Bahasa- these phrases might be correct, haha, hopefully!

Halo.
(Hello.) 

Silahkan, dimana bisa saya menemukan asrama?
(Please, where can I find hostels?)

Silahkan, dimana mungkin saya menemukan kamar mandi?
(Please, where might I find a bathroom?)

Maaf, satu kali lagi?
(Sorry, one more time?)

Terima kasih.
(Thanks.)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

12/24, the basics
hello, hey                 = halo, hei
please                       = silahkan
thank you                 = terima kasih

12/25
sorry                         = maaf
Merry Christmas      = Selamat Hari Natal 
happy new year        = bahagia tahun baru  
(happy = bahagia, new = baru, year = tahun, Christmas day = Hari Natal)

Bahasa Indonesia

If I learn one word a day until I arrive in Indonesia, then I'll know 134 words.

2 x 134 = 268 words
3 x 134 = 402 words
4 x 134 = 536 words
5 x 134 = 670 words

Maybe I'll aim for 3.

The Job Search, or, How Lauren Will Try Not To Be Poor Forever After This Trip

Despite this being winter "vacation", it's more like the winter of finding a job. I work better when I have a little pressure on me (like getting a grade in a class), and so the pressure of spending quite a bit of money on this trip has been making me job search like a crazy lady for the three days I've been home. I'm not really sure how to go about doing this thing the right way, but it's made me think about what I actually want to do.

The thoughts I've been thinking:
I want...
1. a job with some sort of international component
2. my work to benefit people who are faced with disasters from natural hazards
3. to do something I find challenging and interesting

This has led me into the happenin' worlds of NGOs, earthquake engineering, and confined masonry.


Check it out!

http://www.confinedmasonry.org/research-papers
http://www.confinedmasonry.org/risk-management-solutions-supports-network
http://www.aidg.org/confinedmasonry
http://www.eeri.org/site/
http://architectureforhumanity.org/
http://www.buildchange.org/
etc etc etc

Getting ready for adventures

The Checklist

1. find hotels/hostels/couches to surf for our first nights in each place.......in progress
2. find a tour for india, or kind couch surfing hosts to show us around
3. get visa for india
4. see if we need visas for other countries...................................................in progress
5. get other people to come with us!
6. find post-adventure jobs so we won't be poor forever.............................in progress
7. look into transportation within each country
8. look into ISIC benefits
9. frequent flier miles?
10. email people the people we hope to run into on our travels..................CHECK!
11. get relevant vaccinations
12. get phones unlocked so we can buy local sim cards
13. start blogs...............................................................................................CHECK!
14. tell people about blogs
15. get cash in local currencies

Is there anything we're forgetting? Have any advice?

Want to come along?? No, seriously. Want to?

Asian Adventure 2011 (aa2011)

On Monday, Aarti and I finally bought tickets for aa2011!

March 20-27: leave SF for Hong Kong
March 27-April 21: Delhi to Mumbai (+ Agra, Jaipur, and Goa [where John Casey says they speak Portuguese??])
April 21-May 12: Singapore and up the Malaysian peninsula to Bangkok area
May 12-31: Indonesia (Bali, Padang, Bukittinggi?) and then return to SF

We should be joined by Mahalia in HK and hopefully some other Stanford people we can trick into coming, and then we want to meet up with my friend Talsma in India (+ Aarti relatives?), my cousin Jason in Thailand, and then Andi and Fengky in Indonesia. Basically a little over 2 months and a week of epic adventure before graduation.

Then a week of recovery and being a boarder with one of my friends in the Bay Area before my family arrives in California!

Lucy said we should create a blog for our adventures. She's really smart. And going to be a TA next quarter. So I listened to her.

Now time to watch A Very Glee Christmas.