We're on "Indonesia Time" here...

The past week has been absolutely INSANE!

We went to Surabaya to pick Amellia up from school, and on our way home we stopped at my host dad's cousin's funeral. VERY strange, considering we had no clue that someone had even died...So we get to this place, and first you have to pay to park in a normal parking lot, but then you look up and there's this huge circus-like tent set up divided into little pie-like pieces. And in each of the pie slices there was a different funeral going on. It was cool, though, because there were funerals of different religions going on at once - Christian, Muslim and Buddhist. It was awesome, but very, very odd. I was hoping to see some Shao Lin (Buddhist monks, if that's how you spell it), but I was unsuccessful...oh, shucks.

So today was just not my day. I woke up and went to the market with Amellia and Bu Dewi, which was quite the experience. We took becaks there and of course people stared and called at me the entire ride there. But really I'm getting used to being a celebrity again. So anyway the market was so Indonesian - very colorful and very crowded. It was amazing :)

But then it all went downhill...I went to take a shower to wash off the market smell, and so when I was doing my thing afterwards in my room, the housekeeper knocked on my door. So I open it, and she is holding the remains of my notebook. Aka the notebook that I keep EVERYTHING in - emergency contacts, itineraries, interview notes, EVERYTHING. It seems that she accidentally threw it in the wash with my bed sheets. What were the remains, you ask? The front and back cover and the spiral part. All the information - gone.

I didn't really know how to react, though, so I just told her it was no problem. She was really sorry and I felt kind of bad for leaving my notebook on my matress, but the whole situation just sucks. Luckily I think I can get all the information back somehow. Blah...

So then today was Amellia's bday so Kathy and I ordered a cake yesterday, and I went to pick it up after the whole notebook fiasco. Well, when I got there the woman who spoke English to help us yesterday was not there and so in my awful Indonesian I managed to tell the people there that I wanted to pick up a cake that I had ordered. The manager came out and was like, "Oh...I sorry. The cake you order, no ready. Maybe 3:00?" I was SO UPSET because we had clearly told them that we would be back to pick it up at noon, and it was noon when I went to get it. Clearly they were running on Indonesia time, and I was not. We planned a surprise get together with all the volunteers for her bday at 12:30, so there was nothing I could do. I just told them whatever, and I took one of the cakes in the display case. One of the like 3-day old cakes. So it was not as good, and I was just very upset.

But then it got better because when I got home, all the volunteers were there and we sang happy bday to Amellia. Then some of her friends came over and we flew kites with them and did more magic tricks. So now my day is much better.

This weekend is going to be very chill. Kathy, Amellia, Octa and I are all going to hang out with the corn-grilling people tonight and then tomorrow we are going to see Superman. I really don't want to see it, but whatev. It's like the equivalent of $1, and in English (with Indonesian subtitles). So "it's no problem-lah!" as the Indonesians say.

Okay I must go now. Tori is a very, very busy girl!!

~ Tori =)