Merry Christmas everyone! Today is Christmas and so far it has been by far the most lackluster Christmas ever. I don't mean this in an utterly depressing way, as I didn't expect otherwise, but the fact is that there has been little to differentiate it from any other day. We DID have a mini feast today at school (after I had to give a speech), however that was actually a party to celebrate my conclusion of school, not actually a Christmas meal in any way. It also meant that I spent last night writing said speech, and got up extra early this morning to copy it off of the computer. Two graduations in one year, look at me go!
Given the fact that I find myself here in this hot, predominantly Muslim country for the holiday season, I've had to do some serious reflecting on the holidays. Given the religious nature of holidays, it really shouldn't matter where you are as long as you think about the right things and pray, right? However, because I'm not particularly religious person, I find that for me the holidays are much more important in terms of family, tradition and culture. Coming from two religious backgrounds I've always celebrated two sets of holidays, and immensely enjoyed it, seeing it as my good fortune to have more traditions, more holidays (more presents?). Hanukkah came and went unnoticed here, obviously. However there is a small, but significant, Christian population here, as well as the infiltration of American culture. All this meant that Christmas is observed, given a nod of approval and is a national holiday, but not much else seems to happen.
All this made me realize how much for me the Holiday season means cold weather, means twinkly lights everywhere, Holiday movies on TV every day from Thanksgiving till Christmas, but mostly means family. It means huge meals with family that I don't get to see everyday, and cooking up a storm with family that I do. During college, Christmastime also usually meant being reunited with friends from High School I hadn't seen since the summer.
Here there has been no build up to Christmas, in fact I found myself often forgetting that it was December until I saw the odd decorations in a store here or there. It was unsurprising then that after no build up, and with no family or friends, I'm really left with no holiday. Despite this, I'm thinking of all my family and friends out there and wishing them Happy Holidays and thinking thankful thoughts for the very lucky life I lead. A life that includes not only wonderful friends and family (whom I miss dearly), but also the opportunity to be on an adventure such as this one.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
As I watched the events of the Copenhagen conference unfold over the last two weeks, and disappointingly read article after article proclaiming essentially nothing, I had a lot of time to reflect on the situation here. This country is, I believe, at an incredibly interesting stage of development. Of course, my entire experience comes from three weeks in one city as well, as the stories that I've heard in class.
Indonesia is in some ways the perfect example of population pressures on the environment: the population here is the same as the US, but the landmass much smaller and the rate of development much higher (granted, we're already "developed"). Further, the population here is continually growing as many people have large families and birth control is not widely used. While in the US kids are often considered a huge expense, here, for many, they represent a source of stability when old. Like a retirement fund. What all this means is that as the population booms, and people flock to cities, the government has to struggle to keep up. For example, trash and waste management here are still large issues and there are large gaps in infrastructure (never mind the fact that I'm pretty positive recycling is non-existent). The result is that for those who don't have anywhere to put their trash it often gets burned on the side of the street, plastic included (and let me tell you, you don't even want to know how much plastic gets used here). The other option, especially popular in Jakarta, is to toss the trash in the river, which is apparently barely visible as a result. Unfortunately, the troubles are not limited solely to collection; one of my teachers told me an especially grisly tale (NB this is hearsay) of a town about an hour outside Jakarta where much of aforementioned city's trash goes. The trash there was apparently continually placed somewhat haphazardly until it grew into a small mountain. While the smell was certainly not good (nor healthy), the real troubles came one year during rainy season when a deluge caused a "trash-slide" that ended up killing some victims in the town below. yikes.
In any case, the juxtaposition between the haves and the have-nots often seems especially poignant here. While the regional minimum wage is apparently around $75/month, many people make less than that if they are employed by small businesses. At the same time the number of people able to afford motors, or (gasp) cars, seems to be drastically rising as does the presence of fancy shopping malls containing, wait for it, Starbucks. Starbucks seems to me to be, in some ways, the ultimate luxury good. While ubiquitous, Starbucks remains a luxury good in US, selling coffee for a price many people are no longer able to afford, or never were. While the prices remain about the same here, the chain is far from ever-present. Conversely, it is only found in the nicest malls (and loudly advertised). In a country where many people are trying to scrape by and you can get a good meal for under a dollar, asking close to three for a latte seems absurd. Yet, people flock there. Aside from having a nice sitting area in an air-conditioned mall, the cafe seems to represent to many a way to be a part of the America they see in the movies and on TV. Indeed, sitting in the Starbucks on a shopping trip with my host brothers fiancee (who loves Starbucks), it was eerie how similar everything was to Starbucks in the US. For a moment it seemed like I would walk out the door and be back in Philly or Boston.
While I was a bit saddened by this, I also have to ask, why shouldn't everyone want the life they see in American movies? The life where climate in homes is carefully controlled, food is plentiful, and everyone drives an SUV? While it seems easier to deride Americans for being lazy energy hogs, it's harder to tell everyone else that they can't get in on the fun (which is of course, essentially the problem at Copenhagen). I often wonder how, if we as a country are not able to manage to take climate change and emissions seriously, anyone can. People here are concerned with the day to day, and I'm not here to blame them. The thousands of "motors" that have transformed what was formally the 'City of Bicycles' is seen as a sign of progress, and who am I to be saddened by the growing smog, when the way people can live their lives has changed? Motors represent independence in a city where the weather is almost always insufferably hot and public transport is a haphazard and slow.
So where does this monologue bring me? Mostly just to confusion. I know that something has to be done and that the way we (as Americans) are living our lives is unsustainable, but it's also incredibly comfortable for so many and enticing for so many more. The deal made in Copenhagen was disappointing to many (especially those in poor nations that stand to lose the most due to climate change, yet have the least impact in causing it, and thus the least say in changing it). Hopefully stronger commitments will be made in the future before its too late so that we, as a world, can start to really tackle this thorny thorny issue of how to all live together, healthfully, without the ultimate self-destruction of the world we have come to know and love.
I'm done pretending to be a philosopher now, maybe I'll update other topics in the near future as I realize I have been somewhat remiss. I hope that everyone is having a lovely winter holiday and (if in the north east) please build a snow man for me. I'm incredibly jealous of this blizzard business!!
Indonesia is in some ways the perfect example of population pressures on the environment: the population here is the same as the US, but the landmass much smaller and the rate of development much higher (granted, we're already "developed"). Further, the population here is continually growing as many people have large families and birth control is not widely used. While in the US kids are often considered a huge expense, here, for many, they represent a source of stability when old. Like a retirement fund. What all this means is that as the population booms, and people flock to cities, the government has to struggle to keep up. For example, trash and waste management here are still large issues and there are large gaps in infrastructure (never mind the fact that I'm pretty positive recycling is non-existent). The result is that for those who don't have anywhere to put their trash it often gets burned on the side of the street, plastic included (and let me tell you, you don't even want to know how much plastic gets used here). The other option, especially popular in Jakarta, is to toss the trash in the river, which is apparently barely visible as a result. Unfortunately, the troubles are not limited solely to collection; one of my teachers told me an especially grisly tale (NB this is hearsay) of a town about an hour outside Jakarta where much of aforementioned city's trash goes. The trash there was apparently continually placed somewhat haphazardly until it grew into a small mountain. While the smell was certainly not good (nor healthy), the real troubles came one year during rainy season when a deluge caused a "trash-slide" that ended up killing some victims in the town below. yikes.
In any case, the juxtaposition between the haves and the have-nots often seems especially poignant here. While the regional minimum wage is apparently around $75/month, many people make less than that if they are employed by small businesses. At the same time the number of people able to afford motors, or (gasp) cars, seems to be drastically rising as does the presence of fancy shopping malls containing, wait for it, Starbucks. Starbucks seems to me to be, in some ways, the ultimate luxury good. While ubiquitous, Starbucks remains a luxury good in US, selling coffee for a price many people are no longer able to afford, or never were. While the prices remain about the same here, the chain is far from ever-present. Conversely, it is only found in the nicest malls (and loudly advertised). In a country where many people are trying to scrape by and you can get a good meal for under a dollar, asking close to three for a latte seems absurd. Yet, people flock there. Aside from having a nice sitting area in an air-conditioned mall, the cafe seems to represent to many a way to be a part of the America they see in the movies and on TV. Indeed, sitting in the Starbucks on a shopping trip with my host brothers fiancee (who loves Starbucks), it was eerie how similar everything was to Starbucks in the US. For a moment it seemed like I would walk out the door and be back in Philly or Boston.
While I was a bit saddened by this, I also have to ask, why shouldn't everyone want the life they see in American movies? The life where climate in homes is carefully controlled, food is plentiful, and everyone drives an SUV? While it seems easier to deride Americans for being lazy energy hogs, it's harder to tell everyone else that they can't get in on the fun (which is of course, essentially the problem at Copenhagen). I often wonder how, if we as a country are not able to manage to take climate change and emissions seriously, anyone can. People here are concerned with the day to day, and I'm not here to blame them. The thousands of "motors" that have transformed what was formally the 'City of Bicycles' is seen as a sign of progress, and who am I to be saddened by the growing smog, when the way people can live their lives has changed? Motors represent independence in a city where the weather is almost always insufferably hot and public transport is a haphazard and slow.
So where does this monologue bring me? Mostly just to confusion. I know that something has to be done and that the way we (as Americans) are living our lives is unsustainable, but it's also incredibly comfortable for so many and enticing for so many more. The deal made in Copenhagen was disappointing to many (especially those in poor nations that stand to lose the most due to climate change, yet have the least impact in causing it, and thus the least say in changing it). Hopefully stronger commitments will be made in the future before its too late so that we, as a world, can start to really tackle this thorny thorny issue of how to all live together, healthfully, without the ultimate self-destruction of the world we have come to know and love.
I'm done pretending to be a philosopher now, maybe I'll update other topics in the near future as I realize I have been somewhat remiss. I hope that everyone is having a lovely winter holiday and (if in the north east) please build a snow man for me. I'm incredibly jealous of this blizzard business!!
Monday, December 7, 2009
PANAS!
"Panas" means hot for those of you who don't happen to be students of Bahasa Indonesia. The funny thing is that here it is panas. Always. In this equatorial clime the weather doesn't vary by more than a few degrees. Despite this predictable regularity, one of the comments I hear most often, usually right after saying hi to someone, is "panas!" accompagnied by a gesticlation of fanning oneself, as if this is some sort of suprising statement. Yes, I know its hot. I'm the foreigner here, the one who is currently missing a snowfall in Boston. Yet this comment is uttered with utter sincerity every time. Cracks me up.
Also of note: the dangers of packing lite in a tropical clime. "Packing lite?" You say? "Elizabeth? Couldn't be!" Well, I am here to tell you that I packed lite and am living to tell a somewhat regrettable tale. Because Laura and I decided to go small pack size and carry-on, (which was rather convenient, I admit) I am now living with 2 sleeveless shirts and 2 t-shirt and 2 long-sleeve shirts. It's character building. Unforuntately, the weather means that even sitting in an internet cafe in the evening I'm sweating, and thus that having 4 summer-ish shirts that then spend 2 days in laundry once a week is a tricky situation. I'm just saying.
Interstingly, in Bahasa Indonesia panas can also be used to describe a situation and/or issue, the same as "hot" is used in the US. A topic panas that I discussed today with one of my teachers is sex in indonesia. As a conservative (primarily) Muslim country sex ed is non-existant. Ironically then, according to my teacher, Indonesian has been found to be the country that views the largest amount of porn (where this factoid is from, unclear, so I don't stand by its verity). Unsuprisingly then, there are currently many problems (where aren't there?) in this domain. Many more girls are becoming pregnant in HS than previously, leading to their immediate expulsion. Very sad, though not suprising. In fact, my teacher's sister is a teacher at a local high school and recently eperienced one of those freak stories in which a girl didn't know she was pregant/didn't tell anyone/ did not look pregnant and then gave birth in a bathroom by herself during a final exam. There are also, predictably, the many problems/deaths that come with illegal abortions/ attempted self-abortions in desperation. Overall I would say that the conversation was a melancholy reminder of the importance of sex-ed in my opinion.
Despite the depressing nature of this conversation, however, I also learned some interesting local lore:
Durian (nasty smelling tropical fruit very popular in Asia) and pineapple are both said to be bad for fetuses and thus eaten in large quantities by girls wanting to self-abort. Duck eggs in conjunction with soda (? I got a bit lost during this explanation) are also used for the same purpose. Additionally, the pineapple is a multi-purpose fruit as it is also reputed to increase female libido, who knew?? (Eggplant is for male libido, for those interested). The result of this common knowledge is that unmarried women here do not like to be seen eating pineapple and often pick it out of their fruit salad!
a few random thoughts:
Rambutan is common fruit here, similar (though not the same, as I mistakenly thought) to a lychee. The word literaly means hairy thing (rambut is hair and -an is a common noun ending). For whatever reason I find this funny. Also, they are delicious.
Koran- the word for newspaper (as opposed to Quran).
And finally music. The music here really continues to amuse me, between my lunchtime american acoustic wannabe band serenade and the ever popular Celine Dion. Today in a cafe I heard a mix including "It must have been love," "I'm your Laddyyy" (don't know the real name) and "All by myself" among other gems. Saturday night I spent in an internet cafe catching up on the NY times while listening to Frank Sinatra. That was great. Especially in comparison to a different cafe where I heard a medley of Christmas Carol covers and Lady Gaga...
over and out from "panas" Yogya.
Also of note: the dangers of packing lite in a tropical clime. "Packing lite?" You say? "Elizabeth? Couldn't be!" Well, I am here to tell you that I packed lite and am living to tell a somewhat regrettable tale. Because Laura and I decided to go small pack size and carry-on, (which was rather convenient, I admit) I am now living with 2 sleeveless shirts and 2 t-shirt and 2 long-sleeve shirts. It's character building. Unforuntately, the weather means that even sitting in an internet cafe in the evening I'm sweating, and thus that having 4 summer-ish shirts that then spend 2 days in laundry once a week is a tricky situation. I'm just saying.
Interstingly, in Bahasa Indonesia panas can also be used to describe a situation and/or issue, the same as "hot" is used in the US. A topic panas that I discussed today with one of my teachers is sex in indonesia. As a conservative (primarily) Muslim country sex ed is non-existant. Ironically then, according to my teacher, Indonesian has been found to be the country that views the largest amount of porn (where this factoid is from, unclear, so I don't stand by its verity). Unsuprisingly then, there are currently many problems (where aren't there?) in this domain. Many more girls are becoming pregnant in HS than previously, leading to their immediate expulsion. Very sad, though not suprising. In fact, my teacher's sister is a teacher at a local high school and recently eperienced one of those freak stories in which a girl didn't know she was pregant/didn't tell anyone/ did not look pregnant and then gave birth in a bathroom by herself during a final exam. There are also, predictably, the many problems/deaths that come with illegal abortions/ attempted self-abortions in desperation. Overall I would say that the conversation was a melancholy reminder of the importance of sex-ed in my opinion.
Despite the depressing nature of this conversation, however, I also learned some interesting local lore:
Durian (nasty smelling tropical fruit very popular in Asia) and pineapple are both said to be bad for fetuses and thus eaten in large quantities by girls wanting to self-abort. Duck eggs in conjunction with soda (? I got a bit lost during this explanation) are also used for the same purpose. Additionally, the pineapple is a multi-purpose fruit as it is also reputed to increase female libido, who knew?? (Eggplant is for male libido, for those interested). The result of this common knowledge is that unmarried women here do not like to be seen eating pineapple and often pick it out of their fruit salad!
a few random thoughts:
Rambutan is common fruit here, similar (though not the same, as I mistakenly thought) to a lychee. The word literaly means hairy thing (rambut is hair and -an is a common noun ending). For whatever reason I find this funny. Also, they are delicious.
Koran- the word for newspaper (as opposed to Quran).
And finally music. The music here really continues to amuse me, between my lunchtime american acoustic wannabe band serenade and the ever popular Celine Dion. Today in a cafe I heard a mix including "It must have been love," "I'm your Laddyyy" (don't know the real name) and "All by myself" among other gems. Saturday night I spent in an internet cafe catching up on the NY times while listening to Frank Sinatra. That was great. Especially in comparison to a different cafe where I heard a medley of Christmas Carol covers and Lady Gaga...
over and out from "panas" Yogya.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
My exotic life in Indonesia
In case you were curious, my life here in Yogya is very exciting.
Here is my (approx) daily schedule
7:30 breakfast. My homestay has kindly provided me with things that they think comprise a western breakfast. The thought is very cute, though the result sometimes hilarious. There are often new (and random) items set out for me such as a wedge of "cheddar cheese" (that was actually some sort of highly processed very salty cheese product item, but hey beggars can't be choosers). As I mentioned previously, no one here eats fruit in the morning, however it is one of my favorite things, so I have taken to cutting up a mango every morning and eating part of it in my oatmeal. Suprisingly successful.
7:45 malaria alarm goes off and I realize that I yet again forgot to bring my pill to breakfast. drat.
8:05 am 5 minutes late for class. sorry! then 2 hours of one-on-one instruction.
10 am. break. then 2 more hours of class with another teacher. Much of class is actually just conversation with someone who will take the time to speak SLOWLY and simply and correct me/wait the 5 minutes it takes for me to put together a sentence. I like this method because it means that I get to practice speaking a lot and also learn interesting tidbits about Indonesian culture. The frustrating part is when I have so many things to say and so few words at my disposal!
12 lunchtime. I had been going everyday to this place called gado-gado (I think) that serves gado-gado (shocking) and lotek which are two kinds of indonesian "salads." They are both delcious and involve peanut sauce and tofu, though (as far as I can tell) gado-gado has egg and lotek has spinach and is more mixed. I also enjoy this place because there is always a duo singing American acousitc hits (ie Jack Johnson) which, for whatever reason, I find especially entertaining with the accent. They have apparently been there every day at lunch for the last 6 years. Today, after much internal debate I decided I should branch out, mostly because every afternoon guru Elia (my third teacher) asks me "makan apa siang ini?" or "what did you eat this afternoon" and I was begining to feel a little lame about always going back to the same place. So I went next door. Soja (the place next door) specializes in soy products, go figure. Not bad, though it was no gado-gado.
1 pm. Kelas tiga (class three). sama-sama.
3 pm. general exhaustion. My brain hurts. so many words!
6 or 7 pm: The dinner expedition. This is always interesting. The lunch places aren't open for dinner so I've been trying to sample a variety of little places, though I'm usually mentally very tired by this point and really just want to go someplace familiar. I still haven't mastered the menu language, so unfortunately I have no idea what most things on the menu at the less expensive places are, resulting in mixed success. It's kind of sad actually, I seem to forget all the relevant indonesian words I know the moment I walk into a restaurant. So it goes.
Good times. Very exciting.
In general the Bahasa Indonesia is coming along. Honestly, I don't think I could have chosen an easier language to try and learn, though that doesn't mean it's easy. The grammar is simple (no verb conjugations) which is nice. In many ways, it's just a big memorization task. The problem is that by the afternoon/evening I'm so tired from class that I lack the heart to really throw myself into memorizing huge lists of words. Sometimes I'm amazed at how much I've learned in 4 days, while others I'm incredibly frustrated and find myself forgetting even the most simple words.
Here is my (approx) daily schedule
7:30 breakfast. My homestay has kindly provided me with things that they think comprise a western breakfast. The thought is very cute, though the result sometimes hilarious. There are often new (and random) items set out for me such as a wedge of "cheddar cheese" (that was actually some sort of highly processed very salty cheese product item, but hey beggars can't be choosers). As I mentioned previously, no one here eats fruit in the morning, however it is one of my favorite things, so I have taken to cutting up a mango every morning and eating part of it in my oatmeal. Suprisingly successful.
7:45 malaria alarm goes off and I realize that I yet again forgot to bring my pill to breakfast. drat.
8:05 am 5 minutes late for class. sorry! then 2 hours of one-on-one instruction.
10 am. break. then 2 more hours of class with another teacher. Much of class is actually just conversation with someone who will take the time to speak SLOWLY and simply and correct me/wait the 5 minutes it takes for me to put together a sentence. I like this method because it means that I get to practice speaking a lot and also learn interesting tidbits about Indonesian culture. The frustrating part is when I have so many things to say and so few words at my disposal!
12 lunchtime. I had been going everyday to this place called gado-gado (I think) that serves gado-gado (shocking) and lotek which are two kinds of indonesian "salads." They are both delcious and involve peanut sauce and tofu, though (as far as I can tell) gado-gado has egg and lotek has spinach and is more mixed. I also enjoy this place because there is always a duo singing American acousitc hits (ie Jack Johnson) which, for whatever reason, I find especially entertaining with the accent. They have apparently been there every day at lunch for the last 6 years. Today, after much internal debate I decided I should branch out, mostly because every afternoon guru Elia (my third teacher) asks me "makan apa siang ini?" or "what did you eat this afternoon" and I was begining to feel a little lame about always going back to the same place. So I went next door. Soja (the place next door) specializes in soy products, go figure. Not bad, though it was no gado-gado.
1 pm. Kelas tiga (class three). sama-sama.
3 pm. general exhaustion. My brain hurts. so many words!
6 or 7 pm: The dinner expedition. This is always interesting. The lunch places aren't open for dinner so I've been trying to sample a variety of little places, though I'm usually mentally very tired by this point and really just want to go someplace familiar. I still haven't mastered the menu language, so unfortunately I have no idea what most things on the menu at the less expensive places are, resulting in mixed success. It's kind of sad actually, I seem to forget all the relevant indonesian words I know the moment I walk into a restaurant. So it goes.
Good times. Very exciting.
In general the Bahasa Indonesia is coming along. Honestly, I don't think I could have chosen an easier language to try and learn, though that doesn't mean it's easy. The grammar is simple (no verb conjugations) which is nice. In many ways, it's just a big memorization task. The problem is that by the afternoon/evening I'm so tired from class that I lack the heart to really throw myself into memorizing huge lists of words. Sometimes I'm amazed at how much I've learned in 4 days, while others I'm incredibly frustrated and find myself forgetting even the most simple words.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Flat Stanley
One of the frustrating things about living in a foreign country in which one is not a master of the language is the utter flatness your personality takes on. I felt this way in France, where I actually spoke the language decently, and now that I'm reduced to an infantile position of carefully stringing together 3 word sentences, I realize once more what we so often take for granted: depth. I feel like that character that my tenth grade English teacher used to warn against: the flat character. Characters must be ROUND
My name is Elizabeth. I am from America. I like fried noodles with vegetables and ice cream.
Thrilling stuff.
Despite linguistic divide, I've actually managed to learn about some interesting/random cultural differences. For example, people here LOVE American movies amd facebook. It's pretty funny because I haven't even heard of any of the recent blockbuster releases, which of course further confuses things...
Also, not unlike the US, there is a phone obsession here. "hp" (short for handphone, which is what they call their cell phones) is a huge part of the culture now. Apparently it is normal for most people here to have 2 or more phones that they carry around with them, which helps explain why the entire street near my school seems to be dedicated to "toko hp" (phone shops). Because of how their system of phone cards and buying credit works, people use different phones (and numbers) for different uses like calling family, calling friends, SMS, etc. depending on what is cheapest. Confusing.
Also interesting is the fact that no one has fruit in the morning here. ever. Apparently it makes them feel sick to their stomach. They DO however drink fruit in these delicious shakes in the afternoon, including "alpocat" which turned out to be not apricot as I thought, but avocado (and chocolate). Might be my new favorite thing.
NB: Flat Stanley is a children book in which Stanley got flattened, and then is mailed all around the world, traveling via envelope.
My name is Elizabeth. I am from America. I like fried noodles with vegetables and ice cream.
Thrilling stuff.
Despite linguistic divide, I've actually managed to learn about some interesting/random cultural differences. For example, people here LOVE American movies amd facebook. It's pretty funny because I haven't even heard of any of the recent blockbuster releases, which of course further confuses things...
Also, not unlike the US, there is a phone obsession here. "hp" (short for handphone, which is what they call their cell phones) is a huge part of the culture now. Apparently it is normal for most people here to have 2 or more phones that they carry around with them, which helps explain why the entire street near my school seems to be dedicated to "toko hp" (phone shops). Because of how their system of phone cards and buying credit works, people use different phones (and numbers) for different uses like calling family, calling friends, SMS, etc. depending on what is cheapest. Confusing.
Also interesting is the fact that no one has fruit in the morning here. ever. Apparently it makes them feel sick to their stomach. They DO however drink fruit in these delicious shakes in the afternoon, including "alpocat" which turned out to be not apricot as I thought, but avocado (and chocolate). Might be my new favorite thing.
NB: Flat Stanley is a children book in which Stanley got flattened, and then is mailed all around the world, traveling via envelope.
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