Indonesia is awesome but Jakarta is not. The traffic is horrible and it's really difficult to walk anywhere, which disappoints me because I think walking around is the best way to get a feel for a new place. Ah, well. Thankfully, the cabs are cheap. Yesterday was our first full day here. We attended part of a conference that Alan Lopez (a frequent collaborator of IHME's) was coincidentally hosting at a nearby hotel. They were discussing setting up a Sample Registration System in Indonesia, similar to what they have in China, India, and a few other places. (An SRS tracks mortality and causes of death in subsections of the population in order to have nationally-representative estimates in countries without Vital Registration Systems.) It was interesting, and hopefully they'll get it started and I'll be reading papers using their data in years to come! Afterward, we nearly exhausted the list of tourist attractions in Jakarta--we saw the third largest mosque in the world (the biggest are in Medina and Mecca), an old church, and went to the National Monument, which was closed so we couldn't go to the top. I'd like to go back to get to the top another day, and see the National Museum, which is next door, but after that, the list of Jakarta attractions will be pretty well checked off. We met a couple of travelers from England at the church and ended up walking across many intersections of frightening traffic (not doing that again) to the area of Jakarta where the majority of hostel/backpacker-type stops are located. We ate some street food, which was delicious and I'm not sick yet, and then went to a bar. It was nice to meet some people and I think we've planned to check out the clubbing scene in Jakarta (apparently the biggest in Southeast Asia and many places open past dawn!) this weekend. But after that, I am definitely traveling every weekend. This is a beautiful country with lots to see and I need to get out of this city!
Finally, some pictures.
Back in Nebraska...
The wedding reception. Awesome.
The first dance!
I just really enjoyed this sign on someone's desk at my uncle's office. Go Nebraska.
And in Jakarta...
The outdoor section of the mosque, with the National Monument in the background.
Inside the mosque.
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