Hotel Immanuel II Padang

... kick up several notches when clouds are in the sky & the air is filled w/ expectation of rain. You can smell the moist earth, which thankfully disguises the smell of durian (not to my liking, though some here enjoy it).

Anyway, I hope you're all enjoying life & thinking of ways to help out in your own communities; service of any kind is a most worthwhile endeavor.

Until next time, be safe, be well, & be happy.

Much love to all,
Murph

... amp; Dave (Brit & Aussie, respectively) created & organized a Thanksgiving trivia game for us. FYI: my team won! (David: you'll need to give Tim a hard time about this.)

All in all it was a fantastic day. I hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving as much as we did ours here.

Much love to all,
Murph

P.S. Thanksgiving Day pics courtesy of Kirsty.

Free day today; no work. Hot & humid (of course), but had some rain this morning. Luckily, it added water to the cisterns so we should be able to have bucket water for showers tomorrow.

We sat around most of the morning talking 'bout many a splendor thing, such as feral chicken & durian paintball (thank you, David!). Then I retired for a nap. Borrowed a local magazine from Mick (Tempo) & read up on the National Police & some of the scandal ...

Before arriving in Indonesia we were more likely to associate the name Sumatra with a type of coffee than a place. (Well at least Melanie, who knows anything about coffee.) Now having spent some time there we know it as a mountainous island on the western edge of Indonesia, covered with jungles and humanity. Our friend Joe came to help us with fieldwork and do a bit of exploring; after working in central Java for a week we arrived on the coast of Sumatra on a warm ...

... a migrane. At least I have what is left of my money and my passport. I am riding 2 hours on the back of a motorbike tomorrow in order to get to the Equator. Then I have to figure how to Bali and ultimately how and when to get back to the states. The virus on my SD card has made it unreadable by Windows Computers, I have to wait until I get a good wireless connection before I can upload more photos from my Nokia.

... on kaynyt, kuitenkin siella pitaisi olla kaikkea kivaa mm. lisaa tulivuoria ja kraaterijarvi. Bussin kerrottiin lahtevan iltapaivalla kello viiden aikaan ja matkan kestavan 15-20 tuntia. Mina jatin haikeana jaahyvaiset naille mukaville ihmisille, joiden seurasta olin saanut nauttia viimeiset yhdeksan paivaa.Pakkasimme reput ja ravintoaineiden tankkauksen jalkeen uusi seikkailu alkoi. Otimme lautan saarelta Parapatin kaupunkiin. Viela ennen veneen saapumista yritin ehdottaa ...

... etc. We forgot the scrabble - so no friendly rivalry this trip!The view is amazing - but unfortunately we can see the deforestation of Sumatra and can hear the chain saws in the distance. I wonder why they are not promoting planting trees to offset carbon emissions here, instead of  cutting them down.A couple more days here and then we are off to Bukkitinggi in the highlands - to see the culture, the beautiful scenery and search for textiles!Until then, more sun and swimming!

... throat razor shaves allot more. At 2pm the bus sets off and 2hrs later we arrive in Padang for food, toilet break and to wait for the overnight boat to take us to Siberut. On the way I get a couple of beers for the journey (obviously) and head on to the boat. The boat is fine but I forgot that I am in a muslim counrty and they are quite picky about drinkning on public ...

... It's then buttered and sprinkled with more sugar, crushed peanuts, chocolate chips, sugar, condensed milk, sugar and sugar. Folded in half, brushed with butter on the underside for good measure, portioned and served. The vendor offered to add grated cheddar to this mix. I laughed in his face and accused him of insanity, and possibly witchcraft. But in the next town, I was offered the same thing. Clearly this was normal here- a local speciality- it'd be rude not to. Rude and, it turned ...