Days Left to Journey: 27-26 Days
Training Kilometers Cycled: 675 km
A School in Mourning.
Mr. Toto, isn't the most loved teacher at school. He's considered the joker and trickster in more of a fabled Fox with pens that shock you than a witty man. He is not disliked, but when items appear in new places or your lunch plate is moved to another table it's likely to be his doing. We've developed a fairly fun relationship; he tells me ways to sleep in places with no CCTV, I let him know I can walk to my room to take a nap in between classes; he advises me to tell everyone I'm very busy, all the time, and I cannot do extra work, which I must say has been great advice. This morning, when I came to school and found out his father passed away the area in my chest suddenly felt saturated with fluid. It felt as if a sponge was oversaturated with water then was slowly inserted into my throat. I don't know how old Mr. Toto's father was when he passed away; in fact, I've never met him. Nonetheless, I'm sure he was important to Mr. Toto.
Day's Travel (more or less)
1) To the mosque where Mr. Toto's father's body was.
2) To Depok for lunch.
3) To Bogor to assist in an Earth Day Event.
4) To Sunter Agung, Jakarta.
5) To Parung.
Donations: Health Clinic
I took a 3 hour journey in order to meet Dr. Varkha of Klinik Anak Bangsa, a non-profit free clinic in Sunter Agung, Jakarta. I should've let her know I was coming - she left the clinic early. It was completely my fault. Yet, I was not upset much when I arrived. I wasn't upset at my own stupidity of not letting her know ahead of time, because in some masochostic way the long (nearly) pointless journey was proof to myself that I will not half-ass this BikeJava journey. I got her by phone on my way home and discovered the option of "adopting a case" - meaning, the money we raise will go to making a huge difference in 1 or 2 lives. I think this is a stellar approach!
ATTENTION: This, Klinik Anak Bangsa, will be the clinic we will donate to. I've volunteered at their free medical camps as someone who checks blood glucose, distributes medicine, and checks blood pressure. They are great, dedicated people. Once we collect $350 USD then we can adopt a case or two. Please donate via the donate button on the right or by e-mailing me personally about pledging a contribution
Donations (Potential): Community Empowerment and Environmental Conservation.
Recently, I heard about a start-up community movement at the foot of a nearby mountain. This community is really disempowered because in order to survive they must work in a factory or leave their homes to work in the city. This situation causes neglect of their neighborhood and an opportunity for a developer to come in, take their land, and clear the forest. This community movement, led by about 30 young individuals, is trying to encourage sustainable farming, community empowerment, and environmental education.
Donations (Potential): Art school in Yogyakarta - the capital of Javanese culture.
Donations (Potential): Women's health clinic.
The above two are being handled by Heather, but I will still report on them here.
Vice.
My one major vice in Indonesia is not smoking, alcohol, fried rice, or even dangdut (I'll stop linking to wikipedia when my Internet connection speeds up) - it's KFC! I felt like Homer waiting for Krusty Burger's Ribwich. Pepsi, mocha float, fried chicken and rice, and/or deluxe burgers, yum!
I must return Lontong soon. You will be missed.
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