Article Archive for December 2015
Nightmare of the Tanjungbalai Immigration Office
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Things have not gone well as far as my visa extension is concerned. In fact, it has gone horribly. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I always have poor luck when it comes to such things.
I mentioned that the immigration office was closed on the day I went there the first time. I waited the weekend, and on Tuesday I went back. …
Another English Class Interview Project
Saturday, December 26, 2015
My get-together with the students was okay. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible. At first, I didn’t think they were going to show up. I had sent the main organizer, Rismah, a message the day before to just touch base and let her know that I was still willing and able to do the project and that I’d be in the …
Falling Ill at Christmas and 1st Visit to Immigration
Friday, December 25, 2015
Merry Christmas to all.
I’ve been neglecting my journal lately. I guess I haven’t had anything interesting to say for a while. And then I became quite sick. It seems to be a Christmas tradition. The last time I was this sick was during the typhoon aftermath in Tacloban, and the illness struck right before Christmas. I tried to gut it out in …
Northern Sumatra Cycling Route
View route map for Northern Sumatra Loop – Tanjungbalai-Banda Aceh on plotaroute.com
SIM Card Confusion and a Chicken Dinner
Saturday, December 12, 2015
I had a few more experiences yesterday that fit in with my theme of cross-cultural differences and how hard it is to really, truly understand how things work in other places. It began when I realized that I’d used up all the data credit I had on my Telkomsel SIM card. I’d purchased the card along with a data plan that included …
Bracketing and AEL on My Olympus
Friday, December 11, 2015
Photography adventures continue more than anything else. I sat down with my camera and went over all the controls before I went out yesterday. I wanted to refresh my memory about all the things it can do and perhaps learn new things. To that end, I went online and read some articles with tips about how to use my particular camera better. …
A Fire and Wide-Angle Photography
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Another relatively quiet day yesterday. However, a couple of things happened. The biggest excitement occurred in the morning. I was sitting out on the balcony drinking a cup of coffee when I noticed a security guard at the bank across the street bending over something. I couldn’t see what it was he was doing, but suddenly there was a fairly loud noise …
Does Budget Travel Skew Perceptions?
Monday, December 7, 2015
The rain did clear up yesterday, and I went for a short photowalk late in the afternoon. I went down a familiar market street through the fish district and then to the river. The streets were somewhat quiet. I assume that was because it was Sunday. The riverside, however, was very busy. There were more people there than I’ve ever seen, and …