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!
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
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.
Monday, January 30, 2006
it never goes to plan in indonesia
well, after finding the perfect kos, i can't move in until the 15th of feb!
basically, i was sharing lisa's room until the 5th when my room was to be vacated, but now the person in my future room is staying till the 15th (can't leave country- she had an air paradise ticket too!) so i have to find somewhere else, because it isn't fair to encroach on lisa's space for 2 more weeks. the other thing is that for 2 days (20th and 21st) the parents of one of the girls at the kos, Esther, will come down for her graduation, and they booked that room, so i have to bunk with lisa then too!
so in true indo style i have to make a rapid change of plans. i met a girl today called Deeko who has a spare room at her house (share house) and she says i can stay there for free. (of course i will give her some money if i go there). am checking it out with Dini tomorrow. sigh.
enrolment also didn't happen today. we enrol wednesday now, and it looks like I will take the plunge and study a law subject.... means i have to stay a little longer here though...
anyway, meeting some ppl for dinner.
my indonesian feels useless today, my head is spinning. i think i am just a bit annoyed about the kos! oh well, nggak apa-apa, as they say here- no worries!
basically, i was sharing lisa's room until the 5th when my room was to be vacated, but now the person in my future room is staying till the 15th (can't leave country- she had an air paradise ticket too!) so i have to find somewhere else, because it isn't fair to encroach on lisa's space for 2 more weeks. the other thing is that for 2 days (20th and 21st) the parents of one of the girls at the kos, Esther, will come down for her graduation, and they booked that room, so i have to bunk with lisa then too!
so in true indo style i have to make a rapid change of plans. i met a girl today called Deeko who has a spare room at her house (share house) and she says i can stay there for free. (of course i will give her some money if i go there). am checking it out with Dini tomorrow. sigh.
enrolment also didn't happen today. we enrol wednesday now, and it looks like I will take the plunge and study a law subject.... means i have to stay a little longer here though...
anyway, meeting some ppl for dinner.
my indonesian feels useless today, my head is spinning. i think i am just a bit annoyed about the kos! oh well, nggak apa-apa, as they say here- no worries!
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Lesahan Breakfast at Warung on Bulevar
This morning we walked across the road from our hotel to eat breakfast at a roadside stall (perfectly fine mum- relax!). For three of us to eat banana pancake, have a drink and me to have lonton (glutinous rice in broth) it cost 12000- or about $1.50. Murah sekali ya!
Moved into kos this arvo....... dinner at the Director's house tonight. Then tomorrow- enrolment! Yikes!
Moved into kos this arvo....... dinner at the Director's house tonight. Then tomorrow- enrolment! Yikes!
Saturday, January 28, 2006
accomodasi ya!
i found a kos! at least for one month anyway- i have a room in a lean-to attached to a family house about 10 minutes walk from uni. lisa (my traveling partner and good friend from uni) is taking the other inside room and there are 20 outside rooms where indonesian girls live.
i have no curfew (rare) double bed, fridge, fully furnished as well, shower (currently broken but will be fixed), no AC but a fan, and my laundry is included. all for the princely sum of 550,000 rupiah a month- which is about $77! unbelievable.
it is the same place i looked at yesterday and i have a really good feeling about it- especially since the ibu kos (kos mother) saved the room for me- actually turned people away- because she was hoping i would come back! so we move our stuff there tomorrow and then we will go shopping for stuff to make it homely- TV, cushions, etc.
i went to a party last night at the rumah kontrakan (contract house) of an ACICIS student who is heading off to Malang for a semester. It was a very cool house- everyone sat on the marble floor which is raised, temple-like above the main level of the house. there were lots of people from INCULS there- the centre where foreign students study language at Gadjah Mada Uni- i met a russian, a german, an austrian, and there were japanese, koreans, french and south americans there too. the only thing is after 1 and a half small bintangs i felt like i had drunk a carton of big bintangs! so i had an early night before going to look for kos today!
i don't think i mentioned yesterday that I found out that my uni here is ranked #56 by the Times education supplement- it is like the Harvard of Indonesia and carries a lot of weight around the entire country! bonus....! the campus is impressive from a distance- i haven't been there yet- that is on monday for enrolment - but when i find a warnet that actually lets me use USB i will upload some pictures. they are explaining the course options etc to us today..... still not sure how i will go in immersion subjects, and reluctant to take a class that has an exam, but will keep my mind open nonetheless.
what else??? my helper- princess dini- is taking me to see a gym about 15 minutes from my kos where they have a pool, aerobics and equipment- and i could join until i leave for about $100. a lot of the girls who have been here a while have said that it is easy to gain weight- and i am not interested in getting fat, so i have to find a way to overcome all of the palm oil, and palm sugar that is in the food! mind, swatting the scary dengue mosquito's should burn a few kilojoules!!!!
anyway, speaking of food, it is nearly lunch time and for the first time in a few days i am really hungry, so it is back to the hotel to prepare to move to my new home and decide what on earth i will study this semester!
i have no curfew (rare) double bed, fridge, fully furnished as well, shower (currently broken but will be fixed), no AC but a fan, and my laundry is included. all for the princely sum of 550,000 rupiah a month- which is about $77! unbelievable.
it is the same place i looked at yesterday and i have a really good feeling about it- especially since the ibu kos (kos mother) saved the room for me- actually turned people away- because she was hoping i would come back! so we move our stuff there tomorrow and then we will go shopping for stuff to make it homely- TV, cushions, etc.
i went to a party last night at the rumah kontrakan (contract house) of an ACICIS student who is heading off to Malang for a semester. It was a very cool house- everyone sat on the marble floor which is raised, temple-like above the main level of the house. there were lots of people from INCULS there- the centre where foreign students study language at Gadjah Mada Uni- i met a russian, a german, an austrian, and there were japanese, koreans, french and south americans there too. the only thing is after 1 and a half small bintangs i felt like i had drunk a carton of big bintangs! so i had an early night before going to look for kos today!
i don't think i mentioned yesterday that I found out that my uni here is ranked #56 by the Times education supplement- it is like the Harvard of Indonesia and carries a lot of weight around the entire country! bonus....! the campus is impressive from a distance- i haven't been there yet- that is on monday for enrolment - but when i find a warnet that actually lets me use USB i will upload some pictures. they are explaining the course options etc to us today..... still not sure how i will go in immersion subjects, and reluctant to take a class that has an exam, but will keep my mind open nonetheless.
what else??? my helper- princess dini- is taking me to see a gym about 15 minutes from my kos where they have a pool, aerobics and equipment- and i could join until i leave for about $100. a lot of the girls who have been here a while have said that it is easy to gain weight- and i am not interested in getting fat, so i have to find a way to overcome all of the palm oil, and palm sugar that is in the food! mind, swatting the scary dengue mosquito's should burn a few kilojoules!!!!
anyway, speaking of food, it is nearly lunch time and for the first time in a few days i am really hungry, so it is back to the hotel to prepare to move to my new home and decide what on earth i will study this semester!
Friday, January 27, 2006
torrential rain and lost bags
wow! it feels like i left about 10 days ago and it was only wednesday that I embarked upon this crazy journey...
for those of you not in the know- i was without luggage for a full 36 rather stressful and unclean hours, as my bags, along with Lisa's got left in Sydney. We arrived in Bali and watched for 15 minutes as the luggage carousel went around and around with no sign of our bags. we got stuck in bali for the night which was a bit crap, but we were lucky to be helped out by some lovely Malaysian business people (a husband and wife) who helped de-stress us somewhat by offering to share their transport and taking us to a hotel.
bali was a bit sad- there are no wisatawan (tourists) there and the hotels are only at about 3% of capacity. we drove through kuta and had a look at the memorial which was also quite sad, but interesting to see. but honestly, i don't feel too compelled to return to bali on this trip anyway. i think there is plenty here in java to explore!
so anyway we arrived in the same clothes we flew from australia in, to meet for the first time, our fellow ACICIS students at the Wisma Gadjah Mada. i must admit, having only had 2 hours sleep, wearing the same gross clothes for 36 hours and being generally out of sorts was not conducive to producing my sparkling best, but i struggled through and eventually our bags arrived (well 3 out of 4 anyway) at 9.30 pm last night. Lisa's other bag will arrive tonight.
last night we met our pendampings - our indonesian helpers who help us to find accomodation and just generally be our friend. mine is called dini- she is a regular little princess- a self-confessed "bad muslim" who wears stilleto heels and blue contact lenses!!!! but she is well in the know about all the important things such as where i can get my nails attended to and which is the best gym. she also took me looking at kos today which are boarding houses for students. i looked at 6 ranging from $50 per month to $100 per month. i have found a nice one which i will go and look at again- there are two rooms attached to the family house for "bule" - foreigners, and then about 20 rooms where indonesian girls live. it seems friendly and there is a servant who will apparently cater to all my culinary requests! it is a bout 10 minutes walk from uni....
speaking of uni- it is going to be an interesting experience methinks. we enrol next week and dini said i should try to take some law classes in indonesian. i think i would be hopeless, but apparently you adjust pretty quickly. my indonesian is going ok- there are some people here who are really fluent and some a lot worse than me- so i am not a complete dunce...... i can understand much more than i can say, that is for sure. so i will update you as i am further immersed- bearing in mind that i am currently staying in a hotel with aussie students and therefore able to speak english......
aside form that- the ACICIS crew are quite cool- there are actually 2 families here and quite a number of mature age students too. we did administrative stuff today- got finger-printed by the local police, and filled in very tedious visa forms- we also got the low-down on health- an assurance that we will get sick at least once! apparently people have had typhoid even with the innoculation- which is a worry. dengue fever is endemic here too- carried by these enormous very scary mosquito's- so you have to wear long pants and sleeves at dawn and dusk...... but it is really isn't that bad if you are sensible. and the health system is very very good for people who can pay...... sad, but true.
there has been torrential rain today and i have got three lots of soggy clothes in my room now. it is unbelievable- reminding me that yes, i am in the tropics in the wet season.
anyways, this is rather long and probably boring, so i will go. but please comment, i will try to get on here again soon with some updates on my indonesian learning and other things.
but here is a parting thought- yesterday i went to the supermarket and bought 3 litres of spring water, some ice tea, a gatorade and some snacks, all for 11000 rupiah- or about $1.50. so yeah, money goes far!~
for those of you not in the know- i was without luggage for a full 36 rather stressful and unclean hours, as my bags, along with Lisa's got left in Sydney. We arrived in Bali and watched for 15 minutes as the luggage carousel went around and around with no sign of our bags. we got stuck in bali for the night which was a bit crap, but we were lucky to be helped out by some lovely Malaysian business people (a husband and wife) who helped de-stress us somewhat by offering to share their transport and taking us to a hotel.
bali was a bit sad- there are no wisatawan (tourists) there and the hotels are only at about 3% of capacity. we drove through kuta and had a look at the memorial which was also quite sad, but interesting to see. but honestly, i don't feel too compelled to return to bali on this trip anyway. i think there is plenty here in java to explore!
so anyway we arrived in the same clothes we flew from australia in, to meet for the first time, our fellow ACICIS students at the Wisma Gadjah Mada. i must admit, having only had 2 hours sleep, wearing the same gross clothes for 36 hours and being generally out of sorts was not conducive to producing my sparkling best, but i struggled through and eventually our bags arrived (well 3 out of 4 anyway) at 9.30 pm last night. Lisa's other bag will arrive tonight.
last night we met our pendampings - our indonesian helpers who help us to find accomodation and just generally be our friend. mine is called dini- she is a regular little princess- a self-confessed "bad muslim" who wears stilleto heels and blue contact lenses!!!! but she is well in the know about all the important things such as where i can get my nails attended to and which is the best gym. she also took me looking at kos today which are boarding houses for students. i looked at 6 ranging from $50 per month to $100 per month. i have found a nice one which i will go and look at again- there are two rooms attached to the family house for "bule" - foreigners, and then about 20 rooms where indonesian girls live. it seems friendly and there is a servant who will apparently cater to all my culinary requests! it is a bout 10 minutes walk from uni....
speaking of uni- it is going to be an interesting experience methinks. we enrol next week and dini said i should try to take some law classes in indonesian. i think i would be hopeless, but apparently you adjust pretty quickly. my indonesian is going ok- there are some people here who are really fluent and some a lot worse than me- so i am not a complete dunce...... i can understand much more than i can say, that is for sure. so i will update you as i am further immersed- bearing in mind that i am currently staying in a hotel with aussie students and therefore able to speak english......
aside form that- the ACICIS crew are quite cool- there are actually 2 families here and quite a number of mature age students too. we did administrative stuff today- got finger-printed by the local police, and filled in very tedious visa forms- we also got the low-down on health- an assurance that we will get sick at least once! apparently people have had typhoid even with the innoculation- which is a worry. dengue fever is endemic here too- carried by these enormous very scary mosquito's- so you have to wear long pants and sleeves at dawn and dusk...... but it is really isn't that bad if you are sensible. and the health system is very very good for people who can pay...... sad, but true.
there has been torrential rain today and i have got three lots of soggy clothes in my room now. it is unbelievable- reminding me that yes, i am in the tropics in the wet season.
anyways, this is rather long and probably boring, so i will go. but please comment, i will try to get on here again soon with some updates on my indonesian learning and other things.
but here is a parting thought- yesterday i went to the supermarket and bought 3 litres of spring water, some ice tea, a gatorade and some snacks, all for 11000 rupiah- or about $1.50. so yeah, money goes far!~
Monday, January 23, 2006
ciao 4 now
The last few days have been rather frantic- between all the goodbyes, washing, ironing, packing, last minute purchasing etc, I forget at times where I am even going! But, surely enough, this time tomorrow I will be in transit, on the way to Sydney, and then Denpasar, and then Yogyakarta. For 5 whole months!
So without further ado, sayonara, sampai jumpa, later, catcha. And then next time you hear from me, I will be in a Wartel (net café) in Yogya……
So without further ado, sayonara, sampai jumpa, later, catcha. And then next time you hear from me, I will be in a Wartel (net café) in Yogya……
Chums
Claudia, Me, Kate, Paul, Lauren and Mark. This was AFTER we found the air conditioning- it was still 39 degrees at 10 at night (or something equally ridiculous).
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Wink
Walking out of my last shift at "crappy-part time job". It was 9pm and still about 38 degrees. But it was a happy moment, nonetheless.
Oh, and I have had my hair died brown! Can you tell?? For practical reasons while in Indonesia I thought brown hair might be a little easier to maintain- I hope I was right because I really don't like it! Anyway- tonight it is bon voyage drinks, tomorrow is bon voyage barbecue and then 2 days till I go!!!!
Oh, and I have had my hair died brown! Can you tell?? For practical reasons while in Indonesia I thought brown hair might be a little easier to maintain- I hope I was right because I really don't like it! Anyway- tonight it is bon voyage drinks, tomorrow is bon voyage barbecue and then 2 days till I go!!!!
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Memoirs of a Geisha
Memoirs of a Geisha was released in Australia yesterday and I ventured out to see it, after my second-to-last shift at my yucky part-time job!
I have only found out since watching it that it has been reviewed pretty badly. But I (perhaps with some level of bias having just visited Japan) found it to be a mesmerising and beautiful story. I am yet to read the book, so that might have made a difference. I did think it was peculiar that all of the main geisha were played by Chinese actors though, and I am curious to see whether that will impact upon the film's reception in Japan. This had an effect on the English accent that each had- i.e. it did not sound like a Japanese accent, but to criticise the way the English was spoken (ala The Movie Show) I think was a bit rich! Watching geisha shuffle around with American accents for example, would have been absolutely ridiculous.
(See: http://www20.sbs.com.au/movieshow/index.php?action=review&id=1865)
Anyway, I enjoyed it and I am fussy about films! I am curious to see what other people think.
I have only found out since watching it that it has been reviewed pretty badly. But I (perhaps with some level of bias having just visited Japan) found it to be a mesmerising and beautiful story. I am yet to read the book, so that might have made a difference. I did think it was peculiar that all of the main geisha were played by Chinese actors though, and I am curious to see whether that will impact upon the film's reception in Japan. This had an effect on the English accent that each had- i.e. it did not sound like a Japanese accent, but to criticise the way the English was spoken (ala The Movie Show) I think was a bit rich! Watching geisha shuffle around with American accents for example, would have been absolutely ridiculous.
(See: http://www20.sbs.com.au/movieshow/index.php?action=review&id=1865)
Anyway, I enjoyed it and I am fussy about films! I am curious to see what other people think.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Pirate-Eye Reprisal
Keith is a champion- I received a new Graniph t-shirt in the post today- it is super-Kawai!
In other news, I had to send this letter to the insurer for the Japan tour today and when I re-read it I thought it was rather funny:
Tuesday, 17 January 2006
To whom it may concern
On December 7th while in Japan, I was preparing to leave my hotel room when I felt something fall into my eye. Assuming that it would eventually fall out by itself, I proceeded to try and ignore it. However, the irritant caused my eye to become extremely watery, red and sore. It remained in my eye all day, and it became very swollen overnight. After approximately 36 hours with the irritant in my eye, it was decided that Eri-Chan would accompany me to an ophthalmologist. The tomato-sauce-smelling ophthalmologist removed what he believed to be a piece of bark from my eye, and fortunately, I experienced instant relief and required no further treatment.
Yours Sincerely
“Pirate Eye”
AKA
(L)Adelle N
N.B Some names may have been changed.
In other news, I had to send this letter to the insurer for the Japan tour today and when I re-read it I thought it was rather funny:
Tuesday, 17 January 2006
To whom it may concern
On December 7th while in Japan, I was preparing to leave my hotel room when I felt something fall into my eye. Assuming that it would eventually fall out by itself, I proceeded to try and ignore it. However, the irritant caused my eye to become extremely watery, red and sore. It remained in my eye all day, and it became very swollen overnight. After approximately 36 hours with the irritant in my eye, it was decided that Eri-Chan would accompany me to an ophthalmologist. The tomato-sauce-smelling ophthalmologist removed what he believed to be a piece of bark from my eye, and fortunately, I experienced instant relief and required no further treatment.
Yours Sincerely
“Pirate Eye”
AKA
(L)Adelle N
N.B Some names may have been changed.
Monday, January 16, 2006
And now for something else completely different.....
Well, actually life is just ticking away right now. I have 8 days till departure and I hve my visa and my tickets and my insurance and all that stuff...... Now it's a case of buying all the things I need 6 months worth of that I won't be able to buy there.... Naturally i have extended this logic to clothing and have purchased virtually an entire new wardrobe to take! He he he. Any 'xcuse'll do.
So yes, it is nice hot weather here, and such phenomena as the rainbow depicted below are nice distractions from things like packing my bag, packing up my room (parents are moving while I am away) etc etc etc. And the next few days will be hectic with catching up with friends, and last days at both my jobs and getting my hair dyed a more managemable colour than blonde! And so it goes.
Please don't stop reading my blog btw, just because I am boring right now....... I promise to be more interesting in 9 days time!
So yes, it is nice hot weather here, and such phenomena as the rainbow depicted below are nice distractions from things like packing my bag, packing up my room (parents are moving while I am away) etc etc etc. And the next few days will be hectic with catching up with friends, and last days at both my jobs and getting my hair dyed a more managemable colour than blonde! And so it goes.
Please don't stop reading my blog btw, just because I am boring right now....... I promise to be more interesting in 9 days time!
I Can Blog a Rainbow
I suppose one pleasant by-product of Adelaide's increasingly humid, global-warmed climate is that if the conditions are right, a crappy shift at a crappy part-time job can be brightened by the appearance of a rainbow.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
i got my visa, i got my visa, i got my visa
I got my visa for indonesia.
I got my passport back.
Yay, phew!
I got my passport back.
Yay, phew!
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Odaiba Lemonade Bottle in Adelaide!
Look what I found at Genki Roll (sushi bar) today!!!!! It is the exact lemonade that I had in Odaiba (Tokyo) where you push a ball bearing into the bottle and it goes all fizzy! How bizarre!
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