What's Carle been doing all these days?

Mastering these smooth moves:

I know you can't wait for me to come back and amaze you with my skillz!!! I LOVE the song!!

Fat Talk

Mojokerto has a problem with Fat Talk....

I found this great video on my friend Mary's LiveJournal page, and I thought I should post it here... It's quite informative, as well as to take a look at that FAT isn't everything!!! It's causing some serious health issues among women in America...... Great video, whoever made it did a fantastic job! Enjoy!

Sad News :-(

This is me & Mak - September 2008

It's sad news that I have to share with everyone that reads this blog, Eri's Grandma passed away this morning, August 16, 2009 @ 1am. Eri and I were scheduled to visit her today, but we were too late. She passed away from complications of Juandice.

The traditions for a Chinese Buddhist traditional funeral are unique, and I'm trying my ultimate best to fit in with the customs. I get the feeling to describe what went on today might seem quite weird to some of you guys back home, but I'm going to try my best.

Eri went over to the place this morning to be with the family that's arrived already. This place is like a visiting place, but it where Mak was embomed. A representative from each family basically washed down Mak and prepared her for burial. They applied nice clothes and make-up, she was stunning when she was laid into the casket. Later in the afternoon Eri came to pick me, around 1:30pm, and we had to wear white colored shirt. We got to the place, and there were all sorts of offerings. You do not say condolences to other family members for the reason that you are family. You give your condolences to people that you are not a family member of. But as got there, we saw various memembers of family, and Eri and I, and cousin D (shout out Darmadi!!!) hung around until the first day activities completed. Now, I'm not sure what the rest of the days bring, but I know there are more customs coming....

I think that's all the description I'm going to give right now, it's still too fresh. I will let everyone know about it after all the traditional stuff is done.

Love ya.

C & E

It costs 10 cents to pee.....

Hello hello --

Just an update - Eri and I are doing good! We had fun in Jakarta taking care of everything and seeing his family! His family that we visited is from his Dad's side, and I posted most of the pictures on facebook, but I might post another one here - or not. Feeling lazy to wait for it to upload.

Eri and I have planned a fantastic vacation! We are going to Yogakarta and Bali in less than 2 weeks, and we are so excited!! I will definitely post pictures here and not on evil facebook. It occupies too much of my time! Farming and all...

Yesterday we went into Surabaya to extend my VISA (I will be home by Halloween, I have to go to the haunted house with my sister!! It's a must because we didn't get to go last year!) But anyways, after we did that, we went to McDonald's for a snack, then to the travel agency to pick up our plane tickets to Bali, then to a mall called Super Mal(l). It's the largest Mall in Surabaya. The thing about Jakarta and Surabaya is they have malls like we have gas stations, they are literally everywhere you look! Indonesian's love to spend money, that's for sure. We walked around the huge mall, that was covered in white people, I think we saw at least 10 but more like 15 - that's crazy! We hardly ever see white people, and definitely not in our little town, I'm the only one. Only in Surabaya or in Jakarta. Oh but wait....I'm forgetting there was another white person here in Mojokerto recently - Cousin Yenni's husband is white and he was visiting. He's super tall to, almost as tall as my Dad I would say, so there were 2 of us for a while. It's weird, I'm so used to being the only one, when I get back it's like culture shock for me to be around them again. But I digress. At the mall we where hunting for a hotdog place called Brood 'N Broojes (American's don't even try to pronounce it...you won't say it right......the J makes an actual J noise not a H sound, no matter how many times Eri tried to help me pronounce it - no luck.) Let me see if they have a website, if they do, I will hyperlink it for ya. Ok no such luck. But they give delicious hotdogs..... (Indonesian's [I know it's weird from my point of view] put weird stuff on their hotdogs, like lettuce and tomato's and mayo....) But we got our dogs and headed to A&W for a rootbeer float and fries. Yumm! What a lunch! Since things are cheaper (and extremely pirated in this country) we stopped by the game store and movie place. I got BONES season 4 on DVD for $4.80 USD. Coolness! I need to do my homework so I can start watching it, I'm kind of sad though, I don't want to see Angela and Hodgens break up :-( Jeez....I digress YET AGAIN! So then we just walked around. I was having massive massive diarrhea (I know, TMI) but the food here has really been kicking my ass! I got food poisioning in Jakarta 2 weeks ago, and yesterday, yuck, Poopville. Each time I had to use the bathroom, you have to pay 1000 IDR which is 10 cents USD. Ridiculous you have to pay to pee. It's only at certain malls you have to do so....and only certain bathrooms inside that Mall. I don't get it. So I spent at least 20 cents on peein yesterday....grrrrr.....I usually have standards that I will not pay to pee and hold it, but I couldn't yesterday, so I broke down and paid. We left Super Mal, and went to an important grocery store called Papaya, then left there to go where? Mal Galaxy! To shop at Ranch Market, and shop more. I bought 2 learning Indonesian's books there, where Eri didn't hear the end of me saying random things in Indo....LMAO. You could tell my his face that he wasn't in the mood to be a teacher, but did it anyway. Gotta love him! We ate dinner at our favorite resto called Sushi Tei, where we had eel, tuna maki, 3 fish platter, and crab salad maki! Yummy we love sushi! Then we went shopping at yet another import grocery store, where get this everyone - I went to the meat counter and ordered our chicken and steaks all by myself!!! What a wonderful achievement! It is really. I have been buying stuff on my own for awhile, and I can order coffee and stuff, but I was actually having a real conversation with a native speaker! (Other than my hubby....or the workers downstairs.) WOW! Let me replay it for you in English (of course our conversation was in Bahasa Indonesia ;-D)

Clerk: How can I help you, ma'am?

CW: I would like Australian cattle sirloin steaks, 2 please

Clerk: Ok (clerk packs them up)

CW: (walks down 4 feet or so to the chicken)

Clerk: (follows me)

CW: I would also like the boneless chicken breast, 7 please

Clerk: Ok

(gets the chicken, and wraps them up, comes back over) Would you like them on ice?

CW: Oh, yes please.

Clerk: Thank you, Ma'am.

CW: Thank you, good night.

I know, it's a small victory, but it made me feel really good. Eri's family always asks me to count, but I learned that last time I was here. I seem to feel really embarrassed to talk in front of them, but I'm totally fine talking in front of strangers. Weird. I know his cousins read this blog, so they're probably going to ask me to talk for them....I MIGHT. Not sure yet. I just feel uneasy about talking in front of them, but hey we'll see. Let me keep studying my Indo. So we leave Ranch Market, Eri and I are absolutely exhausted. Then we head to J.Co, where they make fabulous donuts and drinks. The U.S. has nothing comparable to a J.Co donut. They are so delicious. My favourites are Tiramisu and Lady Thai Tea. Yummmm..... We got a half-dozen, 3 of each of those kinds. It was funny here, I spoke to the clerk in Indonesian, he replied to me in English, lol. But it was fun. Then we went home! Fun day!

Since this blog is kinda long, I will write more about our trip in a few days. In the mean time enjoy the video at the bottom of the page.

Goodnight! (Selamat Malam) and be safe (Hati-hati)

I found this on another friends blog, and I think it's great!

Here's the link for his website: http://wherethehellismatt.com Check it out, it's really cool. I would love to visit his bookstore in Seattle when I make it that way again!

-CW

This is so cute!

And I love this song! Listen to it, you will too.

Indonesian song!

Sunglasses Hut :-)

Sunglasses Hut American Style:

Sunglasses Hut Indonesian Style:

Interesting article

Climate 'shielding Indonesia from swine flu'

By Indonesia correspondent Geoff Thompson

Posted Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:24am AEST

Indonesia's health minister says the reason the country has been spared from any confirmed swine flu infections is largely because of its climate.

Dr Siti Fadilah Supari was previously embroiled in controversy when she decided to cease sharing samples of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus with the World Health Organisation (WHO), because of fears that any vaccines developed would be sold for profit to the developing world, with no share going to Indonesia.

Now she is seeking to calm the nation worst-hit by bird flu by suggesting that the H1N1 swine flu virus may be more of a problem for people of Spanish origin than Indonesians.

"We hope that H1N1 is not compatible with Indonesians," she said.

"H1N1 may be more compatible with their race, while H5N1 is more compatible with Indonesians."

But the spokeswoman with the WHO's swine flu communications team in Geneva, Viktoria Dijakovic, says there is no evidence that one race would fare worse than another.

"We don't know this virus very well yet, and there is no vaccine at this time, so we can't say if it's racially a problem ... or not," she said.

The WHO is particularly concerned about the southern hemisphere - where the flu season is kicking off - because the virus survives better in cold climates.

Ms Dijakovic says equatorial countries like Indonesia are a problem because there the flu season never ends.

But that is not the way Dr Supari sees it and yesterday she said that H1N1 could only survive in cold weather.

"Australia says H1N1 is more dangerous than bird flu," she said.

"Well yes, for Australia ... but for Indonesia that's not the case, because in Indonesia the weather is never cold, unlike Australia."

Australian epidemiologist Dr Andrew Jerimijenko is now involved with the response to the swine flu threat in Australia, but spent years studying influenza in Indonesia.

He says the Health Minister's theories are dangerous.

"Her idea that a tropical climate will protect them from H1N1 is not true, because H1N1 survives in tropical climates," he said.

"It survives a little bit better in cold climates, but it also survives in tropical climates."

Indonesia is taking more conventional precautions against pandemic.

Pork imports have been indefinitely banned, there is thermal scanner screening at some airports, and extra surveillance has been ordered over the nine million pigs managing to survive in a nation of mostly Muslims who do not eat pork.

Link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/29/2555500.htm

There's nothing I can say in response to this......other than just shake my head with my mouth wide open thinking "what the hell kind of screwed up country is this?"