Due to some slight and unexpected permit problems stemming from that silly old brand new passport I had to get before I left, I've spent the past few days since orientation ended in Jakarta, waiting to have my tourist visa extended.

I would love to say that I made the absolute most of this time in a wonderful city by going to museums, exploring the architecture of the old city, and practicing my flawless Indonesian with locals. But I didn't. I made the most of this time by going to beautiful rooftop bars with my two friends who have been stuck in the same permit-confusion boat as me, watching Game of Thrones, and spending way too much time in taxi traffic. Oh well. Such is life. Its been a wonderful past couple of days, a surprise because I wasn't overjoyed at the prospect when it all first happened.

I think its been a chance for my brain to relax after orientation. Every moment of those two weeks was sucked up by awesome conversations with new people and the challenge of trying to cram as much information about this place and my role here into my head as possible.

I found out today that I will be going to Samarinda tomorrow. A plane ticket was handed to me after an unexpected hotel change, along with some cash for future visa projects, and the phone number of my counterpart who will be meeting me at the airport tomorrow.

So tonight's my last night in Jakarta for a while. We've got plans to hit the town to celebrate. The plan starts with drinking cobra blood (which I'm afraid is exactly what it sounds like) and ends who knows where (but presumably with me getting a restful night sleep, and packing in a very efficient and organized manner, right?)