coo-coo for coconuts

Right out our back door is a giant coconut tree that towers about 50 feet above our heads. This week a wiry little man came and scaled the tree (with bare feet), hacked off several coconuts (with a tool that could belong to the grim reaper) to take them to the market, and sold two of them to us.

Our helper, Ibu Nori, cracked them open for us and made coconut soup from the milk, and granola from the meat. Delicious. We still have a ziploc bag full of meat to use for the next few weeks. We love coconuts!

On a walk, we found this calf tied to the fence post. The fence is made from bamboo - I don't think the owner is seriously concerned about losing the calf. If he is, he must really trust bamboo more than we do.

Nadia displays a rare smile. She has been teething this past week, and we noticed that one tooth has come through, but the one next to it is still making its way through... so, there is no real end in sight to her screaming. Not this week anyway.

 

wildlives

The day begins early here in Central Java, with most people up and outside by 4:30-5:00 am. We've not quite adopted this habit just yet... not sure if we will. We got up earlier than normal (6 am) this morning to take a stroll and visit our neighbors, and we saw some pretty things.

Pohon Kelapa - a coconut tree on a corner of our little road

Here's our local friendly volcano, Merababu, in the early morning sunrise. We think it's beautiful and majestic.

And just to give you an idea of how good the volcanic soil is here, i've posted two shots of our "backyard" (not really ours, but the property that abuts the back of our house).

The week we moved in

Now (5 weeks later)

Lately

Well, we're back online. Last week something happened to our internet connection, and we have just today been able to have it repaired. Here are a few recent shots of the baby.

Finally crawling!

Some things just look too gross to eat. This is a banana boiled in coconut water... It wasn't quite as tasty as it sounds.

Our little diaper head. We love her.

Still Here

Another week of language and cuture under our belts!
We. Are. Tired.

Yesterday, in an attempt to learn some more language, we went to a local sate place and ordered some delicious chicken sate (sah-tay).

These are the cooks

Stabbing the chicken

Dipping it in the peanut sauce

and grilling it

It's one of our favorite foods here. We sort of accidentally had it twice yesterday.

Yummy Yakult! Mom, do you remember this stuff?? I surely do, and I'm so happy that they have it here. It's an especially big hit with the under-five set. Whatever, I still like it.

Here is our neighbor. As it turns out, he's rather "off his head". We call him Einstein - for obvious reasons. The other day, upon hearing that I was headed to the fabric store, he shouted out to me (in Indonesian), "So, you're going to go buy some birds!!?!?"

Yeah.

wildlives

The day begins early here in Central Java, with most people up and outside by 4:30-5:00 am. We've not quite adopted this habit just yet... not sure if we will. We got up earlier than normal (6 am) this morning to take a stroll and visit our neighbors, and we saw some pretty things.

Pohon Kelapa - a coconut tree on a corner of our little road

Here's our local friendly volcano, Merababu, in the early morning sunrise. We think it's beautiful and majestic.

And just to give you an idea of how good the volcanic soil is here, i've posted two shots of our "backyard" (not really ours, but the property that abuts the back of our house).

The week we moved in

Now (5 weeks later)

sunny days - sweaty nights

Week 1 of language study is complete! We are very excited to finally be learning how to relate to our new neighbors and friends here. The workload is pretty staggering, but we're up for it. Here are some recent shots while our shaky internet connection lasts...

Quail eggs at the open market.

Anybody want a peanut?

Some like it hot. We sure do!

Mmmm... Beef.

The local open-air market

These dirty birds make their rounds (and around... and around) in our tiny yard and on our front porch all day long. Cock-a-doodle-don't

Nadia loves to go for walks... even though she does zero of the walking. (Merababu in the background).

A local taxi

Here we are on board.

Another type of taxi

Yesterday at a local hotel pool for some swimming! Nadia loves... LOVES the water.

Drying off and warming up after a solid 2 hours in the water!

The hotel has a big crazy toucan... I saw it fall off its perch yesterday. Poor old bird.

Attempting Normal...

Here are a few more shots of our life here.

This is a friendly little gecko, known locally as a cicak (chee-cha). He sat so still for this photo, and we marveled. As it turns out, he was quite dead. We did not realize this disgusting fact until the next morning (after the photo had been taken). Phil discovered him half-eaten by the noxious looking ants that thrive in our kitchen.

Here, Tiffany and I get ready to face the deathly traffic on her motorbike. Though it looks goofy to you, the helmet is as normal as can be here. Therefore, i fit right in, helmet and all.

Calling Central Java Home

Well, after many attempts, this morning I was finally able to post again. Our connection is not as stable as I'm used to, so forgive me for the delay in posting photos of our new home in Central Java.

In the news: Nadia is officially crawling! She squeaks along our tile flooring slowly and carefully. She also pulls herself up on furniture (and us).

Phil and Nadia enjoyed the use of our Kelty Baby Backpack yesterday afternoon on our jalan-jalan (walk-walk). Also, her hat is adorable.

Home Sweet Home

Our view of Merababu (yes, it's a volcano).