our next big adventure

Friday is Hari Raya Idul Fitri (or just a big holiday) here in The Islands. Everyone is packing up, all the stores are closing and everyone is going home to the village for the next two weeks. Even our helper is taking two weeks off. For the first time since moving here we will have to do our own laundry, clean our own house and cook all of our own meals...somehow I doubt anyone really feels too sorry for us.

Anyway, not wanting to miss out on the excitement of Pulang Desa (going home to the village) we are getting on a train Thursday morning and riding to the very eastern tip of our island to a place called Banyuwangi. I think that there is no greater name for a town than Banyuwangi, just say it a few times...


As you can see from the map, it's a bit of a ride from our city to Banyuwangi. It will take us 7 hours on the train to get there. On Saturday we are riding back in our friend's car, so we should get to see a lot of scenery.

We are going to Banyuwangi with these people. This is Roger's friend, A, and his fiancée, N. She is a university student and he is a Navy Pilot. He flies an airplane named Charlie. His job is so much cooler than our job.

He always tells Roger that of course he can come along for a flight sometime. Somehow this doesn't seem like it would go over well in the states...bringing along a foreigner on a military flight.
So, we are off to Banyuwangi for three days, prepared to travel along with 250 million other people as we all head for the village.