eight -- a little review

It's difficult, getting used to the heat. It wraps around you and suffocates you slowly. This morning, visiting Borobudur (Buddhist temple) and Prambhanan (Hindu temple), we were drowning in our own sweat. The perpetual transfer from the freezing car to the baking outside, I'm getting some headaches and congestion. It's all worth the experience though; Borobudur had a gorgeous view of the mountains and Prambhanan was just visually astounding, even though it was near the epicenter of the 2006 earthquake.

We ended our second tour earlier than the schedule, so we were able to go back to the hotel and rinse of the sweat of the day. The hotel is lovely and, well, pretty close to paradise. GIEU has taken over the entire hotel! We have little guesthouses with gorgeous dark furniture, air conditioning, white bedding, and beautiful outdoor showers. The pool is beautiful too; the pool overlooks the surrounding rice paddies. Overall, very zen, very gorgeous.

Tonight we are going to see the Ramayana ballet in front of th Prmbhanan temple. I'm very excited because, you know, it's one of my favorite stories. I just love it and I'm excited for the Indonesian production of this story. My camera is charging right now, so I hope I can take some pictures.... (It died earlier right between Borobudur and the mini-Buddhist temple called Mendut with the giant Buddhas.)

One of the most striking experiences was yesterday, just wandering the street with Jill, Ashley, Hannah, and Stephen. We didn't stick to the main road in Tembi, instead turning into a lovely tiny Muslim village. All the inhabitants would come up to their house gates and just look at us. When we'd smile and greet them with "selamat sore!" they immediately open up and wave. We also saw a Muslim graveyard; it was interesting. We also ran into an Australian guy from Jakarta who told us how this area was one of the hardest hit from the earthquake and were still rebuilding. All in all, seeing this small, open community was great. (Also, a lady called out "anda dari mana!?" and I recognized what she said and replied, "America!" Am proud of myself!)

There is so much more I can say, but I have to go eat dinner now! Love.