Monday, May 17, 2010

Last day!

Blog followers,

Sorry to leave you hanging yesterday. We had a very full day, and by the time we got back, Times was closed which meant not internet access!

However, due to lack of quality internet access still, there will be no pictures. This post will be slightly boring, huge sorry's to our devoted followers!

Sunday's events:

We got to sleep in till 9am, which felt great to everyone! Breakfast was very good too, a sugared croissant roll with bubble tea drinks! We walked to church, which was full of professional African soccer players. It was really great to meet some of them and tease them about setting up a friendly match against them! After church, we walked to the mall for lunch which was probably everyone's favorite meal! Let me tell you, it was delicious! A variety of items were presented to us at different times: chicken fried rice, beef fried rice, chicken egg rolls, fried shrimp, sweet and sour chicken, and much much more! We all stuffed ourselves for probably the first time in a while.

After lunch, we loaded our trusty bus and headed to Mangga Dua which is a huge "mall" for bartering. There were so many levels, probably more than 7 (when you got to the top, it got quite hot and stuffy as I'm sure you can imagine). Every floor seemed like the same stuff, but it was fun to get different prices for the same product. We all did our best "bartering." Thankfully we had our amazing Indonesian bilingual friends with us to tag along and beat down those high prices. Because we all look like sweet, innocent, "white" girls, they always try to raise the price. But we didn't fall for it! All of us came back with many, many fun finds and treats, probably items that some of you followers will be receiving!

We came back right in time for the MYC BBQ that was put on for us along with other UPH athletes. It was such a good meal: hamburgers, hot dogs (American style if you liked), watermelon and other fruit, bbq'd chicken, potatoes, spicy chicken, salad, and more! It was like an All-American BBQ in our eyes. And to top it off, soda pop was served instead of the usual water. We were all beaming with excitement!

After dinner activities included more shopping to finish off the gifts we're all bringing back as well as saying goodbye to the new friends we've met. It is sad to say goodbye to them, we will miss them dearly. But we're excited to chat it up with them via Facebook, twitter, skype, and the like! Other events included the inevitable packing! It's almost a puzzle to try and figure out how to pack the immense amounts of clothing we originally took as well as the new stuff we purchased (and to keep it under 50lbs)!

Today was another busy day for us. Breakfast was 7am which included CEREAL with warm milk, fried chicken and french fries. We all raced to get the chocolate sugar coated cereal, it was quite the battle! We then loaded the bus to visit the Batik textile museum. It was interesting to hear and learn about the Batik cloth and designs that originated in Indonesia. It is pretty much Indo's thing. The designs are very particular and involve a lot of focus and work.

We then headed to the nicest mall any of us have EVER seen! We're talking Gucci, Mark Jacobs, Chanel, Hugo Boss, and all of the other stores that are way out of our price range. Even Indo's Forever 21 store was too fancy for us! We also were a bit under-dressed for this mall. Apparently having soccer shorts and a t-shirt isn't good enough for Gucci, who would have thought? Either way, we enjoyed ourselves as we frolicked around, bug eye'd at the high prices! We also had another good meal, which included teriyaki chicken and rice at Hoka Hoka Bento, an Indonesian delight!

When we returned from the mall, we had a few hours of free time. Activities included packing some more and shopping even more! At 4pm, we headed over to the amazing Miller's home. We got to do some relaxing, swimming in their pool, and watched The Proposal- we're all suckers for a good chick flick! Pizza, all kinds of fruit, and soda pop were on the menu. In fact, it was Dominoes pizza, and it tasted exactly the same! And to top it off, homemade chocolate chip cookies. We feel as though we're preparing ourselves for our journey back to America, so what better way to do that than enjoy the food we eat the most :). The Millers were amazing hosts to us and it was very enjoyable to get to share our experiences with them tonight.

We can't believe our trip is finally coming to an end. We look forward to telling you all the memories we've made throughout the trip. It's been great to meet new friends and immerse ourselves into another culture. While the trip wasn't always easy, it is safe to say that we all had an amazing time. Pray for safe travels for us tomorrow. We fly out of Jakarta at 2pm Indo time. We look forward to being back in the comforts of America and seeing all of you. However, we will miss you Indo. Thank you for being so good to us!

We'll be blogging along the way to keep you guys updated on our travels back. Thanks for all your support!

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