JOGJA!

Well, what can I say. Yesterday I arrived in Indonesia for the first time ever. I was feeling really nervous when I stepped off the plane at Denpasar in Bali. The airport is so different to anything I have ever seen in Australia. The buildings are a lot older and the airport is just smaller in general. I was really nervous about getting the right stamp, but it turns out most people in Bali can speak enough English that it wasn't a problem. So, I got the right stamp. Then I had to figure out where my luggage was. I met a really friendly guy who helped me not only carry my luggage but also get to the other terminal and check in for my next flight. Then he helped me find food too. I had KFC... which cost me Rupiah 56,000 which is less than $10. It was expensive by Indo standards lol but we had to order everything piece by piece, cuz the standard meal comes with RICE instead of chips and I wanted chips. My twister was SPICY! lol. Everything here seems rather spicy but sooo good.

I arrived at the hotel to find out that I was staying in the same room with another one of the ACICIS students, Renee. Was a bit of a shock but good to have someone else around. She's pretty cool and we get along well. We went for a bit of a walk earlier and got totally lost. But at least we werent on our own!

Earlier I tried gudeg (a specialty of Jogja) :D It was sooo tasty. yummmmm.

I caught a becak to the bank earlier, which cost me rupiah 5,000 (just over 50cents)... For those of you that dont know, a becak is like a horse and cart situation... except this time the "horse" was actually a person peddling so the becak moves forward. lol it was so cool. I got pretty overwhelmed by the becak drivers because they are so pushy... I said no but I obviously wasnt forceful enough. It is so hard!!! People everywhere in the street want to talk which is really nice but also really confronting. Don't get me wrong, everyone here has been really, really friendly and super patient with my Indonesian skills which is pretty awesome. Special thanks to Sari for picking me up from the airport last night and helping me catch a taxi. At some ungodly hour this morning I was woken up by the call to morning prayer... which is a whole bunch of singing and bells chiming... Muslim prayer time :)

Jalan2 di Sydney

nah... aku mendarat di Sydney jam 3 sore pd hari Sabtu... trus menginap di rumahnya Ben. Senin berangkat ke Newcastle selama 3 hari. Besok kembali ke Sydney lagi... Lagi di rumahnya Ben. Bosan nih.

Hanya dua hari lagi sampai aku cabut ke Jogja....... :D Pada hari sabtu pagi... Jam 8.55! Gembira banget aku, tapi cemas juga.

My Last Night In Adelaide (for six months)

Well, it's the night before I fly out to Sydney... from Sydney I leave for Indonesia. So, tonight is the last night in a while that I will spend in my own bed. I said goodbye to some of my closest friends today and it was really hard. Especially those of my Indonesian friends who won't be here when I return in six months. I went to a house warming party for some of my Indonesian friends earlier which was really nice but exhausting, because we mainly spoke Indonesian!!!!!!! Makes me feel better to know that i can actually do it, even if I dont understand everything!!!

Special mention to Putri... we had our photo taken in a photo booth in the Myer Centre today... sampai ketemu di Solo ya Put :-) Kamu teman istimewa Put :-*

I am all packed now! I weighed my bag and it is only 17.3 kg! Can you believe it?! So proud.

More Packing

The closer it gets til I leave (less than a week now), the more i worry about luggage. Am I taking too much ? I dunno.






This is what I am taking:

CLOTHES

5 or 6 cotton t-shirts
1 denim skirt
1 cotton skirt
2 pairs 3/4 pants
10 pairs underwear
1 batik sarong
1 pair bathers
1 pair fisherman pants

SHOES

1 pair sandals
1 pair flats
1 pair thongs

TOILETRIES

sunscreen
sting-gose
travel bottle shampoo/conditioner
deoderant
compact mirror
sunscreen
painkillers
mini first aid kit
toothpaste
toothbrush


MISCELLANEOUS

travel pillow
one stuffed animal
power adaptor

tell me what you think people!

Packing & Vaccinations

Makin lama, makin penuh, suitcase ku!

I went with Elisa earlier on today to Marion to get some bits and pieces for my trip. I got some of the essential medical supplies like antibacterial cream, painkillers (apparently hard to get?), travel cosmetic bottles and various other things... Some new cotton PJs and heaps of cotton underwear lol.

I got my vaccinations earlier as well... My arm feels like a pin cushion! Tapi harus di-vaccinate, biar nggak jadi sakit... Oh yeah and there is a bandaid on my arm in that picture !

HANYA TIGA MINGGU LAGI SAMPAI AKU TIBA DI INDONESIA! :) Gak sabar lagi.. Pengen ketemu sama teman2 Indonesia ku. Sayang sekali, teman pena ku takkan di Lombok kalo aku di Indonesia nanti... soalnya dia pengen kerja di KL :( Tapi aku bisa ketemu sama Jeng Verra, Mbak Sari & Ari... Dan semoga berteman sama teman2 baru juga :-) Kadang2 aku lupa.. Harus kuliah selama di Indonesia :P Aku mau berpetualang aja wakakaka.

Going Away Party

Earlier on today, I had a going away party at my house with all of my friends. I was really touched by how many people showed up to see me off, and by all of the lovely gifts I got. It was really nice to have all of my friends support me. I was really stressed at first, worrying that everyone was having a good time etc. but then I relaxed and started enjoying myself... After the party, Elisa & Lachlan showed up to take me to dinner at A-Dong. Bon came with us but he had to leave before his food even came out! What a shame :-(

Had a good chance at the party to practise my Indonesian because a few of my Indonesian friends came... dan mereka bawa TAHU ISI! Masakan Indonesia kesukaan ku! Horeee! Makasih mbak jusnita!!!! Thanks to all my guests for coming, I had a great time! Terima kasih banyak!!! Aku gak sabar lagi... Pengen ke Indonesia :-) Ok2 aku add foto2 pestanya...




Sorry if your photo isn't up here... It takes ages to upload the photos and there are too many anyway. I will post them all on Facebook.


Sampai ketemu lagiiiiiiiii ya
Stay x

Packing!!

I have already started packing. As you can see, I've packed the essentials so far!

1 x purple fisherman's pants
1 x Lonely Planet Guide to Indonesia
1 x Lonely Planet Indonesian Phrasebook
5 x suitcase locks (pink!)
1 x passport holder (Pink! ordered from ciaobella.com)
1 x travel wallet (Pink! also ordered from ciaobella.com)
3 x pink luggage tags
1 x kamus (dictionary)
1 x travel pillow
1 x ipod charger & headphones (also.. pink!)

PLANE TICKETS!

I bought a new camera tonight... it's a HOT PINK nikon coolpix s300... cost me $198 from dick smiths... I didn't mean to buy it... I was on my way to Bon's place and I drove past Dick Smiths... Jadi aku putar dan masuk toko nya... trus aku beli kamera baru :P