Not much around these parts...

Surprised to see me update so soon this time? Even I myself am a little bit surprised :)

Robyn, I have to tell you that your comment made me laugh out loud in the middle of this Internet cafe. What was it exactly that I asked you that time? Was it "How do I turn the washing machine on?" And I don't think we were kids - I'm pretty sure it was when my fam was living on Cantrell...oh my. And yes, you saw me wearing 2 dresses in those pictures (the blue one and the black one). You want to know the sad thing? I had to go to a seamstress and have those two dresses specially made for me because I'm too big to shop in Indonesia...oy! As for your question about Robe. It's looking more and more like he won't be able to come with me in May. He may not be able to get his Visa until the end of the summer at this rate. The estimated timeline is between 2 and 12 months (great estimate, huh?). At this point I'm kind of thinking ours will be on the lengthy end of that. Actually I was in a forum for people applying for Fiance Visas and there was one couple (the girl was from Spain and the guy from the States) who got the girl's Visa in ONE MONTH! I told them congratulations, but secretly I hate them.

Tara - yea, I think Robe is going to be really weirded out by a lot of things, but I think he's ready for something a little more modern. Of course, I'm not entirely sure about that because when we went to Jakarta (the capital & biggest city in Indonesia - Indonesian equivalent of like NYC), he kept looking at everything like it was the 8th wonder of the world. It really was like "farm boy goes to the big city." Quite funny. He's going to be surprised by everything in the US - from the fact that we don't let our food sit out on the kitchen table all day to our weekend being two days instead of one. As for your car, I'm sorry I called it trashy. It's just that purple reminds me of like a white trash kind of car. But I'm sure if you like it, it must be the furthest thing from white trash. Just promise me you're not going to grow a mullet to drive it ;-) just kidding! I can't wait to see your hot new little race car :)

As for me, not really much to report from this side of the world. I've been battling some weird illness recently. I think I've just gotten so tired from all my sudden activities (after a month of complete freedom and relaxation), and the fact that this weather has been doing some crazy things. This is the worst weather - freezing (okay not really freezing, this is a tropical country after all) cold in the morning, burning hot in the early afternoon, ferocious rains in the late afternoon (but while it's still hot!) and then it's freezing cold in the evening/night with CRAZY winds. And the humidity jumps from 20% to 99% throughout the day, too. And that has been every day for the past two weeks, pretty much...

So this crazy illness is what the Indonesians call "masuk angin." Literally, it means "entrance of the wind" or "the wind enters" or something like that. Indonesians really truly believe that wind can get into your body through your belly button. And when the weather is really bad, or you're really tired, apparently you get this. They've even got special medicine for this. It's called "jamu" and it's traditional. I can tell you from firsthand experience that jamu tastes like minty poop. Don't ask me how I came to that conclusion. Probably the same way I came to call the icing on store-bought cakes "lipstick" icing. Anyway, up to now, I have not actually believed in this illness. I mean, how the heck can wind get into your body? Then about a week ago, I couldn't sleep because I felt really weird. Nothing actually hurt, though. My body felt tired, I was a little bit dizzy, and my stomach felt all rumbly and bumbly (in the same place where you get heartburn, so you can imagine how weird that felt). All at the same time I felt like I was going to faint, throw up or go number 2. This is probably too much information for you, but this is just such a strange story I had to tell it.

Anyway, so I felt so incredibly weird and uncomfortable that I couldn't sleep. I went out to the kitchen at about 10pm and Robe's sister was still awake, so we sat at the table and chatted for a while. She kept trying to tell me that I had "masuk angin" and I kept telling her that I didn't believe in that. (Imagine how strange it was for Vivi to hear this -- it would be like telling an American that you didn't believe in the common cold) Then Robe's other sister Lia came home with her fiancé Budi. Budi went to college in Canada, so he was trying to explain to Lia & Vivi why Americans wouldn't believe in masuk angin.

He convinced me to try to take some medicine to prevent it, but of course I was too stubborn to take the liquid medicine you're supposed to take. It smelled too much like wet dog and I was not about to ingest that. He said it also came in tablet form, but they didn't have any at their house. So Robe's sister Adi volunteered to run out (it was almost midnight at this point) and try to find a pharmacy. More than an hour later he came back, victorious. I had been suffering from these symptoms practically all day (taking Pepto Bismol to try and feel better), and after I took those tablets (which tasted like minty poop) I felt completely better in about 7 minutes. Unbelievable.

Anyway. All this to say that I now believe in masuk angin. I still don't think wind can actually get into your body, but I believe that this illness does exist in Indonesia. It's so weird, though. I've never heard of anything like this in the States. Maybe you guys could help me think of an equivalent. I think it has something to do with the weird weather here, though.

So next time someone tells you that you've got wind in your body, don't be so quick to reject the idea! :)