Jakarta Day 1: Saturday, July 15, 2017
Mie Yogya, a very spicy dish of fried chicken, steamed rice, and vegetables. And I didn’t even add any sambal sauce.
We met in the lobby of the Le Meridién Hotel in Jakarta at 6:15 to board the bus to our welcome dinner. It was nice to see the other teachers, and they welcomed us and heard our tale of woe and our unexpected detour through Sydney. They arrived about 1:00 last night and at least had a good sleep all morning before heading to the National Monument this afternoon.
The restaurant was called Tjikini Lima, and we sat at a long table near the entrance and ordered various Indonesian dishes. I decided to try Mie Yogya, which turned out to be a very spicy chicken stew with steamed rice and carrots. It was delicious but my mouth was on fire. There is a good reason why they call these the Spice Islands. I was glad to have a water bottle, and I had also ordered a berry shake, which was more like an Italian soda in consistency but very good. It helped to cut the burn of the food. The flavor was amazing.
Some of the educators in the Teachers for Global Classrooms program at the Tjikini Lima restaurant in Jakarta, Indonesia.
I managed to stay awake enough through dinner, but found I was clumsy and very jetlagged – I dropped a bunch of utensils on the floor. Kate and Christie were kind enough to try to keep me talking and engaged, but I found I could not stop nodding off. I hope I can sleep well tonight.
Our in-country consultant is Dewi, a high school English teacher from Jambi on Sumatra. She is very funny and positive, the perfect host. We were also met by Novianti, the host teachers for Mike and Ursula, who will be staying in Jakarta for their host school experience.
Teachers at our welcome dinner for the Teachers for Global Classrooms program in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Once we got back to the hotel I headed for my room and fell asleep almost immediately. This has been a very, very long journey and my first time across the Pacific Ocean in over 36 years. I’m happy to finally be here in Indonesia. Except for some major jet lag, I am ready to go!
The Elements Unearthed 