Working backwards: I have been locked out of checking my credit card statements online. I JUST changed my password, per their request, and now not only does the new one not work, entering my SSN, etc., won't unlock my account or let me reset my password. I just called Chase last week via google voice to remind them I am Indonesia, and no, my Air Asia purchases are legitimate.
Many of you may have encountered this: on the back of your credit card, there is a number to call collect if you are out of the country. I called the regular number using google voice, but it was too broken up for them to hear me, so they told me to use the collect number. Fine.
However: it took me 45 minutes of internet searching and numerous calls on two cell phones (Indonesian and US) to learn that you cannot dial collect from either--from Telkomsel, you can call another Telkomsel customer collect-NOT helpful. From a verizon wireless device, you cannot call or receive collect calls. REALLY helpful. And to put the icing on the cake, we have a landline phone in our apartment--with. no. buttons. Incoming calls only. I'm going to try from work tomorrow. I'll let you know what happens.
The other interesting part of the day was the first part--Julia and I went to Jakarta District Court with our co-worker Leli's husband to observe an evidence admission procedure. Since I have yet to take evidence in the US, I knew little of what was going on, but the courtroom procedure was nowhere near as interesting as the building itself. Gatot (Leli's husband) and Chozin (the plaintiff) agreed that it was from when the Dutch were there, but not sure if it was more like 40 years or 100 years old.
From L to R: Me, Julia, and Chozin (and his wife behind him)
Either way, the building probably hadn't been cleaned since it was built. The bathroom walls were covered in a toxic-looking layer of green mold, the benches in a layer of grit that Julia couldn't sit on in her white skirt, and the building itself looked like it could collapse at any moment. And only the courtrooms themselves were air-conditioned, which was blissful, after I had been reprimanded at the entrance for not having my suit jacket on (Julia and I never managed to figure out why this was necessary, as we saw women in short skits and one with a skintight tank top enter after us) and I spent 40 sweltering minutes in that jacket waiting for the courtroom to open. Gatot told me that in Indonesia, the fact that a session is scheduled for 9 AM means it will start sometime between 10 and 11 AM, and it turns out he was right. And just like int he US, it is impossible to hear the judges as their microphones either don't work or don't work well.
Us outside the courthouse.
On the way back, our taxi driver literally drove in circles trying to get us to a Starbucks, which cost us an extra dollar or two of cab fare, but was worth it for the caffeine we both desperately needed after getting up at 3:30 AM the previous day (again, more on that later).
I'm feeling more and more out of the loop on US life and more disillusioned with life here (though we could see blue sky briefly on the drive home!) It's been an amazing experience but I am counting the days until I return--one month from yesterday! I miss you guys, our spotless marble and wood courtrooms, and believe it or not, the NYC subway. You don't know what delayed, crowded, or late means until you've been to Jakarta.
Until tomorrow--more Sabah and Bromo coming your way!
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