I finally arrived at my site! Technically I arrived a couple of days ago, but my Internet situation is still a little up in the air, therefore I am reporting live from an Internet cafe! Today was my first day of really walking around the city by myself and getting a chance to take in the city. I really really like it! The city itself is on the smaller side which I really like because it keeps me from being overwhelmed with being somewhere new. It has been very surreal to go from Bandung where I was surrounded by 30 other ETAs and where we were constantly traveling in groups to a situation where you are totally by yourself and don't know anyone or the language they speak (NOTE: during orientation, we all learned Bahasa Indonesian, the official language of the country. However, each region of the country speaks its own language that differs slightly, making communicating a little extra hard). It's really fun though and all of the other teachers at my school have been so friendly and nice to me as I get adjusted. They make sure I keep busy and it has really helped me feel at home. I have also received a few "Oh dear, you have to meet my son....I think you'd make a cute couple!" which makes for an awkward exchange in Indonesian :)
The house I am staying at is also very beautiful and my host has been very nice. I have a beautiful view of the house's garden and also of the two volcanoes that border our town. No worries, I have been told that only one is active and that our city is protected :)
One thing I have had to do a lot of is singing. Those of you who know me well, know that I can't carry a tune, however singing is really popular here so I've had to sing a couple times. Haven't gone solo yet, but I can feel it is only a matter of time. It is kind of funny because our program is supposed to promote understanding of American and Indonesian customs and culture, but at times you find yourself doing completely ridiculous things, forcing you to have one of those "How did I get here moments?." For example, I went and observed my school's debate team yesterday and one of the students asked me how accents varied in the United States. 5 minutes later, I was in front of the class demonstrating several different accents including but not limited to Southern, New York, Pittsburghese, etc.
I should probably get going because I need to go get some lunch. Hope everyone back home is doing well!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Indonesian Independence Day!
Some of the other ETAs and I celebrated Indonesian independence day yesterday!
There were lots different events going on all over the city, but earlier in the week a few of us met the principal of a local school for the blind and so we went there. It was truly an amazing experience to see the facility and celebrate with some local Bandungians (I call them this out of respect for Rohit).
The people at the school were so friendly and nice. I talked to one lady for a really long time and gave her a small compliment on her ring. She then proceeded to give me the ring, telling me that she really wanted me to have something from Bandung to take back to America with me. The generosity of some of the people here is astounding and coming from America, it can almost confuse you.
Everyone we meet usually wants to take pictures with us or talk to us about why we are in Indonesia and what we like about it. It's interesting to contrast this with some Americans who constantly complain about tourists and how much they hate them.
This is the lady who gave me her ring. She is holding her son.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Orientation Etc.
Its been a few days since I last blog and I apologize to my loyal readers...(mom or Nitya, i think that's you). My last few days have been pretty packed with orientations everyday starting at 630am and going until about 5pm or so. They really try to cram in as much as possible, so each day we have two Bahasa Indonesian Classes and two classes on Teaching English. Therefore, by the end of the day, we are all pretty beat. However, in what little free time we do have, I have been able to check out some really cool stuff. One is a warang. These are basically the street or stall food that you find all over Bandung (and Indonesia). Some of these stalls are also notorious for getting people sick. However one of the ETAs discovered a good one, and I have to say, I think its my favorite food here so far. I usually get the tahu bakar and tempe bakar (Baked tofu and baked tempe). This warong also serves plain steamed rice. Every other place we have eaten generally soaks all of their food in oil or fries everything, so it is nice to go somewhere and enjoy non greasy food.
Our local warong!
One thing that we did get to do that was really cool was visit this volcano in Bandung, Tangkuban Parahu. It was about an hour away (with a lot of traffic) and was at a really high elevation, so the temperature was really cool. Around about 25% of the volcano were these little stores and shops, selling everything from food and traditional handicrafts, to argyle sweaters and Kanye West shades. Here is a pic of the
Anyway, me and a couple of friends decided we were adventurous and were going to hike around the entire volcano. It took us about 30-45 minutes to get halfway around and thought we could do the rest, no problem. And so began a close to 3 hour hike around the other half of the volcano, complete with mountain climbing, walking through some jungles, avoiding wild dogs, and trying to scale a wall. the pictures below may help to detail our exact path. Now keep in mind that what is shown is maybe 15% of the amount that we actually hiked. All I can say is that we were pretty sore the next day.
Well, that's all for now. Yay to the stilllers for beating the eagles!
Our local warong!
One thing that we did get to do that was really cool was visit this volcano in Bandung, Tangkuban Parahu. It was about an hour away (with a lot of traffic) and was at a really high elevation, so the temperature was really cool. Around about 25% of the volcano were these little stores and shops, selling everything from food and traditional handicrafts, to argyle sweaters and Kanye West shades. Here is a pic of the
Anyway, me and a couple of friends decided we were adventurous and were going to hike around the entire volcano. It took us about 30-45 minutes to get halfway around and thought we could do the rest, no problem. And so began a close to 3 hour hike around the other half of the volcano, complete with mountain climbing, walking through some jungles, avoiding wild dogs, and trying to scale a wall. the pictures below may help to detail our exact path. Now keep in mind that what is shown is maybe 15% of the amount that we actually hiked. All I can say is that we were pretty sore the next day.
Well, that's all for now. Yay to the stilllers for beating the eagles!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
The Paris and Hollywood of Java
Bandung is a really interesting city and I am loving it so far. In my Lonely Planet Indonesia Guide Book, Bandung is referred to as the "Paris of Java." Some people have also said that it is like the Hollywood of Indonesia. Not sure how accurate those comparisons are, but the city is awesome. My free day yesterday was filled with a lot of adventures yesterday, mainly because I was trying really hard not to nap at all during the day in an attempt to get over the time difference.
Adventure 1:
A bunch of us did a morning walk around the city in the open market area. While at an ATM, we started talking to a friendly couple who wanted us to teach them English! There was another moment of recognition when I said the name of my city so that made me feel better too. We talked to them a lot about where exactly we should go in Bandung and they then offered to give us a ride in their car to one of the malls. However upon realizing we were rolling in a group of about eight, they quickly retracted their offer but they did give us directions on how to get to the markets.
View from hotel room:
Adventure 2:
A couple of ETAs and I decided we wanted to step away from the shopping district and try to find something else to do. However, Bandung is a huge textile city where people vacation to go shopping so this was slightly difficult. We ended up choosing the Governor's Mansion. The people working at the Hotel were like, "It is so far, you should take a cab, it will save you so much time!" Since we had the day off, the three of us decided to rough it and walk. A short 15 minutes later we arrived at our destination on foot, and we will now forever questions the estimating done by our hotel staff. The mansion was alright, though not a tourist spot at all -- we were quickly told that we couldn't take any pictures of it or go inside. We decided to take a different route back to the hotel and we ended up going through this complex of little houses and were followed by a gang of very cute little kids playing soccer. The alley kept getting narrower and narrower but we eventually made it out to the main road again.
These three were part of the group that followed us:
We then decided to walk towards this giant bookstore in the shopping district. The mall we went to was amazing and was complete with Body Shop, Adidas, and Gap. At the intersection of the mall there was a point where you could stand and see a KFC, McDonalds, and Pizza Hut all at the same time (global capitalism at its best). The mall was so crowded and was kind of a sight to see:
The journey home from the mall was a little bit crazy, mainly because we tried to follow the route that our bus had taken the day earlier. All I can say is that you should never try to walk the same path that a huge bus took. We ended up lost and walking around Bandung for another hour and a half. However, I think the experience was a positive one because it gave us all a chance to learn some Indonesian (kiri is left, karan is right, rouse is straight). We also learned how to ask a lot of questions in Indonesian but realized quickly that when you ask questions in Indonesian it can seem as if you will be able to understand what the person's answer will be. However we eventually made it back to the hotel and had dinner.
Adventure 3:
Although we were pretty tired when we came back, we decided to check out this lounge called Embassy because we thought the other ETAs were going to be there. The hotel staff seemed so excited when we mentioned it (at least a lot more excited than when we asked how to get to the Governor's mansion), so we hopped in a cab and went down there. The cover for the lounge included admittance and 1 drink. What were your options? A soft drink, beer, or shot of tequila. I have to admit, I kind of loved the "go big or go home" mentality of the place. When we got inside, we quickly realized we were the only people in the entire lounge and that there was a band playing tonight. What kind of band? An Indonesian Beatles cover band. There is no way I can explain the ridiculousness of sitting in a lounge in the middle of Indonesia, drinking an Indonesian beer, and listening to beatles music. The only word that comes to mind is surreal. By 11 o'clock people were starting to come in, however we quickly realized that no other ETAs were going to come, so after talking to some locals, we decided to call it a night.
So that was more or less my first day traveling Indonesia. I must say, everyone we have met has been so friendly! It's not uncommon to hear people shout "Selamat Jalan!" (Have a safe journey) to you as your walking on the sidewalks. I'm hoping I will receive this same treatment once I am on my own without any white people :)
Update:: a Popeye's has also been spotted.
Adventure 1:
A bunch of us did a morning walk around the city in the open market area. While at an ATM, we started talking to a friendly couple who wanted us to teach them English! There was another moment of recognition when I said the name of my city so that made me feel better too. We talked to them a lot about where exactly we should go in Bandung and they then offered to give us a ride in their car to one of the malls. However upon realizing we were rolling in a group of about eight, they quickly retracted their offer but they did give us directions on how to get to the markets.
View from hotel room:
Adventure 2:
A couple of ETAs and I decided we wanted to step away from the shopping district and try to find something else to do. However, Bandung is a huge textile city where people vacation to go shopping so this was slightly difficult. We ended up choosing the Governor's Mansion. The people working at the Hotel were like, "It is so far, you should take a cab, it will save you so much time!" Since we had the day off, the three of us decided to rough it and walk. A short 15 minutes later we arrived at our destination on foot, and we will now forever questions the estimating done by our hotel staff. The mansion was alright, though not a tourist spot at all -- we were quickly told that we couldn't take any pictures of it or go inside. We decided to take a different route back to the hotel and we ended up going through this complex of little houses and were followed by a gang of very cute little kids playing soccer. The alley kept getting narrower and narrower but we eventually made it out to the main road again.
These three were part of the group that followed us:
We then decided to walk towards this giant bookstore in the shopping district. The mall we went to was amazing and was complete with Body Shop, Adidas, and Gap. At the intersection of the mall there was a point where you could stand and see a KFC, McDonalds, and Pizza Hut all at the same time (global capitalism at its best). The mall was so crowded and was kind of a sight to see:
The journey home from the mall was a little bit crazy, mainly because we tried to follow the route that our bus had taken the day earlier. All I can say is that you should never try to walk the same path that a huge bus took. We ended up lost and walking around Bandung for another hour and a half. However, I think the experience was a positive one because it gave us all a chance to learn some Indonesian (kiri is left, karan is right, rouse is straight). We also learned how to ask a lot of questions in Indonesian but realized quickly that when you ask questions in Indonesian it can seem as if you will be able to understand what the person's answer will be. However we eventually made it back to the hotel and had dinner.
Adventure 3:
Although we were pretty tired when we came back, we decided to check out this lounge called Embassy because we thought the other ETAs were going to be there. The hotel staff seemed so excited when we mentioned it (at least a lot more excited than when we asked how to get to the Governor's mansion), so we hopped in a cab and went down there. The cover for the lounge included admittance and 1 drink. What were your options? A soft drink, beer, or shot of tequila. I have to admit, I kind of loved the "go big or go home" mentality of the place. When we got inside, we quickly realized we were the only people in the entire lounge and that there was a band playing tonight. What kind of band? An Indonesian Beatles cover band. There is no way I can explain the ridiculousness of sitting in a lounge in the middle of Indonesia, drinking an Indonesian beer, and listening to beatles music. The only word that comes to mind is surreal. By 11 o'clock people were starting to come in, however we quickly realized that no other ETAs were going to come, so after talking to some locals, we decided to call it a night.
So that was more or less my first day traveling Indonesia. I must say, everyone we have met has been so friendly! It's not uncommon to hear people shout "Selamat Jalan!" (Have a safe journey) to you as your walking on the sidewalks. I'm hoping I will receive this same treatment once I am on my own without any white people :)
Update:: a Popeye's has also been spotted.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Finally Arrived!
Hello all!
I am reporting live to you all from my hotel room in Bandung, West Java, my temporary home for the next three weeks. The journey was very, very long. To be honest, this is because all Fulbrighters are required to travel only on US airlines. And since no American airline flies straight from the US to Indonesia, it takes a little bit longer to get here. Therefore, for any other normal person who wanted to travel here, they could probably take a direct flight from LA or even Chicago to Jakarta, much more desirable then the Pittsburgh --> Chicago --> HongKong --> Singapore --> Jakarta route.
So a piece of my luggage was missing (how it became missing is another story in itself). There are about 5 of us that all have this same problem (some people are missing both pieces though). FYI, to get into the lost and found area of Singapore Airport once you have left the airport requires you to go to the Singapore Airport Police Station, lol.
Once we arrived in Jakarta, the AMINEF people met us as soon as we deboarded the plane and they pretty much walked us through every step of the operation. It was definitely nice not to have to wait in any lines for immigration and customs -- the AMINEF people just gave all of our stuff to the airport security people while we waited for luggage (Note: it can be very scary when people just take your passport and claim they'll take care of the paperwork for you....many of us were like "um, you think we'll get those back right?").
So the lost and found people in jakarta's airport were much more helpful than those in singapore's. Granted, this is probably because they had all of the AMINEF people demanding that they find everything fast, but they were still really nice. I think I had my first exciting moment in Indonesia with good old Deca from Lost and Found. While making copies of my baggage tags he was asking what we were all doing in Indonesia and where we'd be (I mean, we're a group of 30 Americans in there twentysomethings just being rushed through immigration and customs, I'd ask too). When I told him the name of the city I would be living in, I finally found the response of recognition and familiarity I had been looking for! Most people, even those that have been to Indonesia before, have no idea where my town is; it was nice to finally talk to people who had heard of it! According to Deca, its a great place, lol!
So after we left the Airport, we got on a bus that took us from Jakarta to Bandung. Most of us passed out for the majority of this trip, but it was about 5-6 hours long, making my entire trip close to 50 hours long. I will admit, it wasn't as bad as I though it would be. But it was kind of strange to arrive in our hotel yesterday and think, "oh my god, I don't have to leave this place tmr to travel somewhere else."
The good people at AMINEF gave us the rest of today off so we can just kind of take it easy before we get thrown into everything tmr. They also gave us our orientation schedules. Most of our days start with breakfast at around 6am (ouch) but they usually end pretty early and we have the nights to ourselves.
Now I am off to get some breakfast. Hope everyone back home is doing well!
I am reporting live to you all from my hotel room in Bandung, West Java, my temporary home for the next three weeks. The journey was very, very long. To be honest, this is because all Fulbrighters are required to travel only on US airlines. And since no American airline flies straight from the US to Indonesia, it takes a little bit longer to get here. Therefore, for any other normal person who wanted to travel here, they could probably take a direct flight from LA or even Chicago to Jakarta, much more desirable then the Pittsburgh --> Chicago --> HongKong --> Singapore --> Jakarta route.
So a piece of my luggage was missing (how it became missing is another story in itself). There are about 5 of us that all have this same problem (some people are missing both pieces though). FYI, to get into the lost and found area of Singapore Airport once you have left the airport requires you to go to the Singapore Airport Police Station, lol.
Once we arrived in Jakarta, the AMINEF people met us as soon as we deboarded the plane and they pretty much walked us through every step of the operation. It was definitely nice not to have to wait in any lines for immigration and customs -- the AMINEF people just gave all of our stuff to the airport security people while we waited for luggage (Note: it can be very scary when people just take your passport and claim they'll take care of the paperwork for you....many of us were like "um, you think we'll get those back right?").
So the lost and found people in jakarta's airport were much more helpful than those in singapore's. Granted, this is probably because they had all of the AMINEF people demanding that they find everything fast, but they were still really nice. I think I had my first exciting moment in Indonesia with good old Deca from Lost and Found. While making copies of my baggage tags he was asking what we were all doing in Indonesia and where we'd be (I mean, we're a group of 30 Americans in there twentysomethings just being rushed through immigration and customs, I'd ask too). When I told him the name of the city I would be living in, I finally found the response of recognition and familiarity I had been looking for! Most people, even those that have been to Indonesia before, have no idea where my town is; it was nice to finally talk to people who had heard of it! According to Deca, its a great place, lol!
So after we left the Airport, we got on a bus that took us from Jakarta to Bandung. Most of us passed out for the majority of this trip, but it was about 5-6 hours long, making my entire trip close to 50 hours long. I will admit, it wasn't as bad as I though it would be. But it was kind of strange to arrive in our hotel yesterday and think, "oh my god, I don't have to leave this place tmr to travel somewhere else."
The good people at AMINEF gave us the rest of today off so we can just kind of take it easy before we get thrown into everything tmr. They also gave us our orientation schedules. Most of our days start with breakfast at around 6am (ouch) but they usually end pretty early and we have the nights to ourselves.
Now I am off to get some breakfast. Hope everyone back home is doing well!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
