I'm still alive

Well it’s been a while, so let’s just delve on in! Lots of things to say, so maaf (sorry), this is gonna be a long one! First, this photo is a view of the street from the front of my house in Salatiga. Very cute. Much like my 5- and 2-year old host brothers below! They like Hot Wheels Acceleracers and being the energetic brothers that they are!


















The beach a few weekends ago was delightful. There are a number of beaches in the Jogjakarta area (southern coast of Java) and we chose one that is a little cove and supposedly rarely busy. However, there were a number of other people there, although no other buleh (foreigners) which was kind of nice.






We spent time lounging, hiking, swimming, exploring caves and coral onshore when the tide was out, ate some really delicious fresh tuna and catfish (some people tried eel), caught up on reading and played some frisbee. We slept the first night in a ‘beach house’ on stilts and the second night on the bamboo floor of a warung’s (restaurant) roofed porch where customers sit to eat during open hours. Both nights it stormed and although we got a bit wet the second night, I think most of us were exhausted enough to sleep through it.

The week after that we had the opportunity to go with our language teacher to learn about rice farming and did some hands-on planting in a rice paddy. I’m not an expert on rice production, but it seems to be a labour-intensive process. Most of the fields/paddies are terraced and spring-fed. Water is diverted through a series of small trenched streams that run alongside the paddies and daily maintenance ensures that each paddy is sufficiently watered. I am kind of guessing with some of this, and basing it on what I saw, but feel free to correct me if/when I’m wrong!

Later that week we went to a theology school and learned about traditional Indonesian Gamelan music and Wayang Kulit (shadow puppetry). These are both valued and emphasized components of cultural heritage here on Java. I suggest you google them yourself for accurate info! We had a short Gamelan lesson and joined in playing a couple songs, and were introduced to key characters in Indonesian Wayang. The Wayang Kulit shadow puppets are the most prevalent in Java and Bali and are made of leather. They are really detailed piecesof art, and can easily cost $50 US. Turns out a lot of Wayang theatre has been adapted from original Hindu forms to better fit with Indonesian beliefs and religions today (Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, etc.). It is very popular and performances will often last all hours of the night. There you go!

We also learned how to make Soto, a soup-type Javanese dish with rice, chicken and chicken broth, turmeric, garlic, celery leaves, bean sprouts, rice noodles...it’s definitely a popular and inexpensive choice. For example, I ate Soto for lunch yesterday and breakfast this morning! Usually sambal (hot pepper paste or sauce) is added to your own liking, along with ‘pickles’ and kecup (sweet, thick soya sauce). On average it costs about 7 or 8 thousand rupiah = 80 cents! We also made tempeh goreng (fermented soya beans wrapped in banana leaf to grow mushroom-type fungus, then unwrapped and fried) and pisang goreng (fried bananas). It was a feast!

Last weekend a few of us had to opportunity to attend a Javanese wedding (and Muslim, as is usually the case in Indonesia). Weddings often last at least 2 days and guests come, greet the bride and groom and their family members, visit with other guests, and eat as much as they want. There were insane amounts of food! Each table was set up buffet-style: noodles, rice, fried chicken and fish, fruit and ice cream, refreshments, soup, soto, sate (chicken or beef kabob) with peanut sauce, . . . and a lot of guests! And apparently there is no negative connotation associated with wedding crashers, so we were free to fill up just like everyone else and not feel bad about it!

One day last week we went to Kopeng Treetop Adventure - a carabener-high ropes course with ziplines and cables up in trees. It was a lot of fun and good to be outside away from the city.

Friday we took a trip to a fishing town and had a boat ride around a swamp where fish farming is prevalent, got to see where and how the mahogany fishing boats are made (by hand) then to a train station/museum built in the Dutch era of colonization. We had a little train ride past rice paddies and a coffee plantation, and ended up at a cafe/restaurant where we paid average North American prices for coffee. But it was delicious. Finally, on Saturday we climbed Gunung Andong (mountain). It was a short hike; about an hour up and 1/2 hour down but I’m still feeling it in my legs!

The small village we had to go through and park outside of in order to hike had decided to make Saturday drying day: there are a lot of tobacco producers and they had set out racks of tobacco to dry in the sun, not anticipating much traffic other than the occasional motorcycle. They invited us to come to a party later that evening but we politely declined, and took the long way around so they would not have to move the mile-long stretch of drying tobacco off the road.

And now it’s Tuesday. We leave tomorrow for Jogjakarta after class for some sight-seeing, shopping and maybe even MacDonalds or Wendys or Pizza Hut, and return Friday. Sampai Nanti!