Layover in Singapore

We have arrived in Singapore at a bit past midnight after traveling for about 24 hours. Our flight for Medan leaves at 7:30 and they are turning the lights off where we are sitting. The first photo shows us at Narita / Tokyo, while the second shows one of the Silk Airlines planes waiting to take us to Indonesia in the morning. The flight to Tokyo was 13 hours and 20 minutes long. Thank goodness they had video on demand systems that worked well. We each watched five or six movies...more than Nancy or I would watch in six months. Yes our rear ends are sore. We've decided if you have to overnight in an airport, this is the place to be. Peaceful music is playing quietly in the background and hopefully we can catch a little sleep here.

What's Up in Siantar?

Our curiousity is building so we took a look at the official city website for Siantar. That might have been a good idea before we bought our plane tickets, but too much info can ruin an adventure!

Though there is some variability in the census numbers, about 240,000 people live in Siantar. Judging by the website, there's some stores and stadiums and parks, so it should be interesting. Many photos are included, showing buildings and all the mayors of all time for the city. They don't mention traffic on the roads, but this is probably the Chamber of Commerce perspective of the city. Just the fact that they have a city website reflects an interest in the internet and communication. Here is the website for you to visit (thank goodness for the Google "translate to English" feature!):

http://www.pematangsiantarkota.go.id/

An interesting fact: the city has more churches than mosques.

The website includes a "fact book" from 2004 which features an incredible level of detail of subjects like traffic accidents, driver's licenses issued, pieces of mail sent, even the number of homes with telephones. Since everything on TV is summer reruns, this could make for interesting (and free) entertainment.

Views of Siantar

We checked out Siantar on Google Earth today and were disappointed. How come you can see our house and church on Google Earth but basically nothing from Siantar? There were a few photos, and a map with very little detail, and that was it. I guess we'll have to submit some more photos during our time there.

Based on what we found on Google Earth, there's a great deal of traffic in Siantar. If you don't hear from us for a long time, it could be that we are stuck in traffic. Here's some of the images we found:

Currency Conversion

Did you know that 10 US Dollars is the equivalent of 86,150 Indonesian Rupiahs? We better get our math brains in gear!

So here's a test. How much is the bill above worth in USD? While you're at it you can start learning your Indonesian numbers...100,000 is Seratus ribu.

Background Information of Interest

To gain insight into the world we will joining, check out this address:

http://www.lutheran.edu.au/tools/getFile.aspx?tbl=tblContentItem&id=1512 .

The article makes for very interesting reading.

Our Home Away From Home

Here are some photos of our abode to be in Indonesia. We don't have any more detail than this, so it's quite intriguing. The pictures were taken by the missionary coordinator for Southeast Asia of the ELCA. We are very excited to have a place provided for us during this adventure.


This is the exterior view, no idea of the surroundings except the trees in the background would seem to indicate it's not in the middle of a big city.






Here's a view of one of the restrooms. A confirmation of running water!




The Purple Haze kitchen. To the far right is the two burner propane stove. I like the nice clean tile and stainless sink.

The formal living room, complete with formal furniture. I can't wait to check this place out!

Visas Have Arrived!

Today our passports returned home (to us) and now include our Indonesia visas. This makes the trip seem even more real, and with just a few weeks until departure it's time to get serious in our planning.

To help you pinpont our pending location, this first map gets you in the ballpark. Sumatra is the biggest island of Indonesia and is on the lefthand side.

The second map shows Sumatra in detail. Find the large word "NORTH" above the U in Sumata. Just to the right of this is the location for Nommensen University, the city of Pematangsiantar.

Preparing for Indonesia

We are working on our Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian language) and our visas in preparation for our trip at the end of June. Nancy and I are a bit more excited about the trip than Jacob, but that is to be expected. We have a great deal to learn in a short bit of time so it should be an exciting June around here!