tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58053108663069658282024-02-06T23:30:01.345-04:00Daniel in IndoUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-44663171500350338282012-01-13T00:12:00.006-04:002012-01-13T00:46:51.775-04:00Movin' OutDear Blogger,<br /><br />We had a good run, but I'm seeing somebody else now.<br /><br />Don't be mad. Her name is Wordpress, and you two really have a lot in common. To be honest, though, <a href="http://www.danielinindo.wordpress.com/">my new place there</a> is a lot nicer. I know... I know. Lava lamps and Mexican jumping beans are still great. John Travolta, too. But your ranch house with maroon carpeting and wood paneling? I can't do it anymore. I need a refined lady with modern sensibilities to give me the confidence to succeed in the new year.<br /><br />Don't worry. I know you'll be okay.<br /><br />Many fond memories,<br />DPUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-20783225136170768292011-12-18T21:06:00.021-04:002012-01-13T00:47:25.706-04:00Like Standing between a Grizzly and Its Cub<div style="text-align: center;">Addison, the man who once bested Miss South Carolina in a karaoke contest (it's true), just brightened my Christmas with this new single release.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VxteT1FKH0M" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">***<br /></div><br />Southeast Asians eat a lot of rice. You get it.<br /><br />But do you really? It’s certainly the bulk of every meal, and the <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/12/17/comments-minister-eat-less-rice-export-more.html">Indonesian government suggests</a> I’ll have eaten 693 pounds of it by the time I finish service. But there’s more. Rice is so important to Indonesians that its significance transcends diet. To understand, suspend rationality, and accept this: it’s gastronomically impossible to feel full after a riceless meal. Where I live, most villagers believe that's true, and as a result, they’re fiercely invested in the grain.<br /><br />It doesn’t matter that corn and cassava may be cheaper and readily available. Indonesians won’t settle for substitutes. It’s pony up for the good stuff or go home. NPR’s Planet Money just <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/11/04/142016962/the-friday-podcast-how-fear-turned-a-surplus-into-scarcity">published a podcast</a> on how of a perceived shortage sparked both a run on rice and a tripling of global prices from $350/ton to $1200/ton in 2007. High prices were no hurdle for demand.<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Stephen Colbert noted that even in America, <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">“CostCo and Sam’s Club are now both </span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><span style="font-style: italic;">rationing rice. You can’t buy more than eighty </span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">pounds in a single visit. Only eighty </span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><span style="font-style: italic;">pounds! How am I supposed to make my famous </span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">kiddy </span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><span style="font-style: italic;">pool jambalaya!”</span><br /><br />Now you get it: Southeast Asians really care about their grain. And extrapolating further, you can imagine that standing between an Indonesian and his grain is like standing between a grizzly mom and its newborn cub. Outcome? Trouble.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">***<br /></div><br />And that’s more or less what drew a few hundred angry demonstrators, some tv cameras, and sixty police to my village office on Monday. The background: it’s Javanese tradition for well-off community members to donate a certain portion of their harvests to the poor. These farmers bring a share of their unrefined rice—called beras—to the local village office. The officials are then charged with distributing the rice to the needy.<br /><br />At least they’re supposed to…<br /><br />My community suspects at least one of the administrators has been embezzling rice to benefit friends and family (pretty common here). So they stormed the office, forced their way in, and demanded a hearing. The police then pulled up in their regency paddywagons and kept order. Women and children flocked to the spectacle, and even though the shouting got heated (heard from my house), nobody was arrested or hurt. And though I have no idea how the situation will play out, it’s safe to say that the grizzly mother-cub metaphor has really struck home. If you’re interested in more, you can run <a href="http://www.sinarngawi.com/2011/12/demo-turunkan-kasun-berbuntut-ricuh.html">this Indonesian article </a>through Google Translate for a better scoop.<br /><br />On to this week in photos…<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rm0UjD1AiAsxALuTuyzjYnOJCxjWvaC-sBVre_Izt7bq4aGujSXcU1VPbV6LGEq7W4_b2ekz9SRYDOFBK8kQ0pU_Gaj8QUnI_fyEk6kXgXoxBs9jsuHJUqrw4ck_m2OXnBldcnIoiKb-/s1600/IMG_0441+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rm0UjD1AiAsxALuTuyzjYnOJCxjWvaC-sBVre_Izt7bq4aGujSXcU1VPbV6LGEq7W4_b2ekz9SRYDOFBK8kQ0pU_Gaj8QUnI_fyEk6kXgXoxBs9jsuHJUqrw4ck_m2OXnBldcnIoiKb-/s400/IMG_0441+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688425679905800466" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Yes, they do wear those.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9L3A_fQfhoTuiq33P5qc1QKTMongNv7Vl7UShYJ-5Vt1ATWXYuPOlWE3LDlh03lTjbvDCpfLHyd2ok2D9eN_VIiQmXZS9-1CPgYuSxG7hYONrX3rEuxGZiSngAqE4UKR2MJjm59cCvPB4/s1600/IMG_0475+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9L3A_fQfhoTuiq33P5qc1QKTMongNv7Vl7UShYJ-5Vt1ATWXYuPOlWE3LDlh03lTjbvDCpfLHyd2ok2D9eN_VIiQmXZS9-1CPgYuSxG7hYONrX3rEuxGZiSngAqE4UKR2MJjm59cCvPB4/s400/IMG_0475+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688425682958381538" border="0" /></a>A neighbor chopping down his mango tree in the rain because it had<br />the audacity to drop a limb on his roof.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAucz5T8YdeWzbsWfzGDkwRFpmfORyI42zvhllkZYmKNb5jAtZmbMVa4Wt2TLY6aJ8UD-_otAewq-PlcKuX2F1ApwHty8kPdihnaD_oLoXY5HvHguluiqORvgAR3G4ALOOJTvFUVKoIyAy/s1600/IMG_0727+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAucz5T8YdeWzbsWfzGDkwRFpmfORyI42zvhllkZYmKNb5jAtZmbMVa4Wt2TLY6aJ8UD-_otAewq-PlcKuX2F1ApwHty8kPdihnaD_oLoXY5HvHguluiqORvgAR3G4ALOOJTvFUVKoIyAy/s400/IMG_0727+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687640498373143570" border="0" /></a>Local paddy and local volcano.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0tU84llaX3iJ1Ahcg75PH_hg2wijPwzdqzS1ZWy-VyIolpanIIwoKrk-RAPTKxY1uoOgFPfbg2pVmK333qVCZbXy9BVgScGrJhIXtlogoXqTitQvt9VVrwI0Pg-wXXXoYhbdquWzecwQ/s1600/IMG_0735+copy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0tU84llaX3iJ1Ahcg75PH_hg2wijPwzdqzS1ZWy-VyIolpanIIwoKrk-RAPTKxY1uoOgFPfbg2pVmK333qVCZbXy9BVgScGrJhIXtlogoXqTitQvt9VVrwI0Pg-wXXXoYhbdquWzecwQ/s400/IMG_0735+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687640508537525378" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Kids eating chocolate... real chocolate.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVC_MMSOGBXUci7A7Y5vkcjnGreQIaMc7jhUUMNOJ3eUPrsNl3xvYlHGF8jCKaDKJwJgDMR9CL8oGCbBB6pVushxqkJBuAMQGm0bP3v0Z-g5KKjhPgJ06sg5nHMms-3qeRy0hTZszzM0M/s1600/IMG_0738+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVC_MMSOGBXUci7A7Y5vkcjnGreQIaMc7jhUUMNOJ3eUPrsNl3xvYlHGF8jCKaDKJwJgDMR9CL8oGCbBB6pVushxqkJBuAMQGm0bP3v0Z-g5KKjhPgJ06sg5nHMms-3qeRy0hTZszzM0M/s400/IMG_0738+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687641631925061458" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">New friends.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOS11wX4aSod75OzY6aMIZl84V-t_tSRsKWkj-1AmEkVuDkO7X6O0ZrkkE_vWNc_VmtFi-4gJFDwEi6YjKwqetGj6ASIJZ8aKwraUe87NzWOnULXXuXfVQLAssMBsHBqAhGVRdZhbUfsOQ/s1600/IMG_0755+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOS11wX4aSod75OzY6aMIZl84V-t_tSRsKWkj-1AmEkVuDkO7X6O0ZrkkE_vWNc_VmtFi-4gJFDwEi6YjKwqetGj6ASIJZ8aKwraUe87NzWOnULXXuXfVQLAssMBsHBqAhGVRdZhbUfsOQ/s400/IMG_0755+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5687641640026134242" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Old friends.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-50638201334931749492011-12-06T22:38:00.021-04:002011-12-06T23:46:02.419-04:00Improving the Wheel<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenm5os3O46hjzsW3OGQz_Rc_48SvB7Hp4E29h143yJMTESe3JrAb-XngC3C_qn6dHqhmrZXWM8riNY8z_0jY7IbW9CZV-wL4CLMMfyYTO4VPSGIQpfdaJm8TpxoDYL0vf3U79qCSqCy-u/s1600/Projects.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenm5os3O46hjzsW3OGQz_Rc_48SvB7Hp4E29h143yJMTESe3JrAb-XngC3C_qn6dHqhmrZXWM8riNY8z_0jY7IbW9CZV-wL4CLMMfyYTO4VPSGIQpfdaJm8TpxoDYL0vf3U79qCSqCy-u/s400/Projects.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683212831081440290" border="0" /></a><br />Somewhere in Jakarta, there's a man--because it's usually a man--who works for Graha Pustaka, a prominent publisher of high school textbooks. One evening, our guy brought home a bulging folder from the office. Inside the folder was a draft of a new text for Class XI English students, meticulously organized and ready to be dropped at the press first thing in the morning.<br /><br />Our executive set the folder down by the door, and didn't think twice about its security. But that was a fatal mistake because later that evening, while our man slipped off to the masjid for prayers, his three-year-old gleefully tottered upon the papers,<a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/u203/Fat-Joe-Make-It-Rain.jpg"> made it rain like Fat Joe</a> , and had just enough sense to stuff the mess back into the folder before his bapak returned home. Later, our publisher was so fatigued from work that he didn't consider examining the stack before heading to the press.<br /><br />And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I believe my Class XIs' questionable English text came into being. How else could we find advice, warnings, grants and requests, storytelling, past continuous tense, gerunds, and advertisements all crammed into the same six week unit? The level of discontinuity alone is staggering.<br /><br />Nevertheless, I think my counterpart and I struck gold amidst the panic these past few weeks. Remember those "choose your own adventure" books you loved when you were a kid? Well, we looked at this mess of a unit, and realized we could cover both storytelling (past tense) and giving advice through a storybook project.<br /><br />The kids rocked the assignment, and turned in some pretty impressive projects. Spongebob, Shaun the Sheep, fairytale myths, polygamous relationships, a trip to the zoo... the topics ranged widely. If your game, I've digitized one for your reading pleasure. "Broken Heart" probably isn't the best project students turned in, but it is colorful and offers some insight into Indonesian values.<br /><a href="http://danielinindonesia.blogspot.com/p/broken-heart-p-1.html"><br /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://danielinindonesia.blogspot.com/p/broken-heart-p-1.html">Start the Adventure!</a><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqzq-qzoZULd0bHDtpRfn5TahNras7AdX2m1SJR0LyYTERM1ME-tW6X0_1-VjOOZzFfMFKCmTFDsvUnVr78dLg3fNPsUDq7fVMcYqwXn-eSxmJGEaAdSsylE8ezzMHOANTCEcG1Cdx_YX/s1600/Cover.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivqzq-qzoZULd0bHDtpRfn5TahNras7AdX2m1SJR0LyYTERM1ME-tW6X0_1-VjOOZzFfMFKCmTFDsvUnVr78dLg3fNPsUDq7fVMcYqwXn-eSxmJGEaAdSsylE8ezzMHOANTCEcG1Cdx_YX/s400/Cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5683212821955790610" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-56000407913430924742011-11-30T23:03:00.028-04:002011-12-02T23:53:58.334-04:00Embracing the Amibguity<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFYwvpWqlXjQmZ0uL22HtWtuzaZmo1P_Ilp_tmHu7C6Bt_pg2j2gQuNDN56A6V_kJrMAKp4_9lyHSDZkZOPHyN2kVLvV3RcR4rv3Z11elq4wSVQv7PMW8TFQk4A_Idh2Q0iraERLL0rwpM/s1600/IMG_0224+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFYwvpWqlXjQmZ0uL22HtWtuzaZmo1P_Ilp_tmHu7C6Bt_pg2j2gQuNDN56A6V_kJrMAKp4_9lyHSDZkZOPHyN2kVLvV3RcR4rv3Z11elq4wSVQv7PMW8TFQk4A_Idh2Q0iraERLL0rwpM/s400/IMG_0224+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680991809054163042" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Akmal agrees<a href="http://gizmodo.com/5541310/canon-rebel-t2i-review-this-should-be-your-first-dslr"> the new SLR</a> is the hottest thing since mango season.</span></span><br /><br /></div><br />Am I a commodity or a multi-talented instrument of change? Every PCV and their ibu seem to have doubts at some point. Because even though site usually leans toward the rad, there are definitely days where I feel more like <a href="http://www.dugdugee.com/photos/monkey/monkarta.jpg">one of these</a> than the Toyota Tundra of foreign aid, justifiably or not.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Exhibit A (Two weeks ago, some teachers approached me at school.)<br /></div><br />“Mr. Danil, we go to hospital now to visit [teacher x’s] husband. Do you want to follow?”<br />“Sure, where’s the hospital?”<br />“Sragen.”<br />“That’s over an hour away.”<br />“Yes.”<br />“And then we come back?”<br />“<a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-inshaallah-mean.htm">Insya Alloh</a>.”<br />“… Okay. I’ll prepare my bag.”<br />“Good. You will bring good spirit to [teacher x’s] husband.”<br />“Yeah, I hope so.”<br /><br />--- Leaving Sragen hospital 2 hours later ---<br />“Do we go back to school now?”<br />“Not yet. We first visit [teacher y’s] mother in-law in Solo hospital.”<br />“I didn't know. That's very far.”<br />“Yes, we have car.”<br />“Oh.”<br /><br />--- Leaving Solo hospital 2 hours later ---<br />“Great, back to school now, right?”<br />“No, no yet.”<br />“Really?”<br />“Yes. Now we must pray.”<br />“And after that?”<br />“Then we eat lunch.”<br /><br />--- After Lunch 1.5 hours later ---<br />“I’m stuffed… can’t wait to sleep in the car.”<br />“We no drive yet.”<br />“What? Why?”<br />“Now we go to school at university.”<br />“. . . Until when?”<br />“Maybe six. But please, no worry. There is good chair for you outside.”<br /><br />--- Watching teachers leave class at sunset 3 hours later ---<br />“Great. I still need to plan three lessons tomorrow for classes—“<br />“We pray again, now.”<br />“Oh?”<br />“Yes. Then we eat dinner.”<br />“…”<br /><br />--- after dinner 1 hour later ---<br />“If I’d known earlier that—“<br />“Mr. Jak is not here.”<br />“What? Where?”<br />“I do not know.”<br />“Can we call him?”<br />“Yes.”<br />[a moment later]<br />“He doesn’t answer. We wait here.”<br />“And then?<br />“Then, Insya Alloh, we go home.”<br /><br /><br />Every PCV here can identify. At one time or another, we’ve all been misinformed. We’ve all felt duped, ditched, and neglected. Frustrating stuff happens. On the day above, I left school with teachers around ten AM on a supposedly quick hospital visit. Call it a hunch, but I bet my counterparts knew we were in for an eleven hour trip from the beginning too. And in light of that, I think it’s easy for me to focus on assigning blame when it's clearly due. After all I think my PC success here depends on making genuine, Indonesian friendships. Honestly, sI haven’t been this eager to extend BFF status since I wanted a turn on the swings in first grade, so I’m definitely committed to sorting the promising friends from the less so.<br /><br />The sifting is tough, though, because I often have a hard time telling cultural misunderstanding from disrespect. See Exhibit B: I offered to buy a friend dinner; then, he self-invited two more friends. I felt like a JaTim ATM… the three totally cleared more than 100,000 Rp from my wallet. But at the same time, I couldn’t be sure if i was wronged or not. Javanese friends are always picking up tabs for one another without complaint. And maybe my co-teachers were just giving me the chance to be one of the guys (albeit at a steep price).<br /><br />I think the significance here is highlighting the strange cultural limbo that Indo PCVs often find themselves straddling. Because while Java sometimes seems western—smartphones everywhere, spaghetti sauce at my local minimarket, my cousin’s ritual Green Day pump-up session every morning, social life here is still overwhelmingly… well… Asian. And because of that, I think it will always be difficult to consider Indo “home,” to build intelligible relationships amidst all this eastern stoicism, communalism, discipline, and humility. The rules just aren't the same.<br /><br />Thankfully none of us signed up for a challenge-free ride. It just happens to be an awkward one, riddled not so much with jarring bumps and jolts as terrible signage. And although embracing the ambiguity is far easier said than done, quickly accepting and moving on from frustration will probably be a necessary prerequisite for Indo PCV success.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">****<br /></div>And finally the video that made my week. Ladies and gentleman, meet Addison Howard. Friend. Confidant. Triathlete. Accountant. Heart breaker. President of everything. Winner of free cars. Guitar dabbler...<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DCEtPB1pwgc" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-8954162984412354762011-11-12T00:02:00.025-04:002011-11-17T00:06:48.388-04:00Remember Your Knives!According to legend, Lincoln filed away scathing letters for three days before finally deciding to post them or not. In the same spirit, I'm not posting the critical entry I initially wrote for today. At least not yet. If the weekend doesn't mellow me, an unadulterated version will still show up on Monday. But for now, we're keepin' it light.<br /><br />Skip to preparations for last week's "First Annual MAN-Ngrambe Pumpkin Carving Contest." Students were given simple instructions: (1) show up and (2) bring a <span style="font-style: italic;">pisau</span> (knife). If Indonesia were America, half of English Club would now be expelled and I'd have a court date. But Indonesia thankfully isn't America, and our school security guard is totally down with meat cleavers making it into classrooms.<br /><br />I recruited a few teachers to help me scour the regency for pumpkins beforehand, so by Thursday, I had six delivered to my home. Some boys helped me walk them over after school, and then English Club began. Thanks to a new, handy Firefox add-on (courtesy of <a href="http://jjwpcmi.wordpress.com/">PCV Jay</a>), I downloaded a few pumpkin carving tutorials off Youtube. The students watched these videos, and afterwards, my counterpart and I randomly divided everyone into teams and assigned pumpkins.<br /><br />My students continually amaze me with their creativity. Even though they didn't have any prior pumpkin carving experience, it was astonishing to watch them quickly pick up on little innovations like using pre-made stencils, shaving the pumpkins' skins to create new textures and colors, and using smaller, more delicate tools like nails and scissors for finer cuts.<br /><br />On Friday all six jack-o'-lanterns were put on display, and teachers voted to determine the top three. The boys took home 1st place, team Spongebob edged into 2nd, and team angry pumpkin came in a comfortable 3rd (photo #2). Oreo and M&M prizes were liberally awarded to these groups.<br /><br />The photos tell the rest.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjXCB03VsYjVtC9A2lnhmaUYm2naYCxRF0J74rOOxfIfwxvWFqV0PWS1_29tyE8HDEWmYzymVlMaxyhJIBcL4yCx7uABXhcO9n_v6Bs_zIj615vFfupQfjof1oP0gG_e68FnMqIJYNpk6/s1600/DSC01793+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjXCB03VsYjVtC9A2lnhmaUYm2naYCxRF0J74rOOxfIfwxvWFqV0PWS1_29tyE8HDEWmYzymVlMaxyhJIBcL4yCx7uABXhcO9n_v6Bs_zIj615vFfupQfjof1oP0gG_e68FnMqIJYNpk6/s400/DSC01793+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673957748613455906" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4ed_EvyN6JY_aCu6EKntze2peN4mtSWQjbGWhfKvpG1rbDZgriIZH63h4V579qDl96lf-LK3CyCHpfY_qYOmrXblu8N60t0au76kmOKisexSADI7QtPqUbllsPg96KLMYXoPi_Z454G-/s1600/DSC01809+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4ed_EvyN6JY_aCu6EKntze2peN4mtSWQjbGWhfKvpG1rbDZgriIZH63h4V579qDl96lf-LK3CyCHpfY_qYOmrXblu8N60t0au76kmOKisexSADI7QtPqUbllsPg96KLMYXoPi_Z454G-/s400/DSC01809+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675066780191429762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjhq87ywIupsMO1qtBK9v3LVDkXbLEGfasuaky_4Z4iBp2AHB2y-_-dr8M3sjR5HmL1KpmRH_fZjujVEPm-Yhtzzk5NG_LhNU_9pWPo4Yn5QR5KcoTWIRAoFFutxXORBFOHSjxeSLOpJg/s1600/DSC01818+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjhq87ywIupsMO1qtBK9v3LVDkXbLEGfasuaky_4Z4iBp2AHB2y-_-dr8M3sjR5HmL1KpmRH_fZjujVEPm-Yhtzzk5NG_LhNU_9pWPo4Yn5QR5KcoTWIRAoFFutxXORBFOHSjxeSLOpJg/s400/DSC01818+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675070260680961346" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmzyq0yQ6f3_Ltg5AcLyuHv4hu4S3YQ29PBEJpGvAYy3Nh4aXBro_Bav1VhisL9u6Ovi50ZR8OAVXgl9l8Ti_4go5U4z_FSLjVJkEDImuG3IPupgScegOjwhRZTC39Y2wlMjnMtUHqyHUD/s1600/DSC01825+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmzyq0yQ6f3_Ltg5AcLyuHv4hu4S3YQ29PBEJpGvAYy3Nh4aXBro_Bav1VhisL9u6Ovi50ZR8OAVXgl9l8Ti_4go5U4z_FSLjVJkEDImuG3IPupgScegOjwhRZTC39Y2wlMjnMtUHqyHUD/s400/DSC01825+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675070265825057058" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdYyP1NHqIvwbJIVvaKtQAShMN9O2vthZlL6wO4XbNaJVFJHR7mi3fcgOiKkTihmuI20We5GFHn3wl-_zM6iGp50GCmE0xHEBLILgxkx1Sr0xHK493raQYSH_21UKB8xchH7FPoITahC4/s1600/DSC01813+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNdYyP1NHqIvwbJIVvaKtQAShMN9O2vthZlL6wO4XbNaJVFJHR7mi3fcgOiKkTihmuI20We5GFHn3wl-_zM6iGp50GCmE0xHEBLILgxkx1Sr0xHK493raQYSH_21UKB8xchH7FPoITahC4/s400/DSC01813+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675066792911727330" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOFPyUhu1MMQL0TMDYQ8x4KE1_RzHWpSybSyqLf9Ir0G9dEV3G35H4XO8Wcbp6QxXgYSo4ZGwf5S5CsBJ_iju8504ettEaxnirQliHxDUe1ecWUODZbvVZRO0ypMHfAqO7fG1vwqHv6V0E/s1600/DSC01755+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOFPyUhu1MMQL0TMDYQ8x4KE1_RzHWpSybSyqLf9Ir0G9dEV3G35H4XO8Wcbp6QxXgYSo4ZGwf5S5CsBJ_iju8504ettEaxnirQliHxDUe1ecWUODZbvVZRO0ypMHfAqO7fG1vwqHv6V0E/s400/DSC01755+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673957739666817906" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYWRj3xYkGt8qqMEGVLnBMns_j81VSHDJ6irpSEM2_4mqTuSKvBz4H8lDTRqvpN38ctxq68eZRCVtVkWAo0vxWY7BfFO21cZsHzhU4qguim6mbsdmzPubXzz9s8OJD0UXNI5XcpxL9Bb6y/s1600/DSC01853+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYWRj3xYkGt8qqMEGVLnBMns_j81VSHDJ6irpSEM2_4mqTuSKvBz4H8lDTRqvpN38ctxq68eZRCVtVkWAo0vxWY7BfFO21cZsHzhU4qguim6mbsdmzPubXzz9s8OJD0UXNI5XcpxL9Bb6y/s400/DSC01853+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675071943882400162" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-5759752871190467252011-11-08T22:10:00.002-04:002011-11-12T00:01:30.566-04:00Animal Sacrifice Bad for Livestock, Good for IntegrationHEADS UP: This post is followed by some pretty graphic photos. If you’re sensitive to blood, and find the thought of animal sacrifice unsettling, just stop reading before the image trail begins.<br /><br />A few of these photos were nearly held back, and it’s only in the spirit of remembering why I joined Peace Corps that I’ve ended up including them. I think it’s important to understand “how the world works” as fully as possible, an effort that’s not just limited to economics, politics, and culture—textbook stuff—but also extends to more personal, emotional experiences as well. Life isn’t a constant, innocent high; it’s full of sorrow and discomfort, too. And as much as I dislike anxiety, I don’t support wearing blinders in its presence either. Partly because pretending that the world is something that it isn’t just seems disingenuous, and I don’t want to feel a fraud. But even more so because I honestly believe “negative” emotions provide too many potential positives to merit their denial. Empathy, self-reflection, moral realignment, the commitment to a better course, well-informed decision making… I don’t think one should shy away from the benefits that regularly come hand-in-hand with difficult experiences.<br /><br />So, whether I’d photographed these events or not, Idul Adha still would have happened. My village still would have honored Allah for showing mercy upon Ibrahim and Ishmael (according to the Qur'an) by sacrificing ten animals: four cows, six goats. There still would have been muffled cries. There still would have been blood. And in light of that, I think these images reflect real experience, and regardless of whether your initial reaction is positive or negative, I think one's awareness—both factual and emotional—of what happens in the world is critical to one's ability to navigate through the world with wisdom and sensitivity (sort of like the benefits of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complete_information">Complete Information</a> in economics). #soapbox<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">****<br /></div><br />Other volunteers have already posted some stellar write-ups describing what happens on Idul Adha. You can check out <a href="http://erindonesia.blogspot.com/2011/11/al-adha-death-meaning-of-life-and.html">Erin</a> and <a href="http://thepersonette.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/cutting-the-cow-idul-adha/">Nicole</a> posts for further reading. That said, here’s my quick take on how the holy day went down in my village, and why i enjoyed it.<br /><br />Early Sunday morning, I left the house with my host brother and cousin. We walked the cobbled paths down to the village mosque and met up with the crowd gathering there. Not too many people showed up. In total, there were probably less than a hundred, mostly just men and curious children. Plenty of women had understandably chosen to stay home.<br /><br />Festivities began shortly after seven. Four cows were tied to trees, and a group of men selected which one would go first. First, a tarp was thrown to screen the cow from its friends. Next, the animal was brought to the ground, bound, and rendered immobile by stakes driven into the dirt around its body. Then, its head was propped up with the trunk of a banana tree, and a hole was dug underneath to gather pooling blood. “The act” soon followed, and afterwards, the men repeated this process with the rest of the cows and newly arrived goats until finished.<br /><br />For me, the best part of Idul Adha came after the sacrifices. The killing itself lasted only an hour, but the grunt work—skinning, butchering, and roasting—dragged on for another five, and during that time, I really enjoyed hanging out with the village men.<br /><br />I think most Indonesian males subscribe to the great cultural machismo, which as far as I can tell, holds that the fragile, white bule can only tolerate the outdoors for the briefest periods and requires constant refreshment lest he shrivel and wilt. I want to explain that a southern summer still owns an Indonesian dry season, that I joined a Hispanic landscaping crew as a fourteen year-old, that I find peace in distance running, and that few things make me happier than long, sticky hiking trips. But they wouldn’t believe me; I have to prove my manhood with heroic deeds here.<br /><br />So it felt great to just be one of the guys on Idul Adha. I never wielded a knife, but I did help roast cow skin. I did refuse silverware over lunch to everyone’s great delight. I did connect with students outside the classroom. And I did meet some new village kids. So while Sunday might’ve been a loss for livestock, it was a definite win for this PCV.<br /><br />I'll try to throw some video footage up in the next few days that gives a better idea of the conversation, sights, and sounds at the event, but this is it for now.<br /><br />On to the image trail...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUU9zMjf36La6r3R1GMrk6W-9gus_6jY5C1NKtB8_6BZOFEyzu1TNBRvLh0dMg1vd25AIgcSjr_-Vcov_qemfM1xiNvY8Kampg5ZApW2P22JlHRgtuI61DRjbJPE2Hpy65AJ89Q7idynB/s1600/DSC01681+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUU9zMjf36La6r3R1GMrk6W-9gus_6jY5C1NKtB8_6BZOFEyzu1TNBRvLh0dMg1vd25AIgcSjr_-Vcov_qemfM1xiNvY8Kampg5ZApW2P22JlHRgtuI61DRjbJPE2Hpy65AJ89Q7idynB/s400/DSC01681+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672464976260463042" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIrk-XhWiuQ1uc5l0g9ebW00EOzSF4Hg64JQewu0q1bxIfTZ6Xf2X6QUbTAkJyZtjcqM7_1q8k1T2HBfNE8Mml7mU__8r93tTHJ-huXzorfSVeHpdahD3N6h7YEf_KSYlZ5X9R5GmVpXQ/s1600/DSC01693+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIrk-XhWiuQ1uc5l0g9ebW00EOzSF4Hg64JQewu0q1bxIfTZ6Xf2X6QUbTAkJyZtjcqM7_1q8k1T2HBfNE8Mml7mU__8r93tTHJ-huXzorfSVeHpdahD3N6h7YEf_KSYlZ5X9R5GmVpXQ/s400/DSC01693+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672464982859850898" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3TGCYKSHdEN7iYmDWXyvYWOXyD3hoSj8HyAZXp-8g5anbppJww0iTTAJfAAjjEz88HdMEHKUY4ag9d7W6Tp6ZvWXe-S3uQG5tWR3khV-EireAVNWQ4Faq2sWFKFWLWpAUKz3hRDKvjFQ/s1600/DSC01701+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb3TGCYKSHdEN7iYmDWXyvYWOXyD3hoSj8HyAZXp-8g5anbppJww0iTTAJfAAjjEz88HdMEHKUY4ag9d7W6Tp6ZvWXe-S3uQG5tWR3khV-EireAVNWQ4Faq2sWFKFWLWpAUKz3hRDKvjFQ/s400/DSC01701+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672494696245404946" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtnN4EgqgHFP8KSNt_5pWBImKYNhMryfuVeIFVyQYSV0w9PDHV_2QAPFlPKAP_3eGrsBWWq_8_v3AMgZbjxoUbzOyFSyYSgup8nVk9Ylzy5H_CmjPzoId7DaBWRc7QJfGYOnjrTAKLCdxR/s1600/DSC01710+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtnN4EgqgHFP8KSNt_5pWBImKYNhMryfuVeIFVyQYSV0w9PDHV_2QAPFlPKAP_3eGrsBWWq_8_v3AMgZbjxoUbzOyFSyYSgup8nVk9Ylzy5H_CmjPzoId7DaBWRc7QJfGYOnjrTAKLCdxR/s400/DSC01710+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672477157432043250" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57lAyFLLf1725jC04HpCzbmI8Zt5e4LHFyq4qz90Bt2f-vYh9hqsCoiDt-9raKBzNLMoRcYOfrng0Kj2bFjudDxRc0ar5T86netwzEUR4riPWTLr87A9wL-9PvNO9P2wTO3leyao3y21Z/s1600/Untitled-1+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57lAyFLLf1725jC04HpCzbmI8Zt5e4LHFyq4qz90Bt2f-vYh9hqsCoiDt-9raKBzNLMoRcYOfrng0Kj2bFjudDxRc0ar5T86netwzEUR4riPWTLr87A9wL-9PvNO9P2wTO3leyao3y21Z/s400/Untitled-1+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672805806402279474" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKpsoq17hgGRax2d0bnUPq57mXPpX_cLWL5HXGoyiAfw2hKnJGTS5Lr_wIg85HStzDOxVunH5tywxs3zH8nwyX6AiZrcdcKIumc3IvMgXFB9YZVfIGuSdNzsu0IdSVUblgp8CHfQn08D-l/s1600/DSC01714+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKpsoq17hgGRax2d0bnUPq57mXPpX_cLWL5HXGoyiAfw2hKnJGTS5Lr_wIg85HStzDOxVunH5tywxs3zH8nwyX6AiZrcdcKIumc3IvMgXFB9YZVfIGuSdNzsu0IdSVUblgp8CHfQn08D-l/s400/DSC01714+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672483227992096978" border="0" /></a><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGa0seDHgq4I1ZGo8-kMJHcMnLYS7cSzdfgmwH5G9a_B_lKoWjA9UBY_tjjdBjSUtlpOhYYfYbROkEmEIApMd5fPp8QMbUvC1N8sCB6Kw5Mpfft4_AhU2JI-AgkCHMF-Q7sIHr5EZa3sX/s1600/DSC01749+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisGa0seDHgq4I1ZGo8-kMJHcMnLYS7cSzdfgmwH5G9a_B_lKoWjA9UBY_tjjdBjSUtlpOhYYfYbROkEmEIApMd5fPp8QMbUvC1N8sCB6Kw5Mpfft4_AhU2JI-AgkCHMF-Q7sIHr5EZa3sX/s400/DSC01749+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672492262444346946" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">And to help cleanse the palette...<br /><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSlRyECzmwr-62TdpS6VUZkVB27GtsEbHWWLNzpUrBtiQtxhohoPdqORLqT5001zZ7Wwg6A5RIAtqPLh9a5nAMfiM3Kw4Eop2IvsY5XkutXReebQsL6N5ugPhwJh7ow44UUp6yIcDnZUJ/s1600/DSC01753+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSlRyECzmwr-62TdpS6VUZkVB27GtsEbHWWLNzpUrBtiQtxhohoPdqORLqT5001zZ7Wwg6A5RIAtqPLh9a5nAMfiM3Kw4Eop2IvsY5XkutXReebQsL6N5ugPhwJh7ow44UUp6yIcDnZUJ/s400/DSC01753+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672492271328920322" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-41156765828110013892011-11-01T20:25:00.022-04:002011-12-12T22:31:31.399-04:00Indo To a PCV: A Halloween Party Photo Essay<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmAJgo7sber5O2Gxldpg_9y9voxvJTIo6EfKN3opDhpbhyu1gqMBGwtYk9Vz1AYV2Up8YRILs5i6eCld3sYS6kx_DAVCuyB75d5TM0uYsYv9RO3qkMUP-a-R4aQ5bkpTEye6v3cyTzOmU7/s1600/DSC01452+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmAJgo7sber5O2Gxldpg_9y9voxvJTIo6EfKN3opDhpbhyu1gqMBGwtYk9Vz1AYV2Up8YRILs5i6eCld3sYS6kx_DAVCuyB75d5TM0uYsYv9RO3qkMUP-a-R4aQ5bkpTEye6v3cyTzOmU7/s400/DSC01452+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670189449250247826" border="0" /></a><br />No serious, inspirational post this week. Instead, the conclusion of a totally “keren” (rad) two weeks of In-Service Training in Surabaya warrants more celebration than reflection. I’m definitely thankful for the ideas and guidance gleaned from the workshop, but as always, downtime with other Volunteers proved to be the highlight. Fourteen days with people who, though diverse in their backgrounds, interests, and personalities, all share a certain restlessness concerning the everyday, a curiosity towards new experiences, and a general drive to continually better themselves can’t be anything but a highlight.<br /><br />On that note, we hosted one of history’s better Halloween parties last week. All sorts of celebrities showed up: synchronized swimmers, angry birds, an M&M, batman, a gorilla, a cloud, a mime, and not to be overshadowed, even Zeus himself. For this post, though, I’m just going to focus on some of the more Indo-specific costumes: what are they and how are they interpreted through the eyes of Indonesian PCVs.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">***<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK1zAHQOQsl8-c9ARs32TOZJJF49ZLmiX6qg4b5-7AvaMGZcbj94bxF7U0bXomL_-4vl3Q_ZATMhggvtedLNFt0o8pt6gocRq4W7JaDfnMWIwyGVFwceBXsO0ACMFxMAuZR8osv_nCLUYW/s1600/DSC01379+copy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK1zAHQOQsl8-c9ARs32TOZJJF49ZLmiX6qg4b5-7AvaMGZcbj94bxF7U0bXomL_-4vl3Q_ZATMhggvtedLNFt0o8pt6gocRq4W7JaDfnMWIwyGVFwceBXsO0ACMFxMAuZR8osv_nCLUYW/s200/DSC01379+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670195765611582034" border="0" /></a>Portrait of President SBY (Dan G.) – 1st place in costume contest – Dan easily took home first place honors with this stunning get-up. Nobody knows much about president SBY. In fact I still can’t even tell you what his initials stand for. But the general impression is that the President, though totally under the radar, is overwhelmingly popular precisely because doesn’t command attention. Indo’s pre-SBY politics were dominated by charismatic leaders whose impacts proved as tumultuous as their personalities. In contrast, SBY’s even-tempered guidance has coincided with political stabilization and steady economic growth over his past few terms. A mass produced portrait of his likeness hangs in nearly every Indonesian classroom.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghE9ZRqoXjdXcz5tvXDyo58dQw0GLOoiBMPANbUr_36o8SV-qG_r8M_4iJDRJ3GDlG_KzaK4ievWsLFMBmuLDP9GVvJoNl8AsPOoaFzUG1p4K5WfT9Lp1ib3DUvYVXneYiOKRxMuRb8Qrg/s1600/DSC01391+copy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghE9ZRqoXjdXcz5tvXDyo58dQw0GLOoiBMPANbUr_36o8SV-qG_r8M_4iJDRJ3GDlG_KzaK4ievWsLFMBmuLDP9GVvJoNl8AsPOoaFzUG1p4K5WfT9Lp1ib3DUvYVXneYiOKRxMuRb8Qrg/s200/DSC01391+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670195778152071042" border="0" /></a>Lele (Me) - Dressing up as “lele” (catfish) for Halloween was a cathartic step towards reconciling myself with a particularly <a href="http://danielinindonesia.blogspot.com/2011/07/nescafe-leads-to-long-night.html">traumatic experience</a> that happened a few months ago in my village. If “lele” were a person, ten out of ten PCVs agree that he would be a creeper, uninvited to the party, standing silently in the corner, always watching, and prone to sudden bouts of overzealous dance. As PCV Elle has noted, just eating the fish—head, skin, and all—is a slippery experience that leaves one feeling an inexplicable urge to shower. The good news is that my stomach’s relationship with catfish is getting better, and in the future, I hope to fully appreciate its positive merits, whatever they may be.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmIY7VXcoXxVmT-Ywv8Bvndscxrponr3-QMNkcHv-S8PYdZEc4agjNROiwEV-SSlzZ4P_34Dp3mfzi1Mr6gPrXpWO7uGnhxQB5oc2oUqGbffDYNozTuWnCWl9wGyz_8L4xYplXFdod-yz/s1600/DSC01381+copy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmIY7VXcoXxVmT-Ywv8Bvndscxrponr3-QMNkcHv-S8PYdZEc4agjNROiwEV-SSlzZ4P_34Dp3mfzi1Mr6gPrXpWO7uGnhxQB5oc2oUqGbffDYNozTuWnCWl9wGyz_8L4xYplXFdod-yz/s200/DSC01381+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670201834803010818" border="0" /></a>Aerobics Instructor (Paige G.) – Last week another volunteer described watching students at his school try to run a kilometer for kelas olahraga (gym). I forget the numbers, but the results weren’t good, and most students didn’t finish the run. Consequently, I suspect Paige is onto something here with this totally realistic caricature of the paragon of Indonesian physical fitness, the crazy aerobics instructor. Government offices, police stations, schools… all are frequently guilty of hiring these unorthodox fitness consultants for mass exercise demonstrations. The instructors, almost always women in skin-tight, neon spandex moderated by thoughtfully adorned jilbabs, usually stand atop special podia, and lead spirited sessions of hip gyrations and faux sit-ups for an hour or so. A solid cardio workout by Western standards? Probably not.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MIE7hrI9bCofSBxrVcq7VtMaNhFg1Uqfxkmpa_URFEOkCcWiDrk80UKBU8FruZAviJo_KlHidUNgG9EuGZZl3D2WZC5EHJIN1hU0BPF6aPy0gB3e8t0fVkK_bFoc37zjlCRWrKi4eZfK/s1600/DSC01392+copy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1MIE7hrI9bCofSBxrVcq7VtMaNhFg1Uqfxkmpa_URFEOkCcWiDrk80UKBU8FruZAviJo_KlHidUNgG9EuGZZl3D2WZC5EHJIN1hU0BPF6aPy0gB3e8t0fVkK_bFoc37zjlCRWrKi4eZfK/s200/DSC01392+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670215710468433154" border="0" /></a>Badminton Birdie (Erin) – 2nd place in costume contest (tie) – In the near future, don’t expect Indonesia to make a run for the medal count at the Olympics, qualify for a World Cup, or more generally compete for notoriety in any meaningful, major sport, that is… except for badminton (and maybe table tennis?). College friends of mine like to reference an episode of the Chappell Show in which Dave Chappell, competing as Prince in a game of streetball against mortal opponents, repeatedly drains threes while nonchalantly calling out “Good” before the ball even leaves his hands. That’s more or less what happens when the Indo national team plays badminton. You might as well consider the match won and bump up your tempe dinner (see below).<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEild6D43MmeQnHqTfHd2QWU2Mvpsa-RuHf17w1daRfUUKeA8LOChZQCZydUDhOud4Sewuz-_LcD6KlnXYYTk8mxbwqRm8kNoXmKr9GmCVQdao5qpICL80IPxqhPs7FsxFxunkWESvd6PaXR/s1600/DSC01385+-+Copy+copy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEild6D43MmeQnHqTfHd2QWU2Mvpsa-RuHf17w1daRfUUKeA8LOChZQCZydUDhOud4Sewuz-_LcD6KlnXYYTk8mxbwqRm8kNoXmKr9GmCVQdao5qpICL80IPxqhPs7FsxFxunkWESvd6PaXR/s200/DSC01385+-+Copy+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670201846305494594" border="0" /></a>PCV on a motorcycle (Jenn) – In accordance with national law, Indonesia kids patiently wait until their sixteenth birthdays before applying for a driver’s licenses. I wish that were true, but really, Indos begin driving whenever they darn well feel like it. Usually, that happens around age ten. So the next time you see a group of obedient American fourth graders patiently waiting for the bus, contrast that with three ten year-old Indos on a ninja bike weaving in and out of traffic half a world away hoping not to be late for social studies. Of course PCVs aren’t allowed to either drive or ride motorcycles, and one of the first Indo phrases I learned was how to explain to confused community members that “Banyak relawan Peace Corps yang naik sepeda motor meninggal” (many PCVs who have ridden motorcycles are dead). Jenn’s sign nevertheless stands as an eloquent expression of every PCVS innermost desire.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmV-ZCLbdi9imvvz2uuMXPVgGOkLW3HrUeQ9ecR5Uk2c5OKKXOXYgGz8uiGThh9T82dLCj_Y473NXFyrqK_cEvXLJtKv-ad6WvFtpUbyDF8W3lsw5XQNuqH14lj50T5QPKF20p7X4vfnD7/s1600/DSC01390+copy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmV-ZCLbdi9imvvz2uuMXPVgGOkLW3HrUeQ9ecR5Uk2c5OKKXOXYgGz8uiGThh9T82dLCj_Y473NXFyrqK_cEvXLJtKv-ad6WvFtpUbyDF8W3lsw5XQNuqH14lj50T5QPKF20p7X4vfnD7/s200/DSC01390+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670215724320164706" border="0" /></a><br />Flip Chart (John A.) – PC Indo has an obscene infatuation with flip charts. Meetings, workshops, parties… you can count on a flip chart making an appearance like you can count on students fainting at a Monday morning flag ceremony.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGkiU63pe8RkShikSVm0SDoPzMa2KE-lp4lyZs10eC-cyPkasVas5WuQR0_9FfGnMiOHgqShNSkaYwa0GYFFyy-jurj6MlXNa0yffKs0dZoARsw1cJBzJAUWV7Pc9rXe8NYc30MroEmbB/s1600/DSC01389+copy.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsGkiU63pe8RkShikSVm0SDoPzMa2KE-lp4lyZs10eC-cyPkasVas5WuQR0_9FfGnMiOHgqShNSkaYwa0GYFFyy-jurj6MlXNa0yffKs0dZoARsw1cJBzJAUWV7Pc9rXe8NYc30MroEmbB/s200/DSC01389+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670211745900153826" border="0" /></a>Tempe (Dan N.) – I have a love/hate relationship with tempe, and I assume most other volunteers do too. “Hate” because tempe is an inevitable part of every meal at my house. The fried soy paddies are inescapable, so one might as well raise the white flag and open up. “Love” for two reasons: first because tempe is pretty palatable when consumed in moderation and second because it is nearly infinitely more preferable than its ugly, equally ubiquitous cousin, tofu. Seriously, any friend who tells you soggy tofu is better than crisp tempe isn’t a friend at all. We call such people liars.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9PcdSigC2iFXR-nWBv5QIJlBFZ6hngBcLImEJHZFDVEUtkSfA8fa1WJJtxLtWushor6VRwbv0O4-jp0k4RdgqFk4ymXknKzBTT8-SOP5lMub1HVVA1u1cKz-yZh5InENTuPAYcM22MRY/s1600/DSC01378.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH9PcdSigC2iFXR-nWBv5QIJlBFZ6hngBcLImEJHZFDVEUtkSfA8fa1WJJtxLtWushor6VRwbv0O4-jp0k4RdgqFk4ymXknKzBTT8-SOP5lMub1HVVA1u1cKz-yZh5InENTuPAYcM22MRY/s200/DSC01378.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5670216839494899410" border="0" /></a>Mosquito carrying dengue/malaria (Mebs) – 2nd place in costume contest (tie) – The cause of much devastation to European traders and Chinese laborers hundreds of years ago still looms large in equatorial Indo. Today, mefloquine keeps PCVs safe from malaria, but dengue a.k.a. “bone break” fever still presents a real threat. A few months ago, I sat down with the host family to count the visible bites—mostly mosquito but also ant and no-see-um—on my feet. The tally for the left foot hit 24. The right reached somewhere in the upper teens.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-6663023337124443392011-10-24T18:50:00.000-04:002011-10-24T07:51:31.412-04:00English Club: Everybody's Doing It<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:relyonvml/> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> 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mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]-->There was a stir of Banksy-like excitement last week when stylish new posters began mysteriously appearing all over school. The message: “English club. First meeting. Next Thursday. Be there.” And so it came to pass that thirty students piled into ruang XC this week to attend the brand new club’s inaugural meeting, and at least one exit pollster, me, is already calling the event a runaway success. I sat down for a self-interview just after the meeting, and here’s a copy of the conversation. <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Reporter: First off, tell me more about this “English Club?” What is it and what is its purpose?</span><br />Me: I think the club’s motto says it best: Bersenang-senang sementara berbicara bahasa Inggris… Having fun while speaking English. English Club is an opportunity for madrassah students to reinforce their language skills outside of the classroom in a comfortable, encouraging environment. We meet from 14:00 until 15:30 every Thursday in ruang XC, and all students in classes X,XI, and XII are welcome to attend. Although attendance isn't required, more active members will be awarded prizes at the semester’s end.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">So who’s in charge?</span><br />That’s a tough one. Although I’m the Club’s official head, I don’t have a teacher’s traditional roles and responsibilities. At Club meetings, I’m not pouring my native expertise to rows of obediently seated students. Students already get enough of that during the day, and can't stomach any more. And because English Club is an extracurricular, they’re at liberty to leave as soon as they’re bored with my lectures. So no, I can’t be a traditional teacher if I want attendance numbers to remain healthy. Instead, I have to become more like a facilitator, someone who brings organization, supplies, and game plans to the table but is ever receptive to students’ feedback and needs. If they want fun and games (and oh, they do), then fun and games they shall get. Looking forward to the future, I hope students will eventually become committed enough to the point where they're willing to assume administrative roles and responsibilities themselves without my constant oversight. Ideally, I'd like to hold elections for more formalized positions to help make this transition happen.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Wait, Wait… “fun and games?” You said these kids would be learning English, so why are they goofing around?</span><br />But fun and games is learning. Kids aren’t motivated unless they have a basis for caring, and games certainly create intense environments where palpable stakes (candy!) demand their total engagement. On top of that, though, Indonesian students already feel beaten down by long, less-than-engaging lectures, the average school day being a of mind-numbing blur ninety minute lectures. So in contrast to the norm, the games played in English club will hopefully provide a necessary break from dull routine <span style="font-style: italic;">in a way that enlivens learning. But even then, we aren't limited to just these activities.</span> Groups discussions (Islam in America, Western vs. Eastern families, etc.), crafting (carving pumpkins for Halloween), and film watching are examples of other activities that will be included in club programming.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />So your telling me fun is more important than learning?</span><br />Yes.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />You call this first meeting "awesome." That sounds a little ambitious. Tell me, what made it so good?</span><br />First off, I came into the meeting rushed and almost completely gameplan-less (explanation below). To put it quantitatively, total preparation time didn’t exceed fifteen minutes. And during that small window, I had just enough time to SMS an experienced volunteer, get quick inspiration for an activity (props to Samantha in Mageton), buy supplies from across the street, and warm the kids up with thumping, motivational music. I really think the combination of Bieber’s “One Time,” Foster the People’s “Helena Beat,” and Mulan’s “I’ll Make a Man out of You” helped set a tone of excellence because, in reality, I didn’t think my haphazardly planned program was all that good. After a quick warm-up game outside, I divided the kids into groups, handed them construction paper, and asked them to make two-hundred tiny, scrabble-tile squares representing different letters. The repetitive work took each group about thirty minutes, and by the end, we only had fifteen minutes left to actually use the letters for a game… I’d write a category (e.g., “jobs”) on the board, and students would race to make as many examples as they could (e.g., “doctor,” “farmer,” lain-lain). But after the fifteen minutes came the pivotal point at which okay unexpectedly evolved into awesome. The kids loved the game… so much so that we passed a unanimous vote to stay 20 minutes late and keep playing. I didn’t even need to coerce them with candy. And that’s why I feel comfortable labeling our first meeting an awesome “sukses.”<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />...Only thirty students showed up to this meeting. Don't you think that number is, well, a little sub-awesome?</span><br />Thursday didn’t get off to a promising start. Before getting to school, I knew my first class would be cut short for OSIS elections. OSIS exists in every Indonesian high school, and it’s probably best described as an Asianized student council. Some volunteers hardly notice the organization's existence at their schools; however, at my madrassah, it’s a major extracurricular that attracts a large following—20% of students—and exercises serious sway over school affairs (more on this in a future post). So what was initially planned as a quick, two hour election ultimately stretched into a whole day event, and as the hours dragged on, I saw students’ interest in English club gradually slip through my fingers amid all the election hype. Hope was then nearly abandoned at noon when administrator’s suddenly announced an early, half day dismissal. As the kids surged to the motorcycle barn, I had just two choices: (1) make a spontaneous PA announcement that English Club would be held immediately and accept sub-par attendance—many kids had already left—or (2) forget the meeting, preserve my dignity, and live to meet another week. I chose option 1, and given the circumstances described, I think 30 students is a pretty solid turnout.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />So what sort of work can we expect from English club in the future?</span><br />I don’t know yet, but I hope it’s good. I’ve tried my best to stress to the kids early on that English club can be whatever they’re willing to make of it. In other countries, PCV's English clubs have accomplished all sorts of tremendous projects: publishing school newspapers to promote self-expression, painting world murals to improve geographic literacy, and hosting English camps to reach wider communities among others. I’ve already thrown these ideas out there, hoping to expand whatever the kids perceive to be the club’s assumed boundaries, but I won’t force things beyond that... it's up to them to take it from here if they want to make English club more meaningful.<br /><br />And this week in photos, here are some shots from the paddy. My family just bought two new birds, so at least two afternoons a week, I get to join my host cousin and his friends to catch grashoppers (i.e., bird food) in the paddy.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGvZkIfoDBhCdi23KL-FD_CGF1QgWu7vWPwMQcDmVqDRRIjZ8IbPdvaxk8KO6hbvjtx-_AehoWXOKtE8YjPPDPWjnl2Rkpz0qr79RHSkURakeu0lwZXynVFkchyphenhypheniUWacvTBFNTXmT_TLn/s1600/DSC01213+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLGvZkIfoDBhCdi23KL-FD_CGF1QgWu7vWPwMQcDmVqDRRIjZ8IbPdvaxk8KO6hbvjtx-_AehoWXOKtE8YjPPDPWjnl2Rkpz0qr79RHSkURakeu0lwZXynVFkchyphenhypheniUWacvTBFNTXmT_TLn/s400/DSC01213+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663219637451068770" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3xltVIWzz_2De4jzIRS5Bm6AU5SnxUPwE24k-ZmQP17wQZAW7fX08PahJs5HdopP4stVZtrGRBqIM8mg2udH1zCrn-390z7Ibx_4rWu8tY6nZZxc8LwONg3OzqoRYysF6a33KnZmiOmaZ/s1600/DSC01239_edited-3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3xltVIWzz_2De4jzIRS5Bm6AU5SnxUPwE24k-ZmQP17wQZAW7fX08PahJs5HdopP4stVZtrGRBqIM8mg2udH1zCrn-390z7Ibx_4rWu8tY6nZZxc8LwONg3OzqoRYysF6a33KnZmiOmaZ/s400/DSC01239_edited-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663211732380460546" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlezwYOayGYjFUVBZA7pe1Goj4U4mmT8mlwrYuhaH8BVTWAeG41UIb430N4bnEuM9vLgRGDCWbnrEgarkJ8BQBHErBMnpI8IWbCeDtCJS3je5OzpOWHeAm3fW3774FPvycRsxKfr7h5Hz/s1600/DSC01242+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlezwYOayGYjFUVBZA7pe1Goj4U4mmT8mlwrYuhaH8BVTWAeG41UIb430N4bnEuM9vLgRGDCWbnrEgarkJ8BQBHErBMnpI8IWbCeDtCJS3je5OzpOWHeAm3fW3774FPvycRsxKfr7h5Hz/s400/DSC01242+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663211743444949970" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStx6wmj7Rhf3nRVPIM2T7dF21O0hbKEotQDzmN2QYR4MVK5HWHtPUT-cfJoFcOcga3dhtw1aFUbNDutx3LGJbCVihHZQLHpt2-ONaYjV6WBquOiipuu9XC1XmnM_zDXHGU7AblYKB-pgY/s1600/DSC01237+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStx6wmj7Rhf3nRVPIM2T7dF21O0hbKEotQDzmN2QYR4MVK5HWHtPUT-cfJoFcOcga3dhtw1aFUbNDutx3LGJbCVihHZQLHpt2-ONaYjV6WBquOiipuu9XC1XmnM_zDXHGU7AblYKB-pgY/s400/DSC01237+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663217242570333506" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-52258970837996490882011-10-10T01:56:00.001-04:002011-10-14T01:59:30.566-04:00The Big, Awkward Question<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnaf5RGlE-_bHxLF9aaDn1g22eXviT1VcBm2r-mA908JRI7kNei7sMoCvivZVTOZQZNW9ecIVqXK1REIYq8-EuZxG1qX76ssG2i5XKFm5_H0C3zxRYpRQl7VWbK91C6hKQWXNcrUMxOkl/s1600/ALIM0216+copy.jpg"></a>There’s an elephant in the room… can you see it? I noticed it for the first time almost as soon as I received my invitation to come serve in East Java. People at home didn’t know much about Indo. “That’s near Borneo, right?” “Didn’t they film Eat, Pray, Love in Bali?” “My buddy went on a mission trip to Sumatra…” I heard a lot of these vague connections, and until I’d read up on Wikipedia too, I couldn’t find Jakarta on a map either. But as Americans, even though our knowledge of the world’s 4th most populous country tends to be as fragmented as the Indonesian archipelago itself, we do tend to share at least one common bit of trivia: Indo is the world’s largest Muslim country.<br /><br />Enter the elephant. Life in post-September 11th America has revolved around an Islamic world that has stood at the center--or at least very near the center--of our politics, economic woes, religious life, and moral debates. And we’re definitely still struggling to make sense of this belief system and the cultures that embody it. Friend or foe, liberating or restrictive, democratic or theocratic, homogenous or diverse: our interpretations of these scales are far from stable, evidencing the breadth of the unknown that’s still out there. And let’s face it, mysteries are more easily regarded with suspicion than acceptance, and the biggest, most highly populated representation of the Islamic mystery is no exception.<br /><br />And believing that “showing” is generally better than “telling,” here’s how the mystery has unraveled so far, at least in this PCV’s experiences.<br /><br />In a word: it’s been fine. Case in point, a few weeks ago, a few, fellow teachers approached me at school and asked, “Meester Danil, are you free today?” Of course. “The students at [local middle school x] want to meet you. Will you follow?” Sure. So after school, we piled into the school car and drove a few miles uphill to one of the local middle school madrassahs. The teachers there had piled about one-hundred students into the mosque for a Q and A, meet-the-whitey session. Indos being Indos, of course the questions jumped straight to the personal. (1) “Are you married? Why not?,” (2) “Why are you here?,” and of course, the big one,(3) ”Are you a Muslim?” Number three always pops up, and I’ve been coached to gingerly dance around this one if need be. However, at least so far, I’ve never needed to muddy the waters, and my answer to these students was no exception: “No, my religion is different, but I want to learn about your culture and beliefs, too.”<br /><br />Indos have had absolutely zero problems with this response (the kids cheered), and they seem particularly excited to have the opportunity to share their religious culture with an outsider (i.e., me, a non-Muslim and a Christan) as opposed to someone whose beliefs and practices are already integrated with their own. It’s sort of like the excitement of “show and tell” where Sharing something isn’t that exciting if that something is already ubiquitous. The discovery of sameness can certainly lead to interesting conversations, but it can also lead to awkward “Oh, then you probably aren’t that curious about this” moments, too. So openly embracing one’s otherness, then, can be a quick and effective way to encourage Indos like these kids to open up. If done tactfully, it says, “I’m not an expert, but I want to learn.”<br /><br />It’s also worth noting that like other Muslims the world over, many Indos are dismayed to see their spiritual convictions misrepresented and distorted through radical acts of violence. National terror tragedies in Bali, Jakarta, and just a few weeks ago, Solo, have already left and continue to leave a sour taste in the mouths of the vast majority Indo Muslims who’d like nothing more than to attain the legitimacy and respectability that their individual-level acts of tolerance and generosity merit. And who might be some of the most significant, symbolic conferrers of this self-respect? Americans, that’s who! Specifically the churchgoing kind… because as I see it, if Indonesian Muslims can win the esteem of members of the religious and political culture historically most abrasive to their own, then they believe they’ve overcome one of the tallest hurdles towards validating themselves in the world’s eyes as a noble people.<br /><br />So my religious beliefs, if framed correctly through a lenses of openness and curiosity, might give me multiple advantages in integrating into my Indonesian community that the non-religious, and maybe even American Muslims wouldn’t have… especially in terms of my community's "show and tell" fervor. Locals gets super excited opening doors for me to experience their religious culture: attending prayer meetings (selamatans), shopping for Muslim clothing, and invitations to break Ramadhan fasting with friends all come to mind. Sometimes, my co-teachers and family even go overboard, and at least a few times, I’ve had to awkwardly turn down opportunities to partake in the praying experience. “Meester Danil, we must go to pray at mosque. Do you want to try?” Thank you, but I don’t think so this time. “.....Why?” I don’t know if that’s a good idea today." Can you feel the awkward?<br /><br />I hope this does give a good sense of what the Indonesian “elephant” really looks like. Few Americans have ever seen it, and the majority who haven’t have little choice but to associate the unknown with those selected, often dramatized stories fed to them by the media. But when the elephant is seen for what it really, it becomes pretty clear that (1)Indonesian Muslims are not nearly as threatening as we’re often led to assume [cliché but true] and that(2) they—perhaps more so than Muslims in other countries—are particularly driven to actively build and mend bridges between themselves and other, disparate religious cultures. By and large, they want to been seen, they want to be recognized, and they'll gladly open their arms to anyone willing to show interest.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnaf5RGlE-_bHxLF9aaDn1g22eXviT1VcBm2r-mA908JRI7kNei7sMoCvivZVTOZQZNW9ecIVqXK1REIYq8-EuZxG1qX76ssG2i5XKFm5_H0C3zxRYpRQl7VWbK91C6hKQWXNcrUMxOkl/s1600/ALIM0216+copy.jpg"><br /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnaf5RGlE-_bHxLF9aaDn1g22eXviT1VcBm2r-mA908JRI7kNei7sMoCvivZVTOZQZNW9ecIVqXK1REIYq8-EuZxG1qX76ssG2i5XKFm5_H0C3zxRYpRQl7VWbK91C6hKQWXNcrUMxOkl/s1600/ALIM0216+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUnaf5RGlE-_bHxLF9aaDn1g22eXviT1VcBm2r-mA908JRI7kNei7sMoCvivZVTOZQZNW9ecIVqXK1REIYq8-EuZxG1qX76ssG2i5XKFm5_H0C3zxRYpRQl7VWbK91C6hKQWXNcrUMxOkl/s400/ALIM0216+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655802110927409522" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVrFBo7ge3b-P3cf3eXJuy8URcmYwkAWapLqxpVVhLs9w3qjMGol6k0mle3NcB81iKIq-Eg8Z5mq5HGt478KUO9vrCYPTBB-M2LWet9sM27h_xcr0WPOqINWZT6PmIkeDw1xiw3k7_ORQ/s1600/ALIM0220+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVrFBo7ge3b-P3cf3eXJuy8URcmYwkAWapLqxpVVhLs9w3qjMGol6k0mle3NcB81iKIq-Eg8Z5mq5HGt478KUO9vrCYPTBB-M2LWet9sM27h_xcr0WPOqINWZT6PmIkeDw1xiw3k7_ORQ/s400/ALIM0220+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655802113295556370" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-44818585234379194612011-09-27T00:08:00.007-04:002011-09-27T01:00:12.878-04:00Cooking with Indos: An Illustrated Guide to Rujak Pedas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zky_KZb7AbGwUIFgaZwM8ngYiBXjPTzV-wkHfXMyTfPtglgtl8PsJtY2O4TsK9VA0bgg4y1FQMDMbaBu6w0U3rD6NQJym_Xt57lpMmPZOpoK30LZ5dZnAL9Z0v-IjV5hHFqezKIZuWc4/s1600/Untitled-1_edited-2.jpg"><br /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zky_KZb7AbGwUIFgaZwM8ngYiBXjPTzV-wkHfXMyTfPtglgtl8PsJtY2O4TsK9VA0bgg4y1FQMDMbaBu6w0U3rD6NQJym_Xt57lpMmPZOpoK30LZ5dZnAL9Z0v-IjV5hHFqezKIZuWc4/s1600/Untitled-1_edited-2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 517px; height: 351px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zky_KZb7AbGwUIFgaZwM8ngYiBXjPTzV-wkHfXMyTfPtglgtl8PsJtY2O4TsK9VA0bgg4y1FQMDMbaBu6w0U3rD6NQJym_Xt57lpMmPZOpoK30LZ5dZnAL9Z0v-IjV5hHFqezKIZuWc4/s400/Untitled-1_edited-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656892147417563186" border="0" /></a><br /><ol><li><span style="font-family:arial;">Find some unripe, still sour-tasting mangoes. Your front yard may be a good place to start.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Find a stick about twenty feet in length. Bamboo will do.Then, whack those mangoes until they hit the ground. If the mangoes are suitably unripe, they won't bruise from the fall.<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Peel the mangoes, cut them into slices, and then dip them liberally into a sweet and spicy sauce made from chili peppers and Indonesian ketchup.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Eat with your right hand, toss away overeager ducks with your left.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Use elbows to jockey for better position among friends in family.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Let the ducks have at the leftovers, and </span>try not to draw discouraging, existential conclusions between the ducks' eating habits</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">and your own.</span></li></ol>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-15269321927813126672011-09-20T20:29:00.024-04:002011-09-22T01:09:13.805-04:00When Downtime with Friends Trumps the Wonders of the Mataram SultanateAt first glance, Java probably doesn’t seem like a tough PC assignment. Our “basic” needs are definitely well-covered: host families cook delicious meals, (many) schools have free Wi-Fi, electricity is consistently available, and water comes directly from taps. So amidst all the amenities, it’s easy to wonder “where’s all the hardship?” And sometimes I certainly do. It’s hard to appreciate the difficulties of living here while immersed in the culture because PC life makes it easy to lose perspective regarding some of the subtleties of transition. Case in point: this past weekend’s mini-vacation to Yogyakarta was amazing, but not for the reasons anticipated. Initially, I felt pumped to explore the former Mataram Sultanate. However, priorities were quickly reshuffled when I realized how much I missed important American "idiosyncrasies" like emotions, directness, and meaningful conversation.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Indonesian’s aren’t short on friendliness; however, they have a sort of formalized friendliness that makes integrating difficult for volunteers trying to make emotional connections with the culture and their communities. Having spent time in seemingly much poorer places (Peru, Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa), I think there are some unrecognized advantages to serving in societies whose people reciprocate American values regarding openness, expressing passion, and so forth. As an American, I don't feel invested in relationships unless there’s some sort of trust built up between myself and another person. And usually, that trust has to be connected to some sort of acknowledgement of vulnerability: I worry about this…, I felt sad when this happens…,I dream of doing this…, etc. That person and myself have to be comfortable enough with one another to express our anxieties, opening the door for support and trust in confidentiality. There has to be some opportunity for people in meaningful relationships to "give" and "receive" from one another.<br /><br />But the suppression of vulnerabilities in Javanese society makes it difficult to find that foothold for integration here. My co-teachers and family are friendly, often too friendly, and sometimes I wish that wall could come down for just a minute, so I could learn a little more about what life is like in the shadows, not just the sunlight. I’d like to know where my host-brother’s father is. I’d like to be told if my counterparts are really okay with my teaching methods. I’d like to learn how several local friends are coping with the recent deaths of loved ones.<br /><br />Unwinding this weekend was like surfacing for a lungful of fresh air. Underwater, senses are dulled, and there’s a vague feeling of pressure whose source can’t quite be placed. But breaching the surface—i.e., interacting with American friends—reawakens sensitivities to the world above, a world I can perceive and navigate comfortably, a world I’m much naturally much better adapted to. This isn’t meant to say that Java is a hostile environment to westerners, or that its culture is less than our own... in many ways, I find people here enjoying a superior quality of life, at least emotionally if not physically. However, it is an affirmation that friends will provide a much more important support than I recognized before this past weekend, and I’ll be more than stoked to take advantage of these “vacation” opportunities in the future.<br /><br />It’s funny how the next day’s schedule can be full of expectations to (1) wake up early and (2) tourist until dinnertime(ish), but quickly changes when catching-up runs to past 3:30 A.M and visiting stunning Prambanan temple is scratched in favor of chilling by the pool, when exploring notable restaurants is traded for making tacos at home and an ambitious evening on the town is declined to relax on the patio.<br /><br />So laying out an itinerary for what was seen in Jogja and would be an injustice to the little things I enjoyed most. I've honestly never been happier doing so little, and I'd definitely recommend checking out some of the other blogs for much better photo documentation. Elle's "Fresh To Death" and "From Charlottesville To Indonesia," Nicole's "The Personette," and Tim's "Thought Pouridge" should all be blogrolled to the right.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4LNL77vuw-aiQoSG1eBAZOSVS2J6TqVqij-wAR6ML70BnwWksVHEtqh13LRbXrVdgEOI1D4UDwKT1hZ6pZ_eh9Vm2nJuC8HxjibViHOcw_effHqY4NpSfOij0LqdNju7rLieP7Mi_vc2/s1600/Untitled-1.test.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 308px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4LNL77vuw-aiQoSG1eBAZOSVS2J6TqVqij-wAR6ML70BnwWksVHEtqh13LRbXrVdgEOI1D4UDwKT1hZ6pZ_eh9Vm2nJuC8HxjibViHOcw_effHqY4NpSfOij0LqdNju7rLieP7Mi_vc2/s400/Untitled-1.test.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655020324421154194" border="0" /></a>(1) Old, underground mosque near the Taman Sari.<br /></div></div><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height:normal"><span style="Courier New";font-family:";" > </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz9fUrW6F08g0z7uuX1CPh-IkCYHtDwbtdgp7xA-5FYVVITY2eD5w1qXcMYb1yPb_coZp3AwVdZ0ayeq1Cs3YKXZl-7esjuiox1Gqa-QqgWI4FBy8G-23EU3mykIFtH3tOviBe3B93cTBI/s1600/DSC01136+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz9fUrW6F08g0z7uuX1CPh-IkCYHtDwbtdgp7xA-5FYVVITY2eD5w1qXcMYb1yPb_coZp3AwVdZ0ayeq1Cs3YKXZl-7esjuiox1Gqa-QqgWI4FBy8G-23EU3mykIFtH3tOviBe3B93cTBI/s400/DSC01136+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654622893829161634" border="0" /></a></p><br />(2) Feeling the "Om" at Borobudur. The structure's upper tier was closed for cleaning.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCI-xhI7z9CLlAd32FUR65T06gwfpeFMYRxAKpilg4_8tHHRI-Owe5Qy4Km3z3f8TZD1aHtdpB4qFYa-CG14iNH4LI8HDfpuqaHXEG5pry6tAzPKhMbUGahDW7VkGMYg0C71dcT79IWwm/s1600/DSC01117+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCI-xhI7z9CLlAd32FUR65T06gwfpeFMYRxAKpilg4_8tHHRI-Owe5Qy4Km3z3f8TZD1aHtdpB4qFYa-CG14iNH4LI8HDfpuqaHXEG5pry6tAzPKhMbUGahDW7VkGMYg0C71dcT79IWwm/s400/DSC01117+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654622895765617154" border="0" /></a>(3) All visitors are respectfully asked to wear sarongs when touring Boro. The ones given to us were unusually small.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-31966653700690764362011-09-07T23:52:00.010-04:002011-09-22T00:33:10.949-04:00A Javanese Wake<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig8N6_RvznDjzs45vxyM6UuPFX7dK_WZTxGvXeYaGSz9SZiH8_N46J1tSFM_Hrqm-Bum6jeuKB_H-GUM4J_XWNfdbtzXpYMmvC8pp-EAVstJvguwwbAdoP3PNUL_88-dq3ID8R9Sij8D0c/s1600/DSC01039+copy.jpg"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> 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10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--></a>After two weeks of Ramadhan vacation, school is back in session, and I again have access to a connection fast enough for posting.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">****<br /></div><br />Beginnings of Ramadhan holidays usually call for celebrations, but this year, events took a different turn. Students went home as usual, and I was about to follow when one of the head teachers approached me and politely explained the situation: one of our teacher’s grandfathers had just died, and since his father was already in the hospital (unrelated), he could especially use our support. So six of us crammed into one of the head teacher’s cars and made the bumpy trip through the countryside up to the family’s home.<br /><br />Anytime I leave the main road, I feel like I’m in a different world. Sure, the schools are a bit shabbier, the homes a bit plainer, the goats a bit freer. But the big difference is the paddy, which terraces stretch for kilometers on end in some places. Usually, the waters cascading down the mountain north of town keep all the vegetation a constant, brilliant green. However, because we’re in the dry season now, not all fields can be properly irrigated, and the dirt roads have become sun-scorched and cracked. So where the drive up to the grieving teacher’s home might usually be a serene experience, at least this time, the enjoyableness was muted by the intense heat, yellowed paddy, and clouds of dust.<br /><br />Showing up to the wake unannounced and—thanks to my whiteness—diverting substantial attention away from the ceremony would have been a recipe for awkward five months ago. But thanks to PC, I feel pretty well desensitized to uncomfortable situations. When we arrived at the teacher’s home, the tone was a heavy, can-hear-a-pin-drop silence. Dozens of sandals already crowded the front steps, so we took off our own. As we did so, a young man came outside to greet us with handshakes and his best smile. We followed him inside to the family’s reception room (the first room at the front of most Javanese homes). There, the space was divided into two groups of folding chairs facing each other across the room. On the side already mostly filled sat the extended family of the deceased, the men and women sitting together for once. The teachers and I quickly walked over to the other chairs, giving quick greeting and handshakes to all the men before sitting down.<br /><br />No one talked aloud… just whispers. The teacher sitting next to me quietly indicated a few of the important family members seated across from us: the wife, son, and grandchildren among others. Surprisingly, I didn’t see any tears among them even though the grandfather had passed away (unexpectedly) just that morning. If the mood was serious, then, it was also composed in an utterly Asian way. Emotions seemed sublimated in order to preserve dignity (“saving face”),and given the formality of the experience—the ritual handshakes, the pointing out of key family members, the head teacher’s condolence speech—our significance as guests seemed not so much centered on emotional commiseration as on validating the family’s dignity. Despite the somber circumstances, the ability to “hold it together” in this culture by keeping a straight face or even cracking a smile while facing grave circumstances appears to indicate strength and discipline. So likewise, as guests, a few things that I initially found strange, maybe even a little disrespectful, might make sense after all. The fact that we only stayed for fifteen minutes, just one of us offered condolences, and no one bothered to keep up a sympathetic frown might be interpreted as complimented to the family’s honor. No one denied that intense pain was still being felt. As one of my counterparts noted, there had been plenty of wailing before we’d arrived. However, by maintaining a “no-nonsense”, formal performance as guests, the teachers and I seemed to have made the implicit statement “We respect you, and because you are strong, we know that you will be able to move past this experience quickly.”<br /><br />Something else unrelated happened a few days later that sort of confirmed all these suspicions. On a quiet Saturday afternoon, my family heard ambulance sirens, and we all rushed out to the road to see the vehicle speed past. In our (relatively) rural part of Java, ambulances always come too late. If someone is truly sick or injured, it’s quicker to drive them directly to the hospital. Therefore, the only real reason ambulances are called here are for grieving families to let fellow villagers know that someone has died and that person was “important enough” to justify ambulance expenses even though the chances of the body being taken away are low (Muslim families bury their own just a few hours after death, if possible). So death becomes a sort of ceremonial spectacle, and that’s how my family treated it. Even though we all knew the mother and child who’d just been killed in the motorcycle accident (I’d photo’d with the mom two weeks before), my parents expressed being much more impressed by the ambulance call than they did being saddened by the death.<br /><br /><p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig8N6_RvznDjzs45vxyM6UuPFX7dK_WZTxGvXeYaGSz9SZiH8_N46J1tSFM_Hrqm-Bum6jeuKB_H-GUM4J_XWNfdbtzXpYMmvC8pp-EAVstJvguwwbAdoP3PNUL_88-dq3ID8R9Sij8D0c/s1600/DSC01039+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig8N6_RvznDjzs45vxyM6UuPFX7dK_WZTxGvXeYaGSz9SZiH8_N46J1tSFM_Hrqm-Bum6jeuKB_H-GUM4J_XWNfdbtzXpYMmvC8pp-EAVstJvguwwbAdoP3PNUL_88-dq3ID8R9Sij8D0c/s400/DSC01039+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649853113615517442" border="0" /></a></p><div style="text-align: center;"> (1) On the last day of Ramadhan, my cousin and his friends built a volleyball net in the bamboo forest. We've gotten a lot of playing time in since.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmw7zFFtM4_ly2HS9dt2QVekbvIcruIo42JeSrMDtdhel_FbvGNXdHAIGO2oLwsN1n73xNGOF9q5HGRNBoPYk-LkVSa5kJ8ZytbkNg9Un5_HS65wyLUD4j7Kw97WJjREYoiimFgOLfTai/s1600/DSC01031+copy+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmw7zFFtM4_ly2HS9dt2QVekbvIcruIo42JeSrMDtdhel_FbvGNXdHAIGO2oLwsN1n73xNGOF9q5HGRNBoPYk-LkVSa5kJ8ZytbkNg9Un5_HS65wyLUD4j7Kw97WJjREYoiimFgOLfTai/s400/DSC01031+copy+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649849589886498834" border="0" /></a>(2) Men in sarungs.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmw7zFFtM4_ly2HS9dt2QVekbvIcruIo42JeSrMDtdhel_FbvGNXdHAIGO2oLwsN1n73xNGOF9q5HGRNBoPYk-LkVSa5kJ8ZytbkNg9Un5_HS65wyLUD4j7Kw97WJjREYoiimFgOLfTai/s1600/DSC01031+copy+2.jpg"></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuESgA7rpIedxcgeZl6vIgBpsTDtqyyAYatPCo4gbd1j3DLECh4Eamiu0lrjb7KDyZjgQ9aeRPjQuUidlIp63Iv7QfUJPKtcGBEoOI9-6iZbUj8GysZNwLme4i2LE5a7HqoKy1dssWFReY/s1600/DSC01025+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuESgA7rpIedxcgeZl6vIgBpsTDtqyyAYatPCo4gbd1j3DLECh4Eamiu0lrjb7KDyZjgQ9aeRPjQuUidlIp63Iv7QfUJPKtcGBEoOI9-6iZbUj8GysZNwLme4i2LE5a7HqoKy1dssWFReY/s400/DSC01025+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649834396209776866" border="0" /></a>(3) Family greeting more family.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuESgA7rpIedxcgeZl6vIgBpsTDtqyyAYatPCo4gbd1j3DLECh4Eamiu0lrjb7KDyZjgQ9aeRPjQuUidlIp63Iv7QfUJPKtcGBEoOI9-6iZbUj8GysZNwLme4i2LE5a7HqoKy1dssWFReY/s1600/DSC01025+copy.jpg"></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRJkxfZYOhWylyWVfND6Uva8SEItbVNriH1_IHdNuCTgpoMcbc2ezwYVMJcjOkQkOzabbSEK9RjL5sjOJgbr_H5f7FTrOaGARj1cHhDzuZWExeO0RNHzvX0u4EoGkjAQEqj9nE9Hz9dUMo/s1600/DSC01024+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRJkxfZYOhWylyWVfND6Uva8SEItbVNriH1_IHdNuCTgpoMcbc2ezwYVMJcjOkQkOzabbSEK9RjL5sjOJgbr_H5f7FTrOaGARj1cHhDzuZWExeO0RNHzvX0u4EoGkjAQEqj9nE9Hz9dUMo/s400/DSC01024+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5649834403635615634" border="0" /></a>(4) Idul Fitri is like the Muslim Halloween. Except the kids get money, not candy.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRJkxfZYOhWylyWVfND6Uva8SEItbVNriH1_IHdNuCTgpoMcbc2ezwYVMJcjOkQkOzabbSEK9RjL5sjOJgbr_H5f7FTrOaGARj1cHhDzuZWExeO0RNHzvX0u4EoGkjAQEqj9nE9Hz9dUMo/s1600/DSC01024+copy.jpg"></a><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-64373619433589961432011-08-19T20:18:00.014-04:002011-09-22T00:32:26.060-04:00The August Catch-all PostI usually write on a single topic, thinking it's better to do one thing well than many things "meh". However, singling out just one experience from seven days of interactions also has its disadvantages. Most notably, many experiences must be left undocumented. And as a result, this blog probably hasn't given the clearest portrayal of Indo life that it can. That's why I feel justified writing a catch-all post to capture some of those experiences that haven't yet made it onto the web. So here are some of those notes in bulletted stream-of-consciousness: I...<br /><ul><li>Can literally walk outside--if the season's right-- and--pick these fruits from the front yard: jackfruit, mango, hairy fruit, banana, kelengkeng (translation?), durian, coconut, snakeskin fruit, and (I think) mangosteen.</li><li>Witnessed the confusing economics of globalization firsthand. My family went to market and brought home red delicious apples boldly stamped with "product of U.S.A." stickers. This is ridiculous. First, red delicious apples just aren't that delicious. Second, Indonesian farmers produce plenty of their own apples.</li><li>Realized it has only rained twice in the last 10 weeks. How do the paddies stay so green in the dry season when Java's dry climate mirrors a southern summer?</li><li>Had my first experience with price-gouging taxi drivers. Everyone is tired during Ramadhan. That's probably why when I was on the way home from visiting a friend's site the other week, my bus driver simply decided to stop halfway because he was tired and wanted to go home. Unsurprisingly, the taxi drivers in that town knew I wasn't in a good bargaining position to get home.</li><li>Became an avid cat hater. Three weeks ago, our rabbits had five new bunnies. A week and a half later, we had none thanks to the elusive Monster cat that prowls the compound at night.</li><li> Cooked some mean chocolate chip, banana pancakes for the family.</li><li>Am getting more involved in helping cook dinner at home. Last night's job: pecel (rice and greens under a spicy peanut sauce).</li><li> Calculated that if I had a nickel for every pound of rice I'll eat in Indonesia, I'd have $37.20 according to the U.N.</li><li>Took in another Pyonyang-styled mass ceremony held at my district's parade field to celebrate Indonesian Independence Day this week. In hindsight I'm a little disappointed. After flipping through newspapers and hearing about other volunteers' experiences, it semes my district is one of the rare few who didn't stage a triumphant re-enactment battle against the intruding Dutch (often with real guns and fires).</li><li> Realized that my Indonesian father suffers from either insomnia or something close to it, which is pretty sad considering how hard he must work to support the family farm.</li><li>Met a new family member. My cousin's mother does housework for a family in Hong Kong, and receives home-leave for three weeks once every two years.</li><li>Enjoyed breaking fast with students, teachers, and family members. It seems that just about every night during the week, a different organization provides free dinners for those observing Ramadhan.</li><li>Saw a student faint at our weekly assembly. *Immediately* a second student fell into a terrible seizure that led to hospitalization. Administrators and students superstitiously attributed the seizures to "bad spirits".<br /></li><li>Realized just how big my family really is. My Indonesian father says 319 people showed up to an annual reunion just a few months ago.</li><li>Self-diagnosed some ringworm and dominated said ringworm with my medical kit.</li><li>Unexpectedly found out classes have been cancelled for three weeks after none of my students showed up to English class Monday morning.</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38okYsS_iCbH4JpqZOqD60mxTj-RzYsJJfErCzhOXwi3jd_UqmfP_l90odxkK0KWTz_ChDRvZ3FTciGewPqT0h4NVVXTTcba6Gl0uQ0B7TQ234gjdLht6rcwVKlbKdEwHqnAsMtO2gcR1/s1600/DSC00948+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38okYsS_iCbH4JpqZOqD60mxTj-RzYsJJfErCzhOXwi3jd_UqmfP_l90odxkK0KWTz_ChDRvZ3FTciGewPqT0h4NVVXTTcba6Gl0uQ0B7TQ234gjdLht6rcwVKlbKdEwHqnAsMtO2gcR1/s400/DSC00948+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642745042099580530" border="0" /></a>(1) Breaking daily fast with those family members living closest to the compound. That's my Indonesian father standing on the right. My cousin Abid is sitting in the red shirt.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEoRvdlckgCKEL2e3Ga1QMUPG7NCZvGP3BwY6qxgz-LxMQK-E_MEEZLhoCY20rfdGGSR6UgsNrob9qeZHXg6xxrYVRWKB9T97NYRXppPaid3sPt5YMOEuCZpJDptwX_1lkPJbTeGPNnt-/s1600/DSC00973+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEoRvdlckgCKEL2e3Ga1QMUPG7NCZvGP3BwY6qxgz-LxMQK-E_MEEZLhoCY20rfdGGSR6UgsNrob9qeZHXg6xxrYVRWKB9T97NYRXppPaid3sPt5YMOEuCZpJDptwX_1lkPJbTeGPNnt-/s400/DSC00973+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642737220142571762" border="0" /></a>(2) Our madrassah's "health brigade". At the Indpenendence Day event, these guys had their hands full tending to people who--already weakened from fastened--either felt too sick or plain fainted under the sun.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDIbPlLBz8yvyKEsshbTiCBgc3FNmODVMTFfdw0dBCtDcgEBWEwoAu_TDUgeHeeIAE2lBJcxsViMtWiBPNrWcaq2iGfDpSEEAwsyESa7pfFk1ahv5uZyOOAMyjshfKLrvA0MsM8nT5yRw/s1600/DSC00967+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGDIbPlLBz8yvyKEsshbTiCBgc3FNmODVMTFfdw0dBCtDcgEBWEwoAu_TDUgeHeeIAE2lBJcxsViMtWiBPNrWcaq2iGfDpSEEAwsyESa7pfFk1ahv5uZyOOAMyjshfKLrvA0MsM8nT5yRw/s400/DSC00967+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642737224305772562" border="0" /></a>(3) In a country where neither certain preferential categories nor their accompanying phobias aren't part of the public consciousness, man-to-man affection is common.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6OL4FlDrZlwkXzvuWhVXz6ltUQYMEow4vvZDsgW4KU_hE4ZamUtSV1t9ccoCZE8qEvbOPmprZZ452KxeTzaQ4FyBtyaSFDEUNtNj7V4k67jGIJlsyg2v5ksQmXf9Usa1ibENQfsmwaAYu/s1600/DSC00927+copy+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6OL4FlDrZlwkXzvuWhVXz6ltUQYMEow4vvZDsgW4KU_hE4ZamUtSV1t9ccoCZE8qEvbOPmprZZ452KxeTzaQ4FyBtyaSFDEUNtNj7V4k67jGIJlsyg2v5ksQmXf9Usa1ibENQfsmwaAYu/s400/DSC00927+copy+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642743691773350674" border="0" /></a>(4) Pak Seni proudly showing off some jackfruit.<br /><br />* Note: In my last post, I wrote that Ramadhan signified the month-long period in which Muhammad received his revelations from God., but that information is incorrect. More accurately, Ramadhan signifies the beginning of a revelatory period that lasted about two decades.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-69002259191904397322011-08-11T20:20:00.011-04:002011-09-22T00:31:05.980-04:00Ramadhan: Not Just Another Notch in the BeltWhile teaching pronouns to thirty tenth graders this morning, I look down and realized that—once again—my pants had become embarrassingly unclasped at exactly the wrong moment. I’d like to think no one else noticed, but my students are accustomed to saving face, and therefore pretty tough to read. Not wanting to take any further risks, I excused myself from class, and probably left my counterpart a bit mystified. And that’s a solid lead-in to Ramadhan. Why? Because if it weren’t for Ramadhan, I probably wouldn’t be troubled by embarrassing slippage.<br /><br />Ramadhan commemorates the thirty day period in which the Prophet Muhammad received his revelations from God, a.k.a. the Qur’an. Indonesian Muslims, about 88% of total pop., observe the period through fasting, giving alms, and generally increased participation in religious activities. As Indo PCVs, we don’t have to participate in Ramadhan; our communities are generally tolerant and understanding enough to avoid putting us under unwanted pressure. However, most of us seem to end up least fasting anyway, for a variety of reasons. Some include desires to (1) show respect for our host families (who might find our eating Oreos in front of them a bit insensitive, (2) bond with our communities through a shared experience, and (3) gain some firsthand insights into what the holy month really means. These main three reasons all loomed large behind my own motivations, and at least so far, it seems expectations are being met.<br /><br />Ramadhan fasting stipulates Muslims refrain from both eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset, and for my family, that means getting up at 3:00 A.M. for an early breakfast. I roll out of bed to the masjid’s wake-up call, wash up, and sit down with my host father at the breakfast table, together cramming in as much rice as we can while we can. Afterwards, the rest of the family stays up until the 4:30 call to prayer while I head back to bed for another hour.<br /><br />Schools themselves undergo some drastic changes during Ramadhan. Kids are cranky. Teachers are tired. Motivation for education is generally low. Luckily, curtailed teaching hours take these factors into account. My lessons, usually lasting two hours, are cut in half, and so are everyone else’s classes. Consequently, the school day ends much earlier than usual, students being set free at 11:30 rather than the usual 1:45, and just in time for the noon call to prayer.<br /><br />Most people pass the afternoon by sneaking in additional naps whenever possible. For example, my bapak (Indonesian for father) avoids the rice paddy in the noonday heat since he can’t replace lost fluids until sunset. To pass time, he usually watches the grandkids or lies down for a few hours. I’m usually feeling pretty lazy too, and fast-induced exhaustion is a strong excuse to stay home during the afternoon hours. So while I’m usually game for an afternoon walk through the village or playing frisbee with the kids, right now, midday socializing has been curtailed to just a few days each week.<br /><br />Fasting ends as soon as the sun dips below the horizon around 5:30. Muhmammad traditionally broke his fast by eating three dates. I don’t think dates are native to Java, so instead, most Muslims here start things off with a bow of “kholak” (spelling?), a cold soup that varies significantly from day to day but most often consists of bananas, fermented cassava, melon, and bits of Jello. After breaking the fast with Kholak, Indonesian Muslims then take a ten minute break to say an additional prayer (Maghrib) before continuing on with their meal.<br /><br />The evening hours are devoted to reading the Qur’an. Every evening during Ramadhan, masjids host Qur’an readings that my homestay father and mother never miss. They leave the house around seven, listen to 1/30th of the Qur’an and then return around 8. By that time, everyone’s tired, and we all head to bed. My cousin prays over the loudspeaker at a local a minor masjid (musholla) until 11 p.m., and that’s usually the last thing we hear before drifting off to sleep.<br /><br />This week in photos...<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0UblGs09lDqThFicHUqE2lpD3IOxhNn41CO7muHgQWP_5S6-Yx97IIMxVNx-KDzw0jA1bn-yEPBiThTf4hpBoIkECrRXq7wywl56Yns6ILoqtYsnSjBhq1ZbyZ6RCUdiOGGTl6CzvmdW/s1600/DSC00743+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0UblGs09lDqThFicHUqE2lpD3IOxhNn41CO7muHgQWP_5S6-Yx97IIMxVNx-KDzw0jA1bn-yEPBiThTf4hpBoIkECrRXq7wywl56Yns6ILoqtYsnSjBhq1ZbyZ6RCUdiOGGTl6CzvmdW/s400/DSC00743+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639779409723042482" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSfrLRtpXmF3WyoM0LXoHGhKBb3rkTeWI-5Il9-23tg1-JsHqYqjyvEyvPP_VytFUHA0VjxFc0OuzeCkfNMGQN81e122GsqDvvgMlpdYtdwkUhZS69YivY-vP6aUtBAYJ3a3qs2Bi7lza/s1600/DSC00730+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSfrLRtpXmF3WyoM0LXoHGhKBb3rkTeWI-5Il9-23tg1-JsHqYqjyvEyvPP_VytFUHA0VjxFc0OuzeCkfNMGQN81e122GsqDvvgMlpdYtdwkUhZS69YivY-vP6aUtBAYJ3a3qs2Bi7lza/s400/DSC00730+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639776917025930386" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYuStZ3z9tGJ8WIp0ngUjSYV5gV4exdLhndnWFEmAZLYx9kitEeivhDP6AIRooukYlwqBXhMRL6H45XjL_5kpWslu_T_T8GNsA7GYZGtH5Vfzqeuwde4DqE4fP4IXTfZsSjjy7XigH2PF/s1600/DSC00696+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyYuStZ3z9tGJ8WIp0ngUjSYV5gV4exdLhndnWFEmAZLYx9kitEeivhDP6AIRooukYlwqBXhMRL6H45XjL_5kpWslu_T_T8GNsA7GYZGtH5Vfzqeuwde4DqE4fP4IXTfZsSjjy7XigH2PF/s400/DSC00696+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639769948799990210" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnrOnIVXcxFpPoiCYYndZ0Jv0cYMnHBq1Cs8LGmPK43Wgi4vx6PWm2OYAQ6rQ4fpMDPbM1MKx0yso1MZCZFwo0mHK_vuf_0JD6LUzA0B6SgZN05UlQbZDDxmvA643HHRmBxjIeZGOqghV/s1600/DSC00713+copy2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnrOnIVXcxFpPoiCYYndZ0Jv0cYMnHBq1Cs8LGmPK43Wgi4vx6PWm2OYAQ6rQ4fpMDPbM1MKx0yso1MZCZFwo0mHK_vuf_0JD6LUzA0B6SgZN05UlQbZDDxmvA643HHRmBxjIeZGOqghV/s400/DSC00713+copy2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639769955075457906" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-19923097757112769022011-08-01T01:40:00.001-04:002011-09-22T00:29:10.170-04:00Pre-Ramadan Parades and PR<span style="font-family:arial;">I showed up expecting to teach Monday morning and made it halfway to my first class before a counterpart politely mentioned that students were busily engaged in “class meetings.” “How long will the class meeting last?” I asked. “Until Saturday,” she replied. “Class meeting” sounded productive, but over the next few days, I slowly realized the term is just a formal facade for “fun and games”: specifically volleyball, futsal, ping pong, and cooking competitions all organized to celebrate the approach of the Islamic fasting month, Ramadan, and perhaps, more importantly, promote some positive PR for a madrasah looking to increase enrollment.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The pageantry of the weeklong competitions and Saturday’s culminating, district-wide parade provided an opportunity for my school to strut its stuff before the community. American students are tracked to attend particular high schools based on proximity. Undesirable districting forces parents to either put up (go private) or shut up (accept the circumstances). However, Indonesia seems entirely committed to a charter model, forcing schools to compete against one another for students and funding. As a result, my school’s pre-Ramadan festivities were about more than just having fun; they also facilitated some serious PR maneuvering. By cancelling classes itself, I assume the madrasah earned significant cool points with local students, many of whom didn’t get holidays at their own schools. In addition, though, parents were invited to a free luncheon on Thursday where they heard about the school’s recent renovations and plans to build new classrooms. And for those people who didn’t get the “we’re awesome” memo firsthand, the teachers tasked me with taking pictures of all the events, so they can be printed onto banners overlooking the main road.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Moreover, Saturday’s district parade was icing on an already successful week. Wearing my new kopia and kokok (traditional Javanese Islamic dress), I left the house around 5:30 and grabbed a bus heading into town. Then, some students, also passengers, told me to get off with them and walk through some back alleys to the home of one of my counterpart’s parents where the school drum band—horribly under-resourced, right?—was meeting for makeup and costume fitting. Then, after forty-five minutes, we left together for the parade field where about 2,000 local elementary, middle, and high school students stood gathering before the march. Some schools brought trucks to carry amps and small, five person bands. And just about everyone was holding some sort of colorful prop or sign. However, no other school had a full drum band complemented by baton twirlers much less a towering 5’11”, white foreigner. So at the end of the day, my madrasah both won the parade’s 1st place spirit prize and probably cemented a pretty strong impression on anyone who bothered to watch.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I’m still not sure why my school seems better resourced than others. My homestay cousin who graduated several years ago says the school used to support just two classes per grade level. Now, though, grades X, XI, and XII support 5, 4, and 3 classes respectively, a trend suggesting that next year’s class X may be even bigger. And because Javanese children aren’t becoming more numerous under Indonesia’s two-child and relocation policies, I assume the growth trend is connected to changes in the school’s perceived quality. But I only know a little about what’s happened at my school over the past few years. I do know that a local farmer recently donated land that was developed into new classroom. However, I’m at a loss to explain why we have a paved parade space, futsal goals, Wi-Fi, and a new breezeway while other schools—from what I’ve seen so far—are limited to dirt fields and generally much less impressive appearances.</span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family:arial;">*******</span><br /></div><span style="font-family:arial;">Overall, this week might’ve marked the turning point where I’m really starting to enjoy my new job despite the fact that “teaching” aspect never really happened. Between refereeing futsal games, losing in ping pong, and deciding to observe Ramadan, the Bule-Indo divide narrowed just a bit, and I feel noticeably more at home in the community than I did just six weeks ago. In addition, though, I’ve also learned a bit more about how Indonesian school’s work—the basic charter concept, my madrasah’s trending prospects, and how my school compares to the local standard. In hindsight I never envisioned myself working at a school providing facilities and amenities of this quality and probably would’ve preferred a simpler setting. However, after this week, I couldn’t care less. Worries about not feeling like a “legit PCV” have softened, and so long as I feel like a contributing member of my community, I'm sure all of my pre-service expectations can be met and exceeded.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">This week provided a lot of great photos, but because the internet café is a bit slow--20 minutes per upload, I’m limited to just a few for now. These four--there should be four--were taken at Saturday's parade:</span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOs5ZoBbQmg_fXYHxTUlN0PfUpEwBlvdRq4i2Dv2j9XWKvu6INLMd-AaFBfPOpIet6ko2JDLG4dU7fQGF_4IdEA5n0u7dziBmqWJdcXKgBO2Bci4yczPhwJ8BjUDfA-brMZUbDvqiNWU6A/s1600/DSC00869+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOs5ZoBbQmg_fXYHxTUlN0PfUpEwBlvdRq4i2Dv2j9XWKvu6INLMd-AaFBfPOpIet6ko2JDLG4dU7fQGF_4IdEA5n0u7dziBmqWJdcXKgBO2Bci4yczPhwJ8BjUDfA-brMZUbDvqiNWU6A/s400/DSC00869+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635809139595517970" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDR6srCIHN3ZJDnr3d-RXFUL6yf6wLdExqoBGSDLVtV9jJegQxcm75__Q55C91F2cDYe-LXU2rbAWlgdUJb4q_mBQ21xxtOLpfgVq3_8CSreO4kcTx96zEnI-WHF2d0cjRAFt0hEriw4X/s1600/DSC00874+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKDR6srCIHN3ZJDnr3d-RXFUL6yf6wLdExqoBGSDLVtV9jJegQxcm75__Q55C91F2cDYe-LXU2rbAWlgdUJb4q_mBQ21xxtOLpfgVq3_8CSreO4kcTx96zEnI-WHF2d0cjRAFt0hEriw4X/s400/DSC00874+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635809148352700498" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNPoggNes5WXzq5gubNntVeiPsxm513LRMSJXh0okALWOWHSIZ5pum2q1aQWhC6eccx8gl6CJjsEVXtQydpbnqAJpHne6EM8zPTVbephgIlAxy3KfxsMN9vhSreMlVFEVn7-0f8ye3yFS/s1600/DSC00854+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNPoggNes5WXzq5gubNntVeiPsxm513LRMSJXh0okALWOWHSIZ5pum2q1aQWhC6eccx8gl6CJjsEVXtQydpbnqAJpHne6EM8zPTVbephgIlAxy3KfxsMN9vhSreMlVFEVn7-0f8ye3yFS/s400/DSC00854+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635803129349792674" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1CgoLf1lQvUYqDj8Fmos0r81gs_nqaQaXqpzybGJiAMbhldU-cDZ83ypaVX-3vCqSk6jKSDxNIAApflAyxPGNtRhNNc6P7M1EcP3qLoc0zQOWnrnAwB-oQd_DzlVkieJfY83KLUKL3zc/s1600/DSC00857+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1CgoLf1lQvUYqDj8Fmos0r81gs_nqaQaXqpzybGJiAMbhldU-cDZ83ypaVX-3vCqSk6jKSDxNIAApflAyxPGNtRhNNc6P7M1EcP3qLoc0zQOWnrnAwB-oQd_DzlVkieJfY83KLUKL3zc/s400/DSC00857+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635803136811679330" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-889723388270963162011-07-26T00:36:00.009-04:002011-07-26T01:35:30.650-04:00Nescafe Leads To a Long Night<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiek3axA50psifTejaSmVonCvK18vbdB5JzLQZF6hX70boaFNKHJmP_Om_U0TLFIPR4j9U3yc81fEOxoUpDs9GO_rZfJOSUIJw9frpqYHWA2o5M9Dkkw0u6mgc_np9vL9yd71xp2WBFjpfh/s1600/DSC00670+copy.jpg"><br /></a><br /></div>Lured by promises of Nescafe, I was caught in an incredibly uncomfortable situation last week under "no-win" circumstances equally disagreeable to both advancement and retreat.<br /><br />I left the house late in the afternoon, hoping to explore some new village paths and recruit Frisbee players. But I didn’t make it far. Within the first five minutes, I found two of my regulars playing in an alley. The two girls ran off down the path before I could talk to them, and after rounding a corner, they disappeared into someone’s wood-slat home. As I drew close to the house, a woman—probably mid-twenties—lifted the wooden flap and invited to come inside and drink some Nescafe. Visiting people is a big honor in Javanese culture, and since winning village friends is high on my early priorities list, I said “sure” without much hesitation.<br /><br />Once inside, though, things took a sharp turn to the awkward. The woman proved extremely polite, and spoke slowly enough that we could communicate pretty well. However, the girls had retreated to the back of the home, leaving both of us alone. I felt conscious that—at least for propriety’s sake—there should be a third person with us in light of my stranger status, the girl’s marital status, and both our similar ages. However, the woman’s husband fixed that pretty quickly. After about ten minutes, he came in from the fields, dumped a load of grass in the corner, and played host while his wife disappeared into the backrooms.<br /><br />I felt more concerned when the wife returned carrying a bowl of Lele, a six-inch river thing that looks more like a salamander than a fish. My host family raises its own Lele, so the two of us were already well-acquainted. However, the Lele held a respectable record against my stomach (2-2), so despite being shown a great courtesy, I struggled to reach down and pull back the meat with my fingers. The fish might have been dead, but I’m pretty sure its open eyes wanted to warn me that I’d be in for a long night. To complicate matters, the wife had brought an infant into the room, sat down directly across from me, and begun nursing the child in the traditional fashion without effort to cover up for company. I knew that Java’s conservative culture was full of expectations—at least to my American eyes, but I still passed the next five minutes stunned in awkward, eye-averted conversation, knowing that only by finishing my Lele—a threat in itself—could I make a quick, respectable exit.<br /><br />The night surely didn’t pass comfortably. My Pepto again proved useless, and the Lele mercilessly advanced its record to 3-2. However, I feel better knowing that I’ve made at least two new friends and hopefully learned a bit more about Javanese culture, however awkwardly.<br /><br />This week in photos...<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">(1) The goats live in a shelter just behind the kitchen. They are loud, and practically demanded some web exposure.<br /><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02XcD0SEKWj4_8CTjEW6YFcjuZ8lDaJtNEp-CQPBxNrFvOX39dxdbFxxbP_qXnYItaIfbEWBs4kNrXSrPpecTQjaBraL7JfTuk6GQxr3GDLxk0yav94NwsnWXL1cEQvN59vzyYzmpiPcZ/s1600/DSC00676+copy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 322px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02XcD0SEKWj4_8CTjEW6YFcjuZ8lDaJtNEp-CQPBxNrFvOX39dxdbFxxbP_qXnYItaIfbEWBs4kNrXSrPpecTQjaBraL7JfTuk6GQxr3GDLxk0yav94NwsnWXL1cEQvN59vzyYzmpiPcZ/s400/DSC00676+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633520571901988178" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">(2) To celebrate the end of the first week of teaching, another volunteer, John, and I visited this tea plantation on the mountainside overlooking my town. The Dutch founded the plantation in 1928, and the walking paths are now free to weekending locals.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiek3axA50psifTejaSmVonCvK18vbdB5JzLQZF6hX70boaFNKHJmP_Om_U0TLFIPR4j9U3yc81fEOxoUpDs9GO_rZfJOSUIJw9frpqYHWA2o5M9Dkkw0u6mgc_np9vL9yd71xp2WBFjpfh/s1600/DSC00670+copy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 326px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiek3axA50psifTejaSmVonCvK18vbdB5JzLQZF6hX70boaFNKHJmP_Om_U0TLFIPR4j9U3yc81fEOxoUpDs9GO_rZfJOSUIJw9frpqYHWA2o5M9Dkkw0u6mgc_np9vL9yd71xp2WBFjpfh/s400/DSC00670+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633522543892471058" border="0" /></a><br />(3) "Motivated" students are very important here, and several student bands of varying talent were asked to perform at the close of Orientation week.<br /><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIw1tQtZ1M55D4lZW7AurD3A9jojQGi79MTCNaWrtk0h9RJBsr0Bs7bCh17LN1jAaJsD7qbhGkEr0Hk7H_Fxs7SsTAd4iiEZd2PpmqTfRZ8Mvd9YqaYMDswzn-UAGOUByckE_IMyzVrr7c/s1600/DSC00613+copy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 470px; height: 103px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIw1tQtZ1M55D4lZW7AurD3A9jojQGi79MTCNaWrtk0h9RJBsr0Bs7bCh17LN1jAaJsD7qbhGkEr0Hk7H_Fxs7SsTAd4iiEZd2PpmqTfRZ8Mvd9YqaYMDswzn-UAGOUByckE_IMyzVrr7c/s400/DSC00613+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5633520576910818722" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-78255609642396379772011-07-10T01:40:00.007-04:002011-07-17T03:30:04.378-04:00<span style="font-family: arial;font-family:Arial;" >Warning: grammar discussion ahead.<br /><br />Madrasah or<a name="_GoBack"></a>ientation started upthis week, bringing a close four weeks of leisurely adjustmentto village life. On Monday morning, students flooded into the school’s courtyard to perform marching drills and hear speeches from the administration. Strangely, the day was officially dedicated to “planning” freshmen orientation, leaving me wondering why some students—especially the upperclassmen—even bothered showing.</span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Sensible or not, the general stirrings of productivity are probably what spurred my counterparts to begin planning for the semester. I hadn’t done much preparing on my own, and could only produce a translated list of classroom rules as my best effort. I’d hoped my English co-workers would see this and decide to take things slowly. However, no one took the hint.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One explained, “Mr. Daniel, you’ve lived in Indonesia only three months, but can speak good Indonesian. You must teach our students to speak English like you speak Indonesian.”Running with that logic, they set the bar pretty high with my first task: to prepare a new English syllabus for grades X and XI, so my students can learn to “talk like native speakers.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Though I’m sure they didn’t realize it, the teachers requested a difficult solution to one of the—if not the—greatest struggles English volunteers face in their Indo classrooms. Organizing a “Conversational English” syllabus itself wasn’t too difficult. Three semesters of college Spanish and my own Indonesian instruction left me plenty of ideas regarding where coursework should start and how it should progress. So in four days, I put together a syllabus that emphasized—at least to me—important elements of conversational teaching: a slow pace,focus on self-expression,and opportunities for reproduction. All Indo volunteers try to adopt this interactive approach in their classrooms in some form or another. It’s a model we’re familiar with, have faith in, and enjoy using. On the other hand, though, we’re also required to teach a national, “genre-based” curriculum that seems better suited to teaching comprehension/grammar than actual communication. The “native speaker,” then, finds himself wedged into a tight spot, pinned partly by teachers’ expectations that he’ll bring fluency to the mute and partly by his own responsibility to prepare students for the grammar-intensive national exam.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">I’m hoping to relax my position by meeting my counterparts somewhere in the middle. When presenting the conversational syllabus, I noted that grade X students could dwell in the present tense for an entire semester while mastering some basic grammar. To me, time in the kiddie pool is well spent if it maximizes a student’s ability to survive the deep end later on. The existing curriculum, though, takes a different approach, figuring that real experience is the best teacher. For example, freshmen tackle the following in their very first unit of English: greetings/leave-takings, introductions, spoken announcements, telling past experiences, writing diaries, creating written accounts, and prepositions. Kind of like how a child learns from prolonged exposure to everyday conversation in all its complexities (tense, slang, diction…), so the Indonesian student is expected to retain a little from each en<span style="font-family: arial;">counter, the puzzle pieces sometimes fitting in chunks and sometimes not fitting at all (at least I think that's how it's expected to work). So while I probably can’t slow down my school’s curriculum to a speed that’s manageable for real, conversational achievement that requires substantial time/practice, hopefully I can use my native speaker expertise to at least simplify units and move between them in a natural, well-ordered fashion. </span><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: arial;">To make up for writing about syllabi this week, here are a few photos from the site.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3EaCr3GLlrKqrs-nSK-EA2uqD6YVIx4ng_PsnwJqFvFXiBzCPCt2rrSxc5E6Krq0TCl5ZmGLb-EyTt6iNEcPMWCZDOuoENGkDyUHQnVNYgj2XO_pKByEnPCqgJolvGgih_opkCOcYYlV/s1600/DSC00527+copy_edited-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY3EaCr3GLlrKqrs-nSK-EA2uqD6YVIx4ng_PsnwJqFvFXiBzCPCt2rrSxc5E6Krq0TCl5ZmGLb-EyTt6iNEcPMWCZDOuoENGkDyUHQnVNYgj2XO_pKByEnPCqgJolvGgih_opkCOcYYlV/s320/DSC00527+copy_edited-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623865614954925602" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center; font-family: arial;">(1) My bapak's rice paddy, Part I.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPhe3xTtKgZoR8nsFegCRA7XMsQ9Sfle37jWyyDXRhRxitmLrJjIcvmdEuX2z9Q0J7dM8MhINUxZTY67ex7s00LWyodLRTWd3tIs5XjKTUNDXVezH-wolpPt-Zw7spO3spxeiyuzzbu2i/s1600/DSC00540+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPhe3xTtKgZoR8nsFegCRA7XMsQ9Sfle37jWyyDXRhRxitmLrJjIcvmdEuX2z9Q0J7dM8MhINUxZTY67ex7s00LWyodLRTWd3tIs5XjKTUNDXVezH-wolpPt-Zw7spO3spxeiyuzzbu2i/s320/DSC00540+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623865623343355842" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center; font-family: arial;">(2) A tiger headdress from a reoq performance in town<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhypheny5D9M7s_AfRou0uCOlM98IzX2FITd0aQY2PfIJdjQ_kys14Y2oeNLp3Qw1ExHWX7iam6WU9T105HrNruo21C1vZkBrbdAA8oo38uVmRG1EpbGoOt_c49nMINOXND__nGbqpGkzmDUY4/s1600/DSC00513+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 76px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhypheny5D9M7s_AfRou0uCOlM98IzX2FITd0aQY2PfIJdjQ_kys14Y2oeNLp3Qw1ExHWX7iam6WU9T105HrNruo21C1vZkBrbdAA8oo38uVmRG1EpbGoOt_c49nMINOXND__nGbqpGkzmDUY4/s320/DSC00513+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630217219279055410" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center; font-family: arial;">(3) My bapak's paddy, part II.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89n5LYoxL3MF9T2VMzF3lpE0aROBr0T_sDoULqKEOwHu0PznvNzNu5bWnmROIs6nxu1Zu30eTMUL06Uqmojffgd1hjr22eYmZEe3JDSrRCYcwQRXgzXh3IfJvHhlKykA0htzXRfAXMjzO/s1600/DSC00569+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89n5LYoxL3MF9T2VMzF3lpE0aROBr0T_sDoULqKEOwHu0PznvNzNu5bWnmROIs6nxu1Zu30eTMUL06Uqmojffgd1hjr22eYmZEe3JDSrRCYcwQRXgzXh3IfJvHhlKykA0htzXRfAXMjzO/s320/DSC00569+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630217226974355570" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">(4) Meet Akmal, my nephew. To his right stands my cousin Abid's Jaguar Vespa, one of the coolest rides in town.</span><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-70086465997197101822011-07-05T23:21:00.000-04:002011-07-05T23:21:02.532-04:00Afternoon WalkIt’s 4:30. The sun is settling behind the trees, and in the ensuing coolness, the village is stirring to life. The growing commotion means it’s time for me to get up as well. Putting down a book (4.5/5 kerupuk crisps for Donna Tartt), I get ready for my daily walk. Mosquito-proof jeans come first. Next, I gather up the extras—Frisbee, notebook, wallet, and keys, and stuff everything into a bag. Then I’m outside tightening the Chacos. I’m not alone. Two boys circle their fixed speed bikes under mango trees. My sister cradles her youngest in a shoulder wrap. Several cousins chat under the shade of their own porch. “Where are you going?” one of the cousins asks. “To the stream,” I answer. After a respectful leave-taking, I’m off.<br /><br />The walk down to the stream is a short one. My cobbled side street declines steeply after turning behind the house, and in less than one hundred meters, I’m already there. The wooded path ends at a small, concrete dam that was set—according to my father—one hundred years ago by the Dutch. If it were a few minutes later, I’d climb the adjacent bank and watch the sun set over the paddies. I’m too early, though, so I keep walking along a terraced aqueduct supplied by the dam’s diverted water. The narrow path forces me to walk carefully. And after spotting two snakes within the next hundred meters, I’m ready to redouble that caution. However, it’s not long before I abandon the trail for another leading back up to the main road.<br /><br />Leaving the tree cover, I find myself standing on the shoulder of the main motorway next to the local minimarket, my next stop. Entering, I resist the ice cream cooler and wander to back to the Oreos. The owner sums my total on a calculator, then silently spins the screen around for my convenience. I count aloud “Enam ribu lima ratus” while handing over the change. She appears tremendously impressed by my Indonesian. Pretty soon I’m seated on a bench outside talking to her family: husband, wife, and daughter. The daughter definitely stands out. Her name is “Happy,” and she has remarkably good English for a high school student. Before leaving I write down everyone’s name in my notebook, so I can have them memorized when I next visit.<br /><br />And then I’m off to visit an SD (primary school) that’s usually teeming with kids by 5:00. Fifteen boys knock about a plastic soccer ball as I walk into the schoolyard. I take a seat on the side, having learned that being outgoing with Indonesian kids just makes things awkward. On the other hand, kids respond well if I let them direct the interaction. Soon enough a few break from the game, wander over, and ask if I’ve brought the Frisbee. We try tossing for a few minutes until our numbers reach critical mass for full-court futsal. To pick teams, every player finds a partner and plays a sudden death round of “Person/Elephant/Ant, ”an Indonesian version of Rock/Paper/Scissors. After my own bout, I head to the winners’ side and volunteer for goalie, thinking it the most dignified position available for a schoolteacher.<br /><br />I don’t see much action during the game. Most of the older, bigger, more aggressive kids are going my way, so whenever someone on the opposing team gets the ball, it’s only a matter of seconds before he’s knocked to the ground and stripped. While the ball is at the other end, I have time to check out several kites—way bigger than the one’s kids flew in Malang—flying over the paddies. And still enjoying the lull, I also scout around for a trio of little sisters in strawberry dresses. An ill-thrown Frisbee knocked the youngest of the three in the forehead yesterday, so she’s due for a make-up gift—specifically, the Oreos I’ve bought. However, I don’t see the girls, and because it’s almost dinnertime (5:30), the game is breaking up. I say my own goodbyes, and trudge on home for a quick bucket bath while the sun-warmed water lasts.<br /><br />And that was today’s walk. Since I'm having some trouble uploading images, here's a video made by one of the other training groups for their Community Project:<br /><br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FtpiGtMesEs?fs=1" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-43734816966797996482011-06-30T00:01:00.047-04:002011-06-30T01:08:12.366-04:00Meeting the Counterparts<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CSENTANA%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><link rel="themeData" 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mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <!--[endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">Public schools are on summer break until July 11<sup>th</sup>, so I’ve got a few weeks of downtime to adjust to my permanent site. Yesterday afternoon, I used that time to browse through the resources CD handed out just before swearing-in. Some of the manuals look pretty intense: “Well Construction,” “Small-Scale Beekeeping,” and “Basic Techniques of Blacksmithing” being among the more impressive. I won’t roll up my own sleeves for another few weeks, so this was a bit like listening to “Eye of the Tiger” before taking the field, a way to stay motivated during the quiet hours. For now I’m just trying to be productive—both at school and around the village—getting to know my counterparts and community. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I never considered my own high school a prime hangout spot in the summer months. Expect for a few dehydrated football players and unhappy repeat students, the place was a ghost town. My madrasah is different, though. A few administrators must be present to register incoming grade X students (Indo high schools start at grade X). However, many students and especially teachers still show up on a purely optional basis. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">On Saturday, I came in around nine and took a stool in the science lab. Staff is using the room for uniform distribution, so several women sat on the floor, organizing piles of the boy scout-like patches that will be sewn onto student uniforms. At a longer table, six male teachers sat and snacked on fried tofu. I got the usual questions. “Did you buy a bicycle?” “What are your activities today?” And of course, “What did you eat for breakfast this morning?” I did my best to field everything in Indonesian, and the teachers appreciated my effort. After a while, and we ordered a round of guava and tomato juices from a roadside stand. No one uttered a word about coursework or next month’s orientation. And then at eleven, we quickly packed up, tossed the juices, and parted ways until another day.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">I recognize that—at least in my village—work and social environments aren’t readily distinguishable. My community’s small size may explain why. Hemmed in by rice paddies, the farming village hugs a single road joining two bigger towns. Families here are long-established, often interrelated, and usually large, my own being among the biggest. Everyone attends the same weddings, walk the same paths, and has the same friends. Soured relationships can’t be ignored, and probably have discomfiting repercussions on the whole village and not just those immediately involved. I’m guessing that’s why social harmony seems to outrank professional duties, and more time is spent chatting rather than—something just peed on my shoulder—doing verifiable work.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="">Getting used to this laidback work culture has its challenges, but I’m also thankful for its advantages. On the one hand, my teaching aspirations aren’t receiving much recognition from the counterparts. I certainly have some innovative ideas for more engaging lessons, but no one seems interested in talking strategy. For now, I’m just described as “the new American who’ll help improve our English teachers’ pronunciation.” Gaining trust will take painstaking time and effort. However, at the same time, I’ve enjoyed taking things slowly. I’ve appreciated the volleyball, reoq performances, and daytrip to Java’s cultural epicenter, Yogyakarta. 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</w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:latentstyles></xml></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:lsdexception></w:latentstyles></xml></m:defjc></m:rmargin></m:lmargin></m:dispdef></m:smallfrac></m:brkbinsub></m:brkbin></m:mathfont></m:mathpr></w:word11kerningpairs></w:dontvertalignintxbx></w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables></w:dontvertaligncellwithsp></w:splitpgbreakandparamark></w:dontgrowautofit></w:useasianbreakrules></w:wraptextwithpunct></w:snaptogridincell></w:breakwrappedtables></w:compatibility></w:donotpromoteqf></w:validateagainstschemas></w:punctuationkerning></w:trackformatting></w:trackmoves></w:worddocument></xml>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-38129268010798468402011-06-23T04:03:00.002-04:002011-07-26T01:27:13.161-04:00A Day of Contrasts<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">IntrosSo this post originally went up last Wednesday... just on the wrong blog. Better late than never I hope.<br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I began this past Saturday with low hopes for my last weekend in beautiful Batu, hoping to make a final run for school supplies and little more. However, events took an exciting turn when friends planned an impromptu trip to a local temple. Thanks to the Lonely Planet, I knew that Malang had several abandoned monuments secluded in unexpected spots around the city, all in various states of decay. So I was a little surprised when—just a mile or so from my home—I walked through the gates of an impressive, very functional Theravada monastery.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKo7XLlvIQadxCsr54jVlIQ5vK3Pz_5l2pS4bS7HpEa_ZAkzfcmM4mfzmqyc2NJLZ8-_2hKiUUssBvmj0NK84pjRP0HFR7bfbvkCDk2gca3wCMHmbmG2yrelRR6apGpKygWTzVnno-OC1/s1600/DSC00412+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 223px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKo7XLlvIQadxCsr54jVlIQ5vK3Pz_5l2pS4bS7HpEa_ZAkzfcmM4mfzmqyc2NJLZ8-_2hKiUUssBvmj0NK84pjRP0HFR7bfbvkCDk2gca3wCMHmbmG2yrelRR6apGpKygWTzVnno-OC1/s320/DSC00412+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618271517939927042" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Who knew that such a pocket of solitude existed so close to bustling Malang. Even when I’m walking through my village’s rice paddies, it seems impossible to escape thumping wedding music and the relentless staccato of “Hello, Meeester. What. Is. Your. Name.” The monastery, though, provided a refreshing escape—at least for a few hours. We certainly took our time wandering through the gardens, browsing the library, and practicing Indonesian with the monks. And surprises we found. For example, I noticed the monastery’s museum is full of golf trophies, and the library has a complete set of Twilight. Someone else even learned that the headman had seen more of America than he had. Thus, some staple monk-assumptions were casually eroded.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">And then things got more interesting.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">See this little guy? He’s called a civet, and thanks to him, stuffy connoisseurs all over the world eagerly shell out $300-$600 for a single pound of beans extracted from his prized scat (“kopi luwak”). Civets live in forested areas across Southeast Asia and preferably feed on coffee beans.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA0qmQNEquYWi2xkuwHINnWHNz7lFJXwA8pCGuFolNONa0kHVHQKnLorEv5KzL7pBNMJiQyz2fgzPjx9jDdI8wcZVDwV9X0LwouhzsDR57bhFow8ULC1q-6TW7JKW3VyFY7Yi40NqqDs9P/s1600/KOPI-LUWAK-3.JPG.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA0qmQNEquYWi2xkuwHINnWHNz7lFJXwA8pCGuFolNONa0kHVHQKnLorEv5KzL7pBNMJiQyz2fgzPjx9jDdI8wcZVDwV9X0LwouhzsDR57bhFow8ULC1q-6TW7JKW3VyFY7Yi40NqqDs9P/s320/KOPI-LUWAK-3.JPG.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5618271525579595922" border="0" /></a> In turn farmers harvest the droppings, whose beans have been transformed by the civet’s digestive enzymes in ways that significantly alter their coffee’s taste. In the words of a renowned critic (whom I know nothing about), “The aroma is rich and strong, and the coffee is incredibly full bodied, almost syrupy. It's thick with a hint of chocolate, and lingers on the tongue with a long, clean aftertaste. It's definitely one of the most interesting and unusual cups I've ever had.” That reflects the general consensus from the interwebs. Now, I don’t know much about coffee. In fact I’m not even sure I like it. However, after tracking down one of the few places in East Java that sells this brew, I can proudly vouch that Kopi Luwak’s uniqueness is evident even to a novice.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a name="_GoBack"></a>And that’s how I spent my last free day in Malang, ironically partaking in two incredibly divergent experiences, the first characterized by social insight and the second by physical excess. At the monastery, I felt incredibly encouraged that I was uncovering a different facet of the Indonesian experience—Buddhist culture—to consider in my sense-making of this incredibly diverse, often confusing country. I felt more like an insider then than I had in the past two months, having achieved a bit of a breakthrough. However, I couldn’t have felt more opposingly positioned while sipping Sumatran Kopi Luwak at the posh café in colonial Malang. For a few moments, I was clearly the Dutchman enjoying something unreachable to the common Indonesian. In hindsight though, I’m still glad to have had taken the experience to try something new, despite its expensiveness, knowing well that I certainly won’t be making such things a habit during my service.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In ten minutes, I'll be walking from the internet cafe over to Muhammadiyah to meet with the U.S. ambassador and officially swear-in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Next stop: my permanent site for the next few years in Ngawi regency.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-11306669421815523652011-06-07T02:35:00.011-04:002011-06-07T03:02:30.245-04:00Promoting Awareness One PBJ at a Time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6aEZ3N5JpXlx9dk8eKOcKqNtAJCxk_g3RF7pGex42zqHeZljPUSIBYl8VY_GIOGi4JZCDdV8Kzm-CjvZZ61qcqc8bGRyLIqas0g8hcD1ug2HnJblAWuKRaa0VP6toegETuX4zUn2MK-zo/s1600/DSC00360.JPG"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> 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name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> </a><p class="MsoNormal">With pre-service training winding down, all the Indo trainees were asked to prepare and complete a “community project” within our villages last week. The activity served partly as a “thank you” to our villages while also forcing us to gain a little experience in dealing with local administrators (Indonesian style). After talking with its respective community, each group came up with its own, unique project. Ideas included water mapping followed by a trash clean-up, mural painting, filming a village documentary, organizing an English camp, and helping clear ground for public construction. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">At the time of our planning, my village-mates and I were still processing the many traumas of our English camp from two weeks prior when approximately 90-100+ little ones—rather than the 20 we’d ambitiously planned for—personified chaos for several unforgettable hours. Planning another English camp clearly wasn’t up for consideration. Instead, we wanted a low maintenance project that could still be effective. The village head (“kepala desa”) didn’t offer much support for our first idea, enlisting children to help paint a mural. Not too discouraged, though, we returned to the drawing board. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Luckily, my group’s “Plan B” proved a tremendous success. We reserved the village’s badminton gym to hold a two hour “Exhibition of American Culture.” Wanting to control for unexpected crowds, we decided to take a “hands off” by dividing the room into four exhibits: food, music, cultural posters, and a slideshow. Visitors were free to enter, sample food, walk around, and ask questions as they pleased. All my village-mates and I had to do was prepare the materials, which ended up being pretty fun itself. For starters, I got to help make some real American food: spaghetti, PBJs, guacamole, and after some initial failure, coffee flavored donuts (because chocolate powder was too expensive). I also enjoyed the poster-making, and Indonesians all over my village now know about American football, tornadoes, Halloween, and Easter eggs.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Though we quickly ran out of silverware and Springsteen couldn't be heard above the noise, I’m calling the event itself a success. Several people requested the donut recipe, and everyone enjoyed their PBJs. I made copies of the slideshow for a women’s group, and spent most of my time fielding questions about the slideshow photos: “Who is that actor?,” “Are American mountains really that tall?,” “Where is Mardis Gras,” and so on.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I don’t think we bridged any major chasms of cross-cultural understanding at the event. After all we stuck to “safe” presentations that didn’t touch too deeply on controversial Indo issues like gender or religion. However, I’m pretty confident that our event sparked some interest in—or at least awareness of—American diversity: racial, ethnic, religious, cultural, or otherwise. When thinking of Indonesia, it’s tempting to focus on outlying examples of extremism and unrest, and Indonesians often fall into similar patterns when conceptualizing America. All in all, I think our exhibition helped muddy some of those conceptions last week, and I’m sure I’ll have the opportunity to do the same in my community (maybe unintentionally) over the next few years… one PBJ at a time.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The lighting wasn't good for picture taking, but the event looked a little like this...<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRtQC4N-QCKOeXpnp0V40AHDu1T_QWdmgQsD_I8n0EMhK9gTTU3P831tvnsPspuZhgfNGwDhDkuY3wdX7Pj3gk7dTua3ONd72p6n4_2bUBVoQMQim2PUcyozT_uM2t99Fchna6c9uYDC3z/s1600/DSC00373+copy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" 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id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615364319226908802" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6aEZ3N5JpXlx9dk8eKOcKqNtAJCxk_g3RF7pGex42zqHeZljPUSIBYl8VY_GIOGi4JZCDdV8Kzm-CjvZZ61qcqc8bGRyLIqas0g8hcD1ug2HnJblAWuKRaa0VP6toegETuX4zUn2MK-zo/s1600/DSC00360.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6aEZ3N5JpXlx9dk8eKOcKqNtAJCxk_g3RF7pGex42zqHeZljPUSIBYl8VY_GIOGi4JZCDdV8Kzm-CjvZZ61qcqc8bGRyLIqas0g8hcD1ug2HnJblAWuKRaa0VP6toegETuX4zUn2MK-zo/s320/DSC00360.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615366118227999154" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-610822201908371452011-05-28T01:56:00.006-04:002011-05-30T00:41:12.250-04:00Permanent Site: Rapid Reactions to the Sorting Hat (Plus Recent Photos)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> 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semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]-->Two days ago, 30ish Indo trainees stood atop the auditorium steps of Universitas Muhammadiyah, shifting in agitation as Pak Miftah whimsically pronounced each man’s fate for the next two years. Pak leisurely called out each volunteer, announcing his or her permanent site. When trainees stepped down to receive their handouts, PC staff did an excellent job applauding everyone and generally making it impossible to tell who might have a more difficult road ahead of him/her than others. <p class="MsoNormal">Next, volunteers slow-jogged it over to a massive map of Java’s many regencies that staff had chalked out on the brick below. It felt like playing The Price Is Right. Shouts of joy erupted from the East as some found themselves a stone’s throw from Bali. However, a few, peripheral areas remained uncomfortably quiet as others loped into corners a bit more remote and isolated than they’d hoped.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Me? I’ll be living on the western border of East Java and Central Java in Ngawi regency. Overall, I’m feeling pretty good, but awkwardly ignorant. When I asked staffmembers, “so, what can you tell me about western Ngawi,” I generally got awkward pauses followed by “I think it’s very hilly” or “it’s nice there.” I get the impression that my village is relatively rural and unknown, and the Lonely Planet: Indonesia backs me up; there’s not a sentence to be found about my regional capital (Ngawi) much less my closest town (a manageable 4kms away). </p> <p class="MsoNormal">However, I am pretty excited by some of my information packet’s details. Once I get to site, it looks like I’ll be living with an older couple and their two grandsons. Judging by his picture, my new bapak strongly resembles Mr. Miyagi of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Karate Kid </i>fame, so I imagine he’s pretty competent in his work: farming and handyman(ning?). The family home also looks modest by PC Indo standards, a definite plus (PC Indo homes are generally comfortable, if not palatial). But the biggest bonus might be that I’ll be teaching at the smallest school of any trainee. Some volunteers will be working at schools with 1,000 students and with class sizes of 45+ each. On the other hand, only 300 students attend my madrasah, and class sizes should average only about 25 per session.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">And some photos from the past two weeks…</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWOOZnxmana5IGc1dyTEguvSfl2oJAp9xLaRAqnH6LiS1QqSlDxCl1XfZTi7GfuhQyO3f1PVBlnVHkV0XX-rykPILgjnCXTr0-YoYDb8ikjqaOe9GM49zQ9WcusvTJ_dDYYAP8KNgOyFC/s1600/DSC00301.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWOOZnxmana5IGc1dyTEguvSfl2oJAp9xLaRAqnH6LiS1QqSlDxCl1XfZTi7GfuhQyO3f1PVBlnVHkV0XX-rykPILgjnCXTr0-YoYDb8ikjqaOe9GM49zQ9WcusvTJ_dDYYAP8KNgOyFC/s320/DSC00301.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611640691365402754" border="0" /></a><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte 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</div><p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal">Sipping coffee outside Pemakasan, Madura, on a visit to Scott’s site (blue shirt and beard).</p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULzSzypZ9vq9bc3gTeZudasNuvNwl5LSiXHmC8W0ip-fGBZOf6dr0S2y52XHablEabyq6uv-iuAg36QQoQdHlbn6Mehhuq7TUQToKqoneT3yg8aWLBU6N8Fj8OLRqfyafSlvJ3a1FI4iT/s1600/DSC00290.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULzSzypZ9vq9bc3gTeZudasNuvNwl5LSiXHmC8W0ip-fGBZOf6dr0S2y52XHablEabyq6uv-iuAg36QQoQdHlbn6Mehhuq7TUQToKqoneT3yg8aWLBU6N8Fj8OLRqfyafSlvJ3a1FI4iT/s320/DSC00290.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611640685910369778" border="0" /></a><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> 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Calibri","sans-serif";font-family:";font-size:11pt;" >Somewhere down a bumpy road in Madura, there’s a magical place where fire has been springing from the ground for the past ten years. 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mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">Walking back from Universitas Muhammadiyah with Allyson today, I could hear the amp well before I got home. I hoped it was just the masjid next door, and crossed my fingers. But the woman’s voice gave it away (because only men sound the prayers from our masjid). Again, for the second time in five weeks, Ibu was hosting a “tahlil” at our home. Doing a walk-by on my way to drop off Allyson, I could see my living room emptied of furniture and packed with sitting women all in conservative dress. So upon returning, I snuck in through the side door to avoid disturbing the meeting.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I use “meeting” loosely because I’m not exactly sure what a tahlil is. And after consulting with both my host family and language teacher, I’m even more confident that no one else does either, but here’s what I gathered. Men and women attend separate tahlils that can reach up to one-hundred people and are held in our village seemingly every week. The gatherings are religious in nature and include elements of both Islam and traditional Javanese traditions. My cousin explained that their purpose is to provide opportunities for community members to pray to (maybe “for”) the deceased family members of the meeting’s host at regular intervals following a funeral. So there’s plenty of chanting and singing. And afterwards, everyone who attends takes home pre-packed dinners for their families. I have no idea who pays for these, but it looked like one of Ibu’s sisters was collecting some cash).</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I was also looking forward to studying for today's comprehensive Bahasa Indonesia exam after the gathering dispersed; however, my friend from the kantor polisi decided to stop by for a long visit. On the upside, I got to hear an interesting perspective on Madurese culture. This upcoming week, I’ll be traveling to Pulau Madura in order to visit a current volunteer, attend some of his English classes, and see a real PC site. However, my policeman friend gave some stern warnings. Although “their hearts are good,” he said the Madurese are notoriously brash and dangerous with knives. He also mentioned that though people in Madura are very conservative, they’re pretty big into black magic as well (supposedly, some of them don't bleed). I don't expect to see any of these stereotypes affirmed on my trip, but I'm going to bed a bit more excited for the trip than I was this afternoon<br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-48973551978386561892011-05-14T21:05:00.016-04:002011-05-14T21:51:52.096-04:00Surprises so Far<div style="text-align: center;">Some Madrasah Students Breaking it down to the Hokey Pokey<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dziDzWYfzHu-2320F0KM-IxLQ-4U6pCM5rgqbMgITRin3uNqgMb_tIabJQFN4-Bu93Kn9TBA0NPPFzxiGdSbg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><br />1. What's going on? - I've got a confession. I don't know -a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g about Indonesia's history, politics, and culture beyond what I can find in my Lonely Planet guide. The president... I'm pretty sure his initials are "SBY". Beyond that, though, things get a little hazy. I've confided my ignorance to the staff here, and in return, they've given me a pretty thick history text on loan from the office. I'm looking forward to understanding my surroundings a bit better.<br /><br />2. Congestion - Indo sits right behind the U.S. in the number four spot of the world's population standings, so it's clearly a big archipelago, bridging Malaysia to Australia. However, I never realized that the majority of Indo's population is concentrated on just one island, Java. Traveling between Surabaya, Malang, and Pulau Sempu, it's amazing to see that the development never really stops. I get the feeling that--at least on this island--escaping civilization is pretty difficult.<br /><br />3. (where's the) Diversity - When I see another "Bule" (whitey), I get very excited. However, these sightings are very rare, usually happening within a few hundred meters of Malang's Pizza Hut (the Bule's preferred habitat). After five weeks, I'm still expectantly waiting to catch my first glimpse of someone with dark skin who isn't a PCV. So far, no luck.<br /><br />4. Importance of Faith - Indonesians all carry identity cards that are very similar to American drivers' licenses. However, there's one interesting piece of required information on those cards that we'd be reluctant to publicly broadcast in America: our religions. All Indonesians must officially identify themselves with some faith, be it Islam, Christianity, Catholicism (identified separately from "Christianity" here), Hinduism, Buddhism, or another belief system. Agnosticism and atheism aren't offered as choices.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5805310866306965828.post-24058388373427437242011-05-10T00:57:00.008-04:002011-05-30T00:44:41.069-04:00Ibu Marli'ah, Tiger Mother?I’ve had some exciting interactions with my Ibu over the past few weeks, and its time I shared one. On Saturday, I headed into the city center with my language group after we wrapped up our morning class. The game plan was to wander around, barter for some durian, and then give the smelly fruit a try. However, an unexpected parade threw us off, forcing us to return to the angkot terminal empty-handed about two hours later. I guess our driver was disappointed that he could corral only three passengers. Because after about twenty minutes, he told us that a late afternoon trip towards Malang would cost a total of 50.000 Rp, about seven times the standard rate. After a quick “No thank you, sir” (tidak terima kasih pa,k), we decided to make the trip on foot since there weren’t any other angkots headed our way. The walk took about an hour, and we were only a little late for dinner. <p class="MsoNormal">I didn’t expect Ibu to be happy, but I can’t help but think that she had a hand in bringing about what happened next because as soon as I got out of the kamar mandi, I saw a policeman at the door. He introduced himself, offered his cell number, and told me to contact him if I ever have any “trouble”. Coincidence? Maybe. Either way, Ibu took the opportunity to denounce the price gouging angkot driver in vigorous Javanese, and I was thankful I couldn’t offer up a physical description or name.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Other weekend positives: (1) day-tripping to beach at Pulau Sempu, (2) finally convincing Ibu that I can handle unsweetened tea/coffee, (3) receiving positive reports on language progress from PC staff, and </p><br /><div style="text-align: center;">(1) On the walk home from a late language class.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZD1UGuZAHkLo5EZ1SEeMQdEqw6O-kejkS3erkA-0gEtrtWOx8BO88L3gIN8OWlrUUrLeHm6A1q6CSdlZdc-8O5qvPMmOYb8B5ZDirR3e_G_ZKAoFgKGBkzlXPwdGdvB2qepi4nOfRm8X/s1600/DSC00151+copy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 194px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitZD1UGuZAHkLo5EZ1SEeMQdEqw6O-kejkS3erkA-0gEtrtWOx8BO88L3gIN8OWlrUUrLeHm6A1q6CSdlZdc-8O5qvPMmOYb8B5ZDirR3e_G_ZKAoFgKGBkzlXPwdGdvB2qepi4nOfRm8X/s320/DSC00151+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604951621109286178" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">(2) Also on the way home from language class.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCucPTGGa3ZkwSJ0SOdT4JjhSZ-Ix7aNIhXivAJjhhYCXPg9EU_U68QpxAZZxQvPoTdGJIVffltkevuMOCqClYa0kdnjq8VEyoMtUPESRy2Jxg_WAi4B23lMeupQeggJCjZczzvvu3CAu9/s1600/DSC00125+copy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 79px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCucPTGGa3ZkwSJ0SOdT4JjhSZ-Ix7aNIhXivAJjhhYCXPg9EU_U68QpxAZZxQvPoTdGJIVffltkevuMOCqClYa0kdnjq8VEyoMtUPESRy2Jxg_WAi4B23lMeupQeggJCjZczzvvu3CAu9/s320/DSC00125+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604951625622702770" border="0" /></a><br />(3) Pulau Sempu<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9lol2U-VALeDwnec21J3DIeiYAhtErMMPLRoQ6e5lYsLza_hSnEMcRF9QP5n-G6mzkyt59xw3yH1OVPZI-h2_ey0doPXfZ1o98buXepjZFXajR2xJxpiXrI8s6hvefLbFJ8WysVCuWgw/s1600/DSC00257+copy.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 128px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9lol2U-VALeDwnec21J3DIeiYAhtErMMPLRoQ6e5lYsLza_hSnEMcRF9QP5n-G6mzkyt59xw3yH1OVPZI-h2_ey0doPXfZ1o98buXepjZFXajR2xJxpiXrI8s6hvefLbFJ8WysVCuWgw/s320/DSC00257+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604951609990657330" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0