Jakarta update

Okay. It's day 5. I know that I said I will post something everyday but I have really been busy. My work load is heavy. And after work I go out. And when I get home it is late and Im tired and I need to sleep. Well tonight your in luck. I just had a coffee. It is 1130pm and I am ready to blog.

Heres a quick break down of the week so far.
Monday
After work, I went to dinner with some friends in an outdoor food court in Kemang. I had Indonesian food and we chatted for about 2 hours. After we went to a very posh cafe in Kemang that served Gelato. I had gelato and crepes. We stayed there for another 2 hours chatting. Here is a pic.



Tuesday
Work was really hectic. I am learning web part development for Sharepoint portal using the C# language. My study of this is supposed to end today but I still have so much more to learn. I think I will concentrate on this until Friday.

After work I went out alone by Taksi to Pasa Raya. It is a HUGE mall. I looked up and down and all around. Everything that you can imagine and it was cheap (in comparison). I had dinner there at Chatter-box cafe. The waitresses were really friendly. They love to chat and practise their English. I also got hit on by a gay guy (I think he was gay). But it was cool. I spoke with him for about 30 minutes. I then had coffee at Star Bucks then went back to hte hotel to sleep.

Wednesday
Work once again was busy. I really love my team here. They are all great. There work ethic is inspiring and their team work is good. They really care about the team. They work as a team. They deliver as a team. It's truly a blessing for me to be here working with them.
I turned down an offer to go out with friends so that I could have dinner with my Gayles mom. Gayles mom ended up being stuck in the office until really late so it left me all alone. What was a guy to do? Go shopping of course. I went to a really large shopping mall called Plaza Semanggi. Again, the usual thing - shop, eat, starbucks. Oh, I bought a pair of Versace jeans for Rp180,000 (AUD26.50). I also bought a Christian Indonesian CD. It will help me with my bahasa development.

When I got home i just had a vegetable juice in the hotel lobby and chatted with security for a while in Bahasa.

Tonight
After work I went to the most AWESOME Indian restaurant I have EVER been to. I was with Gayles mom. It was so freakin' awesome. The food was so freakin' good. It was on the 18th floor of a very highclass hotel hear next to the Da Vinci building (a very stylish apartment building that rents for US10,000 per month). It was the right time to eat here. There is a Punjab food festival. Their were dancers and food. I ate so much. then I went to Plaza Indonesia to buy bottled water.

One thing that you learn very quickly here is that you can not drink the tap water. It is the opposite problem to Australia. There is an abundance of water but it is undrinkable. The pollution is so thick and heavy here. On my fist visit I had diahorea after swallowing some tap water while brushing my teeth.

I met up with a friend and his fiancee at 10pm at the Coffee Bros cafe. We chatted for 1.5 hours and now Im hear blogging.

If ever you have an opportunity to visit this city please do. It is the most amazing place. The people are great. I am looking forward to the day I move hear with my wife. One thing that I never want to do is show disrespect to the Indonesian people. Many of them have it very tough here. There is a severe class hierarchy here.

Oh another cool thing... I was in Sudireman tonight (the central business district). It is high rise buildings every where. It is really bustling (the whole of jakarta is bustling all day and night, but Sudireman really bustles at peak hour). In the midst of this you can see the tower of the Mosques protruding from the ground. Then you hear over the loud speakers the call for prayer. It penetrates the whole city.

Muslims pray five times a day and the call for prayer is given over the loud speakers of the mosques. In Jakarta there is almost one mosque per 1.5km square.

The five prayer times are:
Fajr (pre-dawn): This prayer starts off the day with the remembrance of God; it is performed before sunrise.
Dhuhr (noon): After the day's work has begun, one breaks shortly after noon to again remember God and seek His guidance.
'Asr (afternoon): In the late afternoon, people are usually busy wrapping up the day's work, getting kids home from school, etc. It is an important time to take a few minutes to remember God and the greater meaning of our lives.
Maghrib (sunset): Just after the sun goes down, Muslims remember God again as the day begins to come to a close.
'Isha (evening): Before retiring for the night, Muslims again take time to remember God's presence, guidance, mercy, and forgiveness.

This is the Muslim call to prayer (given in Arabic):
1 Allah u Akbar, Allah u Akbar -- Allah is Great, Allah is Great
2-Ash-hadu al-la Ilaha ill Allah - Ash-hadu al-la Ilaha ill Allah -- I bear witness that there is no divinty but Allah
3 Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullaah-- I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger
Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullaah. -- I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger
4 Hayya la-s-saleah - Hayya la-s-saleah -- Hasten to the prayer, Hasten to the prayer
5 Hayya la-l-faleah - Hayya la-l-faleah -- Hasten to real success, Hasten to real success,
6 Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar -- Allah is Great, Allah is Great
7 La Ilaha ill Allah -- There is no divinity but Allah

Another translation reads:
God is great. (x4)
I bear witness that there none worthy of worship except God. (x2)
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. (x2)
Come to prayer. (x2)
Come to felicity. (x2)
[Fajr only] Prayer is better than sleep. (x2)
[Iqama only] Our prayers are now ready. Our prayers are now ready. (x2)
God is great. (x2)
There is none worthy of worship except God.

Anyway, It is very interesting / exciting to be here in the midst of this. Humid tropical climate. Busy city. City of contrasts. Religious presence. Materialistic. Everything. I will write more on the weekend.

God bless you all. Jesus is Lord.