Just a quick update

I've been back from Haiti for about a week and I have been busy writing but don't know when I will be done, I will post as soon as I am finished.

 

-Jerrad

Chocolate Sprinkle Sandwich - A Dutch Legacy

It has been a while since we updated this blog. Jerrad is currently in Haiti, building schools and doing good for the world, while I am here working and getting drained by the non-sense and ridiculously broken worker's compensation system. Jerrad has all the exciting stories, but he has crappy internet there so the responsibility of updating our blog has fallen into my shoulders...


Thus comes the story of .... chocolate sprinkle sandwich. I know you feel sorry for me now, since I have such mundane and boring life that all I can write since the last 10 days or so is about some sandwich (that most of you probably think repulsive in some way), but don't!! I'm not, I'm excited about my chocolate sprinkle sandwich.

And I'm about to share it with you.

Chocolate sprinkle sandwich, as you have probably guessed, is made of two pieces of bread with loads of butter on them and topped with chocolate sprinkles. This is a Dutch thing, and the Dutch takes their chocolate sprinkles seriously.

You see, not all sprinkles are created equal. The sprinkles used for this sandwich is known as Dutch chocolade hagelslag, which consists of at least 35% cacao in it. If it's less than that, it ain't no chocolade hagelslag. And yes, these sprinkles taste better than your average joe sprinkles found in the regular supermarket. Here, to find one of these chocolade hagelslag, you usually have to venture to an asian supermarket... (why? I'm not sure..but probably because we Indonesians are also crazy about the chocolate sprinkle sandwich). One famous brand is this one:

Another proof that the Dutch takes their chocolate sprinkle sandwich seriously: just click here.

As far as us Indonesians, why on earth would we be so crazy about these weird sandwiches anyway?
Indonesia was colonized by the Dutch for 350 years, from the 1600s to early 1940s, before the Japanese invaded and ended the Dutch rule. And...the world history lesson ended here, folks.
Chocolate sprinkle sandwich is the Dutch legacy left behind long after the Dutch ended its ruling power. Everybody in Indonesia at some point or another has probably had some chocolate sprinkle sandwich in their lifetime (well, okay, I might exaggerate a bit, but I'm sure the majority of us have). I used to have this for breakfast every morning and for school snacks as well (health enthusiasts, please don't lecture me on the nutritional value of these sandwiches... I had a good childhood, thanks in part to this sandwich).

I made my husband tried it, and he didn't vomit. He responded pretty well actually, and confirmed that these Dutch hagelslag is better than the regular sprinkles. So, I would recommend you to try it as well. I mean, what's not to like? Bread...good. Butter...yumm. Chocolate...HECK YES!!! Look at all that goodness:

photo credit: theeatenpath.com

~ josie

marriage 101: "let your partner grow"

When my husband asked me if it was okay for him to go to Haiti to volunteer for All Hands, my instant and immediate response without thinking was, "No! Of course not!"

Then I thought about it for a few seconds, and I told him.... the same answer (which in my head was more like, "you must be nuts if you think I would be okay with you going and doing something cool on your own and leaving me here in this shithole Bako-town by myself!")

Now let us examine this response carefully.
First of all, All Hands is a non-profit organization with minimal bureaucracy and politics, it creates projects and sends volunteers in needed areas to do real work in the community, to educate that community and help them rebuild their infrastructure. It is an awesome organization, and you can find a link to their facebook page or website through our facebook page. We both wanted to volunteer with them, so .... obviously, he can't do it alone because I want to do it too! * little voice of reason: sounds like you're being a little selfish, josie!*

Also, if he leaves me for 3 weeks, that means I'll be by myself with two dogs in the house. If I have to leave them 8 hours or more a day to work, that means I have to WAKE UP EARLIER to walk them before work. In the wintertime when it's pretty chilli in the morning?!?!?! I don't see myself doing that...

Then my little voice of reason kicked me in the butt big time. Your husband is about to do something super awesome, and you wouldn't let him go because you didn't want to wake up at 6am to walk the dogs?!?!?! What kind of a selfish human being/wife are you?!?!?!?!

Here's life lesson number one on being married: it's not just about you anymore. The same thing with being a pet owner: you have responsibilities to take care of your pets, including.... waking up early to walk them before you leave them inside the house for 8 long hours.

Another thing I read somewhere about life lessons on being married is that you have to support your partner and let your partner grow. Well, I guess this means if my husband wants to go to Haiti by choice to help the locals there and do something good for the humanity, I should be proud of him and support his decision.

So if you are following our blog or facebook, you would've probably guessed what the conclusion of this story is. If you haven't figured it out yet, he's gone. This is day 2 without the husband and there are 20 more days to go. It's not so bad, we ( me and the dogs, that is) mss him but we are proud of him (okay well, I don't know about Daisy and Gidget, but I am).

As far as the dog walking at 6 am, well..... I'm still working on that one.



~josie