Chapter 1, Page 13

Katie and I suffered through some Skyping today and ended up having to type to each other instead of talking because the connection was so bad.  But she had a lot to say and asked that I post some of her new pictures on the blog.  I don't have the details on many of the pictures, so your guess is as good as mine!

She did say she has spent a lot of time cooking and learning about Balinese food.  She made chicken satay with peanut sauce one night and said it was excellent.  She made a soup, that she made up, and she said it turned out wonderful.  She named it Balinese Gumbo.  It was made with chicken broth, rice, chile peppers, ginger, flour, spinach and chicken hearts.  She said the chicken hearts kind of melted into the soup and the fellow students who tried it said it was the best thing they'd eaten since they got to Indonesia. 

One day she and a friend wanted to go into town and they couldn't find a taxi, so a vehicle stopped and there were 2 flip flop salemen in the vehicle and asked if they wanted a ride into town.  They accepted, (I know!), and rode into town sitting on top of piles of flip flops.






These are the flip flop salemen.

Yet another adventure!!!

And this was a picture Katie took just for the Chili Family:


This next picture is of her house in Munduk Pakel, the village she lived in for about a week.  She said it was very interesting living there, but not something she'd want to do again since the water they bathed in was dirty water.





Katie room is to the left on this next picture:



The kitchen:



The kitchen stove:



The backyard pets:



The way to the rice fields where they harvested some rice:









This is a typical corner store:



This is the biggest waterfall in Bali:





She starts her job in a few weeks and is very excited for the opportunity.  She sounds much more motivated for culinary school as well.

...Just 49 more days!

Chapter 1, Page 12

We've been quite lucky lately with our internet connection and chatting with Katie.  Even though the connection slows down during sentences, we still manage to make it through entire conversations.  I had another chat with Katie this morning, (Oct.11).

Katie's been suffering with what she called the Balinese Belly, which is our version of Montezuma's Revenge.  She hadn't eaten in over 48 hours so the teacher took her to Denpasar to a doctor to get medicine.  Denpasar is about 1 1/2 hours from Ubud which is where she is now.  After the doctor's visit, which cost $20 including medicine, the teacher took her back to Ubud and made her stay at her house until she felt better, and so the teacher could keep a close watch on her health and nutrition.  Katie says she feels a pretty strong connection with the teacher and they have talked about things that are far outside curriculum, which I know is the reason Katie feel the closeness to her.  But how nice that teacher was to take Katie to the doctor, then "mommy" her at her own home until Katie was better.  One thing Katie has said, almost from day one, about the Balinese people is that they are extremely friendly and helpful.

The last month Katie is in Bali she will be working at a restaurant, on the Western side, making things she is familiar with such as cupcakes, Ken's jambalaya, Mommommie's Pollygosh, chicken fried steak and other Western/Texan food.  She doesn't think she will be getting paid for this as she would have to get a working Visa which cost $300, so she will be doing it for free but will get really good experience in a different kind of commercial kitchen.  The owner has said he will write her a letter that she can put with her resume.  However, during this morning's chat with Katie she said her teacher is going to see if she can get paid because she will be working hard for this owner and should get some money.  It remains to be seen and I really think Katie feels the experience is payment enough.

She took her midterm and was smiling from ear to ear when she told me she made a 96.  Doesn't surprise Mom that she made a 96, but I'm proud as I can be with her grades.  She has spent a lot of time lately writing papers so I know she is studying and working hard with not so much play on the weekdays.  The weekends are a little different.

One evening a group of girls tired to find a place to sit, have a beer and relax. They found a bar with darts and Katie was so excited.  She said she won every game and that they had Heineken, her favorite beer.  She said the bottle was huge and it only cost $2.00.  I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing! 

She is really wanting mail, so if you have a chance to write her a letter, please do.  Her address is:

Katie Kemper
PO Box 138
Ubud, Gianyar
Bali 80037 Indonesia

The rates for letters are:

1 oz letter - $.98 (a 2 page letter is 1/2 ounce)
2 oz letter - $1.76

3 oz letter - $2.54

4 oz letter - $3.79

5 oz letter - $4.62

If you are willing and interested in sending her something other than a letter you can find the postage rates at http://pe.usps.com/text/Imm/il_003.htm#ep1382290.  You will need to scroll to the bottom for the regular mail rates and not the super expensive rates shown at the top.  I did ask about the flat rate boxes USPS has at their post offices, but was told the rates are more than if you use your own box.  A video tape box is $18.00 and the next size up is $35.00 to mail to Indonesia. 

I mailed Katie a package that was 9x6x4, (approx), and it weighed 1 lb 12 oz and cost me $17.00 to mail.

Interesting set of pictures Katie put on Facebook.  But for those not FB savvy, here you go:

This is a gigantic spider...and the next picture will show you just how large...


 The gigantic spider caught a bird in its web.

And on to more appetizing pictures...here is a picture of the feast they were served at their farewell dinner in Yogakarta...
 

How many days now?  Katie just told me 63!  OH!  And she's CRAVING Mexican food.  She said when we pick her up at the airport she wants to immediately go have Mexican food and order a tall margarita and she doesn't even care where we go.  I think I'd be going through withdrawals too.

Chapter 1, Page 11

Katie and I Skyped today for over 2 hours, (however, the connection kept failing, so we did spend some time just waiting to reconnect).  She is back in Bali and is much happier there.  She is back with a host family and I noticed that the bedsheets are Mickey and Minnie Mouse, which I thought was funny.

I asked her about the Kimodo Dragons, that are indigenous to Java and she said there are only at the zoos there and not out wandering around like we might think.  She also said the monkeys are everywhere in the "forests", but that they are not allowed to go into the forests because of the potential dangers.  The monkeys are very used to people and will grab things from you and won't give them back until you give them food.  Chickens and dogs are everywhere there too, and not just in the forests.  She said the dogs are like squirrels here; just about every where you look there are feral dogs and although they won't approach you, they are not friendly.

She described the people in Bali as the friendliest, most laid back people she's ever seen.  They are very quick to help you if you need help and don't expect anything in return.  One time she was trying to find a certain shop and apparently looked lost.  A man asked her if she needed help and she explained what she was trying to find and he went out of his way to show her exactly what she was looking for, went into the shop with her so the shopkeeper wouldn't try and oversell her stuff, then went back with her to where she started so she wouldn't get lost on her way back.  He spoke good English and she was impressed by his friendliness and all of the help he offered.  She gave him 50,000 rupiah which is $5.00, even though he didn't ask for any money.

Something Katie has noticed is that on restaurants' menus, they have 2 sides; an Indonesian side and a Western side.  This has made her wonder why, when people visit a foreign place, they cater to Westerners.  She thinks if you go to a foreign country, you should eat their food and not what we are used to.  Although, she pointed out, it has been nice to have a hamburger every now and then.  She has asked for menus from restaurants so she can use that in her final project and showed me the Western side.  There is a lot of pasta which costs around 13,000 rupiah, ($1.30), and the most expensive thing on the menu was pizza which was still less than $2.00.

Apparently during our Thanksgiving a lot of the students' parents are coming for a visit and she said she would welcome anyone if they want to come visit.  Her teacher is putting a lot of the parents up at her home, or finding homes for them, so they don't have to spend the money on hotels and can experience the culture just as their children are doing.  So if anyone wants to go, let me know so I can tell her.  Ken and I can not go but if you want to go be her pseudo parent(s), I would welcome it as well.

Katie has cut her hair and is very happy as it is much easier to keep.  She looked very good, very happy and was excited to chat.  We are planning another chat tonight so she can talk to Ken.

When she was in Java, the class went to a tree that was gigantic.  She said it was beautiful and unlike anything she'd ever seen before.  It looked like a lot of little trees merged together and it apparently is some religious icon.  At some point during their visit to the tree, she said she felt a rush of happiness and all of the homesickness she'd been struggling with washed away.  Ever since their visit there she said she's been much better and has settled in to life in Bali.

....just 74 days until Katie's home!  BUT....we are adjusting well and knowing she's adjusting is making it much easier on us.  74 days doesn't seem that far away any more.