Sumatra has good coffee...

...At least that's what I hear. This morning we got up early and took and car and a ferry from the island of Java to Sumatra. After about six hours of travel, we ended up in the city of Lampung. We're staying in a hotel here until Thursday. Tuesday and Wednesday we will be visiting Sekolah Lentera Harapan (SLH), which is the third (lowest) level school. These children do not speak any English and are from rural village areas. We will be leading some group games and teaching some classes. I will be teaching English, which shall be interesting considering I will be using a translator. On Thursday, we will be visiting a national park called Wakambas. Apparently we will be able to see wild tigers and even ride elephants! I am really excited about that.

Tonight we went to the beach and took a motor row boat over to an island. After the beach we went to an authentic Lampung snack shop and bought some coffee, dried mangos, and these really delicious dried bananas covered in mocha powder. After that we went for dinner and I ate Pempek. It's like fried whipped fish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pempek).

This trip has been amazing so far. Living in Lippo Village (outside Jakarta) is not much different than the United States. It's very modern and extremely safe. We actually have 8 apartment mates. Cockroaches. Yea. Not a fan. We killed them. At least we hope so. They have a tendency to come back to life. So aside from the roaches, we really like it here. Like I said before, they treat us like gold. We have a driver who takes us everywhere and SPH has taken care of our meals. We are especially thankful for the driver (Pak Naryo is his name) because he is very safe in a city in which people drive like maniacs. It's like mass chaos on the streets. I know I've mentioned this before, but it never ceases to amaze me. Lines are optional and horns are communication devices that people use all the time. Motorcycles swarm the cars. And while all this is going on, I am gripping my seat thinking, "I never would want to drive here. Thank you, God for Pak Naryo."

Alright, off to lesson planning. Thank you again for all your prayers and support.

Love,
Kait

P.S. Oh yea, I tried cow brain today. I didn't like it.