(An attempt at a more comprehensive update as promised in the previous blog entry)
Some beaches we have enjoyed. Krakal, Wedi Ombo, Bantu Karas, Kuta.
Much loved visitors!
Volcano Adventures!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Some pics
Here are some pics. Enjoy!
(An attempt at a more comprehensive update as promised in the previous blog entry)
Some beaches we have enjoyed. Krakal, Wedi Ombo, Bantu Karas, Kuta.
Much loved visitors!
Volcano Adventures!
(An attempt at a more comprehensive update as promised in the previous blog entry)
Some beaches we have enjoyed. Krakal, Wedi Ombo, Bantu Karas, Kuta.
Much loved visitors!
Volcano Adventures!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Hello again!
Dear friends and family,
Firstly, we wanted to let you all know that we have not been affected by the earthquake in Sumatra.
Secondly, a lot has happened since our last post, time slips away so quickly. We have really settled into life over here and enjoy the rythm and pace, and friends and uni and church and more time than we'll ever know to spend together unitl we reach retirement!
A more comprehensive update has been added to the 'to do list', but for now.... dinner, yum!
Firstly, we wanted to let you all know that we have not been affected by the earthquake in Sumatra.
Secondly, a lot has happened since our last post, time slips away so quickly. We have really settled into life over here and enjoy the rythm and pace, and friends and uni and church and more time than we'll ever know to spend together unitl we reach retirement!
A more comprehensive update has been added to the 'to do list', but for now.... dinner, yum!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Friends and Family
Firstly, sorry that it's been a month since our last post! Clearly, we've been having too much fun.
Since our last update, uni has officially finished for Ali. Despite a hectic last couple of weeks getting assignments (both for uts and here) done and sitting exams, she can finally enjoy her newfound freedom. That coincided with our visit from Jeremy, Kirsty, Stuart and Elise. We organised motorbikes from our friends and shortly after meeting them at the aiport and getting some lunch, we began the 2 hour journey to the beach.
The boys did very well navigating the ordered chaos on the roads and I believe the girls were very co-operative passengers. Despite being a little sore, we arrived at the beach and had a great weekend swimming, relaxing, surfing (for Ben and Jeremy), reading, eating, taking pictures and playing cards.
We drove back to Jogja in the late arvo and arrived at the lookout to admire the scenery - Jogja glowing in the dark. We spent some time at our place and went for a walk up kaliurang. Then, we farewelled our Singapore dwellers and spent a few more days with Stuart and Elise. We had some lovely evenings playing cards and drinking fine wine, with a massive 500 win for the girls.
Since their depature, Ben has continued in running english conversation classes and Ali has been preparing for some NGO activities. We have also spent some time saying goodbye to other Aussi students going home and Ali braved the Elo river with some of the girls for white water rafting. We have been watching some dvds, and then preparing for our next bout of guests - Rach and then Julia.
As I am writing this, it is Rach's last night with us. We've had a blast together. We showed Rach my uni, favourite places to eat and the flashy new cinema! We also headed down to Krakal again for a few nights (a nice break from the Sydney winter)! Ben braved the waves at Wediombo and Rachael comforted Ali in her distress. We ate some great fresh fish and relaxed by reading, swimming, sleeping and playing cards.
Yesterday, we climbed part of mount Merapi with 2 of our Aussi friends (the same climb Ben did with our other guests while I was at uni.) It was very very steep and exhausting but we were blesesd with a beautiful clear day and it was a great achievement. Now, we are about to pick up Julia from the airport and hope that we can fit her gigantic bag on one of our two bikes (along with 4 people). Should be interesting, to say the least!
THat's all for now,
cya!
Since our last update, uni has officially finished for Ali. Despite a hectic last couple of weeks getting assignments (both for uts and here) done and sitting exams, she can finally enjoy her newfound freedom. That coincided with our visit from Jeremy, Kirsty, Stuart and Elise. We organised motorbikes from our friends and shortly after meeting them at the aiport and getting some lunch, we began the 2 hour journey to the beach.
The boys did very well navigating the ordered chaos on the roads and I believe the girls were very co-operative passengers. Despite being a little sore, we arrived at the beach and had a great weekend swimming, relaxing, surfing (for Ben and Jeremy), reading, eating, taking pictures and playing cards.
We drove back to Jogja in the late arvo and arrived at the lookout to admire the scenery - Jogja glowing in the dark. We spent some time at our place and went for a walk up kaliurang. Then, we farewelled our Singapore dwellers and spent a few more days with Stuart and Elise. We had some lovely evenings playing cards and drinking fine wine, with a massive 500 win for the girls.
Since their depature, Ben has continued in running english conversation classes and Ali has been preparing for some NGO activities. We have also spent some time saying goodbye to other Aussi students going home and Ali braved the Elo river with some of the girls for white water rafting. We have been watching some dvds, and then preparing for our next bout of guests - Rach and then Julia.
As I am writing this, it is Rach's last night with us. We've had a blast together. We showed Rach my uni, favourite places to eat and the flashy new cinema! We also headed down to Krakal again for a few nights (a nice break from the Sydney winter)! Ben braved the waves at Wediombo and Rachael comforted Ali in her distress. We ate some great fresh fish and relaxed by reading, swimming, sleeping and playing cards.
Yesterday, we climbed part of mount Merapi with 2 of our Aussi friends (the same climb Ben did with our other guests while I was at uni.) It was very very steep and exhausting but we were blesesd with a beautiful clear day and it was a great achievement. Now, we are about to pick up Julia from the airport and hope that we can fit her gigantic bag on one of our two bikes (along with 4 people). Should be interesting, to say the least!
THat's all for now,
cya!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
May 14 Already
Wow! The past three and a half months has gone so quickly.
I'm pleased to report that we have really settled into life here in Indonesia and that many things that shocked us at first now seem so natural. (the family motor bike 2 adults & 2 kids, eating literally on the side of the road, having copious amounts of suggar in tea and juices, seeing indonesians wear jumpers and jeans in the middle of a 34 degree day).
It has been great getting to know some friends from the english church service we attend on sunday evenings and feeling comfortable there.
Ali is finishing up her 1st semester classes in a few weeks and then has a big break (like the uni break over summer in oz). Still looking forward to having some friends visit and seeing a little bit of indonisa during this time. Ali is also getting involved in an NGO here that helps out with what they call a 'kampung.' This is usually basic housing on governmnet land. For example, on a steep bank near the river that runs through our city. She is visiting there tomorrow to see where she can help out.
Ben has been applying for jobs for the start of 2010, reading some chrsitian books and trying to be a good house househusband. Starting next week he is going to be running some english conversation classes at a small university. He's very scared and doubts his own ability to speak it correctly.
It has been great having heaps of time to spend together and we are very thankful for this in the first 4 months of our marriage!
Just heading off now to dinner with some of the other Australian students who are studying here. This is great but is often another cross cultural experience because some come from melbourne, adeliade and perth.
cya
I'm pleased to report that we have really settled into life here in Indonesia and that many things that shocked us at first now seem so natural. (the family motor bike 2 adults & 2 kids, eating literally on the side of the road, having copious amounts of suggar in tea and juices, seeing indonesians wear jumpers and jeans in the middle of a 34 degree day).
It has been great getting to know some friends from the english church service we attend on sunday evenings and feeling comfortable there.
Ali is finishing up her 1st semester classes in a few weeks and then has a big break (like the uni break over summer in oz). Still looking forward to having some friends visit and seeing a little bit of indonisa during this time. Ali is also getting involved in an NGO here that helps out with what they call a 'kampung.' This is usually basic housing on governmnet land. For example, on a steep bank near the river that runs through our city. She is visiting there tomorrow to see where she can help out.
Ben has been applying for jobs for the start of 2010, reading some chrsitian books and trying to be a good house househusband. Starting next week he is going to be running some english conversation classes at a small university. He's very scared and doubts his own ability to speak it correctly.
It has been great having heaps of time to spend together and we are very thankful for this in the first 4 months of our marriage!
Just heading off now to dinner with some of the other Australian students who are studying here. This is great but is often another cross cultural experience because some come from melbourne, adeliade and perth.
cya
Monday, April 27, 2009
An exciting weekend
Well, we are back from an exciting camping trip up at Kaliurang. We had the luxury of riding our bike up there (avoiding the hot bus) and it's actually quite close! We enjoyed some long walks, feeling cold, sitting by the fire and finally seeing some stars in Yogya. After visiting a creepy underground museum, we waited out the rain and had a leisurely stroll back to camp. Dinner was great and the boys lit a fire. We only had tiny little pieces of wood to sit on but it was still fantastic. We chose to sleep in the hall (a wise move, seeing as many of our friends joined us at an early hour, after being flooded in the tent).
On Sunday, we visited Mbak Sinta's family farm. It was such a great experience. They have salak (sweet Indonesian fruit), rice, corn, coconuts, bananas and probably more! Sinta's dad gave us a tour and then we were able to have a go at planting the rice, with the help of the experts around us. The trip was a bit of a disaster for the shoes - efforts to keep them dry were very unsuccessful. However, it was worth the sacrifice. Then to have that lovely squelchy mud under your feet was glorious. Planting rice is very hard work! You need a good eye for straight lines and a strong back.
We also had a look at how they fry the salak fruit and then arrived at Sinta's house (who works with the Australian Indonesian organisation) for an amazing feed. Followed by a quick trip to the dairy farm and then coming home for a quick mandi before church. We have had two nasty encounters with centipedes in our home - they are totally gross! We also went out for dinner with a friend and her family visiting from Perth which was lovely.
Back to school,
Ali and Ben
On Sunday, we visited Mbak Sinta's family farm. It was such a great experience. They have salak (sweet Indonesian fruit), rice, corn, coconuts, bananas and probably more! Sinta's dad gave us a tour and then we were able to have a go at planting the rice, with the help of the experts around us. The trip was a bit of a disaster for the shoes - efforts to keep them dry were very unsuccessful. However, it was worth the sacrifice. Then to have that lovely squelchy mud under your feet was glorious. Planting rice is very hard work! You need a good eye for straight lines and a strong back.
We also had a look at how they fry the salak fruit and then arrived at Sinta's house (who works with the Australian Indonesian organisation) for an amazing feed. Followed by a quick trip to the dairy farm and then coming home for a quick mandi before church. We have had two nasty encounters with centipedes in our home - they are totally gross! We also went out for dinner with a friend and her family visiting from Perth which was lovely.
Back to school,
Ali and Ben
Saturday, April 18, 2009
An enjoyable saturday
Today was a beautiful sunny day and we went for a walk at the base of the massive volcano just north from our house. It was little bit cooler up in the mountains which was a plesant change from the constant 32 - 34 degrees in town.
It was awesome to see real life monkeys! Not just 1 or 2 but about 20 or more surrounded us as we took in the view on a viewing platfrom. They are absoultely incrediable climbers with no fear of heights whatsoever.
Anyway thats all... just excited to say we saw some real life monkeys!!!
It was awesome to see real life monkeys! Not just 1 or 2 but about 20 or more surrounded us as we took in the view on a viewing platfrom. They are absoultely incrediable climbers with no fear of heights whatsoever.
Anyway thats all... just excited to say we saw some real life monkeys!!!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sydney and Singapore
Well.. since we last wrote, we enjoyed a short trip to Sydney for Steve and Laura's wedding! It was a great time to catch up with family and to share in witnessing their marriage promises.
We also caught the Booth 25 yr wedding anniversary party and enjoyed meals with old school, church and other friends.
After a small drama at the airport (Ben nearly didn't make it on the plane as he didn't have a ticket out of Indonesia - necessary for a tourist visa) we were glad to be on our way back to our little house in Yogya.
Last week, Ben flew to Singapore to get a new visa that allows him to stay longer. He also had the joy of being put up by Jeremy and Kirsty - friends from Aussie now working in Singapore. It seemed like a great time of fellowship and seeing the Singapore sights. As for me, i was home alone for the five days :(
However, I managed to get around on the motor bike and made it to and from uni safely. I watched lots of dvds (thanks mum!) and had a few assignments to do. I ate at all our usual places and generally lamented over being on my own - poor shop owners! I was also lucky enough to joing a cooking class - we made a chicken curry, potato and bean curry and corn fritters which were delicious.
Now Ben is home which is lovely. We are entertaining the thought of heading down to the beach this weekend although it largely depends on whether we can transport the surfboard there safely.
That's all for now - please keep in touch and we're looking forward to those of you who can visit.
A & B
We also caught the Booth 25 yr wedding anniversary party and enjoyed meals with old school, church and other friends.
After a small drama at the airport (Ben nearly didn't make it on the plane as he didn't have a ticket out of Indonesia - necessary for a tourist visa) we were glad to be on our way back to our little house in Yogya.
Last week, Ben flew to Singapore to get a new visa that allows him to stay longer. He also had the joy of being put up by Jeremy and Kirsty - friends from Aussie now working in Singapore. It seemed like a great time of fellowship and seeing the Singapore sights. As for me, i was home alone for the five days :(
However, I managed to get around on the motor bike and made it to and from uni safely. I watched lots of dvds (thanks mum!) and had a few assignments to do. I ate at all our usual places and generally lamented over being on my own - poor shop owners! I was also lucky enough to joing a cooking class - we made a chicken curry, potato and bean curry and corn fritters which were delicious.
Now Ben is home which is lovely. We are entertaining the thought of heading down to the beach this weekend although it largely depends on whether we can transport the surfboard there safely.
That's all for now - please keep in touch and we're looking forward to those of you who can visit.
A & B
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