Bandung Part 1 : Volcaono

On Saturday, Chris and I went to Bandung on a "teacher field trip". There were about 40 of us altogether including some of the teachers' kids. We sacrificed our sweet Saturday morning sleep, to roll out at 6:00. Our full day of travel and sight seeing was well worth it. We really appreciate the chance to travel more around the country we actually live in, and not just other places. It was about a 3 hour drive to Bandung (about 90 miles). We took a quick coffee break there, and then headed to Tangkuban Perahu, Bandung's active volcano.

As we got off the bus, we were greeted with strong sulfur fumes, and people wearing parkas (it was pretty cold for Indonesia. . . probably 60-70s). This is a view of the main crater. It was steaming the whole time we were there.

 The rim of the volcano was lined with vendors. You can also see part of the trail that you can hike all the way around.

Ninja Spiderman had to be documented. 

panorama shot

always :)

Group shot! {crazy bunch}

photo courtesy of Marc Bergen's camera :)

23rd birthday in pics and some words

"Happy Birthday" being sung to both of the birthday girls. Chris had each of the kids give me a flower (23 in all!), but the sweet little girl with the headband didn't know what to think, because it was her birthday too, so I shared six birthday flowers with her. (Her birthday celebration with cupcakes was going to be later that day at lunchtime)

   

Precious little Edgar (boy in front) got me a bracelet. And I had plenty of "help" to put it on :)

 Then, Edgar accidentally put his hand in the cake, and thus the laughter and snickers. . .

   

23 sweet cards and flowers

After school, Chris and I tried a new little restaurant. It was super cute inside, and the perfect place to relax, eat, and chat about the day with my favorite person.

Isn't it adorable!?

It was the perfect night. 

At the end of the week, all the girls from school planned a get together/birthday hangout. We ate dinner, had dessert, intended to watch a movie, but ended up just talking the evening away. Another perfect night if you ask me! Birthday #2 in Indonesia was a good one!

An all-around good weekend!

This weekend was just what we needed. I'm so thankful for times when Chris and I can truly relax, and do things just enough differently to make a weekend seem extra great. On Saturday we got to sleep in (both of us! which doesn't happen often), watch football, and still have time to make a good breakfast. Then we went to a nearby apartment complex where some other teachers live to swim and soak up some sunshine. The atmosphere and fellowship was wonderful. And then after being home for a few hours, Erik and Amanda came over for pizza and Australia planning. We're going over our Christmas holiday to visit some of our friends from last year. We can't wait!

And since we had the time, so we thought why not make our own! We made one pizza and one calzone just to mix it up. Both were so delicious!

Good times with the Frys!

Sunday was nice too. We went to the 9:00 service for church, and then the boys went to play basketball while Amanda and I did some grocery shopping. We were both back before 1:00, which I always appreciate on a Sunday. Chris and I then had the rest of the day to relax, grade papers, do some cleaning, and just hang out together before starting up another busy week. Don't get me wrong, we love what we do during the week, but without our weekends, we wouldn't have as much energy and oomph to make it those five crazy days! 

I'm sitting here typing this on Monday at 5:00 waiting for Chris to get back from practice so we can watch the SeaHawk's game with Erik and Amanda. We're having chili and cornbread, and watching football. . . somehow it feels like our weekend just got extended one day :) 

new pot

I got a new pot, for collecting 80 stickers!

I felt like a kid in my own class,  overjoyed about getting enough stamps to reach into the "mystery box". Except I got to choose between pots and pans instead of candy and cool pencils. Being old has its perks ;)

The grocery store that we shop at gives out a sticker for about every Rp 50.000 you spend ($5 ish). I filled up my sticker card last week, and after seeing another friend cash in her stickers for a pot, I knew I had to get down there fast before they were gone! 

Welome to your new home!

Just look at it sittin' there all nice and shiny, wanting to be full of something delicious! I can't wait to put on cozy clothes and eat a big bowl of warm soup.

Good thing the fall weather is coming. . . (insert eye-roll) 

Oregon friends in Indo

These people are all from Oregon!

And here we are, meeting in Indonesia. Small world.

Tyler, Brady, and Anika (left to right minus us) all went to George Fox. And it's pretty funny how many connections to different people back home that we have, for having just met each other on this side of the world. 

The weekend before Chris and I left for Indo last year,  I was at a big antique sale hosted by Aunt Bee's (cutest little store in Salem!). I was having a really hard time not being able to buy stuff that I liked, because I knew we'd be leaving and I wouldn't have anywhere to put it. As I got to the check out line, with only one item in my hand, the lady asked me if that's all I had found. I had to admit to her that I wanted so much more, but was leaving the country, and couldn't justify buying any more. 

Then she said, "Where are you going, Indonesia?!" (In kind of a sarcastic voice). 

"Uh, yea! Actually I am!" (thinking to myself, how weird?!)

Then she proceeded to tell me how her son who had just graduated from George Fox was going to Indonesia for two years with som friends, to teach at a Christian International school in Jakarta. Sound familiar?

 What a small world, I thought, as I drove home thinking about how random that was! Then, come to realize, Brady and my good friend Addie, had lived in the same dorm at George Fox, and so Addie knew who this "random guy from George Fox who's going to Indonesia" was!

Anyways, it took us way too long last year to meet up with Brady and Tyler in Indo, but since then Brady has been playing basketball with Chis on Saturday mornings, and we went out to meet up with them and some of their other friends in West Jakarta last night. 

Brady knows people I went to Elementary school with, and Annika and Ruth (we took the picture before Ruth got there) know both Addie and Sam from George Fox as well. How cool that God orchestrates things like this to happen! 

This is Central Park, near their apartments, where we met for dinner

 Then, we got ice cream and hung out on the rooftop of their apartment
and looked out at the surrounding city. Quite the view!

These are the same three pictures, just small so you can see the whole picture of the skyline