Puncak dan Main di Pendopo

This past weekend I flew to Jakarta for the District 3400 Inbound Orientation! There are 25 other exchange students spread out across 4 different islands (Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi, and Bali) and we all met in Jakarta for a little sightseeing, then stayed at an inn in Puncak for next two and a half days. It was interesting to hear the different experiences people are having based on where they are staying and who their host families are. Jakarta sounds like an intimidating place to exchange- a very large city with horrible traffic all the time. One girl told me it takes her two hours to get home from school every day- she said she'll fall asleep on the bus, wake back up and see that traffic hasn't moved an inch. How frustrating! Another inbound living in Medan (northern Sumatra) has a host family that owns the high school he attends, so he actually lives in the school. The school mosque is right outside his bedroom window, too, so he can never sleep through the call to prayer at night. The students staying in Bali seem to really like it- though they say learning Balinese is very hard. It's a challenge for me to learn words in Indonesian and Javanese at the same time, but at least there are some similarities between the languages. I asked one of the exchange students to speak in Balinese, and he said a simple greeting, but it sounded entirely different from bahasa Indonesia. Again, I'm glad I'm staying in Yogya :)

Hearing about some of the public schools made me even more grateful that I go to SMKI (I think I really lucked out on that one) especially since I'm taking a gap year. I'm glad I have the motivation to participate and learn new things in school, or the weekdays would definitely get monotonous. Most of the students I talked to said that everyone generally sleeps through classes or goes on Facebook or Twitter, and that teachers often don't show up to class. (Very different from high school in the US) One other exchange student, Brenda from Canada, is really enjoying her school, though (like me). She is staying in Lampung (in southern Sumatra- she's the only Rotary inbound in her city) and attends a small private school where there are only 13 kids in her class, but they go on all these amazing trips like to Bali, camping, and staying in a traditional village. So all of our Indonesian exchange years are already different in many ways, but perhaps that's what it's like in every country.

As for the orientation part, after everyone introduced themselves in Jakarta we went on a short tour of the city to see a few museums and Monas, a monument. It was so hot! Everyone was dripping sweat and we started to loathe big group pictures because it would take so long to get through everyone's cameras. That afternoon we all packed into two coach buses and started the trek to Puncak, which is a few hours outside of Jakarta. I had been told that Puncak was cold, so I made sure to bring a jacket. Surprisingly enough, I barely took my jacket off once I got there, and even layered leggings underneath my jeans the last two days of Orientation. It was freezing. Probably not by Minnesota standards (I should say definitely), but it felt very uncomfortable to be cold after two sticky, sweaty months in Yogya.

Group picture! I'm pretending to be from Belgium, with Pauline.

Monas, in Jakarta

At one of the museums we visited there were a bunch of kids on a field trip that were very excited to see a big group of foreigners- so just as we were about to leave they started asking us for autographs. This is Julia (Brazil), who is a Yogya inbound, too.

We also stopped at a park outside of Jakarta where there were traditional houses from Makassar on display.

Once in Puncak, we spent the next two days hanging around the hotel, meeting the 2010-2011 D3400 Rotex as well as several members of the District Youth Exchange Committee, going over rules and emergency procedures, team building activities, and an inbound talent show. There were two parts to the talent show, which took place on the last night of orientation. The first part was a regional performance, where the inbounds from each city dressed in the traditional costume of their region and usually sung a song, except for the two girls from Makassar who did a traditional dance. The Yogya kids and I sang a Javanese children's song, and the lyrics go like this:

Yo prokonco dolanan ning njobo

Padang mbulan, padange koyo reno

Rembulanene sing awe-awe

Ngelingake ojo podo turu sore

The song is about children who play at night by the light of the moon. Mbulan is moon- in Indonesian it's bulan (the same word for month), so that's easy to remember. I think the title is Padang Mbulan, but I'm not sure.

For the other talent- the one from your country of origin- the other Americans and I (there are five of us) recited the Pledge of Allegiance, for lack of any better ideas. Each one of us had to go through it and make sure we remembered all the words because no one had recited it since gradeschool. So it was a good refresher for us, despite being a boring performance. The talent from Canada took the grand prize, in my opinion- they had no idea what to do for their talent either but they ended up showcasing some Canadian wildlife charades-style and it was quite hilarious. I should go to Canada more often- the people from there are a lot of fun :)

Speaking of wildlife- right as I opened the door to the room I was sharing with Yessi, from Mexico, we found a praying mantis waiting in front of the bathroom. Those things are big. Much bigger than I thought, and much more frightening. From all the pictures I've seen, and maybe just from the name, I thought praying mantises were peaceful insects, but I could barely take a step into the room. Whenever I moved closer to it, it would circle its front legs (arms?) like a boxer getting ready to strike. I was worried that it would jump on me (just thinking of those long poky legs gives me the shivers) but it flies, too! I was surprised by my own scream. The centipedes in my basement in Minnesota won't seem half as bad now. Eventually we got another inbound to take it outside. She just walked up to it and covered it with a trash bin- no fight necessary. I felt a little childish after that.

Overall, Orientation was a nice, relaxing weekend. Despite the cold, it was great to escape city life for awhile. Everyone was reluctant to leave, of course. On the drive back to the Jakarta airport on the third day we stopped at a zoo for one last group activity. There were almost no fences for the animals, only large areas partitioned off which you drove through in your car (or in our case, a big bus). The animals could walk up to your window, and families in cars could buy carrots and things to feed them with.

Here are a few photos:

Sunbears- unique to Indonesia, and almost extinct.

There were all these signs outside of the wild cats area saying that you shouldn't

get out of your car, complete with a picture of a lion attacking the back of a car.

None of the cats seemed interested at all in approaching the cars, though. I bet they make

sure to feed them really well.

An example of my photography skills- there was a man riding an elephant past our bus window.

Just like home :) It made me hungry for a bison burger.

Following my long weekend in Puncak, I saw my first student dance performance at Pendopo, the pavillion at SMKI. It was great. And did I mention that I got to perform three karawitan songs? I played with 1T3, the lower class that I have lessons with, so we actually performed before the real show started (which meant there were only about three parents in the audience). But I was still nervous and excited! I played the sarong (the xylophone one- I've learned one name so far), and I messed up a few times but hopefully it wasn't too noticeable. Mistakes or not, it felt good to show off what I've learned so far. After, I stayed to watch about an hour and a half of the dance and theatre performances. I so wish I could have stayed for the whole thing- the theatre performance was unlike anything I've seen before. It was performed by the highest class at SMKI and it was like a combination of everything that is taught here. All the movements were dance numbers, but the characters would sing their lines in Javanese while dancing and illustrating the story. There was a prince and princess, maidens, a few different warriors, and goblins, from what I saw. I couldn't tell what exactly was going on, except for the fight scenes. I enjoyed seeing the extravagant costumes and makeup; it must be so hot to perform with all those layers and accessories.

This is where I played karawitan! I was sitting right behind the big wooden pole on the right. From the front of the stage, I was just about in the center of the gamelan set up.

The first dance of the night- tari putri.

Second dance performance- tari gagah (correct spelling this time).

The beginning of the theatre performance. This is the prince I believe, in the middle of dancing and reciting Javanese. I wish I knew who he was in real life- he had a great, jolly voice. Fun to watch.

Here the goblins, or some sort of scary-looking creatures, are attacking the prince. The princess is the one sitting to the side.

A close up. My favorite part was the dreadlock wigs, I think. It had a nice scary effect when they

would shake their heads and act menacing.

The maidens, as I'm going to call them, getting ready to dance. I forgot to mention that there was live gamelan being played throughout the whole performance (as you can see in the back). There were a few teachers from SMKI playing, but mostly students from the upper class.

Tari putri number, with a masked character sneaking around in the background. He may have kidnapped one of the women? I'm not really sure- but one of the dancers did follow the masked guy offstage. Then later there was a fight scene between him and the prince, all within a dance of course.

I'm supposed to know how to wrap the kain (the skirt part) like this, but I don't know the details of how everything goes yet. This is a good picture of how you leave extra fabric hanging down on one side though. I wear a kain like this for my tari putri tests in school (put on with the help of my friends).

The masked guy is back. This was probably before the fight scene with the prince, who entered on the other side of the stage.

Whew, that's the most pictures I've ever posted I think. Perhaps I'm just getting new-culture-happy, but I'm excited to share a little bit of the performance at Pendopo. It's much better in person, but at least you can get to see the different costumes. I'm so glad I go to SMKI :) (And I hope you're not sick of my saying that yet). I never thought I'd have a particularly unique exchange- yes, I am the first one from my Rotary district to exchange with Indonesia- but I never imagined I'd be able to attend a well known arts school. After talking with the other inbounds I know that I am very lucky to be able to learn and see so much of the traditional Javanese culture. And it's all because I mentioned learning traditional dance was a goal for my exchange year in my first email to my host family. (Perhaps a good tip for any prospective exchange students :) Good luck.) So, up until now in my exchange, I've performed my first gamelan song, survived my first illness away from home, and now all I have to do is have my first dream in bahasa Indonesia and I think the initiation process will be pretty much complete. I've been waiting on that last one for awhile now... Semoga datang seturusnya. I hope it comes soon. Until then, sweet dreams everyone! Mimpi indah!

Darah, Surabaya, dan Salak

I am right around the corner from going to the Inbound Orientation in Jakarta, which I will be sure to write about ASAP, but I'd like to write a short post to catch up on everything that's happened in the past week or so. I've found it's much more simple to write less, but more often- easier to remember everything.

So let's start about two weeks back, when some members of the Yogya Tugu Rotary club and I visited a rural elementary school north of the city. The Rotary District Governor was in town, so he came along as well. The school was small and simple, but the location was incredible! (To me, anyways. I bet the kids wouldn't think much of it since they live there.) Right across the road from the school yard were several rice fields surrounded by lush, green mountains. What a great view for daydreaming during class.

We peeked in a few classrooms, gave the principle some grocery bags of food (mostly noodles), and then went to meet some fifth grade students. This part was the main point of the trip- there were two nurses in the classroom taking blood samples from each student that would be used to test for anemia and malnutrition (the funding and medical supplies were provided by the Yogya Tugu club). Some of the kids were nervous to get their finger pricked, but they were all really good sports about it and didn't complain. I smiled and greeted the kids, but all of them were too shy to say anything (they just giggled and hid their faces). Once the nurses were finished, we went to take pictures outside. School must have just gotten out, because there were a few parents waiting and a sudden slew of small children running to join our picture. Afterwards some students came up and asked me my name (I was so surprised- everyone was very quiet before) and where I was from. Before I knew it there was a rush of little hands surrounding me, waiting to be greeted. Everyone was so polite- some even put my hand to their forehead, which surprised me, but was very sweet. They were all so adorable. I'd go back any day.

Yogya Tugu Rotarians and I

Taking blood in the classroom

The following week, I went on a four day trip to a city in Java Timur (East Java) called Surabaya. It was a long ride, but certainly worth the four days we spent there. Mainly the trip was to get a visa for my host sister Vania, who will be going to school in Seattle starting in December, but we also visited some old college friends of Pak Handono. Surabaya is a beautiful city. From the signs I saw, the city seemed to pride itself on being modern and "green". This could have meant that the city wanted to be eco-friendly, or it could have been more of an aesthetic description, because there were trees everywhere (much different than in Yogya). There were trees lining all the streets and planted in the medians, which was beautiful but also nice to have all that shade. Surabaya doesn't get as hot as Semarang, but it isn't cool in the mornings and evenings like in Yogya. In addition to the higher temperatures, prices are also higher in Surabaya (though our hotel rooms were still only $24 per night).

We didn't get to do much sightseeing in Surabaya, but we did get to stop by some cool fruit markets. The first one was famous for its apples, and located along one side of a busy road on the way out of town. Apples here are much smaller and more bitter than in the U.S., but I think they are considered somewhat special. We bought several bags as gifts for the families we visited. (I'm also drawing this conclusion from the wedding reception I went to- the fruit salad in our seven course dinner was made entirely from apples.)

The second fruit market was further out of town, and located in a large market complex, where there were several open buildings designated for meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables. I think we got there on a semi-closed day because there weren't many vendors, but I did get some good pictures of the types of fruit they have here.

The fruit building- very big and empty. I think we were the only customers there.

This is the pinecone fruit I mentioned in one of my very first posts. It's called salak.

This is pepino, a type of melon. I've never eaten it and no one in my host family knew what it was before we visited this market, but we were told that it has a ton of health benefits (for diabetes, heart problems, and other certain sicknesses).

The spiky fruit on the left is soursap, which I haven't gotten the chance to try yet, and on the right are mangos. I must say, mangos here are way better than in Minnesota. They are bright orange on the inside and have more flavor. Delicious.

Indonesian mangos do taste way better, but watermelons here are bland compared to ones from the U.S. I'm not sure what the yellow melons are.

Lastly, I have to mention my latest great food find- nasi pecel. I like to think of it as the Chipotle burrito of Java. You start with a banana leaf cup, folded like a snow cone and with a ball of white rice at the bottom. Then a mix of lettuce greens and bean sprouts are added, followed by a douse of bumbu kacang tanah (peanut sauce). You get to choose the main component of the meal, which can be almost anything. There were choices of fried tempe or tofu, shrimp, fish, several different kinds of meat, you name it. I chose a fried egg for mine. Lastly, the whole thing is topped off with some sort of sweet coconut shreds and deep fried peanut crackers. Oh, so good. The peanut sauce is mildly spicy, and also used for satai (small kabobs that are popular here). I hope I get a chance to eat it again. There are many different preparations of rice here, and this might be a type found mostly East Java. I also got a chance to eat nasi Bali (Balinese rice), which was white rice mixed with several different types of meat. It was good, but I don't think you can beat the perfect Chipotle mix of nasi pecel.

The Inbound Orientation is in four days and it seems like time is moving much slower than normal. However, I fly out early Friday morning, which means I don't miss any of my heavy dancing days at school, so I'm happy about that. I need all the practice I can get. Sampai jumpa!

Beberapa Macam Makanan

Here is a short post about some of the foods I've been eating here so far. I have already talked about some of my favorites- bubur, soto, tempe- but here are some pictures of what has been at my house lately.

To start off, this is a small pastry called bakpia, which I like very much. When I first tried it, I thought there would be chocolate on the inside (that's what it looks like, right?) but it was actually spiced kidney beans. Bakpia comes in many different varieties (cheese, durian, chocolate, etc) but this particular kind tasted like taco seasoning. My initial thought when I tried it was "Why does this remind me of Tacoasis?"

This is a cake called lapis legit. I was so excited when I first saw it because my American mother and I tried to make it for a Youth Exchange Outbound potluck in Northfield this summer. Truthfully, it tastes better here. But I'm glad we picked a relevant Indonesian food to make! Lapis legit comes from East Java and is pretty popular. It is made of mostly eggs and butter, my host mother told me, which seems to be fairly common for cakes here. Instead of being fluffy like in the U.S., they are more similar to a breakfast popover.

This is durian- the inside of a durian fruit, really. The rind is large and spiky, but the meat part, here, is about the size of a baseball. The texture is halfway between an avocado and bread dough, but when you take a glob to eat it sort of comes off in layers. Durian fruit smells a little bit like sulfur- not an overwhelming smell- but I could tell that my host sister was eating it from across the living room. As for taste, it reminded me of a sweet avocado. I would definitely eat it again, but I don't know if I'd go as far as to say I like it. It's certainly an odd combination of sensations. The worst part, for me, is the way your breath smells afterwards (like old eggs).

This is a type of lemper. The main part is made from cassava, and then there are many different types of filling. This one is filled with a sugary syrup (the brown part); I'm not sure what it's called. The cassava part is a bit like compressed coconut shavings, but bouncy, sticky, and not sweet. Lemper is bought wrapped in a banana leaf, and you boil the whole thing to prepare it for eating.

I really enjoy the food here, despite the occasional surprises. Or maybe I love it simply because it is surprising and new. What I notice most is the difference in textures of food here- like how cakes are egg-y, meatballs are dense and bouncy, and the many types of jelly snacks (like jello, but stiffer). Though it all tastes pretty good, it's often the odd texture that throws me for a loop. I still have many more kinds of food to try, so I will keep you updated.

Since this has turned out to be such a short post, I'd like to add a few other random differences that I've noticed since coming here. Starting with the price of gas- 4.500 rp per liter, which is around $2 US per gallon (and the price never changes). A custom that was particularly hard to adjust to at first was how Indonesians say "mmhm". It is the exact opposite than in America. Here, if you agree to something you say "oh-oh" but with the same inflection as"nuh-uh" in the States. Confusing. At first, I thought everyone was very argumentative- always disagreeing during a conversation- but I've caught on since then. Continuing with opposites, the gesture for "Come here!" in Indonesia is like what Americans do to shoo away a fly- you fan the back of your hand towards the person. This was easier to get used to, but I never expected that little things like tones and gestures could be so different.

Another difference here is that every meal is eaten with a spoon in the right hand and a fork in the left (unless you're eating with sumpit (chopsticks) or your hands) and after you finish, you turn the utensils upside down and cross them over your plate. When you meet someone for the first time, it is common to ask them how many siblings they have, and if they are older or younger (the gender of the siblings is less important). Lastly, whenever you leave the house, you tell whoever is at home that you're leaving, even if you're leaving with other family members. There is a special word for it, but I forget what it is. Apparently it is very important. In America I often would leave on a whim and let my parents know later, much to my mother's chagrin, so I have a nasty habit to break.

And that'll be all for today! I leave tomorrow for Surabaya (a city in east Java, and also the second biggest on the island), and then I have the Inbound Orientation in Jakarta next weekend, so I'm looking forward to a busy two weeks. Maybe I'll have some more types of food to share with you after all this travelling. Selamat makan! Bon apetit!

Rumahku

Now that I'm settling into a routine here, I think it would be good to post about my home and everyday life. I get out of bed every school morning around 5:30 am (6:00 am on Sundays) and get ready. Somehow I've gotten into the habit of waking up around 4:00 am, just before the call to prayer starts, and then I fall back asleep for another hour or so once it's over. Usually I'm the first of my host siblings to shower, except on Saturdays, when everyone gets up a half hour earlier. So I have to wait for bathroom time on Saturday mornings. Surprisingly, this is never a big issue even though there are five kids using one bathroom.

For breakfast there is always a glass of warm powdered milk made for the kids, but this is the only time during the day that we drink milk. There aren't any specific breakfast foods here- often the maid prepares yellow or fried rice with sausage bits, but fried tempe or tahu (tofu), duck eggs, tofu "omelets", or bubur (rice porridge) is also common. On Saturdays I go out to breakfast with Vania (host sister) and my host parents Helena and Handono. So far I've had soto or bubur each time (always spicy) but Vania ordered fried chicken the other morning- so anything goes for breakfast.

Every day except for Saturday I get a ride to and from school with the family driver. Everyone at SMKI either walks or takes a motorcycle to school, so I always feel odd (and spoiled) getting dropped off and picked up at the front office. Some students ask me how I get to school and with whom, and when I say the driver takes me in a car they sort of raise their eyebrows and say "Aku ikutlah?" Can I come? I hate to look like the pampered American girl, but I definitely can't complain about my method of transportation as long as it gets me to SMKI six days a week.

I get home from school around 3:00 pm most days, but 11:30 on Fridays and 2:00 on Saturdays. It is typical for people to take two showers a day here- once in the morning and once in the afternoon/evening- so if I've had a lot of dance classes or it was just a really hot day, I'll take a shower after I get home from school. I'm still working on getting into an extracurricular program at my school, but I do have a few after-school activities so far. Thursdays are busy because my bahasa Indonesia tutor comes right after school, and once we get done I head out to the Rotary meeting. On Saturday night I went to a tai bo class that goes on weekly at a health club close to my house. It was fabulous. Tai bo is a mix of self defense and aerobics, so there is lots of punching and kicking, but fast techno music (and a very energetic, enthusiastic instructor). He would often go Woooo hooo! and Ayyyyyy! during the workout and I couldn't help but smile. He's a big reason why I loved the class so much. Besides being a great time it was also a hard workout, so I hope we can make this a regular activity. Pauline, the inbound from Belgium, is taking tai chi classes every Tuesday night, too, which I plan on joining. As for the extracurricular program at my school, there is a batik and metalworking class that I have my eye on. Hopefully I can add that to my list soon; we are meeting with the SMKI headmaster Pak Sunardi to talk about it on Monday.

Dinner is usually around 7:00 or 7:30 pm at my house. There is a wide variety of food we eat for dinner, but it is always served with white rice, sambal, and kecap manis. Sambal is a chili paste that can be homeade by crushing small red chillies in a mortar and pestle, but we also use the bright red, bottled kind that you can find in Asian restaurants in the U.S. I have just recently discovered the wonders of sambal- I put it on everything. Kecap manis is an Indonesian staple, and looks like soy sauce but is thick and sweet like molasses. Kecap manis is always store bought; I've been looking for a recipe but my host mom says that it is very difficult to make. It would be an old, traditional recipe, and sounds like it would be hard to find. People usually add both sambal and kecap manis to everything, even soup. I have to say, the syrupy sweetness makes a really nice combo with the super hot chillies. I like a majority of meals here, but a few of my favorites are botok (finely shredded fish and coconut wrapped and cooked in a banana leaf, very spicy), pepes tahu (tofu and coconut wrapped, cooked in banana leaf), fried tempe, bubur, soto, and dim sum (Chinese dumplings). Fried tempe can easily be boring, but the maid has a way of cooking it so it tastes sort of caramelized, but it's still spicy. SO good. I asked Vania how she does it- you coat the tempe in some sort of spice mix and then fry it. I'll be getting that recipe for sure, once I can speak Indonesian. I do know the maid's name, by the way, I'm just afraid to write it down because I don't know how to spell it.

A quick note about the maid- it was odd at first, but I've gotten used to it. I still have to tidy my room and help with dishes and some cleaning every Sunday here, so it's not too different from life in Minnesota. The maid comes at 5:30 am every weekday, mixes our milk and fixes us breakfast. She packs lunches sometimes too, and cooks for us on Fridays when we come home from school in the afternoon. Laundry is done every day, but I don't know where she does it- I don't think there's a washing machine in the house. She might take it to the laundry place down the street but I'm not sure. She leaves around 4 or 4:30 pm, ,and so dinner is always cooked by my host mom.

Evenings are generally quiet at home. Everyone does homework in their rooms, or watches TV. I go to bed around 8 or 8:30 pm- and I get a lot of crap for it. But I'm always so tired by then, it just feels like the time to go to sleep. One of Vania's friends Felix stopped by my house on the 8th to wish me happy birthday, but he had to turn around and go back home because I was already asleep (it was 9 o' clock). In my defense, night life here is nothing compared to U.S. standards (and other places around the world, from what I've read in other outbounds' blogs). Since a majority of the population wakes up early (4:30 or 5:00 am for prayer), most of the city shuts down by 11 pm. This lifestyle fits me well; I've never been good at staying up late. While we're talking about going to bed, I'll mention that they don't use sheets here, just a fitted sheet over the mattress and a blanket. This is certainly appropriate for the climate- but it seemed odd at first, when my winter Minnesota bed has sheets, two/three blankets, and a quilt.

This is the front of my house, from an odd angle. I couldn't get a good picture with the gate closed.

Everyone's shoes outside the front door.

This is the living room and eating area. All the bedrooms are connected to this room- mine is on the left wall.

This is my bedroom, and the typical way of making your bed here.

The kitchen. The dog kennels are just outside the door.

Here are two of my host family's dogs. I don't know their names- they always bark at me so I don't hang around them much.

This is Angel (a very fitting name- she's so sweet) and her seven puppies. My family is planning on selling the puppies, but I've heard rumors we might keep one... fingers crossed.

This is the backyard. There's a pomegranate tree in the right corner (by trellis)- so far there are several pomegranates growing, but they're small and green. There isn't grass here- just short, round, leafy plants. Difficult to describe.

More pictures of SMKI.

The cement courtyard and mango tree. The karawitan rooms are in the building straight ahead.

These are pictures of the karawitan set in the vocal room- so there aren't any xylophones like I mentioned before. (They're not xylophones- I keep forgetting to ask the real name.) But this will give the general idea.

There is another, larger karawitan set in the room next door that is used for actual karawitan lessons. There's always a class in there, so I haven't gotten a chance to take a picture of it yet. There is also another karawitan set in one of the large dance rooms. It's never been used during one of my lessons, but I got the chance to peak in on a theater lesson after school one day when there were students reciting lines and dancing to live gamelan music. Cool. There are also two gamelan sets (I think Javanese gamelan sets), and a Balinese gamelan set which I have never seen (the door is always closed) at SMKI. The Javanese gamelan rooms are used for puppet performances, from what I've seen, which are so fun to watch. A few students play different instruments while one student sits cross legged at the front of the room and does the puppet motions in front of a white screen. The puppet student holds a metal something between the first two toes of his right foot, and hits it on a bell (but it makes a very metallic sound, like a cow bell) at different tempos to help narrate the story. Very cool.

I know this isn't supposed to be a post about school- but this seemed like the appropriate time to throw that out there. There is so much talent at SMKI.

And that's all for now! I tried durian fruit for the first time last night, so there will be a post about food coming your way soon.