So It's been a couple weeks now in Indonesia, my first time abroad, and I couldn't be happier. The first few days I spent in Ubud and saw some sights I will never forget. I've already taken over 500 photos, without a bad one in the bunch. Ubud treated me to monkeys, manggis, and massages, and whet my appetite for more. Jogja is absolutely amazing. The people are wonderfully friendly, and a smile and a couple words of Indonesian go a long way. Drop a 'matur nuwun' (the local dialect for thank you) and they get even friendlier.
Any intimidation or apprehensiveness I had have completely disappeared. Although I miss my friends and family, I know that the trip will be over all too soon, and I know that they will be there when I get back.
I've been going every day to this amazing little coffee shop called 'Parsley' every day after school. Wonderful coffee, burgers, and Bintang (Indo beer) wash away any cares six straight hours of Indonesian lessons might have put into my mind. Karaoke at the Happy Puppy with my wonderful new friends makes me feel like home is just a bus ride away. Even went to a surprisingly western mall today with a Starbucks (thank you Lord) and a quote-unquote Pizza Hut, who's idea of authentic pizza is bread with catsup and sliced hot dogs on it. Guess you can't win them all.
Bapak and Ibu Rochmadi and their three boys Ogi, Adi and Soni have been wonderful in their hospitality, and make sure I keep up with my Indonesian lessons. They also make sure I don't go hungry for a second. They have a wonderful maid who makes a wicked cup of Kopi (coffee) and makes my shirts smell wonderful.
I can't think of many negatives, except for the aforementioned slight case of homesickness and a lost hat. But hey... I couldn't imagine a better time. All my love to the folks back home.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
There are few things as humbling as being a foreigner in a stranger's home. Everything seems just beyond your grasp. Just outside the familiar. In this alternative world, items take on a shadow-like appearance feigning the familiar until just before you use them. From the mundane (socket adapters) to the complex (hand bailing water into the toilets), the anxious uneasiness of asking a stranger in broken Indonesian to re-toilet train you can give even the most confident traveler reason to pause. Likewise, (albeit on a diminished scale) for the thousands of other things we take for granted when in the familiar surrounds of home. Knowing where the nearest grocery store is, having a command of the local lingua-franca, coming and going as you please or even just being able to drink the tap water (granted, a dubious task at home as well) without the fear of getting sick or worst.
I suppose that this is where I should wax poetically about the breaking down of barriers (psychologically as well as physically, literally and figuratively) but here too I must pause. Admittedly, there are few places I would rather be right now than here- writing from my bed, sticky from another day of wonderful equatorial experiences and sick with a slight cause of "Bali Belly" that I acquired several days prior. Such is the emotional ebb and flow of travel- wild highs intermersed with bouts of homesickness, frustrations and self-pity. Yet, I want to believe that that the lasting memories from this trip, the OMG! mind-blowing ones that turn strangers into life-long friends, come not from the highs and lows but in the subtle navigations of the waves in-between. A simple picture, a secret told in confidence, toil shared and the eventual revealing of flaws over the 60 plus days we'll be together.
Truth be told...we are only two-weeks into our trip and I miss them already.
Salamat Malam from Yogyakarta!
~alex
(written 1/13/09 @10:08 pm local time)
I suppose that this is where I should wax poetically about the breaking down of barriers (psychologically as well as physically, literally and figuratively) but here too I must pause. Admittedly, there are few places I would rather be right now than here- writing from my bed, sticky from another day of wonderful equatorial experiences and sick with a slight cause of "Bali Belly" that I acquired several days prior. Such is the emotional ebb and flow of travel- wild highs intermersed with bouts of homesickness, frustrations and self-pity. Yet, I want to believe that that the lasting memories from this trip, the OMG! mind-blowing ones that turn strangers into life-long friends, come not from the highs and lows but in the subtle navigations of the waves in-between. A simple picture, a secret told in confidence, toil shared and the eventual revealing of flaws over the 60 plus days we'll be together.
Truth be told...we are only two-weeks into our trip and I miss them already.
Salamat Malam from Yogyakarta!
~alex
(written 1/13/09 @10:08 pm local time)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Jalan Bagus Internet
A joint blog from Emily and Alex...
Tuesday and our second day of class in Yogya. Today we learned directions, time and numbers...all things that we still need to master given their apparent little use in the living, breathing world of Yogya.
Case and point: Trying to locate viable Internet Cafe within walking distance of Indonesia's largest university. One might think that there would be a plethora of internet options given the stature and sheer size of the Gajha Mada campus. Unfortunately, by our best reckoning, there is but one lonely, smokey internet cage...um...cafe within walking distance from our host homes. (editors note: we have since located another. Bagus!) Connections are slow but on the plus side an hour will run you less than .50 U.S.- just about enough time to load one or two pages of facebook given the sluggish connection. But with Banda just over a week away, beggars can't be choosers.
The rain here is unbelievable. During our walk over to post this blog, we were overcome in a deluge not seen since Noah piled all those poor critters into his kapal and peaced-out. The rain poured down in a sideways arks rendering even the largest umbrella useless. In fact, there was so much rain that at times it threatened to limit our visibility as we attempted to navigate both puddles and swerving vehicles. At one point, it was so strong that Emily and I felt compelled to join a gang of locals assembled in foyer of a large supermarket to wait out the storm. I wish we had a picture of that.
As we continued on our journey, we inquired with 7 locals regarding the location of a by-then mythic internet connection. All directed us to just one location- BLANGKONET. Alex had visited this location prior with mixed results so we were hedging our bets on other viable options- in particular one mentioned by Minda as being bagus. After a fruitless search to the four corners of the earth, (ok, really just Jalan KFC as we have taken to calling it) we threw up our then very wet hands and hired a becak coach to get us over to Blangkonet. We could have walked over but if you had seen the size of the lakes forming in the streets leading towards the cafe you would understand our hesitation. Mind you, both of us were wearing sandals and, as such, were already a bit concerned about the nature of the water pooling up around our ankles- this given that even the cockroaches seemed to be scurrying away from the buckets of rain. (we noticed several of them climbing building walls to escape) Luckily, our friendly becak driver knew exactly where to go and after a few minutes of Emily and I squeezing into the bicycle cab, we were off. Normally, having metal around you tends to inspire confidence when moving through traffic...this is simply not the case with becaks as for the first time in recent memory moving slowly through traffic was a BAD thing. YIKES! Still, we were out of the rain and no longer ankle deep in murky water so no one was complaining. Plus the trip was only a dollar...and Emily was able to speak to her beau in Texas at Blagkonet so...hey, not a bad afternoon after all.
From Yogya with Love,
Emily and Alex
Tuesday and our second day of class in Yogya. Today we learned directions, time and numbers...all things that we still need to master given their apparent little use in the living, breathing world of Yogya.
Case and point: Trying to locate viable Internet Cafe within walking distance of Indonesia's largest university. One might think that there would be a plethora of internet options given the stature and sheer size of the Gajha Mada campus. Unfortunately, by our best reckoning, there is but one lonely, smokey internet cage...um...cafe within walking distance from our host homes. (editors note: we have since located another. Bagus!) Connections are slow but on the plus side an hour will run you less than .50 U.S.- just about enough time to load one or two pages of facebook given the sluggish connection. But with Banda just over a week away, beggars can't be choosers.
The rain here is unbelievable. During our walk over to post this blog, we were overcome in a deluge not seen since Noah piled all those poor critters into his kapal and peaced-out. The rain poured down in a sideways arks rendering even the largest umbrella useless. In fact, there was so much rain that at times it threatened to limit our visibility as we attempted to navigate both puddles and swerving vehicles. At one point, it was so strong that Emily and I felt compelled to join a gang of locals assembled in foyer of a large supermarket to wait out the storm. I wish we had a picture of that.
As we continued on our journey, we inquired with 7 locals regarding the location of a by-then mythic internet connection. All directed us to just one location- BLANGKONET. Alex had visited this location prior with mixed results so we were hedging our bets on other viable options- in particular one mentioned by Minda as being bagus. After a fruitless search to the four corners of the earth, (ok, really just Jalan KFC as we have taken to calling it) we threw up our then very wet hands and hired a becak coach to get us over to Blangkonet. We could have walked over but if you had seen the size of the lakes forming in the streets leading towards the cafe you would understand our hesitation. Mind you, both of us were wearing sandals and, as such, were already a bit concerned about the nature of the water pooling up around our ankles- this given that even the cockroaches seemed to be scurrying away from the buckets of rain. (we noticed several of them climbing building walls to escape) Luckily, our friendly becak driver knew exactly where to go and after a few minutes of Emily and I squeezing into the bicycle cab, we were off. Normally, having metal around you tends to inspire confidence when moving through traffic...this is simply not the case with becaks as for the first time in recent memory moving slowly through traffic was a BAD thing. YIKES! Still, we were out of the rain and no longer ankle deep in murky water so no one was complaining. Plus the trip was only a dollar...and Emily was able to speak to her beau in Texas at Blagkonet so...hey, not a bad afternoon after all.
From Yogya with Love,
Emily and Alex
Monday, January 12, 2009
I thought my face was exploding, but it was just bedbugs.
Which...whatever. They're all healed up now, and apparently didn't follow me out of that first hotel (which was actually a rather nice place). So, let's see. I found out that Kuta Beach during rainy season is pretty gross. The river overflows and all the trash in it washes into the ocean. A lot makes it onto shore, where it's then cleaned up and carted away. Most of it, though just stays in the water. It's terrible, it looks like people are swimming in sewage. I cringed as I watched children play in the filth and come out of the water with bits of refuse stuck to their skin. I then promptly signed up to do some surfing.
Which was awesome, by the way. There are still plenty of clean, beautiful beaches right now, and now I might have to rent a surfboard when I get back in March and stay at one. I think the dirty water reacted with my wonderful new sunburn and gave me heat rash. There isn't really anything more attractive than red, itchy, patchiness spanning your shoulders and back. Anyway, our surf instructor said the pollution happens every year, it's always in the papers, and yet the government won't do anything more than rake up the trash on the beach in the mornings. I suppose I wouldn't be motivated to spend more money on cleaning up and/or prevention either if I knew a gazillion tourists would still come to Bali and swim in the muck.
I decided I would wait until my "prickly heat" healed before I got a wonderfully cheap full body massage and, instead settled for two sessions of wonderfully cheap hour long foot massages. Hour long, you ask? Yes. An hour of ecstasy and it's still not long enough. I did eventually get an hour and a half full body massage in Ubud for less than $10 ("Overpriced!" says Watana from Thailand) and I'll probably get a five hour treatment when I return in March. Don't hate.
Kuta was fun (even though I kept passing out at 6 pm), but I headed up to Ubud to meet up with Alex and later, Wilson and Josh. We saw aggressive monkeys, a beautiful waterfall, and more temples than I can remember. Luckily, I have two and a half gigs of photos to help with that part. Alex and I almost got into a physical fight with a "guardian" of the Besakih temple. For serious, people. I don't think he was actually legit and his hatred for Americans (or maybe just us) was palpable. If you've seen Alex, you know he could probably knock out two average-sized men with a half-hearted punch, so we probably weren't in any real danger (though the guy did take off his sandals! I guess that's the Buddhist equivalent of rolling up your sleeves or taking out your earrings). Our driver, Ketut, was awesome, though. He took us to all the good sights, and even a few off the beaten path.
Oh, but I'm here for some educational program. Right. We have our lessons in Bahasa Indonesia this week and next. I'll tell you how that goes. My host mother is super nice and is hosting five Indonesian students going to UGM. I plan on speaking terrible Indonesian to them all the time. Our time in Yogya is actually cut short because of transportation issues, so we get less time in Yogya but more time doing archaeology in the Banda Islands. I suppose I'll be able to deal with that.
The next post won't be so tl;dr, but if it is, suck it up!
Which was awesome, by the way. There are still plenty of clean, beautiful beaches right now, and now I might have to rent a surfboard when I get back in March and stay at one. I think the dirty water reacted with my wonderful new sunburn and gave me heat rash. There isn't really anything more attractive than red, itchy, patchiness spanning your shoulders and back. Anyway, our surf instructor said the pollution happens every year, it's always in the papers, and yet the government won't do anything more than rake up the trash on the beach in the mornings. I suppose I wouldn't be motivated to spend more money on cleaning up and/or prevention either if I knew a gazillion tourists would still come to Bali and swim in the muck.
I decided I would wait until my "prickly heat" healed before I got a wonderfully cheap full body massage and, instead settled for two sessions of wonderfully cheap hour long foot massages. Hour long, you ask? Yes. An hour of ecstasy and it's still not long enough. I did eventually get an hour and a half full body massage in Ubud for less than $10 ("Overpriced!" says Watana from Thailand) and I'll probably get a five hour treatment when I return in March. Don't hate.
Kuta was fun (even though I kept passing out at 6 pm), but I headed up to Ubud to meet up with Alex and later, Wilson and Josh. We saw aggressive monkeys, a beautiful waterfall, and more temples than I can remember. Luckily, I have two and a half gigs of photos to help with that part. Alex and I almost got into a physical fight with a "guardian" of the Besakih temple. For serious, people. I don't think he was actually legit and his hatred for Americans (or maybe just us) was palpable. If you've seen Alex, you know he could probably knock out two average-sized men with a half-hearted punch, so we probably weren't in any real danger (though the guy did take off his sandals! I guess that's the Buddhist equivalent of rolling up your sleeves or taking out your earrings). Our driver, Ketut, was awesome, though. He took us to all the good sights, and even a few off the beaten path.
Oh, but I'm here for some educational program. Right. We have our lessons in Bahasa Indonesia this week and next. I'll tell you how that goes. My host mother is super nice and is hosting five Indonesian students going to UGM. I plan on speaking terrible Indonesian to them all the time. Our time in Yogya is actually cut short because of transportation issues, so we get less time in Yogya but more time doing archaeology in the Banda Islands. I suppose I'll be able to deal with that.
The next post won't be so tl;dr, but if it is, suck it up!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Wonderfully Unwholesome Climes
Two expired on the Edward Bonaventure before she had even crossed the equator whilst others soon 'tooke their sicknesse in those hote climates, for they be so wonderful unwholesome'. Worse, the weather was on the turn. No sooner had the ships entered the southern hemisphere than 'we had tornados, with such thunder, lightening and raine that we could not keep our men drie three hours together which was an occasion of the infection among them.
Intrepid explorer Minda and I had our own weather challenges yesterday while exploring one of Bali's many monkey temples/tourist fleecing zones- Alas Kedaton. Rain here is not an entirely unpleasant experience nor does it seem to last very long. Lazy dark clouds disappear as quickly as they arrive leaving the unprepared tourist, already stewing in his or her own sweat lined clothes, tasting a salty blend of sweat and rainfall. Luckily our trusty "guide" had run off to fetch us both umbrellas which proved to be of dubious use given that by the time we actually had them opened the rain would let up and we would once would be sweating under a sunny, cloudless sky.
Elections are in full swing here in Bali and there are no less than 36 political parties vying for political office. Flying everywhere are the huge brightly printed banners and stern images of each party's candidates, Partik Demokrat and the Bull party being two of particular note given their prevalence around the Ubud area. Atop houses, signposts, intersections and warrungs, each banner has a prominently displayed number which I'm told is the only way that voters are able to actually make heads or tails of the incredible number of candidates. As it is, you only need 500 people to form a political party and once you do, your then allotted monies from the government to both run your campaign and to pay for the endless number of effigy-like pictures that line the roads leading out of the city-centers. One banner of particular note is that of a gentleman dressed in full make-up, hands clasped in namaste and eyes vacantly staring upwards as in prayer. As it is, I suppose I'll leave Bali forever wondering about the political platform of my new favorite candidate for Balinese office.
In a few hours we will be on our way to the second part of this adventure in Yogyakarta but there are still tales to tell from Bali that will need further elucidation and reflection. Some embarrassing , others very nearly violent but ultimately still interesting and enlightening just the same. Until we can catch up again, Selemat Pagi from Ubud, Bali.
~alex
Intrepid explorer Minda and I had our own weather challenges yesterday while exploring one of Bali's many monkey temples/tourist fleecing zones- Alas Kedaton. Rain here is not an entirely unpleasant experience nor does it seem to last very long. Lazy dark clouds disappear as quickly as they arrive leaving the unprepared tourist, already stewing in his or her own sweat lined clothes, tasting a salty blend of sweat and rainfall. Luckily our trusty "guide" had run off to fetch us both umbrellas which proved to be of dubious use given that by the time we actually had them opened the rain would let up and we would once would be sweating under a sunny, cloudless sky.
Elections are in full swing here in Bali and there are no less than 36 political parties vying for political office. Flying everywhere are the huge brightly printed banners and stern images of each party's candidates, Partik Demokrat and the Bull party being two of particular note given their prevalence around the Ubud area. Atop houses, signposts, intersections and warrungs, each banner has a prominently displayed number which I'm told is the only way that voters are able to actually make heads or tails of the incredible number of candidates. As it is, you only need 500 people to form a political party and once you do, your then allotted monies from the government to both run your campaign and to pay for the endless number of effigy-like pictures that line the roads leading out of the city-centers. One banner of particular note is that of a gentleman dressed in full make-up, hands clasped in namaste and eyes vacantly staring upwards as in prayer. As it is, I suppose I'll leave Bali forever wondering about the political platform of my new favorite candidate for Balinese office.
In a few hours we will be on our way to the second part of this adventure in Yogyakarta but there are still tales to tell from Bali that will need further elucidation and reflection. Some embarrassing , others very nearly violent but ultimately still interesting and enlightening just the same. Until we can catch up again, Selemat Pagi from Ubud, Bali.
~alex
Departure Day
Bags are packed, it's time to leave.
At this point everyone keeps asking me, "are you ready?" or "are you excited?" To be honest, I'm not quite sure how to define my readiness. Yes, I've bought toothpaste and deoderant; yes, I've made copies of my visa; yes, I've paid my rent; and the list goes on. My hesitancy to say I'm "ready" then comes from my awareness of the unknown laying before me. Besides doing a ridiculous amount of reading over Christmas break, I know very little about Indonesia, and know absolutely NO Indonesian language. I'm assuming that getting around Bali with English won't be a problem considering the number of tourists that pass through there, but I'm definitely looking forward to some formal language training as soon as possible.
For me, this trip is twofold: I will be completing an internship at a local museum in Ambon by helping to manage the collections gathered on the Banda Islands; but additionally, I'll be conducting my own ethnographic research in order to have some original data for use in my Master's thesis. At UW I am currently in my first year of a museum studies masters. My goal in attaining this professional degree is to gain both a better practical and theoretical understanding of museums that I can use in a later degree in archaeology. On this trip I'm really looking forward to checking out the museum in Ambon and seeing the degree of interest locals take in the archaeological activities we'll be conducting at Banda.
That being said, fieldwork is tough. It takes a certain degree of mental preparation to remove yourself from the standards you're used to and maintain an open mind. I love fieldwork because of these challenges, but I'm never really "ready" to shed myself of everything familiar. I've come to appreciate through my travels that you can only remove yourself from your identity so far--at the end of the day I'll still be an American woman with blue eyes and pale skin who loves mac n cheese. So rather than avoid these intrinsic truths about myself, I prefer to accept them and work around them as I try to understand the different ways of life I'm being introduced to.
Unlike the other students on this trip, I'm actually fulfilling regular classes while in Indonesia. Which means, that ten weeks of Collections Management reading I didn't finish over break is in my backpack...ugh. Learning collections management through a hands on approach in a foreign place will be great, just my style, although attempting to conform it to the standards of my program is a bit nerve-racking... I'm confident it will work out though.
Excitement for the trip will come when my feet hit the ground Bali, and I have my first foreign meal. Until then, I'm still in grey Seattle trying to eat all the leftovers out of my fridge = NOT EXCITING. Really though, eating is one of my all time favorite activities. I cannot wait to learn about the cuisine of Indonesia, I'll try anything once.
See you on the other side! (especially you, Kathryn)
At this point everyone keeps asking me, "are you ready?" or "are you excited?" To be honest, I'm not quite sure how to define my readiness. Yes, I've bought toothpaste and deoderant; yes, I've made copies of my visa; yes, I've paid my rent; and the list goes on. My hesitancy to say I'm "ready" then comes from my awareness of the unknown laying before me. Besides doing a ridiculous amount of reading over Christmas break, I know very little about Indonesia, and know absolutely NO Indonesian language. I'm assuming that getting around Bali with English won't be a problem considering the number of tourists that pass through there, but I'm definitely looking forward to some formal language training as soon as possible.
For me, this trip is twofold: I will be completing an internship at a local museum in Ambon by helping to manage the collections gathered on the Banda Islands; but additionally, I'll be conducting my own ethnographic research in order to have some original data for use in my Master's thesis. At UW I am currently in my first year of a museum studies masters. My goal in attaining this professional degree is to gain both a better practical and theoretical understanding of museums that I can use in a later degree in archaeology. On this trip I'm really looking forward to checking out the museum in Ambon and seeing the degree of interest locals take in the archaeological activities we'll be conducting at Banda.
That being said, fieldwork is tough. It takes a certain degree of mental preparation to remove yourself from the standards you're used to and maintain an open mind. I love fieldwork because of these challenges, but I'm never really "ready" to shed myself of everything familiar. I've come to appreciate through my travels that you can only remove yourself from your identity so far--at the end of the day I'll still be an American woman with blue eyes and pale skin who loves mac n cheese. So rather than avoid these intrinsic truths about myself, I prefer to accept them and work around them as I try to understand the different ways of life I'm being introduced to.
Unlike the other students on this trip, I'm actually fulfilling regular classes while in Indonesia. Which means, that ten weeks of Collections Management reading I didn't finish over break is in my backpack...ugh. Learning collections management through a hands on approach in a foreign place will be great, just my style, although attempting to conform it to the standards of my program is a bit nerve-racking... I'm confident it will work out though.
Excitement for the trip will come when my feet hit the ground Bali, and I have my first foreign meal. Until then, I'm still in grey Seattle trying to eat all the leftovers out of my fridge = NOT EXCITING. Really though, eating is one of my all time favorite activities. I cannot wait to learn about the cuisine of Indonesia, I'll try anything once.
See you on the other side! (especially you, Kathryn)
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Heading Out
Many sides of my impending adventure excite me. I've been to Canada a few times, but this feels as though it will be a more 'real' international experience.
As a sailor, I am excited to be surrounded by water, especially in a warmer climate. I've gone sailing a few times in Seattle's December chill, and the snow melt has definitely cooled Lake Washington. I am excited to see how the boats of Indonesia compare to the highly uniform racing dinghies I am used to.
As an anthropologist, I await putting to use techniques and knowledge that have been bound to paper to this point.
As a vegetarian, I am excited to go to the birthplace of tempeh. This fermented soy product is and ingredient I have experimented with, but have found minimal success. My interest in nutrition guides me to explore the intertwined culture and cuisine of the area with as open a mind as possible, even if this requires abandoning my meat-free ways at times.
As a biologist, Alfred Russel Wallace's account of his journey through the Malay Archipelago one hundred and fifty years ago has inspired my imagination of what I will see. Wallace independently discovered the theories of evolution popularized by Darwin, and his immense knowledge of the area moved me to purchase a field guide to the mammals of the region. I look forward to seeing the world through the eyes of a naturalist, and will be looking for a field guide for local plants when I arrive. I have studied rhododendron genetics at UW, and anticipate seeing some of the species I have heard about and seen in gardens in their native habitat.
I'm looking forward to keeping my eyes open and soaking in as much as possible from this adventure!
As a sailor, I am excited to be surrounded by water, especially in a warmer climate. I've gone sailing a few times in Seattle's December chill, and the snow melt has definitely cooled Lake Washington. I am excited to see how the boats of Indonesia compare to the highly uniform racing dinghies I am used to.
As an anthropologist, I await putting to use techniques and knowledge that have been bound to paper to this point.
As a vegetarian, I am excited to go to the birthplace of tempeh. This fermented soy product is and ingredient I have experimented with, but have found minimal success. My interest in nutrition guides me to explore the intertwined culture and cuisine of the area with as open a mind as possible, even if this requires abandoning my meat-free ways at times.
As a biologist, Alfred Russel Wallace's account of his journey through the Malay Archipelago one hundred and fifty years ago has inspired my imagination of what I will see. Wallace independently discovered the theories of evolution popularized by Darwin, and his immense knowledge of the area moved me to purchase a field guide to the mammals of the region. I look forward to seeing the world through the eyes of a naturalist, and will be looking for a field guide for local plants when I arrive. I have studied rhododendron genetics at UW, and anticipate seeing some of the species I have heard about and seen in gardens in their native habitat.
I'm looking forward to keeping my eyes open and soaking in as much as possible from this adventure!
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