Ulang Tahun dan Malioboro

Last Sunday was my host father's, Pak Handono's, 46th birthday. We spent the day with his sister and her family to celebrate, starting by meeting at a church in Yogya for the Sunday service. I particularly like this church because it is big and has a large mural painted on the front wall. On Sunday, however, we arrived a little late so we had to sit on the overflow benches outside, and watch the service on a TV. This turned out not to be so bad, because it got to be a hot morning and there was a nice breeze outside to cool us off.

After the service, we did a bit of driving. We went to the hotel where Pak Handono's relatives were staying so that they could check out, and then we went to see the women's boarding house that my host mom, Helena, just opened a few weeks ago. After that, we headed out north of Yogya for lunch. It was a long drive, and by the time we arrived at the restaurant everyone was hungry. The drive was worth it though! The restaurant was beautiful- everything was made of bamboo and the eating rooms were suspended over a pond (it was man-made, I believe). We took off our shoes outside the eating area, sat on the floor, and ordered drinks. I said I wanted an es teh panas. Hot iced tea. I felt really dumb, and eventually we got it sorted out. I am very much looking forward to being able to speak well in bahasa Indonesia. For food, we ordered two different kinds of shrimp, fried tofu and tempe, a vegetable salad, and grilled carp. I was surprised that the restaurant would serve carp- I've always thought that they weren't good to eat, but perhaps it was a different variety than there is in the Cannon River in Northfield. The fish was smaller than the average Minnesota carp, and very tasty. We also brought a chocolate cake for Pak Handono, which we actually ate before the meal started and only used our hands. Sticky, but delicious.

Walk ways to the eating areas

The view from our table

After lunch, we decided to go to St. Mary's Cave. The drive there was on a long, winding, mountain road. The scenery out the car window was beautiful, but I was getting a little carsick, so I couldn't gaze for too long. Once we were out of the car, we bought a box of candles from a little stand next to the road and then climbed up some stairs to the shrine. There was a washing station along the way, with many different water spigots, where everyone washed their hands, arms, and faces. The water there is said to keep you looking young. The "cave" was really just a large rock with a statue of Mary set into it and surrounded by roses and burning candles. Everyone lit a candle and stuck it to the rock with a little hot wax, then sat down on small stools and prayed. All you could hear was the rustling of the trees in the wind; it was the most quiet few minutes I've ever experienced since coming here, and for some reason it was hard not to cry. I lit a candle for all my family, friends, and supporters back home, and got the chance to sit and think about my purpose here as an exchange student and all the opportunities that lie ahead of me. After praying, we hung out and took some pictures before heading home. It was a nice, relaxing Sunday.

Street vendors selling candles, roses, rosaries, and other souveniers

Building right next to St. Mary's Cave. The washing station is to the right of this creek, on the lower level. The shrine is up the stairs from there, on the same level as the upper bridge.

If you'll allow me to backtrack to Saturday night, I also went on my first visit (of many, I hope) to Malioboro- a popular market place in Yogya. It consists of one main street, lined with shops, and then many restaurants and hotels nearby. I didn't get a chance to shop much, but we did take a short ride in a horse pulled carriage, which are everywhere in Malioboro. I learned that whenever you want to buy something here, always start bartering for half the given price (sometimes even less than that, if you're a foreigner). The whole street was mostly batik shops, but there were a few hotels and general stores, too. And packed with people, of course.

Malioboro, from the end of the main street.

And that's all I have for now. School is still going great, and I hope to post another entry about my home here in a few days. Until then- sampai jumpa!

Salam Belajar

Having completed two full weeks of school, I think it is high time for a blog entry. I can't say it enough- I love it at SMKI. It seems like everyone at school knows my name; I don't think I've ever walked to a class without someone yelling "Halo Andrea!" across the yard. I've started to introduce myself with Indonesian pronunciation- Ah-ndreya- since no one can say the American version. In bahasa Indonesia, though, you are supposed to roll your "r's", which I haven't mastered yet, and so it's sort of odd when people I meet can pronounce my name better than I can. However everyone has been very welcoming and kind, so it is a rare occasion for me to feel embarrassed.

I was worried about finding people to sit with at lunch on the first day of school, but it turns out there isn't a formal eating area at school. If you want to buy your lunch there is a food stand called kantin ("canteen") on the edge of campus where you can buy hot meals (nasi (rice), mie goreng (fried noodles), soto (soup with rice), among other things). I order an es teh (iced tea) most days, which is sweet and refreshing, and costs about 12 cents US. There are many people who just pack their own lunches every day, and eat outside during istirahat (recess).

As for my schedule, I am learning three different types of dance- tari alus, tari gege, and tari putri. It's difficult to say which one I like the best; they are all very different. Tari alus is very slow and methodic, and the whole dance is done in a squat position, with your feet pointed straight out to the side. I enjoy my tari alus lesson because I can copy everyone better when they're moving slowly, but I am also dripping sweat by the time the lesson is over. At first, I thought tari gege would be the easiest (I'm still not sure if I'm spelling that right, by the way. I'm guessing based on its pronunciation "guh-guh"), because the movements looked simple. You take a lot of big steps, for lack of a better way to describe it (always with your toes flexed and knees pointing out to your side, like tari alus), but it is fast. Or it seems fast to me because I cannot keep up no matter how hard I try. There are simultaneous arm and leg movements and changes of finger positions... Too much for me to remember. Tari gege has more abrupt moves than the other dances; I think it is a traditional male dance, but classes are always co-ed. Lastly, tari putri is my favorite to watch (but challenging for me to execute). Putri means "princess" or "girl", and the movements look delicate, feminine, and beautiful. Out of all three types, I want to learn a tari putri routine the most. Performances, from what I've seen, are done alone, and the dancer wears a long traditional wrap with a fancy long-sleeved lace shirt.

In general, dances are performed using either one or two long, batik cloths. One might be hung around the neck (tari gege), like a scarf, and the other (if you are advanced enough to use two) is looped in a special belt around the waist (tari gege/tari alus), or else just knotted around the waist (tari putri) with the ends hanging down in front. Dancers use the batiks throughout the routine- flicking the ends behind them, wrapping it around their hand(s), holding it out in front or to the side, etc. There are so many variations, but I am still working on actually finding the cloth piece when I have to flick it. The dancers here make everything look very fluid and easy, but I can't seem to ever have the right sense of what position my body is in. I have yet to tackle any head movements- they are a very important part of the dances, but I simply cannot make the rest of my limbs function right when I'm trying to swivel my head a certain way, too. I obviously have a lot of room to grow.

So I am learning three different types of dance, but I attend lessons with different classes. (Here, the same group of students typically attend all the same lessons together.) I, however, get to switch around which is nice because I get to see more advanced dancing (exactly that- I mostly watch because I can't dance with them) but I also get the chance to participate at a more basic level of each type of dance. I have at least one dance class each day, Wednesday being the most tiring because I have three basic-level lessons in a row. Thursday all four of my lessons are dances, but two of them are advanced so I just watch. More like gape in amazement, I suppose. :)

I also have two Javanese singing lessons each week, which I actually really enjoy. My very first lesson was a bit stressful, because I was asked to sing alone in front of the class and there are very high notes. As it turns out, I have yet to attend a vocal lesson where I am not asked to sing solo, so I have gotten used to it. A small part of me hopes that this is because the teacher likes my voice, but it's more probable that she just wants me to work on my Javanese pronunciation. I don't yet know the meaning of the words I sing, but I have learned to count to six in Javanese (warm-ups are done in numbers)- ji, ro, lu, ma, nem. Almost to six, I don't know what four is yet; for some reason, we never sing that note. And I think that is abbreviated Javanese (like how Indonesian is shortened to tu, a, ga, pat for satu, dua, tiga, empat).

Javanese has become an intimidating obstacle for me because Javanese words are used very often here (mingled in with bahasa Indonesia) but the spelling and pronunciation are different. For example, in Javanese an "a" is pronounced "oh" (so the above "ma" is sung like "moh"). I have a bahasa Jawa class, but between the teacher speaking in Indonesian and Javanese I have no idea what is going on. I just write down what they tell me to. This past Tuesday I was introduced to aksara jawa- Javanese letters. When I first saw the teacher writing them on the board I was in disbelief. It is like nothing I have ever seen before; the symbols all look like a variation of a cursive "m". I thought Javanese was tough already, and now I am learning a completely new alphabet. I took a picture of my notes so that you can see what I mean. Each symbol is sort of like a consonant, but pronounced with an "a" at the end. HA (ho), NA (no), CA (cho), RA (ro), etc. If you want to change the "a" part (like end with an "ooh" sound instead of the original "oh") then you add extra stuff to the letter (a long vertical hook to the end of the symbol, for the "ooh" sound, for example). In spelling my last name, to change the WA symbol to be pronounced "wi" for Willgohs, you draw a little circle on top of it. For WA to "wuh" you draw a big circle on top... And that's all I've learned so far. I have bahasa Jawa only once a week, but I hope the next lessons stay this interesting.

Aksara Jawa, then my name written twice

I have a bahasa Indonesia lesson once a week as well, where I can follow along a little better. So far I've only been to one lesson (I missed my first scheduled lesson when we left town for Semarang), but it seems like a good fit for my level of understanding. I don't know a majority of the words that are said, but I can grasp what the main ideas are.

My karawitan lessons are twice a week. I just recently got to try all the different instruments, but I have the most experience on what looks like a short xylophone and carries the main melody of the song. The other instruments are sets of gongs, bells/metal pots (hard to describe- they remind me of acorns), something similar to a glockenspiel, and drums. I will have to include a picture in a future post; the whole set up is pretty impressive. These are the instruments for karawitan, but there are additional instruments for other types of gamelan. Karawitan is fun to play because there's an obvious pattern to the melody (so it's easy) and the teacher will speed up or slow down the tempo at different points in the song (universal throughout gamelan, I believe). It is great to feel like I'm catching on fast, compared to how I do in dance. I still have difficultly following other gamelan songs because the timing of the instruments and tempo seems so erratic (this is especially a hindrance in dance classes because I can't figure out when the eight-count starts), but I'm slowly getting more accustomed to the sounds. During my first karawitan class, I learned an important lesson. After we finish the song, everyone in the class rotates around to play a different instrument. I was in the process of stepping to the next set of xylaphone-things when I heard some students behind me go "No, no, no!" Too late. The teacher then explained to me that stepping over gamelan instruments is disrespectful, but that this time was okay because I was foreign and I didn't know. Whew. I still apologized several times. I knew there would be moments like these during my exchange, but I still felt ignorant and rude. I am now extremely careful when changing stations.

Lastly, I also have lessons in traditional dress and OTB, both once a week. In the traditional dress class, you use two pieces of fabric- a large, rectangular batik cloth and a long, skinny, stretchy wrap. The batik is first accordion-folded several times along one edge (the folds about two inches wide), these are pinned in place, and then the whole thing is wrapped tightly around your legs, with the accordion folds ending in a vertical line in front. The batik is wrapped from a different direction for males and females, too. The stretchy cloth is then wrapped multiple times around the stomach and the end tucked in in back. There are other important details to doing this right, but they are hard to explain and I'm sure I don't know all of them. I don't remember what OTB stands for, but it is like a short martial arts dance routine. My favorite part of this lesson is the stretching at the beginning, because everything afterwards is fast, difficult, and tiring. I much prefer my other dance classes.
To end with a few general details about my school day- everyone takes off their shoes and socks outside of the dance studios and karawitan rooms. For dancing, everyone wears black leggings and T-shirt, and additional traditional clothing items/accessories if needed. If you are walking between two dance lessons, you can stay in your dance outfit but you wrap your batik around your waist (for girls, anyways). For all other classes besides dancing you have to change back into your uniform. There are two istirahat periods every day, one for twenty minutes and one for thirty minutes, where students usually eat or do homework around campus. Most interesting, I think, is at both the beginning and end of a lesson everyone in the class goes up, takes the teacher's hand, and either touches it to their forehead or right cheek. (I always go for the right cheek, in case my forehead is sweaty). I've been told that this is a gesture of respect. I'm glad we do this at school, too, because I saw this type of greeting in the Jakarta airport and thought wow, that's cool. And now I do it every day :)

First day of school picture. This is my uniform hari senin ke hari kamis (Mon-Thurs). Hari jum'at dan hari sabtu (Fri and Sat) I wear a blue and black batik shirt with a black skirt. I prefer the batik uniform, because it looks sweet first of all, and you don't have to tuck your shirt in.

This is the field where upacara ("ceremony") is held every other Monday at 7 am. I have only been to one so far. Everyone lines up in rows, looking towards the flagpole, and wears a school hat, which I don't have yet. There is singing of the national song, raising of the flag, a prayer, speeches and announcements. Each class at SMKI take turns running upacara, and the students in charge have to walk in military fashion, wear military hats and white gloves, and occasionally yell commands (for everyone to salute the flag, or stand with their feet together). I wasn't aware of the hat requirement before I came to school on Monday, so I had a half hour of wanting to shrink and hide when I had to stand a head taller than everyone (with my blonde hair), and not have a hat. Another moment where I felt unintentionally rude.

This is one of the court yards at school, to the right is the office, but there are classrooms all around the other sides. Straight ahead, through the opening in the cement wall, is a concrete amphitheater. I've seen some of the theatre students practicing in there before, but mostly students just relax there during istirahat. There is a big mango tree in the corner (not visible from this picture), that the boys sometimes climb to get an afternoon snack. I have yet to eat a mango fresh from the tree, but I'm hoping someday I can ask someone to pick one for me.

Clearly, my school here is completely different from high school in America, but that's probably why I love it so much. I am truly lucky, and so grateful, that I get to study at SMKI. The students are incredibly talented and always friendly, and I get the chance to learn a unique part of Indonesian culture. No doubt every day will be a challenge, but it's an experience I will never forget. I've decided that all the work is worth it for just those few minutes where I get to change classes in my leggings and batik wrap. Because man, does it feel cool to be a dancer.

Selamat Malam

This past weekend I went to Semarang with my family, which is a city about three hours north of Yogya on the opposite coast of Java. Semarang is much smaller than Yogya, but much more hot and humid. I often get cold at night in Yogya, so I chose to wear a long sleeve shirt for dinner Saturday night, but walking around Semarang after dark still feels like the middle of the afternoon, so my attempt at planning ahead didn't work out so well.

The purpose of our trip to Semarang was to attend the wedding reception for Vania's cousin Ika. She got married to her husband Jeffrey in Perth, Australia in early August and chose to have the reception in Semarang, where most of her family lives. Much to my dismay, I only packed one dress for the weekend when there were actually two semi-formal events: a Catholic mass and dinner Saturday night, and the reception Sunday afternoon. There was a private mass performed in the restaurant for our party of about 50 people, followed by a seven course dinner. An elderly man invited me to join him and four nuns for the meal; we chatted in simple English and he translated some of what the nuns said for me. I was told that before I return to the U.S. I have to gain at least 5 kilos, and that I also should become a nun so that I can come back to their convent in Indonesia and maybe visit Peru (where they have two nuns stationed right now). So I may never get the chance to be married on the edge of a cliff, after all. Who knows.

The next afternoon, everyone got dressed up for Ika and Jeff's wedding reception. I was glad to finally have an appropriate outfit- a pink cotton dress- but I soon found that getting ready for the event was similar to pre-prom preparation. Everyone had silk or satin dresses, complete with blingy jewelry and fancy up-do's. I am getting too familiar with feeling out of place. We arrived at the hotel around 9:30 am and went to the ballroom where everything was decked out in hot pink. The table cloths, chair covers, flowers, and even the stripes on the cake were bright magenta. I didn't count how many tables there were, but it was a fairly large room, and there was a big T-shaped stage set up in the middle. As we got there, there were groups of dancers and singers and a 12 piece orchestra who were rehearsing on stage. All I could do was stare. We waited for several more hours while the room was set up and then pictures were taken on stage with the bride and groom. My host sister Cynthia and I sat at our table eating peanuts with chopsticks (difficult to say the least).

For me, the next few hours held a once in a lifetime experience. We certainly do not throw wedding receptions like this in the U.S. A seven course meal was served, accompanied by an ongoing show complete with dance numbers, singing (both professional and not), and other fun activities. Interestingly, there were two hired hosts that talked throughout the event (it was almost all in Indonesian, so I couldn't tell what they were saying) and a videography crew that filmed the whole thing. Some parts were similar to American wedding receptions: Ika and Jeff cut the cake together (with a sword; the cake was about six feet tall and set up on a table. It had hot pink stripes and sparkles.), and they fed each other, but each one also fed cake to their parents and parents-in-law. Instead of throwing out a bouquet, each newlywed had four or five single pink roses that they threw behind them. Jeffrey threw to a group of single ladies, and Ika threw them to single guys. I caught one! I was glad to find that my rose had a pink ribbon on it when I sat back down, because the pair that caught the white-ribbon roses had to go on stage and sing a Javanese song (but they both received a gift as well).

There was also a first dance for the newlyweds up on stage, which ended with a dramatic kiss and an explosion of real fireworks in the back ground. I accidentally let out a little squeal and clapped my hands to my mouth at this part- I wasn't expecting the fireworks. Everything went smoothly, though I was a little worried since there were sparks bouncing off of the ceiling. Another performance where I couldn't help but smile was the serving of the first course. The waiters and waitresses filed in and set the food down in a choreographed routine (complete with a gong) to the Disney song "Be Our Guest". As for the food, the menu item that I found most memorable was fish lip soup. I'm not sure what the "lips" were made of, but they looked and felt like bubbly gelatin noodles. The broth was tan, thick, and stringy (I hate to say it, but mucous-like). I added a few spoonfuls of soy sauce, and this helped immensely.

Impressively, what happened next was even more alarming than the fish lip soup. I excused myself during a singing performance to go to the bathroom, and right as I was leaving the ladies' room Cynthia runs up and says "Ika wants to give you a gift!" "She wants to give everyone a gift?" I say. "No, just you" was the reply, and I was both surprised and terrified at the same time. As soon as I entered the ballroom again I was whisked onstage by the two hosts. They asked me a few questions, like where I was from (America), and what country (Minnesota. This is what everyone asks.) and then they said we were going to sing a Javanese song together. Oh boy. It turned out that I only had to say a few words, which they taught me slowly, and the hosts sang the rest. I had fun being on stage (and on camera!), but I sure was relieved when I got to head back to my seat, away from the bright lights and strange words. I still felt rather conspicuous, though, with the large, heavy gift in my hands.

The reception ended with a delicious white chocolate cake and a large dancing/singing number with all the performers. I really regret not bringing my camera inside; there were so many moments that I wish I could share with you. This was, without a doubt, the most extravagant wedding reception I will ever attend in my life. And I just opened my gift a few minutes ago- it's a blender. I asked my host family if they are in need of one, but they already have two. Hopefully it can make it back to Minnesota with me. It's the only evidence I have of Ika and Jeff's reception and I am very proud of it :)

We got back to Yogya pretty late last night, and everyone was exhausted. What a busy couple of days! One thing I will need to get used to is the short weekends here, since there is always school on Saturday. However tired I was this morning, though, didn't affect my great day at school. I decided I will blog more in depth once I have at least a week of classes under my belt, but so far I love it at SMKI. At long last, here is where the blog entry must come to an end- I can hear the call to prayer outside, which means it's time to get ready for bed. Good morning Minnesota. Selamat malam Yogya.

Besok Pagi

I've always known that I would try many new things this year in Indonesia, but I didn't think that karaoke would be one of them. Last night some of the Rotex, Pauline, and I got together and sang for about two hours straight. First, I have to explain that karaoke here isn't the same as in the U.S.- it is much less embarrassing, thankfully. The place we went to has a bunch of smallish rooms with karaoke systems that you rent out with a group, so it's a more private (and preferable) environment for belting out tunes off-key. At first, Pauline and I were both adamant that no one would want to hear us sing, but we warmed up to it after awhile, and even did a few duets together. That doesn't mean that we sounded good, though. The Rotex sang a few songs in Indonesian, one in Javanese, and I think one in Japanese, but the majority were in English, so I had plenty of opportunities to join in. (Probably too many, my throat was sore by the end.) Someone threw in the Star Spangled Banner along the way just for me, which I butchered, but with pride. We concluded with Don't Want to Miss A Thing by Aerosmith. How cheesy.

Another exciting occurrence yesterday was the arrival of my new school uniform! Who knew a white shirt and long gray skirt would be So Cool. I had to give the skirts back to the tailor so she could take them out a few inches, which I had anticipated. I have a bit more hip than the average Asian school girl. Nonetheless, I felt like a million bucks strutting around in my skirt and white button up. The first-day-of-school outfit used to be a huge deal to me growing up, and so it is surprising, but refreshing, that I am stoked to be dressed exactly the same as everyone else when I make my first entrance at SMK 1 Kasihan. My initial hope was to blend in, but I've realized that that's not really feasible, so now I just hope I will find someone to sit with at lunch. Baby steps. So tomorrow will be my first day of school but also the first time I will meet my host Rotary club, Yogya Tugu. I am excited and nervous for both, but I think I'm well enough prepared.

Regrettably, I feel the need to share another, not so good, landmark event in my exchange year. Last Sunday was the first time this year that I could not finish an Indonesian dish. For a long time I have prided myself in not being a picky eater; I can't remember the last time that I didn't finish a food even if I didn't particularly like it (and I have relatives who like to eat blood sausage and smoked oyster and sauerkraut pizza). However, oddly enough, it was an iced drink that brought me down, called es sambal. Basically it is a drink served in a sunday bowl with chunks of shaved ice and other things mixed in. I ordered an es campur, which had a mix of everything- chunks of fruit, avocado, and grass jelly (anise-flavored jello, I'm pretty sure). When I ordered, Vania asked me whether I wanted it sweet or sour, which I think is a question of whether or not you want coconut milk in it. I ordered sweet, but I didn't think it tasted that way at all. The taste reminded me of when my neighbor came back from Finland a long time ago and gave me some Finnish "candy" that was actually salty black gumdrops. I fished out all the fruit/jelly chunks, those weren't so bad, but I felt just awful letting the rest sit there- one thing I have noticed about Indonesians is that everyone always cleans their plate. And not to my surprise, I was the only one not to finish my es sambal. Oh, I hope that never happens again. And I hope I never have to taste anything like an es campur again, either.

At this point in time, my thoughts are directed entirely on my first day of school. I have almost everything I need, and Vania, my host mom and I are going out later this afternoon to get some school supplies. Tomorrow I will start school at 8:20 am with a Javanese Putri dance class, followed by a 30 minute istirahat (recess), two classes in a row of a dance called Alus, another 20 minute istirahat, and finally another dance class (I'm not sure what the third type is called, so I'll let you know in a few days) which ends at 2:30. I have to change classrooms for each class, so Di mana ini? Where is this? will be a useful phrase throughout the next week or two. I looked at a map of Yogya yesterday, and Vania pointed out where we lived and where my school was. It is, quite literally, on the complete opposite side of the city. I have a feeling that with my combination of nerves and excitement, it will seem like an especially long car ride tomorrow morning. Wish me luck. :)

Tinggi

I think it is safe to say that I look very big compared to Indonesians. Most of the time I don't notice how much taller I am than everyone else, but in some situations I am painfully aware. For example, I went shopping with Vania several days ago at the mall. I was in a department store and I picked out a shirt to buy, and the sales lady looks at the shirt and goes, "This is a size 8, like a small. But we have bigger sizes in back". I politely declined and didn't think much of it, until I went to look at another, smaller store. Vania told the worker that I was looking for T-shirts, and she started pulling up Larges from a table nearby. Ugh. I took the shirt and held it up to me to show her that it was way too big, and then grabbed another small to buy. Only when I got home did I realize that she sold me a men's shirt.

So I wore my new shirt to the beach on Tuesday; it was a little roomy but very comfortable. The trip was Vania, three of her friends, and I crammed into a little car and hurtling down winding mountain roads for over an hour. Thankfully I didn't get car sick, but I sure was relieved when we finally arrived. (I learned on the way there that a good portion of teenage drivers in Indonesia don't have their license yet). The beach was very steep, and the water was cold! I have been told many times that no one actually swims near Yogya because there are dangerous undercurrents, and I understood that perfectly when I got there because the water got deep very fast. Despite my best efforts to stay clean and dry, I ended up soaking wet with sand all over. As far as I have seen, the female swimsuit doesn't really exist here- the women just play in the ocean with all their clothes on, while men have the same type of swim trunks that we have in the states.

After wading and relaxing for awhile, we got in the car and drove a short way to another beach to eat. This beach was more like a cove, and was much more crowded. There were a bunch of boats parked on the sand and kites for sale. Some small restaurants were situated just past the sand (the beaches here are pretty short) where we sat down and ordered our lunch. Instead of waiting for our food, we decided to climb up the hill on the side of the beach to do some sight seeing.

Oh, I wish you had been there. The hike was tiring, but the view was breathtaking. We walked out to the very edge of the cliff, far past where the beach-goers were below. There was another outcropping next to us that went further out to see, and there was just a small red-roofed house right at the top of the cliff. Admittedly, I immediately thought "I want to get married there". We'll see. There was a rickety metal tower (some sort of signal tower?) that you could climb, but we only made it to the first landing. The tower was swaying in the wind, and the ladder was pretty rusty, but the view was great. I took some pictures, but I'm not a good enough photographer to capture what it was like to actually be up there. It was beautiful! In addition to the amazing view, there was a strong ocean breeze to cool you off, and the sound of waves crashing into the cliff below. It seemed perfect, but I couldn't stay up there forever because I was also very hungry. Back at the restaurant I drank out of my first coconut and ate fish and squid with rice.

In order to get home that night, Vania and I rode on motorcycles with two of her friends. As part of the orientation projects, I had put "Ride on a motorcycle through busy traffic" on my to-do list for my exchange year. I'm not sure if that would have made the list after I saw how people drive in Yogya.. My stomach was in a knot the whole time, and I definitely closed my eyes for some of the ride- particularly when we were passing a bus or a truck- but I arrived safe and well. What a day.

Later that night, most of the Yogya Rotex and Pauline and I went to the airport to greet the two inbounds from Brazil, Paulinho and Julia. They were two of the four inbounds from Brazil who all got to be on the same flight to Jakarta, where two were dropped off, and then they (Paulo and Julia) flew to Yogya together. I am glad Julia is close to my height :) After they arrived, we met Paulinho's greeting party at a Chinese restaurant in a hotel nearby. For Paulinho's first meal in Indonesia everyone was using chopsticks, and he was a little lost. Thankfully someone got him a fork somewhere along the way. Now we are just waiting for Megan from Florida (she comes in a few days I believe) and then all of the Yogya inbounds will be here.

Pauline, Me, Paulinho, and Julia

On Wednesday, I went bowling with Pauline, Dika, Gabe, and Anton (Rotex). It was the hottest day since I have arrived, but I bowled a pretty average game (73) for me, anyways. After our game, we were going to get some ice cream in Malioboro, a traditional market here in town, but it was super packed because it was the end of Idul Fitri and Yogya is very crowded and busy during this time. Instead we went to pick up Qia and Wibi (Rotex) and went to the mall for some sushi. Wibi went on an exchange to Japan a few years ago and he put so much wasabi on his sushi, I was tearing up just looking at it. My favorite part of the day was when we went out for coffee afterward at a pretty basic coffee house. I had teh tarik, "pulled tea", which is tea and milk (I think?) mixed together by pouring it back and forth between two cups (but it looks more impressive than I can describe it). It was very good. We all played a card game similar to poker (I was not good at all) and chatted until about 10 pm. Gabe told Pauline and I about how Yogya is known for it's close group of Rotex., and that's why Indonesia's Rebound Orientation has been held in Yogya for the past 5 years. It has been really nice being able to see the city with the Rotex here- they all make time for us inbounds even with school and their jobs. I really enjoy the time I spend with them- they teach us bahasa Indonesia but also can explain things in English. I am glad I got placed in Yogya.

Finally, yesterday I went to Gabe's house with Vania, Pauline, and Anton, where we played a card game called Citadel for a long time. Gabe's house was very traditional, and wonderful! I fell in love. Right in the center of the lot is a living room, I suppose, but it is more like a enormous gazebo made of wood with a thatched roof and a raised, tiled floor. There are no walls, of course. It was perfect for enjoying the good weather and hanging out with friends. Other than that, there are several smaller buildings surrounding the living area which are each single bedrooms (for the family members), and a kitchen. There is no air conditioning, but I would live there in a heartbeat. For dinner, we decided to drive to a Pantai Depok, a different beach from where I went before. When we got there we went straight to a fresh seafood market that was right on the sand, and we ordered dinner. Five cakalang fish (about the size of a perch), two cumi (squid), two ikan putih (white fish, rather small) and a bag of shrimp was 130.000 rp (twelve dollars). A man then took our fish to a restaurant to be cooked. To eat, we took off our shoes (like everywhere in Indonesia) and sat on the floor at low tables in an open restaurant. Two bats kept flying in and out while we were eating. The cakalang was absolutely delicious- it had been honey grilled and might just be my favorite meal so far in Indonesia. Everything is cooked or fried whole, which is still a bit weird to see, but I successfully peeled a shrimp using a fork and spoon which made me pretty proud.

The bucket is full of pieces of sting ray

The cakalang is in the middle, ikan puti on the right

After dinner, we went to check out the beach. The sun had set before we even arrived, so I could barely see where I was going between the black sand, black sky, and since most of the restaurant stands around us were already closed. The stars were amazing. It was odd that the market and the beach could be so busy and crowded during the day, but then at night all the lights turn off and it is so quiet and peaceful. This was my first "I could stay here forever" feeling in Indonesia. We stood for awhile looking at the sky while Gabe talked about how we all will have to come back sometime to eat hammerhead shark head (!) and sting ray, and maybe stay overnight at a restaurant (they will set up a bed and breakfast sort of thing if you ask). Again, I am so thankful to be in Yogya. Gabe was talking during dinner about how everyone who comes to Indonesia wants to stay in Bali, which is beautiful, but Yogya has beaches and mountains too, and is much cheaper. Not to mention we have the great Rotex program.

So finally, I am feeling like Yogya could be my home for the next 11 months or so. I still have a lot to learn and adapt to, but I am so lucky to be where I am. School starts in six days! I am getting progressively more nervous, but excited as well for the change of pace and the learning experience. I am fully prepared to be the tallest kid in the class. The back row is suitable for my beginner's status, anyways.

With love, from Indonesia!