The First Week

I have survived my first week of work.

I always forget how tiring work is.  It's frustrating to be out of work but it's tiring to be at work. It's doubly tiring to try to look busy at work.

Now don't mistake me.  I am glad I'm back at work.  I'm glad to be working where I am but at the moment, there isn't a lot for me to be actively working on. Until I get credentialed (a process that is slightly different in each place but basically verifies that I know my stuff well enough and can present it well enough that both Epic, the owners of the software, and my current hospital system both feel that I will be a good representative for them) there isn't much to do. This time is usually used to learn curriculum, training methods, specifics for a specific facility.  I don't mean to brag because that usually gives the universe an opportunity to make you look the fool, but I'm a great trainer.  I don't have to learn training methods. The material here is about 95% the same as the last place I was a trainer and there isn't much (so far) that is special for here.

That leaves me with forty hours to fill and little to fill it.  There are a requisite number of hours listening to practice teachings by other trainers, or train the trainer classes on things like learning styles or training expectations. We use YouTube videos to bring people back from break so I spent a couple hours today building a YouTube library (suggestions welcome for funny PG rated under five minute videos!).

To make matters worse, it's been even harder to be at work this week because the weather has been amazing! The last couple of weeks, when I was off work, were gray, rainy and generally crappy. I started work on Monday and it was in the 60's and sunny and lovely.  It's been that way all week, into the 70's. This weekend it's supposed to be 57 and rainy.  That's proof that God created man (if that's what you believe) just to entertain himself and have a laugh.

Working with my contracting company (they hire and pay me to work at the healthcare facility but I still have to interview with the facility) was tough this go around too.  It took all week to finally get the everything they needed and vice versa.  I had to request timesheet submission information no less than four times.  I sent them back their start up packet and apparently missed a couple signatures.  I actually think two of the forms had been left out of the first packet but whatever.

I'm once again a working stif which does mean that weekends are significant again. With that, I'm off to daydream about making the most of my measly two days sans work.

Happy Spring!

To celebrate, the Puget Sound area is having a weather advisory.
"Wind Advisory

in effect from Wednesday, March 20, 9:00 AM until Wednesday, March 20, 8:00 PM

...WIND ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM PDT THIS EVENING...

* SOME AFFECTED LOCATIONS...EVERETT...SEATTLE...BREMERTON...
TACOMA...OLYMPIA...SHELTON...CHEHALIS.

* TIMING...GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY THIS
EVENING...THEN DECREASE.

* WIND...SOUTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50
MPH...DECREASING LATER THIS EVENING.

* IMPACTS...WINDS THIS STRONG CAN BREAK SMALL TREE BRANCHES AND
CAUSE LOCAL POWER OUTAGES.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WIND ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS OF 30 TO 39 MPH OR
GUSTS OF 45 TO 57 MPH ARE LIKELY.

in effect from Wednesday, March 20, 9:00 AM until Wednesday, March 20, 8:00 PM"

It means that as I look out my window today I've seen serious dark, black clouds, pouring rain, drizzle, no rain but gray clouds, blue sky with puffy white clouds racing across the sky, partial sun, full sun and almost every combination there of. There was talk at the gym of possible snow tonight and mention that the mountains got a foot last night.

I realize The Punxatawny Phil said early spring. I think he's a liar. Easter is coming. While I gave up my celebration of the day when it was ok to eat more than one Cadbury Creme Egg years ago, I don't like the idea of dozens of little toddlers getting rained on while they try to find some "hidden" plastic eggs. March 20th is the Spring Equinox.  It's the official start of spring, but anyone in the Puget Sound area knows better than to actually believe it's spring. It will still be a couple months before nice weather is a regular visitor here. Good thing I haven't put away my long underwear for the year. I have however, transitioned from wool pea coats that signal Winter to layering polar fleece with a waterproof shell. Ahh Spring!

Hiking high

I still have a little bit more to blog about leaving Jakarta but I wanted to write about something current.

Now that I'm back in the great Pacific Northwest (PNW) I'm trying to make the most of it and take advantage of being able to go outside.  Jakarta thwarts any attempt to be out of doors with heat, humidity, pollution and lack of sidewalks/parks/mountains/beaches. I knew being back in Washington would be a big adjustment so I'm embracing the difference.  The weather here is typical for the winter to spring change.  I call it Seattle Schizophrenia because the weather will change multiple times a day, including but not limited to sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowing, hail, drizzly, freezing or mild. If you don't like it, wait ten minutes. In spite of that, or because of that, Seattleites go out anyway.  If I waited for good weather, I wouldn't be out hiking until June.

I'm part of a hiking group.  Steve, one of the leaders, seems to know every trail and path in the area.  He is a great leader who doesn't push to go too fast. Tuesday we hiked on Tiger Mountain in rain and hail, in mud, slush and on snow, ice and rocks. It was a tougher climb than I expected with a painful pinch in my hip but it felt good to get to the top.

Thursday Steve led a snowshoe trip up Snoqualmie pass.  It's a big ski area that's close enough to the city to make it a part day trip. We walked up nearly underneath one of the ski lifts on a side of the mountain that was closed midweek. Six miles in snowshoes felt like more than the eight miles on Tuesday. I enjoyed it even more than the hike and was less sore after. Ive got to get some decent snow boots though, cold wet feet are not fun! It was such a rush.  Over a foot of new powder, blue skies and sunshine (surprise!!) and amazing views. 

Expect more hiking, snowshoeing, outdoorsy updates as the weather gets better and I get in better shape.

Two Seasons?

Seasons in Jakarta have taken some getting used to.  Indonesia is one of thirteen countries the equator passes through (Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Sao Tome & Principe, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, Indonesia and Kiribati).  It's hot here.  It is rarely cool enough for a light zip up jacket (except at the movie theater) but always warm enough for air conditioning.

I was born and raised in a city in the Northern Hemisphere.  Not barely north of the equator, but Seattle.  Yes, just south of Canada.  Seattle is temperate in comparison to places like Boston, New York (which Seattle is north of latitudinally) or even Paris to some extent which is on the same latitude. Until a couple years ago it was rare to get snow in the city though we always got it in the mountains. Spring usually starts in March and lasts until June, summer when it's sunny daily and warm bordering on hot is from July to mid September, autumn is usually short running form Sept to October when the cold rain sets in for the winter.  Maybe not textbooks three month seasons with obvious differentiation, but enough to know when was what. 

Courtesy of blog.proud-geek.com.  See how far north we are?

In Jakarta the seasons are (or are supposed to be) wet and dry.  Only two seasons per year, and not evenly divided at that.  When I arrived I was told that the wet season was January to May, give or take, and the dry season was the rest of the year.  Since then I've also been told that the wet season is December to March, October to February or November to April.  All I know is there is a wet season.  As per the rest of the world, the seasons seem to be changing due to climate change (which I prefer to the misnamed global warming).  The wet season seems to have been shorter this year, or I missed a bunch of it when I was enjoying the rain at home in Seattle.

Courtesy of news.sky.com.  We've gone from this. . .

This week, Monday in fact, appears to be the start of the dry season.  The temperatures have spiked dramatically and the teachers are all glued in their seats in the air conditioned office.  It's sunny all day with out the usual afternoon thunderstorm.  I would love it except for two things; One - I am stuck in my school all day.  The rooms can get quite hot and the sun seems to wind the kids up.  Two - by the time I get home the sun is behind one of the two towers of my apartment and I can't even soak any of it up!  As someone who has always preferred the sun to the snow, this isn't what I mean.  Sweating home on the back of the motorcycle while dutifully wearing a jacket and jeans is not my idea of fun.

Courtesy of frtim.wordpress.com.  To this!

My hope for the weekend is a bit of sun when I can enjoy it at the pool.  Fingers crossed. Of course, now that I've said something, I will have jinxed it and just like seeing the groundhog in February, we may have another six weeks of rain.

too much?

I usually write more topically, and I had all the best intentions yesterday to write but life got the better of me.  Today I have slid down the scale to a rant.

I started the week relieved that at school I'd wrapped up a project.  For each of my four classes we'd spent the better part of two weeks working on a United States unit.  I had prepped 2-3 pages each for 15 states, each student choosing one state.  They had to make a mind map and rough draft after reviewing parts of a paragraph. Then a final written that could be used for their presentation.  They each got a written score and a speaking score which had to be given back to them and entered into the computer.  I was happy I'd finished it all before our 3 day mid-semester break. I could lounge in Bali guilt and worry free. 

Now the sh** is hitting the proverbial fan.  The teaching staff has realized with holidays and deadlines, we really only have about 24 days left.  We aren't off until the 22nd of December but grades are obviously due before then.  We're losing two consecutive Wednesdays to an Indonesian and a school holiday. The way our schedules work that means that the Tuesdays are blow off days because we can't have one group get ahead of the other.  This week I'm running 2 unit tests and trying to get a mini speaking assessment in.  It's week one of 3 consecutive weeks of 5 days of class.  I know I shouldn't be complaining but it does feel long after so many holidays. The students are manic, and I've lost my voice to a ruddy decibel that it isn't recovering over the weekend. 

Today I've also been asked to cover a business class at night last minute. I can use the money but I could also use the 3 hours. I'm debating my grocery trip today because I need food but don't know if I have time. Tomorrow is a new client meeting for a new business where I'll be teaching every other week.  I've got a throbbing headache that's settled behind my right eye and won't budge.  It is all following yesterday's 2 hour trip home.  I've not seen rain like yesterday's in my time here.  We had a flat tire and 2 detours due to flooded roadways. I had to help pull the water out of a hole in the asphalt that dropped the bike out from under me.  I didn't fall but was standing before I knew what happened. We drove through water nearly knee deep. I split the seam for the second time in my sexy plastic rain pants and had to throw them out.  I ended up soaked all the way through, top to bottom. My trip to the grocery store went by the way side and after 15 minutes to partially disrobe in the hallway, I ate dinner and was asleep by 8.  Ahhh, in bed early.  Oh what's that?  4 am call to prayer?  No problem, that happens daily.  Wait, whaat?  An hour and 20 minutes of call to prayer not the normal 15?  Now that's new. 

I'm actually considering going to the doctor.  My lagging energy levels have continued as well as some serious stomach/diarrhea issues.  Parasites? Virus? The Plague?  It would mean I'd actually have to find the time.  And its just started raining. . . .

courtesy of blogs.warwick.ac.uk

Winter in the Tropics

I’ve found a way to bring winter to Jakarta.  It helps that it’s now the rainy season. It rains, strike that, it pours most afternoons, often for interminable hours.  I quite enjoy it if I am inside because it makes the sky gray and dark, more like winter in Seattle.  The clouds tend to sit really low in the trees around my school.  I like the winter feeling it portends right up until I have to get on the motorbike in my plastic suit (refer to previous blog “When it rains, it pours” for more on ojeks, rain and plastic suit). It doesn’t get cold-cold, but it’s much cooler. It’s more a change in my mentality; it’s not sunny therefore it’s cold. If there’s no rain then it’s still hot, last week we had a couple of scorching days. 

In addition to my mental state, I’ve brought the cold to my physical world. After work when I get home, I turn the air conditioning to cool my room while putting things away and eating dinner.  After which I proceed to take a cold shower (this is not by choice). Next I hop into my sweats.  My “buy of the week” last weekend was an over-sized gray hooded sweatshirt, American style. I’ve been in it three of the past five days. I bought it at a second hand shop, with thanks to a fantastic shopping partner. It’s still so thick and fluffy it’s hard to believe it’s not new. I suppose it’s a step up from my “buy of the week” last week- a splurge for celery and cottage cheese.  You laugh but they’re not easy items to find here and much more expensive than at home.  Before you go speculate, I did not eat them together. 

courtesy of qualitylogoproducts.com.  Mine looks just like this, without those logos.

 Growing up I was never a snow bunny, or even a particular fan of the cold.  My sister joined ski club in junior high.  As far as I know, she’s gotten ski passes ever since.  Beyond not being much a skier, I could never rationalize the cost for a chair lift, gas, food, gear, etc, etc. I’d tell my friends that in my family my dad and I were the sun worshippers (I still think the Egyptians may have been on to something) while my mom and sister were the snow fans.  While I do love a beautiful sunny day, and I currently miss tanning at the pool, I have become conscious of how I enjoy the change of seasons.  It threw me for a loop when I first arrived in January. I went from cold weather and short days to 12 hours of sunlight, with heat and humidity. It wasn’t until about May or so that I wasn’t sweltering.  In the first several months I thought I was a fool for bringing jeans, now I’m in them several days a week. Aside from the rain, the days are always about 12 hours long.  When I get on the ojek at 06:00 its light but the sun isn’t up yet. It gets dark about 18:00, rain aside.

As people mention the change of season, temperature and wardrobe in their facebook statuses, I sigh longing for my boots, scarves and sweaters.  In the meantime, I’m making my own autumn and looking forward to December and January back in Seattle. La Niña means we might even have snow!  Three weeks should be plenty for me to get tired of it and head back “home”.

 

An associated point-

One more point before I wrap this one up, it dovetails with the end of the previous paragraph.  When I meet other expatriates there is a point not far into the first conversation when details about place of origin surface. The concept of HOME is close to home for me.  It was interesting in Spain when I had to regularly explain the difference between ‘house’ and ‘home’ to my students as there is only one word- casa which is literally house-in Spanish that suffices for both in English. I tell people I’m ‘from’ Seattle; I was born and raised there.  Seattle is also still HOME.  My family lives there, it’s my permanent mailing address for important correspondence, it’s the place I go back to, not just go to.  As of now, I haven’t lived there more than four months in six years. My mother is nice enough to let me store some stuff there, stuff I’ve been trying to whittle down each consecutive trip HOME. It’s a city I can still navigate in a car.  I haven’t owned a car in over three years so that might be a feat. Seattle is a place full of memories and security, of fantastic locations, friendly people and variety.  Seattle is a place I talk up to anyone who will listen.  I have never heard a story from another traveler about how they hated Seattle; everyone likes it or if they haven’t been, they want to go. For this year and another Christmas, I am looking forward to being home, with family and my Seattle. 

When it rains, it pours

            When I say I'm from Seattle I get one of three responses: 1) Oh, that's where (Microsoft, Starbucks, Pearl Jam, Being, Jimi Hendrix) is from, right?  And yes those are about the only options ever known when you're abroad.  2) That's in America, right? 3) It rains there all the time, right?  There is a bit ore to Seattle than just the list from number 1, but I understand that it's not important if you're not from there.  Regarding number two I've had some interesting conversations.  One was with a student in Spain, an adult of intermediate to upper intermediate competency.  We'd been working together about three months when I showed up at her house for our regular lesson to be greeted with "HEY!!  There's more than one Washington!  There's Washington DC and Washington and you're from WASHINGTON!"  I've learned that most of the world only seems to recognize the one that's not a state and followed by two little but important letters.  We'd had numerous conversations about America but she hadn't understood where I was from, or why I complained about the distance to go home.  *as an aside, I realize many folks from countries outside the US (ahem, Rodrigo, ahem) will take issue with my use of America in place of US, USA or United States.  I began doing this when many other people, in other countries called the US "America".  No, it's not technically correct, America could be the three country grouping of North America, it could be both North and South Americas, but America is a term many languages use and I seem to have adopted it as well. If you are at all confused about where I mean when I say America please ask and I will provide an explanation.

            Coming back around to point, it does rain in Seattle.  A fact most people don't know or believe is that New York City gets more annual rainfall than Seattle does, yet Seattle is known for being a "rainy city".  The primary difference is the way it rains in Seattle.  I try to use London as a comparison because people think of London as a gray, city with lots of rain showers in the Autumn. From October or perhaps the end of September until the middle of spring in May, our normal winter consists of gray, foggy, rainy days.  In years past, the weather was not unbearably cold but oppressively blah.  Many people who move to Seattle are affected by SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder when a persons moods tend to follow the weather, therefore gray, unky days lead to depression. Some Washingtonians suffer from this as well, I know I have had my moments. Many "outsiders" will also notice that the weather forecasters on the local news have an excess of different words to refer to the rain, and for us they do all mean something different.  Rain, showers, drizzle, sprinkle, sprinkling, downpour, storm, torrential  rain, mist, dew, wet fog, etc etc.  Loads of people I have met were surprised that they went to Seattle and the weather was nice.  I nonchalantly ask when they went.  "oh, July".  Right because we do have a summer.  Seattle summers are brilliant too, hiking in the mountains, more lakes and rivers than you can shake a stick at, and the ocean if you want it.  It's rarely "hot", the last two year again being the exception with weeks over 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 40 degrees Celsius.  Just because Seattle is known for rain doesn't mean it rains 365 days a year.

            That said, I was shocked to move to places that routinely receive snow and lots of it.  Blame global climate change, blame La Niña, but it's happening and Seattle seems to be in a snow-upswing the last two years with enough snow to close the city. Of course Seattle, like Rome is built on a series of hills.  That combined with the fact that "Seattle never gets snow" mentality that leads the city to never invest in enough plows or salting trucks and everything shuts with an inch on the ground.  Or the snow melts due to an air current form Hawaii and then refreezes when we get Canadian winds that follow. A quarter inch of ice will screw things up just as badly.

            In Indonesia, as in Guatemala, the rain is an authoritative power.  The rain here can last 15 seconds as it did last week.  It was literally long enough for me to take two steps back to the door for a jacket and the rain stopped.  It can last days.  The rain can flood streets in a matter of minutes and can continue torrentially for hours. Thunder often shakes ones bones. The lightening can be seen for miles, with or without the rain. It's definitely the brightest, most impressive lightening I've ever seen.  It varies from a flash that lights to sky to a straight strike leaving one to wonder who god might have been targeting.

 I've seen intersections that look like this, though not huge sections of the city.  There have been places like this since I've been here and I've followed the new coverage. in the Indonesian language they call downpours or storms Hujan Besar, or in English "Big Rain".  Seems fitting eh?

            We are in a transition period from the dry to the wet season. Generally the wet season is October until March, and then dry season April until September. We are not, however, affected by the typhoon season that hits many of the Asia countries to our north. Jakarta seem to have been reached by climate change as well.  Most people told me that it never used to rain during Ramadhan (see previous post) and this year we had rain at least a dozen days.  A general rule of thumb is that the rain starts in October.  It is September 24th and I can remember more wet days in the last two weeks than dry ones. Afternoons start to cloud up and by about 3 o'clock the rain is imminent. I have been caught in more than one downpour.  As I ride an ojek to and from work, and as work lets out at 3:30 most days, I have invested in an uncomfortable, less than stylish plastic rain suit.  The jacket has a zipper and a hood. The pants could make Heidi Klum look like a hippo. The plastic keeps body heat trapped in like a zip-lock bag. But with raindrops as big as a quarter (or Euro) coin, and storms that last an indeterminate length of time, it beats waiting under a tree.  I have also given in to carrying an umbrella in places other than Seattle but as a true Seattleite, I refuse to use one at home.  Colombia jackets are always preferred.  I got some cool wellies last year, but mostly for the snow.

            Being from Seattle I've always taken note of the rain as you can tell.  I miss Seattle rain.  Wearing just a sweatshirt and shining from the drizzle but not ending up soaked.  The cool weather that necessitated an extra layer or two. The smell when rain is on it's way, and the clean rinse smell afterward. I even miss the mellow and occasionally depressing mood of those gray days.  Nothing lets a person really revel in a bad mood like that weather.  Oppositely, I am still amazing by rain that's not cold.  Rain that can swoop in and out like a swallow in a barn, starting and stopping so quickly it takes me by surprise. The fact that there isn't a change in smell but still a change in the way the air feels so you know it's coming. Lastly, the fact that SO MUCH rain can fall so fast.

           I know growing up in Seattle I must have done my fair share of complaining about the rain.  I can't recall but I'm sure my mom could ring in with her memories of me as a whiny kid. I always thought of myself as a warm weather lover, which I still am.  Not much makes me happier than spending days in the sun and wearing a new tan out. And yet, I am happy to be inside, listening to the rain as the world gets dark and using it as a great excuse to be home, alone, doing my own thing.


           I didn't realize I would write so long about rain but there you have it.