Across the street from the apartment there is a crew of guys building a house. I don't know how long they had been working on it before we arrived but judging by the speed they work it was about a month.
The only pieces of heavy equipment that I have seen them use has been an old school cement mixer. They did, however, use cement truck and a pumping truck to pour the second floor of the house. That was a sight to behold! Guys in bare feet, ankle deep in concrete as it is being dropped from the sky. They would also haul up small amount using a bucket and rope. Whatever excess they had was used to patch the road in front of the house. Marni and I are taking pictures to monitor the progress. I think the workers are getting a little pissy about that. But, I am tired about getting starred at in the mall. However, that has advantages when crossing the busy roads.
That leads me to street crossing. Firstly, lanes on Jakarta roadways are simply a suggestion. It makes sense- why have two lanes when four cars and three scooters will easily fit across. Signal lights are used hesitantly. Drivers would rather honk and wedge in. Frankly, I haven't seen as many accidents here as I have in St. Albert, though.
Oh, yah, crossing the street. Rules for pedestrians are "Look out!" Apparently, if you put your hand out, cars will stop. Allegedly, your hand provides you with some sort of force field that will save you. I have not tested the theory. Drivers will not stop for police wielding whistles, either. Having blond children will make drivers slow down enough to get across safely.
Yesterday was the start of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month. People will get up around 4:00 am to eat then they will not eat until after sundown. Many though, just go back to bed because many of our "Bees" did not show up. Those that did were very tired and many of us found them sleeping in our rooms. The problem I had was that I had nowhere to sleep because all the good spots in my classroom had been taken.
We get to go out for dinner, tonight. The staff is heading somewhere downtown. It should take about 1.5 hours to get there. It would be like driving to Red Deer but covering the distance to Superstore.
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