home again, home again

I ended up getting a flight a couple of days earlier than planned.  And, I'm so glad. Sometimes, the gift of time is the greatest gift of all.  As much as I enjoyed Indonesia, some time at home was great for unpacking, packing for school, and moving into my unseen apartment all within a couple of days before school starts. 

The nice man in the Jakarta airport got me an exit row seat upstairs, so I basically had so much room for activities such as jumping jacks to keep myself awake.  The advice given to me was to stay awake on the first flight and sleep the whole second one. It was painfully difficult to do so. I arrived in Seoul to talk my way into an earlier standby flight and continue my struggle to stay awake. I got on that earlier flight and was home in Atlanta by midday! What a surprise for everyone! 

welcome home tears

Nate and me in Mom's lovely sign

and I'm home!

The 3 of us had a delicious Taqueria Del Sol lunch! (oh how i've missed Mexican food! - probably  more than anything else.) And before I coud get home, we were at the phone store to get me hooked up again. Then it was straight to the squash gym to beat up on Paps.  Mom made a delicious dinner (again, how I've missed home cooked, family meals!) and my favorite– strawberry-rhubarb pie! I love it!

safari day

Today we went on an 'excursion' to Taman Safari just a couple of hours outside of Jakarta.  Steve, Steve, Deemer, Emilee and I loaded up in 2 cars and headed out of the city through 'real indonesia' aka slums and rubbish-covered-roads up the hills to the safari.  Along the roads leading up to the entrance, children and women of all ages sold heaps of carrots and bananas too feed the animals. After Deemer was accused of being a cheap bastard (only to later find out he way overpaid) we were loaded with treats for the animals. 

The place was unreal. Animals would stick their heads inside the windows - including critters with BIG horns and sharp beaks. We drove through different areas to see all sorts of animals – zebras, llamas, giraffes, elephants, wildebeest, lions, tigers, leopards, hippos (yes, we touched the ass of a hippo), and all sorts of deer-like critters. 

lions chillin 

qhite rhino

oh hey there!

wasn't too much of a fan of this guy

steve's gorilla feet with some of our bananas

After the driving part, we headed to the more zoo-like area. Stepped out of the car to find elephants casually wandering the yards where you could walk up and play with them. a dream come true! (even better than the whole elephant ride/encounter in Zimbabwe)

love

little wink from a cheeky owl

Then proceeded to the 'baby zoo' area where we could play with all sorts of baby critters – lions, leopards, white tigers, orangutans, and a big (non baby) bengal tiger. 

the lions were a favorite

this little guy just didn't want to be held. his cries and growls were a little off-putting 

picture perfect steve + tiger

group photo!

mom, i want a baby orangutan PLEASE

steve getting the perfect ball shot

squirmy little leopard

Even after all of this, we hadn't even seen any shows yet. We opted out of the dolphin (yes, dolphins! this place has everything!) show to grab some lunch.  But we did catch the tiger show where a flimsy barrier held encircled the 3 tigers and trainers.  The strong smell of gasoline, funny music, and strange sites made us all feel a bit high and out of place.  But it was a good show. 

birds of prey area where they're all attached to stumps

an eagle owl or something

We wandered through the rest of the uncrowded sites and stumbled upon two baby orangutans and one larger, older girl nearby.  For forever we just sat and played with the fellas. TOO CUTE! They were so smart and very human-like. Steve read their palms (they're going to have long, prosperous lives) and gave them reflexology. The other Steve befriended the older girl and the two of them became inseparable.  We figured out he doesn't need a girlfriend or anything, just an orangutan.  It was an afternoon day I'll never forget!

precious baby!!!

how could you resist that look!

steve's new best friend

And to top off such a great day, we had mexican for dinner! First bit of realish mexican food in 6 months and boy have i missed it. And we finally ended the night at a dance club.  It was all too great dancing our asses off with bosses twice our age.  

day in the life

I know I haven't given many updates about Indonesia. That's mostly because my days here are pretty average in comparison to NZ.  My mom's been asking and asking for pictures from here. I don't think she gets it when I say that I live and work in a sprawling shopping mall.

A usual work day looks like this:
730/8 – wake up
830 – one of the drivers (usually Budi) picks us up at the lobby
832 – arrive at office where we are greeted by smiling faces
work on a list of projects (from coordinate validating to analyzing numbers) and when those are finished, indulge in wikipedia and draw pictures back and forth to each other
12ish – guilt one or some of the guys to take us to lunch
1 – Ricardo and I delay going back to work by getting coffee (I don't even like coffee) and taking mall walks
4 – leave work (since it's Ramadan, the office closes early! woohoo)
wander through the mall to get home
5 – go to the pool or gym (with rolled up towels and water bottles at every station)
730 – go out for dinner (either just the 2 of us or with the guys)
830 – Game of Thrones (we watched all 3 seasons within days. it's great.)
10 – bed?
hear chants and late night parties out our windows at odd hours of the night.

Then we do it again! It's a nice schedule.

quality family

So I'm sick in a third world country, sleeping on my bathroom floor and getting ready to head to a hospital in Singapore.  Meanwhile, my oh so loving family is in Vermont with some favorite family friends livin it up at a wedding. Not fair. 

they say they miss me.... psh

(Thankfully I have a fancy toilet with a bidet with all sorts of options)

tunnel beach

As the days have become hours until we leave, the tears flow and goodbyes are a plenty, I am all so thankful for everything that has happened over the past few months in this incredible place.  Dunners will forever have a place in my heart – the good, the bad, and even the ugly.  As a last trip (?),  Lindsey, Jan (her cute little Czech boy) and I piled into the cockroach to go to a beach right down the road that we'd neglected to see until now.  It was so worth the quick trip!  Although the temperatures were cold and weather not too beautiful, the place was pretty incredible!

dat little black thing is me :)

It's impromptu, early morning trips to places like this that will make me forever love New Zealand!

closing hunt

This weekend was the closing hunt, which means go big or go home! And what better way to spend it with 2 of the best friends anyone could ask for!

I unfortunately had an exam on Saturday, so couldn't partake in what turned out to be 'one of the best hunts i've ever been on' from what i heard. :(  But we (Lindsey, Charlotte, and I) drove out to central otago after my exam to meet up with hooligans.  

We showed up at the inn where Ted had directed us to, knocked on the door to find a bunch of old (i mean grandparents old) riders heading straight for the booze. After convincing them we were instructed to sleep on the floor here and that we did not need to share beds with any of them, we stayed long enough to see how the rest of the night might unfold. People came and went and we eventually all headed to an old, old tavern/country store from the early settlers in the area. The place was cooler than any artifact museum we could've gone to.  Original pots, pans, jars, bones, etc lined the walls. And equipped with speakers, a bbq, and hard-ass huntsmen, the place got even more interesting.  It certainly made for a night to remember!! And Charlotte and Lindsey were there to share the adventure! {there were also season end awards given. Ted won "dick of the year" due to one of his horses: Numbnuts - who is all too deserving of that name} 

frosty sunrise over central otago

lovelove

Sunday was a great day in the saddle complete with some long gallops and wire jumping. The temperatures never got above freezing, but the sun was shining and last hunt of the season so couldn't complain too much.

hunt master: Glen. also founder of the central otago hunt club.
is mostly deaf. knows how to have a good time.

the gangsta of GGG?

and the roach still runs

love yall.
and check out those blanketed mountains out yonder. 

cute little stone house in the hills of otago

Hope this isn't my last hunt with these people. :(  I'll sure miss them in the meantime! Goodbyes were harder than I had imagined. They really became a family away from home.

sound the fun

all geared up!