Suwe Ora Jamu

I have really enjoyed being part of the Indonesian Heritage Society, which organizes tours all around Jakarta to learn about culture, history, and art.  The catch is that the participants all take turns arranging the tours, which I found a bit intimidating, but IHS has books of previous tours and contacts and feedback, so it wasn't a hard process.  Along with a French lady and a Singaporean, I helped plan a tour to Suwe Ora Jamu.

Ibu Nova explained jamu to all of us.  It is a traditional Indonesian medicinal drink made to address whatever you need for health that day.  It's usually mixed up fresh each day with individual ingredients and taken as a shot with breakfast.

 

 The factory and cafe were very interesting places with lots of art and historical pieces.

Water purifier...very important in these parts!  Have to start out with good water.

Next in importance, lots of ginger and turmeric.

We visited the bottling room with all the fresh varieties chilling, ready to be sold or sent out. The blue one is from the caterpillar pea flower and it was particularly good.

 Next, we went upstairs to the classroom to sample ingredients, taste different varieties, and make our own jamu.  We made the basic, classic variety with lots of turmeric and ginger and a bit of lime.  I thought mine was pretty awful until I added a little honey as well.

Ibu Nova taught us about the plethora of other ingredients that can be used to address all kinds of different health issues, from gas to headaches to cancer.

Group shot!

Plus one with our yellow hands, for those whose gloves broke while grating the turmeric.  I've enjoyed exploring Jakarta with the women from all over the world.

On a side note, this is how jamu is traditionally sold here.  Women ride bikes around filled with bottles of ingredients and mix up whatever the customer wants.

Extended Studies Program

One of the most exciting things we learned about the Middle School here was the Extended Studies Program (ESP) that all the students attend every spring.  It's a 5-day trip with only students and faculty (and nurses, security, and staff)...no parents and no phones!  The outings are all planned to go along with classroom learning and they would each keep a field notebook to use for projects when they returned.  This was Ben's small group with his English teacher in the classroom the week before departure.

 

I'm not going to lie...as excited as I was for him to take this trip, it was really hard for me to say goodbye to my baby at 6am and know he was getting on a flight without me!  And no phone to tell me he arrived safely!! The school had a parent website and kept it updated frequently with all the flights going around Indonesia and arrivals at hotels for each of the groups.  All of 6th grade, around 175 kids, flew to Jogyakarta on two separate flights. 

 

I saw this picture on the website the first night and I was so happy to know that Ben was eating :)

 

When we visited Jogyakarta as a family earlier this year, we really wanted to visit Prambanan, a 9th century Hindu temple, but decided to let Ben explore it for the first time on his trip.

 

It looks pretty amazing and it's one of the biggest temple complexes in SE Asia.

 

 
I had to look through thousands of pictures that all the teachers shared so I was thankful that Ben chose to wear a bright green shirt on this day so I could find him!

 

 

Afterwards, the kids had the opportunity to sample some fried grasshoppers...Ben declined!

 Two groups together on the bus.  Mr. Gibson, Ben's teacher, is on the right, Ben is at the back doing the iconic Asia picture.

On another day, Ben's group went cave tubing to study the patterns of weathering in the rock and see cave formations.  I'm pretty sure this was most everyone's favorite activity.

 

  One day was spent at a local museum and farm, learning about rice farming.  The kids learned about all the work that goes into it...

...then got into the fields to help out a little.

I noticed that Ben kept his baseball cap in lieu of the traditional bamboo hat.

The kids got to watch the water buffalo at work as well.  

Afterward, they got some lessons on the drying and processing of the rice.

 

 

Another day was spent on volcanic Mt. Merapi.  First stop was the museum to learn the history and more about the geology of volcanoes.

 

It's one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes (and incidentally erupted with steam and ash a month later).

 

 

 

After the museum, they went out onto the slopes of Merapi to study some of the old lava flows and examine the different types of rocks.

 

When they weren't out learning and exploring, they were doing activities in the evening at the hotel.  One night, all the students painted traditional masks using beeswax and stain.

The final night was a big dinner and social for all the kids.

They even had a DJ and dancing.  I asked Ben if he danced but he said there was too much drama in there and he stuck to ping pong in the other room.  That's my boy.

Finally, they were back at the airport and headed home.  I was SO happy to meet this guy back at school!  His teacher said he was an awesome kid (of course!) but that Ben needed a leash because he'd get distracted and have to be called back to the group.  Yep, that's my boy.

Overall, it was a really great experience.  I was so proud of Ben for packing and managing this trip (mostly) on his own.  Part of the reason phones aren't allowed is because the kids are learning to be independent, but so are the parents.  It was a great lesson for me as well to let him go and watch him succeed on his own.  I love this school and all the opportunities it is giving our kids here.

Komodo Trip, Part 4

Our last morning was another lovely one.  It was a perfectly still night and the water was barely moving at daybreak.  The captain said we'd stay there for a few hours so it was a great time to jump in and snorkel.

We were happy to have spent the night here with just one other quiet boat.  I got up in the middle of the night and I could hear music in the distance at 4am...we are definitely not part of that crowd.

 All of these islands were so beautiful and usually populated by nothing but deer, maybe komodo dragons, and birds.

 The snorkeling here was awesome in the morning sunlight.  There were so many fish!

I'm not sure exactly what these were, but we saw lots of clams or something with big, colorful lips living inside the coral. They would close up tightly if you got too close.

Ben and I snorkeled through the thousands of fish on our way to the beach.

Seriously, every beach and these boys were intent on creating some towers in the sand.

The best way to get back to the boat?  Snorkeling, of course.

We began to make our way back to Labuan Bajo, but we were in no hurry and we stopped a few more places.  Not sure exactly where this beach was but it was lovely.

 

Postcard perfect!

Our final stop was on Kanawa island, close enough to see the town in the distance.  We were definitely back in civilization, so it was nice to ease back into the real world by spending a few hours around people and with real beach chairs.

This island had a dock and a tiny restaurant, so I imagine it's a popular place for day trips from Labuan Bajo.

 

The snorkeling here was some of the most fun we had the entire trip because it was all very shallow and easy to see.  

Ben's favorite memory was seeing this stingray, his first ever.

The variety and colors of all the fish and coral was some of the best we've ever seen.

 

I think we snorkeled in 8 or 9 different places but each one was different and they were all memorable for one thing or another.  In some places it was hard to tear ourselves away from the show.

 

What a perfect way to soak in our last few hours!

Masterpieces: complete

 

Our last ride into the harbor was a quiet one.  We packed up all of our stuff and took our last naps in whatever places seemed best.

Back to the real world!

We checked back into the same hotel and took absolutely amazing, warm showers with soap and shampoo.  The boat had a tiny shower but it wasn't good for much more than rinsing off sand and maybe a little soap.  I had never gone so long without washing my hair and with all the salt water on it, I was wondering if it would ever be the same again.

Next stop: Mexican food!  Bajo Taco was a pretty great find with a wonderful view of the sunset.

We flew out early the next morning and thoroughly enjoyed the flight back over the islands we had just visited.  Goodbye, Flores and Labuan Bajo.

Goodbye, Komodo!

One more look at Sangeang...

Instead of going straight home, we stopped halfway for a few days in Bali.

Nothing like a few days by the pool to soak in a little more sun!

The expat world is so small here.  Alex ran into a classmate at the pool and they played together all day with their brothers.

This is definitely our happy place.

Turns out our lizard sightings weren't done.  Matt and the kids got to watch one of the resident monitor lizards catch a fish and eat it.

 

It was a trip to remember, for sure.  We are so grateful for the travel opportunities that living in Indonesia has provided.  When it was time to head home, we were all ready to get back and sleep in our own beds and celebrate Easter.  The Bali airport helped us get into the spirit!