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 :)

I got jumped by a Gecko

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

Indonesian Time

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

one month down......

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

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

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

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

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

Things I appreciate more from the US

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I'm Scared of Fish

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