expensive so we were prepared. We were able to bargain only a little though, so our 10 minute drive to our hotel was still far overpriced.

Ko Samui is a fairly big island so there are many different places on the beach to choose from. I spent quite a bit of time on Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet trying to decide which beach would be best for our family. I finally decided on Choeng Mon beach, which turned out to be a perfect decision! I can't imagine a better beach for a family with young children. It was very quiet (maybe even quieter than usual since it was low season) with very few hawkers. The sand was soft and very clean, and the water was clear and very shallow and calm. It was beautiful and peaceful and perfect! The boys had such a great time playing in the sand and the shallow water, and we had such a nice relaxing time watching them and reading! There were only a few hotels on the beach (none of them big high rises), as well as a few beach front restaurants. We ate fresh seafood on the beach a couple times, and enjoyed the quietly lapping waves. I also had a couple massages on the beach which were wonderful.

The hotel we stayed in was very interesting. It's called the Imperial Boat House and all the suites are located in these old rice barges that have been converted to hotel rooms. There was a porch and living room upstairs, and a bathroom, sitting room and bedroom downstairs. It was a bit old and the bathroom could use remodeling, but there was plenty of space for us and it was "fun"! There are also 2 nice swimming pools for when we wanted an alternative to the beach.

One day we rented a car to drive around the island. We drove the whole circumference so we were able to really see that we picked the perfect place to stay. We drove through Chaweng town/beach, which is the major beach on the island. We didn't see the beach, but the town was pretty awful - totally overbuilt and crowded and probably very noisy during peak seasons. We drove to the southern part of the island to a hilly area where they had elephant trekking. J and C got up on one elephant and LC and I on another, and then we walked through the forest for about 1/2 hour. This was my first time ever riding an elephant so I thought it was pretty neat! As is often the case for C and LC though, they're too young to know that this is actually a very special experience! Their view of normal is going to be so warped after living in Asia for so many years! After our elephant trek we tried to find a waterfall, but after hiking up with the boys for 20 minutes, with no idea how much longer it would be, we decided to turn back. En route back to the hotel we found a British pub to have lunch. It was a cute place facing the water, but unfortunately their burgers were disappointing.

That night we headed to Hat Bo Phut for dinner. It used to be a fishing village that has been transformed into a trendy little area filled with boutiques and restaurants. It was very cute with many great options for dinner. We decided on a sweet little Italian place facing the water, and although we had a good time J and I wished we had had some couples time. It would have been a fun area to go out in and have some time together. But oh well!

All in all it was a great trip and I'd love to return to Thailand again some day. I'd like to see Krabi (which is supposed to be breathtakingly gorgeous) and go up to Chiang Mai in the north to have more of a Thai cultural experience and to visit some of the hill villages. Visiting Bangkok and Ko Samui was a great vacation with the kids though!

Catching up with C

C has been a busy boy of late, with turning 5 and starting kindergarten and all. He actually had 2 birthday parties, one with his Nana and Peepah while we were back in Wisconsin and then one here in Jakarta with his friends. Since he loves all things birthday and loves it when life is all about him, he had a blast at both parties! I don't know if it's the knowing that he is another year older, or if it's just coincidence, but the person he is in my eyes or the phases he goes through do seem to change with each passing year. His 4th year was mostly a very challenging time for me. The talking back seemed to take hold in a serious way, the potty talk was more abundant, and the general struggle with emerging from the toddler stage to the school boy stage was a very rocky transition. Perhaps worst of all was that I didn't expect it, I didn't know the 4th year could be so difficult. However, fortunately for our family he wasn't strangled in the process and sharing life with him is becoming easier and more fun once again. And now he is becoming more independent and ever so slowly moving away from his mother's arms. Thank goodness he is still my cuddlebug, but the move away has begun. I am trying not to dwell on this realization, but instead celebrating the freedom this affords me and the boy who's personality is becoming richer and more complex.

Cutting his Ben Ten cake at his Jakarta bday party

So far he is really enjoying kindergarten. He is attending the Jakarta International School (JIS) and we are impressed with the school. His teacher seems great and he is making friends with the other kids in his class. He has more responsibilities now (and so do I, as well as a much earlier wake-up call!) and is being challenged in new and fun ways. He rides the bus to school and back and we both love that! He has also started playing soccer after school once/week and he really seems to like it. I am very relieved about this as he tends to give up very quickly and isn't very "sporty", but I think it would be good for him to be part of a sports activity and to learn about perseverance.

His first day of school

Coming home on the bus

At soccer practice

The bad news about C of late pertains to his teeth. Ever since he was conceived I have wished for him to inherit his father's teeth and his mother's eyes (J has had like 1 cavity his whole life and I have never had to wear glasses). Unfortunately though it seems that he has inherited my teeth, as at the tender age of 5 he has 1 deep cavity and another tooth needing a root canal. How this happens to a boy who brushes his teeth daily and doesn't eat very much candy or soda is beyond me, but it seems it must be genetic. So we have started brushing more earnestly and have also begun flossing (I mean, it seems cruel and unusual punishment that a 5 year old should have to floss!). In the meantime, however, we have to get his teeth fixed. Fortunately we finally found an excellent dentist in Jakarta, but by then he had already developed some fears (like having water sprayed in his mouth). We have spent numerous visits trying to overcome his fears and were just about ready to make a trip to Singapore so he could go under general anesthesia and get his teeth fixed. Fortunately though we tried one more time here in Jakarta and this time he learned to tolerate the nitrous oxide and it looks like we will be able to complete the work here. Thank goodness, as this will save him from being knocked out, save us a couple thousand dollars, and save 1-2 teeth from being extracted!

So there is C's life from the last 6 weeks in a nutshell!

Hey there stranger!

I know, I know! It's been over 3 months in fact...long time no see! How ya been?

I apologize for the long absence. Between all the trips we have taken in the last several months and a general feeling on my part of not wanting to sit in front of the computer, I have not found the time nor the inclination to write. I will try to give a brief summary of our life since April, and then we can move on to the here and now.

The family dressed in traditional Indonesian batik for C's end-of-school-year concert

In April we took a fabulous trip to Western Australia. We spent a few days in Perth and a few days in Margaret River, an area south of Perth that is well known for their wine production and nice beaches. The weather was perfect - sunny and warm during the day and cold and crisp at night. We thoroughly enjoyed all the fresh air and good food that W. Australia had to offer. Our activities in Perth included walking around the city and parks, visits to playgrounds, walks on the beach, and petting koala bears and 'kookoorooroos' (that's kangaroos in LC-ese) at a wildlife park. Farther south we did much of the same - beach walks and playground visits, walking and shopping around Margaret River town, and a visit to a winery. I would have preferred more time at wineries, but unfortunately I was outvoted. All in all a very good trip!

A few observations about Western Australia:

- it's very pretty and wide open and lovely, in a barren and solitary-like way

- food in restaurants is ridiculously expensive, and we never figured out why

- they are brilliant when it comes to playgrounds - there was even a playground at the winery!

- they make excellent wine

- Perth is the most isolated city, and it is closer to Jakarta than it is to Sydney

- Perth feels more like a big country town then a metropolis

In May J and I took a long weekend to celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary. We went to Losari coffee plantation and resort in Central Java. We had an absolutely wonderful time enjoying the quiet and relaxation and cooler temperatures. The resort is in a beautiful setting and has a lovely spa, a beautiful lounge and reception area where they served afternoon tea, and a bar with a pool table where I am happy to say I beat J twice! I also enjoyed my first al fresco yoga session one morning overlooking the fog wisped (I realize wisp is not a verb but it should be!) mountain. It was another successful adventure!

Losari Coffee Plantation and Resort

Our latest voyage was our longest - 7 weeks back in the US. This trip was our home leave so J was able to join us for 3 weeks of the trip, and his work paid for our flights in business class. The trip over went much better than it had the previous year. The fact that LC is a whole year older made a huge difference, and we were able to get him to sleep more easily and he was entertained for quite some time by videos. The worst part of the trip back was in Dallas when we ended up with an 8 hour layover instead of the 4 hours we had planned. We had to carry both sleeping children onto the plane to Florida because they just couldn't stay awake any longer. While this delay really sucked at the time, in the end it might have been an excellent mishap. As a result of the delay we didn't get the kids to bed at J's parents' house in Florida until 11 p.m. And so, they slept through the night! And they slept through the night every night afterward, so jet lag was not nearly as challenging as it could have been.

The view of sunrise from the plane as we neared America

While in Florida we relaxed and ate a lot of ham and did some shopping. And then we went to Disney. Unfortunately for us J was sick for most of that adventure, although he isn't much of a Disney aficionado, so he was quite happy to get out of as many Disney activities as he could. The rest of us however had a marvelous time! My SIL and FIL did an excellent job of planning the trip, so we stayed in a nice hotel on the park grounds, ate meals in good restaurants, and even enjoyed a 'character breakfast' when Mickey, Goofy, Lilo and Stitch came around to our table to hug the kids.

We spent the most time at Magical Kingdom, where we enjoyed a couple parades, went on several rides and walked and walked! We also went to Hollywood Studios and Epcot, which is my favorite, although we didn't spend very much time there. Unfortunately the heat was horrible - incredibly hot and humid and far worse than it ever is in Jakarta! But aside from that we had a really great time, and it was so fun for me to enjoy Disney with my children and view the wonder through their eyes.

From Florida we headed to Washington, DC where we lived before moving to Indonesia and where most of our friends live. The weather in DC was absolutely perfect, and once again we walked all over! We revisited the Air & Space Museum and the Natural History Museum like we did last year. Although C is still interested in dinosaurs, he didn't seem to enjoy the Natural History Museum nearly as much as he did last year. However, he still really liked the planes and spaceships at Air & Space. We also enjoyed a morning at the zoo and it was wonderful as always. This year we also included a tour around the memorials and monuments. J and I really enjoy doing this, and the kids were quite tolerant. We ended up walking for miles, or at least it felt like it, and incredibly C walked for much of it.

In front of the capital building

At the Roosevelt Memorial

After spending most of the week in DC we enjoyed Independence Day weekend with our good friends in Silver Spring, MD. As always we had a fantastic time catching up and relaxing with our dearest friends. On July 4th our hosts cooked an amazing slow-cooked pork dish which still makes me salivate, and LC burned his finger on his first sparkler - a successful Independence Day if you ask me!

Unfortunately mom was too busy taking a photo to realize LC was just about to burn his finger

C, aka Spiderman, with a sparkler

Wisconsin was our next destination. J stayed for our first week and then flew to NC for work, and then finally back to Jakarta. The kids and I stayed in Wisconsin for a total of 1 month so that we could have more frequent and more relaxed visits with my family and friends. We were fortunate enough to be able to spend the month in our dear friend's unoccupied yet furnished house so that we weren't living on top of my mom the whole time. Of course this meant I had to do some cooking and cleaning for the first time in 2.5 years, but it was well worth it!

C's 5th bday party - party #1
As you can plainly see, LC loved C's cake!

J pretends to be an East Coast big city snob, but really he's a Cheesehead at heart

The weather in WI was mostly horrendous, considering that it was supposed to be the warmest time of the year. It only reached 60F a few days and rarely made it to 80F. This threw a wrench in my plan to spend a great deal of time at outdoor concerts and at our friend's lake house, but it was also a nice change to have cooler weather. We spent a great deal of time at playgrounds and eating ice cream, visiting with friends and family, going to children's museums, going to movies and doing some shopping. I also had the opportunity to catch up with a few long lost high school friends, make a weekend trip to Minneapolis, and enjoy a small town parade with my extended family. All in all it was a successful trip and my belly is nicely full from all the cheese, beer, ice cream and brats that I stuffed into it (have you noticed the pork consumption theme of the trip?...).

And then the dreaded day arrived, the day when I would have to fly back to Jakarta for 36 hours alone with a 2 year old and a 5 year old. The saving grace of the trip was that we were able to take the direct flight from Newark to Singapore (at 18 hours it is the longest flight in the world) on Singapore Airlines in business class. And this is a huge bonus I fully admit. It made it much more manageable, and in the end really benefited everyone. Because, if it hadn't been for those nice seats that allowed us all to get some decent sleep, my children might no longer be alive. The trip was quite tolerable until the last 4 hours of the 18 hour flight and the 4 hour layover in Singapore. By the end of that long plane ride LC was jumping all over the place, creating make-shift slides wherever he could, screaming at every diaper change, and just plain acting like an overtired 2 year old boy. And then the layover in Singapore, which was 240 long minutes of hell. I couldn't get us on the earlier flight back to Jakarta, so I was stuck with 2 kids who were exhausted and who had had enough of each other. They were at each other the entire time and I was minutes away from losing it. Fortunately, before I lost my last screw, it was time to get on our last flight and the boys slept the whole flight back.

So all in all it was a successful trip - I didn't strangle my kids, my belly is full of pig meat and cow milk of various forms, and my lungs are once again a pretty pink color from all the lovely fresh air!

And now we're back in Jakarta and the jet lag has mostly subsided. Five days after we returned we held another birthday party for C with all his friends, then LC started back at school, and C started kindergarten, and riding the bus!, at the Jakarta International School. We have dived back into our life here and we will continue to be busy with the many trips and family visits we have planned for this next year!

Happy Mother's Day!

According to some, Jakarta sucks

So, evidently my family and I live in the 2nd worst expat city in the world. This is not counting high conflict cities such as Baghdad, but according to this report the only worse city to live in as an expat than ours is Lagos. And while I've never been to Lagos, my impression is that there would have to be a big jump from Lagos to Jakarta.

My friends and I have been discussing it and we are all quite surprised at Jakarta's low ranking. I tried to find out from the ORC Worldwide website, which conducted the survey, what all of the criteria were for the survey and who they surveyed, but I was unsuccessful. I do know from the article that the firm looked at 55 cities that could be considered "hardship posts" and considered aspects such as pollution, disease, political violence, and availability of goods and services.

I will be the first to admit that pollution is pretty bad here. While I don't see a grey cloud hanging over Jakarta, I also don't see clear blue skies all that often. I also believe that the pollution is part of the explanation as to why I've gotten sick so much here (colds and other respiratory infections) and why the illnesses hang on for seemingly ever. However, it doesn't hurt to breath and I'm sure there is worse pollution in other cities.

Jakarta is in the tropics, so with all this humidity and heat year round there is bound to be more diseases here than in many other locations. And Jakarta isn't the cleanest town, but I've seen and heard about far worse. Related to the disease criteria, I would guess that access to medical care was also one of the criteria that was considered in the survey. Again, medical care here is better than some places, and worse than others. Having lived and traveled all over Africa however, I have to say access to medical care is much better here. And, Singapore, which has premiere medical care, is only 1.5 hours away by plane.

The survey also considered political violence, and I can't believe that Jakarta would have scored poorly on this criteria. For one, Indonesians are not a violent people in general. Just last month Indonesia had elections and I heard of very few instances of violence. There are demonstrations and rallies like in any truly democratic society, but violence is rare. I imagine the threat of terrorism was also considered during the survey, and I know that the US and other governments consider Indonesia to be a high risk country for attacks. The threat of terrorist attacks does exist here, but there hasn't been a large scale attack since the Bali bombings in 2002 and no significant small attacks since 2003. All of the hotels, malls, large office buildings and some restaurants screen both cars and people for weapons and bombs. I rarely even think about the threat of terrorism here, and I honestly feel no less safe here than I did living in the D.C. area.

Jakarta must have scored well on access to goods and services. I can get almost anything I want here, and there are plenty of nice restaurants and opportunities for entertainment. The malls have Gucci stores, the movie theaters show current movies and have lounge chairs and hi def speakers, there are 2 Starbucks within a 10 minute drive of our house and several nice grocery stores where you can procure almost any ingredient. There are playgrounds and water parks and a Sea World and a zoo for children. There are first class international schools, high speed internet, and almost everyone speaks English.

All of this leads me to wonder who they asked! I'm guessing they surveyed executives of for-profit companies who have either never lived abroad or only lived in 1st world countries. They probably spend hours stuck in traffic, which is horrible here, but who don't really know Indonesians well and who may not have children. Did they survey people who work for a wide variety of companies? Did they survey the non-working spouses? Did they survey parents of young children?

All in all I think they got it wrong. Jakarta is a great place to live. Yes the pollution is pretty bad and the traffic can really suck, there are way too many people and motorcycles, and there is a small threat of terrorist attacks and a big threat of natural disasters.

But, there are so many wonderful things about Jakarta. For starters, Indonesians are really wonderful people. They are open, kind, patient and they love to laugh. Living amongst people who welcome you to their country is to me probably the most important criteria of whether a city is a good expat city or not. Did they even consider this? Furthermore, the expat community is large and diverse, there are plenty of creature comforts, domestic labor is cheap so we are well taken care of (this sounds a bit crass but so true), it is a financially advantageous place to live, we have access to good medical facilities and schools, and there are many exciting and nearby travel destinations. Basically, I think ORC Worldwide is pretty off the mark!