Have you ever seen people that you just want to know more about? Sometimes I'll catch myself making up stories about people and their lives just to feel some sort of connection with them. It's weird I know but it makes travelling way more fun.
So we're staying in our hotel, and I notice a lady wearing an "Atlanta" shirt. I think,"Wow, I've been there. Wonder if she's been there?" The guy with her was tall with lots of bracelets on both wrists. Tan with a ballcap on.
Next day, I see the same couple at breakfast. He is wearing a Texas A&M hat. Now I'm starting to wonder (and make up stories) about their life. Are they from the States? Maybe from the South? Definately in the know about some BIG college teams down south. So at breakfast I drag Josh into my "game". We talk about why they might be in Malaysia and where they're from.
After making some predictions:
**Josh's Prediction**
They are from Europe, spent some time in the States, and are here on vacation.
**Amber's Prediction**
They are from the States, maybe he works as a youth minister (because all my old youth minister's were from the South), and here on vacation.
Soooo I wanted to know. Who are these people- that I don't know, but I might want to know, because we might be great friends... so I asked. Yes, I did. I went straight up to their table (which was next to the coffee, so if I needed to abort missions I could rendezvous at the coffee) I asked where they were from because I noticed his A&M hat.
**Reality**
Australian? (Didn't see that coming!)
Vacationing. (Points for both of us)
Travelled to the States. (One Point for Josh)
He works for the government.
She works in telemarketing.
So ironically my husband's predictions were closer than mine were. I think he's learning from me how to read people, or atleast make up entertaining stories about their lives.
Today we had breakfast together, and the husband of the couple was wearing a Dallas Mavs hat. Atleast he has good taste. It's been fun eating getting to know them.
This is our vacation.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
First Leg of the BIG (but not as big as before) move!
Wow soooo crazy, that last week was. after the very short notice that the moving company was coming the very next day, we spent our wednesday packing our whole life up!
Here's our life shown in boxes and plastic bins in our last living room.
This moving company packed up everything. They were very thorough and efficient, so far so good. Our things will be packed into a shipping crate and shipped across the waters surrounding Indonesia to our new home. A little different than renting a U-Haul, huh? They had very creative ways of moving big items. This is our mattress boxed up. One guy was lifting with his head...I've always heard,"Lift with your legs!" but this changes everything! Here's the "moving truck" that will move our things to the crate.
So we spent the next few days just resting, visiting friends, and packing our bags to head to Kuala Lumpur (KL). Our main reason for going to KL was to see my dad. He was there this past month for work. We were hoping to catch him for a quick visit, but it's okay because he came to Indonesia! Our other reason was to change our visas from students to worker/housewife. So our cat, Laki Galak Balboa (Mean Boy Balboa) thought he should get in on the action too! He chased some socks right into the suitcase.
We made it to KL, but NOT without some stories to share.
*Story #1*
We had two huge bags and two hiking bags with all our "can't live without things". We had paid for the max amount of luggage. Well... we were overweight, not us but our bags were. They suggest to "shuffle some things around". This could not be done, no room anywhere. The family of four standing behind us had 22kgs. left. They volunteered to check one of our hiking bags (thankfull it was mine, that thing was sooo heavy!) This allowed us to get through baggage claim and arrive in KL with ALL of our things! We know that we were being looked out for.
*Story #2*
Boarding the plane in Bandung is very different. It has a very 1960's feeling to it. I was reminded of the photo of JFK and Jackie O when the arrived at Dallas Love Field in '63. There's no covering, and you walk straight to the plane. Quite interesting.
BUT through all of that, it was a nice flight. KL is a lovely city. It looks amazing at night, and I'm so thankful to be here.
Today our first stop was the Indonesian Embassy for visa paperwork. Normally this causes headaches in almost every country, but we are really fortunate to have a great team that work on organizing paperwork for visas. Our visas were soooooo smoooooooth. Filled out a form, turned in our papers, made some copies, stood in some lines... done at 4 PM this afternoon (hopefully!) Fast and easy... someone must have pushed that "easy button"! OR someone must be praying! Thanks for looking out for us!
-A&J
Here's our life shown in boxes and plastic bins in our last living room.
This moving company packed up everything. They were very thorough and efficient, so far so good. Our things will be packed into a shipping crate and shipped across the waters surrounding Indonesia to our new home. A little different than renting a U-Haul, huh? They had very creative ways of moving big items. This is our mattress boxed up. One guy was lifting with his head...I've always heard,"Lift with your legs!" but this changes everything! Here's the "moving truck" that will move our things to the crate.
So we spent the next few days just resting, visiting friends, and packing our bags to head to Kuala Lumpur (KL). Our main reason for going to KL was to see my dad. He was there this past month for work. We were hoping to catch him for a quick visit, but it's okay because he came to Indonesia! Our other reason was to change our visas from students to worker/housewife. So our cat, Laki Galak Balboa (Mean Boy Balboa) thought he should get in on the action too! He chased some socks right into the suitcase.
We made it to KL, but NOT without some stories to share.
*Story #1*
We had two huge bags and two hiking bags with all our "can't live without things". We had paid for the max amount of luggage. Well... we were overweight, not us but our bags were. They suggest to "shuffle some things around". This could not be done, no room anywhere. The family of four standing behind us had 22kgs. left. They volunteered to check one of our hiking bags (thankfull it was mine, that thing was sooo heavy!) This allowed us to get through baggage claim and arrive in KL with ALL of our things! We know that we were being looked out for.
*Story #2*
Boarding the plane in Bandung is very different. It has a very 1960's feeling to it. I was reminded of the photo of JFK and Jackie O when the arrived at Dallas Love Field in '63. There's no covering, and you walk straight to the plane. Quite interesting.
BUT through all of that, it was a nice flight. KL is a lovely city. It looks amazing at night, and I'm so thankful to be here.
Today our first stop was the Indonesian Embassy for visa paperwork. Normally this causes headaches in almost every country, but we are really fortunate to have a great team that work on organizing paperwork for visas. Our visas were soooooo smoooooooth. Filled out a form, turned in our papers, made some copies, stood in some lines... done at 4 PM this afternoon (hopefully!) Fast and easy... someone must have pushed that "easy button"! OR someone must be praying! Thanks for looking out for us!
-A&J
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Moooooooving! Head 'em up, Move 'em out!
So this is our last official week in Bandung. It's so crazy. Have you ever noticed that when it's your last week anywhere, you want to sqeeeeeeze as much time as you can with your friends into that last week? It's our last week. So it's jammed pack full of sweet times with friends from here.
In all of the "jammed pack-ness" of this last week, we have elected Thursday to be our offical packing day. No plans are allowed during the day but are allowed that night. The moving company comes on Friday to pack up almost all of our things into a crate that will be shipped from here to Papua... moving is much different on this side of the world. Moving Companies use boats instead of U-Hauls. Friday night we'll take one last trip to the hot springs with some friends. You'd be silly to go during the day, the weather has been warmer than normal. Sitting in a hot spring with the sun beaming down on you doesn't sound very appealing. Who knows what will happen Saturday? A new chapter will begin on Sunday. We'll offically leave Bandung and head to Kuala Lumpur for one week to sort out our visas. We'll arrive in Sentani on March 29, after a few hour flight from Jakarta.
We've just started watching LOST, too. This isn't bad, but it's during our "jammed packed" last week. We've paced ourselves. Lots of people love that show. After only watching a few episodes, I guess I can understand why. I think it's different when you watch them on a dvd, because you don't have to wait in suspense for a full week you just hit play all and watch the whole thing. So, I'm not sure how I feel about LOST, yet. I do think JJ Abrams is really talented. He can make shows like Felicity (and we all know what that show is!), Alias, and now LOST. These shows keep our attention throughout a whole season or seasons, even when the plot turns weird or too sci-fi. That's talent. So, thanks JJ Abrams for making television shows that keep us hooked and entertain us at home of far away.
***EDIT***
So literally about 15 minutes after writing this, our moving company has a rep knock on our door. I don't recognize the guy, so am careful when opening the door. He asks for Josh and tells me he's with the moving co. I gave him Josh's number, and he hands me a sheet of paper with our "updated" shipping date. The date the ship is leaving has been moved ahead, and tomorrow they will come to pick up our things! TOMORROW?! we were expecting FRIDAY! so we were... what's that word?... oh yeah,
f l e x i b l e. :)
"But the LORD's plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken." Psalm 33:11
"We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps."
Proverbs 16:9
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11
Here's a great quote that I will leave you with:
"Christians are supposed not merely to endure change, nor even to profit by it, but to cause it." Harry Emerson Fosdick
In all of the "jammed pack-ness" of this last week, we have elected Thursday to be our offical packing day. No plans are allowed during the day but are allowed that night. The moving company comes on Friday to pack up almost all of our things into a crate that will be shipped from here to Papua... moving is much different on this side of the world. Moving Companies use boats instead of U-Hauls. Friday night we'll take one last trip to the hot springs with some friends. You'd be silly to go during the day, the weather has been warmer than normal. Sitting in a hot spring with the sun beaming down on you doesn't sound very appealing. Who knows what will happen Saturday? A new chapter will begin on Sunday. We'll offically leave Bandung and head to Kuala Lumpur for one week to sort out our visas. We'll arrive in Sentani on March 29, after a few hour flight from Jakarta.
We've just started watching LOST, too. This isn't bad, but it's during our "jammed packed" last week. We've paced ourselves. Lots of people love that show. After only watching a few episodes, I guess I can understand why. I think it's different when you watch them on a dvd, because you don't have to wait in suspense for a full week you just hit play all and watch the whole thing. So, I'm not sure how I feel about LOST, yet. I do think JJ Abrams is really talented. He can make shows like Felicity (and we all know what that show is!), Alias, and now LOST. These shows keep our attention throughout a whole season or seasons, even when the plot turns weird or too sci-fi. That's talent. So, thanks JJ Abrams for making television shows that keep us hooked and entertain us at home of far away.
***EDIT***
So literally about 15 minutes after writing this, our moving company has a rep knock on our door. I don't recognize the guy, so am careful when opening the door. He asks for Josh and tells me he's with the moving co. I gave him Josh's number, and he hands me a sheet of paper with our "updated" shipping date. The date the ship is leaving has been moved ahead, and tomorrow they will come to pick up our things! TOMORROW?! we were expecting FRIDAY! so we were... what's that word?... oh yeah,
f l e x i b l e. :)
"But the LORD's plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken." Psalm 33:11
"We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps."
Proverbs 16:9
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11
Here's a great quote that I will leave you with:
"Christians are supposed not merely to endure change, nor even to profit by it, but to cause it." Harry Emerson Fosdick
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Amber's Thoughts.
You know, I thought I would be so excited when we finished language school. Well, it's here. We finished (Praise the Lord!) but I don't feel "freedom". I have mixed emotions. This is the first city that we have felt settled. We knew it was a temp position, but I wasn't expecting to connect to people the way we have. At some point, all of our friends here will move to other countries or other islands, so in a way it's probably best that we leave first. Our teachers became like family, you know the rock that will always be there. They were there every day, rain or shine (trust me in Indonesia sometimes there is more rain than shine!) and always willing to invest into our lives. It's a bittersweet mixture of emotions for me.
Here's some examples of the mixed emotions I have:
happy, sad
anxious, nervous
excited, cautious
willing to move, clinging/grasping for life here
I feel what I felt when we made the move here from America, but now we know a little bit of the language. You can fill in the blank on the word you think fits best for how I feel.
Now we're turning to these next two weeks in Bandung. We'll go to Jakarta for a night, because Josh has a pilot test take. The week after that is strictly reserved for packing. When we moved, we had four suitcases, 2 hiking bags, and a backpack. That's our whole life. We've expanded since we moved here... adding a car and motorcycle to our family. A moving company will come next week to ship our things to Papua. We'll leave Bandung and head to Kuala Lumpur for switching our visas and "vacation" before going to Papua. We'll arrive on the morning of March 29. Terlalu cepat (too fast!)!
Once we get "settled" (does this ever happen in the Christian life???), I should have more time to update to fill you in on all our new adventures! Thanks for going on this journey with us.
A&J
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
