Wandering Browns

Having been back in the comfort of the United States for one week now, it seems like our time in Cilacap was something that happened long ago! Here are the last batch of pictures from our time in Cilacap: Mrs. Titi asked us to come take pictures at a studio in the center of town. They had us take the picture against a plain gray background, and then photo-shopped in some pretty awesome backgrounds, including the Eiffel tower!? I loved how Mrs. Titi had us go to this professional studio, then made the funniest faces and poses. Also, Landon and Mrs. Titi are making the same face in the picture above. The other children are Mrs. Titi's niece and nephew who live next door to her. Mr. Teguh is holding Landon, and is Mrs. Titi's husband.  On our last full day in Cilacap, I took Landon down to Teluk Penyu beach to dig around in the sand, blow off some steam, and take some more pictures of boats. On our way there, we ran into two school PE classes playing in the field cl...

Cilacap gas station- glass bottles filled with gas and even a funnel for  easy fueling for scooters. I've been thinking about this post for a long time, trying to formulate my thoughts on the subject. I'd like to begin by saying that my experience here is all the more frustrating because of the circumstances. Missionaries are sent to impoverished places, but have a message to share, learn the language, and hopefully help people come to Christ and better themselves to lift themselves out of poverty. Those who have done international service projects in poor places go and serve- building schools, cleaning up, giving medical care, how awesome! I would love to join you. Me on the other hand- we are here for a longer time than normal vacations, but short-term enough that is is hard to find volunteer opportunities. There are not many people that speak English, and we have short notice before leaving. We are not here with a group or any sort of organized anything, so there ar...

Getting brave... Once upon a time I told Austin we should walk to the beach instead of taking a taxi. I had walked there before and didn't think it would take too long. 2.5 miles later, we got to the beach, but Austin was not in the mood to get all sandy and wet after hiking all the way there in the heat. So he became the official photographer of our beach fun. Also, Landon got over his fear of waves and bodysurfed for the first time in the wave fluff! It was a momentous day and I think all beach trips are going to be much more fun from now on with our fearless toddler! Running away from the wave! Letting waves crash over his legs... Building a sand castle The last few times we have gone to the beach, Landon has been super afraid of the waves, and doesn't want to go near the water. In contrast, he loves the pool. This time, he came down to the water to fill up his watering can almost immediately, and did the run away from the wave game really well. Af...

From what I had seen of the harbor in west Cilacap, I knew there had to be a bigger harbor east. I decided to just walk east until I ran into boats and it worked out well for me. We stopped at the first, smaller harbor and Landon played in the cleanish dirt and admired a big excavator parked there. There were search and rescue recruits training down on the tiny piece of sand in the harbor below, so it was entertaining to watch them. They were working on flipping over rubber rafts to clear them of water. There were mostly boys with a few very small girls. I was shocked when they put three of these little girls on the raft and expected them to be able to flip it on their own. I don't speak Indonesian, but I'm sure there were plenty of sexist jokes flying around as the girls struggled a lot to flip the raft over. Poor girls! Also, as in the picture below, there were lots of elementary/junior high age kids biking out onto the jetty. There was a barrier to traverse and I was alo...

I must admit, driving into the city of Cilacap from the airport, I was not very impressed. There were no sidewalks, and little huts along the side of the road. Kids were playing really close to the street and I did not see one grocery store from the airport to the hotel. Fortunately, Cilacap is growing on me as I explore and interact with different people and places. There are in fact sidewalks in the "downtown" area- but they are at least 8 inches off the ground, and the curb cuts are at 45 degree angles so it is difficult to walk- especially with a stroller. I end up on the road most of the time.  Tower of the big mosque in the middle of town First things first. We were essentially left at the airport, so our mood was not the greatest. Then we got to the hotel. Austin had requested an "Executive" level room on the 2nd floor. They put us in a 1st floor tiny room that was not executive. It had an exterior entry and 2 doors to the outside- with 1cm gaps be...