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 5th 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
