Food

I've discovered that, if I wanted to, I could eat pretty much exactly the same foods in Jakarta that I ate at home. I've been to two different grocery stores, one that carries a lot of imported food and one that is more local. At the first, they have just about anything I can think of that I'd want. Except bagels. I haven't seen bagels yet. I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

There's a Pizza Hut, a Starbucks, a Gloria Jeans, a Krispy Creme, a Baskin Robbins, a Coldstone, and a Sizzler (gross). And that's just in the one mall I've been to. Last night, some of the other teachers went into central Jakarta so they could have dinner at Chili's. I've also seen every brand of chips, pop, sugary cereal, and candy. What I want to know is how are Indonesians not fat?

So far, I have been avoiding these familiar places and items, keeping them on reserve for when I start to feel homesick. But I also haven't found truly local places to eat yet. The language barrier is an issue, as is the sheer size of the city. There are multiple restaurants on every block and which one to try is decision overload. I'm not totally stressing about it yet, but I will have to do something soon. I've been surviving largely on yogurt, crackers, and fruit--and I'm getting hungry.