Surabaya, Indonesia =)
Selamat siang!! (Good afternoon)
So after over 40 hours of plane food, layovers, and swollen feet, I have FINALLY arrived in Surabaya, Indonesia.
My first two nights here were decent. The hotel that I found on the internet was not so hot. The lobby and restaurant were nice, but my room was really sketchy. But at least it had hot water...
I met up with my friend Kiki yesterday, and he took me around Surabaya a little bit. The best part was that I got to ride on his motorcycle! It was such a rush - all that traffic and weaving around. He promised to drive slower so that I didn't freak out, but it was still a lot of fun!
We had lunch at a little "warung" or food stall. Warungs are nice because it's very cheap (even by Indonesia standards), and I like it because you get to share your meal with everyone. They are usually right there on the side of the road, and the warung owners just set up a little table and plastic chairs for their customers. It's very Indonesian. We just happened to be right across from a mosque when they had their call to worship. Mosque leaders come over the loud speakers and call everyone to come to the mosque to pray. It's really quite the experience. It sounds like loud, very off-key, singing. It was great!
He helped me find this gem of a hotel. It's not as cheap as I'd like, but as a foreigner I have to get used to paying more. Here there is a native Indonesian price, a price for people of Chinese descent, and then a foreigner price (which is usually at least double the Chinese price!). So basically you get ripped off wherever you go. There's no hot water here, but it's right across the street from an internet cafe and the street it's on is very busy and colorful. I love it here!
I've gotten used to the calling, "Hello, miss!" And the gawking. And the cell phones taking pictures. Just wait until my volunteers arrive and there are 10 of us walking around...that will be a sight I'm sure most of Surabaya has never seen!
I'll write more later. I've got to e-mail the parents and let them know that I'm still alive. :)
So after over 40 hours of plane food, layovers, and swollen feet, I have FINALLY arrived in Surabaya, Indonesia.
My first two nights here were decent. The hotel that I found on the internet was not so hot. The lobby and restaurant were nice, but my room was really sketchy. But at least it had hot water...
I met up with my friend Kiki yesterday, and he took me around Surabaya a little bit. The best part was that I got to ride on his motorcycle! It was such a rush - all that traffic and weaving around. He promised to drive slower so that I didn't freak out, but it was still a lot of fun!
We had lunch at a little "warung" or food stall. Warungs are nice because it's very cheap (even by Indonesia standards), and I like it because you get to share your meal with everyone. They are usually right there on the side of the road, and the warung owners just set up a little table and plastic chairs for their customers. It's very Indonesian. We just happened to be right across from a mosque when they had their call to worship. Mosque leaders come over the loud speakers and call everyone to come to the mosque to pray. It's really quite the experience. It sounds like loud, very off-key, singing. It was great!
He helped me find this gem of a hotel. It's not as cheap as I'd like, but as a foreigner I have to get used to paying more. Here there is a native Indonesian price, a price for people of Chinese descent, and then a foreigner price (which is usually at least double the Chinese price!). So basically you get ripped off wherever you go. There's no hot water here, but it's right across the street from an internet cafe and the street it's on is very busy and colorful. I love it here!
I've gotten used to the calling, "Hello, miss!" And the gawking. And the cell phones taking pictures. Just wait until my volunteers arrive and there are 10 of us walking around...that will be a sight I'm sure most of Surabaya has never seen!
I'll write more later. I've got to e-mail the parents and let them know that I'm still alive. :)
posted by Tori @ 12:50 PM
3 Comments:
At 1:25 PM,
L. Riofrio said…
Hello Tori: I just came upon your blog. I hope you have a nice time in Indonesia. I put my photos from Bali on http://RiofrioSpaceTime.blogspot.com
At 1:27 AM,
Tori said…
Hello Tori - Just read your first comments. Glad everything is going well. Good luck in the coming days with the other volunteers and the program. Please give Joice my love. Do me a favor and stay off the motorcycles! Thank you. Mum
At 1:27 AM,
Tori said…
P.S. Where was that picture of you on the blog taken? Mum
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