What's for dinner tonight?

I thought I would do a simple, funny one today. Warning, this content is not for the weak-stomached! I suppose it is not the best idea to show you these things so early on, I could lose a lot of readers doing this! Or maybe there are those of you who are curious (like me) to see such a thing! My dad would say I am gross, hehe! Maybe you should not read this before a mealtime, the pictures will NOT make you hungry, in fact, they may have the opposite affect...good for appetite control.:)We went to the Pasar or the market...great place, you can get lots of fruit and veggies there, but there are also some disturbing images. We found the section that has chicken, not like your average American grocery store I assure you. I am absolutely positive it would violate most health code inspections, if not all. Everything is supposedly fresh in the morning, but these chickens will sit out all day (heat, flies, motorcycle traffic within feet) not sure what is done with them if they are not sold that day, that's what makes me worry! Keep in mind as you see the chicken selection...it gets worse!

This is how all the chicken is lied out, on tables
Whole chickens
Headless chickens
All kinds of appetizing parts of the chickens
Chicken feet, not to be mistaken with the game!



The beef section is what about sent me over the edge and drove me closer than I have ever been to wanting to become a vegetarian here! The pictures are gross, but they are inadequate in giving you the full picture with the other sensories, such as the SMELL on a hot day (keep in mind, we were there at lunch time, they set up very early in the morning) and the feeling of walking on a sticky, nasty floor...I won't go into any more detail! I just about had a panic attack as I watched all these women handling the raw meat so carelessly and the unsanitary conditions! My friend told me that she went one time with her newborn baby and these ladies were wanting to hold him!!! NO WAY! I am so glad we did not have Eden with us for this excursion! It was a little much for me and I could not have gone in there with Eden running around! I also found it amusing that J was excited to find some meat for steaks...what?!?!?! This place made me want to never eat beef again! He was recommended to go early in the morning as it is fresher then. Part of the reason he was so excited was because he learned that steaks will be around the same price as any other part of the cow, they are not pricier here like back home.

So here is what I saw when I 1st walked in...
Cow stomach lining and intestines, I was told "it tastes good!"-no thank you, I am not Andrew Zimmern or that adventurous!!!
MMM, so many options
The possibilities are endless, really!
No words...
As we were leaving we found some other parts...there they were! I was looking for them, thought about buying one for the dog-KIDDING!

So as you read this and eat your hamburgers and steaks in America, be thankful and enjoy them for us!

Independence Day, Indonesian style

Not to skip around too much with the blogging, but today is Indonesia's independence day and I wanted to share some history and pictures. I got this segment of history off the internet:

"The Independence Day of Indonesia was officially proclaimed on 17th August, 1945.The Indonesian Independence Day is a very big event for the people of Indonesia. Preparations for this patriotic day start weeks ahead before the 17th of August. All high-rise office buildings around town are decorated with large banners and lighted designs. Fences around the presidential palace and many government offices are draped in red and white streamers. The malls are all decorated in red and white and hold Independence Day sales for the people. Lots of money is spend by the city administration to create a unique series of red and white lighted decorations.
Europeans arrived in Indonesia(this is not the start of the history, you can read more about the hindu's, etc) from the 16th century seeking to monopolize the sources of valuable nutmeg, cloves, and cubeb pepper in Maluku. By the early 20th century Dutch dominance extended to what was to become Indonesia's current boundaries. The Japanese invasion and subsequent occupation during WWII ended Dutch rule, and encouraged the previously suppressed Indonesian independence movement. Two days after the surrender of Japan in August 1945, nationalist leader, Sukarno, declared independence and was appointed president. The Netherlands tried to reestablish their rule, but a bitter armed and diplomatic struggle ended in December 1949, when in the face of international pressure, the Dutch formally recognized Indonesian independence."

Anyways, it is true, it is a big deal and they start celebrating weeks in advance. I am no expert, but I know there were flags ,decorations, parades, neighborhood walks, and all kinds of special events. Along with everyone wearing red and white! Most neighborhoods have parties, but ours didn't:( This morning we went to the Pancasila to watch a few of the activities/ceremony. I was expecting it to be so crowded, but it was like a ghost-town comparably, usually it is much busier around that area. I found out that they perform for officials and they don't really encourage Indonesians to come watch? So we were some of the few that were there.

All the people in uniform lined up at the Pancasila. The pancasila is a big field in the middle of the city, I heard it is how the dutch formed their towns, with this field in the center. They will use this when giving directions.

"Pancasila (pronounced [pantʃaˈsila]) is the official philosophical foundation of the Indonesian state. Pancasila consists of two Sanskrit words, "panca" meaning five, and "sila" meaning principles. It comprises five principles held to be inseparable and interrelated:
1. Belief in the one and only God, (in Indonesian, Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa).
2. Just and civilized humanity, (in Indonesian, Kemanusiaan Yang Adil dan Beradab). 3. The unity of Indonesia, (in Indonesian, Persatuan Indonesia).
4. Democracy guided by the inner wisdom in the unanimity arising out of deliberations amongst representatives, and (in Indonesian, Kerakyatan Yang Dipimpin oleh Hikmat Kebijaksanaan, Dalam Permusyawaratan Perwakilan, dan)
5. Social justice for the all of the people of Indonesia (in Indonesian, Keadilan Sosial bagi seluruh Rakyat Indonesia)"

I found out is is illegal to be an aethiest in Indonesia! Indonesian government acknowledges 6 religions. The 6 religions are Islam, Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Buddhist, and KongHuCu. Interesting tid-bit of information, I thought. And it is illegal to proselytize in Indonesia. But that is why we are free to work with tribal people, they do not have a recognized religion!

This was where all the officials were sitting to watch.
Some big guru giving a speech...?

Ok, this is funny. This is what happens to poor Eden a lot of times! Strangers are always wanting to pick her up and hold her, she doesn't like it, she generally panics and reaches out for me while they laugh and don't get the point. It is a bit much. They usually want a picture with her too, so this guy picked her up and asked his friend to take a picture...perfectly normal...to them, but there was so much going on, I don't think she panicked as much, she was so distracted. Although she still doesn't look too happy. I decided to take a picture also.

This is also funny because you may not get the picture from this picture, but we are like a walking freak show! There are all these kids lined up and they just laugh and stare as we walk by, but really, I hear we are like celebrities, you just don't feel that way! Usually, I feel too on the spot to take a picture of people staring at us, so this is the best I got.
"Sit here, Daddy"
Once again....
Shaking a police man's hand! This picture cracks me up:) She looks like a little politician on campaign!
Our "class" or group of "whities"
Cute
Happy Independence Day!
She came and pointed to the camera and then stood in front of me and said "cheese"...ohhh boy!
"Over dare"- her reply to many a question

And again, this girl came up and asked to have her picture with us. She was probably dared!






This is totally random, but I also pasteurized our milk for the 1st time today! We order from a dairy farm here and they deliver it to our door, but I have not had to personally pasteurize it yet, but I learned! Very easy.

forgot 1, make it 2!

Daddy and Eden filing out customs papers!
Our arrival picture

Let's backtrack- Traveling to Indonesia part 2

On Wednesday, Ken and Sue took us to a mall in Jakarta. It was NOT what I was expecting, it was nicer than most of our "western" malls!! Turns out, there are some wealthy people who live in the area. There were even some mansions surrounding the mall. I had only one thing I was looking for while in Jakarta...a soothing musical aquarium thing for Eden's bed. She had one in the states that she loved and we had to leave it and with a whole new world, I was hoping to find something familiar and soothing for bedtime. We looked everywhere and found 1! The price...$90!!!! Needless to say, we passed. Since then, Grandma has sent Eden's one from home in the mail!:) We just got it last week, but boy was she happy to see it! It has helped comfort her so much at nap and bedtimes. The thing we were most excited about on that trip was A&W. First of all, we heard Indonesia didn't have ice cream, which they didn't used to, and second of all, we got a milkshake and an ice cream cone for $1.40 total! Eden played at the play place with some wild Indonesian children and LOVED it! Seemed like she didn't even notice we moved half-way across the world!?! Thank you, Lord!

She also had a blast chasing the guesthouse dogs around, none of them would let her even get close...must have been so frustrating:) Even with 2 naps, she was so wiped out by dinner time, we could barely keep her awake to eat. Meanwhile, J and I were trying to stay up a little later to get back on track with sleep. They say if you can keep yourself up until night time you will adjust much faster, the trick is...keeping yourself awake! We again all woke up around 3am. It was such a strange feeling to be so wide awake in the middle of the night! By the time the others in the house would wake up for breakfast, we were ready to go back to bed, but we fought the urge and went out to see more of Jakarta and experience some more culture! We went to another indoor mall place, but this time, more traditional of Indonesia. It was fun! We got a few good deals and tried some new food.

Avocado & chocolate milkshake, I was not a fan, but Ken seemed to enjoy it:) J and I trying some new Indonesian food, and this last picture was just odd to me. They have 4 different large, electronic animals that you can pay to ride around the mall, like a pony ride!:) The Plett's wanted to pay for Eden to go, but she was scared to death!

The last night we were there, J and I were able to make it until 4:30 am when the Muslim call to prayer went off and Eden slept through it!!! She even slept until 7:30! Very encouraging. We didn't see much of Jakarta, from what I hear it is VERY large, but it was good to relax, not having anytime restraints, get adjusted to our new time zone and culture, get to know the Plett's a little, and catch up on the internet. We were able to skype a few times which was fun too. All in all, besides being in a tired fog, we all did great and Eden was adjusting BEAUTIFULLY! Praising the Lord for where He brought us, how He brought us and how gracious He is.

We had a flight out of Jakarta Friday afternoon at 1pm, but we sat in a hot, crowded terminal until 3, not being able to understand the announcements or what was going on...this was only the beginning of not being able to understand or communicate the country's language. We already had noticed we were the minority, but being "deaf/dumb" in this place didn't help us feel any more secure. Our security was for sure in the Lord because as we would see, over the next little while, we were immersed in a language and culture we did not know. That has been my culture shock, not being able to communicate with people. That and a few others things I will tell you about later. We finally boarded the very warm plane and headed to Semarang to meet some people who were picking us up for our final destination! When we arrived in Semarang, we went to do official government details and then did a little bit of shopping for our new house that evening, things such as silverware, towels, pillows and a few other household items we knew we needed and are hard to find here. We FINALLY arrived at our home here (won't mention the city at this time because I am still a little nervous about the web) at 10pm....very strange feeling, let me tell you! To travel for almost a week, being on the other side of the world in this foreign country, arriving at our own HOUSE, after YEARS of preparation and plans, living in tiny apartments here and there near family...it is hard to explain, but I just felt too young and irresponsible for this...we were all alone(not ALL alone, we had friends here and other westerners, but at that moment), at night in our house in Indonesia, that we had never seen before! Haha...I just stood on the porch like "really?!?!?!".

Now the other thing is we did not have our bags yet, so all we had were our carry-on's and the borrowed things we needed to survive for a couple weeks until we could get buy our own. Someone had come and set up our bed for us, some food items and a few other things, it was very nice. Now...to fall asleep...yea. We were officially in a little bit of culture shock and were trying to feel comfortable enough to go to bed. We survived of course!:) I am going to cut this post off because it is sooo long, but I will continue to tell what I remember from moving here and hopefully there are some who will enjoy LOTS of details, I know I do, but I am sure J is cringing, hehe! These will get shorter too as I catch up!

I realized I didn't have any pictures of Eden on this post...can't let that happen, lol! My commitment to you, I will try to always have at least 1 picture of Eden on each post, b/c a post is not a post w/o a picture of our little sunshine!:)

Let's backtrack-Traveling to Indonesia part 1

We flew out of Philly at 5:50pm on Sunday, July 4th. We had to arrive 3 hours early at the airport and check our bags in. When we got there, they told us they were going to charge a higher price on our bags then we had planned for...but God took care of that and we ended up getting a lower price than we had thought! That was cool, just another little way God was good to us! The cutest little pilot I have ever seen!

We flew to JFK, in N.Y., then had a 2 hour layover there where things got a little sticky w/ the airline. We ended up arriving at our gate just in time to board. We then had a 7 hour flight to Frankfurt, Germany. We all got a descent amount of sleep. When we arrived in Germany, we had to get off the plane so they could clean and reload it. So we literally had to walk through the whole airport to get right back on it, lol! Then came the long flight, 12 hours. It was our day time now, their night time. We slept some more, but somehow when we woke up for the remaining 8 hours of the flight, the electronics in our small section were not working, so no movies that we had looked forward to after sleeping the flight before! We had to sit in the dark for a while while everyone else slept, but we actually were fine, reading was a chore, but Eden did amazing, so I can't complain!

We then arrived in Singapore at 6:30 am on Tuesday, where we had a 5 hour layover which we planned to get a room to shower and rest in, but we were so awake and excited that we cleaned up in the bathroom and then went exploring! Singapore airport is the nicest, cleanest airport you will ever see in your life I do believe! Even the restrooms, fanciest, cleanest airport bathrooms you will ever see(should have taken a pic of those too!lol)! We couldn't believe how nice it was! They had gardens w/ Koi ponds in them (Eden got to feed the fish their breakfast w/ the man who takes care of them), a butterfly garden, playgrounds, shopping malls and more!

We then proceeded to our last flight for the day to Jakarta, Indonesia! It was only an hour flight. We had one last airline meal, which by the way, all the meals we got were very good! They took great care of us! Now, mind you, Eden was an angel the whole trip, I couldn't believe how well she did! She had a blast, she slept, she didn't fuss or try to run all over, it was amazing! But by this point, Eden was starting to struggle. Poor little thing was getting more and more tired and whiny. However we made it before it got bad.

Airplane! She ended up loving airplanes.

We landed in Indonesia at around 3:30 pm on Tuesday and proceeded through immigration and customs. J saw a few cockroaches in the one office, on the counter, lol...glad I wasn't there. I was nervous for my 1st culture shock to use the restroom because I knew the Indonesians use a "squatty potty", but I was pleasantly surprised! There were 2 toilets and only 1 "squatty potty"!!?!? I was prepared w/ my own toilet paper and hand sanitizer in hand. We got our bags and headed to meet the New Tribes guesthouse hosts. Their names are Ken and Sue Ault and they are retired New Tribes missionaries who are filling in for the usual hosts who are home on furlough. We were their first new arrivals and it was the first time he had driven from the airport to the guesthouse which is about an hour in CRAZY traffic!!! No seat belts or car seats, and motorcycles and cars weaving in and out everywhere, poor Ken was a little stressed about the whole situation, but he drove like a pro! Eden passed out almost immediately in the arms of "Grandma" Sue (they call themselves Grandpa and Grandma, which I think is an usual mission thing, family away from family...very nice:)), but it is so hot that we laid her down on the seat next to Sue and she could sleep sprawled out in the car! She is never going to want to go in a car seat again! J was enjoying watching all the craziness on the streets. They told us there are 250 new motor bikes on the road everyday, don't know if that meant in just Jakarta or what. We made it to the guesthouse without passing out from exhaustion...it was a struggle to stay awake, even when engaged in a conversation:) They fed us and we went to bed! We all 3 woke up, wide awake at 3 am! We tried to keep Eden quiet until the rest of the house woke up at a more normal hour. To be continued in part 2...

For the post before this one, go to: http://www.ntm.org/wp/jay_stokes/

First thing we saw in the Jakarta airport

Airport parking lot

No car seat

"Grandma" Sue

Wiped out

Time to start blogging!

While I do enjoy taking pictures, telling stories and hopping on facebook, I am not up to par with this whole blogging business yet! I have been wanting to blog and let you in on all our daily happenings (not that they are that exciting:)), but I know of many who would like to hear about the Indonesian culture, see pictures of Eden and keep up with us...so here's to trying! Hopefully it is a success, and I get quicker at it. I wanted to start before I got too behind...story of my life;) Thanks for taking interest!