The End of Week One

Today the whole AUA group had our first of two planned excursions! In the morning we visited the Prambanan temple compounds. The temples were originally built in the 10th century and the compound is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located only 45 minutes outside of Jogja, it was such an amazing experience visiting a site with such a rich history! As Indonesia is located in the "ring of fire," these temples have seen it all. They have been built, destroyed, re-built, and restored countless times due to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other natural disasters. There are supposed to be 508 temples in the whole complex, but most are in ruins at this point. UNESCO is trying to rebuild all the temples in the coming years. We walked around for about 2 hours with a tour guide and got some great photos! 

The largest temple in the center of the complex dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. 

The inside of the temple dedicated to Vishnu. 

Some of the ruins of the smaller temples 

Me standing on the temple dedicated to Brahma, with the Shiva temple in the background. 

Some of the intricate carvings on the temples. 

 After we finished up at Prambanan, we had a delicious lunch and headed to our next activity. We drove another hour outside the city to a farm where they conduct social/cultural activities. There we rode on the back of a motorcycle-wagon, braided coconut leaves, played traditional instruments, planted rice, cultivated a rice field by riding an ox, and hiked around the area. We even had the option of catching ducks by grabbing them by the neck, but we opted out. It was a jammed-packed afternoon, but we all had a blast! It was so great to spend some time outside the city and experience the rural life in Indonesia.

Our artwork made from coconut leaves. 

Riding in the back of a motorcycle drawn wagon. 

Cultivating rice fields with an ox

Planting rice! The mud was so disgusting and squishy. 

On our hike we stopped at a river that carries lava from the volcano after an explosion. The river bed is entirely made of volcanic ash! 

Today was certainly exhausting, but unforgettable! I can't wait to see what my second week in Indonesia brings!!

Exploring the City on Foot

The NGO girls and Bila at the king's palace

 Believe it or not today was the first time we really got to explore the city by foot. We spend a lot of time in the car here driving to and from work, but we haven't actually walked around a lot. All of the girls working for NGOs had the day off, so my buddy Bila took us around. We first took the public bus to the palace. The bus is called TransJogja and is quite the experience. First of all it's the equivalent of 30 cents to ride the bus. Buses only come every 15-20 minutes and we had to wait for 2 buses until one was empty enough for us to fit on. We were then crammed like sardines standing for 45 minutes until our destination. It was hot and smelly. Not sure we'll be riding the bus again anytime soon...

After about an hour and a half of transportation we arrived at our destination, the palace. Jogja is a special region of Indonesia because it has a king that rules as a governor. We toured the palace for about an hour with an English speaking guide. Then the guide took us to a small batik art gallery. We got to try making batik!

After doing some serious shopping on Malioboro street, which is the most famous street in Jogja, we rode in pedicabs for the first time! It was a great way to see the city! We only paid a dollar fifty each for a 20 minute ride.

I've included some photos I took today. Hopefully it gives a better picture of what the city is like!

This is one of the pillars at the palace. The green represents Islam, the pink lotus is for Buddhism, and the blue elephant's foot represents Hinduism. 

The group at the palace 

Courtney learning to make batik. 

Katarina and I riding in a pedicab for the first time!! 

The Do's and Don'ts of Jogja

I decided to list some of the do's and don'ts of Jogja as an easy way to describe a little bit more about the culture: 

Do’s

• Take off your shoes when entering a house, especially a place of worship.
• Use only your right hand when giving or receiving things. The left hand is considered dirty.
• Try all of the food! Most things are delicious even if you don’t know what they are.
• Take an hour after lunch to relax. It’s encouraged!
• Expect lizards in the house. They’re a good thing since they eat the mosquitoes.
• Leave the front door open when you’re home. It’s not a big deal.
• Expect the workplace to be relaxed. The pace here is much slower.
• Make sure your ice has a hole in it. It means it’s made with safe, boiled water.
• Expect snacks to be served if you visit anyone. 

Don’ts

• Forget to smile. Javanese people love it.  
• Be offended if a man does not shake your hand. He might just prefer to avoid physical contact with the opposite sex as part of his religion.
• Wear tank tops, T-shirts, or shorts. You must always cover your shoulders and knees.
• Put your hands on your hips or fold your arms across your chest. It’s considered very rude and a sign that you think you’re better than everyone.
• Cross your legs. You aren’t supposed to point with your feet. Also, don’t put your feet up on tables or chairs.
• Expect there to be sidewalks. Usually you just walk in the street with the busy traffic.
• Put toilet paper in the toilet....ever. We learned this the hard way at the AUA house. 
• Get sweet tea. Javanese people love their sugar and this is no exception. It’s way too sweet to drink.
• Drink the tap water. Don’t even brush your teeth with it.
• Bring more than $5 equivalent in your wallet at a time. You’ll never need more than that.

One of the many small lizards that are all over the inside of houses here. This one was above the water jug inside the office

An example of the snacks that are served whenever you visit someone. Most of these are made of the root vegetable cassava. They are also usually fried and delicious! 

One of our buddies, Bara, leading us through the streets. This is a rare moment without traffic. 

Saya Bekerja di Dian Interfidei

I now have two days of work under my belt and I’ve been enjoying every minute of it! Misato and I are interning at the Institute for Interfaith Dialogue in Indonesia (Dian Interfidei). It is an NGO with six staff members that operates out of a small house in Northern Jogja. As the name suggests, Interfidei runs programs that help encourage harmony and mutual understanding in a religiously diverse country. This is an enormous challenge, especially with the recent violence against religious minorities and “heretical” sects of Islam.

In the six weeks I’m here, my task is mainly to create promotional materials for Interfidei. Misato and I are making two 15-minute videos about some of their programs. We also will create a PowerPoint presentation and a series of pamphlets.

So far we have just started to work on the video. Misato mainly goes through their collection of video clips and compiles them, while I am in charge of choosing and editing the photos. As I sort through the thousands of photos, I have been getting a really good feel for what Interfidei is all about. At interfaith dialogues for university students, everyone is smiling and laughing. Serious discussion is paired with singing, dancing, and other silly activities. There are girls in headscarves laughing with girls in abbots. It is clear that Interfidei makes a positive impact on religious tolerance in Indonesia. I’m really looking forward to helping them with their mission.

As my title indicates, we began Bahasa Indonesia classes tonight. Monday through Fridays a tutor comes and we have night classes at the house from 7-8:30pm. The language is very easy in the sense that they don’t really have a lot of grammar rules, but the vocabulary is difficult to memorize because the words are so foreign to me. I’m hoping to become conversational in the next few weeks. 

For now, good night or, selamat malam! 

The AUA Team

Top row: Didi, Katarina, Enggar, Courtney, Randy, Haura, Billa
Bottom row: Bara, Misato, me, Awe, Stephanie, Fiona

So by now you might be wondering about the people I've been living with here in Jogja. I'm going to take this opportunity to introduce the AUA team; the American volunteers and group from University Gadja Mada. The photo on the left includes everyone. Many of the students from the UGM are international relations majors and they all speak English incredibly well. I have really felt welcomed by each and every member of the on the ground team. They are patient with us as we navigate such a new environment. They are also extremely helpful and have been taking turns showing us the ropes here in Jogja. For example, today a few of them took us to the Sunday morning market, which is on the university campus where we live. We would have been totally lost without them telling us what is safe to eat, bartering for us, and guiding us which way to turn. It's a great support system for us here and we couldn't be here volunteering without all of their assistance!

As a full group we've talked a lot about this experience being a give and take. A true exchange between our two cultures during this six week time period. In the last few days, the UGM team has given us so much and I hope that we can somehow repay them in time.

Stephanie buying a drink made out of ginger and other Indonesian spices. 

Motorcycles at the Sunday morning market. 

Fried sausages at the market. The American volunteers were not allowed to eat these....

A courtyard at the university. 

One of the main auditorium buildings on campus. 

The volunteers outside the main gate of UGM where we live! From left to right: me, Courtney, Misato, Fiona, Stephanie, Katarina. 

Day One Through Photos

Today was amazing, but totally overwhelming. We saw a lot of the city by going around to the different places we're each working. It's such a beautiful city with so much color and energy! I've already learned so much and everyone running our program has been so helpful! Since I'm so exhausted I'm just going to post some photos.

This is all of the AUA volunteers with some of our tutors and mentors.

This is my mentor Billa and the program director Didi buying fruit covered in chili sauce for us to try. Very delicious! Spicy, but sweet at the same time. 

Some of the street art in Jogja. The face is of a famous human rights activist who was killed during the authoritarian regime in Indonesia.

So many motorcycles! This is how most people get around, but it's very very dangerous. Traffic laws don't exist here.

An entire family on one motorcycle. Notice the son sleeping.

More street art. This one includes the famous shadow puppets from Jogja.

All of the AUA volunteers at an Islamic boarding school.

Arabian Hospitality

Well I've finally made it to Indonesia! A twelve hour flight from Washington Dulles to Dubai, a ten and a half hour layover, and an eight hour flight later and I'm still not even at my final destination. After my one hour AirAsia flight from Jakarta to Yogyakarta I will have been traveling for 36 straight hours.

Now before you feel too bad for me, I actually lucked out with a lot of my flying arrangements. On the first flight the seat next to me was open, so I was able to stretch out. For the second flight, I was randomly upgraded to business class. Talk about good luck!

Since I had such a long layover in Dubai I was able to leave the airport and explore the city. What an incredible place! While I wouldn't ordinarily do this, I hopped on a double-decker city tour bus and rode around all day. The recycled commentary and cheesy Arabian music was almost more than I could take by hour four, but something stuck with me from the tour. They kept repeating the phrase "Arabian hospitality."As in, "this hotel is a marvelous display of Arabian hospitality" or "take a boat tour and experience Arabian hospitality."

I didn't think much of it until I hopped on the flight from Dubai to Jakarta and my seat mate was instantly offering to help me with everything. His name was Eddie; a twenty-something-year-old member of the UAE national taekwondo team. He offered to share his snacks with me, helped me with my bag, and patiently explained to me many aspects of Muslim life. His account of his pilgrimage to Mecca as a young boy was especially interesting.  Once Eddie and I parted ways in Jakarta, another man from Dubai helped me load my luggage onto the airport shuttle and told me I have to return to Dubai for more time. He asked me all about where I was from and was genuinely interested in what I was doing in Indonesia.

My experiences with Arabian hospitality have given me a great introduction to the Muslim world. I can only hope that the people in Jogja will be as kind and welcoming!!

Here are just a few pictures from Dubai:

“Yogyakarta…Where is That Anyway?”

         Well this is it, the moment of truth. I can’t believe next week I am headed all the way across the globe to a city I can barely pronounce: Yogyakarta, Indonesia. (Apparently it’s “Jogja” by the way). Whenever I get finished telling friends and family what I am doing this summer they always reply with the same question: “Yogyakarta…where is that anyway?” It’s as if no one can really understand why I’ve made the decision to spend my summer this way. While I am certainly nervous, I have been getting excited for this moment ever since I was accepted into Creative Learning’s America’s Unofficial Ambassador’s Program.

          I first decided to apply to the program because I want an experience living in a foreign country. Even though I have traveled extensively, and even lived with a host family in France, I want to experience a country that is truly foreign. Indonesia does seem to be modernizing rapidly and is an interesting crossroads of old and new. I’m most excited to experience their rich and diverse culture that is so different from my own. I know this will test my limits and it certainly won’t be easy to live in a place I have only learned about from behind my laptop, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

          I’m a firm believer that the world is quickly globalizing, and we all need to adapt. People should not be shocked and appalled by the practices of different cultures, but should instead try to understand their point of view. This is especially true of Americans and Muslims. Both sides need to try to educate themselves on the other culture and be more accepting. If everyone took the time to ask questions and learn about foreign places, I believe the world would be a much less scary place to live. We can only welcome and accept people if we understand where they’re coming from. This is why I felt like I needed to do a program with such hands on experience. It will help me to reinforce what I’ve learned in the classroom and form my own impressions of the Muslim world to share with others. 

          The other reason I was attracted to the program was for the service internships. I will be a communications intern at a small NGO called Dian Interfidi. I’m mainly assisting them with their English language materials for their website, but I will also be doing photography for them. Dian Interfidi is dedicated to promoting religious tolerance in a country that has substantial religious conflict and violence. They also publish studies on key social issues such as HIV, domestic violence, and human trafficking. I will be helping them to spread their message by expanding their English language presence. 

          To my friends, family, and all those who will follow me this summer: wish me luck, I think I’m going to need it. This blog should be chock full of embarrassing, awesome, terrible, beautiful, difficult, and life-changing stories. I can’t wait to share my experiences with all of you. I also can’t wait to have a better answer than just “Indonesia” when you ask me “Yogyakarta…where is that anyway?”