Now that we have left the realm of Spanish, I have no language skills but this last month, I learned a few words- including all the numbers from 1-9. I’m not sure why but 10 always confuses me… Anyway, in honor of being able to count to 9, here are 9 fun facts/pieces of advice in case you ever find yourself in Southeast Asia.
1. Rainy Season means it WILL rain every day. DO NOT LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT RAIN GEAR. Just don’t. You WILL regret it.
2. Your “Magic Hand” can stop traffic to allow you to cross the street. Do NOT try this at home.
3. Having conversations on the back of a motorbike with the driver is completely normal and you don’t have to scream for them to hear you (my bad).
4. Bule (pronounced boo-lay) is the word for white people. Everyone wants to have bule friends or take pictures with bule. It definitely makes us feel like celebrities everywhere we go but we embrace it. This must be how the real Kate Upton feels…
5. The people here are incredibly kind. They will go out of their way to show you how to get somewhere or help you find a ride. They will pay for everything and never expect you to pay them back or even offer to cover gas or parking (So you learn to be quick and pay the parking attendant before they have a chance to get money out).
6. The ladies love Zumba. I have spent more hours doing Zumba in the past few weeks than I have exercised in my entire life.
7. Street food is the best food. If you want awesome, homemade meals, you just have to walk down the street. We befriended a street vendor whom we lovingly referred to as our “noodleman” and would probably eat at his stand 3-4 nights a week (all for less than a dollar a meal). And where we were, you could get basically any food on the side of the road. I would recommend eel, mie goreng, surabi, and martabak. I would NOT recommend durian.
8. Everyone here is musical. At all of the gatherings at our house, you could guarantee that at some point in the night, one of the guitars would be passed around and songs from Taylor Swift, Cold Play, Ed Sheeran, or maybe even Shania Twain would be played.
9. Jesus is present here. He is moving through awesome conversations and relationships that we have made. I am so excited to continue praying for our new friends and being there to answer questions when they arise.
