"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

I'm an ornament, living safely in my box, tucked away most of the year and only once in a great while coming out and going somewhere--and then I go only so far as I have gone in all the past years. Less metaphorically, I am often too content in my comfort zone. I am not daring. I am not restless. I experience no wanderlust or great drive to go beyond what I have seen.

This is not because I do not think anything is out there. On the contrary--there are a great many things I wish I could say I have seen, because I am sure they are worth seeing. I know it would do me a great good to learn another language, to try exotic food (well, some exotic foods may not do me good), to get out and see. I just don't. Finance, fear, work, all sorts of things keep me here.

So when I was first volunteered to go to Indonesia to return four of my nephews to their family, I did not have the reaction I should have. Rather than, "Certainly! And what a chance!" I said, and I quote, "O.O" It was really scary to me, the idea of traveling over the Pacific into China and then Indonesia, especially with four children. If I could have made the choice then not to go, I would have.

What a loss that would have been! Little old me, who had never gone further than James Bay, Canada from her home, went to the other side of the world! I have spent fifty hours on one plane or another in six days, and another ten or so in layovers at six airports, and I have spent one day and two nights in Jakarta, Indonesia, plus some fleeting time in Taipei, Taiwan, and I am really glad I did it. Surprise!

The trip over was stressful, of course. The boys behaved very well, especially considering none of them slept for more than three hours over a twenty-four hours span of time, and one of them was five. It was scary, making sure we had all our papers and suitcases and seats and things, but I pretty much got the hang of airports after the first three or so. The plane rides themselves were worse mainly because I got so motion sick and the food was so terrible. The EVA planes we rode to cross the ocean were much nicer than the American lines, though, so that was good. There is an astonishing differences between Asian and American planes and airports. I won't speculate why that is, but suffice it to say I wish we could have traveled Asian in the US.

Jakarta was, of course, the highlight of the trip. The boys and their parents were much delighted to be reunited, and I got to meet Faith, the newest addition to the family. She is a two (maybe) year old Vietnamese girl recently adopted, and she is extremely adorable. Very moody, though, and definitely still adjusting. I'm not sure what she thought of all of us arriving, and then only one of us leaving. She does not speak English yet, so there is much for her and her parents to learn.

I can't really describe Jakarta to you in a DA journal. It requires books in most cases. It was foreign, obviously--but I use the word in the most extreme, severe sense. It was alien to anything I had ever seen or known, though I was the alien. And let me tell you, ten white people walking through the malls sure gets a lot of attention. It is a third world country, and a city of extremes. Houses that would have been million dollar homes in the states were on the same street as houses made of tarps and plywood. Entire villages existed under the enormous bridge systems with only the river (tapped by open sewers) for water, while those with the income drink only bottled water for fear of the disease carried by the tap water.

It was really the traffic, though, that impressed me most during my fleeting stay--perhaps because it was so fleeting, and we spent so much time driving places. The only traffic laws I could figure out were stop lights and general direction. There are no lines on the smaller roads, and even when there are lines, they don't seem to mean much. Everyone weaves in and out and around each other, the motorcycles (which are numerous) slip between cars wherever they can, the bus-lane is often crowded with anything but buses, intersections are a free for all, and it's like one big school of exhaust-belching fish. What was really surprising, though, was how non-aggressive the drivers were. No horn blaring, no rude whipping over in front of people, no cutting off, no hand gestures--just a complex and dangerous looking automobile dance. It was the weirdest thing.

I spent my day there at the malls. There were three of them we went to (there are about ninety in Jakarta); the first was much more native and that's where I spent most of my souvenir money. The second was more mall-like, though a fluid blending of local and western culture (Toy Saurus, for instance, was there, and pet stores that sold cats, puppies, lizard, snapping turtles, and monkeys). The third was the most western, and also the most expensive. It was almost familiar, but way out of my league; Gucci was the first store. I ate as western as I could since I was leaving so soon and it was almost a given that eating locally would get you really ill until you were used to it, so it was Pizza Hut and "Spageddi's" for me.

The trip home had a lot more sleeping than the trip over, since I was alone. I really wished I could have stayed longer--there was so much more to see, not to mention leaving my sister's family was sad. I do hope we get to go back there again, perhaps next year. The trip home was basically uneventful expect that my flight in LA landed an hour late, and I had to flee to my terminal and was the last person on the flight. All my luggage arrived...eventually. My one suitcase had to be brought to me at home the next day, but it did get here. So all in all, it was a good trip.

Not sure I would do it again anytime real soon, but a good trip.

Thank you for all the prayers, the good wishes, and the welcome backs! It's good to be home...I'll probably have some pictures up in scraps or something soon.

"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it."
- George Moore