Dianita and Arief

For the first part of my trip I'm staying with friends Dianita and Arief and their daughters Farisa (12) and Adira (10), who live in the suburb of Kebayoran Baru, a little south of central Jakarta. Streets here are like Canberra, circular, but different principles of organisation operate. Arief studied at ANU, doing his PhD in RSPAS, and now works at Bank Indonesia (similar to the Reserve Bank; he deals in policy, not money). Dianita worked as a tutor in the Faculty of Asian Studies, which is when I first met her. She was my teacher when I was studying Indonesian 1B. After that, she became my bahasa tutor and introduced me to the world of Indonesian grammar. And then, because our families and experiences are the same (we're in our 40s, we've lived in North America, we have two girls), we became friends. I'd actually taught Arief when he arrived at ANU because, as an AUSAID scholarship holder, he had to attend an Introductory Academic Program which was taught by Academic Skills and Learning Centre.


House is two-levels, with a small garden (kebun) outside. Spent the first part of the morning sitting out there, adjusting to the heat and the jet lag. Woke up at Australian time, which meant I was awake at 4am here. Read my crime novel. Breakfasted. Then Dianita taught me how to SMS (talk about a tedious way of communicating - my thumbs weren't made for these times) and how to use the mobile phone. Called Leonie and the phone worked! Magical. Blogged. Gave Farisa and Adira two books by Australian authors. Listened to Adira play the violin and Farisa the piano - they're very talented. And then, when Dianita came down the stairs and said, Stephen ingin menonton futbul di televisi? ("Do you want to watch the football?"), I was doing what most Australians were doing: watching the Grand Final! Next year I think Prague will be a good spot to view the game. I hope everyone rallies around Phil and supports him during this difficult time. Saints had their opportunity in the first half where all the stats went their way, yet they only led by a goal. Second half was a terrific arm wrestle; grim from a scoring point of view, but tough in terms of tenacity and attack at the ball. Scarlett's poke to Ablett was a huge moment in the game.



Late in the afternoon, we minus the girls went for a drive around the area, which is popular with ex-pats. Bought a cord to connect the digital camera to the computer (the device worked in the shop, but I can't get it working here - and Farisa had a sleepover with her grandma is not here to help me come to terms with the technology!). Landed at a restaurant for orang asing (foreigners, Westerners) and had some American apple pie.

Great being here, as both Dianita and Arief are fluent in English. Our conversations are sometimes bahasa Indonesia, bahasa Inggris, or a mix of Indon and English. By the end of the day, I tend to make a lot of small mistakes when I talk - mainly because I'm exhausted mentally from thinking in another language. Last night Arief and I talked about all the aches and pains that accompany getting old. He's got back pain, I've got neck pain. When I was describing why I'm not drinking alcohol due to sleep apnea, it turned out that Arief, after I'd explained sleep apnea to them, does the same thing. Now he's worried!

Will upload photos another time (Farisa has returned home, so she's enabled me to upload).