Indo Famous!

It's official. Stanley is an advocate.

It turns out there are causes near to his heart. Causes he is willing to sport his finest (only) bandanna for and get out the bark about. And he is learning that when you really support your passions, people take notice. People take notice when you're 8 inches high and 18 inches long (+ tail) too, but people really like to see passion.

Moving to Indonesia has been a cultural adventure for us all. There are things we must learn to live with (a maddening number of sauce aisles at the grocery store. Is there such thing as too much flavor?!) and to live without (cheese).

Stanley is not immune to this culture shock. The fact that dogs are food in some - albeit small - Indonesian circles is something he can't quite digest. It bothers him. Who could fault him? When your colloquial name is a food (sausage) and you happen to be A DOG, moving to Indonesia is a potentially life-threatening endeavor. It's upsetting!

So when I told Stanley there was something he could do about this people-eating-dog business, he was all ears. I mean, he's already all ears. But, he was really all ears about this.

We got the whole family up on a Saturday morning and packed into the car with snacks and diapers and leashes and water. And then, as we were about to pull out of the drive way, I realized I got the date wrong and so we had to unpack all the snacks and diapers and water and wake up on Sunday and do that part again. But then we finally made it to one of the few parks in Jakarta for a day to celebrate dogs and lend our voices to the DOGS AREN'T FOOD campaign. Because, of course, they're not.

Stanley was in fine form. He trotted around to various stalls trying to be nice to everyone but mostly being an asshole to anyone who got too close to Miles. He's a good big brother like that. When we got to the Change.org stall, he was all business. Whatever they asked him to do (nothing) he did. Whatever they asked me to do (sign a petition and donate money) I did. And then we posed for photos. I thought an onward-facing smiling shot was the best approach. Stanley went for a more forlorn, the harmed-can't-be-unharmed look.

We didn't think much else of that experience. We went home. We felt good about ourselves. Stanley treated himself to the couch and to Miles' toy ball and then to Miles' toy ball on the couch.

Fast forward to last week when my new friend Kristen emailed to ask me if I had at some point participated in a DOGS AREN'T FOOD campaign for which I might have been photographed. She was busy doing research at the magazine conglomerate that she works for and she was pretty certain I was in the magazine she was flipping through. Here, she said. Let' met text you a picture.

And this is what she sent me:

I think it's worth a zoom in:

See. People like to see some passion. Or, they like a dachshund in a dachshund-print bandanna.

Any way you look at it, we're famous in Indonesia!

It's noteworthy that the magazine we are featured in is called Joy.

It's basically the Indonesian Cosmo. 

In the Wild with Donald Trump

Here is what I knew about Orangutans: They are endangered, they like bananas, and - according to Bill Maher - Donald Trump looks exactly like one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc0JJi71MEc

Also, I thought orangutan was spelled with two "gs" as in orangutang.

After three days spent in Tanjung Puting National Park I confirm the following: orangutans are endangered, Donald Trump - not endangered - does resemble an orang love child; and I can spell orangutan but now I can't pronounce it.

Tanjung Puting National Park is located on the island Borneo, but it's on the Indonesian side so that means it's really on the island of Kalimantan. It's actually a peninsula that dips into the Java sea; Tanjung Puting literally means "Protruding Nipple." Not to be outdone by "payudara," which means "breast," but translates literally as "chest fruit." Chest fruit...that is actually how you say boobs in Indonesian. How fantastic is that?

Protruding Nipple Park was carved out as a game reserve in the mid-1930s and made into a national park in the early 1980s. It's also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, which really gets my nerdling heart thumping.

This is one of Earth's special, special treasures. Ever heard of a Clouded Leopard? What about a Sun Bear or a Sambar Deer? This park is the stuff of mythical creatures; it's an ecological paradise full of plants and animals that only exist in this one place on Earth.

We saw a Hornbill akin to this one, but the one we saw is so endangered, I can't even find a picture of it on the Internet. Our guide, Arif, practically swallowed his tongue when he spotted it. Arif, by the way, operates Orangutan Applause alongside his wife. He is passionate about forest conservation and sharing Indonesia's ecology with the World. He's also an admitted bird enthusiast, which is pretty adorable. For anyone considering a trip to see the Indonesian Orangutan, I highly recommend going with him.

I also want to mention my travel companions: Sara and Eric (I'm related to them) and Hank and Betty (I'm not related to them but they brought me a million Ziplocs from the USA so they can come to my house anytime they want).

The five of us landed in Kalimantan and were settled on a riverboat - our "home" for three days - and en route to the park entrance by lunch time. Lunch, if you're curious, looked like this:

And our boat, looked like this:

It was like being on the African Queen but with a bunch of hippies. Look at us just taking in the nature from our sweet ride:

Into the jungle we motored, creeping along until the waterway was but a sliver and the jungle was practically hanging into the boat. And this is what we saw:

And look at this little guy!:

And, of course, my personal favorite:

But the main attraction, of course, are the "Forest People" (because that's how "Orang utan" translates in Indonesian. I know. I know. This language is genius.) While we saw plenty of Orangutans swinging from trees as we glided along the river, we also trekked into the forest to various feeding stations.

Here, Orangutans swing in twice daily for free food. Often, it's mamas and babies. Because mama Orangutans aren't stupid: if someone else offers to cook, you take it. 

This has to be - hands down - the best example of multi-tasking in the animal kingdom:

When your arms are the same length as your legs, you can do amazing things:

Tanjung Puting is perhaps most well-known for Camp Leakey, an Orangutan refuge and rehabilitation center. Birute Galdikas - likely a name you aren't familiar with but a good one to remember for crossword puzzles - built the camp in 1971. Leakey might be a familiar name, as in Louis Leakey the mentor to both Diane Fossey (Gorilla lady) and Jane Goodall (Chimpanzee lady). Birute is the Orangutan lady. 

We visited Camp Leakey where Birute still does research. 

This one made my heart melt a little:

These two made me think of every Underwood ever:

And this guy just took a walk right through camp. No big deal: 

Also a wild pig stopped by with her piglets for some banana peel scraps.

The most memorable part of the trip for me was planting a tree as part of the PESALAT reforestation project. Thanks to Arif for organizing this for us. Since 2000, the Friends of the National Park Foundation has replanted some 90,000 trees and rehabilitated 61 of a planned 200 hectares of degradated lands throughout Indonesia. In there among them are three from us. 

Maybe just one more video for the road:

There's a New Sheriff in Town

“G” is for Gun? Really Indonesian playmat-making company?

Actually, this photo is kind of art imitating life. Miles is now fully aware of Stanley and is officially obsessed with him. Stanley has always been fully aware of Miles and now insists on 24-hour security protection.

We don't often get strangers at our house. But when we do, we know it by Stanley's aggressive and wholly obnoxious war cry. Everyone can hear him; very few people actually think to look down to find him.

Stanley has taken to prancing around like he's some kind of secret service agent. The truth, however, is that his guard dog skills are amateur at best. And that's being kind.

For starters, the dog has plenty to say about potential intruders but it's usually on a delay. A stranger can be in our house, sitting on the couch, enjoying a beverage before Stanley realizes it (read: wakes from his sun bathe in the backyard). And then, in an effort to make up for lost time, he goes bezerk, looking around to see if we've noticed that he hasn't been there the whole time. Basically, he’s a cartoon character.

For illustrative purposes, let’s take a look back at some of his finer security moments:

 

 

And finally, this moment: when Stanley demonstrated his idea of guerilla tactics... 

 

So you’ll forgive us if this sudden obligation to protect the family feels a bit out-of-nowhere and wholly late-to-the-game.

Nevertheless, it’s adorable to see Stanley really embrace Miles. This new-found tendency for overreaction reached a zenith recently when four young men came to the door wanting to sell us a new internet service. I didn't get Stanley on lock down fast enough and he came barreling toward the door, determined to guard his baby. Many Indonesians are terrified of dogs, including these poor kids. And that's when things fell apart.

One young man - not bothering to see the source of the commotion - took off down the street. He just booked it as fast as he could away from our house absolutely petrified of … Stanley. Stanley, all 15 pounds of him, took off after him, raising quite a stink. He chased that kid all the way down the block and then trotted home quite pleased with himself.

It was hard to suppress the laughter. Especially watching this poor guy realize how small the dog is and how mercilessly his buddies were dying of laughter. Oh Stanley. Turns out he's a shitty guard dog but he's great at keep solicitors away.

And Then the House Flooded

Worry not, dear readers. The blog is back. We've been busy doing many things including hosting guests, meetings Indonesian Orangutans and taking the Rainy Season head on. About that. Our house flooded last week. 

Just as we were deciding what movie to watch one evening, we noticed a lot of water on the floor. Like, a lot of water. Twirling around we realized our dining room was quickly becoming a swimming pool. Within about three minutes most of our kitchen and living room were covered as well. Within seven minutes the water was so high it was sweeping over our feet as we waded through it.

John Moyer, the fast-acting All Star that he is, quickly grabbed a broom and started sweeping water out the door. I, helpfully, put on a pair of crocs and started taking video.

"Can you please do something with the dog?" he prompted me. Stanley was busy trotting through the water whining that our house was FUCKING flooding. I considered leaving him at large on the grounds that he could be a good barometer for when things got really bad. You know you are in bad shape if your dachshund starts swimming through the house. But I locked him in the guest room and grabbed a dust pan to begin shoveling water.

Shoveling, in fact, is the right word here. It was a lot of water. We soon realized that a drain in the back patio was clogged and all the water running off the roof had collected until there was no where else for it to go except the inside of our house. While John set about clearing the drain and then aggressively sweeping water into it, I scooted around with my dust pan trying not to be too distracted by the unsettling rust color of the water now covering the floors.

We used whatever we could find to move water: dust pans, brooms, cutting boards. At one point I believe I saw someone using our dry erase board. Our housekeeper, Rini, produced what looked like a giant windshield wiper and began expertly sweeping water out. This was not her first time to this rodeo. There were four of us in all working in an assembly line to pass the water from one person to the next until it got pushed outside. After an hour of this insanity, we gained the upper hand and, despite the continued rain, we were no longer facing deluge.

The good news is that our floors are tile so there was no damage. Also, Miles slept through the whole ordeal.

Japan: Adorable-san

In an effort to make traveling 24+ hours with an infant more tolerable and even enjoyable (side note: early data indicate this is a fool's errand), we decided to stoppover in Japan on our way back from the United States. It was the first visit to the country (outside of the airport) for all three of us.

If I must sum up Japan in one word following my 24 hours there - and I must because why else have a blog? - I would say that Japan is ADORABLE. In full realization that at various points in history this was a wholly inappropriate way to describe Japan, it is the perfect word for Japan in 2015.

Case in point: anyone and everyone in the service industry wears white gloves. Adorable. At the hotel restaurant the waitstaff brought a little child spooon, plate and bowl for Miles to use at the buffet. Adorable. Upon inspection of Miles' baby bottles while going through security, the guard proceeded to gently waft the aroma of the contents toward her nose...with a golved hand. Bizarre, but also adorable.

We had a very short time to get acquainted with Japan so our to do list was limited to buying more baby food (and an adorable baby toothbrush) and visiting the Narita Temple. In fact, we never even made it into Tokyo. But Narita was enough of a taste that we unanimously agreed we must go back for more.

There is something exhilarating about understanding only about 3% of what is going on around you. It didn't help to realize while standing in line at customs that I was even iffy on how to say "hello" or "thank you" - the two go-tos you really shouldn't get off the plane without. I said to John, "Konnichiwa, that's Japanese. Does it mean hello or good bye or thank you?"

By the following morning - bolstered by sleep in an actual bed - I was feeling more confident and was really spreading my Japanese wings. Until I realized that I was telling everyone "obridago" when I wanted to say thank you instead of "arigato." The Portuguese did not, in fact, colonize Japan.

It was not just a language barrier. And, cultural barrier doesn't seem like a strong enough description either. Cultural giant gapping valley seems more appropriate.

We arrived at the Naritasan Shinshoji Temple. It's Buddhist. But where were all the Buddhas? Yes, there were many devout visitors but there was also a random dude with a carnival game for shooting down stuffed animals.

If I were Marco Polo writing home about what I saw, my description would sound kind of like this, "the temple appears to be dedicated to some sort of cabbage. Large banners displaying said cabbage hang from the rafters and ornate garden plots of actual cabbage abound. Also, why is everyone gambling? It is unclear." See what I mean? Gapping valley of cultural disconnect.

This is why it is always good to at least visit Wikipedia before writing about a country that you know nothing about. Alas, no one was gambling. Buddhist followers were simply asking priests for prayers and guidance (but I swear the mechanism for doing this looks a lot like the betting windows at Pimlico).

As John pointed out, "You have to like a religious ceremony that features bass drums." There was also a fire ceremony going on with chanting and people intentionally bathing themselves in smoke. And there was cotton candy for sale. I don't know what any of this means.

But in a suburb of the only city on earth larger than Jakarta, we found a bit of tranquility and we had a lovely breath of fresh air. And then we saw a long line of people waiting for some delicious smelling confection, which was surprisingly not sweet and, frankly, not tasty. But the sun was shining, the public transport free and on time, and the Naritasan Temple charming and totally adorable-san.  

Christmas Week Top 12

Happy New Year! Here in Jakarta, we are counting down the days to our first trip back to the USA since arriving in Indonesia in August. At least once a day for the last month, we've listed all the food we can't wait to eat (it usually boils down to cheese and salad). But before we pack our bags, here's our top 10...er...12 from our recent Christmas trip to Yogyakarta and Pacitan in Central Java.



1. A visit from our friend, Jon K!
Proving that coming to see us is worth all those reward miles, we had the best time with Jon K who traveled from NYC to spend Christmas with us. Thanks, buddy, for traveling with our baby like a champ. Come, again!

2. Roti-O
This was an unlikely but life-changing moment. Standing in the Yogyakarta airport waiting to find out if the Avis car rental was a legitimate operation or just a coincidental choice in name for a guy who had a car to let, we got hungry. There was an incredible odor wafting all around; something smelled like it was bathing in melted butter. Jon K went off to investigate and returned with a Roti-O, an incredible feat of food science that is neither a roti nor whatever an "o" is. Eating it was akin to biting into a buttery pillow topped with some sort of sugary, mapley glaze. We promptly bought several more.

3. Suharti's Ayam Goreng
Sweet, sweet Ibu Suharti. What a gem of a person she was. Chicken coated in coconut and deep fried. Genius.

4. Miles and his "Ibu Ibu"
Miles continued his streak, endearing himself as a national treasure into the hearts of Indonesians everywhere. We often felt more like pimps than parents because everyone - and I do mean everyone - wanted to be photographed with him. In his true lady-killer fashion, he really hit a note with all the Javanese Ibus.

5. Miles with this guy

At the guide desk at the Borobudor Temple, we met this gentleman. He scooped up Miles and began entertaining him with a flashlight, then asked if he could take this selfie. Please note his choice in dress: a collared shirt paired with a faux-tattoo sleeved shirt. A new approach to day-to-evening wear.

6. Spicing up "Autograph" photos
Miles was not the only one with celebrity appeal. We got a lot of attention too. As messed up as this sounds, it's only fair to say that we were equally as popular as the world's largest Buddhist temple when it came to tourists and their cameras. Squealing school girls, young lovers, grandmas, families, a surprising number of pharmacology students - people asked for photos of them holding our baby, photos of us as a family, photos of us with their family. Once you said "yes" to someone, a line would form of others.

It was really only a matter of time before the jumping photos started...

These Pharmacology students were visiting from Bali; they all wore matching blue blazers

7. Free babysitting
At the same restaurant where we ate this fish:

The most adorable Indonesian grandma appeared at our table and ushered Miles off while we ate. And that is where I found him, happily being fanned like some sort of maharaja.

8. Bu Gandos
We spent the last four days of our trip in the beach town of Pacitan, on the southern coast of Java. Pacitan does not get many foreigners (though it does get bus loads of Indonesian tourists ALL of whom wanted a photo with Miles). In order to determine where we should eat, we got in the habit of just driving around until we found the restaurant with the most traffic flowing into it. This is how we ended up at Bu Gandos. No menu necessary. The house specialty is kabob-style tuna steak marniated with chili sauce that's been slathered on with a paint brush.

9. Chirstmas Lunch
We spent most of Christmas day on a five-hour drive through the hills outside of Yogyakarta before descending through rice patties to the seaside village of Pacitan. About an hour from our destination, we were desperate for a pit stop. We chanced upon a mostly-empty restaurant and found the sweetest proprietor and the perfect bowl of mie ayam (chicken and noodles) ... and woven mats for Miles to stretch his legs after too many hours in the carseat.

10. The Witana Family
While in search of a laundromat, Miles and I were invited into the Witana family home for tea. We had so much fun with them, we went back the next day (also we had to pick up our laundry, which they graciously offered to do).

 Fortunately, Miles was wearing his Friday batik. I thought he would be overdressed, but, in fact, he fit right in.

11. President Obama eating fried chicken?
President Obama is popular here. Indonesians are proud that he spent time in Jakarta as a child and that he is now the leader of the free world. That said, we were not expecting to find him eating fried chicken on the back of this menu. By the way, it says, "10 reasons why eating chicken is good."

12. Being rescued by boyscouts and girlscouts
Dead car battery. Deserted beach. Storm rolling in. Have no fear, the Indoensian scouts are here! Coventiently a couple dozen boyscouts and girlscouts just happened to be running drills at this midddle-of-nowhere beach when John and Jon ran into car trouble. Swear to God. After push starting the car, everyone posed for this victorious photo.

Happy New Year everyone. Wishing you a prosperous 2015!