Approaching Java, Indonesia - April 2009

Being able to visit the school before we arrive this summer was an outstanding opportunity well worth 24 hours of flight time and 14 hours of layover time - all in just five days! Bummer to have to do it without Jason, but he consoled himself with a trip to Taba. I was overwhelmingly reminded of the windward side of the Hawaiian islands. I was surprised that the weather really was pretty pleasant, though it is still the tail end of the rainy season. Lots of gray skies in the pictures, but not much rain while I was there.

I am a bit out of the blogger groove, but here are the highlights of the trip. Can't wait to welcome you all there.

"Welcome to Jakarta..."

Though you can't read the signs, standing in the Visa on Arrival line it says, "Welcome to Indonesia - Drug Traffickers Punishable by Death"

The drive from the airport

Lots and lots of scooters/mopeds. That seemed to be what would make driving the hardest - everyone else stuck to their lanes - a refreshing change, but scooters just seemed to be everywhere, as were the food carts which I was just a little too afraid to try... shway, shway as they would say in Arabic..which won't do me any good in Indonesia where we will need to start learning Bahasa ;-)

Welcome to Jakarta International School

The front security gate and the back of the administrative offices.

JIS has a gorgeous campus...

Dinner with Katie and Amy after the conference. Amy was in from Bangladesh for the conference and Katie is going to be one of the other new counselors (5 total high school counselors; 3 are new, but one of the new is transferring from MS PE, which created the job opening for Jason's position!). Katie actually spent four years at AES in New Delhi about two years after I left and we are really looking forward to working together.

Our New Home #13 Bintaro

So we will be housed in Bintaro, a school owned subdivision. Funny that after avoiding the suburbs for most of our lives we end up in a suburban community in Indonesia. It seems we will be about a 1/2 hour drive from school when traffic is moderate. It can get much longer we hear, but we are told that the new toll road has significantly reduced the commute time in general. We will likely be spending a few years in Bintaro and plan to settle in, though it will be possible at some point to move closer to school when we increase our seniority. We hear the area is nice for jogging/walking and not far down the road is a Carrefour, the French answer to Wal Mart - definitely Indonesia's answer to suburban America!

The Yard... there is a team of gardeners that take care of the neighborhood so we won't have to mow our own grass, but we are going to have to find a way to get them to plant Jason's lime tree.

Some interior shots of the houses. This will not be our house. Ours is five houses closer to the pool and likely has a slightly different layout. It is the home of former colleagues from India - small world! We did not realize the connection until I was already out to see their place which they graciously let me photograph. I did not take too many pictures, but suffice to say it is lovely, with for BIG bed rooms upstairs, 2.5 bathrooms, gorgeous wood frame windows and stairs, a full garage and room for a cook and a housekeeper.

The many amenities of our new neighborhood: pool, work out room, fancy grill, tennis court and for Mary especially a trampoline!

It was a really good visit and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to get so many questions answered before arriving in July. The school really felt like a great fit - everyone on campus was so friendly; the country itself has an infectious joy; and we definitely will have a home that will fit all our family and friends.

Wadi Karak - November 2007

Carrie and Dave invited us to join them on an epic journey through Wadi Karak in central Jordan. The hike begins just past the crusader town of Karak and ends near the Dead Sea. It meanders through a spring fed creek that was thick with wild mint and thyme, giving the valley a heavenly scent.

We came into the wadi to what Jason termed "the first green" - a beautiful patch of land with a freshwater spring. A little bit of the promised land.

We came to this drop off and I realized that absail was another word for rapel - that had been lost in translation for me. In any case you can see Nadjib exudes confidence, Jason strong arms it and I try to chicken out.

The second rapel was a long one and a wet one!

The wadi was lush with greenery but we were amazed at the date palms growing up the sides of the cliffs. In other ways it felt like hiking through the Four Corners, but the smells of thyme and mint and the site of palm trees let us know we were in Jordan.