Indonesia - Week 1

Greetings from rainy Jakarta! Yes, it is raining really hard outside right now...we walked to this little warnet place (like an internet cafe) and my skirt and shoes are soaked--even with an umbrella! Indonesia is amazing. I already have 17 new friends! They live on my arms, legs, and hands. Any guesses what they are??? MOSQUITO BITES! And I got them all the first and second nights here! Haha, awesome, huh? ;) Other than when it's raining here, it's very hot and humid. I can't believe it's already been one whole week..I feel like I landed here 2 days ago. But then again, I do feel like I'm kind of at home here now. Our apartment is pretty nice for Indo standards. I'll try to download pics next week on the email (apparently when you send snail mail they weigh it, so I prob won't be sending pics that way anymore). For the first 5 days I had 2 comps, Sister Atmi and Sister Christensen. Sis Atmi is from Malang (on the island Jawa). She's like 4'9 and is the cutest thing ever! She says the funniest, randomest things. Sis Christensen is so awesome too! We totally click and I just love her! She's from Nor Cal. Anyway Sis Atmi was transferred to Bandung 2 days ago so now it's just the two Bules (aka Gringos but in Indo) in our companionship.
> The food here is absolutely amazing! Oh my goodness. There so many different types too. I've alraedy had this thing called Masakan Pandang (means cooking from Padang) which is chicken, veggies, and rice with this delicious spicy sauce on it. And when I say spicy, I mean SPICY. The first time I had it, it made my eyes literally water and my face started sweating. AND I didn't have water! Hahaha. But the flavor is to die for! I've also had Nasi Goreng (fried rice) from these little vendor guys that pass by our house every day. You just take a plate out to them and they fry it up right outside your house. Oh yeah and everything is dirt cheap here! Nasi goreng is around 7,000 rupiah (70 cents) for a whole plateful and the other day I bought 3 mangos for 60 cents! In the US 1 mango is like 99 cents! Anyway, it's just awesome here. The ward seems really nice too. They always see my name and go "oh! Orang Japang, ya?" which means "Japanese person". And also everyone thinks I look Indonesian. In fact, there's a sister in our apartment named Sister Mongan and all the elders say we look like twins. They see me and go, "Sister Mongan, SIster Mongan!". It's funny.
> Sister Hewlett (my MTC comp) is in a 3-some now with Sisters Rondeauh and Mongan, so it's them and Sis Christensen and I in our aparment.
> Our days usually consist of riding some kind of public transportation (bus, bus way, or angkot) or going to a public place to contact people. Angkots are mini vans with seats along the sides and they fit up to 15 people. Buses are really loud and dirty, but cheap to ride (like 20 cents everytime you get on). Bus way is really nice and clean, with AC. They even have their own special lane, they're pretty new to Jakarta. It's so chill here, I love it! We pretty much shop whenever we need to and then contact people along the way. We 'mandi' twice a day--it's necessary cause we get so sweaty and gross! Mandi is what they call rinsing off...first you fill up this little tub with water. Then you grab this pan like thing (but it's plastic), dip it in the water, and pour over yourself. It is the most refreshing thing ever! Except I don't know if I'll ever get over the initial shock of cold water being poured over me. :)
> Know that I am healthy, safe, and happy...but most of all that I love what I am doing. The other day while we were riding the bus, I had 2 epiphanies. As I sat in my seat all comfy--or as comfy as you can get on a bus here--a girl about 8 years old jumps on and starts handing out envelopes to everyone on the bus. There was a written message on it in Indonesian, but I knew she just wanted money. I wasn't going to do anything about it but then she went up to the front and started singing. As soon as I heard the sound of her sweet little voice I immediately began crying. She was doing this to get money to probably bring home to her family. It broke my heart that a family would have to go through such extremes as to send there 8-year old daughter out into the streets to make money. Thi was a humbling experience that taught me humility. I am so grateful for all that I have, and I know that all I have is from a loving Father in Heaven. The second epiphony was when my comp gave a Book of Mormon to a man she met on that same bus. I saw him hold the book and I thought to myself, I wonder if he knows the priceless treasure that he holds in his hands. I wondered if he knew how much knowledge was contained in that book, how much happiness it could bring him. I am so grateful for this gospel. I know that it's true. God watches over us, He knows us and all we go through. I love Him and am doing His work.
> I love you all! You're in my prayers!
> Dengan Kasih,
> Sister Okamoto