October Happenings

I got invited to what turned out to be a youth rally for high schoolers...and they made me a counselor. This was one of the sweet girls I met with. It's amazing how similiar high school girls are no matter where you are in the world :)
This sign tells us not to throw our trash in the toilet. Forks, Coke bottles, and syringes I can understand, but toilet paper?

We took some visitors from the States to see one of the local mosques... The call to prayer had ended so it wasn't too busy, just this one man sholatting (praying) and a few nappers. Kids attend class throughout the week to learn about thier religion. It's kinda like Sunday School on steroids. Instead of crafts and animal crackers they memorize lengthy prayers and study Arabic. Very impressive.

Takin' it easy after studying it up

My friend Agnes moved up North recently to help out a family member. She will be missed...and so will our frequent ice cream outings. Gotta love that soft-serve!

This is a 40 acre trash dump where hundreds of families live. They make a living by going through the trash each day searching for things they can resell, such as plastic bottles or aluminum cans....

They have a big barn where all their findings are stored...

and keep track of how much they'll be paid. I can't remember how much a kilo of plastic paid out, but I want to say somewhere around 50 cents

A lot of the kids help out to earn money for their families. These are a couple of the cuties.

The village doesn't have a school of their own so a small group of college students take turns volunteering every Saturday to help the kids learn English.

They often go barefoot in the trash dump so worms and other skin infections are a big problem.

The college students, their professor, and a pregnant lady who was convinced her baby would be beautiful if I touched her belly.

Another fun group of college students who get together every week...

They are studying English and asked me to discuss education in America. There were gasps from the crowd when I mentioned public schools don't require uniforms. I'm still not sure they believe me.

Photo shoot afterwards...camera phones everywhere

I've seen some great mullets this month, but this guy gets the gold for best hair

Lena and I hanging out in front of the office space we just rented. More about this next month...The new official vitamin of the Novak family - NOVAKid

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September Scenery

I turned 24 the 1st of this month. This was my birthday fish...
Even got to pick it myself!

Who needs a cake when you've got this beauty?

Small organic farming project in a new village. These ladies are preparing the soil they'll use to grow a variety of different vegetables...

They'll grow the vegetables in something called a polybag until they're big enough to transfer to a small plot of land or a bigger pot.

Went to the mountains for the weekend and found these. Pine trees in Indo, who knew?

I think I'm going to publish a book with photos like these and call it "Where's White Girl?" Way more fun than trying to find that Waldo weirdo :)

So my friends were excited about having an "American BBQ"...

Except their version started at 2 in the morning....

And included grilled mystery meat, corn, and pineapple slathered in butter and chili powder. It wasn't bad, but man I miss KC BBQ!

Lena, my lovely co-worker

There is eight music in my playlist? If I read one blog this year it won't be yours? Sea food Cancer? Shirts like these are hot sellers...I don't get it.

Pictures from the road on the way to a village up North.

The houses are built off the ground so they can have storage space below. Sometimes it can be used for a bathroom, to raise animals, as a hang out place...or all of the above!

The polybag results 3 weeks later

One family already moved their first batch of vegetables to a small plot of land in front of their house. The little teepee looking coverings are banana leaves for shade. Hopefully they'll have lots of nutritious veggies to eat soon!

Veggies ready to be transferred so a new batch of seeds can be planted.

Wild pineapple

Wild BATS!

The pictures really don't do them justice, but these babies are huge and creepier than all get out!

These guys were all over the place in this village and definitely did not seem people-friendly. After my camera flashed on them their normal creepy squacking turned into an "I want to eat your face" squacking. As I ran back inside I remember thinking, "That rabies shot was so worth it!"

More pics from the road on the way back to the city

The roads can be pretty windy. Motion sickness pills - don't leave home without em'!

And what blog post is complete without a giant, random monkey waving you farewell?

Sampai Jumpa! :)

Goodbyes, Hellos, and Everything in Between

Ramadan is here! Fasting from sunrise to sunset means life is more laid back this month, evidenced by this becek driver taking a snooze. (Beceks - a bike with a buggy attached - are a common mode of public transportation in my new city. I was happy to hear they don't use horses here. I see less road burns and bruises in my future!)
This statue was outside a hospital downtown. Interesting...
Fishing and swan boats..fun!

Popular hang out place on my new island

TURKEY! This is a rare find, but I found this guy at a historical Fort of all places. We can't buy turkey here and many of my friends don't know what they are. One girl asked me last week, "Is this a turkey?" It was a picture of a sea lion. Ha. Nice try :)

I spent a week at an organic farm learning how to farm a la natural. They were really into living life simply, which meant eating organic rice and vegetables three times a day. After I got back, I immediately went to the kitchen and ate a big plate of meat. Vegetarianism is not for me :)

It was an educational experience. One of my teachers was like the Steve Irwin of the plant world. He would give a brief commentary of every grass, weed, and plant out there and then eat a big mouthful. It was awesome...very entertaining!

Random, but these food vendors are very common. The health department in the States wouldn't approve, but the food usually isn't too bad, depending on how long its been sitting out :)

A monkey pretending to sholat (pray Muslim-style)

Monkey with a weird mask

And monkey cruising the streets on his motor bike

Caleb's first Wendy's cheeseburger!

Dig in little bro, you won't be seeing another cheeseburger for quite a while :)

I was shocked with 3.5 Million volts of electricity (voluntarily)...and I survived!

Well, me or Amy Novale according to the certificate. They were close :)

I went with Matt and Kelly to Science City in Singapore. They needed a volunteer during one of the shows so I figured what the heck. They put me in a giant bird cage and sent a huge bolt of electricity my way. It was really cool, but sadly my camera died just before the sparks so no pics to proove..sorry!

Saw these at a mall and asked the sales guy to demonstrate. I could definitely see myself bouncing around town in a pair of these. Maybe with a broken limb or two but nevertheless...

Andi's Birthday!!!

Boxed cake mix = Yum

Caleb loves his rice!

Kelly and Matt at Science City..good times!

Matt on a platter

Kelly and I having a little fun with Matt during his coma sleep

After all, what are sisters for?

Kelly might have enjoyed it a little too much :) Love you Matt!!

One of many hard goodbyes. Saying farewell to my sweet friend/former language teacher

One last night with my fam'

You may remember me asking you to pray for a friend with a bad case of dengue fever a while back. This is her - healthy and doing great! Thanks for your prayers!

One last hike on my island! Matt went too. His first overnight hike and my last...for a while anyway :)

The End!