While editing some of my interviews today at the office, I noticed that the photos I was adding were from "more than 7 weeks ago," which makes me wonder where the time has gone and feel a bit of guilt. (I wrote that before my recent two week trip to the US, so let's just round up to more than two months) After my conference in Kuching and stopover in Kuala Lumpur, I traveled to Malang, East Java to conduct a series of interviews with people involved with a vermicomposting network, which will be part of a larger series of case studies on "waste" recovery. It was a busy few days filled with culinary adventures.
First things first: there is krispy kreme in the Jakarta airport.
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| A taste of home, but with innovative varieties, like peanut butter and jelly! |
My time in Malang was scheduled to the brim by my two student assistants from a local university, Dwi and Hana. They did a great job with the pre-interviews and tracking down people without addresses.
They wear Letterman-style jackets from their "Agritech Research and Study Club" and are currently in Japan on a research exchange.
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| I asked them to act like badass biker chicks next to their motos. |
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| One of the many worm-growing groups who were gracious enough to talk to us about their experiences. |
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| Such healthy worms. Perfect for turning into: |
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| Food for baby shrimp, |
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| Vitality Capsules, |
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| Sports drinks (CHEERS!) and much more! |
I was offered worms 4 times. I consumed them twice (sports drink and honey elixir), passed once (worm covered ginger), and brought one back to Switzerland (the capsules) for my friends to try. Two months of sitting on my desk and I have not had any takers, yet.
Aside from the worms, I ate well. In addition to a stop at KFC in Anto's honor (an Indonesian friend from my master's program who introduced me to Indonesians' love for fried chicken and rice), I enjoyed bakso and other stews (kept and served hot).
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| A little hard to tell, but I love the presentation. |
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| Also, I ate BRAINS at a Maskan Padang. So smooth! |
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| Roti is basically an Indonesian (?) doughnut (baked, not fried). So good. On at least one occasion I just ate these for dinner after a long day in the field. |
