Happy Holidays!

This week, as you might've gathered from my first day of work post, is full of holidays. Tuesday was the Muslim holiday Isra and Mi'raj and Thursday was Ascension Day in Catholicism. Indonesia makes all religious holidays national holidays. So everyone in Java has been out of work for a good portion of the week. This of course makes life (and traffic) a little more hectic, but we've been adventuring around nonetheless.

Our free days mix a combination of religious and cultural exploration, lots of eating, and some free time as well. For Ascension Day we traveled to Gereja Ganjuran, or The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was established in 1924 by a Dutch family who owned a sugar factory in the area. It is particularly interesting because the church blends Roman Catholic tradition with the already existing Javanese culture of the area, which makes for some pretty interesting architecture and motifs.

This is a statue of Mary and Jesus depicted in Javanese style.

A Catholic temple outside of the church.

The inside of the church.

And clearly, the only way to follow up any outing in Indonesia, is by getting food. In the case of the Gereja Ganjuran trip, it was Pecel Lele. We went to this very pretty Javanese cultural center and hotel where I decided on the fried catfish with chili sauce. Ayu said it was "very student of me" to order. Plus, it's fun to order (it's pronounced peh-chel lay-lay).

Lunch.

Somehow, despite our excusions and copious meals, we still manage to find some extra free time during our days. On Tuesday night we decided to head to Yogyakarta's Southern Square after dinner. A park by day, at night it lights up with illuminated pedel-cart rides, different venders, and street musicians. 

Sarah, Tanto, Fye, Suraiya, and I in our elephant pedal-cart.

Sarah rode on top (behind the "Jogja" in the previous picture) and took this picture of some of the other illuminated "cars".

Also, a trip to the Southern Square wouldn't be complete without trying our hand at a little local myth. In the middle of the square there are two large banyan trees.

We visited at night, but here's a photo from Google of the trees during the day.

According to the myth, if you can walk from the north side of the trees through the path between them while blindfolded then you will get a wish granted. You start from pretty far away from the trees, and (particularly on holiday) have to wade through the crowd of other hopeful wishers trying to walk straight while blindfolded. 

This is a photo Sarah took of me as I walked blindfolded toward the trees.

Although it sounds relatively easy, people are limited to three attempts per night. Apparently it is really common for people to start walking straight toward the trees only to suddenly start walking to their right or left without any recollection of having turned. Out of Sarah, Suraiya, and myself I'm the only one who managed to make it through the trees while blindfolded. 

So despite not necessarily getting all of our wishes granted, we did manage to make the most of our holiday(s) and got the chance to get a little more acquainted with Yogya.

I Swear I'm In Indonesia to Work....

Yesterday was a national holiday in Indonesia so today was Suraiya and I's first day of work at Dian Interfidei. We woke up and lounged about the house, finally leaving for work around 10:30am. After all, yesterday being a holiday, no one at the non-governmental organization (NGO) would be there early in the morning. We went to drop Sarah off at PKBI first and arrived to find the place pretty much deserted. There was only one or two people out of the entire office, and they most definitely did not speak English. So we hung out on the front porch waiting for her supervisor to arrive.

While on the front porch I watched young school children running to and from their school just down the street. They excitedly responded to my greeting in bahasa Indonesia and talked quickly in their native tounge about the strange foreigners on the street (us). I watched some older men frequent in and out of this tarp covered booth on the side of the street. Almost every one reemerged with a glass of glistening iced tea. I watched even Pak Pomo (our driver) go over and complete this beverage ritual before turning to Ayu and asking if I could go over and try out my bahasa and order iced tea. After reminding me about the saftey hazards of street food she armed me with some new vocabulary and I excitedly ducked under the tarp myself. An hour into my first day of work I was sitting on the front porch of a different NGO sipping iced tea and enjoying the warm weather.

We managed to arrive at Dian Interfidei about noon, just as the rest of the organization was finishing up from lunch. We hadn't even been there five minutes before I was dining on fresh papaya, chicken, and rice. When we finished we got a tour of the office. The structure is that of a small house. There are lots of windows and desks are tucked throughout. Books sit on tables, counters, floors, and they fill walls of bookshelves... even outside of their library. There's a small hole in the roof of the back porch from a falling avacado. Wening warned me that if I hear crashing it's probably just from the avacado tree in the backyard. I think it is also important to note that a specific stop on our tour is a small closet like room with a prayer rug and small cot. Wening explained she used the room for her daily prayers, but we were welcome to use the room to rest anytime we felt tired during our work day (aka, the office has a nap room). After our tour we ended up heading back because Dian Interfidei was closing early. After all, there's a national holiday tomorrow.

So Suraiya and I headed back after our whole hour at the office well fed and informed that we shouldn't show up until late on Friday due to the holiday. Such is the life of a NGO in Indonesia.

Volcanic Activity

This is Mount Merapi (literally translated as Fire Mountain) outside of Yogyakarta. Yesterday morning Tanto took us off-roading around the volcano.

This is all of us around our jeep before the trip. Tanto is on the far right. On the far left is Pak Pomo. It has been mutually agreed upon by all the AUA interns that he is one of our favorite people in Indonesia. He doesn't speak English, but he always greets us with a smile and goes out of his way to help us at any given moment. He's our driver for the AUA program (not the off-roading), so he's the one who picks us up and takes us to work during the week. But back to the volcano...

This is a picture of CDs post volcano erruption:

And then you see this:

I'd like to note, that although seemingly destructable, this is what a Nokia looks like after 700 degree Celsius volcanic ash. So that's still pretty freaking impressive.

During our off-roading we also stopped at a bunker that was supposed to keep people safe during the erruption... except it didn't work.

This is a picture of the bunker (to the left of the sign) with the volcano giving off smoke in the background.

 This is a picture of myself inside of the bunker.

So my personal favorite part of the photo of myself in the bunker is, first off, that I think it is every bit as creepy as the inside of the bunker itself is. But when Suraiya was taking the photo she said, "Hold on, let me take another. You're so white!" Except every photo turned out the same. I can't help I'm a bulai (a white foreigner). Later on in the day people were joking about how I'm a ghost. Even before this photo Tanto liked to occasionally comment on how my skin was blinding him. So, welcome to my life (apparently as a ghost) in Indonesia.

Overall is was an awesome adventure. Only slightly dangerous, although Pak Bulai (Ben) refused to be in pictures for the sake of his insurence. I can't imagine why...

We've only had one bahasa lesson, but we're pretty sure this sign says "explore here".

The America's Unofficial Ambassadors Crew

I figured I was overdue on writing a short little explanation on who all are involved in America's Unofficial Ambassadors (AUA) here in Yogyakarta. If for no other reason than for you to know why there are repeating faces in many of my photographs.

The whole group hanging out at Gadjah Mada.

Ayu is on the left. She's a professor at Gadjah Mada with a phenominal sense of humor. She's super fun to be around and has a love of Beatles music and Alan Rickman. Also she reads my blog, so hi Ayu!

To my right in the photo is Nana. Another professor at Gadja Mada, she is so friendly and nice. She greeted me when I arrived in Yogya as if she had known me forever! Also, she knows all the best spas in town, which is a plus.

Suraiya (on the other side of Nana) is going into her junior year at McGill University in Canada. She's an AUA intern and is actually working at Dian Interfidei with me!

Sarah completes the AUA intern trifecta but is serving out her internship at PKBI, which is the Indonesian equivelent of Planned Parenthood. I got to visit PKBI with her today and was so amazed at all the work the organization is doing.

Pak Bulai*, known as Ben prior to me officially renaming him, is the director of America's Unofficial Ambassadors in Washington DC. He flew out to meet us when we arrived and accompanied us in our first few days of orrientation. I truly appriciate all his hard work and how much effort he's put into making sure our experience is absolutely amazing.

Fye is an International Relations student at Gadjah Mada. Also really nice, I look forward to getting to know her more during our time here in Yogya. She's an "AUA Buddy", which means she hangs out with us and is a friend and guide to us during our time in Indonesia.

Tanto, the furthest on the right, is also an AUA buddy. So far he's been a phenominal guide and translator, and is pretty much the only reason I am able to feed myself. (He always orders at restaurants for us.) He spends his free time taking us foreigners around and has been vital to our whole hermit crab experience. Oh, and he's European. Don't let his super Indonesian name and life trick you, he'll become a citizen of the EU one day.

So that's pretty much the group! Even though we've only been here 3-4 days I feel like I've known these people for so much longer! I can't wait to spend the next 6 weeks in their company.

*Pak Bulai can be translated a few different ways. Mainly "father albino" or "mister foreigner". Technically the name was first created by Nana who used it to refer to him jokingly when we were at the palace. 

A Trip to the Palace

Today during our free time Tanto took us around Yogyakarta and we got to walk around the Sultan's palace. Upon arrival, we were lucky enough to catch a traditional Indonesian dance in one of the areas of the palace. 

The dancer with the traditional musicians playing behind him. 

Indonesian traditional dance tells a story. The second dance was about a fight that happened between two brothers. The dancing is slow and meticulous, but it is so poetic and graceful. Every slight movement of their feet, toes, and even the arch of their feet has significance. I really liked the second dance because it reminded me a lot of martial art forms work, which makes sense since Silat comes from Indonesia.

The "brothers" mid-dance.

The end of the dance. 

And of course, we had to take pictures with them.

Afterword we got to walk around the grounds of the palace and visited the museum for the 9th Sultan (the father of the current Sultan). He was the one who declared Yogyakarta's independance. My fellow interns and Indonesian friends and coordinators were joking that I proved I really was a communications intern, because every time they tried to find me I was off talking to people. There was a tourist group from Germany so I followed along with them every so often to hear their tour guide's historical description of parts of the palace. Minutes later I'd be deep in discussion with other travelers (particularly a woman from Spain who spoke English) translating what I was learning from the tour guide. I managed to find plenty of time to talk to locals too. Learning more history from Ayu and Nana, and even managing to interact with some of the Sultan's servents.

This picture is misleading. They are really nice and happy to interact with you.

It was really beautiful and interesting because you just can't find history similar to Yogya's anywhere else. Also, my bahasa Indonesian lessons started today. So next time I'll be able to communicate with even more people!

It only took me 48 hours to get crabs in Indonesia.... hermit crabs, that is.

This morning our Indonesian buddy Tanto took Suraiya, Sarah, and I to the Sunday morning market nearby campus. Which is seemingly innocent enough...

Except we decided to pick up a little house warming gift for ourselves... a house pet. Or rather, pets...

....which Sarah immedately dropped....

And of course, they needed classy accommodations...

So we bought them a house. With a pool, umbrella, slide, and swing. Because we could. So, much to our program coordinaters' amusement, we are now sharing our house with three hermit crabs. I named mine Stroberi (the Indonesia word/spelling of "strawberry"). 

I think you can see why.

So we're just making ourselves at home in Yogyakarta! One hermit crab at a time...

A General Update About Indonesia (AKA: What I Learned Today)

So far Indonesia has been really great. Thanks to my program and my location at University Gadjah Mada I'm surrounded by amazing people. Today Suraiya, Sarah, and I went through orrientation and got to see a bit of the UGM campus. But, during this time I learned some pretty interesting things I thought I'd share...

First off, Indonesia is big. It's actually as wide across at the United States! The different islands  (aproximately 17,700 of them) stretch across the same distance as California to Maine.

Secondly, the ring of fire is a serious thing. And I'm living in it: right next to the most active volcano in the world. There's still ash on the sidewalks from the last eruption which was awhile ago. Here's a depiction of all of the volcanos in Indonesia:

I have other fun diagrams too! Mostly because not only is Indonesia big, it's also diverse. This is what the general religious landscape of Indonesia looks like:

If you look for the island in deep red, that's Bali. Then look at the lime green island to its left. That's where I'm at. Roughly in the area below the little orange blip on that island. Also, you might note that there are two main types of Islam in Indonesia. Modernist and traditional. The names actually seem a little backword to me, as Modernist Islam is what you think of when you think of the Middle East. It's more traditional in the direct setting of Islam. However, Traditional Islam is actually in reference to the traditions of Indonesia. It takes Islam and updates it to thrive amongst the already existing Indonesian culture. Honestly, after only 24 hours here I don't feel qualified enough to list examples of what habits, traditions, and beliefs come from where, but I'm sure I'll discover more about it particularly because my internship is at a local interfaith organization.

Last brief example is the ethnic diversity. When I'm talking about multiple cultures, it is a real thing. Even the US seems to pale in comparison to Indonesia as a "melting pot" of sorts. Here's a map of the different ethnic groups in Indonesia:

It's crazy how diverse Indonesia is. Even in one day I can get to know people who come from a variety of backgrounds and islands. I'm living in a beautiful university town (known as "The City of Students") but life is different all across Indonesia. In one region (Aceh) there is strict Sharia law and the police enforce the wearing of hijabs, but on the other side of the country (Papua) there are some people who still don't even wear any western conception of clothing.

Point is, it's day one and I'm already amazed at what Indonesia holds. I think I definitely underestimated how richly diverse and exciting the country is. I can't wait to see what two more months here is going to teach me!

Celebrating Europe Indonesian Style

It's my first full day in Yogyakarta! On the way back from lunch we took a walk through the university campus we're staying at and got to explore a little bit. Turns out the International Relations department is hosting European Week this week. When we were walking past the department there was an outdoor festival celebrating different European countries. Needless to say, I bounded up to the Germany booth and greeted them with German. After an excited "Guten Tag!" the girl on the left immedately responded (in perfect English) "You speak German?!". So I acclimated to their booth. Leave it to me to make friends with German loving strangers in Indonesia.

How Not to Get to Asia

I can tell you right now, travel has never been so much work. Getting from Erie, Pennsylvania to Yogyakarta, Indonesia has already been an epic adventure in itself, and I’m still thousands of miles from Indonesia. I wanted to make this post as sort of an index of the traveling adventures you can scroll down to behold, because my lack of internet up until this point has required the posting of a variety stories simultaneously. But continue to read on, because below you can find posts on:

-          Why United Airlines Rocks

-          Spontaneous Overnights in Tokyo

So please, do scroll down. Because if the last 24 hours of my life have been anything, it’s blog fodder.

The Tokyo Airport Isn't in Tokyo

My connection to Tokyo did not leave on time. In fact, it left hours later than it should have. Precious hours I spent Snapchating my sorority Little and chatting up cute Marines. However, those extra hours were not so helpful in my attempt to make my connecting flight. I touched down at the Tokyo airport roughly 15 minutes before my next flight took off. So there, at the end of the deplaning area, were airport agents prepared with new flights and complimentary hotel stays.

That’s how I ended up at Hotel Nikko Narita. Which is directly next to the Tokyo airport. Which, ironically, is two hours from Tokyo. Even downtown Narita is 30 minutes from the Narita hotel. So what I was hoping to be a night in Tokyo ended up as a night in the Hotel Nikko Narita. But Japan has been kind of an amazing place for me in the fact that I’ve never felt less alone than when I’m wandering around in Japan. Last year I met a sorority sister. However, this year I met brothers; triplets in fact, joined on their trip by their half sister and her boyfriend. They too missed the flight to Jakarta. So we bussed over to the hotel where we got assigned to our respective rooms and then met up for our complimentary dinner.

We got acquainted fast and found out that they’re actually from a town right near where I used to live in Massachusetts. I kid you not, I was discussing mutual friends from middle school with near strangers in Japan. Before long we were following up our dinner at the hotel’s sky lounge, which played a strange array of smooth jazz over the leather booths and near-skyscraper view of the airport and surrounding city.

My newly acquainted friends at the hotel.

However, even nights in Tokyo must come to an end, and we departed back to our rooms. Which I feel is interesting enough it deserves its own commentary. Here’s a picture of my little room:

200% of the recommended nightly dose of bed.

But here’s the really cool part:

I know by now you probably just think I really enjoy photographing Japanese toilets (see last year's post), but look closer…

Yeah. My private toilet has adjustable butt warming capabilities.

But wait, there’s more! For the same price as Everything’sFreeDueToUnited, you get…

Actually drinkable water!

And look at the photo of the beds again.

That’s right. You can control all the lights in the room from the comfort of your bed. Best free hotel room ever. Plus I can get a break between my 14 hour and my 8 hour flights. And complimentary breakfast.

Fly United. If not for me, do it for DiCaprio.

My United flight from Washington D.C. to Tokyo was nearly 14 hours long. However, it was the best international flight I’ve ever had. Any flight where they serve you free gelato is a great flight.

And the in flight entertainment was particularly choice. I watched Tangled and Frozen, and could have spent hours upon hours with Leonardo DiCaprio thanks to Wolf of Wallstreet and The Great Gatsby amongst others. I felt cultured watching Fish Tank Kings auf Deutsch and Frozen with Arabic subs. Wadjda was offered too. (A fantastic Saudi film I discovered this past semester.) And who could be bored with hours of Friends and Sex and the City episodes to rot my brain to?

The best entertainment though by far was the flight attendants. I had two women in my area of the plane and at the height of my restlessness I joined them in their compartment at the back of the plane. In between their food and drink rounds they had time to join me in conversing about traveling, international work, and all the fun flying drama going on. Tip: treat the flight attendants well and they’ll return the favor. As we were approaching Japan one of the women came to my seat to wish me well with my connection, my coming internship, and actually gave me a set of United wings to celebrate my coming summer plans.

So this is my shout out to United for just generally being awesome. Thanks for helping me start out my trip right.

At the end of my 14 hour flight right after recieving my wings!