Indonesia: The Beginning of Days

Well we finally made it to our new home – which after arriving we decided we’d rather be at our old home. We spent a day in Singapore which they really shouldn’t let you do before coming here. It was an extremely clean and beautiful country with no trash anywhere. In fact chewing gum is prohibited in the city. We could even walk to one of many malls from our YMCA Hotel/Hostel. The airport was spacious and inviting with marble tiles and gardens. It actually seemed quiet and you wanted to be there, not like an airport at all. Our last flight went well and then we hit Indonesia.

We got off the plane to find two escalators and a flight of stairs, but no elevator. While there were security people there none tried to help Evan gat all our stuff down. We were then herded to immigration lines and while there a representative from the school found us. Straight from there you enter the pure chaos of hundreds of people and the baggage claim. Everything is just all together-there are no separate areas for these things. Turn around and there is the customs area in the middle of everyone walking. We made it through all of these areas quickly because we had some Indonesian man with us who had clearance it seemed.

We walked outside to a mob of people waiting for passengers where we were stared at as we pass. The parking lot was full of cars parked in parking spaces then cars parked behind them, some with drivers and some without. The high clearance guy got cars to move and random people started helping us get all our luggage. We finally made it to the car, got Jeremiah’s car seat sort of in, only to find out that I have no seatbelt so I am praying the whole time for safety. We left the airport and entered what I call mexi-vegas since it reminded me of Mexico and Vegas all at once. We passed rope lights strung on the barriers of the freeway, palm trees lit up with Christmas lights, people, people, and more people milling about everywhere. We drove for what really did seem like forever, especially with Jeremiah half asleep and crying. Finally, we made it to Cikarang (and vowed in our hearts not to have to drive to Jakarta again, though we know it isn’t true). We were driving at around 10pm and still the traffic was horrible and there were toll stations every few
miles.

We arrived at our house in the nicer part of town (through security gates) after driving through the ghetto and real Indonesia outside. We walked into our house to find weird furniture and smells. The furniture is
oversized dark wood pieces that a rich 60 year old might have in her formal living room. The furniture is like that all over the house. We have four bedrooms, three bathrooms, maid’s quarters, a kitchen in the garage, and a fridge in the dining room. Needless to say we were a bit thrown off by what we saw and were glad that they never sent us pictures of the inside of the house. The bathrooms are all grey and not homey at all. There are mosquitoes everywhere as well. Jeremiah and I look like we have the chicken pox because of all of the bites we got the first few nights. There are a lot of new things to get used to. We are gradually getting more and more comfortable with the house as we rearrange and buy new things to make it feel like us. Since it has been a few days we have a better attitude about all the changes and everyone here has been extremely helpful and kind. We will definitely have more to write about soon.

- Jessica

Related posts:

1. Today is just one of those days…
2. Feelings of home
3. A Jakarta Jaunt
4. Kemang: Eating Mexican in Indonesia, Having a Frappe at a High Class McDonald’s, and Bribing a Cop
5. Hanging with Mr. Montgomery