I admit it. This picture was taken a few years ago, but I think I still look vaguely like that. Depends on the day (and the time of day). And today, just before I uploaded this picture, an Indonesian English student told me how much she liked my nose. I heard that a lot in Indonesia. Apparently, a large nose like mine is a good …
Read the full story »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 …
Markets and Lord of the Flies
Sunday, December 6, 2015
A powerful thunderstorm was raging when I woke up this morning and got out of bed. It will probably clear up in a while, but for now I’m inside and drinking coffee. I love the rain, so it’s no problem. And it means that there is a lot less traffic. My room is much quieter right now. I know that my nieghbors …