New Normal: watch that jet!

STAY ALERT at the Bandung airport.

Look both ways at the crosswalk (oops, runway) to climb the steps to your airplane. Yup, that's a jet cruising by outside the waiting room window. (Our plane was the red one, far left.) Attendants on each side hold up their hands like crossing guards so passengers wait ... and don't get run over by taxiing airplanes.

New Normal: This little piggy ...

came to dinner

Two suckling pigs = the bonus meat at a graduation party. Delicious, really.

New Normal: would you climb this staircase?

Even if you trust your eyes, would you trust your balance?

We spotted a wooden staircase (no railing) leading to the roof of a 2-storey building. The kids playing below made it even scarier: can they resist?

New Normal: oh those useful phonics!

Remember the phonics your grade-school teacher drilled into you?

Sometimes we can figure out what's going on because the spelling is phonetic and/or a mish-mash of other languages. We've taken the "taksi," hung "gordyn" (Gardinen = sheer curtains: German), and dried dishes with a "lap" (Lappen = cloth: German). It's all part of the adventure.

New Normal: Rabbit Sate

Ever had a pet rabbit? Here's another viewpoint:

Sate (pronounced satay) is meat on a skewer, usually roasted over a charcoal grill. One northern village of Bandung is noted for their rabbit sales. Cages line the streets.

"Buy one for a pet or for lunch," jokes a friend.

But she means it. Cafés serving rabbit are everywhere.

New Normal: hair color variety

This ad in the local grocery flyer reminds us we've left Europe and the West. Apparently "All Variant" colorant doesn't include blond, red, or white.

New normal: Where's the TP?

Getting acquainted with a "bum gun":


Indonesian plumbing and sewers cannot bear the sewage generated in large cities, so most bathrooms do not have toilet paper. You spray (back to front) to clean up; then dry with a tissue. The bidet-style sprayer is inelegantly nicknamed a "bum gun."

In a Western-style household, the toilet may have TP - but you must toss the used tissue into the garbage, not into the toilet. Going out? Take tissues along: they may or may not be supplied.