Unspeakable Yummy and Unspeakable Discomfort

This morning started off lovely. We slept in for once (although I don't think neither Jen nor I actually sleep much on any given night). We had our ritual hotel breakfast and crossed the mall to our Starbucks where we could take our time and talk over coffee. It felt like a hanging out at home with a girlfriend.

We were picked up by our driver and rushed to school even though it was Saturday. (Cendekia conducts some classes, like drawing and music, on Saturdays.) We were to meet with a group of students who served on the equivalent to a student government. I was very excited to meet with them although I had no clue what the agenda was. At this point, I've learned to roll with the punches.

Jen and I were greeted at the school by about a dozen students, including Tsamara, Nurul, Arafah, Dini, Shabrina, Mohamad, Lathifah, Farris, Rizki, and Miszzuddin. We were pleased to see that the students were not in uniform today, which gave a relaxed air of ease and freedom. The student body president began by giving a brief powerpoint and presentation highlighting how difficult it is to get admitted to the school (4,000 apply, 120 acccepted). He also discussed their many accolades, course offerings (band, theater, marching, choir - many of which we never saw), dances, and activities. It was all very interesting information, but I wondered why we hadn't started our experience with this presentation rather than end with it.
I shared the video about my school made by the House of Blue. The students were very intrigued and had a lot of questions. Our question and answer session was the best we had - probably because this was the first time we were with a large group of students and NO faculty. I feel like the students spoke more freely and we both benefited from the conversation. I was surprised to learn that all of the students had parents who were college grads which means that this school serves a population where education is valued and expected. I questioned whether if it further divides the haves and have nots. I was impressed with the problems the students recognize in their country and their good intentions to create change.
After the meeting, we happened to run in to a small group of alumni students. They were just as giddy and excited to meet with us as the high school students. They were all at university and told us how much Cendekia had prepared them for college. The alumni also clearly wanted to come to the U.S. and showered us with questions. They even pulled us from our car to take pictures. Celeb status continues.

Back at our mall, we had a wonderful, huge lunch. We couldn't help but giggle at the "frogs" section in the menu. The captions were especially humorous. "Unspeakable yummy" will forever describe Kermit. Jen settled for her "pillows of yum" (AKA tofu) and we left very full, happy, and ready for an adventure to Giant to bargain for more goods.




Our driver picked us up earlier than normal to make the drive to Yuna's home for breakfast. We knew it would take quite some time, but we had no idea. We sat (in park) in solid traffic for at least 25 minutes before we could continue on. Over two hours later, we arrived at Yuna's. Yuna, her husband, and their darling nephew welcomed us. I think we were just thrilled to be out of the car.










We entered and sat on the floor as we had done at all the breakfasts. I could see that Yuna's husband had made the extra effort to get us a variety of their delicious mangos and even a durian, which I've been dying to try! After one bite of fruit, I could have been happy eating nothing but fruit. Unspeakable yummy! We quickly dined on a huge spread of food. Yet again, our host went way overboard; it was a very nice gesture.































Yuna was kind enough to give us a tour of her beautiful home. She was very proud of her stone walkway (which she made), bead room, floor to ceiling bookshelf, special recliner, and washing machine. It sounds strange, but I felt guilty looking at her prized possessions and home which I concluded could fit in a quarter of my house. I have more "stuff" in one room than she does in her entire home. Difficult to swallow.














It was time for us to go to the Golden Mosque. Yuna's nephew was to accompany us; he reminded me so much of my son - same age, same talkative nature. It made my heart ache. When we arrived at the Golden Mosque, we could not believe our eyes. It was an enormous structure with granite and literal gold! We walked through and even observed some Muslims praying. (Men and women pray separately.) We learned that the Golden Mosque, massive meeting building, and equally massive home took seven years to build and were funded by one woman who occasionally visits. Looking at the buildings and grounds, I can only imagine what the final bill was.




























After the mosque, we dropped Yuna and her family back home and spent two and a half hours in the most insane traffic I could ever imagine. I will never be accustomed to watching four people on a motorbike with no helmets and attempting to weave through any hole in traffic they can or the babies who are held on the back of the bike or the waves of visible exhaust that fill the air all around. It's simply mind boggling.

It had been a long, exhausting day. Jen and I were eager to retire, but we had to start packing. We had an early morning of activities and then we were heading back to Jakarta to meet with our group. I'm filled with excitement to see the crew and swap stories. And then there's the fact that we only have a few more days and I get to go home to my beautiful family. Unspeakable yummy indeed.



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