The Semester in Review

I’ve now been in Indonesia for a semester and have recently graduated from INCULS at UGM. I am now officially and UGM Alumni for life and am entitled to all the benefits that entails (what they are I don’t know). I feel like it is now time to collaborate what I’ve learnt and experiences and reflect on the semester that has been.

Firstly, I would like to emphasise what an amazing semester it has been and I have not for a minute regretted coming on exchange to Indonesia. It has flown past and 5 months is definitely not enough to experience all Jogja has to offer, little lone Indonesia. At times the semester has been challenging and there’s been a lot to overcome. From the language barriers to trips to hospital, from evacuation vacations to the entirety of the semester’s assignments due in one week, it certainly has been an unforgettable experience and I would definitely recommend it to anyone. That is not to say there are not challenges to living in Indonesia and in Jogja.

The Food

Recently, I have read a rather critical review of the food in Indonesia; the lack of variety, the similarity in taste, the excess of oil, the lack of nutritional value, and the lack of refinement in the way of cooking. In some ways I have to agree with this review. Indonesian food is definitely not healthy. A lot of it is deep fried, all of it is cooked (and there’s a general lack of freshness), there’s always an abundance of sugar (particularly in Jogja) and fresh fruit and vegetables can be few and far between (and even when there are available they’re not always edible).

But on saying that Indonesia cuisine is unique to Indonesias. From basic street foods like tempe, gorengan and bakso, to regional dishes like padang, gudeg and in the case of Jogja anything loaded with sugar, Indonesian’s have done the best with what they have.  Rice is an integral part of any meal and if you don’t like rice you aren’t going to like Indonesian cuisine. As the saying goes ‘belum makan nasi, belum makan’ (If you haven’t eaten rice, you haven’t eaten). Now every westerner living in Indonesia will get sick of nasi putih (white rice) at some point in time and just need to indulge in Western Food from time to time but there are some delicious rice and non-rice dining options available. You just have to branch out and look, lotek being a prime example of a none-rice option (and it actually has fresh vegetables in it).

I think what’s important to realise Indonesia is still a third world country and millions of people here still live in poverty. Food adapts to what the people can afford and there are many delicious dining options made from combinations of food you’d never consider to use in your life. Of course the flavours in Indonesian food aren’t as refined as other world cuisines, like Italian food for example, but Indonesian’s don’t have access to the ingredients and facilities to refine tastes (and if they do they’re heinously expensive). They’ve made instead a cuisine that is uniquely Indonesian and for that they deserve applause.

UGM and Studying

Hmmmmmm, where to start. I know I was told it before I came to Jogja but you don’t come to Indonesia for the university. Studying at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogayakarta was a totally different experience to studying in Australia. For one the scheduled classes may not be the actual time of the class, there may be assignments or exams you don’t find out about until the day and quite often the teachers just don’t show up at all. But don’t be deterred by this. You come to Indonesia to learn the language and the most effective way to do this is by chatting with classmates, nongkronging and non-class related events.

As you soon realise university takes a backseat for foreigners living and studying in Jogja. With so much to see and do you learn to not sleep, pull numerous all-nighters and submit assignments late (we’re bules so both fortunately and unfortunately there are double standards). But don’t despair, there is still work involved. I actually submitted a 34 page assignment (all written in Indonesian) a couple of weeks ago.

Another important thing to not, as cliché as it sounds, most learning happens outside the classroom. When I first arrived here I could barely speak little lone understand what people were saying. I now have basic competency and can generally hold a conversation, ask for what I want and survive in everyday situations without too much hassle (though some people would argue). I am still nowhere near fluent (my fault for hanging around with people who speak English too much) but my Indonesian has improved drastically from when I arrived here. I still am frustrated with how much I haven’t learnt and how far I’ve got to go (quite often I feel like I haven’t improved at all since I got here) but I’ve come a long way since I got here and learnt ten times more here than I learnt in 1.5 years studying Indonesian in Australia.

In the next six months I will be put to the test even further when I’m placed in an Indonesian classroom to teach kids about a topic of my choice. I hope this will force me to improve my Indonesian both written and verbally.

Travelling

The best thing about living in Indonesia is the ease and relative cheapness of travelling anywhere domestically. In the past five months I have gone to Sumatra twice, Jakarta twice, the beach several times, Bali and other places I am bound to have forgotten. I am about to go to Bali again for Christmas and New Year and then go on an epic island hopping trip followed by backpacking through East Java.

Whilst, it isn’t super super super dirt cheap (travelling never is) compared to almost anywhere in the world Indonesia is cheap to travel around. The variety and abundance of culture, language, people and the sheer natural beauty throughout the archipelago make Indonesia an exciting place to live and travel. You quickly come to realise that no two places are the same and you only have to go down the next street to experience a completely different world.

I think there is still a fear about living and travelling in Indonesia (it’s still a third world country and has the largest Muslim population in the world (a factor which shouldn’t have any influence on travel decisions but unfortunately does)) but this fear is unwarranted. I feel safer walking here at night than in Australia and because of Indonesia’s gossip culture and the interest in the fact a westerner wants to come and live, study and travel in Indonesia there is never a lack of people to talk to or help you out.

Gunung Merapi

A semester review would not be complete without mentioning Gunung Merapi to the north of Jogja. The biggest eruption of Gunung Merapi in over 100 years just happened to fall during my semester here which was both scary and exciting all mixed into one.

Gunung Merapi located just north of Jogja, as the world’s most active volcano, is both a beautiful and deadly mountain. Usually, Jogja is not even affected by Gunung Merapi erupting and only communities located on the highest points of the mountain will be threatened. However, pressure from the mountain, large eruptions and unfortunate wind directions caused Jogja to be covered in volcanic ash and promptly saw Jogja become a ghost town (Indonesian’s like anyone tend to panic at the first sign of danger).

We managed to stay in Jogja for most of the eruption period and it was only after the biggest eruption we decided to leave for a week because uni was cancelled (and then a day later we were told to evacuate). For the most part it was fine, apart from a small drunken incident resulting in several of us running south, however after the big eruption on the 5^th November things began to get eerie, as shops closed, streets emptied and everyone left the city.

I am glad I was here to experience an eruption of Gunung Merapi but at the same time I would never want to live through it again. Not because I felt threatened but the discomfort of inhaling ash and knowing that a volcano was erupting 30km from where you live was unnerving. A visit to a refugee camp reinforced this – these people including many kids and elderly had been evacuated for over a month, living in temporary houses with only the support of volunteers and donations (the government proved to be particularly useless, even for Indonesia).

The Wrap Up

I don’t want to keep going on because I think I’ve said enough and you’ve heard it all from my blog posts and conversations in the past. What I will say is this semester was one of the best 6 months of my life, and I now have a lifetime of unforgettable memories, friends for life, new families and a new appreciation for a simpler less materialistic life. I would highly recommend coming to study and live in Jogja to anyone and hope the next six months will continue to be as special and memorable.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Selamat Hari Natal dan Tahun Baru

WISDOM

Well as we all know I have virtually no Wisdom but that aside Wisdom is going to be the theme of this post. This week I've been attending the WISDOM Conference on Science, Education and Culture at UGM. This UNESCO run conference (originally scheduled for the week we were evacuated because of Merapi erupting) is an international prepatory conference for the World Cultural Forum in Bali 2012

Basically, the theme of this conference was to discuss attitudes towards science, education and culture in Indonesia and the world and discuss how these attitudes can be improved in the future. It featured keynotes speakers from around the world and I feel privileged to be able to attend (thanks for the freebie ACICIS)although I have walked out disappointed.

I chose to focus on education as I will be studying it next semester and I was interested to see what experts were saying about Indonesia's education system and there proposals for changes in the future. It included a panel of researchers who presented papers and discussed Indonesia's education system. It was interesting but I still feel unsatisfied with the responses. Maybe my expectations were too high but I felt they focussed too much on history and had no satisfactory ideas for the future.

One expert suggested that Indonesia needs to focus more on Indonesian language and ethnic language acquistion rather than English or international trade languages. And whilst I believe native languages are important I felt it was a rather ignorant response in an increasingly multi-cultural and multi-reliant world. AND THIS WAS THE ONLY SPEAKER I REALLY THOUGHT HAD ANYTHING OF VALUE TO SAY.

Needless to say I left feeling unsatisfied and annoyed that these so called experts came in promoting what I felt were their own agendas without thinking about the future. Hopefully by 2012 more clarity can be brought to the forum and real solutions can be discussed. And the food was delicious

GRADUATION

Well after a week of assignments, classes and general business along with all the crap the end of semester brings there is a bright spot on the horizon! I WILL BE GRADUATING IN MARCH (hopefully). Despite there being doubts from everyone including myself I have successfully completed the requirements of my course and am able to apply for graduation.

What this means, despite my best attempts to avoid reality, is that I will be back in Perth to walk down the graduation aisle some time in April/March before heading back to my new reality - Jogja!!!!!! Party Time????I think so

ACICIS Fieldtrip: Imogiri Cemetry and Batik Making Workshop

Yesterday we went on an ACICIS Fieldtrip to Imogiri Graveyard and on a batik making workshop. And whilst I was jealous of all the people going to the beach (I miss the beach) I’m glad I went on the fieldtrip. I got to see people I hadn’t seen since orientation, meet a few new people and catch up with the ILTI girls who we rarely see.  I also got to see a part of Yogya I haven’t seen before

Imogiri is a cemetery for the kings of Yogya in the past. It is a sacred site and you have to put on traditional outfits to enter the actual grave site. Unfortunately, because it was a Saturday, we could not go in and look at the actual grave. We did however, walk up the 400 stairs and put on the traditional outfits for a photo shoot at the gates of the grave.

Next we went to a batik making workshop where our artistic skills were put to the test as we dropped dye onto calico to make our own special piece of Batik. Mine turned out better than I expected – thanks to a bit of tweeking by the ladies there.

And finally, it was time to return to ACICIS and home (or in my case to Katrina’s kost where her Ibu kost had made cake for us YUM YUM.)

Yasmin plays the DEVIL

The Climb to the Top

The Stars of  the Show

The Cast 

Javanese Goddesses (Or trying to be)

I'm the Man!!!

Seksi Sinta

Fickry the ACICIS CHICK??????

One of the days better  creations

Yasmin - She Definately Won the Days Batik-Off

My Batik Creation

I Hired a Motor Bike - Now what????

Well i've finally taken the plunge and decided it's time to get driving - both because i'm sick of relying on other people to take me places and because I want more freedom. The only thing is i've only had one lesson - and a short one at that - and i'm terrified of driving it. I drove home from uni yesterday and almost cried I was that scared. I've done another couple of short drive but still scared.......AND IT'S AN AUTOMATIC!!!!!!!!!

O, well. We'll see how I go in the next couple of weeks. If that doesnt work out I can always get a bicycle

Sakit perut, WC Jongkok dan hal lain.

Today’s story has a rather poopy and probably inappropriate twist (too much information comes to mind). But living in Indonesia your bathroom habits become an everyday discussion point and if you have sakit perut you can just tell anyone. Sakit perut if you don’t know is the same as Bali Belly, Dheli Belly and any other belly you can get. Basically, it’s food or water poisoning at its worst.

This week unfortunately I’ve been struck down by a bout of it. I have no idea what it was from – maybe food, maybe water not being boiled properly – all I know I’ve been rather sick with it for a few days and I’m sick of it (no pun intended). Obviously, living in Jogja there is a high risk of getting sakit perut, and with questionable cooking and cleaning methods, not to mention unclean water, it was inevitable I would get a case at some point.  However, I’ve gone nearly three months with nothing and maybe getting a bit to blasé about the whole situation. All I can say is NOT ANYMORE.

It all started on Monday (I think) when I was sitting in a café trying to finish a ridiculously long assignment and write a presentation for the following day. Sudden pains in my stomach indicated that something wasn’t quite right. I practically ran to the bathroom , receiving several curious stares as to why the bule was running. Hmmmmm. After doing my business and not feeling to great I realized that unfortunately there was no toilet paper, as is the usual situation for Indonesian toilets, and in my haste to get to the bathroom I’d forgotton my tissues (and I thought the day couldn’t get worse). I was left with no choice but to wash Indonesian style with water – splashing it all over myself nonetheless. Woops. Just another crazy bule.

Now, Indonesia has a ridiculous number of squat toilets which usually I don’t mind using, but let me tell you when you have sakit perut you do NOT want to be using one. Squatting on a toilet numerous times a day is NOT fun, although your legs do get a good work out. Not only do you have to aim but you also have to do it with skill so as to prevent splash back. You then have to flush it manually using a bucket and a scope to flush out all the poop. Gross.

After about two days of sakit perut, I had to use the toilets in INCULS. Damn my digestion. Well the toilets in INCULS  are disgusting, probably some of the worst on campus. They’re always blocked because us stupid bules can’t read signs and put toilet paper in the toilets.  This would be fine if they were toilets like those in Australia but they aren’t. The pipes are thinner so as soon as there is too much paper, usually be about 11am, they’re blocked.

So I headed off to the bathroom to do my business again and alas the toilets are blocked again – not that I realized this. I went to the bathroom as per usual and guess what I can’t flush it. INCULS also lacks the bucket facilities and tap normal Indonesian toilets have so I’m stuck there with a blocked toilet full of poop. What do I do? Leave? Tell someone???? Try and fix the situation myself? My solution, use the spray hose (used to spray yourself clean) to flush the poop. Not preferable considering it took about 30minutes. O well, it’s done now.

Now, I think that’s enough poop stories for one day, and I’m pooped (shit I love Aussie slang). Happy pooping everyone.

Evacuation Vacation

After a couple of weeks of rather large volcanic activity, a 'suggested' trip to the beach and days of wearing masks and inhaling ash all of us ACICIS students were ordered to re-locate from Jogja for a week or withdraw from the program. This was a decision made in conjunction with our at home universities and considered the best option for our health and livelihoods (Jogja at that point was empty and frankly depressing) .We all took this order on board and decided to make the most of our 'evacuation vacation.' For some of us it meant evacuating to Surabaya, other's it was a trip to the big smoke Jakarta (though the air there is worse than jojga air), others it was to Bandung and for me it was a trip to Bali.


After a quick night and day stop over in Surabaya, where we caught up with Rifqy, it was off for a week of relaxation in Bali - or not as was the case. Our 'relaxing week off' ended up a week of partying, travelling and partying more.

DAY 1: Arrive in Bali, go directly to Sanur, check into hotel, swim, walk, eat, head to Kuta, drink and party until 4am, go home.

DAY 2: Wake up around 11, try to eat, throw up, go for a swim, throw up, go to sleep, throw up, shower, through up, swim, through up, eat dinner, throw up.........well you get the gist of it. Go clubbing again, arrive home at 5am, sleep.

DAY 3: Wakeup, pack up, meet Katrina, head up to Ubud, swim, visit monkey forest, go for a long walk (obviously my idea), eat and chill out.

DAY 4: Chill out in a cafe for the morning, walk and visit the markets, swim, head back to kuta, check into hotel, meet Katrina's new British friend, meet Katrina's brother and dad, pre-dinner drink, dinner, bar, dancing (with Katrina's drunk dad), Dimas gets grumpy, Dimas storms off, 2 hours looking for Dimas, 3am skinny dipping, bed).

DAY 5: Wake up, find Dimas passed out on the front porch, swim, beach walk and swim, breakfast, pack up, meet katrina's dad and brother, head to village near Tabanan (Katrina's mums village), arrive, eat, sleep, chill out, Katrina's party starts, traditional dances, everyone leaves, Coco (Kat's cousin) and all the village boys pull out the arak, drunk on arak, sleep.

DAY 6: Visit the monkey forest, chill out, eat a lot, relax, eat more, play cards and drink G&T, early night.

DAY 7: Wake up early and head to kuta, meet Sina (by mistake), drop our stuff in her hotel room, eat, walk, foot reflexology, eat, facial, pick up our stuff, airport, flight, travel (mini-bus) to jogja, home 6am.

Argghhhhhhhh what a crazy week. Next time much more chilling out to be done!

Meletusan Gunung Merapi

ALERT: GUNUNG MERAPI IS ERUPTING

Yogyakarta has certainly become an interesting place to live in recent weeks (not that it wasn't before). With the eruption of Mt. Merapi we have seen a different side to Yogya. One of panic, one of abandonment, communityy alliance, but possibly most inspiring of all one of pulling together to help those in need.

Mt. Merapi is the most active volcano in the world with smaller eruptions every 2-3 years and slightly bigger ones every ten to fifteen years. It is located approximately 28km north of Jogja but the effects of eruptions usually go unnoticed by the city. This year Yogyakarta was in for a treat with the biggest series of eruptions since the 1870s. In normal circumstances the eruption of Merapi would not even effect Jogja but unfortunate changes to wind direction and the sheer scale of the eruptions (the biggest eruptions saw heat clouds go as far as 10km into the air)resulted in Jogja being covered in ash.

On the weekend 23-24 November volcanologists raised the status of Merapi to the highest possible level indicating that an eruption was imminent and for everyone in surrounding areas to exercise extreme caution. The eruption was predicted to be large and people were no longer allowed to climb the mountain. On the 25th the first of the eruptions began. It has now been almost a month since Merapi began erupting and whilst the power of the eruptions has decreased Merapi may continue to erupt for weeks or months to come. At present the exclusion zone around the mountain remains at 20km from the peak in Sleman (where I live). My house is located ~27km from the mountain.

The eruption of Gunung Merapi has killed almost 180 people and displaced a further 350,000. At last check the Yogyakarta airport is still closed with it predicted to re-open on the 20th November. Activity is basically back to normal in Yogyakarta however, the effects are still being felt through out the community with thousands of refugees at various camps around Jogja and the remenants of ash on the ground and in buildings throughout the city.

Professional Photos

A few weeks ago we went to Ina, Dimas and Putri's graduation. WE then went with Dimas' family for professional photos. Here are the results. I have a hot tip on the next famous boy band!