Things I will miss from Indonesia

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)

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.