Once, I went to school very tired and I didn't want to do work, then I remembered that was everyday of my 5 years of high school

Well I think now that I have been to school for 7 days I should talk about my school in Indonesia. I go to SMAN 3 Bandung (Public Senior High School 3 in Bandung. pronounced es-em-ah TEE-guh). Its located in Old Bandung in a building built by the Dutch, which it shares with a different high school, SMAN 5 Bandung. Everyday, Students put on (in my oppinion) ugly and uncomfortable uniforms consisting on a white collared shirt embroidered with your name and school, and an ankle length bluish skirt (bluish pants for boys). Recently, I got my skirt caught in the door of the Ankot on the way home from school. By the time I got off, it was wet from puddles the ankot had driven through. On fridays, you where a shirt patterned with your schools batik. Hopefully, I will be able to post some photos of this. I've been told this is the best high school in Bandung and that if you want to study, you go to SMAN 3 and if you want to have fun, you go to SMAN 5. Getting into high school in Indonesia is more like getting into college in the US: you get into high school based on the grades you had in middle school, not based on where you live. This means I have a long way to drive to school everyday haha. As classes start, the school plays a little western folk tune. I kind of wonder if the school realizes what they are playing since fiercely anti-alcohol SMAN 3 plays “Little Brown jug” on a daily basis. Also, instead of going from one teachers class to another, you stay put on wildly uncomfortable wooden chairs (I've been taking a cushion to school to sit on) and the teachers come to you! Sounds nice since there is less walking, but it means you can't really choose your classes beyond picking a major in science or social studies. I'm majoring in Social studies at our schools only tiny 11th grade social studies class.
Now I'd like to introduce you to the controversy; the reason why my class is so much smaller than all the others: If you major in Science in high school, you can major in whatever you want in college, but if you major in Social Studies, you can only major in a field of Social Studies in college. As a result, students have to take tests to get into a pure science class, and if they fail, they are placed in social science. Also, students are encouraged by parents and teachers to take science even if their interest is in social studies, and those who taking social science anyway are labeled as slackers. This was strange to me coming from PCEP, where most of our best teachers are in social studies, and it seems a lot of kids are pushed the other direction. This school system was set up by the Dutch and my schoolmates postulate that it was to keep Indonesians from fully understanding government, making them less politically powerful and easy to govern. If you haven't already figured this out, the reason my class is so small and that it is the only social studies class in the 11th grade is because SMAN 3 has a reputation to uphold. Not only are the parents of students at SMAN 3 more likely to push their kids into Science, but the school does as well, because the more engineers from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB for short. Its the Indonesian equivalent of MIT), the better the reputation of the school. At this point, I drew a parallel: I remembered how Mrs. Caldwell, my 10th grade bio teacher, used to tell us she was preparing us to get into the University of Michigan and our school counselors telling us the school requirements were based on those to get into the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. It seems Indonesia is in a frustrating educational position that many students want to change. Good luck to them!
I'll end on a good note telling you about some of features of my school. Our school has really good, cheap, food which you seem to be allowed to eat in class. SMAN 3 has a very nice cafeteria, and (to the annoyance of 3's students) students from SMAN 5 will come to each there causing it to get a little crowded (but not PCEP crowded haha). My school also has two fountains, a garden, and wifi so I find it very pretty to go there. I'm liking my teachers, although I have no idea what most of them are saying, except my German teacher who teaches part of her lesson in English (I think because English is closer to German) and my civics teacher who I think made her lesson partly in English for me.hmm...if theres anything else you'd like to know about my school, shoot me a comment.

I got jumped by a Gecko

Indonesia has different ideas about "pests" in the home than Americans. Because Indonesians often leave doors open, ants crawl over everything, flies buzz around food, and the occasional cockroach pops out. Most Indonesians just ignore these pests rather than kill them. Another Indonesian pest: Geckos that stick to the walls. Many Indonesians seem a little afraid of them, most just don't understand my facisnation with them. I guess its kind of like a foreigner coming to Michigan with a fascination with squirrels. Anyway, geckos normally come out when lights are off. When you turn the lights back on and they realize that you see them, they will scurry to the nearest dark. One day, I found a gecko on our kitchen table. I saw it quickly shuffle under our serving plate and alerted my host mom. We lifted the serving plate as the gecko scurried some place else on the table. My host mother proceeds to bang on the table causing the gecko to jump away from the sound onto my shoes. I squeel in surprise and My mom and I both laugh. I'd been attacked by a gecko.

Indonesian Time

Yesterday was an adventure of epic proportions--filled with rolling rocks and arrows along the way. My quest: get to my Indonesian Lesson. The day started out with an impending Indonesian lesson. Part way through the day, I learned that my host brother could not give me a ride to my lesson, and that I would have to get a ride with Ricarda, the German exchange stundent. As it turns out, my phone was out of money, so I couldn't send text messages to anyone. I ended up using another student's phone. As it turns out, Ricarda was getting a ride from our teacher and wasn't sure if he would be able to give me a ride too because he might be taking his motor cycle. I still needed a ride and I didn't know where our teacher's house was, so I asked if I could ride with her to meet him anyway. Confusion ensues. Ricarda gives me the address of our teacher's office, and I assume that I am supposed to get there by myself. My problem: I have no idea where it is and I don't have a map. So, after a long session of phone tag (I put more money on my phone) with Ricarda, my teacher and one of my Indonesian friends, I ended up getting a ride with a schoolmate on a motorcycle. He assured me he could get me there by five o'clock. At 4:50 I get a call from Ricarda saying I should be at her house. I tell her I'm already on my way to the office, and that it was no problem because I already had a ride. After the phone conversation, my ride admits he was going back to the school because he needed to get me a helmet and that I was going to be late. If he had told me that earlier, I could have hitched a ride with Ricarda haha. Back at school, I also learn that my ride who didn't know where he was going, so I rode with someone else. She had difficulty getting me there as well and we ended up 45 minutes late. The punchline of this story? It was no problem, Ricarda's driver had problems as well, so we ended up coming to the office together. And our teacher was okay with it because it gave him extra time. So I thanked everyone for the rides and the help, and I'm glad I didn't end up messing someone up.

Discussion Topic

I've been asked this question or a question similar to this many times in Indonesia (most recently my civics teacher asked me this) and I thought I'd open up this question to all Americans as well as anyone else who has a thought (American or not).

Anyway, the question: Why does the United States get blamed for so many of the worlds problems?

So I've set it so anyone can comment on this even if you are not a member. I think maybe it would be cool if you stated which country(ies) you are from too.

one month down......

Well I've been here for a month now and I'm back from mudik (the trip you take to visit family around idul fitri). I visited the villages of Cianjur, and Tegal. While the drive was incredibly long, complete with infamous Javanese traffic, I did get to see iconic Indonesian rice paddies, mountains and Tropical plants. The iconic scenery didn't stop when I arrived in Cianjur: Chickens ran loose, ceilings were made out of woven bamboo, sheep stood in wooden sheds with stilts. Of course the Indonesian country side has a few not-so-nice icons: cloudy, grey bath water, and squat toilets. Later that night, I discovered another part of Indonesian Islamic culture, unfortunately, it was one that kept me up until I found my earplugs: the night before Idul Fitri, nearby mosques chant “allahu akbar” for hours until midnight. I wish I could give you an explanation as to why they do this, or why they don't just recite a big chunk of the Koran instead of saying the same thing over and over again, but I'm just as lost as you. The next day my family trekked around the village to shake hands, chat, and drink tea with everyone living there. We had quite a bit of free time after that, so we watched a show called “the adventures of suparman” (yes, spelled that way) and had my first conversation entirely in Bahasa Indonesia with a great aunt and tried a delicious Tamarind drink called “Asam Jawa”

hhmmm. So I guess I should talk more about life in Bandung. Bandung is starting to feel like home: I've made some good friends who have taken me out to watch movies, eat pizza and steak, they are really cool guys. I'm not sure when I start up school again, but when I do, I think I will join the badminton club (that is if I'm not too bad).

I bet you all want to hear about some crazy aspects of Indonesia, like one crazy scene that happened after eating my steak: My friends drove me to see the American family of an Indonesian returnee. Due to the heavy rains and excessive litter, the drains clogged up and the street flooded. Bandung turned into Venice, and a motorcyclist even started to fall over and had to be lifted out of the water by the people around him.

Then there are the naked people: Not too long ago I saw a naked man walking down the street very strange. Stranger still, no one around really seemed to react. This made me kind of mad, because a naked Indonesian doesn't even get a stare, but a fully-clothed bule can't walk down the street without someone staring, yelling bule (albino), or taking pictures.

Should I tell you about some more cultural differences? Or more aptly, cultural confusion. I can't seem to figure out who pays for what here. I've only paid for myself once when out with my friends so far: is that normal, or am I the jerk that doesn't pay? I think it's been ok that I haven't been paying so far, since it seems a lot of the time one person pays for all, but I'm not sure when I should be that person. Arg, isn't it easier just to go dutch?! Haha.

Things I appreciate more from the US

1. Immigrants!!!!! I love Immigrants!!!! Immigrants are the reason I can eat a Greek breakfast, Japanese lunch and Ethiopian dinner. You don't know what I'd do for a piece of fresh bread from a La Shish-type Middle Eastern restaurant right now. Immigrants are also the reason you don't see people yelling, staring or taking pictures of foreigners on the street (something I find really annoying here). Last, immigrants are the reason I can talk eloquently about Islam, as well as many other religions are cultures, and frankly it has eased my culture shock. So Arizona, WHATS WRONG WITH YOU?!?! haha

2. 2% milk (I thought it was quite apt to make this #2 haha). I can't find it here. It makes me mad because I only drink 2% because it is DELICIOUS. Oh well, I guess I will have to stick to tea for now.

3. As previously mention, Michigan's particular blend of ethnic food. Its really quite good, and the middle eastern food is much more authentic than the skinny meat-skimpy "kebab" here that is doused in mayonnaise. I hope all of you in Michigan are adventurous enough to eat it.

4. No squat toilets. They really do scare me, haha, and aiming is not something a girl is used to doing.

5. Fluoridated, drinkable tap water. No fear of bowel trauma in the US (unless you're Mexican), just white, shiny teeth.

6. Barbeque ribs. No pork in Indonesia, so no ribs :(. If Indonesians wanted to, they could use beef but I haven't seen it.

7. Makeup. You can buy makeup, but I don't see too many teenagers wearing it, so I've tried to avoid it.

8. No call-to-prayer. This is probably more of a downside of the US for Muslims, but as a non-Muslim, I do enjoy uninterrupted sleep haha.

I'm Scared of Fish

When I list my biggest fears; public speaking, premature death, dead animals, running out of gas in the middle of the desert, losing good friends, and squat toilets; eating fish always ends up at the very top. It's become pretty severe. After all, I will speak in front of the public if I have to (on occasion I even volunteer), I use squat toilets when there is no other option, and anyone who uses Ojeg on a regular basis can't fear premature death too much, but I can't even seem to get a forkful of fish into my mouth. Why? I'm not sure. Maybe it's because fish stare at me when they are dead (that really plays into my fear of dead animals). Maybe it's because crabs and lobsters resemble insects, and octopi and squid resemble worms. Maybe it's because on a trip to Mackinac Island I collected many beautiful crayfish claws only to find them full of maggots when I got back home. No matter how, the older I get, the harder it is for me to eat seafood. This wasn't a big deal in the US since seafood costs more than most people can afford, but I have run into a problem here in the land of the 50-cent lunch. I've been served fish four times now. The first time was in Jakarta at a fast-breaking party. I picked up a piece of squid, bit halfway down, gagged because of the texture, and consequently hid it under my rice. The second time, it was my only option other than rice and vegetables, and I was able to swallow down a little by dousing it in excessive amounts of ketchup and chasing it down with a mouthful of rice. That way, I could avoid both taste and texture. I was shocked the third time: I thought I'd ordered chicken, so when the waiter plopped a huge fish in front of me, I got the same feeling as I get when I've failed a major test in school. To my relief, it was a family-style restaurant, so I did get my chicken after all. The only reason they put the fish in front of me was because there was space. Tonight, I was offered fish again, which is why I felt I needed to write this blog. Even though I ended up eating chicken, I found nothing scarier than to see that my family had ordered almost all seafood dishes. I just hope I've managed not to offend my host family in this respect. Hmm...not a very profound mini-blog entry, but I hope you enjoyed it.

Settling Down in Bandung

Since my last blog post (which I originally wrote about a week before I posted it haha), some things have changed: I've started school, registered for my KITAS card (resident alien card), went to a couple fast-breaking parties, met the other exchange student in Bandung, rode Angkot (public transit) and Ojeg/Ojek (motor cycle taxi), met with a representative from the US Embassy, said good bye to Dhimas' (my host brother) host family, etc.


Early on, I rode Angkot and Ojeg after shopping with my host sister at a few of Bandung's factory outlets. Angkot are small, multicolored (but usually green) vans with benches. They are MUCH smaller than subways, light-rail, or buses in the US. In fact, they are made to seat about ten people (in reality you can squeeze about sixteen people in one) and make you feel as if you've been packed tightly in a suitcase. Soon, I hope I can ride Angkot on my own so I can have a little more freedom to move around Bandung :). Ojeg is terrifying for someone new to motorcycles and Indonesian traffic: the driver swerves to avoid cars, hits bumps that make feel as if you are slipping off, and makes quick turns on wet pavement. Not my idea of safe, but if it will take me from point A to point B, I think it's worth it.



I also met Ricarda, the exchange student from Germany, recently. She goes to SMAN 5, a high school that shares a building with my school, SMAN 3. we met at the oh-so-entertaining Immigration Office, although her visit there was a lot smoother than mine (as it turns out, I was missing my Departure Card which meant yet another visit to Bandung's scenic Immigration before I could get fingerprinted and photographed).

As for the the fast-breaking parties, I've been to two--both of which were a little overwhelming. The first one, for AFS, was also kind of a welcoming party for Ricarda and me....which meant public speaking!! Ah! As nervous as I was speaking about myself (part of which was in Bahasa Indonesia) in front of the returnees (former exchange students) and volunteers, all went well. I guess it pays off to always keep a few American gifts (rubber animal bracelets, some Burts Bee's chapstick and t-shirts with american slogans) on hand to throw out too the crowd haha. The other fast-breaking event was at my school. It was my first time visiting my school and I was able to meet some of my future classmates and make some more friends. Later on, I encountered another strange cultural difference: a group of high school students leave the crowd at night, go through a kind of seedy-looking alley and enter a dimly-lit room. Are they...

A. Doing something illegal
B. Selling something illegal
C. Buying something illegal
D. Praying

If you answered “D” you would be correct. As it turns out the dimly-lit room is a musholla (prayer house), something you can find all over the city including Mcdonald's. I found this funny since I can imagine a American parent seeing something like this and starting up a neighborhood watch program.

Now, I officially attend the prestigious SMAN 3, major in social sciences, and wear an oh-so-stylish uniform that consists of a blue-grey, floor-length skirt and a white, long sleeve shirt with a name patch, “SMAN 3” and the iconic OSIS patch seen on all Indonesian school uniforms. Indonesians don't have moving classes, so monday through friday I sit in the same classroom with sixteen other social science majors and struggle to understand some of what the teachers are saying. I take classes like computer programming, German, Bahasa Indonesia, Sundanese (the local language here in Bandung), and music. I'm not so keen on music so far because it means the other students get to hear my oh-so-lovely singing voice. Right now, I am on break for Idul Fitri (the celebration after Ramadhan), so I don't get to go back to school until mid-september.

The home-sickness is getting much better, although every once in a while a painful memory pops up. Otherwise, life is pretty ordinary in Bandung. I hope I can make more friends and ultimately visit more fun places. Anyway, that's it for now, hope this wasn't too long for you.

First Days In indonesia

Hey, so welcome to the first entry of my blog. I was thinking about making a video blog, but it seems my camera isn't working all too well....hopefully I'll get that taken care of so I can take pictures and what not. Anyway, This is my first week in Indonesia. Earlier this week I flew into Jakarta via Taipei and Kuala Lumpur (or Lumpy Koala as dad calls it). While I was still technically in the US, I had my first taste of the Asia I've come to know in the Los Angeles Airport: all around me people were speaking in languages I couldn't understand, and after waiting a while, I realized I was one of only a few non-asians waiting in the terminal. My flight ended up being extremely long, including an unexpected three hour wait in Taipei, complete with Harajuku girls and public showers. Unfortunately, I couldn't take a shower because I forgot to bring a towel in my carry-on. I should have listened to Ford Prefect's advice: Never forget your Towel! I saw an entertainingly cheesy safety video on Malaysia Airlines: It had a stewardess dressed in traditional Malaysian clothes. The actress must have been speaking Bahasa Melayu, but to make the video more international, her voice was dubbed over with over thickly-accented British English . Malaysia Airlines may have cheesy videos, but it is that it has GREAT FOOD!!! With every flight (even short ones like Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta) they give you Malaysian TV-dinners that are quite good. It's a welcome change from paying three dollars for a "fun-sized" box of Pringles on US Airways.


Eventually, I made it to Jakarta...my back hurt, I was overwhelmed and I accidentally paid for an uneeded visa on arrival which I then had to get refunded. On the way out, the customs officials were all crowded around (apparently talking about me). "Do you have a boyfriend?" One asked me, "because if you don't, he thinks your pretty, and needs a girlfriend." Great. My first day in the country and I get hit on. Finally, I grabbed my bags and squeezed into the van that would take me to the Bina Antarbudaya (the Indonesian AFS affiliate) office. As the driver whipped her way through traffic, I kept thinking “Wow, Indonesia is a lot like Mexico!” The buildings, the plants, the heat, the people and the way they dressed, even the language reminded me of Mexico. Obviously, there were plenty of differences, like the jilbabs (Islamic head scarves) you see many women wearing on the street, and the traffic--traffic here is so heavy that Jakartans have to learn an aggressive, near-accident-enducing driving-style. Did I mention they don't wear seat belts either? After that ride, it was clear why AFS students are not allowed to drive and have extensive health insurance.

At the office, I was shown how to shower the Indonesian way...by filling a a bucket with water and pouring it over yourself. It's a bit bracing, but I think I should get used to it, especially since my host family has hot water (Bandung has a reputation for being "cold"). That night, I was invited to a fast-breaking celebration, which was a bit overwhelming since many people wanted to talk to me, and most of the time I didn't know what to do, since I have a pretty poor command of Bahasa Indonesia at this point. I ended up at a mall after sleeping through the ride back from the party. It was fairly similar to the ones in the US except much bigger. However, we left fairly early because I was dozing off while sitting up at a restaurant. As we left, the power went out--something that apparently has never happened to the Indonesian volunteers before.

A day later my host family and my host brother's former host family (he went to the Netherlands and his host family was visiting at that point). We went to a Padang restaurant and I promptly fell asleep once we got home in Bandung.

I'm starting to notice cultural differences, one of which is dry vs. wet clean: In the USA, people like to be dry, dry is clean. We try to keep our bathrooms as dry as possible, we wipe our hands with napkins and use toilet paper. In Indonesia, wet is clean. You'll find sinks and finger bowls at restaurants to clean your hands, bathrooms are always wet, and toilets have bidets, hoses or buckets to clean yourself off. Another cultural difference is waking time. Indonesians wake up early, especially now, during Ramadan. Prayers are recited over megaphone at the local mosques make it hard to stay asleep in the wee hours of the morning.

I am worried about a few things: that it will be hard for me to learn Bahasa Indonesia since most people in my host family speak English and they are very busy during the week, leaving me with a lot of alone time. Because of this, I am also a little worried about getting homesick, or rather, boyfriend-sick. Every time I end up with time to think to myself, I end up thinking about my boyfriend, Macsen, and how I won't be able to see him for a year. I get more upset over this than over missing my family because I always know my family will be there when I get back. I will end up spending time with them throughout my life even if I don't see them now. I am worried Macsen will not always be in my life and that this year will cause us to grow apart. I have the same concerns about many of my great friends that I have made in the US. I will end on light note: my mom has just made some delicious fries for me to eat :).