Happy Halloween, Go Phillies, and changing seasons

It has been a very busy two weeks in Cirebon. I went to Jakarta two weekends ago(more on that later) and since then I've had my picture in the newspaper, and today (Friday) I have a radio interview to do. It's a very slow news day in Cirebon when they want to talk with me!

The picture in the paper is because Tasha won 2nd place at the National EF (English First) Spelling Bee. The reporter (perhaps 10 years old?) came to the school and interviewed Tasha. He then took a pic. The picture reminds me of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's travels with the Lilliputans. I appear very tall, blocking part of the school sign, while Regina and Tasha appear rather short.

Our season has also changed. We've gone from sunny hot humid days, to rainy, cloudy, hot humid days. The noticeable differences in the seasonal change are 1) whether my laundry will dry or mold first and 2) new creatures are inhabiting the dwelling. I now have frogs in my humble abode. In fact, the other night at 2:00 a.m. I got up to use the bathroom. As usual, I turn on the light and check out all nooks and crannies. There next to the hole/toilet was a frog. I looked at him, he looked at me and I realized I was not going to fight a frog for a hole in the ground. So back to bed I went with a full bladder. He or a relative have also taken up residence in my living room area. When I leave the house in the morning, there are a number of them in my yard, but so far none of them are singing!

2nd place in National EF Spelling Bee

Here's Natasha after winning second place in the spelling bee competition. She won a trophy, money, food and an MP3 player! After the competition we headed back to Cirebon via the train. We didn't get in until 10:30 Sunday night, so that Monday I was exhausted.

Bajay

This three wheeled contraption, called a bajay, is what got me to the American club so that I could vote via absentee- ballot. After taking a 3 hour train ride, we hoped into this "vehicle" and shook all the way to the Club. However, when I got there I couldn't get over all the people who looked like me! And talked like me! And to sweeten the deal the club provided brewed coffee with milk and carrot cake. Who says voting for the President of the United States is drudgery?

Obit

Unexpectedly, on October 11th Mr. Coffee Maker passed away. He was a youngster, only having brewed 3 pots of coffee. His personality bubbled over and delighted the many people he met He leaves behind a grieving friend, Carol Murphy, and a young vegetable steamer, who will continue on his tradition of making coffee at 4:00 a.m.
An autopsy revealed a broken part that is not found in Indonesia.
May we always remember Mr. Coffee as the “little engine that couldn’t”.

Marcel

This is Marcel, the school secretary/administration's son. He is in Kindergarten 2. Students here go to half day kindergarten for two years before entering Primary 1 or first grade. He loves to come and give me hugs and even though we each can't speak too much to each other, we enjoy each others company.

Lebaran Celebration at School

Today, Saturday, October 11th we invited all 28 Muslim students and their families to celebrate Lebaron. We had singing, musical performances, reading from the Koran, a fashion show of the students, and lots and lots of good food.

I don't want to work I just want to bang on the gong all day!

Here I am - making it look so easy! For all of you who think I have no rhythm back home - you can rest assured my gamelon talents are even less! Who knew how hard it was to keep the beat to Indonesian gamelon music. Eru, Anna's husband, and professional musician was very patient with me as I "gonged" too early, too late, or not at all through our two songs. But I still think I'm ready for Carnegie Hall with just a few more lessons.

World Premier of Sekolah Pelita Bangsa Gamelon

After months.... no weeks........no days of practice we made our debut at our celebration. That is yours truly on the gong! We performed for the parents and children as they came in. We only performed for fifteen minutes - but it seemed like an eternity to me. Not only was it very hot in the room, but I was so nervous, the perspiration was running into my eyes.

Ms. Lusti

This is one of our nursery teachers and the organizer of the celebration. She sang a solo during the celebration.

Muslim children and staff singing a song

As part of the celebration we had our Muslim students sing with the staff. I did not sing for three reasons - I can't, I don't know the language, and I was focused on my instrumental career.

Home again

Well, the party is over as my dad says. I'm back in Cirebon and have finally posted all of the pictures from my fantastic holiday to Manado. Like Cirebon, the driving in Manado can be very scary. Nascar driving seems safe in comparison. With no lane demarcations, the nicely paved blacktop roads provided three lanes of travel, which weren’t easily discernible for the American tourist — right, left and middle lanes. The middle lane appeared to be for all fast, passing traffic, no matter which direction one was traveling. It seemed as if we were playing chicken at 70 mph. I am glad that Glenn, Regina's parents driver, was quite accustom to this driving and made the excursions less nail-biting. The daily excursions, often not on paved roads, revealed crops of corn growing 12 feet high in fields next to palm tree plantations. Modern buildings as well as two-story Nissan, Honda and Suzuki dealerships sitting next to tin-shed storefronts were present. Christian churches were on nearly every city street. Rarely did we glimpse a mosque minaret. Juxtaposed among new Asian-inspired architecture were shanties with rusty tin roofs. Oxen-pulled carts slowly lumbered as sharp new automobiles or motorcycleszoomed by. It was a fascinating glimpse of the Indonesian culture. The contradiction of old and new was obvious in so much of what I saw. It saddened me to see beautiful rain forests next to the “progress” of industrial smoke stacks and pavement as well as the garbage that is strewn in the waterways and roads.

Regina's family could not have been more gracious and welcoming. It was a wonderful holiday, and now back to school tomorrow (Thursday).

The way of the cross

Jalan Salib Suci Mahawu (The way of the cross)
JSSM is a family's private property. Early 2003, Mrs. Mary Wewengkang and the Korompis-Wewengkang Families imagined a place where people could pray in a quiet, silent and natural place. This place was then dedicated as an expression of gratitude to the Lord for His blessings to the families, especially for the 60th birthday of Mrs. Mary, three years later.
It is between 820 - 1021 meters above the sea level and it has the natural forest with a hilly land contour. The stations are spaced along a path and the bronze sculptures are very realistic. At the top of the hill is a grotto of Mary, as well as retreat houses and the chapel of Mother Mary.

One of the many gardens at the Lokon Resort

We wandered the beautiful green gardens of the resort. Here is a gardener tending to plants that will be placed throughout the resort.

A stop at a resort

We stopped at a lovely resort which had a beautiful view of one of the volcanic mountains. After walking around, we sat on a lovely veranda and munched on fried cassava (much like thick french fries)

Linow Lake

The colors in this highly sulphurous lake constantly change depending on the light and viewing perspective. Many species of large and small birds make their home around the lake. We sat in a pavilion and enjoyed the scenery as well as a game similar to Parcheesi.

Coral reef drop off

Not a photo I can take credit for however, the tattooed, multi-pierced skipper of our boat took us to this spectacular reef drop off. First, I was swimming in very shallow water, where I could put out my hand and touch the coral (which I didn't) and then you swim to this drop off point and see some of the most magnificent fish in the world. It's so deep, and even though the water is clear, you can not see to the bottom of the ocean- which is why it is one of the top diving areas of the world.

Butterfly fish

I can't take credit for this photo - but it was taken at Bunaken Island and these are Butterfly fish that I saw.

Snorkeling

We dropped anchor here so that we could snorkel. I can't begin to describe the exciting tropical marine life that I was able to see. The sparkling clear, warm tropical water allowed me to swim among butterfly fish and numerous types of swordfish. Of all the reefs in the world those in South East Asia have the highest diversity. As you travel further from this point the biodiversity declines. Fore example, the reefs of the Caribbean have only a third of the species numbers that those of these Indonesian reefs enjoy. It's something special. The prime attraction is the vertical walls of the coral reef with spectacular colors of underwater paradise. I saw blues, purples, oranges and even browns that I've never seen on land.

Church on Bunaken Island

The Protestant church on Bunaken Island is visible from far away. Manado, Regina's home town is a city of 230,000 inhabitants and is predominately Christian. There are many churches, Catholic and various Christian denominations that I couldn't begin to count them all! There seemed to be at least one on every street.

Leaving for a day of boating and snorkeling

The harbor at Manado where Regina's dad hired a boat for ten of us. To get to our boat (not visible here) you climb through other boats. There is no gangplank, no stairs, you just hop from boat to boat until you get to yours.

On Papa Coxy's boat

As we approach Bunaken Island (which is actually to the right) The water was green, blue, turquoise and clear. A perfect day to be on the water.

getting back on the boat

Low tide meant the boat had to pull up anchor and relocate before we went snorkeling. This is Deny, Regina and Regina's father walking through the shallow water back to the boat.

landing at Burnaken Island

This picture is taken from the boat as we come close to the public beach at Burnaken. It took us about 45 minutes to motor from Manado to Burnaken. The umbrellas that you see are vendors selling their t-shirts, and shell jewelry to all the tourist.

Public Beach at Bunaken

The East coast of Bunaken, and this is a public beach where we set anchor. The mangroves in front of me, and behind me are several new Dive Resorts with foreign owners which have been established within the last few years. The beach is rather rocky and unfortunately littered with garbage.

colorful boat

I just liked the color of this boat! While Regina and her daughter shopped, I walked along the beach.

Highland Resort

It’s 6:30 am and I am sitting on the porch of my cottage. The sun is already warm but the cool mountain air is refreshing. Birds are chirping in the palm and coconut trees as small, blue, black and white ones swoop around. The bees, mosquitoes and ants are bigger than I have ever seen I just came back from a quick walk over a ridge where there was a beautiful view of Mount Lokon. This is an active volcano and we may attempt to go there today.

Highland Resort and Spa

Thursday and we have come to the Highland Resort and Spa which is located in a small mountain town of Kinilow. Some of the furniture in each of the rooms is made of coconut wood. And the units are terraced in front with exotic plants and flowers. I have my own little garden oasis. There is a spa here, but it reminds me more of a camp than a spa. There is no air conditioning in the units, but since we are high up there really is no need. The mountain is clouded over with a heavy mist, with darkening rain clouds. It would be interesting to sit on the front porch and watch a rain shower pass over.

garden

Next to my cabin was my own private garden.

Morning Walk

After a very quiet, refreshingly cool evening, this is the view I had while walking around Highland Resort. Deny enjoyed the peacefulness so much we decided to stay another night. I was quite happy, but as you can imagine, the two children would rather be where there was "action".

Lunch

At the restaurant (following pictures) I actually ate goldfish. I'm glad Regina didn't tell me until after the fact. It actually was quite tasty.

Lake Tonando

One of the many fishing boats that dot Lake Tonando.

This is the pagoda on the site of the Buddhist temple. Jason and I climbed to the top (nine levels) so the next picture is taken of the fountain from the top. The view of the mountains was breathtaking.

Restaurant on Lake Tonando

We travelled around the largest lake in Manado and stopped at this restaurant. It was massive, with a quite a few decks like this over the lake. There are massive nets where the fish are kept and after you order they go and get them directly from the water.

Buddhist Temple

View from the 9th floor of the pagoda on the grounds of the Buddhist temple. The figures are all serpents meant to keep out the evil spirits.

Buddhist Temple

Near the resort we were staying at was a Buddhist temple with a number of other buildings on the grounds. Here is just one example of the many altars that were there

Flowers in the Gardenia Resort

This plant/flower I'm not sure what it is yet, is all over the island. It's just beautiful. This happens to be in the Gardenia resort.

Gardenia Garden Retreat

After the hike up the mountain we went to a restaurant/resort named Gardenia Garden Retreat. Just as its name suggests it is a spectacular garden that has scattered among it delightful wooden bungalows, ponds stocked with fish, and a spectacular view of an extinct volcano. From the other side of the gardens is a view of a Buddhist temple. The vegetables for the cooking come directly from their own gardens and the eggplant and tuna in coconut milk was very tasty.

Catholic Chapel

This is the small Catholic Chapel on Bukit Kasih. This was one of the more intact places of worship - the mosque was virtually falling down.

Bukit Kasih

Bukit Kasih or “Mountain of Love” which was created by a president. In accordance with the legend of the Minahasan Tribe, this is the place where the ancestor of Minahasan “Toar Lumimuut” died. Upon the mountain are five religious places of worship – Buddhist and Hindu temples, a Mosque, a Protestant Church and a Catholic Church. At the very top of the mountain is a large cross which can be reached by climbing 1000 steps. it was an incredible view – mountains, and Lake Tondano. After the trek down the other side of the mountain, where they have the stations of the cross we stopped by the hot springs for a much earned rest. That is Regina's brother, Gerald, who climbed up to the top with me.

Peanut capital of Sulewesi

It is already Thursday, October 2nd- this holiday is flying by. Regina and her family are having a family portrait taken, and I have some time to catch up. Yesterday was Idul Fitri the holiday ending the month of fasting. All government offices as well as business were closed. There were parades and fireworks and lots of people on the roads. We took a tour up to the mountains – Regina’s family has a driver who really knows the island. We took windy roads, up the mountain, passing old wooden carts being pulled by two scrawny oxen. We stopped in a town that is famous for its peanuts; even the town square had a monument of a peanut. Every shop had its own peanut statue next to the barrels filled with roasted peanuts. Doesn't Jason look so excited to have his picture taken?!

Grilled Tuna

Regina and I went to the Tomohon market - which is very famous for its unique choices of food. It is up in the mountains from the city of Manado. This is the safest picture- it's grilled tuna and is actually quite delicious.
Warning - the following pictures of the market products can be disturbing.

Fresh Chicken- Anyone?

Coming back from the Tomohon traditional market - Regina and I took an angkot. Which is a fancy name for a van. These are the buses in most cities and the interesting part is that there are no designated stops. You just wave down a driver (even if he's going in the opposite direction) and hop aboard. Anyway, we had two live chickens as passengers on our way back to the resort. I know I had a better afternoon than these two fowls.

Roasted Bat

I can't imagine eating this - but both Regina's mother and father do. They certainly don't make it even more appealing by just having them in a pile. I didn't even want to ask how to pick a good bat to eat.

Roasted Rats

rat- the eatable tree rat, not the ones that scurry around the house. Not that it really matters to me!

Roasted dog

This is a very disturbing picture and in fact I couldn't take it. I saw the dogs both alive and cooked - Regina took the picture. Ugh.

Dinner

Regina's brother and sister-in-law had us over for dinner the other night. It is in walking distance of the hotel I am staying at. This was the guest of honor, along with crabs, chicken, and of course rice. Everyone told me that it was delicious- and I will just have to take their word for it.

Tradtional Wooden houses

traditional wooden houses are built in the small village of Woloan. These "knock down" houses can be transported to a site of the purchasers choice and the style is particular to this region.

This is one of the smaller houses- I was taking the picture from across the street from a much larger home. These homes have been shipped to Jakarta, and Australia.

Tallest statue of Christ

Manado, capital of Protestant-majority North Sulawesi province in eastern Indonesia, now has the tallest statue of Christ in Asia, thanks to a top Indonesian real-estate developer.
The 30-meter-tall statue of Jesus with upraised hands stands on a 32-meter-high hill named Royal Highland in CitraLand Estates, Winangun, southern Manado. Ciputra is both the developer of CitraLand Estates and the designer of the statue he calls the "Jesus Blessing Monument."
The Christ statue is said to be Asia's tallest, three meters taller than the statue of Christ the King outside Dili. Worldwide, only the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which stands 39.6 meters tall, is known to be taller.
The monument's stand is inscribed with the phrase Torang Samua Basudara, the province's slogan, which means "we are all brothers and sisters," in the local dialect. It was built at a 20-percent angle.
Ciputra, 76, a Protestant engineer who graduated from the city's Catholic-run Don Bosco Senior High School, said at the statue's inauguration that the tilt symbolizes the Resurrection and how Jesus blesses his disciples before ascending to heaven.

sunset at sedona

Even though I was only at this resort for one night, I took full advantage of sitting and enjoying the sunset over the ocean.

Hotel Sedona

About 10 minutes outside of the very busy and crowded city of Manado is a resort - Hotel Sedona. We went for one night. This is my view from the hotel room. The ocean is just beyond the coconut trees.

Regina's mom ordered 3 snapper fish heads and three of these fish. Along with lots and lots of rice. Both fish were enak! (delicious)

Here is our our fish head! It was delicious. Although I could not watch Regina's dad eat the eye that he had scooped out.

The restaurant was a sea of pink - as you can see by the plate and the tablecloth. The walls were also painted pink. Not sure why, but that was the decor.

At the other end of the kitchen is the fishwoman who chops the fish heads and cleans them. I tried not to think of this as I was eating the delicious fish. That is just a head she is cutting. It is huge.

The owners/cooks of the restaurant allowed us to come back and visit the kitchen. Here the owner is checking the fish head to see if it is done.