Thursday, 09 November 2006 at 4:30pm.

Here are some recent food highlights:

Saturday (04 November 2006): Eastern Promise at Jl. Kemang Raya no. 5 in Kemang, South Jakarta offers British and Indian food, a bar, a pool table, and live music. It’s a popular hangout for expatriates. I met with a bunch of new folks there for dinner and had a great time. The Indian naan was excellent! I tried the mixed seafood curry and saffron rice. The curry sauce was good, but the dish needed more bits of seafood and less onions. The rice was too dry, but wasn’t too bad with the curry sauce.

Sunday (05 November 2006): Bread and Breakfast at Jl. Kemang Raya no. 15 (second floor) in Kemang, South Jakarta offers American-style breakfasts. They have lunch and dinner entrees, too. I recommend their Pink Panther drink, which consists of strawberry, watermelon, and lychee juices. Their pancakes were pretty tasty. It was the first time I’ve had pancakes and syrup in a really long time!

Monday (06 November 2006): A new friend treated me to breakfast at the Hyatt. Whoo-hoo! Can we say “croissants” and “brie?” How about “Swiss yogurt” or “omelette?” “Poppyseed muffin” and “banana bread” anyone? :)

What’s been keeping me busy lately:

- Working on my survey questions. We hope the survey will go out at the end of this month.

- Editing applications and writing letters of recommendation for Indonesian students wanting to study abroad.

- Developing and promoting Indopedia.

- Running from office to office to extend my research visa. This has taken up a lot of time!

- Working out at the gym.

- Helping new Fulbrighters in town.

- Preparing for a workshop to help Indonesian students improve their foreign university applications.

- Dealing with the weather change and gearing up for the rainy season.

- Keeping up with U.S. election news. I was very disappointed that I didn’t get the chance to vote (absentee ballot procedures are lengthy and expensive when you’re abroad unfortunately), but was very glad to hear about the Democratic sweep. For the state of Michigan in particular, many of us were disappointed at the passage of Proposal 2, which dissolves Affirmative Action, though. Interestingly, I heard that the U-M campus went 75% against it and 21% for it. This was the latest message from the university president:

“Diversity matters at Michigan, today more than any day in our history. It matters today, and it will matter tomorrow. It will always matter because it is what makes us the great university we are. I am deeply disappointed that the voters of our state have rejected affirmative action as a way to help build a community that is fair and equal for all. But we will not be deterred in the all-important work of creating a diverse campus. Earlier today I addressed the campus community about the passage of Proposal 2 and what it means for the University of Michigan. You may read my remarks here: http://www.umich.edu/pres/speeches/061103div.html. Please join me as we continue our work to make Michigan a welcoming campus.” — Mary Sue Coleman, University of Michigan President

As a related note, I’ve had some thought-provoking discussions with a couple of Indonesians about Affirmative Action and issues of race/ethnicity both in the U.S. and Indonesia.