I woke up at 6:30 am this morning. That’s a good sign for adjusting to the time difference. The only time I’ve ever traveled out of the US was my trip to England a few years ago, and I would go to bed at 3:00 in the afternoon and get up at 1:00 in the morning wide awake!
I took another shower, and then for breakfast I found some Easy Mac in my dad’s pantry. I also finished off the brownies my dad’s maid had baked for him. Since my dad still doesn’t have cable yet, I popped in his Season One of The Office and watched a couple episodes while typing away on my laptop. I’ll have to go down to the lounge to get wireless Internet, but for now I’m content with what I’ve got. I almost can’t believe that I’m not going through Facebook withdrawals yet, since it’s been a few days since I’ve been on!
Frans came to pick me up at 11:00 am. He’s one of the drivers employed by the US Embassy, and so he came to take me over to see my dad for lunch. On the way he pointed out some of the notable parts of Jakarta. I saw the famous “Puppy Row,” where you can buy purebred Shih-Tzus and other dogs for around $20 or less. People sell them right on the street! I’ve also seen quite a few wandering cats stalking along rooftops and parking lots, but no stray dogs.
We also drove along a very interesting street, which Frans said was the ritzy area of Jakarta. There were very large houses, each with their own gate and pair of security guards, all along this long street, where prime ministers and other types of higher-up diplomats live.
We arrived at the US Embassy, which is also very high on security. We had our car checked, like at the Shangri-La (see previous post), and then we were allowed to enter the compound. My impression of embassies is that they are nice government buildings, but our embassy in Jakarta is more of a compound with a maze of buildings. Frans took me through this maze to the security area, where they ran my purse through a scanner, and I had to walk through a metal detector. Frans put my cell phones in his pocket, since you’re not supposed to have any electronics with you.
After the checkpoint I obtained a visitor’s badge, but I had to leave my passport with them. It made me a little uneasy, but when we walked into my dad’s office it was the first thing I asked him, and he said it was okay.
I met the four ladies in my dad’s office that are his assistants. Frans drove the four of them, my dad, and me to an Indonesian restaurant. The place was gorgeous, and the food was spectacular! They brought out our appetizers in a large conch shell placed in a wooden bowl, with smaller decorative shells in it. I had some crab and a shrimp ball, which were so delicious. They brought out our drinks, and poured my Coke from a glass bottle into a glass with a lime in it (I made sure to order no ice). Then our food came out, and I ordered a chicken and rice dish, with the chicken and the rice on separate plates. The rice was formed in a fancy shape of a fish, and the chicken came in a delicious sauce, which I poured over my rice it was so good! But there wasn’t too much meat to the chicken, since they were baby chickens, and cutting it was hard with no knife (you’re provided a large brass fork and spoon).
Afterward, Frans took me around the restaurant to take pictures of me everywhere, which was a nice chance to see the beautifully-decorated restaurant, which was in the classic Indonesian style both inside and out. They also played what I recognized as Indonesian Gamelan music over the speakers (thank you again, Prof. Hamill).
Frans dropped my dad and me off at another building, which also had a bit of security at the gate (I’m starting to realize that security is a big deal here). This building wasn’t a compound like the embassy, but a regular office building, and we didn’t have to clear any security once we were inside. This place was ICITAP’s (the bureau my dad works for) other office, and were here because my dad had a meeting at 1:00 pm. Ray Brae, a friend of my dad’s who I met a couple years ago, works at this office, along with my Uncle Harry. My dad had me sit in on his meeting, and introduced me to everyone. It was actually really interesting to see what my dad actually does for once, even if I didn’t understand most of what was going on.
After the meeting we had another driver take us back to the US Embassy compound, and I waiting in my dad’s office while he got some work done. Mike Duval, who I also met a few years ago in Washington D.C., stopped by to say hello. He’s another friend of my dad’s who worked with him in Pakistan, and now he’s in Indonesia as well. It seems like all of my dad’s friends end up here in Jakarta, like Jerry, Ray, Mike, and Uncle Harry. I’m starting to understand the appeal of Jakarta, with its friendly people and interesting atmosphere. I don’t know if I could see myself living here, but it is definitely a really wonderful place in my opinion.
When Daddy and I left the office, I finally was able to get my passport back! I’d felt a little nervous all day without it on me, especially when we left the compound for lunch. I know how important it is to keep it with you in a foreign country, and I also know how important it is to NOT give it to someone else. But rules are rules, and I was just glad to have it back in my possession.
Dad drove us back in his own car (I almost forgot that the steering wheel is on the right), and we spent the rest of the afternoon at the apartment. I heard the Call to Prayer twice this afternoon!
Ray and Paula came over to go to dinner with us. We went to Dallas Roadhouse, which almost made me forget that I wasn’t in the US anymore! On the way there I saw more familiar US businesses, like Kaplan College and KFC. We didn’t get back until 10:00 pm, and by 11:00 pm I was fast asleep.
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