@ michaelk...Thanks...I did ms i-i and the deleted her/his account, but about 2 hours later, she/he popped up again, this time with a personal message...so I informed i-i again and they sorted it. Don't be surprised if it pops back up again under a different name. 

@ katiecraven1 No, I dont teach there...yet...but 2 people who have who can possibly help you are Robert Clarke, and Shanshan. They have both taught there and both on the Chalkboard. 

Hello,I have just been redaing about your travels and wondered if you had been teaching in Jakarta or just travelling?Im looking to teach in Jakarta in June this year and am looking for any information that anybody can give me.Had a quick look at your photos,there really stunning and very inspirational.Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I also received that message from NAOMIBB.  It is too bad that people like that can get on here and send that insane garbage to us.  I hope that i to i will delete the account.  On a lighter note, I read your "about me" section, and I appreciated it.  Wishing you much peace and happiness!

Thanks my friend!

Hi Crystal

Yes I remember. I am still trying to manage my way through the course but will get there. 

The only px I have put up on here are from my travels so far to Bali and Jakarta...maybe I could upload some more. I take hundreds of photos wherever I go....I am pretty observant and find little things interest me so can photograph more everyday things.  

Djuli took me to one of his friend's homes one day on my last trip to Jakarta. As we rode closer to the house, the streets got smaller and smaller and by the time we got there, the street (they call it a gang) was only 3 feet wide. Little kids playing in the street saw us coming and word spread like wildfire and by the time we arrived at the friend's house, there were kids everywhere. Some followed our motor while others were a little more shy and just stared. 

We had only just stepped inside the door and the doorway was suddenly jam packed with all these little faces so curious as to see a real live foreigner. I felt a little embarrassed that there were so many of the neighbours (adults too) all spilling into his lounge, so I picked up my camera and went outside to take photos. The kids were just wonderful. They would not pose, just stood there naturally and so curious and the shots that came out were just so candid and natural. Then I showed the kids their own photos and they were in awe of themselves in a little box. Most of these kids come from such poor families they dont own cameras and many of them had never had their photos taken. Odd I thought because they all have tv sets and mobile phones in their homes..

At one point the friend's 7 yr old daughter invited us to the rice farm. Wow that was awesome...and I found out later, it is quite an honour to be invited to the farm. By the time we reached the farm, about 100 metres away, suddenly we had a following of a dozen kids. I don't know where they came from. On the way back the sides of the gangs were lined with women holding babies and tots, all waiting for an opportunity to see 'the foreigner'. I felt like the Pied Piper. I took photos of some of them too. 

One lady had just finished sweeping up the area in front of her house and had a large bowl full of litter and dust, saw me coming up the gang, got such a shock she dropped her bowl of rubbish. (They never have westerners go there). She was so flustered and tried to hurriedly collect it all together,  Djuli and his friend saw the funny side and all 3 of them just laughed and laughed. So different from the western side of life. They find humour  in the basic things in life.

When we left, we had a trail of little kids all running after us down the gangs until we got to the larger streets.

These people are just beautiful. They have the loveliest souls and hearts and will share anything with others no matter what it is or even if they can't afford to.  As we motored away down the street Djuli told me his friend was so honoured to have me in his home. I told him I felt very privileged and humbled to have been invited and accepted there, and I hoped we could go back and visit them next time I go to Jakarta

Hi there Crystal. 

That visit was the highlight of my trip to JKT this time around, in many ways I have been accepted...not just as a foreigner in their society, but as one of them. Maybe if I did not have an Indonesian fiancee I may have been viewed differently, but they accept foreign partners of their own native peoples, as one of their own ....even though my bahasa is not very good, and the visit was sprung on me and I did not have any idea where we were going until we got there. 

One cannot put a price on those experiences I think.

Cheers

Hi There!

I have spoken with you a few times on the phone (I'm sure you're already aware of that)

How are your travel plans coming along? Hopefully things are all falling into place for you! I look forward to seeing loads of pictures from your adventures.

Take care. :)