ever been in an earthquake? ::CHECK::

wow.

so in the past 24 hours i have....

1) partied in an ex-pat bar in the basement of the very posh shangri-la hotel surrounded by indonesian prostitues, an elite twenty-something indonesian crowd, and older sketchy white men

2) been on the 8th floor of a hotel as it swayed in the quake of a 7.3 earthquake that hit tasikmalaya, java

3) tasted sundanese food under a thatched roof while watching john, aaron, michael, ashley, graham, emma, and kerry literally try every single part of animal and/or fish including intestines, eggs, kidney, hearts, and lungs

4) drank (minum) carbonated tea

5) had a nightmare that graham was shot and covered in shards of glass

i feel the need to expound on number 2)

i was groggy from the night before (due to the extensive dancing and getting low that occured to 'sweet home alabama' at the shagri-la) and decided to take a nap after orientation and lunch. i was curled up in bed under the covers (the a.c. is freezing and i cant figure out how to change it) in my underwear watching spanglish when i heard a sickening crack. it was unlike anything i had ever heard before, like thunder coming from the tons and tons of concrete above and below me.

as i sprang out of bed, my entire room (which is located on the 8th floor) began to sway to the right side. it was like i was on a giant surf-board trying to keep my balance on the tile floor which was teetering to and fro. i threw on my sweatshirt and pants and opened the door to the hallway. michael, who's room is across the hall from mine, was standing outside in his sarong, hair dishelved--blue eyes blazed and wide-eyed with fear.

"is that really mismanaged construction that just happened or is this an earthquake?" i asked.

"uhh its definitely an earthquake," he stammered.

fml.

more and more voices were heard in the hallway and the building finally stopped swaying. everyone was shaking unawares as to if this was the first of many aftershocks or the last. we stumbled down the stairs and found our way out to the parking lot where the whole hotel was evacuating in throngs.

we sat on the curb in our gated hotel parking lot in disbelief. selamat datang di indonesia (welcome to indonesia). we were trying to figure out if there would be a tsunami and if so, what we should do since jakarta is right on the java sea. we joked about how this was a definite way to break the ice and were all comforted by the fact that we had all just experienced the same insane feeling of "shit. we might die." it was also comforting to know that the indonesians around us looked just as dumbstruck and scared. their faces confirmed and assured that we were not just easily frightened americans. there have fortunately only been 7 or 8 casualties.

....

today we went to the immigration office and received our kitas cards. i convinced people to go to indian for dinner ( i am missing moms food so much, most food here is scantily clad in fruits of the sea).

tomorrow we leave for bandung. i have not been able to sleep well and keep having bizarre nightmares. the best part is that i am not on any medication which would lead to such odd dreams. hmm, who knows. we are going to an icebar tonight after dinner to celebrate our last night in jakarta and the sheer fact that we are alive.

the city is choked by smog and the setting of the sun has been obscured. too bad, because sunset has to be my favorite time of day. however, there will be many more sunsets to come, and i am excited shower time and an indian dinner :)

cheers to the indonesian way of always smiling and laughing.

love and happy songs.