A week of farewells

Photo 1: Soldiers
Photo 2: Gunungan

The last week and a half has been full of closings and farewells. It started lat friday with the official closing of the language component of our UGM studies followed by the ACICIS farewell dinner. Then all this week there have been people having farewell dinners as they head back to Australia. Its been a little strange because I still have 6 months left, so it doesn't feel like the end of anything!

On thursday it was Idul Adha, a day where muslims who can afford it buy a goat or cow, slaughter it and then share the meat with people less fortunate than they are. We heard there would be a ceremony down at the Kraton, so we decided to go along, hoping that we wouldn't have to watch any animal sacrifices. Turns out we got lucky. To start there was a parade of the Sultan's soldiers. Each regiment had a different uniform, song and marching style. They were followed by the Sultan's brother and then three big gunungan. Gunungan are mountains of food that are said to bring good luck if you eat part of it. The whole parade marched out of the Kraton to the nearby mosque, where after a short time the gunungan were put down and everyone jumped on them. It was crazy! People were stomping all over everyone else, climbing up the gunungan, throwing food into the air, screaming. It was awesome. Emma and I probably couldve jumped in there and grabbed some but we decided to stay back, and managed to grab some scraps off the ground.

Update!

As punishment for the earlier comment of "at least I dont have a RAT", I now have a rat in my room. It was running around last night. I managed to get it out the door, but im sure it can get back in if it wants to. In fact, there may have been TWO of them. Either that, or just one really speedy one. Ick. Im only there for 10 more days so im just going to pretend i never saw it...or them.

Reflection 1: My Kos

Photo: My Kos family

The realisation that I now only have less than 2 weeks left living in my Kos in Yogya has prompted me to contemplate my kos experience.

1. My room
My room is by far the biggest room I have seen. whilst the average kos room in Yogya would probably be only big enough to fit 3 single beds, mine would fit at least 8. However whilst this provides the opportunity for me to run up and down the room should I feel the inclination to do so, I will not be adverse to moving to a smaller room in Malang.

2. My pets
I have never been an animal person, but since moving to Indonesia I have managed to collect a number of in-room guests including: cicaks (little lizzard/geckos), mozzies (though thankfully not too many) and cockroaches. My kos is home to a number of other animals including: cats (that scream in the middle of the night and enjoy running on the roof) and 'hampsters' (I use the term lightly as I remain convinced they are actually mice). I am thankful that I didnt have the joy of having a pet RAT like Sarah.

3. Noises
My kos can be a noisy place. As of late I have enjoyed waking up to the strains of Christmas carols eminating from the room in front of mine...at 6am. Girls become obsessed with certain Indonesian pop songs and thus proceed to play them at full volume all the time, driving me to the brink of tears. I also enjoy the rhythmic beat of mangos falling from the tree on to my roof, the pattering of the kos kids running around and the call to prayer 5 times a day. Luckily I am used to most of them and can usually sleep through them.

4. Living in a Kos
Has been a great experience. The family that own my Kos live in an attatched house, so Ive had an opportunity to have a bit of a homestay experience as well. My Ibu Kos has made me feel so welcome and often pops round to my room with a little cake or drink. Theres a lovely atmosphere in the kos - there is always someone sitting around in the communal area who wants to have a chat, and the girls are an endless source of information. Hopefully I'll be able to find a similar kos in Malang...

Bandung

Photo 1: Some of the giant superheros on Jeans St
Photo 2: The ferris wheel inside Bandung Super Mal. Yes thats right, inside.

On Thursday night, Annie, Erinn and I decided to escape Yogya and head to Bandung. Since Annie leaves Yogya in 2 weeks, this was one of our last chances to do some travel together. We caught the night train, which provided the usual freezing cold, bright conditions so uncondusive to sleep. We started the day by heading to the museum Asia-Afrika. The exhibits recounted the events of the Asia- Africa conference of 1955 (Bandung's claim to fame) in which nations gathered to 'Jeans Street', a part of Bandung famed for the number of outlet shops specialising in jeans. Not wanting to buy any I was more interested in the gianourmous paper mache superhero icons that sat above many of the shops. Wouldnt want to stand under them in a storm... Later that day we went to find a hotel, only to find most of them booked or too expensive. One offered us the presidential street for Rp295 000 so we decided to splurge. The room wasn't that luxurious, but it was huge and had air con.
Yesterday we did what people come to Bandung to do - shop! We (unbelievably perhaps) spent the entire day in one mall. We started with a coffee, looked at the first foor and a half, had lunch, looked at the next 1 1/2 floors, had afternoon tea, went back to buy everything, had dinner and then headed back to the train station. 8 hours gone in a whirl of westernisation, consumerism, air con and expensive meals. There must have been something in the air, because i even let myself buy 2 dresses!

Semarang

Last Friday I had the first of two Indonesian cooking classes. It was awesome, though unbearably hot with all the pans on the boil and only one measly fan to push the air around. The class only had about 10 people which meant we all got to have a turn pounding spice pastes, extracting fresh coconut milk, peeling garlic, stirring etc. We made beef rendang, pecel (leafy vegies with peanut sauce) and fried tempe. They all tasted amazing and I can wait to get home and try to recreate them! The only problem was the class ran more than half an hour overtime, meaning I just had time to shovel down the food before having to run off to the bus office to get the bus to Semarang.

I was in Semarang for 2 nights with Erinn and Steve. Semarang is on the north coast, and to me just seemed to be another city, only hotter! We arrived on Friday evening, and after checking out 3 hotels (full, too expensive, demolished) we settled on a simple, but cheap place in the central area. We spent Saturday sightseeing – an 18th century church, 2 markets, a Chinese Buddhist temple and Lawang Sewu, an old Dutch fort come train station come setting for a horror move of the same name. I haven’t actually seen the movie, but apparently it has something to do with the thousand doors in the building and never being able to find your way out… By lunchtime the heat was getting too much so we retreated to the air-conditioned bliss of the local mall. Later that afternoon we headed down to the central shopping area – Simpang Lima – and had the most amazing lumpia (spring rolls) ever. Lumpia are a Semarang specialty and can be bought all over the city.

Having exhausted all the sights in Semarang, on Sunday we caught the bus up into the mountains to Bandungan to see the 9th century Gedung Songo temples. It was refreshingly cool and clean after the heat of Semarang. There was a 3km steep uphill walk from where we got off the bus to the entrance of the temples. As we didn’t really have the time to spare we decided to get an ojek (motorcycle ride) instead. The guys couldn’t understand why we wanted helmets – “there aren’t any police here”. The temples looked amazing, scattered all over the mountain. The view, although cloudy, was also spectacular with mountaintops jutting through the clouds and a huge lake shimmering in the foreground. I just loved being able to draw a lungful of air without choking!

Another week...

The rainy season has well and truly arrived. Yesterday there was a huge and destructive storm. It began around 2pm with huge cracks of thunder and lightning, followed by rain so heavy you couldn’t see more than a few meters in to it. It rained solidly for not quite an hour. This may not seem that long, but the volume of water that poured out of the sky was enormous. I had to walk to one of my classes through rivers of water, ankle deep flooded roads and around courtyards that had turned into swimming pools. Most of the time there was no way around the floods – they went from wall to wall. On my way home my feet were slipping around in my (cheap) shoes and they both broke, so I had to walk some of the way barefoot. Needless to say I chose to walk through the mud rather than through the murky pools of water. Besides all the flooding the storm had partially knocked over a huge Yamaha sign on one of the main roads, causing all the traffic to be diverted through the back roads. Most annoyingly however the entire electricity grid around my house was knocked out (again), leaving all my area without power from mid afternoon until nearly 9 that night!

In other news, it was Emma’s 21st last Thursday, so we all went to a Chinese/Japanese/Korean restaurant to celebrate. Emma’s parents were here all last week, so they were there as well, which must have been nice for her. The meal was delicious, but I have to admit my favourite thing was the amazing rich, dense chocolate cake. As much as people in Yogya like sweet things, one thing I don’t think they do particularly well is dessert. Cakes here are normally sponge cakes, which I don’t really like, or made out of tasteless jelly. So this was the first proper cake I’ve had for months and it was brilliant!

On Sunday I went with a few friends to the breakfast markets at uni. I’ve been meaning to go for ages but have never seemed to get around to it. It was brilliant. There were heaps of stores selling little trinkets and clothes, and even more set up with straw mats selling food. The stalls stretched right along 2 of the main roads within the uni and the area was packed with people wandering around, eating and sipping on fresh juices. The choice of places to eat was seemingly endless, but in the end we settled on a busy one (usually a good indication that the food is safe and/or tasty). While we were eating we were approached by more people asking for money than usual. There were the usual suspects – people on their guitars singing with various degrees of skill, women with their children, but there were also some that I hadn’t come across before, like the woman who had a microphone and speaker strapped to her body (so you just couldn’t ignore her) and the group of three transvestites who may or may not have sung. The food was good and I’ll definitely be back the next weekend I’m in Yogya.

Exams, karaoke, weddings...

Photo 1: In traditional wedding gear
Photo 2: The happy couple

Last week I had my mid semester exams. The first, for Hinduism/Budhism was actually supposed to be on the previous week, but because the lecturer was on holidays/ on a project/ too lazy/ still asleep (take your pick) it was postponed. All the exams went ok – I was allowed to use dictionaries and the exams were only short, so language wasn’t too much of a problem.

On Friday I swallowed my embarrassment and went with a group of friends to Happy Puppy aka karaoke central. I must admit that when I stopped being uptight about the whole thing I did actually enjoy myself. We had a private room, so my humilliation was somewhat limited. To lessen the pain (of both myself and everyone else) I made sure I always sung with someone who actually could sing, sung really softly, and kept the microphone well away from my mouth.

On Saturday I went with Erinn to her pendamping Dini’s (helper/ guide from the start of semester) sister’s wedding reception. I barely knew Dini and have never met her sister, but it seems the mentality here is the more the merrier. Erinn and I got done up in the traditional Indonesian kebaya and sarong, which earned us plenty of stares along the road when we went to hail a taxi.

The reception was held in a huge room of a posh hotel in Yogya. there were lots of people, two buffets and not enough chairs! The bride, groom and their parents spent the night sitting on a raised platform at the end of the room, shaking hands with the guests ( many of whom they probably didn't know very well, if at all), haviing photos taken with said guests and watching everyone eat.

Adventures in the Capital City

Photo 1: Monas
Photo 2: Bogor Botanical Gardens

Less than a week after getting back from Lombok, Annie and I headed off to Jakarta and Bogor for three days. We caught the overnight train, which ended up being quite comfortable, although not particularly conducive for a good nights rest. We arrived at 6am, and after finding a hotel and having breakfast, we walked up to the national monument (Monas), otherwise known as Suharto’s last great/ final erection. I found this area of Jakarta quite surprising – it was clean, had some tree lined streets and didn’t feel completely dissimilar to Singapore (albeit busier and more polluted) Monas itself is in the middle of a large, leafy, well tended park. Because we arrived so early we had the place to ourselves. The lookout at the top of the monument revealed what I had expected of Jakarta – thick, view obscuring smog. After exploring the (very selective) history museum under Monas, we walked across the road to the more reputable national history museum. Among many things, the museum had a huge selection of ancient inscriptions/statues/relics, including some I had been studying.
That afternoon our plans to explore the old colonial district were sabotaged by a tropical downpour, so we retreat to the regulated climes of one of Jakarta’s many malls. It was quite overwhelming – huge and chock-a-bloc full of luxury brands. We killed several hours just walking and looking in the windows! Particularly exciting for both Annie and I was the ‘International Foods’ section of the basement supermarket – it was (seriously) all we could do to stop screaming with excitement at the vegemite,
Aussie dried fruit, cereals, pasta sauces, chocolate… We both stocked up big on things you just cant get in Yogya.
On Thursday we went caught the train to Bogor (about 1¼ hours) to visit the botanical gardens. They were a breath of fresh air, in all senses of the word. It was amazing to see so much green in one place! Again, we spent hours just walking around and feeling very in love with nature. We even lay down under a tree on some grass! (There is no grass in Yogya).
Yesterday we managed to get down to the colonial district. It was only a shadow of what it must have once been – many of the remaining buildings are looking quite worse for wear. We then walked down to Sunda Kelapa, a fishing port. In the process I saw yet another side to Jakarta – pollution, dust, TRAFFIC, slums, stagnant water… And then in the afternoon we again retreated to the favourite pastime of the middle classes and went to some more luxurious malls.

Lombok - Gili Trawangan and Mangsit

Photo 1: At the beach, Gili Trawangan
Photo 2: Yet another stretch of gorgeous beach

The next afternoon we headed over to Gili Trawangan on the island hopper boat (which was really like a glorified, oversized canoe with a motor). This was an experience to say the least. Before we had even set off the boat guy was bailing out water from between the broken decking. The swell was huge, nearly capsizing the boat on several occasions. There was an Indonesian girl next to us that was nearly hysterical, convincing herself that she was going to be sick. We just kept checking out where the other islands were, in case we needed to swim to shore. We did get there in the end though and met up with another girl from ACICIS, Rachelle and then on Wednesday with Sarah.
I didn’t like Trawangan as much as Air. It was much busier, with lots of European tourists out for a good time. There were a few people along the roads yelling out various suggestive and/or offensive calls, and lots more people trying to sell things. The vibe was very Contiki. The beaches themselves were again beautiful, but apparently much of the coral around the island has been destroyed by fishing. The night scene on Trawangan was pretty lively, with a few bars partying on until late at night – particularly popular was the Irish ‘pub’. There were some amazing looking restaurants all along the waters edge too – you could really eat your way around the world there if you had the time.
We headed back to the mainland on Thursday morning, to Mangsit via Bangsal. Bangsal was where the ferry came in, and was a little overwhelming with people trying to get people on to their buses, demanding money for picking up suitcases unwanted and offering rides up the road in their cidomo. I think we were saved from having the full Bangsal experience though, as we had got off a ferry loaded with tourists, so the attention was spread around.
We went back to a hotel in Mangsit, a few kilometers up the road from Senggigi. The main reason we went there was to check out the Santai Beach Inn recommended for its beautiful setting and communal dinners. Although there isn't anything in Mangsit I’d go back to that hotel in a flash. We stayed in a small 2 story bungalow that looked out onto a green, colourful garden. The food was amazingly good, as we had been promised, and it was easy to while away the day.
Then yesterday I had to leave it all behind to come back to Yogya via Bali. I ended up being stuck at the airport for 6 hours when my 1pm flight ended up leaving at 7pm. So in the end I didn’t get to see Bali at all! Maybe another time…

Lombok - Gili Air

Photo 1: View from a warung, Gili Air
Photo 2: A bungalow at Sunrise Cottages, Gili Air

Early on Sunday morning I met up with Annie to head over to the Gili Islands, approximately one hour by boat from Senggigi. The trip over was absolutely fine until everyone got out of the boat at Gili Trawangan and we continued over to Gili Air. I don’t know if the seas were just choppier, or the lightened load affected the boat, but we got absolutely drenched. The first couple of splashes were kind of funny, but by the end we had waves crashing over our shoulders. We eventually arrived, dripping wet, and got a cidomo to our hotel. The hotel was amazing – 2 story bungalows with a queen bed and veranda upstairs, and a hammock plus day bed down stairs.
Gili Air was stunning – pure white sand, gleaming crystal clear turquoise waters, no motorbikes or cars, peaceful… I think it’s the most idyllic place I have ever been to. The only thing that stopped it being even better was the arid landscape away from the shore. I don’t think they’d seen much rain in awhile, as there was lots of bare, dusty patches of earth and bare trees. The warungs along the beach were all amazing, and served up some brilliant sasak food. Each warung was directly on the beach, usually with little huts complete with low tables and pillows to eat at. All these places were really relaxed though, so it took a while for the food to come. Not that that was a problem with the view that was provided.
We did a bit of snorkeling of the shore near our hotel. There was an amazing array of fish out there – little schools of electric blue ones, angel fish, metallic rainbow fish – the works! The water was pleasantly tropical so it was easy to swim around for ages. Gili Air may have been paradise, but that didn’t stop me: Grazing my knee on a piece of coral, stubbing my toe on a rock and lifting up a big chunk of flesh on my big toe, and getting stung because I waded into a school of jellyfish, resulting in a huge number of little raised bumps like mozzie bites all down my right leg.

Lombok - Senggigi

Photo 1: Sunset over Senggigi beach
Photo 2: Senggigi beach busy with families celebrating the end of Ramadan

Last Thursday night I headed to Lombok, via Bali, for the Lebaran holiday. My stay in Bali lasted a total of 10 hours. I arrived at the hotel only to be informed that they actually didn’t have my booking, but I could stay in a different room for Rp50 000 extra. Since it was 12.30 at night I didn’t have much choice, and decided to be grateful that there was a room at all.
The next morning I flew to Lombok for my 3 nights of solo travel. Lombok itself is beautiful – reminicent of Bali, but less developed and with less Hindu architecture (obviously, being a Muslim island). The airport is in Mataram, which is a small but bustling city centre. On the way out to the coast at Senggigi we drove through markets, the outskirts of villages, coconut palm groves, and past lots of cidomo (the horse drawn carts that seem to be the Lombok equivallent of a becak).
My hotel in Senggigi was gorgeous and amazing value. It was located off the main road on the outskirts of the village. Each room was a detached bungalow with an outdoor bathroom, set around a lush, tropical garden. There was also a large communal area, which was a good place to sit when it rained for 3 hours straight the day I arrived (this was the first rain for months, and thankfully the last of my trip).
I spent my time in Senggigi lazing by the beach, walking, reading and eating. It was incredibly relaxing. The sun was an absolute killer, really intense with no layer of smog to filter out the UV rays. Luckily there were patches of sand that were shaded by trees, but the the best option was just to retreat indoors in the middle of the day.
Senggigi itself is built around the tourist trade. Its nowhere near the scale of beach side Bali, only occupying a few hundred meters along the main road. Even so, the restaurant/ tourist ratio was way out of balance, with many places offering discounts in an attempt to lure people in. There didn’t seem to be that many people, tourists or local, hanging around, but that was probably because my stay in Senggigi fell on the Lebaran holiday weekend. The beach at Senggigi was nice, though not particularly impressive. The sand was the dark volcanic type with wooden fishing boats pulled up along the shore line, and the water was calm, clear and very warm.
Being alone in Senggigi was no bad thing. It was nice just to relax and do my own thing without having to worry about someone else getting bored. Because I was alone people were eager to come and talk to me, and were always eager to chat once they found out I could speak Indonesian.

Week to week

Photo 1: On the back of Romi's bike on the way back from YSI
Photo 2: Sweet food to break the fast

The last couple of weeks I've had a number of experiences in and around Yogya that have let me see things that you just don't get to see as a tourist. Among them:

I finally got on a back of a motorbike (!) I have since been a passenger several times, each time trying to put as much 'protective' clothing on as possible. Having said that I have riden: in thongs, in short sleves, in a helmet that was much too big, though not all at the same time. Sometimes you've just got to get on.

I've been visting the Yayasan Sayap Ibu, an orphanage for newborns to six year olds. The kids are all beautiful and are starting to warm to the bules (whities) in their midst. Yesterday I also went to visit the wing of the YSI for disabled kids. I found this quite heartbreaking - some of the kids are really ill, and I couldn't help but wonder what the future had in store for them. It was heartening to see how many visitors they had though, and one little girl blew us kisses as we rode off.

I've also been going to nongkrong (hang out) with some of my new friends - this can involve all sorts of things - motorbike rides, coffee, card games, movies, going to the mall. Either way its heaps of fun and everyone gets a laugh out of me trying to learn slang!

Finally, I have experienced the excellent academic culture of Indonesia, where the lecturer of one subject has managed to turn up once in 6 weeks. Frustrating, but I guess its best to just go with the flow.

The end of Ramadan holidays start next week and I am heading off Lombok and the Gili Islands via Bali. Needless to say I am looking forward to it. Not that i've been working that hard...

Dieng

Photos: Sunrise at Dieng Plateau

This weekend I went with Annie to the Dieng Plateau in Central Java – a 3 hour mini bus ride to Wonosobo via Magelang then a 1 hour public bus up the mountains to Dieng. The bus to Dieng was very scenic – terraces of cabbages and potatoes, mist, clouds, small villages clinging to the side of the hill…and it was cold!
On Saturday we got up at 3am to climb up a mountain to watch the sunrise with some other ACICIS girls that were also in Dieng. We set out in the dark (and freezing cold) along a pitch black road and then dirt track through the cabbage patches with only 2 torches between the 7 of us. As dawn started to break we passed through the highest village in Java (Sembungan – 2300m above sea level). A couple of hours after setting off we finally made it to the top of the mountain, just in time for sunrise. The view was amazing – although there were low lying clouds, the surrounding mountains poked through and we could see all the way back to the smoking peak of Gunung Merapi near Yoyga.
After watching the sunrise we had planned to go and visit a waterfall, but after walking for half an hour down an incredibly steep hill and still only being able to see it in the far distance we gave up! Not wanting to make the long, painful trip back up the mountain side, we paid a farmer to drive us back – we all jumped in the back of his ute in true Indonesian style!
Later that day we went to the bubbling (smelly) sulfur crater, a few of the oldest Hindu temples in Java (8-9^th century) and the coloured lake. The lake was a strange cloudy turquoise hue, coloured by sulfur deposits – the best view was from on top (another) hill. We also went for a wander through the village, which was lots of fun. The roads were narrow and blissfully devoid of traffic - little kids and animals (chickens, cats, goats…) roamed the streets instead. I think I must have said ‘selamat sore’ enough times to last the rest of the month – everyone was excited to see the tourists walking past their house!

Symposiums, Ramadan

Photo 1: In my official among tamu uniform
Photo 2: The ACICIS/BEM symposium committe

Wednesday was the day of the Symposium. I arrived, as instructed, at 7am, only to sit around doing nothing in true Indonesian style until an hour and a half later. On the surface it seemed that the organisation had come together – the venue was impressive, there were high quality gift packs to hand out to the participants and we all looked very official in our batik ‘uniforms’. However by 9am (the official start time) one major hiccup had arisen – no one had come! Well that is a slight exaggeration, but numbers were well, well below what the BEM committee had been hoping for. I can’t say I was particularly surprised – advertising had only begun a week before the event and as a result, no one knew about it.
After fulfilling my role as an among tamu (guest greeter) I filled in with the everyone else, trying not to cringe at how empty the hall looked. The actually symposium itself wasn’t too bad, although it didn’t really seem to address the issue of spiritualism as a new form of diplomacy. But Emma gave a brilliant paper addressing the problem with the words spiritualism/ spirituality from an Australian perspective. In an earlier speech a retired Australian academic had given a paper about declining religious participation of Australian youth. When he asked the audience if they were surprised there was a general nodding with wide eyes ‘yes, I am so surprised’. So if nothing else, at least they’ve learnt something new about Australia!
The next day was the start of Ramadan. Having decided to do at least one day of fasting, I got up at 3am with the rest of the girls in my kos to eat breakfast. They all nearly fell off there seats when I emerged bleary eyed from my room, not quite being able to comprehend why I wanted to get up. It really wasn’t so bad and it was brilliant breaking the fast at the end of the day. Ramadan hasn’t really changed anything too much around here, although at about 1pm you can actually cross the road without fearing for you life because everyone is sleeping! At the end of the day, around the time of the evening prayer the foot paths are packed with little stalls selling sweet drinks, fried snacks and young coconut juice for people to break the fast with – it's really quite a party atmosphere!

Beach Escape

Photo 1: The beach
Photo 2: Collector at the beach

On the weekend I, along with the rest of the ACICIS students, escaped busy, bustling Yogyakarta and headed to the coast for a bit of relaxation. As we drove out of the city and headed into rice fields, mountains and tropical forests I just sat back and enjoyed being able to breathe fresh air for the first time in 3 weeks! The beach itself was lovely, all but deserted, with yellow sand and clear water. It unfortunately wasn't that good for swimming though, because the reef came right up to the edge of the water. I spent most of the afternoon relaxing by the water reading my book, although I did manage to pick my way over the reef to a cave that appears at low tide. We clambered our way through, only to be informed later that it is absolutely crawling with sea snakes - oh well, what we didn't know didn't hurt us! Later that night after a dinner of fresh barbequed seafood we sat around on the beach under the stars, attempting, and failing, to start a singalong! After a chilly night I headed back down to the beach hoping to find a sandy inlet where I could swim. Dissapointingly though the swell and tides were too strong even to paddle out too far on the reef. We headed down to the main beach for lunch - it was tiny - just a strip of warungs and a few shell shops. Emma and I shared the best seafood I have had in a while - freshy caught and barbequed fish.

Bus adventures

Photo 1: The inside of a city bus
Photo 2: Merapi finally showing itself
The last week has been a little bit mucky with at least 7 ACICIS students (including myself) coming down with various stomach bugs and fatigue. Thankfully the worst of my bug got itself over and done with in about 6 hours. Not much to complain about really, considering one guy is in hospital with dengue fever!
In other news, I have finally braved the Yogyakartan bus system. I still have absolutely no idea where the buses actually go, but I know which one to get on to get to uni, and which ones to get to Malioboro (though im not sure where it leaves from exactly...) Unfortunately there doesnt seem to be anywhere where all the routes are written down, so I think I'll just have to rely on word of mouth plus trial and error. The buses dont opperate to a timetable - you just have to wait on the side of the road until you see the bus that you want. When it comes by you just flag it down and jump on as it slows down. Im still not sure exactly what the deal is with the bus fare - no one asks for a exact amount, you just seem to have to guess. It seems that Rp2000 for a shortish journey is ok. When its time to get off you just have to stand up and hope that they slow down and move over enough that you dont have to jump into a second lane of traffic! Or else just yell at the driver to stop. Most of the buses here are of questionable roadworthiness. I alway try to tread lightly so that I dont put a foot through the rusy floor, and to avoid the windows (often with no glass) so if we stop suddenly I wont be thrown from the bus. Luckily as a general rule the intercity buses don't manage to get up enough speed to threathen their structural integrity.
Over the last couple of weeks I, along with a group of other ACICIS students have been involved/tagging along with an international symposium that is being organised by a student committee at UGM. The symposium will happen next wednesday and aims to strengthen Australian-Indonesian youth relations. It has been interesting to see how a committee of this type opperates over here - not nearly as organised or on top of things as they could have been! But I wont pass judgement until I see how the even turns out next week. Last night we had a dinner at the ACICIS house to have group disscussions about the ideas and potential of the symposium. Part of this included a food cultural exchange, so we feasted on hotdogs with tomato sauce and onions, fairy bread, SALAD, lamingtons and imported Australian bree and rice crackers (thank you Carrefour!). As pathetic as it sounds to get so excited about food, it was such a brilliant change from what I've been eating as of late.

My first week of uni

Photo 1: Lonely ACICIS students

Photo 2: Prambanan

It is wednesday and I have officially finished my first week of uni! My classes have been a mixed bunch. My first class was The Development of Hinduism and Budhism. There were 5 ACICIS students in the class, and we all turned up to uni half an hour early, paranoid that we would not be able to find the room and hence be late. No need to worry. We were the first to arrive. We sat there... and sat there... and sat there. Occassionally a student would stick their head in, or walk past, but no one would come in. 20 minutes after the class was due to start we started to wonder if any one was going to show at all - apparently its not that uncommon for the lecture not to show, especially on the first week, especially at 7.00 on a monday morning (yes, 7.00). We could see a group of people congregating outside the room and began to worry that we weren't actually supposed to be in the room until the lecturer showed up. So we sat there nervously, convinced that we were disrespecting the lecturer (who was by then 25 mins late anyway). But then at 7.30 everyone suddenly came in, followed by the lecturer. My first class was intense to say the least. The guy sat up the front with the microphone and just talked and talked. Luckily for me I had studied some similar stuff before, and could essentially understand the gist of what he was saying. Unfortunately he didn't talk particularly clearly. He directed a few questions towards us ACICIS students (at least we think they were questions), to which he recived blank, nervous stares in reply.
To fill in a 5 1/2 hour gap before my next class, i decided to sit in on grammar. I have since enrolled. It is a bit easy to be honest, but it was nice to be able to understand everything that was going on. My other classes since then seem to have got better, so perhaps it just took a few tries to get used to having unmodified Indonesian fired at me at rapid pace! It's quite satisfying to be able to sit in a class and understand most of what is going on, even if it is just a little scarey. The classes I did by myself were a little intimidating at first, but there is always at least one person that will want to come and chat, and get your phone number. The one thing that is getting to me about uni over here is the lack of information about the courses. For most of them there is no course outline or set text, or if there is there is only one copy and you have to know which student is in charge of photocopying! Plus I don't really know what my assessments are! I think the best plan of attack is just to relax and get used to it.
Last night I went with a group of people to watch a performance of the Ramayana dance at the open air theatre at Pramanan temple. It was really amazing to see the temples strikingly lit against the dark night sky. Its just one of those things you can't capture in a photo (though I tried!) The dance itself had been obviously modified for a tourist audience, although it was still enjoyable (and colourful). The stage was huge, so the poor women in their tight sarongs looked quite amusing trying to quickly shuffle into the middle of it before the next phrasing began! Just to top off a lovely night, we saw the lunar eclipse! I couldn't belive that the smog and clouds had cleared enough to give us even the light of the moon, let alone a clear view! (Ok so its not that bad, but still...)

Settling In

Photo 1: My kos room
Photo 2: My bathroom

I've been in my kos for 3 nights now. I really love it actually. My room is really big, and not too hot. Even the bak mandi (indonesian 'shower') is great - saves a tonne of water, and it's quite refreshing once you get over the initial shock of pouring cold water down your back! The owner of my kos is absolutely brilliant! She is so welcoming and makes you feel part of her family. I haven't had a chance to meet all of my kos mates yet -I think there's around 15 other girls, but everyone comes and goes all the time (including me!). From what I've gathered though, they come from all over the archipelago.
Since moving into my kos I've been slowly easing my way into full on Indonesian life. Though to be honest i'm sick of paying lots of money (by Indonesian standards) for taxis and food. I'm ready to get into it a little more, and i can't wait to figure out how the buses work, and where they go! I'm looking forward to getting into a routine when uni starts tommorrow... at 7am! At the moment my subjects are:

Ethnography of Java
Social and Community history of Java 19-20th century
Javanese for Foreigners
Development of Hinduism and Buddhism
Government and Politics of Southeast Asia.

They are all immersion subjects (although Javanese is for foreigners only) so it could be a little intense. I'm thinking about picking up Indonesian Grammar, just so i can drop any subject if it turns out to be horrible!

Orientation

Photo 1: My uni for this semester
Photo 2: Jl. Kaliurang, the main road near my kos

The last couple of days I’ve had my orientation program for ACICIS. It’s been good to get to know some of the other people from Australia who are studying here. The day that we moved into the ACICIS provided accommodation was really exhausting. In the morning, we went in search of a place that sold phone credit. We wandered unsuccessfully around for about 20 minutes before we finally gave up and headed back to our hotel. On our way back we found a credit place that turned out to be incredibly close to our hotel, just on the other side of the road. At first we walked past the store (that looked like an art workshop) because we weren’t sure if the sign for phone credit was attached to that one or the one next to it. We hovered hesitantly and were about to give up when the owner dragged us in, assuring us he sold credit. He began to fill out all the forms and we were just about to pay, when he decided to tell us about his art philosophies. At first it was really interesting hearing his ideas (and trying to understand them), but 40 minutes later I was utterly exhausted from trying to keep up. So what was supposed to take 3 minutes ended up turning into a mini lecture complete with white gown, song-like chanting and the promise that we would become “princesses” if we became his representatives in Australia!

So running late we had to run back to the hotel to check out. Then we had to lug all our stuff to the ACICIS accommodation because we decided it would be better to walk there seeing it was just up the road. Which it was, but a road that had a broken footpath (when it wasn’t blocked by roadside stalls) and a road that was being scorched by the midday sun. So we trudged there, dodging taxis and motorbikes, walking down the middle of the road, and crossing right on the corner of a multi-lane, incredibly busy roundabout, all the while carrying a backpack, laptop and wheeling a 19kg bag. But we survived and arrived absolutely drenched with sweat!

So far we’ve done through all the immigration procedures (including being fingerprinted and profiled by the police) and we’ve done our placement test. Yesterday we went looking for accommodation with our Indonesian buddies. It was actually harder than I was expecting. We looked at heaps of places, but so many of the nice ones were already full (it’s the start of a new year so all the Indonesian students have been getting accommodation for the last few weeks). Most of the ones we saw were either really small, unfurnished, or shared a bathroom between four people.
After spending several hours looking we gave up and went to the mall (which seems bigger than anything in Australia – HUGE) But as we were sitting there I got a bit worried that I wouldn’t find something, which was stupid considering that we had all day today to look for one. But to make myself feel better I went back to the first place I looked at and put a deposit on it. The more I think about it the more I like it – it has its own bathroom with a western toilet (but I don’t think there’s a shower), a queen bed, bar fridge, fan, desk and wardrobe. The Ibu Kos (owner) seems really friendly, and it’s in a central position in a gang (lane) off the main road (Jl. Kaliurang). The only downside is that another Aussie is staying there. But I don’t think we’re going to be in each other’s pockets, so it shouldn’t be a problem. So my kos isn’t in the neighbourhood that I’d planned to live, and there’s another bule (foreigner) living there, but I think it will work out ok! I’ll write more about my kos after I move in tomorrow! X

Sydney - Singapore - Solo

Photo 1: Incredibly tired with the Merlion

Photo 2: Singapore city lights

So, the journey has begun!
After spending a couple of relatively uneventful nights in Singapore (eating and window shopping) I finally headed off to Changi airport for my flight to Solo, Central Java. True to form, I managed to leave my document wallet on a counter at the free internet access area. Thankfully I hadn't realised I'd done this (saving much stressing on my part). We'd just begun eating lunch when I heard my name over the intercom. A little suprised, I went through my bag, trying to find out what I'd lost. Turned out I no longer had my passport, credit cards, cash, travellers cheques, boarding pass... So I went sheepishly down to the Information counter, thankful that I was in Changi airport and not elsewhere. Luckily for me a staff member had picked it up almost straight away and everything was in one piece. Phew! I hope I've learnt my lesson, though given the number of times I have done similar things...
When we arrived in Solo we had to make sure we got the correct immigration stamp for our visa. According to the information book we were given, that meant not going through the tourist line. So we stood in the line for 'Indonesian Citizens'. Ironically, for the first time in a while the tourist queue was the shortest, whilst the citizens line moved at snails pace. As we waited, plenty of friendly people came over with big smiles trying to direct us into the tourist line, as we evidently were lost and confused. We just smiled and tried to explain that we already had a visa, although I think only one woman actually understood that we weren't idiots! Eventually we did end up with the correct immigration stamp, so that was the biggest worry out of the way.
The taxi to Yogya was a lesson in Indonesian traffics rules - anything goes. I would describe it as organised chaos. We crossed the center line into incoming traffic, dodged around motorcycles, and had both cars and motorcycles driving the wrong way down our side of the road. And all without seatbelts. Having said that everyone seems to watch out for everyone else, and it was too busy for us to get up any real speed. The scenery was an ecclectic mix of farmers working in the fields, young men hanging outside the local warungs with their motorbikes, the latest and most expensive 4WDs, push cart vendors, old temples, rows of demountable roadside food stalls and luxury western malls. And of course plenty of motorbikes! The two notable motorbike scenes of the day were a family of four all on one bike, with their shopping (although it would seem that having 4 people on a bike is fairly standard practice), and a woman who had her kid holding onto the bike in front of her. So what? But this kid could not have been more than 2 and if it had let go, or slid off...
So that's it for now. Later today we head off to our ACICIS accommodation with all the other Australian exchange students, which I'm looking forward to. X