Heylow!
I AM IN INDONESIA!
Yes, I'm finally able to post from my home country. I skipped posting last time I went back here.
Ah, the joy of homecoming. Never knew it would be this overwhelming.
I AM IN INDONESIA!
Yes, I'm finally able to post from my home country. I skipped posting last time I went back here.
Ah, the joy of homecoming. Never knew it would be this overwhelming.
So you ask, when did I arrive here? I arrived here exactly a week ago, on August 7, 2011. That date also marks the anniversary of my departure to US. Wow, time does fly so fast, doesn't it?
Okay, story time. I promise I'm going to make it short, or at least...shorter than any other of my stories.
Days prior to my departure back to Indonesia had been sleepless times. Thing is, I barely had time to pack due to finals, and finals themselves took place right two days before my departure. So you can imagine days before finals, I put on my all-nighter instead of packing.
Packing itself was quite hectic. I technically only had a day to pack and I basically just threw unused clothes and whatever I thought would be useful to use in Indonesia into my 100x90 meters suitcase.
This might explain why I didn't get to take pictures during packing.
In the evening of August 5, 2011, I did final checking on my stuff right after going to Valley Fair to buy some additional souvenirs with Tony and Aymee (not to mention, having late lunch at Cheesecake Factory). While Elda and I were doing final checking, Tony, Aymee, Nancy, and Ray came over to bid me and Elda farewell, since they wouldn't be able to take me to SFO. Instead, Kathleen and William were going to take both Elda and me to SFO. I thanked Tony, Nancy, Aymee, and Ray for loading Elda's and my heavy loads to Kathleen's petite car.
Our flight was at 1.40 am on August 6, 2011 and we departed from the apartment at around 10pm. Since the traffic to the airport wouldn't be stagnant, we dropped by airport's nearby In-N-Out Burger to have ourselves midnight snacks. We bumped into another party: Amira (who was going home as well) along with Joshine and Kezia.
I was a bit worried that we would be late for our flight, but my friends assured me that In-n-Out wasn't so far from SFO. Instead, "It only takes 5 minutes to get there," said William.
At the airport, Kathleen accompanied me and Elda to check in and afterwards, we stumbled upon another Indonesian party and took a picture together (which sadly I don't have). Then Elda and I took off together to the gate.
There was a funny thing happening when I passed the custom. The custom officer checked on my photo ID on passport and looked at me at the same time for validity. Then she smiled and said. "You don't change at all." I burst laughing at her response, seeing that my passport was updated three years ago.
Then, we entered the plane from the same gate my flight was back in December 2010. On the plane, I sat between Elda and long, blonde-haired guy at the window. Things went just fine at first. Elda and I occupied ourselves with a movie (Water for Elephants) played far ahead on TV in the middle of the cabin, cos there were no TVs installed in each seat.
But it wasn't until the blonde guy next to me, poked me and had a conversation with me. At first, I was okay and kept responding to him as form of manner, yet I was annoyed with the fact that I was obviously seen wearing earphones and concentrating myself on the movie when he started the conversation (Dude, I need some privacy)
Then he started to drone on and on and jumped from one topic to another. He even started talking about nonsense in an exuberant way (like humanity, philosophical stuff, even monkeys, chemistry, you know...stuff people surely don't want to hear for light conversation). I felt like I was in some sort of a class, listening to a boring lecture. I gripped onto Elda's hand as a sign for her to distract me, which she did. Elda saved me by quickly talking to me about a scene she was watching at that moment, abruptly stopping the guy from continuing his gibberish talk to me.
Anyway, in Taipei for transit, I had myself a bowl of hot beef noodle for breakfast (It was 7 am and I still had an hour before boarding).
Once we got into the gate, we took some pictures using my laptop...just to kill time.
My dad excused himself for driving in the wrong side of the road, which I responded it truly as a joke. I needed to get my sight adjusted to Jakarta scenery after 8 months. Okay, call 8 months a freaking short time. But really, the toxic polluted stench, motorcycles stealing lanes, traffic jams, such things don't even exist in the States! I wonder what would happen to me if I stayed longer in the States, say like a year before coming back now, I would have most likely got a mini heart attack seeing all of these Jakarta mess.
Anywaaaay....I forgot one little tiny detail. It was fasting month, and when my dad asked me what was the first thing I wanted to do that day, I instinctively said: EAT.
For your info, it was freaking 3 pm, three hours before it's time to break the fast. Temptation lures. But my dad just said, "Okay, I'll take you home first cos we've prepared something for you."
I super duper missed this orange juice. Period. Nothing better to describe my love to this brand of OJ.
Voila! C'est ma chambre!
We were at first trying to look for a place to break my parents' fast. But considering it was Sunday, all the restaurants and seats were fully booked that we decided to go home.
Well, so that basically wraps my August 7, 2011, the day of my arrival in Jakarta. So far, I had been busy for the whole first week in Indonesia, with friends asking me to go out, doctor's appointment, etc. I barely have a day to stay at home all day long. However, today, I decided to take a break for a day. It's good to stay at home after going out so often.
I might not continue relaxing for the rest of my summer in Indonesia. I might work part-time at my cousin's design firm or do something else that is worthy but not energy-wasting (It's summer! Time to relax your tense muscles before getting back to those thick textbooks!)
I remember that I once said I wasn't really excited about going home, particularly because some of my friends I like to hang out with, will study abroad this year. But when I stepped my foot to the messy Jakarta, I never knew I would miss this atmosphere. No matter how miserable the city is compared to Cupertino.
Okay, story time. I promise I'm going to make it short, or at least...shorter than any other of my stories.
Days prior to my departure back to Indonesia had been sleepless times. Thing is, I barely had time to pack due to finals, and finals themselves took place right two days before my departure. So you can imagine days before finals, I put on my all-nighter instead of packing.
Packing itself was quite hectic. I technically only had a day to pack and I basically just threw unused clothes and whatever I thought would be useful to use in Indonesia into my 100x90 meters suitcase.
This might explain why I didn't get to take pictures during packing.
In the evening of August 5, 2011, I did final checking on my stuff right after going to Valley Fair to buy some additional souvenirs with Tony and Aymee (not to mention, having late lunch at Cheesecake Factory). While Elda and I were doing final checking, Tony, Aymee, Nancy, and Ray came over to bid me and Elda farewell, since they wouldn't be able to take me to SFO. Instead, Kathleen and William were going to take both Elda and me to SFO. I thanked Tony, Nancy, Aymee, and Ray for loading Elda's and my heavy loads to Kathleen's petite car.
Our flight was at 1.40 am on August 6, 2011 and we departed from the apartment at around 10pm. Since the traffic to the airport wouldn't be stagnant, we dropped by airport's nearby In-N-Out Burger to have ourselves midnight snacks. We bumped into another party: Amira (who was going home as well) along with Joshine and Kezia.
I was a bit worried that we would be late for our flight, but my friends assured me that In-n-Out wasn't so far from SFO. Instead, "It only takes 5 minutes to get there," said William.
At the airport, Kathleen accompanied me and Elda to check in and afterwards, we stumbled upon another Indonesian party and took a picture together (which sadly I don't have). Then Elda and I took off together to the gate.
There was a funny thing happening when I passed the custom. The custom officer checked on my photo ID on passport and looked at me at the same time for validity. Then she smiled and said. "You don't change at all." I burst laughing at her response, seeing that my passport was updated three years ago.
Then, we entered the plane from the same gate my flight was back in December 2010. On the plane, I sat between Elda and long, blonde-haired guy at the window. Things went just fine at first. Elda and I occupied ourselves with a movie (Water for Elephants) played far ahead on TV in the middle of the cabin, cos there were no TVs installed in each seat.
But it wasn't until the blonde guy next to me, poked me and had a conversation with me. At first, I was okay and kept responding to him as form of manner, yet I was annoyed with the fact that I was obviously seen wearing earphones and concentrating myself on the movie when he started the conversation (Dude, I need some privacy)
Then he started to drone on and on and jumped from one topic to another. He even started talking about nonsense in an exuberant way (like humanity, philosophical stuff, even monkeys, chemistry, you know...stuff people surely don't want to hear for light conversation). I felt like I was in some sort of a class, listening to a boring lecture. I gripped onto Elda's hand as a sign for her to distract me, which she did. Elda saved me by quickly talking to me about a scene she was watching at that moment, abruptly stopping the guy from continuing his gibberish talk to me.
Anyway, in Taipei for transit, I had myself a bowl of hot beef noodle for breakfast (It was 7 am and I still had an hour before boarding).
Once we got into the gate, we took some pictures using my laptop...just to kill time.
The flight was relatively shorter than the one from San Francisco to Taipei (although it was delayed for half an hour). Good thing the seats in the flight to Jakarta were equipped with personal entertainment unlike on the plane to Taipei. On board, I decided to see Thor and Kungfu Panda 2, this time, nobody interrupted my movie time.
At around 2.30-ish pm, Elda and I walked out to the arrival hall and greeted our parents.
Excuse my face. But you can see it's a mixture of excitement and exhaustion.
At around 2.30-ish pm, Elda and I walked out to the arrival hall and greeted our parents.
Excuse my face. But you can see it's a mixture of excitement and exhaustion.
My dad excused himself for driving in the wrong side of the road, which I responded it truly as a joke. I needed to get my sight adjusted to Jakarta scenery after 8 months. Okay, call 8 months a freaking short time. But really, the toxic polluted stench, motorcycles stealing lanes, traffic jams, such things don't even exist in the States! I wonder what would happen to me if I stayed longer in the States, say like a year before coming back now, I would have most likely got a mini heart attack seeing all of these Jakarta mess.
Anywaaaay....I forgot one little tiny detail. It was fasting month, and when my dad asked me what was the first thing I wanted to do that day, I instinctively said: EAT.
For your info, it was freaking 3 pm, three hours before it's time to break the fast. Temptation lures. But my dad just said, "Okay, I'll take you home first cos we've prepared something for you."
And this is what he's talking about:
TA-DAAA. Presenting you, the holy traditional rawon soup!
This is officially the first meal I munched in Indonesia.
Nothing beats the lusciousness of homemade food, served yours truly on the plate and bowl I had longed to use, freshly cooked out of the pot. Really. I cooked stuff like this in States and it didn't even taste the same, plus I'm a horrible cook.
My dad and mom - who were fasting - just sat across the table and saw me munch on this delicacy.
This is officially the first meal I munched in Indonesia.
Nothing beats the lusciousness of homemade food, served yours truly on the plate and bowl I had longed to use, freshly cooked out of the pot. Really. I cooked stuff like this in States and it didn't even taste the same, plus I'm a horrible cook.
My dad and mom - who were fasting - just sat across the table and saw me munch on this delicacy.
I super duper missed this orange juice. Period. Nothing better to describe my love to this brand of OJ.
I took a short tour around the house just to make sure I didn't forget the layout of the house. There were some minor changes. Some furniture got moved, removed, added, and so on. And on to the most awaited moment.
Voila! C'est ma chambre!
At last! I miss it so much! Everything's still the same for my room, except my bookshelf has been moved downstairs to provide more space.
I didn't spend much time at home and we departed shortly to Pondok Indah Mall to take a stroll with my family, also as an attempt to reduce my jetlag (by keeping me awake).
Anyway, I took some nice shots using my dad's SLR camera. Oh oh, I felt so pro!
I didn't spend much time at home and we departed shortly to Pondok Indah Mall to take a stroll with my family, also as an attempt to reduce my jetlag (by keeping me awake).
Anyway, I took some nice shots using my dad's SLR camera. Oh oh, I felt so pro!
PIM has had a lot of changes! They have this new huge restaurant/food court section in the back of the mall.
Even I was so surprised they have Yoshinoya here! And it's pretty packed of people. Guess I need to give it a try though I live pretty close to one back in States.
We were at first trying to look for a place to break my parents' fast. But considering it was Sunday, all the restaurants and seats were fully booked that we decided to go home.
Well, so that basically wraps my August 7, 2011, the day of my arrival in Jakarta. So far, I had been busy for the whole first week in Indonesia, with friends asking me to go out, doctor's appointment, etc. I barely have a day to stay at home all day long. However, today, I decided to take a break for a day. It's good to stay at home after going out so often.
I might not continue relaxing for the rest of my summer in Indonesia. I might work part-time at my cousin's design firm or do something else that is worthy but not energy-wasting (It's summer! Time to relax your tense muscles before getting back to those thick textbooks!)
I remember that I once said I wasn't really excited about going home, particularly because some of my friends I like to hang out with, will study abroad this year. But when I stepped my foot to the messy Jakarta, I never knew I would miss this atmosphere. No matter how miserable the city is compared to Cupertino.
Have a great summer! I'll keep you guys posted! :)
Wow! You look mature there :D Gotting much prettier these days, this chabo! :D
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