I have arrived!

After an exhausting 39 hours of travel I finally arrived in Bandung, Indonesia last night. Praise God for his provision--when I arrived in Los Angeles to meet Charity we were expecting long lines at the ticket counter and through security. There was no line at the ticket counter, the guy got us really good seats on the plane and some of her bags were overweight, but they didn't care. It took us about ten minutes to get through the security line and we were at our gate in no time. I ran into Brian Sun, a friend at NAU on his way to Fiji, what a small world!
The fifteen hour plane ride to Hong Kong was...long. The plane must have been made for shorter people, because I could hardly fit. So that made for a rather uncomfortable attempt at sleeping. Charity on the other hand slept rather well. We landed in Hong Kong at about 4:30 in the morning. I got my first international Starbucks!
We met up with the Durham Family in Hong Kong, the father, David, will be teaching high school science. Him and his wife Kim have four kids--Grace (14), Emma (12), Jeff (9), and Abby (3). They are the cutest kids, I became Abby's playmate right away!
The plane ride from Hong Kong to Jakarta was only about 6 hours, so it wasn't too long, but just as uncomfortable because I am so tall:( We arrived in Jakarta at 1:00 in the afternoon. We all got stamped and were allowed into the country. Praise God we all got our visas ahead of time because the line to purchase visas was terribly long. Everybody's luggage arrived (29 in total!!) and the customs people only had me put my carry-ons through...weird:)
The final leg of the journey consisted of a four hour bus ride to Bandung--although we were all tired we were forbidden to sleep so that we would be able to sleep through the night and avoid jet lag. This country is absolutely gorgeous! It is so different from anywhere I have every been or seen. Rice patties cover the landscape, even in the middle of crowded Jakarta. There are goats everywhere, kind of like the dogs in Mexico, they wander the streets and hang out on the side of the highway in Jakarta. It is a third world country so the poverty is apparent as well as the wealth. On one side of the highway you can see high rise apartments and fancy shopping complexes, on the other side are hundreds of shanties built on top of each other. The other aspect of this country that is significantly different is that it is a predominantly Muslim country. There is a Mosque on almost every corner and each of them have large speakers at the top that announce four times a day the call to prayer. The funny thing is though, that they are not all in sync, but go off within minutes of each other. I heard it for the first time last night around seven and it kind of sounded like cattle, a moaning sound. So you can hear the guy through the speakers, but then you can also hear the people actually praying. It is really fascinating.
We went to the grocery today for the first time this morning with Sarah and Zoe, wife and daughter of Joey the principal. I was rather overwhelmed, and had received a nice welcome basket, so I just followed Charity around while she got groceries. They had some interesting things, but actually a lot of things we have in the states. Can't wait to purchase some coffee!
Tonight I get to move into my house with Jenny and Lindsey. I live really close to the Durhams, the new teachers Emily, Emma and Erin, and the Beeson's! We have already done a lot of walking, so I will definitely be in good shape when I get home.
So far, I am just trying to take it all in, I can hardly believe I am here, but I am excited. Thank you guys for your prayers, God is really going to stretch me these next four months. Please leave a comment and I will write back as soon as I can! I love you all!