Update

Well I’ve relocated back to the Far East; Indonesia to be specific.  Life has been crazy these past few weeks.  Moving as an expat can be ridiculously stressful.  You don’t feel at home until your shipment arrives (if you have one).  I’ve accepted it as part of my existence as an expatriate that I will always have a shipment every time I move.  It’s really hard to call one’s residence a home when it’s devoid of personality.  Fortunately, my shipment should arrive in about four weeks.

The city where I live has no stop signs or traffic lights in the suburban areas.  Therefore, traffic is utterly ridiculous.  There are these random guys who will go out and direct traffic with the expectation that you’ll grease their palms when they allow you out into the street.  A trip that should theoretically take 10 minutes takes up to 45 most days.

I’m still trying to figure out how the money works.  Indonesia’s currency is the rupiah, and apparently 1 USD is worth about 13,362 IDR.  I buy groceries every week and my bill is usually 1 million rupiah, which is $75.

Yeah, I’m struggling with this. 

The good thing is that instead of an apartment, I have a house.  A lovely 4BR/4BA situated in a community whose name I can’t pronounce.  The house has been shut up since the spring.  So when I moved in, I had roommates…and not the fun kind.  Big-ass roaches (or palmetto bugs) skittering across my floors and hiding in the shadows…y’all, I let the school know QUICK that somebody had to come and spray.  I’m not about that life.  Tiny black ants are in love with my front door (on the outside), so I put some mothballs on the doorstop.  Here’s hoping that works because I cannot deal with ants in my house.

I’ve not had any real Indonesian cuisine yet.  There are plenty of restaurants around, but as of right now, I got my hands full with my new job and when I get home, I’m too damn tired to go back out.  Maybe next month, I’ll treat myself to some Indonesian food.

The weather is fantastic.   It’s like a breezy 83 degrees almost every day.  The equator splits the country in half and I live in the lower half, 90 minutes from Bali, Singapore, and Malaysia.  The air is sweet and it is extremely relaxing to stand by the Koi pond and watch the turtles swim with the fish when the breeze comes through.  This is 1000X better than the insane desert heat in Saudi, or the ridiculous humid heat in Shanghai.

Indonesia is a Muslim country, so there are regular calls to prayer and the native women cover up.  Expats don’t have to, thank God.  You can buy liquor, eat bacon, go to the movies, and walk around in your shorts and nobody’s gonna say shit to you.  This alone makes me extremely happy.

I promise to do better with my blogging.  This year has been hectic in so many ways.  My summer vacation was a lot shorter than I thought it was gonna be, and I’ve been on the go since I arrived in Indonesia two weeks ago.  It’s a matter of scheduling and so I’ll have to block off some time so I can get back to blogging on a regular basis.  There’s so much I want to share with you guys.

Be talking to you soon!