LifeInContrast.com

Roughly seven days ago, my 29 year-old brother lay in the hospital with severe back pain, unable to move or feel his legs.  The doctors were testing him, frantically trying to figure out what the problem was.  When they said there was a possibility that he would never walk again, it was hard to fathom […]

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Little Known Fact #2: We can see bats any time we want, simply by stepping onto our balcony at night.  I’m not sure why there are so many of them.  I think there are caves in the general vicinity.
They swoop really close to our balcony.  They alight on the branches of the nearby guava tree.  […]

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There are so many little details about our daily life in Indonesia.  Many of these little details, you’re probably not aware of.  And there are too many to fit into one posting.  So I’ve decided to start a new category - LKF (Little Known Facts).
LKF #1 - We don’t flush our toilet paper, we collect […]

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To be honest, Thanksgiving came and went without much notice here.  I almost forgot it completely until my boss (from England) asked me if today was the day.
My dinner tonight was nasi rendang, a sort of beef curry dish from Sumatra that is my absolute favorite Indonesian meal.  I eat it a lot, so I […]

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The other night as we sat on our porch and watched the first serious thunderstorm since we’ve arrived, we both remarked that we couldn’t believe it was 5 months already. I told Denise “here we are!”
It was really relaxing to watch the hard rain fall from the dark clouds to the green landscape below, […]

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This weekend I am headed to Jakarta as the only competitor from all 3 of our Bandung schools, to participate in a Bahasa Indonesia spelling bee for teachers whose first language is English (i.e. Westerners).  The spelling bee in Jakarta pits me against representatives from our schools all across Indonesia, although it’s possible most of […]

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It’s a little after 2am on Friday night, and every mosque in the city is still going at full volume. The mosques began their vigil at around 6pm and have been loudly broadcasting prayers ever since. I’m told they will continue non-stop through the night until the morning. It is an amazing […]

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Yeah, that’s right.  I’ve got the Simpsons Movie on DVD already, complete with fancy packaging.  It’s a very good bootleg, completely watchable.  Watched it on my laptop last night, in fact.  And it cost me all of 80 cents.  Don’t hate.

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(Photo: A massive KFC here in Bandung)
There are many Pizza Huts, McDonald’s, and KFCs in Bandung. In most cases the food is not exactly the same, but it’s still pretty good. The sauces are usually a little different, sometimes sweeter. The ingredients are generally the same, with tiny changes. Combo meals […]

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Thursday the 13th marked the beginning of the holy month of Ramadhan (also known as “the fasting month”), when all Muslims must refrain from food, drink, and sex during the daylight hours.  In fact, nothing must pass their lips during the day, so that includes water and smoking.  Ramadhan is a time when Muslims are […]

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