The Post We've All Been Waiting For!!

Selamat Pagi (Good Morning) Everyone!

I HAVE ARRIVED!! We landed in Semarang (the city I will be living in) yesterday afternoon, and were picked up by MCC Exchange Program Coordinators, Karen and Major Treadway. The flight went very smoothly, and the MCC Indonesia people were shocked at how quickly we were able to get here (only 36 hours)... I don't think I can quite appreciate that "speed" just yet... We also lucked out and got to fly with Singapore Air, which I was incredibly excited to fly with (as my SALT friends know very well). They have an awesome reputation, and I was not disappointed- delicious food, fabulous service (minus one flight attendant who took a huge disliking to me after I accidentally pressed the "assistance" button), and all sorts of extra amenities, like hot face cloths and tooth brushes!

But on to post-flight fun! We left the airport and stopped at a restaurant (a completely dead one, thanks to Ramadan) for Soto (a type of soup that is most commonly served for breakfast. It's like chicken noodle, but spicier, and with rice), Perkedel (deep fried balls of mashed potatoes- you can guess that I'm a pretty big fan), and Tempe (fried, fermented soy beans- really salty; mom, you'd actually really like this!). I was just informed that because of the abundance of palm oil, frying is the most common way to prepare food. All hopes of losing weight this year have gone down the drain...

Soto, a delicious soup that is most commonly eaten for breakfast

We arrived at Major and Karen's around dinner time, and shared a meal together before bed. I couldn't make it past 7:15, and fell asleep immediately. I was awakened at 4:30 AM when the mosques began their calls to prayer. From Karen and Major's, you can hear calls from 5 or 6 different mosques, all blended together to create a very unique harmony... ;)

Church began at 6AM. It was a Mennonite church that, despite the language barrier, flowed very similarly to church at home. My favourite part of the service was when we all sang "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam" in Bahasa Indonesia. At home, it's not typically a song sung by adults, so it was really cute to hear it sung by adults!

During Ramadan, Christian churches do blood drives to make up for the lack of blood that results from Muslims not being able to donate. The Red Cross was outside church, so people stuck around to donate blood and also to purchase some food. I tried mango juice, which cannot compare to mango juice in North America. It was like they pureed the freshest mango in the world, strained it, and stuck it in a glass. For all my Dutch friends, the picture below is for you:

We went out for a meal after that (same meal as yesterday's snack). I learned that the food comes to the table before we even sit, and we take and pay for what we want. The leftovers go to the next table!

We're about to go on a hike! Talk to you soon!