Friday, November 26, 2010

Ranch market is my new vision of Disney World.

     Have you ever noticed how sometimes what you used to consider mediocre food brands suddenly become delicacies? After a long day of work and my first scooter accident, walking through isles of JIF Peanut Butter, Campbell's Soup, Kraft Mac and Cheese and Aunt Jemima Pancakes Mix almost brought tears to my eyes...


Fanny and I cutting the turkey
          
          When I read three weeks ago that Ranch Market every year imports hundreds of turkeys from the United States and sells already made Pumpkin pies, I had the idea to organize my first Thanksgiving dinner in Indonesia. I sent out detailed recipes of different typical dish to my French guests and agreed on meeting at my house on November 25th.



Thanksgiving plate



Appetizers
     Fanny's and I first Thanksgiving dinner couldn't have been better (aside from the small oven accident that almost blew the house out :)

     I thank all my guest for contributing to this wonderful American tradition while keeping their undeniable culinary French touch. Thank you also to our house keeper Purwanti, that made sure to startcook the turkey while we were at work.


Because games are fun!
    

Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends. I miss you more than you could ever imagine.

Love, C-


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Ring, ring why don't you stop calling?

                On Tuesday night I teach a weekly adult yoga class at my school. The more I teach, the more I want to learn. It is an amazing experience and I am very grateful to have returning students every week. Yesterday we had it all: new softened lightning, available yoga mats, air conditioning, a great sound system and a subtle smell of incense. 30 sun salutations later, my students and I were finally relaxing in Shavasana (dead's man pose). As we were laying there with no movement, listening to our breath coming back to its natural state, our relaxation was brutally disturbed by a cell phone ring tone obviously set on maximum volume. The owner of the phone stood up, frantically searched her purse and finally... answered the call!



              The person in question is Indonesian and what she did right then is not considered a lack of respect at all in this culture. From a outsider's perspective: it really seems like blackberries, Iphones, cellphones are Indonesian people's best friend. Definitely a very annoying aspect of Jakarta.

             At the end of the class, while reflecting on culture differences, I approached the woman and kindly asked her to never bring her phone back to class again. That day I practiced yoga.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Is it PETA* approved?

             While for some of us November is referred to as a turkey, pumpkin pies and American football indicator, for other it is synonym of hundred of goat and cows waiting in the street to get their throats cut open.

   In deed Eid al- Adha or "Festival of sacrifice" is coming up on Nov 16! It is an important religious holiday that commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God. On this particular holiday, "the meat is divided into three equal parts to be distributed to others. The family retains one third of the share, another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbors, and the other third is given to the poor & needy." (Wikipedia) 






You know you've been living in a big city when:

  • the smell of cows and goats along the streets of Jakarta is appealing to you because it reminds you of the country side. 

I've fallen into that category.

Love C-






PETA *: People for the ethical treatment of animals

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Komodo dragons: myth or reality?

        Today we arrived in Jakarta on time. None of ours flights were delayed and the landings and take-offs were excellent. A beautiful way to end what I count as one of my favorite vacation of all time.





        After an eventful first part in Sumatra, Fanny, Laurent, Ophelie, Tony and I embarked on a small cruise ( 18 passengers, 5 crew members) 5 days ago in Lombok (a heavenly island east of Bali). On board there were 2 Germans, 2 Dutch, 7 French, 4 australians, One Polish, and 2 Canadians... A total blast! On our first few days on the boat we spent most of our time snorkeling through turquoise waters, spotting rays, cow fish, baby barracudas and much more.  

       Our third stop was Komodo Island: one of the 17,508 island that make up the Republic of Indonesia; Also known for its unique fauna: the Komodo dragons. There are more than 5,000 Komodos dragons on the island and a 98 percent chance for visitors to experience a face to face encounter with a giant lizard. So we thought...




      Komodo dragons are cold blooded animals, they spend most of the day regulating their temperature and avoiding being too hot or too cold. To make sure we would see the reptiles, our group set off for the "adventure trail" at 7 a.m in the morning. By mid-trail people were obviously getting anxious to see the dragons. By the end, we were part of the 2 percent visitors every year that don't see a single Komodo dragon EXCEPT for the one visibly high on xanax near the restaurant for emergency cases like ours. :) Everyone had a really good laugh and we all jumped back on the boat for our final destination, the island of Flores. 

Thank you again to Fanny, Laurent, Ophelie and Tony without whom I wouldn't have spent and shared such great laughs and moments.



I apologize for the lack of pics- I am currently in the process of collecting pictures and videos from my friends of our trip to make a movie montage which I hope I will be able to publish online soon. 

Love C-