Today

I got a lot done today. I try to make Sunday my day of rest, but after a long, stressful week of dealing with 60 different kids with 60 different needs every day, Saturday ends up being my "crash" day. I often sleep in and stay in my pajamas until well after lunch time. I eat whatever I feel like, watch lots of movies, and don't leave the house until night. Today was a bit different though. I had a lot to accomplish.

1. Walk 2 miles.
2. Go shopping.
3. Bake cookies.
4. Go to the garage to get my headlight fixed.
5. Shower.
6. Crochet a meter of scarf.
7. Wedding reception.
8. Translate songs for church.

For some reason, I was wide awake at 4, but I got myself to drift in and out of sleep until about 8. Somewhere in that time, I had a dream about being in America. I've been having a lot of those recently. One of my American friends here has a long time friend coming to visit shortly, and she's asked me if there's anything I want brought from the States. In my dream, I was making a list of things I wanted her to bring for me, but in the dream, I was sitting in my living room in Indiana. My mom was there. And all of a sudden, I started jumping up and down and screaming, "I don't have to ask for anything! I AM HERE!!! I can get SO MANY THINGS MYSELF! I don't need to ask for anything! I can FILL my suitcases with STUFF!!!" Haha... I was SOOO excited to buy American things. And mom looked at me like I was crazy.

By the time my walking buddy got here, it was pretty stinkin hot out, so we didn't quite make our goal of 2 miles. More like 1.25. We were melting. But that's OK. Because after that, we sat and talked in the shade for hours. Then we realized how hungry we were, and we decided to go get lunch. We went to eat at a restaurant known for its spicy food. So we drove there, walked in, got a table, sat down, and began to write our order down. Because in Indonesia, a waiter doesn't take your order. You write it all down yourself and signal the waiter when you're done. So as we were writing, a fellow customer walked over to our table and said, "Um, excuse me. All the food here, it is hot. You know? Hot?" I told him in Indonesian that I know and thanked him. And he replied, "You already know. Oh. OK." And he walked away. Random. Apparently, white people shouldn't be eating hot things. So just to show him how tough white people are, I ordered a whole dish of crushed chilis to mix with my food. Hmph... 

After that, I made my friend go with me to the garage because I've never gone by myself and it's an awkward place for a white girl. I've been driving for an entire week with no headlight. This is actually no problem here, as many people opt not to use a headlight since "it makes the battery last longer". But after nearly driving off the road multiple times last night as I made my way home in the dark from the home of a new friend that I'd never been to before, I decided that I MUST get this fixed. There are literally hundreds of bengkel (garages), so we just trolled around for one without a lot of people waiting. We found one quickly, and as soon as I explained the problem, someone began working on fixing it. My friend and I found a translated copy of some American celeb magazine in Indonesian from 2007 and began to read it. It was sad to realize how many celebs had just started dating and who have by now already gotten married and divorced! At any rate, it only took about 15 minutes to put a new headlight in, and I was charged $1.80. The new bulb cost $1.30, and it was 50 cents for labor. I love this place.

Did my shopping, went home, and started baking cookies. Wednesday was my pastor's son's birthday, and that was what he asked for. Coconut lime sugar cookies from me. Odd thing though - Friday, I came home from school, and my oven was missing. In its place was a much smaller silver one that I had never seen before. Apparently some school workers had swapped them out while I was working. The old one is being repaired and I will hopefully have it back on Tuesday. Once I figured out how to light the new oven, the cookies were a piece of cake. Until I realized that the butter I had just bought in town was frozen solid. And until the jagas (guards) started smelling the cookies and finding excuses to come to my house ("I was on my way home." "Can I borrow some oil?" "Sure smells good over here.").  I ended up giving away about a dozen of Lemuel's birthday cookies. Good thing I made like 4 dozen. Also, you'd be amazed how fast a block of butter could melt when you chuck it out on the front lawn. I took a 15 minute shower and when I was finished, that butter was smooth as smooth can be.

As soon as the cookies were finished, I sat down with the scarf.  A friend from out of town had ordered it from me, and since I never know when I'll see her again, I really wanted to have it ready by the wedding, knowing she would be attending. I got my meter done in the nick of time. I had just enough time to tie it off and bring it to the wedding at 6. 

Cutest wedding I've ever been to in Indonesia. It was actually only the reception as only close friends and family typically attend the ceremony. I heard the groom's mom passed out though, so sad I missed that. Sounds like an adventure.

Oh, and I translated songs for church in the morning while I was waiting for my walking/lunch/garage/shopping buddy.

This might be the first Saturday EVER that I've had a to-do list AND accomplished ALL of it. I'm high fiving myself, thank you very much.