When all was said and done, Papa Touchdown and Cathie only spent about 2 full days in Jakarta. We tried to pack those with a few fun things. We were able to give them a little tour of Jakarta and even arranged for a couple of fun filled rides through the infamous Jakarta traffic. They were amazed. My Dad described it as filling a glass with as many rocks as possible (the rocks are the cars); Add sand (motorbikes) and the sand fills in all of the cracks, taking up any, and all, space available.
We took them to MONAS (the National Monument). They got to try their hand at Batik making - in the same exact spot that Michelle Obama tried Batik making on her last visit here. They also got to participate in Student Led Parent/Teacher Conferences. This gave them a chance to meet all of Emilie's teachers and get a personal tour of her school.
Dustin was a much bigger celebrity than Papa Touchdown at MONAS. People were literally following Dustin around, trying to touch him or get a picture of him - My favorite is when they take a picture standing next to him and try to make it look like they are taking a picture of something else. I guess American Football hasn't caught on here yet!
Papa Touchdown managed to find the simplest Batik design possible. Every time he thought he was finished, the man in charge would send him back to add more details (The man sent him back at least three times!). Papa was a good sport about it and kept adding more and more to his "simple" design. In the end, Papa Touchdown's was, by far, the best of any Batiks we have made to date. He definitely has a calling for Batik when he retires!
Pak Firman taught Dustin how to play the Angklung, a traditional Indonesian instrument made of bamboo. A couple more lessons and Dustin will be ready to add a new sound to the 2 Tone Lizard Kings.
To top off our tour of Jakarta, we made a stop at a great little restaurant, Otel Lobby, where Papa Touchdown just so happens to know someone who works there. A guess it really is a small world!
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