Karimunjawa

This week I finally made it to the tropical paradise that is Karimunjawa (after a six hour car trip followed by six hours on a ferry). But it was well and truly worth it. There would be very few places left in the world as pristine as Karimunjawa and with coral and fish populations as healthy as they are. It was an amazing experience - only staying for longer would have made it better.

Karimunjawa Harbour

The Gang

Sisters Reunited

Swim swim

Snorkelingan

Some of the Coral

Pagaralam Sisters Forever

Arggghhhhhhh It's Mas Nigel

Santai

Beachgirls

Makam Imogiri (The Royal Graveyard)

Traditional Dress

Wedang Uwuh (made from leaves, redwood, ginger, and various other goodies)

A Day in Paris (Parangtritis) and Kite Flying

A Day in Paris

A Day in Paris

A Day in Paris

A Day in Paris

Stupid Bike?????I think so

Kite Flying

Sawah Times

Finally a Photo on A Bike

Random Ramblings of a Real-life Bule Take 1

Whilst the pace of life in Jogja is not a new thing to me the rapidness that life changes continues to surprise me. Sometimes I wish I could just sit back and take a breather and watch life pass me by. But of course that's not probable or likely given the shortness of my time here and the number of things still left to do.

Jogja to me is like a rollercoaster (pardon the cliche); every time you're down something happens, an opportunity arises or you meet someone new who raises your spirits again. Unfortunately at this point in time I seem to be at the peak of my Jogja rollercoaster and looking at a rapidly and abrupt end to my journey and I'm scared.

On coming to Indonesia I was warned about the difficulties of settling into a new life and culture but who's there to advise me how to settle back into my old life. I feel like I've changed so much as a person in one short year and just don't know how this is going to transpire in real life.

Of course I'm excited to see friends and family; I'm sure they'll all welcome me back into their lives with open arms. But the question remains am I ready to return and is Australia ready to embrace me?

My ideas about the world have changed since being here and I both look forward to and am afraid embracing these in my life in Australia. What a dilemma!

Selesai

Well I have finally finished an intense semester of study at Universitas Sanata Dharma; seriously I think this has been the hardest semester since year 12. On Monday I handed in my final assignment - a multimedia assignment which marked the end of my study here. Whilst, there is a saddness that the end is approaching I think it's more relief than anything that I feel. I now have some time to relax, do some exploring and plan my next move - whether that be returning to Australia or staying here remains unclear. I am waiting to hear back about a couple of jobs.

This week has been crazy again. Straight after handing in my final assignment on Monday I headed to the beach going past Kota Gede on the way to check out some silver which I couldn't help buying (whether it is for myself or a present i'm still unsure - maybe a present to myself :p). Tuesday was filled with running around photocopying, organising my work folder to hand into ACICIS and trying to get organised to head to a number of police stations to organise a police clearance. You wouldn't believe how much paperwork goes into this. I then went to a sawah (or rice field) where I flew a kite and waited why my friends went for a jog (or as I believe a walk)!!!!

Wednesday was spent in police stations. Polsek, Polres and finally Polda. I then returned to Polda on Thursday and Friday to try and organise getting my police check sent to the main station in Jakarta so I could avoid a journey. After making a donation to the police I finally succeeded.

On Thursday I also headed up to Kaliurang to an underground Museum (literally underground) up there. Apart from it being freezing (if you can call 24-25 degrees freezing) it was well worth the visit. Maybe the best part of all was I went on the tour for Indonesian speakers and I could understand!!!!!!!!!!! It's such a great feeling.

Friday I went fishing in a pond to the north of Yogya. Yes Mum and Dad I went fishing. I managaed to catch the most and the biggest fish which was definately a bragging point considering I went with three boys! We then had a delicious dinner of fish follow by a night of watching reggae.

Saturday was a lazy day as was today (i'm heading to the spa later).


This week has also marked the end of another Semester 31er in Yogya. I waved Sophie off at the airport early Tuesday morning! Now there's only 2 or maybe 3 of us standing - me, Yasmin and possibly Dave W!!! A number of this semester's kids have also headed of. I also said goodbye this week to Sina who's been here for a year as well. It has made me realise that time is short and this year has flown by!


Hope all is well back in reality

xx

Goodbye Soco

Sister Act

Sina goes too

Stealing bikes in the Sawah

Too Cool For School

Enak Banget

Liburan, Yuk!

Semesta ini aku hanya liburan sekali! Aneh dibandingkan semesta yg lalu, ketika aku slalu liburan. Semesta yg lalu aku ke Sumatra dua kali, trs ke Bali dua kali juga. Aku juga pergi ke Jakarta (untuk liburan tp krna Jakarta ga enak), Dieng Plateau, Solo dan Pantai Ngandong bbrpa kali. Semesta ini k Ngandong sekali dan ke Batu Karas (enak tapi hanya sepanjang 3 hari).

On my wishlist ATM:

• Meru Betiri National Park
• Taman Safari Jawa Timur
• Malang
• Karimunjawa
• Flores
• Komodo
• Lombok
• Sulawesi
• Papua
• dll

Aku mau pergi exploring..............................

Belajar buku-buku Indonesia - Ngajarin yang kurang belajar

Apa ini?

       

.*,      

<;     )._,/”)

((e     )’

_/  _I’

 ;***;

o( @..@ )o

"(---)"

WANTED!!!

(Hidup atau mati! Setengah mati juga boleh)

(o)(o)

(     .    )

,((              )

kaTak

,,,

Z(. .)Z 

(--)

m0nyet

<>".."<>

( (..) )

bAbi

><(((((;>

ikAn

Maksih Mr. Antonius Kurniawan, 'Ngajarin yang kurang belajar'

Bahasa Sehari-hari / Indonesian Slang/ bahasa gaul

Well it's time......Aku sudah tinggal di Jogja selama 9 bulan dan aku belum pintar dalam bahasa slang di sini. Sekarang aku harus belajar.......................

 Daftar Kosa-Kata Baru

jaim

pren

suer

jayus

jijay

garing

kampret

jangkrik

kuper

memble

dugem

jomblo

borju

cupu

ember

geje

bego

bokis

gokil

APA LAGI????????????????????????????????????????????/

Puisi oleh Fitri Nganthi Wani

Dalam kelas FLOTE kami belajar puisi-puisi oleh Fitri Nganthi Wani. Fitri Nganthi Wani, baru berusia 11 tahun ketika ayahnya, Wiji Thukul dihilangkan paksa oleh Orde Baru. Hingga sekarang, Wiji Thukul belum pula kembali ke keluarganya.  Puisi-puisi Fitri Nganthi Wani  yang sederhana, realistis sekaligus indah, meski kerap menyuarakan ketertindasan. Puisi ini adalah salah satu contoh puisi indahnya. 

KIRA-KIRA

Kira-kira 3 tahun yang lalu

Kita Berdekatan

Kira-kira 2 tahun yang lalu

Kita jadian

Kira-kira 1 tahun yang lalu

Kita bertengkar

Kira-kira 11 bulan yang lalu

Kita bermaafan

Kira-kira 1 bulan yang lalu

Kau ku rindukan

Kira-kira jam 9 malam yang lalu

Kita berpelukan

Kira-kira 3 jam yang lalu

Pada saat mendung kelabu

Ku ingin lagi bertemu

Kira-kira 5 menit yang lalu

Ku bertanya padamu

Kira-kira…

Maukah kau hidup bersamaku?

7 February 2005

Fitri Nganthi Wani 

KEADILAN: Osama Bin Laden Tewas dalam Operasi Amerika Serikat

Hari ini Presiden Amerika Serikat Barrack Obama mengumumkan Osama Bin Laden telah menewaskan oleh angkatan bersenjata di Pakistan. Di operasi yang top-secret ini, satu anak Bin Laden dan dua orang lain ditewaskan juga. Sejak 2001, sesudah Bin Laden mengorganisasikan pemboman World Trade Centre di Amerika, dia telah menjadi orang yang paling di daftar buruan. Di seluruh dunia operasi ini dipandang sebagai salah satu operasi yang paling sukses dalam sejarahnya tetapi operasi ini menyebabkan pertanyaan tentang moral-moral dan hak-hak asasi manusia.

Jika si presiden dari negeri terkuat di dunia saat ini bisa memberi perintah keras supaya memewaskan orang teroris, apakah hal ini keadilan? Dia memberi perintah supaya MENEWASKAN SEORANG! Prinsip pertama dalam politik Amerika adalah “I shall not kill.” Saat ini, Obama tidak membunuh, tetapi jika dia bisa memesan menewaskan orang-orang dia seperti pembunuh, kan?
Apakah dia tidak percaya tentang sistem permerintah negerinya? Atau dia tidak mau berikut peraturannya dan mau menjadi kepala pemerintah yang dioperasi dalam prinsip “eye for an eye?” Apakah Presiden Barrack Obama dibenarkan?
Menurut Mahatma Gandhi “An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind.”

Finally an Update

Well it's been about two months now since I've updated my blog. Partly because I've been lazy, partly because I've been busy, partly because I feel life here is sudah biasa and finally mostly because I've been lazy :p

In the last two months so much has happened I don't know where to begin so ill just mention a few highlights:
*Lots of eating, drinking (non-alcoholic drinks), and nongkrong
*Making lots of new friends both Indonesian and bule
* A trip to the beach and terrible sunburn
* Lots of homework and group work
* A new boyfriend
*Volunteer teaching at the local vegetarian restaurant
* Observation and teaching at a local school
* A visit by the parents
* A trip to Batu Karas, in West Jave
* A trip to Blora in the North East of Central Java
*Another birthday
* Two weddings of random people I don't know
* Two promo videos for the Sheraton Hotel here
* and lots of other random, crazy and fun stuff

Today I've been given an assignment to write everyday - in Indonesian - which involves me keeping a daily blog from now on and a lot of Indonesian practice. I will try and update in english as well.

Until next time
xx

Over the top Indo

I have now been going to Sanata Dharma University where there are 3 other ACICIS students doing the same program as me. Other than that the only other bules study in Lembaga Bahasa or at Atma Jaya University which is closely linked to Sadar. I have just noticed this sign reflecting how over-the-top Indonesia can be :p

Despite the fact that there are thousands of people going to this university the four of us have a banner especially for us (whether this is from last semester I don't know - but there was only 5-6 ACICIS students then as well)
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Stereotyping

I am currently doing a unit at Sanata Dharma called Penahami Lintas Budaya (or Cross-Cultural Relations). We've been given an assignment to come up with common stereotypes about:

• Indonesia
• Australia
• America
• Europe
• Asia
• Africa
• etc.

It's really quite confronting since we have always been told from a young age not to stereotype people. Trying to think about Australian stereotypes of Indonesian's is next to impossible for me after living here and I know we will be asked specifically about them (and unfortunately most stereotypes about Indonesia in Australia are negative). In my research I came across these stereotypes about all different European countries and found them quite amusing. Whether they're true or not is another matter but insightful all the same.

The British:

- will say sorry to a lamp post if they walk into it, and probably mean it too
- have a tendency to get unflatteringly nationalist and arrogant (though only at major sporting events)
- tend to over-estimate their importance in the world, forgetting that they are more or less the lapdogs of America nowadays
- all know the Queen and Princess Di personally
- absolutely hate the French
- drink warm beer and have the worst national cuisine in the world
- make beautiful, ingeniously designed cars and motorcycles but have no idea of the concept of reliability
- live in thatched cottages in small villages, next to a castle
- are bald, have bad teeth, are pale, uptight, reserved in the extreme and, if male, are probably gay (because they all go to residential schools, talk like Hugh Grant and get buggered by older kids and teachers)
- are utterly dependable in a war

The Irish:

- are always, always drunk
- (if living abroad) will do anything for Ireland, absolutely anything, except actually live there
- fight a lot
- shag sheep

The Scots:

- are the same as the Irish but also spectacularly tight-fisted with money
- hate the English
- wear kilts (with nothing underneath, of course)
- have red hair and freckles
- say "och aye the noo!" all the time
- eat haggis

The Welsh:

- shag sheep
- sing in all-male choirs
- say "boyo" constantly
- shag sheep
- sort of hate the English
- are obsessed with rugby
- shag sheep

The French:

- hate the English (but like the Scots)
- smoke
- are, in positions of authority, officious and rude
- hate it when people speak don't speak French when visiting
- hate it when people try to speak French when visiting
- think that France is the best country in the world and everyone else's country is vastly inferior
- treat women like shit
- drive like idiots
- have really, really good food
- are all communists (especially if they're students)
- show their breasts in films all the time, for no particular reason
- are really crap at fighting in wars
- colluded with the Nazis almost immediately after they got conquered
- say "mon dieu" "sacre bleu!" and "ooh la la!" regularly
- never wash themselves

The Belgians:

- have nothing of interest other than chocolate and beer
- can't decide if they're French or Dutch, so have settled for both

The Dutch:

- are all stoned
- are the most laid back people in Europe
- live in houses that are 8 stories high and 3 feet wide, in a country flatter than Kate Moss's chest
- spell their words in one way and pronounce them in a completely different way, according to a set of rules that you can never know unless you are Dutch
- speak English better than the English
- grow tulips and wear clogs
- have the most liberal laws on the planet

The Germans:

- are obsessed with all the filthiest, most perverse sexual practices they can dream up
- think they are the best people in Europe
- are really sorry about the Nazi thing
- have taken the term "precision engineering" and turned it into an art form that is always worth the inevitably high price
- drink a lot of beer, but are never actually drunk like the Scots and Irish
- don't shave their armpits (if female)
- have mullets and moustaches (if male)
- are genetically incapable of having a sense of humor
- eat sausages and sauerkraut

The Austrians

- really liked the Nazis
- are not German (even though they are)
- still like the Nazis

The Swiss:

- like chocolate
- saw the phrase "rules and regulations" and elevated it to an art form
- have lots of snow
- yodel
- stole the Jews' gold

The Italians:

- wear aftershave by the gallon
- drive tiny, zippy little cars and scooters without any reference to sensible driving practices
- are passionate in the extreme, about everything
- are gorgeous (if female)
- are creepy and obsessed with picking up chicks (if male)
- say "mama mia" all the time
- change their government about as often as they change their underwear
- gesticulate wildly at every opportunity
- have the most politically corrput society in Europe
- have great food (though not as great as the French)
- are obssessed with football

The Swedes:

- drive Volvos
- think sex should be practised as often as possible, but only in a light-hearted, unserious way
- are all communists
- are not Norwegian (even thought there's no difference between them)
- are all called something-somethingsson
- commit suicide more than any other nation
- are all blonde (yes, all of them)

The Norwegians:

- eat fish and only fish
- are amazingly religious in the classic "hard-working Protestant" sense
- are not Swedes (even though there's no difference between them)
- have fjords

The Icelanders:

- all know each other personally
- are not Scandinavian
- all indulge in bizarre, dangerous sports

In Heaven,

The police are British,
The cooks are French,
The engineers are German
The administrators are Swiss
And the lovers Italian.

In Hell,

The police are German
The cooks are British
The engineers are Italian
The administrators are French
And the lovers Swiss."