I'm trying ( unsuccessfully so far ) to recover from two days of intestinal problems and a constant low-grade stomach ache which have made it impossible to sleep well or to muster up any energy or 'focus' for whatever I do.Not sure what actually caused it, but for sure I will be more careful about what I eat from now on - and not go on routinely eating whatever is put in front of me when often it's stuff I don't even like - especially all the squishy, doughy thi...

Sunday night Oct. 17 Today Raidul and Holan organized a motorcycle trip way out into the countryside, 63 km out, to be precise.Five of us went on 3 cycles, Raidul and I riding behind two friends of his ( both English teachers I'd met before ).First we stopped briefly at Raidul's mom's home again for his Sunday visit; most of the same people were there as last time.Then we stopped at a strung-out roadside traditional food market where as soon as people saw...

Thurs. evening Oct 14 Suddenly I am much closer to being able to cook and eat in a more 'normal' way for me, and am feeling more positive about that part of my life here.Yani took me to Palembang Trade Center on his cycle this afternoon, where we went through the two best supermarkets I've seen here (though he thinks Carrefour is better yet ).Diamond has a great fresh seafood section with live crab, big redfish, etc. and more varied spices ( I finally found cinn...

Sun. Oct 10 - 7 am I just refilled the rooftop water tank - only the second time in 2 weeks, and it probably wasn't necessary; it's a big tank and I haven't used much water.It's mild out with white, thin clouds covering the sky and just a faint breeze. With no warning whatever, yesterday just before 5 the sky turned black and then the power went out even before the rain began.It was more of a typical tropical shower, except that there was, briefly, a vivi...

Fri. Oct 8 evening - just got electricity back after 45 minutes off I just witnessed the most phenomenal rain/lightning storm not only of my time here but possibly in my entire life.You could guess at once that it was to be something special - in an instant, with no prelude, sheets of rain were pounding against the house walls, and the lightning and thunder were pretty much non-stop. I sat out on my front porch again to enjoy the show - but had to hide in ...