Thursday, 13July06
Highlights: conversation class, gamelan class, death in the neighborhood
It rained today, which caught everyone a little by surprise… and of course I happened to walk out of the house (and jump on my scooter) in white pants today. Well I didn’t melt- and that’s what washing machines are for.
White smoke was seen coming up from Merapi the other day, which has several locals here freaked out… because they see it as a sign of an upcoming earthquake. The strange white smoke was seen 2 days before the big earthquake in May.
Today’s topic of discussion in 3rd class: mixed marriages. Issues that come attached, why people do it, advantages, disadvantages… ah! Good times. Well as a product of one such mixed marriage, it was an easy subject to talk about.
Honestly,, I wasn’t too jazzed about going to Gamelan class today. It’s not the most exciting way to kill 2 hours on a Thursday afternoon- but we’ve got a performance in a month, and everyone has to go (like it or not),,, so… presence, if not enthusiasm, counts for something.
My host family is great conversation waiting to happen. (yeah- I was skipping kickboxing today too).
Adi, the oldest of my little brothers (20) plays guitar in a band, and just advanced from the top 100 bands in Yogya to the top 50. Next week there’s another competition to advance to the top 25. I haven’t seen him play yet- but I’m looking forward to 22 July,,, when he plays again.
Anyways- I was teasing him that his guitar skills will be handy in getting him a girlfriend someday. Mom piped up & said “that’s not the important thing…” True enough. But every guy will describe himself as a ‘good guy’, and when girls talk about how cool their boyfriends are among their friends, not many can say their boyfriends wail on a guitar in Yogya’s top band! Touchee mom! ;)
I speak bahasa indonesia with them until I get stumped on a word,, and they help me out. It’s great. We kept going for another hour or so about qualities we like most in people, the rationale behind fixed marriages, and what exactly is jack-fruit? (the main element of Yogya’s main dish: Gudeg)
In the middle of dinner a call came in; our neighborhood (RT) leader died tonight. Everyone in the neighborhood went to his house to pay respects, and we sat around for about an hour, talking with the neighbors.
Indonesia has a few more administrative divisions than America. From big to small, Indonesia is subdivided from: Country-Propinsi-Kabupaten-Kecematan-Desa/Dusun-RW-RT. The smallest (Rukun Tetangga, which translates: group of neighbors) is a collection of maybe 10 homes which has a volunteer leader/elder who represents it.
Our “ketua RT” (neighborhood elder), was really young actually. 30-something. Kidney failure, apparently,,, and the rumors were swirling about how much Extra Joss he liked to drink.
For you who have never experienced Indonesian TV, every other commercial is for cigarettes (Djarum), or this energy powder (Extra Joss) that you add to any drink to make it like Red Bull, with a kick. Both products were the main sponsors of World Cup TV here- so their theme music was pounded into my head. Christian Ronaldo, from Portugal, was in all the commercials too. The good ones anyways, (which is why Dan rooted for Portugal). Ha ha.
Anyways- apparently too much of that stuff drop-kicks your kidneys & kills you- so beware of Red Bull powder by the name Extra Joss!
Highlights: conversation class, gamelan class, death in the neighborhood
It rained today, which caught everyone a little by surprise… and of course I happened to walk out of the house (and jump on my scooter) in white pants today. Well I didn’t melt- and that’s what washing machines are for.
White smoke was seen coming up from Merapi the other day, which has several locals here freaked out… because they see it as a sign of an upcoming earthquake. The strange white smoke was seen 2 days before the big earthquake in May.
Today’s topic of discussion in 3rd class: mixed marriages. Issues that come attached, why people do it, advantages, disadvantages… ah! Good times. Well as a product of one such mixed marriage, it was an easy subject to talk about.
Honestly,, I wasn’t too jazzed about going to Gamelan class today. It’s not the most exciting way to kill 2 hours on a Thursday afternoon- but we’ve got a performance in a month, and everyone has to go (like it or not),,, so… presence, if not enthusiasm, counts for something.
My host family is great conversation waiting to happen. (yeah- I was skipping kickboxing today too).
Adi, the oldest of my little brothers (20) plays guitar in a band, and just advanced from the top 100 bands in Yogya to the top 50. Next week there’s another competition to advance to the top 25. I haven’t seen him play yet- but I’m looking forward to 22 July,,, when he plays again.
Anyways- I was teasing him that his guitar skills will be handy in getting him a girlfriend someday. Mom piped up & said “that’s not the important thing…” True enough. But every guy will describe himself as a ‘good guy’, and when girls talk about how cool their boyfriends are among their friends, not many can say their boyfriends wail on a guitar in Yogya’s top band! Touchee mom! ;)
I speak bahasa indonesia with them until I get stumped on a word,, and they help me out. It’s great. We kept going for another hour or so about qualities we like most in people, the rationale behind fixed marriages, and what exactly is jack-fruit? (the main element of Yogya’s main dish: Gudeg)
In the middle of dinner a call came in; our neighborhood (RT) leader died tonight. Everyone in the neighborhood went to his house to pay respects, and we sat around for about an hour, talking with the neighbors.
Indonesia has a few more administrative divisions than America. From big to small, Indonesia is subdivided from: Country-Propinsi-Kabupaten-Kecematan-Desa/Dusun-RW-RT. The smallest (Rukun Tetangga, which translates: group of neighbors) is a collection of maybe 10 homes which has a volunteer leader/elder who represents it.
Our “ketua RT” (neighborhood elder), was really young actually. 30-something. Kidney failure, apparently,,, and the rumors were swirling about how much Extra Joss he liked to drink.
For you who have never experienced Indonesian TV, every other commercial is for cigarettes (Djarum), or this energy powder (Extra Joss) that you add to any drink to make it like Red Bull, with a kick. Both products were the main sponsors of World Cup TV here- so their theme music was pounded into my head. Christian Ronaldo, from Portugal, was in all the commercials too. The good ones anyways, (which is why Dan rooted for Portugal). Ha ha.
Anyways- apparently too much of that stuff drop-kicks your kidneys & kills you- so beware of Red Bull powder by the name Extra Joss!
posted by jonathan adventures at 1:59 PM
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