1. The Artwork
Indonesia is overflowing with artwork--from city-sponsored statues to graffiti. These works make Indonesia an extremely colorful and photogenic country
2. The Scenery
Every day, I wake up to beautiful mountains, dotted with red roofs and chiseled with rice paddies. At dawn and dusk everything turns a pinky-orange color that enhances the pastel-painted houses and black-and-white-checkered curbs. At night, Bandung lights up like a bowl full of fireflies.
3. The Indonesian Attitude
Indonesia has a very relaxed, upbeat, friendly attitude. If someone on the street offers help they genuinely want to help you. Instead of saying "yes" or "no" people say "already" and "not yet." It's a welcome change from American pessimism, especially in an area like Detroit.
4. J. Co
The Donut shop from heaven. Nowhere in the US have I tasted donuts as good as these fluffy, creamy ones with shiny liquid frosting. If you ever go to southeast Asia, I highly reccomend trying a donut or two.
5. Motorcycles
At first, I saw these as scary oppertunities to get buried in a foreign country, but now I see them as a fast, fun, fuel-efficient alternative to cars. Unfortunately, motorcycles just aren't as practical in the US where cars don't know how to handle having them around.
6. The Weather
85 degrees year-round, need I say more?
7. The Opportunities
Indonesia is the new land of opportunity. It's got a rapidly growing economy and the place just stinks of hope (and durian). For a native English speaker, it is incredibly easy to get a job, and for a tourist or resident, its an easy place to have fun.
8. The Malls
At the risk of sounding like a mall-rat in front of friends who have heard my rants about malls, I'd like to say I will genuinely miss the malls here. US malls are out of my price range, and have food courts that specialize in giving you food poisoning.Their only redeeming quality is the massage chairs in Brookstone. Malls in Indonesia, however, are more like streets taken inside. Most of them have little independent stores specializing in cool Korean clothing for less than 10 dollars per piece. They also have food courts worth skipping school to sample! Many a day I have left school craving a Belgian Waffle (or J. Co) from Bandung Indah Plaza. Last, There seems to be a different mall for each type of person: Paris Van Java for rich people, Bandung Electronic center for techies, Ciwalk for outdoors people, Bandung Trade Center for cheap, fashionable people, and Yogya Lucky Square for homesick Exchange Students from Detroit looking for a place in Indonesia as deserted as their hometown.
9. Indomie
Think Instant noodles are gross? I did too...until I tried Indomie. From beggars to Presiden Yudhoyono, everyone loves this snack that costs 15 cents a pack. They come several different flavors, all delicious. Good enough that I once ate a pack so fast it went up my nose.
10. Frozen Yogurt
By now you can tell I like food, but you might ask why I will miss something I can get in the US? Because Indonesian Frozen Yogurt is different--heavily fermented and sour. It's a refreshing break from sweet ice cream.
11. The Animals
Stray cats, geckos, monkeys, bats, frogs...it's great to live in an area with so many easy-to-catch animals that don't bite much. Each stray cat has its own personality, each gecko and frog has a funny story attached, and monkeys and bats are just cool :)
12. The Prices
Lunch: 50 cents
Clothing: <20 dollars
Phone bill: 2.50 dollars a month
All the fun you can get from shopping, eating and calling friends: priceless
The Friends
There are a lot of people here I will miss. You know who you are. I may not be able to take them home, but I will definitely take home all the memories I made with them :) (yes very cheesy)
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sundanese Weddings
A small, quiet wedding is not something known to Indonesians. Weddings are a packed, glittering, and colorful. In Sunda, West Java, The Bride dresses in a Kebaya (a tight sheer-shirt covered in appliqués), and an elaborate headdress made of jewels. Everyone in the wedding party wears a batik sarungs. The Bride and groom walk out under an umbrella and sit at the front along with their parents. The parents then feed their children as a the last act as parents before they give up their children to their spouses. Next, an old, wise man leads the ceremony, and out comes a procession of fairies, peacocks, and warriors to help the new couple. The ceremony ends with photographs and the reception starts with guests lining up to thank and shake hands with the bride, groom and parents.
Sometimes, Western elements are added to the ceremony: the bride tosses a bouquet, a band plays "Fly me to the Moon" and of course there is a big, white wedding cake. At one ceremony, I was one of these western additions. One of my friends and his family were hired as the entertainment and they invited me along. When I arrived, I was shuffled into the dressing room where women in peacock and fairy costumes dressed me in a kebaya and the wedding singer did my hair. A little while later, I found myself sitting on a small stage singing in Sundanese. Some how they had convinced a girl known for her off-key, incomplete rendition of "the Star-spangled Banner" to sing in a language she knew 5 phrases in.
Later, the actual ceremony began. Our old, wise man was about 13 years old, yet his bent-over, wide stance and arm behind his back made him a believeable 70. By the end of the ceremony, I found my self getting a photo with the whole wedding party.
Sometimes, Western elements are added to the ceremony: the bride tosses a bouquet, a band plays "Fly me to the Moon" and of course there is a big, white wedding cake. At one ceremony, I was one of these western additions. One of my friends and his family were hired as the entertainment and they invited me along. When I arrived, I was shuffled into the dressing room where women in peacock and fairy costumes dressed me in a kebaya and the wedding singer did my hair. A little while later, I found myself sitting on a small stage singing in Sundanese. Some how they had convinced a girl known for her off-key, incomplete rendition of "the Star-spangled Banner" to sing in a language she knew 5 phrases in.
Later, the actual ceremony began. Our old, wise man was about 13 years old, yet his bent-over, wide stance and arm behind his back made him a believeable 70. By the end of the ceremony, I found my self getting a photo with the whole wedding party.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Serious Stuff
Over these seven months I've been highlighting nothing but the best of an exchange year. However, like any exchange student I've talked to, I have had problems. Sometimes, I feel exchange programs aren't completely honest with future exchange students when it comes to these problems: I've often heard volunteers pigeonhole exchange students, rolling their eyes at mistakes or weaknesses of "bad" exchange students. Problems just arise for some exchange students regardless of how hard they try to be a good exchange student. They certainly did for me:
A few months ago I changed host families, ending a long string of unfortunate events: I broke up with my boyfriend, had a friend in the US die, got horrible, month-long insomnia and food poisoning out the wazoo, and lost a disturbing amount of weight. A lot of this was linked to or made worse by my mismatched placement. They were nice, but too busy and too shy. When I was homesick or grieving, they didn't really know what to do. We ended up with communication issues, I didn't feel like part of the family, but most of all I didn't feel like I was learning. Anyway, I'd like to give some advice about how to avoid problems like mine:
Understand the nature of the relationship: A host family is most like a dating relationship
1. You can't get rid of your real family, but you can break up with your host family. It may sound bad, but when you are in a bad host family you can and should get out of it for the sake of your experience. Don't worry about too much about offending them, just treat them as you would a boyfriend or girlfriend that just isn't right for you.
2. You didn't grow up with yout host fanily, you have to learn to bond with them, just like a boyfriend/girlfriend. If you don't find anything in common, you will just have to break up. It reminds me of a stereotypical reason to end a dating relationship: We just didn't have much in common.
3. Don't treat your host family like your roommates; roommates are friends, but host families and boyfriends/girlfriends are more. As a result, both host family relationships and dating relationships require a lot more effort than roommate relationships.
As a result, a the ideal relationship with a host family should follow a similar pattern: intrigue (usually when you first read about your placement) romance (when you first arrive until about 1 to 3 months in. Both parties exchange gifts and are on their best behavior for the other because they want to get along. Hopefully, a little bonding occurs) problems (around one to three months you start noticing annoying things) solutions after working through what issues you have, you get to know your host family better and vise versa. You have bonded completely, congrats on your new family).Unfortunately, mine didn't quite go that way: the intrigue and the problems were there, but the romance was pained and the solutions never really worked.
Exchange Students
1. When your exchange program interviews you, mention that you would like to be placed in a family thats not too busy and would like to travel/sightsee with you. Why? A busy family won't have the time to talk with you and teach you about their culture. You'll find yourself alone, waiting for someone to get home, but ultimately resorting to reading, watching TV or going on Facebook. However, a family that really wants to take you travelling/sightseeing is one that will make time to teach you about the country, and in a hands-on way. For me (and I think a lot of other people), homesickness comes from boredom, so how can you get too homesick if you are zipping through your host country? A family like this is especially good for a program like AFS that doesn't plan much travelling. Not to mention, long road trips are a great way to bond, swap stories, make up songs, and laugh at the dog riding a motorcycle you passed a few minutes ago. (ok well the last one might only apply to Indonesia haha)
2. Spend as little time in your room as possible. While I disagree with AFS's guidelines on the computer (an hour a week) because most exchange students have important things to do on the computer (including socializing and planning with students in your host country), I still think its important to not ignore your host family. You should take all activities (including computer work) to the living room.
3. Skype your home country when your host family is asleep but please don't wake them up. Because Skype is private, make sure you go on at a time that you aren't ignoring your family. I wake up at 4 am to Skype the US...my American friends now have some not-too-flattering, half-asleep Skype screen shots of me, but its worth it if its means I'm not ditching my host family during our weekly Glee-watching session.
4. Tell your family about everything you are doing. If you are reading a book, tell them about it. If you are crocheting a blanket, tell them about it. If you have crouching-over diarrhea and food poisoning, tell them about it (hopefully they won't feed you charcoal pills like they did me haha). Its a great way for your host family to get to know you when you may not have much in common at first. This is also a good way to use Facebook to your advantage--show them pictures of your home country and compare. Afraid to use your native language, but still don't know what to say in your host language? Just ask what the thing you are doing is called in your host language. For example, next time you are out and about and get food poisoning, ask your family "How do I say 'I think I have Salmonella and need to find a bathroom now' in your language?" It's certainly a conversation starter.
5. Thoroughly research exchange programs before choosing one. Stalk a returnee! Its easy to find former exchange students via facebook (just go to any program's facebook page and see who joined), and most will be willing to add you if you send them a message explaining that you are planning on studying abroad. Ask them about how their chapter runs, any problems they ran into, how their program handled it, and any else unique to their program. Be aware that in some programs you stay with one family for a year (AFS) and in some you change families (rotary club). Get information to decide which is best for you. You'll find a lot of strange information out this way that you won't through the program, like that Rotary Club Indonesia doesn't really check out their host families before placing students, that AFS Bandung is run by busy college students or that AFS Japan is very strict. Not to mention, you'll make friends worldwide who might let you crash with them if you ever travel to their home country.
Host families
1. Take your exchange student everywhere. take them travelling, take them around town, take them grocery shopping, take them to work (don't take them with you to the bathroom though). Any place is better than leaving them home alone.
2.Never say "it's okay, just use English" At the beginning it will be difficult to communicate, but if you start off in English, it will be very difficult to switch to your native language later. ALWAYS start with your native language. If they don't understand, speak slower, clearer and use over-the-top gestures, if that doesn't work, rephrase what you just said and keep using gestures. Still not working? Use bigger gestures, pictures and rephrase yourself again. Only use English as a last resort and never tell your exchange student its okay to use their native language or English (unless, of course, you live in an English-speaking country)
3. Talk as much as possible Often, exchange students can understand more than they can speak, especially if people talk directly to them. So, its best if you start the conversation rather than waiting for them to start it. Talk about anything: what you are doing, what your plans are, your hometown, your first boyfriend, your most embarrassing experience, your summer working at Disney World, your parents' life as rice farmers, your favorite type of toilet, the number of times you bathe in a week....the list goes on. Ask them about their home country to get them speaking. Another reason I say to take your exchange student everywhere is because you can point out culture in progress rather than describing it from the house. The more discussion topics you can think of, the better.
A few months ago I changed host families, ending a long string of unfortunate events: I broke up with my boyfriend, had a friend in the US die, got horrible, month-long insomnia and food poisoning out the wazoo, and lost a disturbing amount of weight. A lot of this was linked to or made worse by my mismatched placement. They were nice, but too busy and too shy. When I was homesick or grieving, they didn't really know what to do. We ended up with communication issues, I didn't feel like part of the family, but most of all I didn't feel like I was learning. Anyway, I'd like to give some advice about how to avoid problems like mine:
Understand the nature of the relationship: A host family is most like a dating relationship
1. You can't get rid of your real family, but you can break up with your host family. It may sound bad, but when you are in a bad host family you can and should get out of it for the sake of your experience. Don't worry about too much about offending them, just treat them as you would a boyfriend or girlfriend that just isn't right for you.
2. You didn't grow up with yout host fanily, you have to learn to bond with them, just like a boyfriend/girlfriend. If you don't find anything in common, you will just have to break up. It reminds me of a stereotypical reason to end a dating relationship: We just didn't have much in common.
3. Don't treat your host family like your roommates; roommates are friends, but host families and boyfriends/girlfriends are more. As a result, both host family relationships and dating relationships require a lot more effort than roommate relationships.
As a result, a the ideal relationship with a host family should follow a similar pattern: intrigue (usually when you first read about your placement) romance (when you first arrive until about 1 to 3 months in. Both parties exchange gifts and are on their best behavior for the other because they want to get along. Hopefully, a little bonding occurs) problems (around one to three months you start noticing annoying things) solutions after working through what issues you have, you get to know your host family better and vise versa. You have bonded completely, congrats on your new family).Unfortunately, mine didn't quite go that way: the intrigue and the problems were there, but the romance was pained and the solutions never really worked.
Exchange Students
1. When your exchange program interviews you, mention that you would like to be placed in a family thats not too busy and would like to travel/sightsee with you. Why? A busy family won't have the time to talk with you and teach you about their culture. You'll find yourself alone, waiting for someone to get home, but ultimately resorting to reading, watching TV or going on Facebook. However, a family that really wants to take you travelling/sightseeing is one that will make time to teach you about the country, and in a hands-on way. For me (and I think a lot of other people), homesickness comes from boredom, so how can you get too homesick if you are zipping through your host country? A family like this is especially good for a program like AFS that doesn't plan much travelling. Not to mention, long road trips are a great way to bond, swap stories, make up songs, and laugh at the dog riding a motorcycle you passed a few minutes ago. (ok well the last one might only apply to Indonesia haha)
2. Spend as little time in your room as possible. While I disagree with AFS's guidelines on the computer (an hour a week) because most exchange students have important things to do on the computer (including socializing and planning with students in your host country), I still think its important to not ignore your host family. You should take all activities (including computer work) to the living room.
3. Skype your home country when your host family is asleep but please don't wake them up. Because Skype is private, make sure you go on at a time that you aren't ignoring your family. I wake up at 4 am to Skype the US...my American friends now have some not-too-flattering, half-asleep Skype screen shots of me, but its worth it if its means I'm not ditching my host family during our weekly Glee-watching session.
4. Tell your family about everything you are doing. If you are reading a book, tell them about it. If you are crocheting a blanket, tell them about it. If you have crouching-over diarrhea and food poisoning, tell them about it (hopefully they won't feed you charcoal pills like they did me haha). Its a great way for your host family to get to know you when you may not have much in common at first. This is also a good way to use Facebook to your advantage--show them pictures of your home country and compare. Afraid to use your native language, but still don't know what to say in your host language? Just ask what the thing you are doing is called in your host language. For example, next time you are out and about and get food poisoning, ask your family "How do I say 'I think I have Salmonella and need to find a bathroom now' in your language?" It's certainly a conversation starter.
5. Thoroughly research exchange programs before choosing one. Stalk a returnee! Its easy to find former exchange students via facebook (just go to any program's facebook page and see who joined), and most will be willing to add you if you send them a message explaining that you are planning on studying abroad. Ask them about how their chapter runs, any problems they ran into, how their program handled it, and any else unique to their program. Be aware that in some programs you stay with one family for a year (AFS) and in some you change families (rotary club). Get information to decide which is best for you. You'll find a lot of strange information out this way that you won't through the program, like that Rotary Club Indonesia doesn't really check out their host families before placing students, that AFS Bandung is run by busy college students or that AFS Japan is very strict. Not to mention, you'll make friends worldwide who might let you crash with them if you ever travel to their home country.
Host families
1. Take your exchange student everywhere. take them travelling, take them around town, take them grocery shopping, take them to work (don't take them with you to the bathroom though). Any place is better than leaving them home alone.
2.Never say "it's okay, just use English" At the beginning it will be difficult to communicate, but if you start off in English, it will be very difficult to switch to your native language later. ALWAYS start with your native language. If they don't understand, speak slower, clearer and use over-the-top gestures, if that doesn't work, rephrase what you just said and keep using gestures. Still not working? Use bigger gestures, pictures and rephrase yourself again. Only use English as a last resort and never tell your exchange student its okay to use their native language or English (unless, of course, you live in an English-speaking country)
3. Talk as much as possible Often, exchange students can understand more than they can speak, especially if people talk directly to them. So, its best if you start the conversation rather than waiting for them to start it. Talk about anything: what you are doing, what your plans are, your hometown, your first boyfriend, your most embarrassing experience, your summer working at Disney World, your parents' life as rice farmers, your favorite type of toilet, the number of times you bathe in a week....the list goes on. Ask them about their home country to get them speaking. Another reason I say to take your exchange student everywhere is because you can point out culture in progress rather than describing it from the house. The more discussion topics you can think of, the better.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
American Christmas--The Indonesian Way
I've never been the biggest fan of Christmas: I liked the presents, the cookies, the seasonal chocolate and the clay-mation specials from the 1960's. Other than that, Christmas traditions just turn me into a Hum Bug: sparkling snow reminds me of the unbearable cold and dangerous driving; my neighbors’ elaborate light displays scream ‘tacky fire-hazard’ not ‘whimsical beauty’; Starbucks’ covers of traditional Christmas songs (that start playing around Halloween) put me in more of a fighting spirit than a buying spirit; and due to a few unwanted and unexpected visits from the town Santa Clause as a Child, Santa scares me a little bit*. Last year, you would have heard the Kink’s satirical “Father Christmas” blasting as you drove by my undecorated, tree-less house on Christmas morning.
Foolish me, I thought I could escape all that in Indonesia. Java may be overwhelmingly Muslim, but its malls subscribe to a religion of shopping. As soon as the "Christmas Season" started, (thank god it doesn't start until December here) I heard cheesy Christmas music in every grocery store, lights and wreaths popped up in every mall, I even saw a few cardboard Santas in the factory outlets. Some of you may think Bandung does this to attract Christian tourists...except Bandung doesn't get much foreign tourism. This all seemed to be for the less-than-10% of the population that is Christian, and maybe even to get a few Muslims to buy stuff anyway.
Unfortunately, I put up with all the things I hated about Christmas (except the snow of course), but this year I missed out on the things I really liked. I shipped my presents, but missed the excitement of their reveal. I had no oven to bake cookies or pie. I didn't even watch my '60s Christmas Specials (until my boyfriend sent them to me in January. Thanks Troy!)! My Christmas festivities included sleeping until 3 pm, then watching movies all day.
AFS threw a Christmas party complete with dinner and a chicken-shaped hat. It was pretty fun, but not enough to make up for my poor planning and distance. Future exchange students: If you want a Christmas like you have at home, I suggest you plan it before you come. Even if you are a bit of a scrooge like me, just bring a few little things from home to share with your host country. It’s better that way.
*I never believed in Santa, but I still visited the town Santa each year. I never really enjoyed sitting on some strange mans lap, so this particular year I decided not to see him. Santa had different ideas. I was eating at a restaurant across the street from his seasonal hut when Santa went on break. Of Course, he spots the cute little girl across the street and decides to pay her a special visit. My family watched as he crossed the street, entered the restaurant and made me tell him what I wanted for Christmas. I think I told him I wanted metal detector, but what I really wanted for Christmas was not to be stalked by Santa. Oh well.
Foolish me, I thought I could escape all that in Indonesia. Java may be overwhelmingly Muslim, but its malls subscribe to a religion of shopping. As soon as the "Christmas Season" started, (thank god it doesn't start until December here) I heard cheesy Christmas music in every grocery store, lights and wreaths popped up in every mall, I even saw a few cardboard Santas in the factory outlets. Some of you may think Bandung does this to attract Christian tourists...except Bandung doesn't get much foreign tourism. This all seemed to be for the less-than-10% of the population that is Christian, and maybe even to get a few Muslims to buy stuff anyway.
Unfortunately, I put up with all the things I hated about Christmas (except the snow of course), but this year I missed out on the things I really liked. I shipped my presents, but missed the excitement of their reveal. I had no oven to bake cookies or pie. I didn't even watch my '60s Christmas Specials (until my boyfriend sent them to me in January. Thanks Troy!)! My Christmas festivities included sleeping until 3 pm, then watching movies all day.
AFS threw a Christmas party complete with dinner and a chicken-shaped hat. It was pretty fun, but not enough to make up for my poor planning and distance. Future exchange students: If you want a Christmas like you have at home, I suggest you plan it before you come. Even if you are a bit of a scrooge like me, just bring a few little things from home to share with your host country. It’s better that way.
*I never believed in Santa, but I still visited the town Santa each year. I never really enjoyed sitting on some strange mans lap, so this particular year I decided not to see him. Santa had different ideas. I was eating at a restaurant across the street from his seasonal hut when Santa went on break. Of Course, he spots the cute little girl across the street and decides to pay her a special visit. My family watched as he crossed the street, entered the restaurant and made me tell him what I wanted for Christmas. I think I told him I wanted metal detector, but what I really wanted for Christmas was not to be stalked by Santa. Oh well.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Idul Adha: It's No Petting Zoo
A few months back, I was skyping my good friend and informant on Islamic culture, Zohaib. Zohaib, who lived in both Pakistan and the US, gives me some of the best advice on cultural difference. Today's warning: The second Eid. Zohaib warns me of a strange and sometimes vomit-inducing holiday where animals are slaughtered on the street and in mosques. "I don't know how it is in Indonesia," Zohaib warns, "but it makes a lot of foreigners sick in Pakistan." Curious, I asked a few Indonesian friends and they confirmed what Zohaib told me. "Makes foreigners sick! It makes me sick! Too much blood," one friend mentioned. I guess its a good thing I don't have an uneasy stomach.
As the day approached, livestock pins popped up every few miles. A lot of times children were looking at the animals with their parents, which made them seem like petting zoos--petting zoos with an ending fit for Ted Nugent.
Then came the day--I was surprised at how little blood I actually saw (The fact I woke up around 2 pm, after the sacrifice had happened, might have had something to do with it) I ended up going over to my friend Agung's house to make sate (the national dish) from the meat slaughtered that morning. At fist, I was given the job of cutting the meat into grillable cubes. Clumsy me, I knocked over a piece of liver into a bag on the floor and Agung's mom had to fish it out. While Agung's mom had washed the meat earlier, no one washed it after. I'm pretty sure this is a cultural difference and not me not realizing I was supposed to wash something (I hope at least haha). Next, I put the flavored cubes onto skewers. This, I was able to do without a hitch.
Then came the Grilling. If you are American, you've probably been to a few summer barbeques. Remember that large charcoal grill? You or one of your parents would light it, close the top until the charcoal glows red, then watch your steak, ribs, or tin-foiled veggies until they are done. Indonesian grilling is a bit more labor intensive: you crouch over tiny floor grills and fan the charcoal until it turns red. When I mean fan, I MEAN FAN: you vigorously flap around whatever piece of plywood or cardboard you have at your disposal and you don't stop until you think its done, realize its not, and then start fanning again. That process is a whole lot more exhausting compared to the American grills with lids that do the same thing. Next, you put the raw sate on, cook it until it's brown on the outside, cover it in more sauce and repeat. After an hour or so of preparing this meal, you finally get to eat it! It was a quite tasty treat and I was able to make some new friends even if it gave me horrible food poisoning the next day.
As the day approached, livestock pins popped up every few miles. A lot of times children were looking at the animals with their parents, which made them seem like petting zoos--petting zoos with an ending fit for Ted Nugent.
Then came the day--I was surprised at how little blood I actually saw (The fact I woke up around 2 pm, after the sacrifice had happened, might have had something to do with it) I ended up going over to my friend Agung's house to make sate (the national dish) from the meat slaughtered that morning. At fist, I was given the job of cutting the meat into grillable cubes. Clumsy me, I knocked over a piece of liver into a bag on the floor and Agung's mom had to fish it out. While Agung's mom had washed the meat earlier, no one washed it after. I'm pretty sure this is a cultural difference and not me not realizing I was supposed to wash something (I hope at least haha). Next, I put the flavored cubes onto skewers. This, I was able to do without a hitch.
Then came the Grilling. If you are American, you've probably been to a few summer barbeques. Remember that large charcoal grill? You or one of your parents would light it, close the top until the charcoal glows red, then watch your steak, ribs, or tin-foiled veggies until they are done. Indonesian grilling is a bit more labor intensive: you crouch over tiny floor grills and fan the charcoal until it turns red. When I mean fan, I MEAN FAN: you vigorously flap around whatever piece of plywood or cardboard you have at your disposal and you don't stop until you think its done, realize its not, and then start fanning again. That process is a whole lot more exhausting compared to the American grills with lids that do the same thing. Next, you put the raw sate on, cook it until it's brown on the outside, cover it in more sauce and repeat. After an hour or so of preparing this meal, you finally get to eat it! It was a quite tasty treat and I was able to make some new friends even if it gave me horrible food poisoning the next day.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Kerupuk Blogger
Ever noticed how British people seem to call anything "pudding?" "Pudding" for them can be anything from your iconic tapioca pudding to black and white pudding, which is actually sausage, or spotted dick, which is more like fruit cake. Well Indonesians have a similarly all-encompassing food word: Kerupuk. The word "Kerupuk" refers to a cracker or chip, and while it doesn't quite cover as much as "pudding" does for the British, it covers everything from styrofoamy white things that look like funnel cake, to tiny star-shaped chips with colorful edges. You have certain types with noodles, others with porridge, and some you just snack on when you are bored.
Anyway, I thought Kerupuk would be a good subject to start off my entry on Indonesian food. My favorite Kerupuk is something you often see in Thai restaurants in the US. In the US, you are served these pastel colored chips in a basket as you sit down at a booth in your favorite, air conditioned Thai restaurant. They feel kind of greasy, and when you put one on your tongue, and it sticks to it like its gripping your taste buds with little hands. When you ask the waiter what you are eating, he responds "shrimp chips." funny. They don't taste fishy.
In Indonesia, however, you get these when you sit in an open air Rumah Makan, which is a food stall plus benches, a table, and a tarp around the place to shield you from the sun and advertise their food. This time you get these chips sprinkled on top of your chicken porridge or gado-gado (salad with peanut sauce). If you want more, the seller will give you an aluminum box full of slightly stale ones. As you scoop some porridge out with a chip, they make a satisfying crackle. Out of the noise, mostly honking from motor cycles and whistles from angkot,you hear a little mew next to your feet...it's a stray cat looking for scraps.
At a Rumah Makan or warung (food stall) you'll probably see another common type of Kerupuk is the styrofoamy white ones I mentioned before. These look a little like someone took minature versions of the pool noodles you played with as a kid, but curly-cued and glued together to form an oval. A an undipped bite can sometimes taste like pool noodle too. You usually eat these with soup or noodle-soup. My first experience with these was not pleasant: My host family told me "Try Kerupuk!" I sunk my teeth into a dry one and thought is this really food?. Four months since, I can't eat a spicy noodle soup with out a few of these to soaked up the broth and extinguish the burn.
The last type is one I came across in Tegal:Kerupuk Tahu These are fiberous brown domes of crunchy fried tofu that look a little bit like a cross between quisp and shredded wheat. These are my least favorite type and have definitely contributed to my mounting hatred of tofu. Imagine your average shredded wheat cereal, but instead of being sweet and mild, it's salty and tastes strongly of tofu.I first tried this when my family was snacking around a coffee table when someone offered me one of these. I can't remember my initial reaction to the taste, but I do remember coughing. I'd made the mistake of breathing in while chewing and ended up with a throatful of spikey tofu bits. Since then, I've been a bit more savvy about eating them--or avoiding eating them. Every time someone comes over from Tegal, they offer me these little crackers. I end up taking a bite and hiding the rest until I can get a chance to toss it.
Images of Kerupuk: http://www.google.co.id/images?q=kerupuk&um=1&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=677&tbs=isch:1,isz:m&source=lnt&sa=X&ei=5KgQTbG0A87NrQefvqC9Cw&ved=0CAgQpwU
Anyway, I thought Kerupuk would be a good subject to start off my entry on Indonesian food. My favorite Kerupuk is something you often see in Thai restaurants in the US. In the US, you are served these pastel colored chips in a basket as you sit down at a booth in your favorite, air conditioned Thai restaurant. They feel kind of greasy, and when you put one on your tongue, and it sticks to it like its gripping your taste buds with little hands. When you ask the waiter what you are eating, he responds "shrimp chips." funny. They don't taste fishy.
In Indonesia, however, you get these when you sit in an open air Rumah Makan, which is a food stall plus benches, a table, and a tarp around the place to shield you from the sun and advertise their food. This time you get these chips sprinkled on top of your chicken porridge or gado-gado (salad with peanut sauce). If you want more, the seller will give you an aluminum box full of slightly stale ones. As you scoop some porridge out with a chip, they make a satisfying crackle. Out of the noise, mostly honking from motor cycles and whistles from angkot,you hear a little mew next to your feet...it's a stray cat looking for scraps.
At a Rumah Makan or warung (food stall) you'll probably see another common type of Kerupuk is the styrofoamy white ones I mentioned before. These look a little like someone took minature versions of the pool noodles you played with as a kid, but curly-cued and glued together to form an oval. A an undipped bite can sometimes taste like pool noodle too. You usually eat these with soup or noodle-soup. My first experience with these was not pleasant: My host family told me "Try Kerupuk!" I sunk my teeth into a dry one and thought is this really food?. Four months since, I can't eat a spicy noodle soup with out a few of these to soaked up the broth and extinguish the burn.
The last type is one I came across in Tegal:Kerupuk Tahu These are fiberous brown domes of crunchy fried tofu that look a little bit like a cross between quisp and shredded wheat. These are my least favorite type and have definitely contributed to my mounting hatred of tofu. Imagine your average shredded wheat cereal, but instead of being sweet and mild, it's salty and tastes strongly of tofu.I first tried this when my family was snacking around a coffee table when someone offered me one of these. I can't remember my initial reaction to the taste, but I do remember coughing. I'd made the mistake of breathing in while chewing and ended up with a throatful of spikey tofu bits. Since then, I've been a bit more savvy about eating them--or avoiding eating them. Every time someone comes over from Tegal, they offer me these little crackers. I end up taking a bite and hiding the rest until I can get a chance to toss it.
Images of Kerupuk: http://www.google.co.id/images?q=kerupuk&um=1&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=677&tbs=isch:1,isz:m&source=lnt&sa=X&ei=5KgQTbG0A87NrQefvqC9Cw&ved=0CAgQpwU
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
On the Kereta Api
Some of you who have been on Canadian Rail find Amtrak, for lack of a better word, bad. After all, its not as clean, fast, pretty, or comfortable. It's just not worth the time when you can fly. However, if you rode Indonesian rail, you might rethink Amtrak. "A train in Indonesia is almost like a train in India" Agung told me days before I took economy class to Gunung Padang. Although I've never been on a train in India, I can imagine Agung is right (although no one was riding on the roof). When I boarded at the Ciroyom Station, it was still empty enough to grab a seat on a bench. Two little girls were singing for money, a man was selling snake fruit out of a cart, and a woman wearing bright make up was selling bread out of a basket on her head. The benches were narrow, unpadded, and only lined side on the train. The windows were small and high, which didn't really didn't affect us at the time, but did so later while snapping high-speed photos.
Then came the crowds. I few stops in, people poured in. The benches filled up, and people started standing, sitting on the floor, and just trying their best to occupy what free space there was. There was smoking, sleeping and guitar-playing. There were so many people blocking windows that our car got dark. I also got a sense we were with a lower social class than I usually meet at school or in the malls. Train tickets are very cheap, cheap enough to give poorer people a chance to travel.
About halfway through the trip, we hit some beautiful scenery--rice paddies and mountains--all the green was quite a change from the rusty-red roofs seen all over Bandung. I had to get some photos of this, so I stuck part of my camera out the window to get a few shots...I will attempt to post them here.
Then came the crowds. I few stops in, people poured in. The benches filled up, and people started standing, sitting on the floor, and just trying their best to occupy what free space there was. There was smoking, sleeping and guitar-playing. There were so many people blocking windows that our car got dark. I also got a sense we were with a lower social class than I usually meet at school or in the malls. Train tickets are very cheap, cheap enough to give poorer people a chance to travel.
About halfway through the trip, we hit some beautiful scenery--rice paddies and mountains--all the green was quite a change from the rusty-red roofs seen all over Bandung. I had to get some photos of this, so I stuck part of my camera out the window to get a few shots...I will attempt to post them here.
My Heart Belongs to Griya
Well I thought since I spend so much time here, I should write about my favorite place to go in Bandung--The grocery store. In Michigan, I grew up with high-ceilinged, large-parking-lotted suburban grocery stores in the strip malls that ran along 40-mile-an-hour roads. On the most densely populated island in the world, grocery shopping is a little different. Most grocery stores are little convenience stores like Indomaret. Others, like Griya or Yogya are much larger, but are very cramped, have a larger selection but still quite small compared to American Walmarts, Kmarts, or even Michigan's own Busch's. The largest grocery stores are found in malls. These ones have some of the widest aisles I have ever seen and are big enough to get lost in...at least for a little while. Every mall seems to have their own grocery store with strange escalators built to take carts to the parking lot.
Then there is Griya Arcamanik--my neighborhood grocery store. Since Griya is only a short walk from my house across one of the less-busy streets in Bandung, it was the first place I learned to get to by myself. Since then, I've spent quite a lot of time there. Griya is more cramped and busy than any of the other stores I have been to, the aisles are much too small for carts, so this is a basket-only store. Off to one side: colorful tropical produce in crazy shapes, off to the other: rows of snacks, noodles, drinks and any other processed food items that probably won't give me food poisoning. Upstairs (yes there is an upstairs) is where they keep all the things you don't want to eat like, shampoo, clothing and washing machine soap. Surprisingly enough, they even have a small dressing room with a cloth curtain that sways every time someone passes. I'm afraid that when I am changing someone will run by and cause the curtain to fly open.
The first time I stepped into Griya, it was like an amusement park of food and I was finally tall enough to ride all the rides. The food was colorful, strange, sweet and cheap! I had no parents telling me I shouldn't get too many sweets and the food was so cheap that my two sagging, overfull bags cost only $10! After that, I visited Griya as if a doctor had prescribed a visit a day. I bought spikey pink and green dragon fruit, lugged pounds of juicy, yellow markisa, avoided smelly durian, and puzzled whether to buy green or yellow mangoes in the produce selection. Next, I'd move on to the candy section, shoving candies and chips like Silverqueen, Beng Beng, Choky, Mister Potato, and Yupie into my basket. If you know how much of a Tea addict I am, you'll know how excited I was when I found the bottled tea sectioned. I'm used to a small choice between Sweet Leaf and Arizona in the United States, but in Tea-loving Indonesia, I could buy Teh Kotak, Teh Botol, Frestea, Fruitea, Nutea and Tebs....*passes out from listing my selection*
Upstairs was less exciting. While I was happy to find clothes that cost less than $10, I was a little annoyed that I couldn't seem to find any lotion that didn't turn my skin white. Do ALL Indonesian women really want to look white? Don't some of them like their skin color? After a long search I finally found a bottle of green tea antioxidant lotion without skin whitener. I wasn't so lucky with face moisturizer. The bottle I thought didn't have any whitening agents turned out to have a white tint to it (can you even have a tint to something that is already white?)
Now that I've lived here for several months I've gotten used to Griya, and when I used to smile at my $10 grocery bill, now I am frustrated that I have to fork over THAT MUCH MONEY! I now know how to get around people, (using the sundanese word "punten") but get annoyed that I have to, and the exotic selection of fruit seems so small, without my favorite fruit, Manggis (Mangosteen). Any questions, just leave them in the comment section.
Then there is Griya Arcamanik--my neighborhood grocery store. Since Griya is only a short walk from my house across one of the less-busy streets in Bandung, it was the first place I learned to get to by myself. Since then, I've spent quite a lot of time there. Griya is more cramped and busy than any of the other stores I have been to, the aisles are much too small for carts, so this is a basket-only store. Off to one side: colorful tropical produce in crazy shapes, off to the other: rows of snacks, noodles, drinks and any other processed food items that probably won't give me food poisoning. Upstairs (yes there is an upstairs) is where they keep all the things you don't want to eat like, shampoo, clothing and washing machine soap. Surprisingly enough, they even have a small dressing room with a cloth curtain that sways every time someone passes. I'm afraid that when I am changing someone will run by and cause the curtain to fly open.
The first time I stepped into Griya, it was like an amusement park of food and I was finally tall enough to ride all the rides. The food was colorful, strange, sweet and cheap! I had no parents telling me I shouldn't get too many sweets and the food was so cheap that my two sagging, overfull bags cost only $10! After that, I visited Griya as if a doctor had prescribed a visit a day. I bought spikey pink and green dragon fruit, lugged pounds of juicy, yellow markisa, avoided smelly durian, and puzzled whether to buy green or yellow mangoes in the produce selection. Next, I'd move on to the candy section, shoving candies and chips like Silverqueen, Beng Beng, Choky, Mister Potato, and Yupie into my basket. If you know how much of a Tea addict I am, you'll know how excited I was when I found the bottled tea sectioned. I'm used to a small choice between Sweet Leaf and Arizona in the United States, but in Tea-loving Indonesia, I could buy Teh Kotak, Teh Botol, Frestea, Fruitea, Nutea and Tebs....*passes out from listing my selection*
Upstairs was less exciting. While I was happy to find clothes that cost less than $10, I was a little annoyed that I couldn't seem to find any lotion that didn't turn my skin white. Do ALL Indonesian women really want to look white? Don't some of them like their skin color? After a long search I finally found a bottle of green tea antioxidant lotion without skin whitener. I wasn't so lucky with face moisturizer. The bottle I thought didn't have any whitening agents turned out to have a white tint to it (can you even have a tint to something that is already white?)
Now that I've lived here for several months I've gotten used to Griya, and when I used to smile at my $10 grocery bill, now I am frustrated that I have to fork over THAT MUCH MONEY! I now know how to get around people, (using the sundanese word "punten") but get annoyed that I have to, and the exotic selection of fruit seems so small, without my favorite fruit, Manggis (Mangosteen). Any questions, just leave them in the comment section.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Indonesian Halloween
Halloween is a North American thing. The countries that love it the most all seem to be the US, Canada, and Mexico. Indonesia is not one of them. The only traces of Halloween were a display of Halloween-themed shirts,and an advertisement for a costume party in Jakarta. Anyway, on the the 30th and 31st I had some non-Halloween-related plans. I wanted to go to a Festival celebrating Bali. I went to both the auditions, and the real show, where I saw a costume cooler any mascot costume I have even seen. He came out wearing a mask and dancing the traditional way with shaking hands, but midway through the show he started doing the moon walk. That night I made it my goal (which is yet unfulfilled) to wear that costume because it was just so cool. Anyway, let me get back to my Halloween story.
So I had just come back to ITB after the Bali festival auditions with Agung, and we were planning on seeing the Sherina concert. when I mention that Halloween is tomorrow and that I miss wearing the costumes. Agung points out that there are lots of costumes with his Southern Sulawesi culture club. So we end up turning around and heading into the tiny room for Unit South Sulawesi. Agung picks me out a shiny red shirt with golden embellishments, two golden cuff-bracelets (unfortunately we couldn't find two cuff bracelets that matched), and an uncomfortable statue-of-liberty-type golden crown. He then pulls out a red shirt with a flat-topped hat that is apparently "slavewear". Now remember how Indonesians don't celebrate Halloween? Well, that meant that we were the only ones wearing costumes. We decided to go to a restaurant in Upper Dago (which is at a higher elevation and is beautiful at night since you can look down at all the lights in Bandung). We were being quite crazy and to fit that crazy mood, we cranked up the craziest music on the radio: Radio Dangdut (Dangdut is sort of a cheesy-type of Indonesian pop music with lots of Arabic and Indian influence). When we stopped at a convenience store to buy candy and drinks, I got many more stares than normal. People must have been thinking, "LOOK! a bule! She must be crazy, she's wearing Indonesian clothes!" I just smiled, and laughed with Agung about the situation. At the restaurant, I was able to get mashed potatoes for the first time since I moved here. On the way home I ended up screaming "hello" out the window to all passers-by. While I wasn't able to do any of these things on Halloween, I ended up getting my costume fix for the year on the 30th.
So I had just come back to ITB after the Bali festival auditions with Agung, and we were planning on seeing the Sherina concert. when I mention that Halloween is tomorrow and that I miss wearing the costumes. Agung points out that there are lots of costumes with his Southern Sulawesi culture club. So we end up turning around and heading into the tiny room for Unit South Sulawesi. Agung picks me out a shiny red shirt with golden embellishments, two golden cuff-bracelets (unfortunately we couldn't find two cuff bracelets that matched), and an uncomfortable statue-of-liberty-type golden crown. He then pulls out a red shirt with a flat-topped hat that is apparently "slavewear". Now remember how Indonesians don't celebrate Halloween? Well, that meant that we were the only ones wearing costumes. We decided to go to a restaurant in Upper Dago (which is at a higher elevation and is beautiful at night since you can look down at all the lights in Bandung). We were being quite crazy and to fit that crazy mood, we cranked up the craziest music on the radio: Radio Dangdut (Dangdut is sort of a cheesy-type of Indonesian pop music with lots of Arabic and Indian influence). When we stopped at a convenience store to buy candy and drinks, I got many more stares than normal. People must have been thinking, "LOOK! a bule! She must be crazy, she's wearing Indonesian clothes!" I just smiled, and laughed with Agung about the situation. At the restaurant, I was able to get mashed potatoes for the first time since I moved here. On the way home I ended up screaming "hello" out the window to all passers-by. While I wasn't able to do any of these things on Halloween, I ended up getting my costume fix for the year on the 30th.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Pirates of the Ring of Fire
When I was visiting Claremont McKenna College a few years ago as part of the long drawn-out college admissions process, I joined a law class, where the professor asked his students "what is legal." The agreed upon definition ended up being "almost everything average people do on a daily basis". This may be true in the US, but not so much in Indonesia. It's a nessecesity to break traffic laws, and sometimes pay off police men. Teenagers smoke cigarettes in public even though they are underage. Books are photocopied and read as so. The thing that strikes me the most, however, is the wide spread pirating of TV and movies. Bootleg movies are more widespread than the originals! When you enter a video shop, you look through rows of plastic cellophane bags. See a movie you like, you slip out the disc (usually its scratched in someway) and put it into one of the many DVD players that the video store provides you. Then, you scan through all chapters to make sure there are no stops. Lately, I've been wondering how these discs get so scratched in the first place! Anyway, once you are satisfied that your discs work, you take them to the register and pay 50 or 60 cents per disc. Some of you may be horrified that your favorite actors and directors aren't getting royalties (most I'm guessing don't care though, haha) but pirated movies are close to a necessecity for movie lovers. Insonesia is a country that censors sex so heavily, that when I go to the movies I don't always know whats going on since the government has cut several scenes important to the plot. In a video store, however, you can buy "wonderful" movies like "Wet Dreams 2" and all the, um, scenes that would have otherwise been censored. I, myself, don't buy such movies, but it's nice to actually understand the plot of a good movie that just happen to contain a few sex scenes.
Another branch of pirating is TV and software. I personally don't have experience with pirated software, though I know you can get stuff like Photoshop for free. The TV side is a much bigger deal to me. In Indonesia, you can't access Hulu, and youtube works excrutiatingly slowly. Certain American shows are just not aired on Indonesian TV. So how do you get these wonderful shows in the world of anime and soap opera? You download them onto a disc or a flash drive and watch them that way.
Another branch of pirating is TV and software. I personally don't have experience with pirated software, though I know you can get stuff like Photoshop for free. The TV side is a much bigger deal to me. In Indonesia, you can't access Hulu, and youtube works excrutiatingly slowly. Certain American shows are just not aired on Indonesian TV. So how do you get these wonderful shows in the world of anime and soap opera? You download them onto a disc or a flash drive and watch them that way.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Parijs van Java
Given that I have been in Bandung for over two months already and have not yet done so, I will explain a little bit about my Indonesian home town. Located in the Mountains in West Java, Bandung is described by Indonesians as “cold.” Cold, mind you, means a high of about 85° F (28° C) year-round, Instead of Jakarta's 90° F (32° C). Inland, Bandung is an area with no beaches, but a relatively (key word: relatively) low chance of floods, and almost no tsunamis. They say if you live anywhere on Java you live close to an active volcano, and Bandung is no exception. I live close to Tangkuban Perahu which translates into “the upside down boat” and, you guessed it, looks like an upside down boat. Don't worry, while its active, it's not as active as you'd think, and I'm still at a pretty low risk of volcanic eruption, but recently, we've been getting volcanic ash, a toxically fun gift from Mount Merapi's eruption in Central Java. Basically, Bandung is no one-tornado-warning-a-year Michigan, but for someone living on the Ring of Fire, it's pretty dang safe....I feel a Johnny Cash song coming on, how about you? haha.
Enough about eminent doom in Bandung, let me describe life here: Bandung is a strange cross between Seattle, Los Angeles and Boston. Seattle, because it rains A LOT; Los angeles, because of its sprawl and general pedestrian-unfriendly nature; and Boston, because it is the nation's most famous college town. When I googled Bandung's universitas and sekolah tinggi (university and college), I got 10 results, the most famous of which is ITB (Bandung Institute of Technology), which I have mentioned in previous posts. As a result, Bandung has many shops and activities that cater to the economically-deprived college student including book stores, outlet malls, pasta shops, and places where you can buy paper-thin steaks for about $2 or $3. The best part, however, are the festivals every weekend! Usually, there is something going on at Sabuga, ITB's multipurpose building, and if not, some other school has got something to do. Its a great place for an exchange student because I can meet a lot of former exchange students now in college, and I'm not limited to my high school's extracurriculars! Bandung is also home to the military base of the Siliwangi Tigers, which happens to be right next to my school. If you walk anywhere away from school, you are bound to find statues of tigers in scary positions and soldiers in heroic ones.
Bandung also has a rich history, much of which I don't know, haha. I'm sure some of my Indonesian friends will end up helping me out in the comment section though. Bandung was built by the Dutch, who felt Jakarta was just too hot. It was then Nicknamed Parijs Van Java, or Paris of Java, for its beauty, cool temperature, resort-feel and overall European-ness. Nowadays, it still seems a little European, but it has clearly become like every other Java-sprawl: dirty, crowded, and full of motorcycles. It's still quite beautiful, but it takes a little more time to notice. People from Jakarta still come to visit on weekends, which only clogs traffic more. It was also home to the Asia-Africa confrence, a conference that united non-aligned (plus a few aligned ones haha) countries during the cold war. Another fun fact: the first Indonesian president, Sukarno, went to ITB. Hmmm...thats enough history for today.
The only things that I can complain about in Bandung are the traffic and pollution. I have previously described the frequent traffic jams, and the real-life game of Frogger that is crossing the street, but another annoying thing is the lack of a grid system. Jl. Cihampelas is one way and turns into dr. Setiabudi, which ends up with another branch called Jl. Cipaganti. Jl. Siliwangi is somewhere in there too haha. Its a nightmare to navigate on your own and you are not always sure the Angkot you are taking will go the same path the way home. The pollution is also a bit of an issue, although its hardly something unique to Bandung. Foreigners and locals alike develop a cough. One friend tells me that he had a cough throughout his life that magically dissappeared when he lived in Wisconsin for a year (gotta love that Dairy-air ;) ). Sure enough, it came back when he returned to Indonesia.
Enough about eminent doom in Bandung, let me describe life here: Bandung is a strange cross between Seattle, Los Angeles and Boston. Seattle, because it rains A LOT; Los angeles, because of its sprawl and general pedestrian-unfriendly nature; and Boston, because it is the nation's most famous college town. When I googled Bandung's universitas and sekolah tinggi (university and college), I got 10 results, the most famous of which is ITB (Bandung Institute of Technology), which I have mentioned in previous posts. As a result, Bandung has many shops and activities that cater to the economically-deprived college student including book stores, outlet malls, pasta shops, and places where you can buy paper-thin steaks for about $2 or $3. The best part, however, are the festivals every weekend! Usually, there is something going on at Sabuga, ITB's multipurpose building, and if not, some other school has got something to do. Its a great place for an exchange student because I can meet a lot of former exchange students now in college, and I'm not limited to my high school's extracurriculars! Bandung is also home to the military base of the Siliwangi Tigers, which happens to be right next to my school. If you walk anywhere away from school, you are bound to find statues of tigers in scary positions and soldiers in heroic ones.
Bandung also has a rich history, much of which I don't know, haha. I'm sure some of my Indonesian friends will end up helping me out in the comment section though. Bandung was built by the Dutch, who felt Jakarta was just too hot. It was then Nicknamed Parijs Van Java, or Paris of Java, for its beauty, cool temperature, resort-feel and overall European-ness. Nowadays, it still seems a little European, but it has clearly become like every other Java-sprawl: dirty, crowded, and full of motorcycles. It's still quite beautiful, but it takes a little more time to notice. People from Jakarta still come to visit on weekends, which only clogs traffic more. It was also home to the Asia-Africa confrence, a conference that united non-aligned (plus a few aligned ones haha) countries during the cold war. Another fun fact: the first Indonesian president, Sukarno, went to ITB. Hmmm...thats enough history for today.
The only things that I can complain about in Bandung are the traffic and pollution. I have previously described the frequent traffic jams, and the real-life game of Frogger that is crossing the street, but another annoying thing is the lack of a grid system. Jl. Cihampelas is one way and turns into dr. Setiabudi, which ends up with another branch called Jl. Cipaganti. Jl. Siliwangi is somewhere in there too haha. Its a nightmare to navigate on your own and you are not always sure the Angkot you are taking will go the same path the way home. The pollution is also a bit of an issue, although its hardly something unique to Bandung. Foreigners and locals alike develop a cough. One friend tells me that he had a cough throughout his life that magically dissappeared when he lived in Wisconsin for a year (gotta love that Dairy-air ;) ). Sure enough, it came back when he returned to Indonesia.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Pasar Seni ITB
I'm not too sure why I haven't done a blog post on this yet, because it happened a few weeks ago. But here we go: Pasar seni--the Art Market is an event at a local college that happens one every 4 or 5 years (I heard people say both 4 years and 5 years so I'm not sure which one it is. Unfortunately, I don't have a ton to say about it. First, even though I called ahead very early, I came late because of traffic jams that not even a motorcycle could weave through. When I got there, I realized it was nearly impossible to get to the other end of campus where I was supposed to meet my friend. I ended up squeezing through parades, winding through a maze of tents, running up off-limits areas and hoping the security guards didn't notice. Finally, I met up with a friend, Agung and I got to see the fair. Hhhmm I saw a giant tower of bikes, many parades and everything from traditional art to modern day photography. Then came the heat and the crowds. That day I downed about 3 bottles of liquids and When I sat down, I noticed the soles of my shoes had melted through! Then came the search for new shoes. Agung and I had to squeeze through thick crowds to get to shoe stalls and we had no luck for about an hour or so. The one thing I can say PCEP (my American High School) taught me was how to move through crowds. I was able to fall through to the other side a lot faster than others in the mob. The great thing was that Indonesians actually move a little to let you through. It wasn't like at PCEP where to get through, you had to suffer hundreds of shoulders bumping against yours as you got to the other side. There isn't much else to say other than I finally found my shoes and the heat made me so tired I had to go home early. It was a pretty fun day, but made for a pretty boring blog entry haha.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Theft! in Bandung
It was Thursday, which meant gym class, which meant changing into a different uniform and leaving the normal one in the classroom with the rest of our stuff. Before I left, I placed my backpack and badminton racquet next to my table and slipped the old, worn cell phone my host family had given me into the breast pocket of my uniform that sat folded on my desk. As I left, I remembered to slip my wallet into my pocket. Bandung may be safe, but I'm not taking chances with my money and ID cards.
Later, while I am in gym class, a classmate, Lidya, hurriedly drops off her backpack since she is running late. When you are late to gym class, you have to do extra exercises.
We get back to gym class and I check the clock. Ugh, still broken. I reach for my cell phone to check the time and its not there. I check in my backpack, around the desk, after all I am prone to loose things—still not there. People start asking me what I am looking for and I tell them “I can't find my cell phone, I thought I left it in my pocket. Students look shocked and start rifling through their bags. Lidya can't find her wallet or her cell phone either. Now everyone whispers about theft and how surprising it is, they all thought SMAN 3 was safe!
Theft in Indonesian high schools is not as common as in high schools in the US, and as a result, they are treated differently. When school officials heard we had things stolen from our room, even though the total value was probably less than $100 USD, math class was cancelled, and school officials asked us questions. That day and the next, almost every teacher and many students apologized for the theft. I actually found the situation kind of funny, because I never expected that horrible phone would ever be stolen, after all, the LCD screen was a little broken and it was not a nice phone in any sense.
Later, my Indonesian teacher gets a text message from my phone saying “I need help, please send more pulsas (the equivalent of minutes for US phones)”...except it was in texting-bahasa, something a newbie exchange student would not know yet. Proof it had been stolen.
I eventually bought a new phone and Lidya got her wallet back (the thief had taken the money and thrown the rest in the trash) so I guess we are back to normal now. Oh well. haha.
Later, while I am in gym class, a classmate, Lidya, hurriedly drops off her backpack since she is running late. When you are late to gym class, you have to do extra exercises.
We get back to gym class and I check the clock. Ugh, still broken. I reach for my cell phone to check the time and its not there. I check in my backpack, around the desk, after all I am prone to loose things—still not there. People start asking me what I am looking for and I tell them “I can't find my cell phone, I thought I left it in my pocket. Students look shocked and start rifling through their bags. Lidya can't find her wallet or her cell phone either. Now everyone whispers about theft and how surprising it is, they all thought SMAN 3 was safe!
Theft in Indonesian high schools is not as common as in high schools in the US, and as a result, they are treated differently. When school officials heard we had things stolen from our room, even though the total value was probably less than $100 USD, math class was cancelled, and school officials asked us questions. That day and the next, almost every teacher and many students apologized for the theft. I actually found the situation kind of funny, because I never expected that horrible phone would ever be stolen, after all, the LCD screen was a little broken and it was not a nice phone in any sense.
Later, my Indonesian teacher gets a text message from my phone saying “I need help, please send more pulsas (the equivalent of minutes for US phones)”...except it was in texting-bahasa, something a newbie exchange student would not know yet. Proof it had been stolen.
I eventually bought a new phone and Lidya got her wallet back (the thief had taken the money and thrown the rest in the trash) so I guess we are back to normal now. Oh well. haha.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Why More Americans (than just me haha) Should Study Abroad in Indonesia
1. The food is amazing!! Food in Bandung is tasty, from what you get from street vendors to food in the Malls. Even McDonald's and KFC tastes better than the ones in the US. Fancy bakeries are also popular here, not to mention they are quite cheap. High-end steaks cost about $5 USD for local Indonesian beef and $8 USD for fancy imported Australian Beef.
2. There is so much to do. In Bandung there is a festival almost every weekend, so you can't be bored. Plus, it's ok that you can't drive because public transit its easy to find from taxi, to Ojek, to public transit buses.
3. No winter. Always a plus haha.
4. School has a much more relaxed feel than many other places in the world. My school even has a beautiful garden!
5. Its primarily Islamic. Americans would really benefit from learning about Islam, since we are currently at war with Islamic extremists, and it's quite possible we will end up at war with Iran (also Muslim). It's important to realize not all Muslims are like the Taliban or the government in Iran, and Islam in Indonesia is about as far away from that as possible.
6. FREEDOOOOMMMM! You will find a greater degree of Freedom to go and do what you please in Indonesia than in similar countries, like India. Indonesian parents aren't usually too overprotective, so I've ended up having a lot of fun with my friends, even only a month into my stay.
7. Easy language. The precursor to Bahasa Indonesia, Malay, was a trading language, so it has very simple grammar. Indonesia was also a Dutch colony, which means they use our alphabet, and even have a few English cognates. So, you really only have to worry about learning vocabulary, dealing with local-language-words and slang that pop up in conversation, but not in your dictionary.
8. Its American Friendly! Indonesians greatly respect Americans, more so than Europeans. They are thrilled that Barack Obama lived in Indonesia, and most Indonesians either dream of visiting the US, have already visited US or are planning on visiting the US. It's one of the most popular countries to go to on student exchange, partly because the US government gives Indonesians scholarships. Native English speakers (especially Americans) are rare as well, so people love for you to give them English lessons.
9. Similar standards of fun. Indonesians and Americans like to have fun in the same ways. They go to the mall, play in arcades, go swimming, and (I've heard but haven't actually experienced since I live inland) like to surf. They may like to sing karaoke, which isn't too American, but they do it in a more American way—in a private room, which means no public humiliation. The only big difference is that Americans like to stay out later. This hasn't really been much of a problem for me though.
10. Similar standards of modesty. Although Indonesians prefer pants over shorts, sleeves over sleeveless, one-pieces over bikinis, and public nudity is not something you will get arrested for, Indonesians and Americans are pretty similar in this area. You won't find yourself hiding your privates in a public bath where no one else seems to care, or peeing in a bathroom with a large window through which the world can see you like my friend in China. Nor will you get stoned for baring your arms, hair or wearing makeup. Indonesia is not Saudi Arabia: its personal choice to wear a head scarf or not, and in fact, most Indonesian women do not.
11. Rich culture, but with the comforts of the west. Indonesia is not culturally conservative. They are willing to adopt aspects of other cultures that benefit them more than other cultures would. As a result, you can contact all your friends through facebook and on their blackberry while you are eating at KFC or pizza hut. Indonesians haven't lost their traditional culture either. Even in one of the biggest cities in Indonesia, I see things like rice paddies, grazing cows, roosters, and banana and durian trees. I also have plenty of chances to learn traditional dance, instruments, arts and more. Not to mention Indonesians still wear traditional clothing along with western clothing, or a mix of the two, as batik is still considered more formal, and is even printed on western-style clothing.
12. Beauty. Despite the Pollution, ecological damage, and general dirt of Indonesia, it still has beautiful plants, scenery, mountains and anything else. Usually, you only need to travel a little distance out of your way to see a beautifully unique Indonesian scene. Often Europe just looks a lot like the US :(.
13. Indonesia is the 4th largest country in the world and arising economic power. I predict Indonesia is going to become a lot more important to world politics and economics in the future, so it will be important to know something about it. After all, Indonesia is no longer classified as a developing county.
2. There is so much to do. In Bandung there is a festival almost every weekend, so you can't be bored. Plus, it's ok that you can't drive because public transit its easy to find from taxi, to Ojek, to public transit buses.
3. No winter. Always a plus haha.
4. School has a much more relaxed feel than many other places in the world. My school even has a beautiful garden!
5. Its primarily Islamic. Americans would really benefit from learning about Islam, since we are currently at war with Islamic extremists, and it's quite possible we will end up at war with Iran (also Muslim). It's important to realize not all Muslims are like the Taliban or the government in Iran, and Islam in Indonesia is about as far away from that as possible.
6. FREEDOOOOMMMM! You will find a greater degree of Freedom to go and do what you please in Indonesia than in similar countries, like India. Indonesian parents aren't usually too overprotective, so I've ended up having a lot of fun with my friends, even only a month into my stay.
7. Easy language. The precursor to Bahasa Indonesia, Malay, was a trading language, so it has very simple grammar. Indonesia was also a Dutch colony, which means they use our alphabet, and even have a few English cognates. So, you really only have to worry about learning vocabulary, dealing with local-language-words and slang that pop up in conversation, but not in your dictionary.
8. Its American Friendly! Indonesians greatly respect Americans, more so than Europeans. They are thrilled that Barack Obama lived in Indonesia, and most Indonesians either dream of visiting the US, have already visited US or are planning on visiting the US. It's one of the most popular countries to go to on student exchange, partly because the US government gives Indonesians scholarships. Native English speakers (especially Americans) are rare as well, so people love for you to give them English lessons.
9. Similar standards of fun. Indonesians and Americans like to have fun in the same ways. They go to the mall, play in arcades, go swimming, and (I've heard but haven't actually experienced since I live inland) like to surf. They may like to sing karaoke, which isn't too American, but they do it in a more American way—in a private room, which means no public humiliation. The only big difference is that Americans like to stay out later. This hasn't really been much of a problem for me though.
10. Similar standards of modesty. Although Indonesians prefer pants over shorts, sleeves over sleeveless, one-pieces over bikinis, and public nudity is not something you will get arrested for, Indonesians and Americans are pretty similar in this area. You won't find yourself hiding your privates in a public bath where no one else seems to care, or peeing in a bathroom with a large window through which the world can see you like my friend in China. Nor will you get stoned for baring your arms, hair or wearing makeup. Indonesia is not Saudi Arabia: its personal choice to wear a head scarf or not, and in fact, most Indonesian women do not.
11. Rich culture, but with the comforts of the west. Indonesia is not culturally conservative. They are willing to adopt aspects of other cultures that benefit them more than other cultures would. As a result, you can contact all your friends through facebook and on their blackberry while you are eating at KFC or pizza hut. Indonesians haven't lost their traditional culture either. Even in one of the biggest cities in Indonesia, I see things like rice paddies, grazing cows, roosters, and banana and durian trees. I also have plenty of chances to learn traditional dance, instruments, arts and more. Not to mention Indonesians still wear traditional clothing along with western clothing, or a mix of the two, as batik is still considered more formal, and is even printed on western-style clothing.
12. Beauty. Despite the Pollution, ecological damage, and general dirt of Indonesia, it still has beautiful plants, scenery, mountains and anything else. Usually, you only need to travel a little distance out of your way to see a beautifully unique Indonesian scene. Often Europe just looks a lot like the US :(.
13. Indonesia is the 4th largest country in the world and arising economic power. I predict Indonesia is going to become a lot more important to world politics and economics in the future, so it will be important to know something about it. After all, Indonesia is no longer classified as a developing county.
Indonesia Hurts My Back
Hmm. I haven't written a blog post in a while, not that I haven't been doing anything, but because I haven't thought of anything interesting to say. I still can't think of much to say, but I shall talk about a cultural difference of Indonesia that has been causing my back some problems: sitting. The Sundanese love to sit, and when I say they like to sit, I mean they like to sit on the floor. Americans, however, like to stand. If they have to wait for something, they stand. If they are chatting, they stand. As some of you may already know, I have back problems, and while standing may hurt my back, sitting is worse. Unfortunately, sitting is inescapable. Indonesians often have meeting in places that don't have chairs. I sit on the floor at gym class, for assemblies, special school events, while studying, while I am waiting for someone and every occasion in between. What seems the most peculiar is that I sometimes see people sitting on the floor when there is an open couch or bench next to them. Isn't it more comfortable to sit here? I often think, until I am invited off the bench and on the floor with them...then I know for sure it was more comfortable on the bench. It seems to be more polite to sit on the floor when others are as well. So as soon as someone sits on the floor, I usually end up sitting on the floor as well. Its a bit frustrating for me and my back. In addition to sitting on the floor, there are other aspects of Indonesian sitting that are a tad frustrating. Because Java is so crowded, traffic jams are common. Because Bandung is sprawled out like LA, it has horrible, and sometimes nonexistent sidewalks. You must take a vehicle to get anywhere. This means you are likely to sit in Angkot and car seats for hours on end waiting in a traffic jam. I've been taking motor cycles lately, which are much nicer since they zip through traffic much quicker, and I end up spending a lot less time on them, but motor cycles are just as uncomfortable, if not more than cars or buses. Class is probably what causes me the most pain: we sit on very uncomfortable wooden seats for classes that last about 1.5-2 hours long. The only plus is that massages here cost about $2 for 30 minutes...I anticipate a lot of massages in my future haha.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Eliza Gets Lost: The Sequel
My oh my. Yesterday certainly was something. If you don't already know this about me, I love to crochet, so much so that while crocheting at school yesterday, I ran out of yarn. So, I planned a trip to a cafe (Reading Lights) that sells yarn and, in general, has a relaxing atmosphere. At school, I consulted my Angkot-expert friends as to correct route to take. This happened to be the place I got lost trying to get to before by angkot, so I was extra viligilant and even had some schoolmates tell the angkot driver where I was going. Guess what? I still got lost haha. This time I wasn't as far away though, so I just retraced my steps, asked people for the street I was looking for, and I found it. That did me no good because Reading Lights turns out to be closed on Mondays. You can imagine after a 3 or 4 block walk, a sweaty angkot ride, and hours of school, did not want to find out that instead of collapsing into a cushy couch with a drink and a ball of yarn, I had to take another sweaty angkot back to somewhere I knew. None the less, I took a trip to McDonalds (not my favorite place, but I knew where it was haha) and met Ricarda after I ordered two huge pieces of chicken, fries, an ice cream sundae, and a Teh Botol (this means bottled tea, and ironically came in a box that day haha). We ended up taking ojek to a local mall, bought maps, found out 30 minute massages cost about $2 and ate at J. Co (OMG, I LOOOVE THAT PLACE). However, if our way back was a movie, it would be named “Eliza Gets Lost the Sequal: Eliza and Ricarda Get Lost together.” We decide to take the Angkot back to Ricarda's house first, then send me on my angkot. We climb on Ricarda's white angkot and ride for about a half an hour until I think this is taking way too long, this can't be a very direct route. I tell Ricarda and she assures me, it just takes a long time to get to her house from the mall. About ten or twenty minutes later I start seeing landmarks on my route home. “um, Ricarda, I think we're on the wrong angkot because we're closer to my house now than yours.” I tell her. “Oh my god are you sure?! We must have taken the wrong direction!” Ricarda replies. We stop the bus and start walking hoping to find an Ojeg station. It was a good thing that we got lost on this bus and not another because it was already dark and while we eventually found someone who directed Ricarda to the right place, I didn't need directions, since I was close enough I could just hop on my regular bus. On the way home I chatted with another SMAN 3 student almost entirely in Bahasa Indonesia, I was quite proud haha.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Eliza Miller's Week Off
This week has been so fun haha. I didn't go to school because SMAN 3 had exams, so I've been hanging out instead. Tuesday, I went to a traditional mask painting workshop at ITB (Bandung Institute of Technology) as part of a big Art Festival hosted there on 10, 10, 10. Each of us used traditional colors to paint a plain, fiber glass, dancing mask (the real ones are made out of wood) complete with a flap to bite down on in the back (that is how these masks are held on your face). Unfortunately, there was a mix-up with sand paper so we had difficulty smoothing the mask before painting and there also seemed to be a shortage of white paint. Oh well, I think my mask still turned out nice :).I can't remember which character I got, but once I find out, I will post it in a comment. After that, I met up with AFS volunteers who showed Ricarda and me around the art campus. It made me really wish I was in college haha. Such a stimulating atmosphere, I think I will take some classes there when my Bahasa Indonesia gets better. Dina, one of the volunteers showed me to a place where I could buy yarn and I've been crocheting ever since! Last, I went to Bosccha Observatory, which isn't usually open to public, but that day it was. We went up a hill on an old Vespa that kept stalling, but I was able to see Bandung at night from above, something I wish everyone could see: Bandung lights up, and its like looks at stars from above.
On Wednesday, I decided to join Ricarda and Dina because I had nothing better to do. My host Brother, Dhimas, dropped me off at McDonald's to meet them. McDonald's here is a bit different than the ones in the US: in the us the food is greasy and tasteless and you're likely to get hard or soggy fries with a meal, but in Indonesia, the food is much crispier and comes with a side of rice rolled into a patty, and covered in paper like a burger. Why? McDonald's retains their American prices in Indonesia, which buys only low-quality meat in the US, but in the land of the $.50 USD lunches, means they can afford the best. Overall, I think a Mcdonald's meal is a perfect example of cultural diffusion: Indonesians get American culture through food and American culture changes (adds rice and Teh Botol) for Asia.
And now what you've all been waiting for: Eliza Gets Lost on Angkot!!!!
Anyway, Dina ended up having to cancel, so she suggested I meet another AFS volunteer at the place I bought yarn the day before, gave me directions by Angkot. Unfortunately the place was a little hidden and I missed my stop!! I ended up on the train tracks crossing busy street near a University I'd never heard of. I'd gone so far out, The Angkot I needed didn't go the other way! So I waited at the University until a Taxi came. I finally got to the shop 45 minutes late! Not much else happened that day except that I ended up really late to my Bahasa Indonesia lesson.
Yesterday, I met Ricarda and our Indonesian teacher for lunch at a steak shop. Remember that thick, juicy steak you got for your birthday? Not in Indonesia! The steaks here are cheap, but only a few milimeters thick. I was still hungry after that, so I ordered a burger. Also not like the US haha. It wasn't a sandwich, it was a patty fried in oil with some veggies on the side. After that strange and piggish meal Ricarda and I watched Public Enemies at my house....I have to admit, it was a little disappointing, not to mention all the non-American actors with accent-problems, but no one cares what I think about American movies haha. The thing you should know about movies here is that they are all pirated. Recently, I bought 5 movies for $3, all of which came in a nice cellophane wrapper and needed to be scanned at the video store first to see if there were any problems haha.
Today, I met exchange-student-hopefuls at Telkomsel (an Indonesian phone service that sponsors a two week trip to Australia). Ricarda and I gave our advice on being an exchange student as well as Interviewed a student and helped a little in the selection process. I hope to hear how it goes, although I wish it were me that I could go to Australia! Haha.
Sorry I think my blog posts are starting to get boring...I will have some more interesting ones up soon, just let me know what you want to hear about :)
On Wednesday, I decided to join Ricarda and Dina because I had nothing better to do. My host Brother, Dhimas, dropped me off at McDonald's to meet them. McDonald's here is a bit different than the ones in the US: in the us the food is greasy and tasteless and you're likely to get hard or soggy fries with a meal, but in Indonesia, the food is much crispier and comes with a side of rice rolled into a patty, and covered in paper like a burger. Why? McDonald's retains their American prices in Indonesia, which buys only low-quality meat in the US, but in the land of the $.50 USD lunches, means they can afford the best. Overall, I think a Mcdonald's meal is a perfect example of cultural diffusion: Indonesians get American culture through food and American culture changes (adds rice and Teh Botol) for Asia.
And now what you've all been waiting for: Eliza Gets Lost on Angkot!!!!
Anyway, Dina ended up having to cancel, so she suggested I meet another AFS volunteer at the place I bought yarn the day before, gave me directions by Angkot. Unfortunately the place was a little hidden and I missed my stop!! I ended up on the train tracks crossing busy street near a University I'd never heard of. I'd gone so far out, The Angkot I needed didn't go the other way! So I waited at the University until a Taxi came. I finally got to the shop 45 minutes late! Not much else happened that day except that I ended up really late to my Bahasa Indonesia lesson.
Yesterday, I met Ricarda and our Indonesian teacher for lunch at a steak shop. Remember that thick, juicy steak you got for your birthday? Not in Indonesia! The steaks here are cheap, but only a few milimeters thick. I was still hungry after that, so I ordered a burger. Also not like the US haha. It wasn't a sandwich, it was a patty fried in oil with some veggies on the side. After that strange and piggish meal Ricarda and I watched Public Enemies at my house....I have to admit, it was a little disappointing, not to mention all the non-American actors with accent-problems, but no one cares what I think about American movies haha. The thing you should know about movies here is that they are all pirated. Recently, I bought 5 movies for $3, all of which came in a nice cellophane wrapper and needed to be scanned at the video store first to see if there were any problems haha.
Today, I met exchange-student-hopefuls at Telkomsel (an Indonesian phone service that sponsors a two week trip to Australia). Ricarda and I gave our advice on being an exchange student as well as Interviewed a student and helped a little in the selection process. I hope to hear how it goes, although I wish it were me that I could go to Australia! Haha.
Sorry I think my blog posts are starting to get boring...I will have some more interesting ones up soon, just let me know what you want to hear about :)
Saturday, September 25, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, September 24, 2010
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.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
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.
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.
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