Definitely not in Tulsa

My two weeks in Jakarta is coming to an end. I've certainly enjoyed the experience, but I have my bags packed and I'm ready for the long trip home. The driver from the hotel just called to find out what time my flight leaves to determine when to leave for the airport. My flight leaves tomorrow night at 10pm. If I were in Tulsa, I would leave for the airport about 8:30 and have plenty of time. But, I'm definitely not in Tulsa!! The driver said we need to leave by 6pm as traffic will be worse than usual (hard to believe) because it's Friday night. One of our clients told me it took her 3 1/2 hours to get home from the airport once during heavy traffic. She said it's a 40 minute trip if no traffic. WOW! I just know I don't want to miss my flight.

My team of 3 plus Jon's wife went to an interesting little place tonight that's just across the street from the hotel. It's a serious/cheesy karoke place...not a bar. I thought it was going to be like an open room and various people singing when it was their turn. This place had many small rooms set up for Karoke. So after spending the last 2 weeks in a conference room with these guys, I was subjected to another small room listening to them belt out their best Frank Sinatra, U2, Beatles. I think Jon's wife won the Female Vocalist of the Night award. My excuse was my cold...I really do sound good when I'm in the car BY MYSELF! The cheesy videos that played with the lyrics had nothing to do with the songs and the lyrics had some interesting translations. It was entertaining, that's for sure. And, a real bargain...$12.

I've spent my millions (1 USD = about 9000 Rupia) and I'm ready to go. John will be traveling to Highpoint, NC during the 6 days that I'm at home before I leave for Africa. That's just the way it worked out. But, as luck would have it, we will both be in the DFW airport on Saturday morning at the same time. We'll get to see each other for about 2 hours as long as my flight from Tokyo isn't delayed. Nothing like a hot date in the B terminal! I'm not complaining though.

Thanks for the notes and prayers. I miss my family & friends and will talk to you when I get home.
Love,
jen

Keeping our day jobs!

The other team of three arrived in Jakarta over the weekend while my team was in Bali & Singapore. They are doing a project for the same agency but their focus is on tracking the national employees that actually do the program work (provide aid). They started their project out in India before coming to Indonesia. Their team brings even more diversity to the goup. Ryan is a BIG guy from Washington DC. He played college football as a lineman. Jay is originally from India but now lives in upstate New York and Emmanuel lives in Pennsylvania but is Puerto Rican. Add those three to the mix of my team (Wyoming girl, lad from England and Chinese kid)...makes for some interesting dinner conversations! They are all awesome people and will be traveling with us to Nigeria and Tanzania. I think the diversity of our teams represent what we are seeing on the road. It's good to step out of your comfort zone and get to know other people that are different. You learn they really aren't that different after all.

We discovered the hotel has a pool table in the basement lounge area. The place had nobody there, so we challenged Ryan's team to a friendly pool tournament. This was Jay's first time ever playing pool. He got really excited when he made a shot. I didn't think we had any pool sharks in the group, but Jon (UK) emerged as a closet pool shark from his college days. We were quite glad to have him on our team. The pool tourney was a nice diversion to our busy days at the office. However, the consensus is we need to keep our day jobs. Jon's wife returned from Singapore tonight. I'm glad to have her back to add another female to the mix. She's a sweetie. I caught a cold this weekend, so I need to get some rest. I've really enjoyed the experience here in Jakarta, but I'm looking forward to heading back to OK Friday night.

I got a taste of home the other day after returning from the scuba trip. I turned on ESPN and the OU vs. Tulsa game was on. Very cool... Every other channel was in a language I didn't understand, so the football game was a treat. Good night!

Work Hard/Play Hard

We wrapped up our first week of work here on Friday after meeting and talking to many interesting people. Most of the Indonesian's in the office speak very good English; however I have to listen very carefully due to their accents. They provide aid such as food, medication, agricultral, HIV/AIDS, education to developing countries and to people in emergency situations. One of the guys has been in Sumatra assessing the damage and needs from the most recent earthquakes. We heard about how one of their offices in another country was demolished due to political unrest. They also strongly believe in utilizing local staff and empowering them to better themselves through education and job skills.

After a week of hard work, we went in different directions (literally) for the weekend. Two went to Singapore for the weekend and two of us went to Bali. One of the ladies that is here with us suggested Bali if we had never been before. It's so different from Jakarta.

Augustin is a certified scuba diver, and Bali has the reputation as one of the best places in the world to dive. I have gone diving 2 times before...not a pro by any stretch of the imagination but really enjoyed it when I went before. We found a great PROFESSIONAL dive shop and they were willing to take a diver with little experience (ME). So Saturday was spent exploring the waters off the west side of Penida Island, which is off the southeast coast of Bali. Augustin went with his diving buddy and I had my own diving buddy, Kade'. We were really fortunate to have the dive master/owner of the shop on our boat taking a German guy out for technical diving. OK...for you skiers think of it like this. I was diving green runs, Augustin was diving blue/black runs, and the dive master and his student were diving double black diamonds. There were thousands of gorgeous fish to see and the coral reef was so beautiful that I don't even know how to describe it. We did two dives in two different areas. I even saw a little village that farms seaweed near the area of our first dive. As I was swimming under water I heard something you wouldn't expect to hear underwater. Kade my dive buddy was humming his favorite song. It took me awhile to figure it out..then I had to laugh. He did a great job of keeping track of me underwater and he was entertaining as well.

Today we spent most of the day touring around the island with a guide (Alex) and a driver. We visited three different Hindu temples and went all over the countryside. Bali is known for it's many temples. Alex explained about all of their many gods and ceremonies. In fact they were having a temple dedication at one we visited. We got to see the men and women dressed in their colorful temple attire, hear the unique music, and watch one of the men dress up with differents masks and do several ceremonial dances. It was very interesting to see, but I struggled with the concept of their religion and many gods. I asked Alex several questions referring to what Christians believe. It's just so different. He asked me some questions as well about Christian beliefs and customs in the US. Bali is 85% Hindu and in need of prayer in a big way. One sight that caught my eye was a small pick up with three men in the cab and four nicely dressed women in the bed of the truck. They were all heading to temple with their offering.

In Jakarta you don't see dogs because of the muslim people. Jakarta has many stray and very skinny cats roaming the streets. However in Bali, there a many dogs. Alex told us each family has at least one or two dogs. They are a little rough looking but we definitely saw our share of dogs today. Other cool sights: rice fields, coffee plantation (beans, roasting, crushing & tasting), cloves, cocoa plants, vanilla plants, kiwi, papaya, hand made batik designs on cloth, hand carved wood figurines and many beautiful kids.

It was an action packed weekend and I'm back in Jakarta ready for week 2 at work. After all I saw this weekend, I can sum it up by saying God's creation is truly amazing.

Jen, you are in our prayers. Seems as if you are having an experience you will never forget. Thanks for inviting me to view your blog, it is facatinating, and almost unbelieveable. Look forward to seeing you and hearing more about the trip.

Haste

A million motorcycles!!!

We went with a driver and a local girl on Sunday to check out the city. I have never seen so many motorcycles. It's a way of life here for many families. In fact we saw families of 3, 4 & even 5 traveling around on motorbikes. Kids sandwiched in between parents and appearing very content. I was right...there are no rules on the roads in Jakarta. It seems to be organized chaos, but I've not seen any road rage unlike in the US. Amazing.

It's Ramadhan, the ninth month on the Islamic calendar, so the muslims are fasting (food and drink) from sunrise to sundown. Indonesia is 95% muslim, so this is a very big deal. I'm awakened each morning about 4am to the loud speaker from the neighborhood mosque calling the muslims to worship and prayer before sunrise. It's a loud male moaning/singing sound that lasts for about 10 minutes. Once we are at the office, I hear it again at noon, 3pm and once more before sunset. Some people in the office leave by 3:30pm so they can get home and prepare a meal to break the fast with their families. This lasts for a month and then they mark the end of Ramadhan with a celebration. Not all people in our office are Muslim. We have quite a few Catholics and a few Christians as well.

I made it!!

I finally made it to Jakarta. It feels alot like Tulsa in August....hot & muggy. I got a great glimpse of the area as we approached the airport. It definitely looks rural....rice fields, shacks, lots of people on bikes & motorcycles. The 40 minute ride from the airport to my hotel was the scariest part of the entire 48 hour journey. I didn't find my driver right away when I arrived, so I was a little nervous, but didn't let on that I was. I was approached by numerous other drivers that were at the airport trolling for people like me. I finally found my driver and felt safe going with him since he was hired by the company for which we are working. I got into the back seat and discovered I didn't get a seat belt. The driver got himself all buckled in and said no seatbelt in the back. Yikes!! The rules of the road seem to be much more 'creative' here than in the states. But I arrived safely and found my team at the hotel. My room here is actually better than what I had in Baltimore. For some reason I'm not totally surprised by that.

2:55 am

I'm obviously 'livin' on Tulsa time' and not Tokyo time. I arrived in Tokyo mid afternoon on Friday local time after a 12 hour flight from Dallas. I'm traveling on a missionary fare since the NGO we are working for provides aid to developing countries, so I have a 20 hour layover in Tokyo before going on to Jakarta. After over exerting myself on the flight by watching 2 movies and reading 1 book, I was ready to crash for the day (?) when I arrived to my room. Well, now it's 3am (1 pm Tulsa time) and I'm ready to go. I hope to get my days/nights straightened out prior to work Monday morning. So far I'm thankful for a safe flight, bulk head leg room, and an empty seat next to me from Dallas to Tokyo.

I hope the tremors have subsided after the numerous earthquakes in Indonesia over the last two days. Our client is sending resources (cash and people) to the area to assist the locals affected by the earthquakes. We will get to see their emergency response operations in action. Please pray for these people affected as well as those providing aid.

It's Thursday!

hi Jen,
Hope you are doing well, you have been in my prayers.
I am at home this morning but later I will be on the golf course helping at the Mile High Tournament. The weather in Denver is beautiful and Sunday I will be at the stadium cheering on the Broncos. Go Broncos!!
Stay safe and I will look forward to hearing about all your adventures.
Love ya,
Cheryl

Jen's Itinerary

Thought it might be important to get my itinerary posted.

September 13 - 29 Jakarta, Indonesia

Week of 10/1 - Broken Arrow, OK USA

October 5 - 12 Abuja, Nigeria

October 12 - 19 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
**travel to Tanzania from Nigeria requires us to go back to London and then through Dubai; there are alternate routes, but safety was a concern!

October 19 - 24 Mwanza, Tanzania

October 25 & 26 Arusha Tanzania (site seeing!!!)

October 27 - Travel back to Tulsa

Octobe 31 - November 14(?) - Baltimore

Liftoff T -21 hours

The craziness is in full swing. Suddenly our team is having visa issues. One of the team members, Jon, is from the UK so he had to apply for his visa upon arriving back to London on Monday. He has been in Baltimore with us since August 13 and was told he could not apply while in the US after getting rejected by the Indonesian embassy in Washington. So he started jumping through hoops on Monday in London. The embassy requires an official letter of invitation from the company we will be working for, however they wouldn't accept it from the HQ office in Baltimore. They wanted a letter from the Jakarta office. I already have my Indonesia visa, but my passport was then sent to the Nigerian embassy in preparation for our next trip to Africa. My visa was to be ready last Friday, but then was delayed for whatever reason. They said come back Monday...still not ready...come back Tuesday. Finally the gal in Baltimore received my passport along with the Nigerian visa late yesterday afternoon. Fed Ex came through again and I now have my passport and both visas in hand. Travel details for 4 people originating in 4 different locations/2 countries has been a challenge. But I think we are on our way. Wait....breaking news.

I flipped on Matt & Meredith this morning to find out an 8.2 earthquake hit Indonesia this morning. It was centered off Sumatra, but could be felt as far away as Singapore & Malaysia. At this point I believe we are still going, but I don't have enough information. I'll be checking with our Global Asset Protection (GAP) team today to ensure it is safe for us to be there.

Grammie & Beckie get gold stars/atta girls for posting comments.

Hi ya....I have no clue what I'm doing!!!!!!!! I saw Beckie's post, now I can't find it. Very strange

Gram

You're going where???

Believe me, I was asking the same questions. Who would have guessed I would be globetrotting to Thailand, Indonesia, Nigeria & Tanzania over a 90 day time frame. Not me, that's for sure. I probably need to bring some of you up to speed on how this all came about.Last summer I was getting the itch to start looking for a new job here in Tulsa. I had been with my current company since we had moved to Tulsa. After putting my feelers out in the job market, I had an offer last August with a local firm to do regional software implementations. This would require some travel in the Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas area. After weighing the facts, I came to the conclusion it didn't seem right so I passed on the opportunity. I had several other interviews and for whatever reason, they determined it wasn't right on their end....we'll talk rejection another time. The good news about job searching while employed is the ability to be more selective. That's a good thing! I kept telling myself that God is in control here, so just relax and keep looking.Well, long story short I started a new job the end of April with an international info technology consulting firm. I've chosen not post the name of the company so my blog won't show up if somebody googles it (career management 101). I belong to the systems integration group and work with the same financial software products that I've been working with since 1996 in Denver. Since starting the new job in April, I have been busy trying to come up to speed, working on some short term projects, and 'warming the bench' (unstaffed). In an effort to get staffed on a long term project, I responded to an internal email looking for a person with my skill set to lead a project with a NGO (non government organization) which provides aid to developing countries. I really didn't think they would staff me on the project since one of the requirements was to have at least 2 years experience with the company. This translates into somebody who has mastered the company methodology learning curve. Wrong...either they were desperate or there's more to this. I believe the latter. All of a sudden I felt like the dog that caught the UPS truck.I decided a blog would be a great way to keep up with family & friends while I'm traveling. I'm new at this, so hopefully I can get it figured out. I'll post my itinerary so you know where I'm at, updates along the way, pictures and some prayer requests as I go. Please participate in posting to my blog.
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by Jennifer
12:54:00 PM
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