The last few weeks

I’ve been running around for the last few weeks organising everything for my imminent departure next week  This has consisted of a number of trips to immigration, housing complexes, printing and binding places, shops…etc etc. Everything seems to be coming together. All that remains is the final presentation first thing on Monday and I’m done! Other things I have been up to:

• I spread the joys of nachos yet again, cooking with a couple of people who became respondents for my research. Having been overseas numerous times they seemed to handle the ‘strangeness’ a bit better than my friends did that first time. To round off a healthy meal we also had french fries and sweets whilst we were waiting for the sauce to cook.

• I re-twisted my bad ankle. This time I was heading out to use the internet. There was water on the steps of my kos that I didn’t see and consequently slipped on in my no-grip thongs. The pain was unbelievable, much worse than the first time. The girls from my kos called one of the local women to come give me a ‘healing massage’. Massage has connotations of relaxation, but this was far from relaxing, especially when she worked on my screwed up muscle. I seem to have largely recovered now, but I don’t think my ankle (or my knee for that matter) will ever be the same

• I took the girls from my kos out to Pizza Hut for a farewell party. It was a bit of a novelty for them, not only because we were going to Pizza Hut, but also because it was the first time they had all gone out together. Everyone liked the garlic bread, but when it came to the pizza itself there were mixed reactions. One refused to try it, one other ate half a slice and couldn’t handle it, and the others nibbled away at a couple of slices. To be honest the pizzas were weird Indonesian concoctions with delightful toppings such as seafood stick and mayonnaise, and with crusts stuffed with sausage and I didn’t really enjoy it that much either!!

Climbing Arjuna

On Saturday morning I headed to the slopes of Gunung Arjuna with Phil and most of the ACICIS students – our mission: hike to the top. After a hearty lunch of soto ayam we started on our way. The first hour of the hike was along a vehicle accessible road, and it was HOT. There was little to no tree cover (all felled/ burnt away) and in the middle of the day the sun was punishing. After 20 minutes of walking uphill with heavy packs on our back we were all a sweaty mess.
By the time we started the proper part of the hike the sun had gone behind the clouds and an hour or two later we were high enough that the air was refreshing. We had our first long break by a fresh water stream. As many water companies source their water from Arjuna we were able to drink straight from the stream – icy cold and delicious. It did feel weird not to be getting water straight out of a bottle though. After our break we continued on our way, and not much later the sun began to drop below the horizon. Everyone turned on their headlights (mine didn’t work) and we ploughed on, this time through long grass and mud. The path just went on and on. Finally around 8pm we reached our campsite. We all collapsed exhausted, before quickly pilling on the layers (it was around 5 degrees).
After a few sleepless hours (it was too cold to sleep!) we all got up and started climbing again, this time to the very summit of the mountain. After the previous day I didn’t think I would be able to keep up, but I managed to find a second burst of energy/determination from somewhere and stayed with the top of the pack. We reached the summit (3339 metres!) at 6.30. The view was amazing, as was the sense of accomplishment. We could see right across Java to Pulau Madura on the north coast, Gunung Semeru, Surabaya, Malang.... The sun was out and the wind was gentle, allowing us to enjoy our time up there.
Our pace back to camp was much quicker than our pace heading up. All was going well until I slipped on some pine needles and came down heavily on my ankle. There was a snapping noise and a ‘oh my god I'm stuck on the side of an inaccessible mountain with a broken ankle’ scenario flashed through my head. Thankfully it wasn’t, but it became swollen very quickly. A couple of our guides gave it a massage (bringing tears to my eyes), we strapped it and I took a couple of neurofen. Despite that it took me a LONG time to get back.
And then I had no choice but to walk the next however many thousand meters down hill with a twisted ankle. The neurofen had started to kick in by the time we set off and the first part of the trip was ok, with a gentle decline and even ground. We reached the trickiest part of the descent just as night fell. The path was straight down, rocky and slippery. Every step I took I was absolutely terrified I’d slip or lose my footing and break my ankle. Not only was my ankle aching, the road was uneven and it was dark, the neurofen was wearing off, I was physically exhausted and sleep deprived. The road just kept going and going. Every time I looked up the path just wound off into the distance and I wanted to cry. That wasn’t really an option though so I just kept going. We didn’t get back until after 10.30 that evening.
I’m not sure that I’d ever do an overnight mountain climb again. It might not have been so bad if I hadn’t wreaked my ankle, but I can say I’ve done it now and that’s probably enough for me.

Back in Jogja/Yogja

Last week I decided to take a break from my gruelling (?) studies and take an extended long weekend back in Jogja. I probably wont have time to back there again before I leave so I wanted to visit my old kos one last time and catch up on some shopping I should have done whilst I was there in the first place. The minibus on the way there took FOREVER, over 10 hours, so I didn’t end arriving until 7.30pm. Exhausted but pleased to be back I decided to take solace in a plate of spaghetti Bolognese. Ah the joys of pasta.

I spent Saturday in Malioboro, stocking up on souvenirs, batik and magazines. On Sunday I went mall shopping at Amplaz (it drove me crazy but I did manage to find a nice dress, coat and shoes). That afternoon I went back to my kos. The ACICIS girl who moved in as I was leaving was having a birthday celebration, so it was a good opportunity to see everyone again. Then on Monday I went to Kota Gede for silver, before going to a wayang kulit producer and buying some puppets (sadly I couldn’t afford the beautiful top top quality ones painted with gold leaf - $500).

Being back in Jojga really brought home how much I love and miss it. Going back to my kos and seeing everyone (especially my old ibu kos) was like going home. Jojga has this amazing vibe – its busy and exciting and cultural and there’s always something going on. I know I probably wouldn’t have appreciated it much if I’d stayed there and not come to Malang, but this time I didn’t want to leave!

The Bung Karno Pilgramage

On Thursday I went with a couple of people (who have helped me out with my research) to Blitar, famous as the childhood town of Sukarno, Indonesia’s first president. We started off our tour with a visit to a well-known pecel Blitar warung (essentially vegies with peanut sauce). Pecel there is supposed to have a distinctive flavour, but I guess I just haven’t tried enough pecel from other areas, because I couldn’t distinguish it! After eating we walked to Sukarno’s burial sight. Apparently it used to be a public graveyard, but after Sukarno was buried they exhumed all the other bodies and moved them to another sight. A library is located at the entrance, including an exhibition area (complete with portrait of Sukarno that appears to have a beating heart if viewed from the side!). The grave itself is located under a pavilion, marked with a big dark stone with his mother and father buried on either side. Next stop was the Panantaran temple complex, dating from the 12^th century (if I remember correctly). I think I’m still a little templed-out after my trip to Angkor Wat, as I couldn’t really appreciate it. Then finally we headed to Sukarno’s old house Istana Gerbang (Gerbang Palace) and yes it was palatial. It was full of old memorabilia and photos from the Sukarno family (including his mother Fatmawati and sisters Megawati, Ratnawati and Padmawati…). It is currently for sale with an asking price of 50 BILLION rupiah! The family I was with are of true Indonesian snap happy stock and look great pleasure in recording our time at the warung, at the souvenir shop, in the street, by the car, at the bank….

Island Adventures

Last Sunday Mum, Dad and I went to a small island off the coast of South Java called Pulau Sempuh. We left the hotel early in the morning and travelled to the coast through villages bathed in dewy light. The beach that we departed from, Sendang Biru, was full of colourful fishing boats moored along the shore. One of them took us the short distance to the island

Our main purpose in going to the island was to go to a salt lake somewhere in the centre. The walk there was an hour long through a muddy, slippery, hilly path. My thongs broke several times, requiring me to fix them and get sticky mud all over my hands.

We were rewarded in the end though. Once we reached the lake the path continued along the edge of it towards a pristine beach. The view was breathtaking – an untouched stretch of white-yellow sand, shallow turquoise water surrounded by green forest on all sides, and a crystal blue sky. All too soon, after a quick swim in the warm water, we had to head back across the island to get to shore – but this time without the reward at the end!

Bromo

Very early Thursday morning (so early it may as well have been Wednesday still) my parents and I embarked on a trip to Mount Bromo for sunrise. We arrived around 4am and were greeted with the coldest temperatures I have experienced for a long time. It was ok at first, but after 15 minutes sitting on a hard cold bench on top of a mountain with cold gusts of wind I was as good as frozen to the spot. The sun couldnt rise fast enough! Before it emerged on the horizon an eeriee glow was cast over Bromo and Semeru, emerging from a valley of mist. It was very other-worldly. The sunrise itself was dwarfed by the amazing view of the mountains.
After the sun had risen we drove down into the valley to climb Bromo. The path to the mountain was black volcanic sand. The sun hadn't managed to lift the mist so we walked with limited vision, occassionally glimpsing the sides of the craters looming over us. If we were weightless we could've been on the moon! The climb up Bromo itself consisted of 200-odd steps straight up one side. From the top you could look down into the crater, though it was mostly obscured by plumes of smoke. Then at our normal waking up time, we headed back to Malang.

half way

I am now more or less half way through my time in Malang. The Saturday before last I had the ‘privilege’ of attending the UMM graduation ceremony. It was actually a compulsory activity for ACICIS, but it did have its perks. We were VIP guests, which came along with a small bag of snacks. Just as well, as in true Indonesian style the ceremony started close to 45 minutes late. In the end we didn’t have to stay for the part were everyone receives their certificates (thank goodness, as there was a huge dome full of them).

Last week we had our progress reports for our research. It wasn’t too stressful. Our presentations were spread over two days (meaning lots of food!) and everyone presented in English. It will be a different matter in two months time when we have to present in Indonesian to a room full of academics and press (or so they threaten). Apart from that life has been cruising along. I’ve done more research, more interviews and more writing. My parents are coming to visit this saturday so that will be a nice break, but after that I’m going to have to knuckle down and get the rest of my interviews done.

Bule masuk kampung...

Last Thursday I went with Ani to her village near Lumajang, South East Java. We traveled by motorbike. The first part of the trip was lovely, passing through the mist-shrouded foothills of the largest mountain in Java, Semeru. The forest was bright green, punctuated by the occassional small village or white minaret. Nearly four hours later when we finally arrived I was aching, the last stretch of unpaved road nearly bringing tears to my eyes. Ani’s family were lovely and welcoming, and after a delicious meal and a rest I was back on my feet.

The day we arrived was Mohammad’s Birthday. As part of the cellebrations each household cooked big piles of food – rice topped with side dishes, covered with a banana leaf and topped again with fresh fruit. We first went to eat with Ani’s extended family. I tried not to eat too much, and just as well because immediately afterwards we headed to the village cellebration, where yet more food mountains were on offer. The men were seated in chairs in front of a small stage, whilst the women sat on the ground, facing the men. Everyone was very excited to meet the newest bule and I spent a significant amount of time posing for photos.

Over the next couple days Ani and I had a look around her village and the nearest town of Lumajang. My face got sore from smiling for the camera, and my stomach got bigger from all the delicious food and sweets that I ate. All in all it was a lovely experience – everyone made me feel welcome and were keen to chat. The only horrible bit was the slow, stuffy, cramped, four hour bus and one hour bike ride back home. Exhausting!

Research begins...

As some of you may know, I moved to Malang intending to research organic food. People had said there was a growing organic industry that would be interesting to look into. When I looked around though, I could only find one shop that sold organic food. Given the consequently small group of potential respondents and the fact that I had no interest in looking into the agricultural side of things I decided to change topics. I am now researching gated communities – essentially who lives there and why. Its an interesting topic to look at, because Malang is over run with these housing estates. Driving down any of the main roads you’re sure to pass several signs, either pointing the way to a complex, or advertising one. A few days ago I drove through a few with Ani. Some of these houses were just insane. I cannot begin to describe the over the top extravagence of some of them. Their sheer excess is even more evident when you exit the gates and enter a normal Indonesian street. Im at the waiting stage of the research at the moment. Ive done a reasonable amount of background research and now have to get into the field to get the ball rolling.

In other news I have a leaky roof! There was a pretty heavy storm yesterday. I was sitting on my bed when I started feeling drops of water. Not particularly surprised I got up to close my open window and sat back down. But still it continued. I looked up, and there from the crack in my celing was a big leak. I pushed my bed halfway across the room and put a towel under the leak, but it didn’t seem to stop the spray. Hopefully it wont rain heavily too often.

And a couple of days ago I cooked! Yes in the place where you can get a good feed for Rp.4000 I actually bothered to cook. Ani and Lufi wanted to try some ‘Australian food’ so after explaining that this didn’t really exist, and taking into account the limited kitchen I decided to cook Nachos. The cost of the ingredients could have payed for my dinner for 3 weeks (!) It was soo good to eat some food from home though. The girls seemed to like it to. They couldn’t quite bring themselves to eat the guacomole (avocardo here is treated like a sweet fruit) or the sour cream. And they had to eat slowly because the taste was so strange to them. But they ate the left overs the next day, so it must’ve been alright.

Bule masuk kampung

The weekend before last I went with Lufi (a girl from my kos) to her house in a village close to Probolinggo. We caught 3 buses and a becak to get there, which took about 3½ hours. It was easy to stay well fed on the trip as people jumped on an off the various buses offering sweet and savoury snacks. I managed to buy some of my favourite current sweet, kelepon (small green rice flour balls with an oozy palm sugar centre, rolled in coconut) as well as trying onde-onde (sesame balls with sweet green mungbean paste in the centre). Yum!

Needless to say, in a slow moving becak travelling through a village not frequented by foreigners, I received my fair share of stares. I awkwardly pretended not to notice. Lufi’s house was lovely, right next to a mosque. Though either its call wasn’t as loud as others or I’m just used to it, but I hardly noticed it was there. I spent most of the rest of the day meeting female members of Lufi’s extended family (I got confused about who was related to who and gave up trying to figure it out in the end).

Later we went for a ride through the rice paddies at sunset, which was pretty amazing. Poor Lufi doesn’t usually ride with people on the back of her bike, the bike wasn’t hers, it was heavy and she is tiny! It felt like we were pretty close to tipping over a few times (luckily we never went very fast). Never before have I felt like such a big westerner. I think it stressed her out a bit…

Local Celebrity

Photo 1: One of the articles
Photo 2: Ani and I

Now that I've been in Malang for a couple of weeks, I feel that I’m in a better position to compare it to Yogya. So far I have discovered:

1. It is cooler. A lot cooler. Like I can wear a jacket in the middle of the day cold. Having said that it’s probably not that cold – just comparatively.

2. There are foreigners here. Admittedly there aren’t any were I live, but on a recent trip into the main city area I did spy a few.

3. I don’t seem to be getting any more attention than I did in Yogya. Well perhaps I am, but people here don’t seem to vocalise their excitement with calls of ‘hello mister’ like they do in Yogya.

4. The food is not nearly as sweet. And everyone is obsessed with Lalapan (chicken/fish, sambal, token veggies).

In the last week I have become a bit of a celebrity (my 15 minutes of fame perhaps?). Last Saturday I taught an English class at a local primary school. We just did basic things – letters and colours. Beforehand I was pretty nervous. After all I was teaching 40 of them for an hour and a half. Once I started it was surprisingly easy however. The kids were really excited to meet a bule and seemed to embrace the lesson with enthusiasm. In the end the time passed pretty quickly and before I knew it I was being hustled outside to do interviews with some of the journalists who had come to cover the event. Over the next couple of days the story appeared on Malang TV as well as in the Jawa Pos, Malang Pos and Suriya newspapers. Following that I had people coming up to me at uni and asking if I was the girl from the paper!

Moving to Malang

Photo 1: Parangtritis from up high
Photo 2: UMM mosque

So the first part of my trip is over and the second has begun. I left Yogya last Saturday after spending the previous week mostly lazing around. On Friday I finally went down to Parangtritis with a few other ACICIS people on their bikes. The beach itself isn’t particularly scenic – a vast stretch of black volcanic sand framed by rough sea on one side and a stretch of ramshakle warungs on the other. We clambered over the cliffs and ate rambutans (my current favourite in-season fruit). On the way back to Yogya we stopped at Imogiri as the others hadn’t been there yet. I had visited at the beginning of January, but still managed to have a look at some areas I hadn’t seen last time.

Saturday night Dan and I took the travel down to Malang with everyones luggage in the back. It was a tight squeeze and as a result we had to sit in the front…without seatbelts…driving way too fast…with a driver who looked like he was about to fall asleep… But we arrived safely just before 5am. Later that day I moved into a kos that had been found for me by Anne (currently doing honours research in Malang) and her friend Ani. Ani met me when I arrived and helped me move all my stuff. My room isnt as big as the one in Yogya, and I don’t have my own bathroom, but the area has lots of character, heaps of student services (including very cheap, very tasty food), its close to campus and the girls in my kos are friendly – so im just going to stay here. Certainly saves me the hassle the others are going through trying to find somewhere to live!

Our first three days at UMM have been good – we’ve been given our horrible UMM uniform, had a few (short) lectures and done a couple of ‘field study’ trips to a ciggarette factory, illegal stone mining site and a chinese temple. Today is Chinese New Year (a public holiday) so we have no more lectures until next week.

Holidays

Photo 1: Josh and I on Nusa Lembongan off the coast of Bali
Photo 2: Night time KL

Hello all!
Its been a while since i've updated my blog as i've been busy traveling around Indonesia and part of Southeast Asia - namely KL, Cambodia and Bangkok. It was amazing and it was brilliant to have my family and Josh with me for the best part of a month! I wont go into details, but there are some photos at the following links:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=37430&l=09eab&id=556850490
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=37432&l=27efc&id=556850490

It has been a little hard to come back to Indonesia again, especially with most of the ACICIS people having left already. Nonetheless I am looking forward to making a fresh start in Malang and getting back into a routine. Being overseas has made me realise just how crazy it is to be living in Indonesia. But then again, what fun would it be if it were easy…