Teaching, Blechh, Adventures

So now it's been...well way too long since the last one of these. Yes, I'm a slacker. Or moreso, I'm just freaking busy. I think the honeymoon period of the job is starting to fade, and I'm realizing that, yup, it's just a job. We work too much, if you ask me. And of course you do, otherwise you wouldn't be here. Right?

Our schedule's not too bad - we usually have to be at work around 1, get off around 9 Monday through Friday. On paper, not bad. We get to sleep in, we can go explore and do stuff in the mornings, and after work relax or hang out with friends. But really, our schedule is more like sleep in til 10, eat breakfast, check email, maybe go to the gym, go to work, teach little rich brats for too many hours, come home exhausted, make dinner or get fried rice from the guy on the street, maybe watch a movie, and pass the eff out.

By the time the weekend rolls around, we could travel. But can't really catch a bus or plane at 10 pm usually. So we leave Saturday morning. And come back...Sunday afternoon? Most weekends, it's just not worth it.

There are good things, though. A few weeks ago, we headed out on an adventure to Pulau Sempu (pulau means island). Another teacher rented a van and we drove all night to the south of Java. After a couple hours of sleep we got a boat across to this small, uninhabited island. At least, uninhabited by humans - there are apparently tigers and panthers (we didn't see any), and there are definitely monkeys (we saw lots of 'em). We had to hike in with all of our stuff on our backs over a seemingly easy trail. Nope. Rainy season lasted longer this year so the trail was still ready for some mud-pit wrestling. We were ankle deep within minutes. And that 45 lb. pack on my back didn't make it any easier.

But we made it. And it was definitely worth it. At the end of the hike we walked into a blue lagoon, with the Indian Ocean trying to crash through a hole in the rocks on the other side. It was so beautiful, there's no point in trying to describe it. I'll add pictures soon, but for now just take my word for it. We set up camp on the shadeless beach and jumped in the icy water. We hiked up over some of the cliffs and looked out over the ocean at outcroppings of rocky islands, with the fierce waters raging around them. Seriously, pictures are coming soon.

All in all, it was a rushed but enjoyable trip. We got back late Sunday night (actually Monday morning), and it was time to do it all over again. And we are making more plans for new adventures.

Ramadan just started a week ago. I am absolutely no authority on the Islamic significance of the month of Ramadan. All I really see is from it is that people don't eat during the day. Hey, what's worse than teaching annoying kids?? Teaching annoying, hungry kids. But anyways, at the end of Ramadan is the Idul Fitri holiday, and we get one whole week off! Woo hoo! We are planning a trip to the Gili Islands and Lombok. We'll spend the week at idyllic white-sand beaches. Can't wait.

And I'm actually headed to another island tomorrow: Pulau Madura. Surabaya's right on the coast. Right across the Madura Strait is the Madura Island. I'm meeting a few friends in the morning and we're going to motorbike it across the bridge and find a beach for the day. I'll bring the camera along.

That's all for now. I'll try to get some pictures of Sempu, Madura, and the ever-growing kittens soon.

Meet the kittens

We couldn't resist. It was only a matter of time. We had to do it. We got us some kittens. Ting-Ting and Tuk-Tuk, of course.

We came across a litter of kittens in our neighborhood, right behind the "grocery store" we walk to every day or two. So we had to take a couple of them. There are some warungs out back (food stalls), and one lady had been feeding them chicken bits. She saw us watching them, and told us, through arm gestures and smiles, that we should take them. That was a Wednesday so we told her we'd come back on Saturday. We wanted to find a vet first and get food, litter box, toys, etc. all ready for them.

On Saturday when we went to look for them, they weren't around. But the warung chicken lady said she'd bring them to our house. Or at least, that's what we thought we said to each other. Sure enough, she showed up a little later with a couple kittens in a box, along with a couple chicken feet for them to snack on. They looked like this:


They were terrified and they didn't like us too much. We took them in a taxi to the vet. Luckily, they slept in their box most of the way. We were a little worried the driver would kick us out if they were crying the whole way. The vets (a married couple at their house) checked them out, and they're pretty healthy - no fleas, mites, or horrible diseases.

Once we got them back to the house, they were still scared. So we left them alone for a little bit and when we came back, they had remembered that they're still kittens. They were playing with each other and chasing they're tails. We gave them some food and they immediately warmed up to us. And they pretty much just play, poop, eat, and sleep since then.

So that's been the story of our lives for the last two weeks. They are wonderful and occupy all of our free time. It must be said though, that they're not nearly as cute at 4 in the morning.

And now, for your viewing pleasure...





Plenty more will come...