Thursday, 29Jun06

Highlights: met a Washington Post reporter working on a story about Indonesia, Gamelan class, & kickboxing.

Whew! Today was a busy day. We get pop quizzes every other day in any one of our 3 classes, if not all of them. Keeps us on our toes.

I just discovered the “kantin”,,, a little open-air, lunch buffet on campus. 10cents gets a banana leaf of rice,, and 50cents gets everything you can pile onto a plate (= plus bottled water. We won’t starve here. Ha ha

lunch at the campus "kantin"
(left-right: Jessica, Dan, Christian) 

After class on Thursdays we all go to Gamelan class. “Gamelan” is authentic Indonesian music played at puppet shows & cultural dances. It originates from central Java

ahhh, the bus.
busses here, in general, are much more Indiana Jones,,, Romancing the Stone-esque,,, than what you might find in the states
note Dans legs up to his chest.
on our way to Thursday afternoon Gamelan class!

John, the professor/reporter, in the back. 

not to be disrespectful, but doesn't this resemble a rack of pots & pans?
our xylophone section...
(left to right: Yancey, Jessica, Christian, Tandi (behind), and Dan (standing))
Gamelan drills...
"keep in rythm everyone!" 

When you first look at it, the untrained western eye might mistake it for a rack of brass pots & pans assembled in a fancy wood rack, or hanging from a bamboo stand. There are xylophones too.

Most of us weren’t born naturally gifted for this sort of thing… but class is fun. We make “music” (like something you might hear in an elevator) for about 2 hours, then go home. Some of us like it more than others- I like going as a class. It’s something we all do together, and at the end of the summer, we’ll do a puppet show performance, complete with Gamelan in the background. (Bryan will be the puppeteer, and the rest of us will be manning our rack of pots. Just kidding (= ha ha. Seriously- tickets around here are going like hot-cakes!

Just before class, we met a U. Maryland English professor / free-lance Washington Post reporter (John Auchard), who is in town to write an article about the lesser-traveled paths in the world. He’s a friend of USINDO, and heard there are a bunch of Americans in post-earthquake Yogyakarta- so he tagged along to our Gamelan class. Nice guy. He showed us his articles on Ethiopia & Cambodia… every year he spends a month living some place off the beaten path & writes about it; publishing his story in the Travel section, to encourage people to think of vacationing in places other than Paris & London. Sounds like a great job!

I didn’t have quite enough time to rent a moped of my own today,, and I had no ride back to school, to jump on the back of Marty’s moped to kickboxing class,,, so I ran.

Kickboxing class wore me out today! Whew… the gym is open 5 days a week, so only 2 of us went today. The teacher is great. Real nice guy- maybe 35,,, patient with the beginners. My shoulders are still burning after 2 hours of shadow punching. Man! I could barely hold a fork up at dinner (=

When I got home, all the girls (ibu Rochmadi, mbak Yuti (our housekeeper), and Nana) were watching really poorly acted soap operas. Even they it’s stupid (= they can’t help but watch it though! Ha ha… it reminds me of something I saw on Telemundo once. The really cheesy soap dramas. We’re on day two of a break from World cup. I can’t wait for the Brazil-France game, and Germany-Argentina! Whoooo,, gonna be awesome!

the fruits of cooking class! possibly the most worth-while extra curricular activity i could have signed up for...
seriously- the restaurants around here can't stand up to Ibu Martini Hariandja
note the "plates" are wicker, with sun-dried banana leaves. what a great idea. no dishes!
Wendy & Christian (left), with Karen, Bu Hariandja, Stacey & Dan (in the background).

cooking class starts at 5,, and always seems to last until 9 or 10pm. hmmm.. party? cooking class?

Wendy & Christian look like they're working hard! (=

Tuesday, 27Jun06

Ah! I lost my Indonesian cell phone somewhere at LAX last night! Sucks!
I read & slept my way through the last 17 hours of my flight though (LA-Taipei-Singapore-Jakarta-Yogyakarta),,, and finally arrived “home” at 5pm.

With no hand-phone (hp), I had no way of calling my family to come pick me up at the airport,, so I cabbed it home. $3 (= ahhhh! It’s good to be in Indonesia again. Ha ha.

I did get a new phone later tonight! Here’s my new number: 0813 9234 2130
Or from the U.S., dial 011 62 813 9234 2130

Everyone was waiting up for me & anxious to hear about Talia’s wedding. (= Then Ojik & I settled into the Brazil-Ghana world-cup soccer game (10pm-midnight). I wanted the will-power to stay up for the France-Spain game at 2am, but I couldn’t go the distance. Ah! Go France!

Monday, 26Jun06

All I remember is reading Robert Kaplan’s book, “Imperial Grunts” (about the American military on the ground) from cover to cover on this trip… and sleeping.

I’m a slow reader- but this 370 pager was a great read. A page-turner. I recommend it to anyone interested in hearing what life is like in the Army & Marines, from the perspective of 18-32 year olds who carry the rifles & sleep in the cold around the world in America’s name from Yemen, to Colombia, Mongolia, Philippines, Afghanistan & Iraq.

Sunday, 25Jun06

Got a chance to go to church with my parents, finish packing my stuff, and see a bunch of lifelong church friends at a fun afternoon party in Natick before pushing off for the airport.

Talia & Bryan in their authentic Indonesian "batik"
it fits! victory,, for having guesstimated their sizes for the tailor 

My flight was at 5pm,,, exactly 55 hours after I landed on Friday. (= funny huh?
Get ready for another long-haul 37 hours of fun!

Saturday, 24Jun06

Highlights: Natalia

Today was my sister’s day (= a little surreal, for me personally, but I didn’t see her until 2pm,, so I’ll back-up a minute.

Being home again is great,, but it’s weird that my parents are actually in the process of moving themselves! If you can’t count on your parents to stay put in one place, what can you trust? Ha ha. Just kidding. I thought it was my job to move all about the country, but you gotta go where the work takes you, and that’s great that my folks are moving back to St. Louis. I’m excited that they’re happy & getting a newly renovated place to call home!

Sitting around the breakfast table was fun today. It was just my mom, and our French cousins Jean-Paul & Martine. Not a word of English was spoken until 1pm, when it was time to jump in my tux & go off to the groomsmen- rallying point. (=

Hanging out with the groomsmen was funny. Half of them I was meeting for the first time,, the other half- well I knew their names & shared a few Christmas visits with- but to all of them I was “Natalia’s older brother”,,, stuck somewhere between being the older chaperone, and the potentially crazy Marine who just flew half-way around the world, whom few of them really knew what to expect from. They were a mischievous & fun bunch of guys. None could really stomach the shots of Scotch, or whatever the heck it was in the limo though. Strong medicine!

limo ride to reception with team big ears (= 

We got to the church around 2,,, first ones there, and started setting up. Of course there was a near crisis with the stereo, and getting the cd to play on something other than the computer it was burned on last night. (no-one checked until that moment… and then panic). I’m told most weddings start off this way.

It may be because I have just come from Indonesia- where anything below 80 is cold, but i’ve never seen guys sweat so much on a crisp 70 degree day, fresh after a morning rain. Bryan, the soon-to-be-groom, was forming puddles on his forehead. (= ha ha. Poor guy.

Closer to 3, guests were filling the church, the preacher was there- the groomsmen were looking around, wondering what comes next… Papa was asking- are the girls even here yet? It really started to feet like the set of a comedy, chick-flick wedding movie. (= and then there she was.

I got one of the first glimpses of my sister in her wedding dress, and she really knocked my hair back (figuratively speaking). (= she was beautiful. A long, flowing white dress with a big smile.

Without too much fiddling around- we got the show on the road,,, and I escorted Bryan’s sister down the aisle, as groomsman #3.

I don’t consider myself a big wedding fan. All that stress, and time, and effort to get everything juuuuuuust right for one day,, well it taxes people beyond what any one day is worth, in my book. I’d rather elope, and use ¼ of the money to take my bride on a cruise around the world for a month (which I could have done on this budget). I think that would be a lot more fun.

All things considered though- I have to say the whole wedding & reception went very smoothly & was a joy for me because it was my sister. My one & only sister… for whom being there was worth every minute of the 74 hour round-trip flight from Yogyakarta to Boston. Coming was never a question,,, but still, I am really glad I was there.

Besides the wedding, the next highlight of the night was papa & Talia’s first dance to Edleweiss. I’m not saying I got misty or anything there, but the laughing & cheering that followed from Uncle T jitter-bugging & swinging Natalia around the floor to James Brown (Good Times) was a great encore. (= that was the night in a nutshell!

Talia, Bryan & Nick at the reception
Talia & Bryan post-wedding pics at the Wayside mill
Talia with our french cousins Martine & Jean Paul 

Talia & my first dance...
the family: papa, maman, me & natalia at the reception 

(left-right) Jean-Paul, Bryan (the groom), Papa, Uncle T, moi
at the church
Talia & Bryan walking out of the church
reunited with an old friend!
Margaret, Maman, me, Papa 

Friday, 23Jun06

Highlights: getting home

Got to Boston by 10am,, (hour #37 of the trip), and I’m afraid of standing downwind of myself! Whew,,, I felt bad for the people sitting next to me on the last couple flights. Ha ha. Logan airport is so confusing- it took my dad & I an hour + a ride from garage staff around detours & construction to find the car!

It’s good to be home though. My French cousins Jean-Paul & Martine are here,, and Jean-Paul speaks no English (= I found him & my uncle in the back-yard trying to communicate through hand gestures & expressions (= ha ha. It’s amazing how well people can get by, having understood nothing of what the other said! It’s interesting rolling from straight bahasa Indonesia to French,,, when I try to think in French, an Indonesian vocab word jumps out! (that’s immersion for you!) but it’s great to see my cousins. Aside from my mom, I’m the only one they can have conversation with!
(j’etais bien content a vous revoir JP et Martine! A la prochaine =)

Went to (my sister) Natalia’s wedding rehearsal, and then to dinner. I get to walk one of the bridesmaids down the aisle & stand through the whole ceremony. (= by 6pm local time, it was 5am where my sleep cycle was at. I was worried, because my personality pretty much disappears when I’m that tired. Talking to Jean Paul through dinner, and sitting next to Bryan’s grandmother kept me on my toes though.

One of the social costs of being gone so long is that I’m meeting the majority of my sisters’ friends for the 1st or 2nd time here. They’re a rowdy & fun bunch,,, good ambassadors of Natick, Massachusetts. (= ha ha they remind me of the characters from “Reality Bites” and “Goodwill Hunting”. Nothing flashy or sophisticated about them… just straight-forward, hard working guys who will enjoy a laugh at your expense, then buy you a beer & pass a cigarette.

Me & Natalia at her rehearsal dinner
Talia & Bryan,,, the day before the wedding 

a view of morning,,, somewhere over the Pacific today.
and about 15 minutes later... 

Thursday 22Jun06

Marathon trip home to Boston

Left Yogyakarta at 7:40 yesterday, and through 5 stop-overs & 37 hours, I arrived in Boston today at 10:00am. (Jogja-Jakarta-Singapore-Taipei-LA-Chicago-Boston)

How many ways can I say Singapore has the best airport I’ve ever been to in the world? 3 will do:
couches: loved the tv lounge, playing world cup, with couches that were actually comfortable.
free internet: they have the computer stands all set up,, and they’re all over the airport, not just by the tv-couch lounge
massage while you wait! Why not! $18 for ½ hour in one of those Brookestone ultimate massage chairs? It’s not like I’m not stuck on a lay-over.

Singapore is great. I wish more airports were like that. There are just as many ways to describe Singapore Airlines as the best flying experience too,,, but I only need one: the stewardesses.

Nothing drives home the point more than getting off Singapore airlines, then getting on a United flight.

Free internet stands throughout the airport...
multiple flat-screen tv's & sofa lounges in the airport...
and massage chairs!
it's official,,, Singapore is the greatest airport ever 

Wednesday, 21Jun06

Highlights: got my tailored batiks back, first cooking class, and watched Mexico croak to Portugal.

After class, my tutor – Sinta- gave me a ride to the post office to pick up the package of souvenirs I mailed to myself from DC. Only took about 3 weeks. You have to pay some nebulous “fees” to pick up your own mail though. Only amounted to 70cents.

Speaking of money, I had a really interesting conversation with my host family last night. Pak Rochmadi is a chemical engineer, working on a report about gasoline blends & better ways to make diesel (solar) fuel. The university sent him & 3 others to the U.S. last year for a conference, which he organized. The 4-day trip cost $2,500,, which is his yearly salary! Yeah! Both my host parents are chem. Engineer professors at the biggest university in Indonesia, and they both make roughly $200 a month. Whew!
So that gives an appreciation for differences in cost of living,, and exchange rates.

Also- in Indonesia, when you buy a house,, you buy it up front! Very few people get mortgage loans from banks (15% interest rates), and many people in the countryside don’t trust or understand banks… so they don’t use them at all.

Pak & Bu Rochmadi say they were lucky to get their house, because 20 years ago they worked on a project which payed 10-times their usual salary for a year… and they used that money to save up & buy a house. They estimate their house would cost 200 million Rupiah ($20,000) to build today.
Shoot… when I retire- I’m moving to Indonesia!

After class I got a ride out to the tailor shop on the back of Sinta’s scooter. We’re a funny sight with Sinta driving. She’s maybe 4’10,,, and I’m guessing 85 lbs? I can see over her head just sitting there. (=
Merrie (one of the other tuturs) took us to her dad’s tailor shop to pick up a wedding surprise I got for my sister & soon-to-be brother in law. $20 turned 3 sheets of batik fabric into 3 beautiful & authentic Indonesian garments. Unbelievable (= they’re beautiful.

Wednesdays at 5 is cooking class at Ibu Hariandja’s house. I think all of us signed up for this elective. Ah! Whooooo,, good food! Oh man. Bu Martini did most of the cooking,,, I flipped the fried bananas (my contribution) ha ha. I’m not sure how much most of us learned in the kitchen- but the room was full of conversation and probably more closely resembled a party… I finally walked home by 9, so I could watch world cup.

And speaking of World Cup (piala dunia),, whew- Mexico really threw that game away. Launched all their best shots over the crossbar. Penalty kick? What was that?? I digress.

Ibu Hariandjo and the "fruits" of taking her cooking class! 

Tuesday 20Jun06

Highlights: school & marathon debates over lunch

It’s day #2, and already school feels like routine. It’s nice,,, except it’s hard to get a ride to school before 7:20. that leaves me 15 min to check e-mails before class, which is frustrating, because I’m up at least 2 hours before class usually. It’s a 15 minute ride on the back of a moped,,, or an hour to walk. I’ve walked home 2 of the last 3 days, both to make sure I knew my own way home, and because I didn’t want to bother anyone to come pick me up. It’s humid though- so by the time I get home,, I’m heading straight for the “mandi” (shower). The walking thing is not happening in the morning.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had to depend on other people for rides,, and it’s a 10 minute walk to the main street where I can catch a cab… whew… I’m thinking it’s time to rent a moped of my own. Traffic is scary- but I can follow-along & do what everyone else is doing.

It’s a funny subject actually- a few of the guys were quick to rent their own scooters… (costs anywhere from $40 to $100 a month, depending on how bad you got scammed,, Dan! Ha ha) and two of them, Marty (the former New Orleans cop) & Yancey (who’s neighbor is a bone doctor & told him stories…), are scared everytime they’re on the roads here. Yancey is thinking about returning his actually,, and he lives the farthest away. I live the 2nd farthest away from school.
Seriously though, walking to school, and to kickboxing class, then to cooking class & back is not a viable option. This isn’t New York, with subways. There are a whole series of busses, cabs, becak (pedicabs), and entrepreneurs who offer rides on the back of their scooters… and one way never seems to cost much more than a dollar. True. But I live juuuuuuust far enough from the main road to make getting around a pain. My younger brothers, Nana & pak Rochmadi are always offering to take me wherever- but… I can’t push them out of the house before 7:20! I am an on-the-go, 32 year old who likes efficiency & independence, and is stewed in the mores of American conveniences… which is to say i’m impatient. (=

I’m loving my new group of friends. Today for lunch 5 of us headed out to Oichii Bentu, all of us students of poly sci, anthropology & history,,, kicking around Crossfire-worthy debate over whether or not the death penalty is warranted, the state of our legal system, education in America,, and several random tangent spin-offs from there. What a great group of guys to verbally spar with. After 2 ½ hours and some drinks, we paid the bill & went back to school or home. This was just one of many interesting conversations you can find on any random day here. It’s great.

Togo was totally cheated by the refs against Switzerland tonight! Bollocks.

Here is my classroom!
(left to right) Yancey, Christian, me, Marty
Jessica, Bryan, Yancey & Christian 

Monday, 19Jun06
Highlights: 1st day of class

I’m thinking about getting a moped of my own. I was up at 4:30 this morning,, and anxious to get to the computer lab so I could check e-mail & update the adventures website,, but I couldn’t get a ride any sooner than 7:20. I wasn’t feeling overly patient this morning-

Today was our first day of classes though! It went well. The morning is divided up into three 1-hour classes: 8:00 reading/vocab (Pak Djoko), 9:00 grammar/writing (Pak Tri), 10:00 conversation (Bu Daru).
There are 6 of us who tested into the intermediate class, and 6 others who are learning bahasa for the 1st time, in the beginner class. All the teachers were nice- so it looks like it’s going to be a good 8 week semester!

We have 2 hours with our tutors on Mondays & Wednesdays after class, and then 2 extra-curricular classes. I picked cooking (5pm Wednesdays) and kickboxing (4pm everyday of the week except wed & sat. I can pick which days I go)
Lunch was funny today. 8 of us walked across the street to this restaurant, 4 of us discovered “hamburgers” mean Canadian bacon. Ha ha.

Dan & Christian,,, demonstrating the indonesian "hamburger" at lunch today (=
i knew someplace in the world would take the "ham" part seriously... 

One of the tutor’s dad owns a tailor shop in town, so after class I took 2 wedding gifts for my sister & her fiancée to get tailored. I leave Thursday morning for my sister’s wedding this weekend. I’m glad to be going, but not looking forward to 66 hours in an airplane on a 5 day trip.

Sunday, 18Jun06

Highlights: back to Bantul for 7 more hours of earthquake clean-up work

I got maybe ½ hour of sleep after the game last night,, then went straight to school to meet up with the volunteer group of UGM staff going down to Bantul to help out with cleaning up some more homes. I was the only American in the group today. We worked on two homes,,, mostly clearing bricks & debris, digging out what were rooms of a house, and separating bricks & shingles that can be used again.

our volunteer work group today

putting walls back together 

It’s always a personally rewarding experience being down here. Today was funny though,, being the only “bule” in the group. (I think “bule” means “westerner” the same way that gringo = American). The family we were helping was so happy to have us,, they insisted on feeding me lunch and bringing me into what’s left of their humble home. Such happy & warm-hearted people… they say I have a home here anytime I come to Bantul. (= I told them to look me up when they’re in the states.

down in Bantul today, this family offered me lunch. Gudeg, rice, and sweet tea. they were cooking on a fire out back as i was shoveling up what was left of their house
those who still have electricity use extension cords from what's left of their house. that goes for the refrigerator outside too.

amazing.


this is where they sleep... a bit more established than a tent- but definately a few amenities short of a 1/2 star rating