what we've been up to lately... among other things

Here are some photos of what we've seen and done these past two weeks. We've been busy - this is just a sampling. I'm saving the rest of the photos for later posts...

My mother in law thinks SHE has yucca plant problems. You can bet your sweet bippy i'm not digging THESE suckers up!

Enjoying some colder weather on the mountain, buying strawberries. Also, Nadia is just so darn cute.

A man demonstrating how rubber sap is extracted from a rubber tree... at the rubber plantation.

Us at the coffee plantation.

I'm sorry, but these spiders are just too unbelievable. Tell me that thing isn't huge! I want to know if he eats birds...

Our entire neighborhood (and a few other neighborhoods) showed up at a neighbor's party to watch a traditional dance. There is plenty to say about it, but we don't understand enough yet to tell you much of anything... other than the fact that it went on from 10am to midnight, and it was incredibly loud and monotonous.

Coffee ready to harvest. The red beans are the ripe ones, and the flowers smell soooo good (no, not like coffee... more like jasmine).

This one's for the Grimes! (that's a coffee tree, in case you weren't sure). Put that in your knock-box and shake it!

More cute baby...

Finally, here is a chameleon hanging out at the rubber plantation. We have been taking little trips and seeing all sorts of things for the last 9 weeks, taking photos, and learning as much Indonesian language and culture from our excursions as possible. This week is our last week of excursions and home study. We are slated to begin "real school" on July 6th at a local language school, where we plan to attend for at least this next year. We are doing all of this with the hope that we will eventually gain fluency and  begin to blend in... kind of like this crazy lizard.

We appreciate your interest and comments and encouragement and e-mails and letters and cards and support. 

Thank you, friends!