Yo yo yo.
Well as I predicted I have bounced back and am once again atop the wave. Explicable how? I went out to a concert last night organised by the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta and found a new love- a band called Goodnight Electric. Funky synth pop, quite 80's, uplifting and very cool. The Indo's go off to it!
That wound up at 11pm and we headed out to a club TJ's with all the Japanese and Korean students from INCULS (the faculty for foreign students where i mainly study at Uni) and partied to the sounds of one of Indo's best DJ's who also happens to be the star of a very famous Indo film called Mengejar Matahari (or chasing the sun). He is ganteng dong! (You can look that one up yourself on a translator!!!) His name is Winky Wiryawan and he was fantastic. It seems like an unusual combo no? Film star and DJ. It works for him anyway!
Anyway, I slept until 2pm (I can hardly believe it)and was awoken only by Lisa at 10am who delivered me a plate of cheese toasties and a brew because she wanted to use the bread before it went stale. What a legend! Enak sekali. So I slept 10 hours, and am here with a few hours to kill before Wawan comes to get me on his bike and we naik motobike to Tropis!
We have also sorted out our weekend to secret island. Its costing about $110 for transport and accom. and we are staying in a 4 star hotel! Yay! Hopefully we can avoid violent storms and torrential rain long enough to enjoy some sunbaking!
Anyways, thats all from me for now. Just wanted to let u know not to worry cos all is
beres (sorted!).
Sampai nanti!
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
The Inherent Changeability of Things
Well if one thing is certain in this country, it is that nothing is certain. Plans made are about as likely to maintain their initial shape as a chunk of plasticine sitting on a hotplate.
Some examples ya?
Last week a bunch of us made plans to go to the Gili Islands- you might have seen a fleeting reference to this “plan” in one of the comments on an earlier post. It is Ben’s birthday (my friend who was sick last week) and so Alana, Lauren, Chris, Jenna, Claire and Daniel (a friend of Ben’s living in East Java) and myself decided it would be cool to visit a tropical paradise. Apparently this could be done quite cheaply (under $100 return flight and cheap accomodation) and arranged with ease. HA~~! I made some initial enquiries with Ibu Kos, who with fingers in many pies also happens to have an interest in a travel agent. She got quotes on Garuda flights that were about $60 return but we had to book them that day. But oh no. We waited one day because of indecision from the male members of our little group, and sure enough, there is a Hindu festival on, and those flights were miracle prices that we SHOULD HAVE BOOKED. So now, plans have changed, and we are going to a little island off Java. We’re apparently just getting the bus there and then chartering a boat to the island. But why am I even telling you? No doubt tomorrow the plasticine will have melted leaving a demented, contorted version of this “plan”. Sigh!
Another example. I sorted out my timetable for Uni approximately 2 weeks ago. I decided to take Japanese, and International Security Studies along with my four intensive language courses, Reading, Writing, Grammar and Vocabulary. Once more HA~~! A quirk of the Indonesian University system is a tendency for classes to be “kosong” that is, empty- or that is, the lecturer for whatever reason, fails to show up to class. This is particularly recurrent early in the Semester where the usual process is that the lecturer starts coming to class in about the third week, when a threshold level of attending students has been reached (who knows what percentage this is). Fortunately for me, my language courses are never kosong because the lecturers are very good. For SKI (Security) the first week was well organised, the second week was kosong, and for Japanese the first week was kosong. The second week for Japanese was today, and the dosen (lecturer) has on a whim decided to move the class to 9am which creates a clash for me that is only rectifiable if I give up one of my days off uni, which I am not prepared to do! ;-) So looks like Japanese is off the daftar and Translation is on. Dammit. Fortunately, I can probably still pick up a little Japanese here, as my personal tutor arranged by the Faculty is fluent in Jap and English as well as Indonesian and Javanese, and, some new Japanese students arrived this week who are really nice.
Anyways, returning to my point about er, what was it….plasticine- don’t ever come to Indo expecting to work with Plaster-of-Paris. Nu-uh. Plasticine all the way baby.
I have actually had a pretty average week this week- nothing too dramatic- but enough to make be a little infuriated with the inherent changeability of things. I have also had a couple of run-ins with idiotic Indonesians which has ticked me off- I had one girl who I met briefly when I was out one night, hang out with me for a while one afternoon, then proceed to inexplicably ask for a loan of a large sum of money, to which I replied in a very flustered fashion “no”. This is my no means typical, and to my knowledge I am the only ACICIS kid so far to have this happen this semester, but it leaves you with a decidedly sour taste.
I am writing this post on my laptop before heading to the warnet because I have been feeling really really tired. I can only attribute this bizarre bout of extreme fatigue to bad sleep, cause by the fact that I was out of my room for three nights this week for the reason previously explained. One of the girls in my kos is a Doctor and she checked all my vital signs- BP fine, HR fine, temp fine so she reckons it is probably sleep disturbance. Let’s hope so ya.
I just finished reading Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. Great book. Thanks Maude, if ur out there! And I also watched Brokeback Mountain last weekend- curious to hear ur opinions- I really liked it.
And before I go, I contemplated awhile about whether to write negative things about this place on my blog, given that Indonesia seems to receive so much bad press anyway. (Speaking of which, I hear another idiot has been caught with drugs in Lombok?) so please don’t use any of the above to vindicate your opinion that yes, Adelle is living in a hell-hole. Rather, think of this post like a shallow trough after a long time riding atop a wave. Thatsa what I’ma doin.
Oh and by the way, I have been here one month today lah.
Some examples ya?
Last week a bunch of us made plans to go to the Gili Islands- you might have seen a fleeting reference to this “plan” in one of the comments on an earlier post. It is Ben’s birthday (my friend who was sick last week) and so Alana, Lauren, Chris, Jenna, Claire and Daniel (a friend of Ben’s living in East Java) and myself decided it would be cool to visit a tropical paradise. Apparently this could be done quite cheaply (under $100 return flight and cheap accomodation) and arranged with ease. HA~~! I made some initial enquiries with Ibu Kos, who with fingers in many pies also happens to have an interest in a travel agent. She got quotes on Garuda flights that were about $60 return but we had to book them that day. But oh no. We waited one day because of indecision from the male members of our little group, and sure enough, there is a Hindu festival on, and those flights were miracle prices that we SHOULD HAVE BOOKED. So now, plans have changed, and we are going to a little island off Java. We’re apparently just getting the bus there and then chartering a boat to the island. But why am I even telling you? No doubt tomorrow the plasticine will have melted leaving a demented, contorted version of this “plan”. Sigh!
Another example. I sorted out my timetable for Uni approximately 2 weeks ago. I decided to take Japanese, and International Security Studies along with my four intensive language courses, Reading, Writing, Grammar and Vocabulary. Once more HA~~! A quirk of the Indonesian University system is a tendency for classes to be “kosong” that is, empty- or that is, the lecturer for whatever reason, fails to show up to class. This is particularly recurrent early in the Semester where the usual process is that the lecturer starts coming to class in about the third week, when a threshold level of attending students has been reached (who knows what percentage this is). Fortunately for me, my language courses are never kosong because the lecturers are very good. For SKI (Security) the first week was well organised, the second week was kosong, and for Japanese the first week was kosong. The second week for Japanese was today, and the dosen (lecturer) has on a whim decided to move the class to 9am which creates a clash for me that is only rectifiable if I give up one of my days off uni, which I am not prepared to do! ;-) So looks like Japanese is off the daftar and Translation is on. Dammit. Fortunately, I can probably still pick up a little Japanese here, as my personal tutor arranged by the Faculty is fluent in Jap and English as well as Indonesian and Javanese, and, some new Japanese students arrived this week who are really nice.
Anyways, returning to my point about er, what was it….plasticine- don’t ever come to Indo expecting to work with Plaster-of-Paris. Nu-uh. Plasticine all the way baby.
I have actually had a pretty average week this week- nothing too dramatic- but enough to make be a little infuriated with the inherent changeability of things. I have also had a couple of run-ins with idiotic Indonesians which has ticked me off- I had one girl who I met briefly when I was out one night, hang out with me for a while one afternoon, then proceed to inexplicably ask for a loan of a large sum of money, to which I replied in a very flustered fashion “no”. This is my no means typical, and to my knowledge I am the only ACICIS kid so far to have this happen this semester, but it leaves you with a decidedly sour taste.
I am writing this post on my laptop before heading to the warnet because I have been feeling really really tired. I can only attribute this bizarre bout of extreme fatigue to bad sleep, cause by the fact that I was out of my room for three nights this week for the reason previously explained. One of the girls in my kos is a Doctor and she checked all my vital signs- BP fine, HR fine, temp fine so she reckons it is probably sleep disturbance. Let’s hope so ya.
I just finished reading Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. Great book. Thanks Maude, if ur out there! And I also watched Brokeback Mountain last weekend- curious to hear ur opinions- I really liked it.
And before I go, I contemplated awhile about whether to write negative things about this place on my blog, given that Indonesia seems to receive so much bad press anyway. (Speaking of which, I hear another idiot has been caught with drugs in Lombok?) so please don’t use any of the above to vindicate your opinion that yes, Adelle is living in a hell-hole. Rather, think of this post like a shallow trough after a long time riding atop a wave. Thatsa what I’ma doin.
Oh and by the way, I have been here one month today lah.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
My street
Or should I say, close to it? This is Jalan Kaliurang- most polluted street in Yogya. I live on the left side of this pic. That is Gunung Merapi in the background. You can't usually see it through the fog/rain clouds!
Liquid Horizon
Sunset on Krakal beach. I swear that there is no re-touching here. This is as it was. Beautiful huh>
Kerokan* 2
Possibly incorrect spelling! This is the product of one hour of coin dragging therapy. Its just starting to fade.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
masuk angin
hello ppl. my apologies for recent lack of posting. had first week of classes last week and then weekend away. all quite full on!
so whats the news? first, the title- masuk angin is essentially the equivalent of the english "under the weather" except here it is used to describe virtually anything that involves coughing or a bad chest! translated literally it means- entered by the wind!i have had a bad chest since i arrived, due largely to the fact i live 10 metres from the most polluted road in Yogya. however it has been niggling, and my issues with masuk angin culminated in a bizarre incident at the accomodation at krakal beach which basically meant that as soon as i tried to sleep, my chest tightened like that of a chronic asthmatic. after three hours of trying to resolve my apparent allergy to the very um, SIMPLE accomodation standards, i ended up sleeping on the beach with a bunch of our indo friends and some other bules! there were about 15 of us out there= and it was the only place i could breathe!
anyway, i ended up buying some ventolin to try and resolve this masuk angin issue, and it has worked partly but i think i just need to really chill for a while.....
but the story continues- last night i stayed at the house of the rich aunty of my friend wawan because she asked me to stay there (and she is not the sort of person you say no to......) to accompany another friend who has been really sick. anyway, she had organised for a masseuse to come to her house and give him a massage for general health, and then perform this traditional indo ritual whose name i have forgotten, but which basically involves repetitive dragging of copper coins over the skin until the "wind" gets out. anyway, i also was offered a massage but didn't want to coin thing, but wawan fell asleep and i couldn't understand the masseuse- an old lady who spoke Javanese not Indo- and I couldn't politely communicate to her at 1am in the morning my desire to remain red welt free. so i had a 2 hour session- one hour of mssage and one of coin dragging therapy. and all i can say is, wait till u see the pics. i have a red skeleton on my back- it is bloody awful, and i am meant to be going out with the girls on friday, and now it looks like i will have to wear a mu-mu or something to conceal my awful red lashes! aaargh. actually quite horrible.
the aunty btw, is really nice. she has offered for me to stay at her Jakarta house when i go there, but apparently it will be a 2 bour commute, so..... we will see. but they are very generous people, certainly significantly more well off than the average indonesian, and with 2 cute little kids!
anyway there is so much news and so much homework to do, and so little time!
what else....
i am singing in a band on saturday night apparently- weird things like this just happen to white people here- some random marketing guy got my number and called me to say he hears i am interested in singing and would i like to sing at valentines day gig. because i am still masuk angin- i couldn't sing, but i am practising saturday and singing sat night! hilarious eh? another example of random weird stuff happening to white people is the fact that about 15 ACICIS ppl were in an ad for a paintball place last week. i was invited but i had class! what a nerd huh!
i start japanese tomorrow. classes so far are good. teachers are great too.
might be going to lombok (island next to bali) in a couple of weeks for a friends bday. its either that or a weekend in a plush hotel with a bunch of us, but i would really like to get out of Yogya again- I love it here, but the pollution is something else.
oh and i moved into my PROPER room last Friday- have bought nice new sheets etc for the bed, and some awesome laptop speakers with a sub woofer, so i can compete with the other kos girls for space on the airwaves! i was going to get a tv but my experience of indo tv so far is hmmmm, not so good, so might think of something else to get instead! i have to exit my room for 2 days while one kos girls parents come for her graduation, but after that continuous personal space. i might go stay with "aunty" for those 2 days! she goes back to jakarta on monday with the kids leaving her amazing house empty, and she has said that we can stay there, with the 5 servants (its so full on i can't get used to it) whenever we want! what a person to know hey.
still haven't had the trotskies (new name for squidge belly!) but its gonna happen any day= everyone else has been sick (including lisa. i haven't been particularly finnicky about what i eat, but so far so good. other people have contracted strep throat, lung infections, weird gut worms etc! mainly form partying to hard! its bound to happen to me soon. i am just waiting with bated breath!
oh and PS- my USB drive got swiped the other day (my own fault- it was in my glasses case which i left at the net place) so i haven't yet worked out how to get my photo's onto the internet computers yet, so you will have to wait for the red welt pics and the krakal sunset/ liquid horizon pics! sorry!
ok till next time!hopefully next time i will be sans masuk angin!
so whats the news? first, the title- masuk angin is essentially the equivalent of the english "under the weather" except here it is used to describe virtually anything that involves coughing or a bad chest! translated literally it means- entered by the wind!i have had a bad chest since i arrived, due largely to the fact i live 10 metres from the most polluted road in Yogya. however it has been niggling, and my issues with masuk angin culminated in a bizarre incident at the accomodation at krakal beach which basically meant that as soon as i tried to sleep, my chest tightened like that of a chronic asthmatic. after three hours of trying to resolve my apparent allergy to the very um, SIMPLE accomodation standards, i ended up sleeping on the beach with a bunch of our indo friends and some other bules! there were about 15 of us out there= and it was the only place i could breathe!
anyway, i ended up buying some ventolin to try and resolve this masuk angin issue, and it has worked partly but i think i just need to really chill for a while.....
but the story continues- last night i stayed at the house of the rich aunty of my friend wawan because she asked me to stay there (and she is not the sort of person you say no to......) to accompany another friend who has been really sick. anyway, she had organised for a masseuse to come to her house and give him a massage for general health, and then perform this traditional indo ritual whose name i have forgotten, but which basically involves repetitive dragging of copper coins over the skin until the "wind" gets out. anyway, i also was offered a massage but didn't want to coin thing, but wawan fell asleep and i couldn't understand the masseuse- an old lady who spoke Javanese not Indo- and I couldn't politely communicate to her at 1am in the morning my desire to remain red welt free. so i had a 2 hour session- one hour of mssage and one of coin dragging therapy. and all i can say is, wait till u see the pics. i have a red skeleton on my back- it is bloody awful, and i am meant to be going out with the girls on friday, and now it looks like i will have to wear a mu-mu or something to conceal my awful red lashes! aaargh. actually quite horrible.
the aunty btw, is really nice. she has offered for me to stay at her Jakarta house when i go there, but apparently it will be a 2 bour commute, so..... we will see. but they are very generous people, certainly significantly more well off than the average indonesian, and with 2 cute little kids!
anyway there is so much news and so much homework to do, and so little time!
what else....
i am singing in a band on saturday night apparently- weird things like this just happen to white people here- some random marketing guy got my number and called me to say he hears i am interested in singing and would i like to sing at valentines day gig. because i am still masuk angin- i couldn't sing, but i am practising saturday and singing sat night! hilarious eh? another example of random weird stuff happening to white people is the fact that about 15 ACICIS ppl were in an ad for a paintball place last week. i was invited but i had class! what a nerd huh!
i start japanese tomorrow. classes so far are good. teachers are great too.
might be going to lombok (island next to bali) in a couple of weeks for a friends bday. its either that or a weekend in a plush hotel with a bunch of us, but i would really like to get out of Yogya again- I love it here, but the pollution is something else.
oh and i moved into my PROPER room last Friday- have bought nice new sheets etc for the bed, and some awesome laptop speakers with a sub woofer, so i can compete with the other kos girls for space on the airwaves! i was going to get a tv but my experience of indo tv so far is hmmmm, not so good, so might think of something else to get instead! i have to exit my room for 2 days while one kos girls parents come for her graduation, but after that continuous personal space. i might go stay with "aunty" for those 2 days! she goes back to jakarta on monday with the kids leaving her amazing house empty, and she has said that we can stay there, with the 5 servants (its so full on i can't get used to it) whenever we want! what a person to know hey.
still haven't had the trotskies (new name for squidge belly!) but its gonna happen any day= everyone else has been sick (including lisa. i haven't been particularly finnicky about what i eat, but so far so good. other people have contracted strep throat, lung infections, weird gut worms etc! mainly form partying to hard! its bound to happen to me soon. i am just waiting with bated breath!
oh and PS- my USB drive got swiped the other day (my own fault- it was in my glasses case which i left at the net place) so i haven't yet worked out how to get my photo's onto the internet computers yet, so you will have to wait for the red welt pics and the krakal sunset/ liquid horizon pics! sorry!
ok till next time!hopefully next time i will be sans masuk angin!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
pusing dan bingung (dazed and confused)
Yo.
So I had big ideas for this post, and they have all just flown out of my head after hearing that our dear family friend Gillian has managed to tee me up a placement with a big international firm in J-town- Jakarta! Thanks Frilly! Wow. So now I can't remember anything that I was going to write. Der.
I had my first immersion class yesterday- International Security Studies- and I likd it, understood about 50% of what the Dosen was saying, but after sitting thru it, decided that perhaps I might drop my other 2 immersions (Japanese Foreign Policy and Globalisation) but I am going to pick up Basic Japanese instead. It is just 2 points and is called "Japanese for tourism" or somethign like that. Should be terrifying ;-)
The class was cool, the Dosen (lecturer) seems like a bit of a champ, and when we broke off for discussion, he put music on from his laptop, Cat Stevens no less. I thought it was funny and asked one of the Indo's why he was doing it and he was like "don't u do that in Australia? Its to make us feel "cozy" while we discuss the topics!". So there u go. This place is so entertaining sometimes.
Anyways, tonight something else random has happened! My new friend Wawan has an Aunty here who works for Citibank (VP in Yogya or something incredible) and I met her last night at dinner. Anyway, today we were invited to go shopping with her and her kids (Agnes, Ben and I) and then she has invited us all for dinner (Shabu-Shabu- Japanese- yum) tonight. So have to go home and mandi soon so that I am fresh and clean for dinner. I am going to take a cake, in lieu of any other ideas for a gift!
BTW at her house there is a nanny, about 4 pembantu's and security guy and 2 penjaga's. Thats the help for 4 people. I-n-s-a-n-e.
Yes. So this weekend we ACICIS posse are heading out to Krakal on a group excursion. We are staying overnight. Apparently the beaches are white sand and beautiful there. Can't wait to get my legs in the sun- the rest of me is turing brown slowly (the pollution limits it!)but my legs are still bright putih! Aya! Excusrsion is costing $7 including food.
Speaking of budget, today I got to kampus and back on the bus, and had brekkie and morning tea on campus all for 10,000 rupiah. About $1.30. Nuts eh?! The prices still amaze me. But I went to a fantastic club the other night, actually 2 connected clubs, Hugo's and Embassy, and the drinks there were more expensive than Adelaide. I had one. A Singapore Sling. I have also come to dislike the taste of Bintang beer- so haven't been drinking that either. Aren't I good.....!
Anyway, mandi time. Trying to upload some pics, but it isn't working too well, so keep checking the photo stream. Will get there in the end.
Dah!
So I had big ideas for this post, and they have all just flown out of my head after hearing that our dear family friend Gillian has managed to tee me up a placement with a big international firm in J-town- Jakarta! Thanks Frilly! Wow. So now I can't remember anything that I was going to write. Der.
I had my first immersion class yesterday- International Security Studies- and I likd it, understood about 50% of what the Dosen was saying, but after sitting thru it, decided that perhaps I might drop my other 2 immersions (Japanese Foreign Policy and Globalisation) but I am going to pick up Basic Japanese instead. It is just 2 points and is called "Japanese for tourism" or somethign like that. Should be terrifying ;-)
The class was cool, the Dosen (lecturer) seems like a bit of a champ, and when we broke off for discussion, he put music on from his laptop, Cat Stevens no less. I thought it was funny and asked one of the Indo's why he was doing it and he was like "don't u do that in Australia? Its to make us feel "cozy" while we discuss the topics!". So there u go. This place is so entertaining sometimes.
Anyways, tonight something else random has happened! My new friend Wawan has an Aunty here who works for Citibank (VP in Yogya or something incredible) and I met her last night at dinner. Anyway, today we were invited to go shopping with her and her kids (Agnes, Ben and I) and then she has invited us all for dinner (Shabu-Shabu- Japanese- yum) tonight. So have to go home and mandi soon so that I am fresh and clean for dinner. I am going to take a cake, in lieu of any other ideas for a gift!
BTW at her house there is a nanny, about 4 pembantu's and security guy and 2 penjaga's. Thats the help for 4 people. I-n-s-a-n-e.
Yes. So this weekend we ACICIS posse are heading out to Krakal on a group excursion. We are staying overnight. Apparently the beaches are white sand and beautiful there. Can't wait to get my legs in the sun- the rest of me is turing brown slowly (the pollution limits it!)but my legs are still bright putih! Aya! Excusrsion is costing $7 including food.
Speaking of budget, today I got to kampus and back on the bus, and had brekkie and morning tea on campus all for 10,000 rupiah. About $1.30. Nuts eh?! The prices still amaze me. But I went to a fantastic club the other night, actually 2 connected clubs, Hugo's and Embassy, and the drinks there were more expensive than Adelaide. I had one. A Singapore Sling. I have also come to dislike the taste of Bintang beer- so haven't been drinking that either. Aren't I good.....!
Anyway, mandi time. Trying to upload some pics, but it isn't working too well, so keep checking the photo stream. Will get there in the end.
Dah!
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Downstairs at the Kos
This is my kos again. Lisa's room is right behind where the people are sitting. That sitting area is the only place male visitors are allowed to go (i.e. the Indo girls boyfriends). And needless to say, it the main social area- where most of my vocab development will take place! Click the photo stream link for more pics of everything!
My Kos at Dusk
This is the part of the property where most of the Indo girls live. I am going in to the end room in 2 days time until my other room is ready.
Tidak Ada Peraturan Jalan (Therearenoroadrules)
So, with a little bit of time on my hands I have decided to fill you in on some of my incisive (or not so) cultural observations.
Firstly, SMS slang.Oh dear - right now it is the bane of my existence. I don't know why all my Indo friends think that if I can't undertand Indoesian generally, I will be more likely to undertand it condensed and minus most vowels! For example - the following was received2 days ago - "hey adelle. kmlagi mknmlm dngn claire y? kmmau keeurocafegak,kalau mau nanti brngkt bareng." for a start,in proper form that sentence would be double the length. secondly,they use words we don't know. so we just write back in english.its a vicious circle. ;-)
Secondly, motorbikes and the general lack of order on the roads. I think it really must be witnessed to be believed. People cut corners, run red lights,drive full speed in the opposite direction to traffic flow, fit entire families on motorbikes (the most i have seen is 5)and I am yet to see an accident. It is psychopathic to say nothing else. What's more, the way to cross the road is to walk out into the traffic with your arm out (this signal means slow down) and just trundle across without running, cos that puts them off. BTW mum- I have been on a bike twice, and while having a bike or vespa would be mighty convenient, don't worry I am not yet brave enough to contemplate buying one. He he he.
Toilets, well- the sewerage system here is what you would expect in a developing country. Pretty av. Generally you have to sluice (or as I say "sluiceroo") the dunny, unless you are somewhere with decent water pressure. Also the bak mandi phenomenon is something most foreigners freak out about and end up liking. In place of a shower, you have a bricked in tub of water in your bathroom with a bucket (see pics), and you just throw the water over yourself to wash. Lisa and I are still not able to overcome the first 2 buckets without squealing.I am sure the girls in the kos think we are mental. Anyway, bak mandi is great. Its a good thing to cool down at night with.
Another thing that for some idiotic reason I hadn't anticipated was the "muazzin" - the Muslim call to prayer- ringing out several tims a day. There is a mosque two lanes away from my kos, where the Bapak Kos and the 2 penjaga (male servants) go to pray. About 3 times a day (maybe more) a male voice rings out in Arabic across Yogya- saying something along the lines of "come on people, its time to pray. come hang at the mosque". That's a loose translation. My arabic is not very good. He he.
Anyway,when it is muazzin time, Bapak Kos and the Jaga's chuck the traditional prayer clothes on over their Adidas shorts and "I've been to Bali" t-shirts and go and berdoa "pray" for 15 minutes or something. Then they come back ad resume cleaning the fish tank or whatever they were doing before they left. Religion just seems to form an unremarkable part of their daily routines. Its pretty cool.
And food- Keith- since u were so keen to know is stupidly cheap and really good.A lot of Indo's just go out to a warung on the side of the road for dinner. Along the sides of Jalan Kaliurang ("Jakal") near where I live, every day at about 5pm loads of temporary warungs are set up cooking everything from baked catfish to fried chicken, bakso(meatball soup) and sate. You can either sit at a bench, or eat lesahan (sit on the gound). Usually, eating with your right hand is de rigeuer, but they keep spoons for scared bule.(Not me) I had fried tofu, tempeh, vegetable and rice last night for 3500 rupiah- 50 cents. I have not had any squidgebelly yet.My philospohy has been so far to test my limits by eating at warungs but eating veggo. Some of the guys ate what they dubbed "salmonella" on the first night, had the trots for 3 days and now claim to have toughened up enough to eat anything. I don't believe them....
If you don't want to eat at a warung there are plenty of rumah makan (restarants) that are a bit more mahal/expensive. Lisa and I ate masakan padang the other night, which is a style of food from Padang in Sumatra (i think)- the way they do it is you sit down, then a waiter brings about 20 bowls to your table- you eat what looks good and they take the rest back at the end. At the one we went to, we paid 49000 rupiah between us, walked out going, gee that was expensive, then did the sums and realised it was about $4. We are becoming Indo faster than we realise!!!
Speaking of becoming Indonesian - today some girls in my kos asked why I was eating rice for breakfast cos usually bule don't like it, and I just explained that I got used to rice in Japan and love the way it is cooked in Asia. And also, last night I was wearing a long sleeved jumper when it was about 26 degrees. Cipi- the other Aussie at my kos was like "why are u wearing that" and I realised it was because I was a little cold. Weird huh! The temp today feels about 25 (it has rained heaps today) and walking down here to the warnet in a skirt and t-shirt I actually shivered. I think u just get used to a constant temp of 30 degrees. Oh, and on the back of a motorbike, especially at night, it is cold!
Anyhoo, believe it or not, Earth Wind and Fire are playing in Yogya tonightand I am going. The tix are about $13 bucks. Hilarious! My Indo friend was saying it was a jazz band, but when i realised I was like 'no, no, no-its disko!" So should be good.
Have to try upload some pics now.
Firstly, SMS slang.Oh dear - right now it is the bane of my existence. I don't know why all my Indo friends think that if I can't undertand Indoesian generally, I will be more likely to undertand it condensed and minus most vowels! For example - the following was received2 days ago - "hey adelle. kmlagi mknmlm dngn claire y? kmmau keeurocafegak,kalau mau nanti brngkt bareng." for a start,in proper form that sentence would be double the length. secondly,they use words we don't know. so we just write back in english.its a vicious circle. ;-)
Secondly, motorbikes and the general lack of order on the roads. I think it really must be witnessed to be believed. People cut corners, run red lights,drive full speed in the opposite direction to traffic flow, fit entire families on motorbikes (the most i have seen is 5)and I am yet to see an accident. It is psychopathic to say nothing else. What's more, the way to cross the road is to walk out into the traffic with your arm out (this signal means slow down) and just trundle across without running, cos that puts them off. BTW mum- I have been on a bike twice, and while having a bike or vespa would be mighty convenient, don't worry I am not yet brave enough to contemplate buying one. He he he.
Toilets, well- the sewerage system here is what you would expect in a developing country. Pretty av. Generally you have to sluice (or as I say "sluiceroo") the dunny, unless you are somewhere with decent water pressure. Also the bak mandi phenomenon is something most foreigners freak out about and end up liking. In place of a shower, you have a bricked in tub of water in your bathroom with a bucket (see pics), and you just throw the water over yourself to wash. Lisa and I are still not able to overcome the first 2 buckets without squealing.I am sure the girls in the kos think we are mental. Anyway, bak mandi is great. Its a good thing to cool down at night with.
Another thing that for some idiotic reason I hadn't anticipated was the "muazzin" - the Muslim call to prayer- ringing out several tims a day. There is a mosque two lanes away from my kos, where the Bapak Kos and the 2 penjaga (male servants) go to pray. About 3 times a day (maybe more) a male voice rings out in Arabic across Yogya- saying something along the lines of "come on people, its time to pray. come hang at the mosque". That's a loose translation. My arabic is not very good. He he.
Anyway,when it is muazzin time, Bapak Kos and the Jaga's chuck the traditional prayer clothes on over their Adidas shorts and "I've been to Bali" t-shirts and go and berdoa "pray" for 15 minutes or something. Then they come back ad resume cleaning the fish tank or whatever they were doing before they left. Religion just seems to form an unremarkable part of their daily routines. Its pretty cool.
And food- Keith- since u were so keen to know is stupidly cheap and really good.A lot of Indo's just go out to a warung on the side of the road for dinner. Along the sides of Jalan Kaliurang ("Jakal") near where I live, every day at about 5pm loads of temporary warungs are set up cooking everything from baked catfish to fried chicken, bakso(meatball soup) and sate. You can either sit at a bench, or eat lesahan (sit on the gound). Usually, eating with your right hand is de rigeuer, but they keep spoons for scared bule.(Not me) I had fried tofu, tempeh, vegetable and rice last night for 3500 rupiah- 50 cents. I have not had any squidgebelly yet.My philospohy has been so far to test my limits by eating at warungs but eating veggo. Some of the guys ate what they dubbed "salmonella" on the first night, had the trots for 3 days and now claim to have toughened up enough to eat anything. I don't believe them....
If you don't want to eat at a warung there are plenty of rumah makan (restarants) that are a bit more mahal/expensive. Lisa and I ate masakan padang the other night, which is a style of food from Padang in Sumatra (i think)- the way they do it is you sit down, then a waiter brings about 20 bowls to your table- you eat what looks good and they take the rest back at the end. At the one we went to, we paid 49000 rupiah between us, walked out going, gee that was expensive, then did the sums and realised it was about $4. We are becoming Indo faster than we realise!!!
Speaking of becoming Indonesian - today some girls in my kos asked why I was eating rice for breakfast cos usually bule don't like it, and I just explained that I got used to rice in Japan and love the way it is cooked in Asia. And also, last night I was wearing a long sleeved jumper when it was about 26 degrees. Cipi- the other Aussie at my kos was like "why are u wearing that" and I realised it was because I was a little cold. Weird huh! The temp today feels about 25 (it has rained heaps today) and walking down here to the warnet in a skirt and t-shirt I actually shivered. I think u just get used to a constant temp of 30 degrees. Oh, and on the back of a motorbike, especially at night, it is cold!
Anyhoo, believe it or not, Earth Wind and Fire are playing in Yogya tonightand I am going. The tix are about $13 bucks. Hilarious! My Indo friend was saying it was a jazz band, but when i realised I was like 'no, no, no-its disko!" So should be good.
Have to try upload some pics now.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
i am going to kill centrelink
well guess what- the tribulations just keep coming- i just checked my bank balance and centrelink, true to form, have not kept the half of the bargain which involves depositing money into my account. Yes, thats right, the money I am supposed to live on. Luckily, I anticipated this happening, and have enough in my bank to last weeks, but still, I am will go to sleep tonight thinking of the many ways that i could cause serious harm to the idiots who have stuffed my payment. Its hard enough to deal with Clink from Australia, let alone from a developing country with unreliable phone connections. Mum!!!!!!!!!!! I am giving you a task!
Anyway, my kos problems sorted themselves out eaily. Rather than move to a different place I am staying in the same place and just switching rooms twice before I get my own room. No problems! It is so good there that I don't even care- I am going to upload some pictures soon.
I had a conversation in Indonesian today with my Ibu Kos and another girl that last for one hour. Actually, for the first time I have probably spoken more Indo than English in a day!! Bad Indo of course, but I can make myself understood eventually. Gesticulation helps, a lot!
Anyway, what else? I have been out the last 3 nights in a row. The best night was on Tuesday, where we went to this dodgy looking warung (little outdoor food stall with benches) to meet friends- 4 aussies and 2 indo's, near Jalan Malioboro, the main shopping, tourist area in Yogya. Anyway, we were just talking and drinking the fabulously addictive Javanese coffee that abounds here (might even meet your standards Keith) and eating various food that I thought might make me sick but hasn't (yet- apparently street food is good here cos of the high turnover- have eaten at 3 warungs now and so far am healthy!) Anyway, this pengaman- busker (also REALLY common here- they weave between motorbikes at intersections with their guitars) came up and started playing, we gave him 1000 rupiah (about 15 cents) for one song, and then he asked if we had requests. Of course we did- so we spent about an hour singing, yes singing, at this warung, with this pengaman and his friend playing to us. It was so much fun, and not even an overly late night! Oh and we tipped the guy about 7000 rupiah, about a dollar, which the Indo's we were with said was really high, even for all those songs.
The nightlife here is really good, and it is going to take so much self-discipline not to go too OTT with going out- especially when at about 6pm every night about 5 ppl send me messages saying "ngaipain?"; what you doing?- "mau ke mana?" where you going?, "apa acara mu nanti malam"- have you got a program (plans) tonight. Gee I would think I was popular, except some people I know get about 20 messages a night!!!
Anyway, what usually happens is that at about 8pm someone somewhere makes a decision, and the SMS flow thru, and people converge at 9. Tonight everyone is doing karaoke, but would you believe IT- I am not going because not only am I absolutely tired, I have a really croaky voice from all the pollution (I swear my lungs must resemble 30 year old, dried sea sponges right now) and therefore would make a bad frist singing impression. ;-)
Ha ha, so here I am. I am going to be very un-Indonesian in a minute and find somewhere to eat, alone! I will then go home, and read a book.
I find out whether I managed to con my way in the advanced language class tomorrow, so stay tuned. I also enrolled in 3 politics suibjects yesterday- Globalisation, International Security ( a new terrorism subject) and Japanese Foreign Policy. Its going to be great, I won't understand anything!!!!!!!!! That is why you make friends with people and ask to borrow their notes. ;-)
I have so many cultural observations that I want to write on here, but I might wait till another night because I am tired, and this blog is already too long. So you will have to wait for Adelle's Intro to Indonesia 101. What a shame.
Anyway, my kos problems sorted themselves out eaily. Rather than move to a different place I am staying in the same place and just switching rooms twice before I get my own room. No problems! It is so good there that I don't even care- I am going to upload some pictures soon.
I had a conversation in Indonesian today with my Ibu Kos and another girl that last for one hour. Actually, for the first time I have probably spoken more Indo than English in a day!! Bad Indo of course, but I can make myself understood eventually. Gesticulation helps, a lot!
Anyway, what else? I have been out the last 3 nights in a row. The best night was on Tuesday, where we went to this dodgy looking warung (little outdoor food stall with benches) to meet friends- 4 aussies and 2 indo's, near Jalan Malioboro, the main shopping, tourist area in Yogya. Anyway, we were just talking and drinking the fabulously addictive Javanese coffee that abounds here (might even meet your standards Keith) and eating various food that I thought might make me sick but hasn't (yet- apparently street food is good here cos of the high turnover- have eaten at 3 warungs now and so far am healthy!) Anyway, this pengaman- busker (also REALLY common here- they weave between motorbikes at intersections with their guitars) came up and started playing, we gave him 1000 rupiah (about 15 cents) for one song, and then he asked if we had requests. Of course we did- so we spent about an hour singing, yes singing, at this warung, with this pengaman and his friend playing to us. It was so much fun, and not even an overly late night! Oh and we tipped the guy about 7000 rupiah, about a dollar, which the Indo's we were with said was really high, even for all those songs.
The nightlife here is really good, and it is going to take so much self-discipline not to go too OTT with going out- especially when at about 6pm every night about 5 ppl send me messages saying "ngaipain?"; what you doing?- "mau ke mana?" where you going?, "apa acara mu nanti malam"- have you got a program (plans) tonight. Gee I would think I was popular, except some people I know get about 20 messages a night!!!
Anyway, what usually happens is that at about 8pm someone somewhere makes a decision, and the SMS flow thru, and people converge at 9. Tonight everyone is doing karaoke, but would you believe IT- I am not going because not only am I absolutely tired, I have a really croaky voice from all the pollution (I swear my lungs must resemble 30 year old, dried sea sponges right now) and therefore would make a bad frist singing impression. ;-)
Ha ha, so here I am. I am going to be very un-Indonesian in a minute and find somewhere to eat, alone! I will then go home, and read a book.
I find out whether I managed to con my way in the advanced language class tomorrow, so stay tuned. I also enrolled in 3 politics suibjects yesterday- Globalisation, International Security ( a new terrorism subject) and Japanese Foreign Policy. Its going to be great, I won't understand anything!!!!!!!!! That is why you make friends with people and ask to borrow their notes. ;-)
I have so many cultural observations that I want to write on here, but I might wait till another night because I am tired, and this blog is already too long. So you will have to wait for Adelle's Intro to Indonesia 101. What a shame.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
