Kalimantan.. My second time to Borneo. First was in 2005 when I went to Sarawak, in the Malaysian side of Borneo. This was my first time in Indonesia's side of Borneo. We left Thursday night with Lion Air on a big Boeing, a bit of a bumpy ride there and we all decided the landing in Kota Baru deserved a 5 out of 10 at best. We arrived late, settled into our accommodation, headed out for some traditional food & then retired to bed. We had checked in late to our flight in Jogja & this seemed to be the trend for the rest of our flights over the next 4 days. It didn't seem to be a problem. I stopped stressing as I usually would. At least there were six of us all in the same boat. Anyway, in Banjarmasin we had a tradtional breakfast, I had some tofu & eggplant that was tasty as. Spent breakfast feeding rice to a kitten & sipping on hot tea that was not quite as sweet as the tea they serve in Jogja and also tasted a little different. Jogja tea tastes like super sweet jasmine tea. In South Kalimantan it tastes like turkish delight. Then we ventured off to the airport, where we met our Indonesian friend's mother & boarded our small flight to Kota Baru. It took only 25 minutes.
I should explain why we were heading to Kalimantan in the first place. Our friend here, who we have nicknamed 'Ronaldo' for his love of the ex-MUFC player & hairstyle that resembles the guy, comes from Kota Baru. An island off of Kalimantan with a small-ish population of 80,000 (so I have been told). The students there apparently have less self-esteem and are not confident enough to pursue education & go to University etc. According to our friend there is a stigma held by those living here that they are not as good as the Javanese people and because of this they tend to go into jobs as fishermen or farmers instead. Our friend was very passionate about finding a way to lift their self confidence so he asked if we would come over and talk to students about the importance of education. So we did. It was not a cheap four day trip by Indonesian standards but it was worth every cent.
We were definately spoilt by our host in Kota Baru & his family. This island must not be very used to foreigners because the cries of 'BULE' (foreigner) rang out pretty loud as we walked around. Ronaldo introduced us to some yummy food such as soto banjar & nasi kuning & we worked on our presentation for the school until 130am. 630am saw us awake for the start of our day. Ronaldo had organised matching t-shirts for us all to wear & if we didn't stand out enough before, we certainly did now. We were photographed plenty of times as usual as we ate our breakfast & then we headed off to our first school- fashionably late as Indonesian's do 'rubber time'. The first school had students around the age of 16, they were very excited to be visted by 3 Australians, a Canadian & a Dutchman. We all gave our own presentation about education & pursuing education. I was very happy as I gave my presentation entirely in Indonesian. I had to read from the paper & Ronaldo had to correct a few mistakes the night before but on the whole I was proud of my language skills still hanging around nine years after high school has finished (nine years, wow!). The students & teachers appreciated my Indonesian & I hoped that showing them what I had gained through education would encourage them to pursue the same. They seem to hold the title of Bidan (midwife) in high regard & we very impressed to hear that was my job. We had question time & then spread ourselves across five groups to talk more intimately with the students. Their english was very impressive once they were over their shyness. We had a massive photo shoot & then headed off to the second school. The second school had older students, maybe 17 to 19 years old. They seemed just as happy to have us there but less excited (perhaps because of their age). Regardless we were all very happy with how it went. Ronaldo was a very good inspiration for the students because he comes from the same island & we spoke at his high school. He managed to work hard to gain a scholarship to study in Java, here in Jogja at one of the best Universities. He was too shy to admit he was the best role model for the students, rather than some westerners who do not have to work so hard or have as many obstacles to get into Uni. Most of the students I spoke to had high goals, which was great to hear but then the problem is how do they get to achieve them? There are limited scholarships, Uni is expensive, there is no Uni on their island and they feel insuperior. If it has been done in the past, ie by Ronaldo, hopefully the students can work hard enough themselves for it. We then had a huge feast at Ronaldo's family home (of which I could eat little, I don't eat seafood here) and headed to the hospital where I had a look through their maternity unit. It was tiny but there were about eight beds squished into one area together, plus a cat or two. Then I guess an assessment room, a labour room & a post natal room which was roomier & had only two beds. They tend to like their VIP sections in hospitals here. It made me miss my work to see small newborns & tired mothers!
Then we jumped on a speed boat, after being followed through the housing area like we were superstars, and after a ride around the coast headed back onto dry land to have a nap before meeting with the 'governer' of Kota Baru. I found it hard to pull myself away to nap because Canada & I were swamped with children who were incredibly cute & maybe aged from 2 years old to 9 years old. Eventually I got away & we got ready to meet with the head of the island. We went to the government house, had a very stiff/awkward time there. I think it was difficult as our group were so tired, it was hard to tell how to treat this man & Ronaldo seemed pretty stoked to be meeting him & it was so formal. He told a few stories about how he thinks global warming is bollucks & then invited us to dinner. The next morning we joined him for breakfast as well as his small entourage. We were photographed & video'd while we had breakfast. I had a bit more energy so I managed to make discussion in Bahasa. It still felt formal & awkward despite the men being dressed in their Sunday Soprano best.. you know, the kind of clothes that Paulie wears.
After all the formalities we went back to the hotel to pack (I don't think I've ever stayed somewhere with a toilet & mandi so stinky, I barely washed) and said farewell at Ronaldo's home. He only goes back to Kota baru every six months. We headed back to Banjarmasin on our short plane ride & spent the day wandering around & ended up on the quest for beer. It had been a dry weekend. We were taken to a warung where once we placed our order a man scootered off to get the beer. It was twice the normal price but I think beer was rather rare in Banjarmasin. We were all exhausted & napped until beer o'clock. Then got up at 530 to get back to Jogja.
Now I'm back and have bought a cold with me. I am resting up a lot as I have only a week left in Jogja & know the pollution of KL would knock me around if I left sick as I am now. I am excited for the grandprix next weekend! Still need to find accomodation. Will be spending three days in Kota Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo in northern Kalimantan before returning to KL to fly to Chiang Mai to start volunteering for four weeks there. I am nervous about Chiang Mai. I've never been to Thailand & the language freaks me out. I hope the organisation supports me well.
This week in Jogja I will be catching up with friends, some of whom will not be here when I return. Tomorrow night we are hitting up karaoke again, I hope I am better in time for it & then a toga party on Thursday night. Ben heads off to do his eight weeks of development on Tuesday, the day before I leave. He has exams next Monday as well & we will hopefully have an opportunity to have a nice dinner together before we both leave Jogja. Ben will be living in a refugee/temporary camp towards the top of Merapi for eight weeks. He will be sleeping on a concrete floor (needs to buy a sleeping bag) & will have minimal privacy. Alcohol of course will not be allowed or available. The volcano is still steaming but will hopefully behave for eight weeks. He is going to need to rent a scooter to get around. So we are both heading off into interesting times. I am happy to be taking a break from Jogja but will be happy to come back in June.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Kamirun Jawa
Our 'hotel'...
The view from the toilet.. from where we squatted straight into the ocean.. oh yeah, I have conquered the squat..
A week of travel!
Okay I have been a little bit too busy for blogging this last week or two.. I can't even remember what happened last week.. Oh yes, St Patrick's Day.. That's probably why I don't remember much. We had a party at some acicis' people's new place that Ben & Peezy will move in to when I leave. They have a huge & impressive house. The party was a lot of fun, there were many sore heads the next day. Dress up parties seem to go off around here. There should be another next week. We made a huge mess but their poor maid arrived the next day to clean it up.. Wednesday was a massive scum day, while two of my friends went off to pick dragon fruit, I couldn't drag myself out of bed. Dragon fruit is quite tart & very red, will stain your clothes, let alone your fingers.
Thursday night was St Patrick's Day. Canada & I met at the gym in the morning, followed by a swim & then cycled home in the pouring rain. The wet season is seeming to be coming to end. Though it doesn't rain every day it is raining right now. Pretty miserable day today. Not as hot here either. Anyway, getting off track, a group of bule's (foreigners) got together at the Banana Leaf Cafe & decked ourselves in our best greenery, downed some guinness & anything else we could get our hands on. It was a really good night. The men at the bar were so camp it wasn't funny. I was dancing with one to a street band, he then got angry with me when I was dancing with him to Rihanna & pulled his hair in a playful manner.. He shrieked louder than I have ever heard a man shriek.. well I don't think I have actually ever heard a man shriek before. My other dance partner liked the hair pull move so I decided to dance with him instead. The gay Indo guy was not happy there after. We had a pretty late night. I was 'out of control' aka drunk doing the usual playful punching/kicking behaviour that takes over me after too many drinks. Also the strangler came out. That hasn't happened much here yet. I think St Pat's must be my drunkest night yet. This is good. So yet another scummy day followed on Friday.
Saturday morning 2am saw us meet at a Warung with a group of Indo guys I hadn't met before & a few friends. We headed off on our road trip to get to Karimun Jawa. It took 5 hours by car & 4 by ferry. A 2am start following a hangover is pretty hard to handle so most of us slept during the trip. It was great to get out of Jogja & see the more rural Java. We would have driven up to the north of Java from where we are which is the south. The archipelago of Kamirun Jawa is beautiful. Very pristine though you still see plastic floating around in the water. But many of the islands had no inhabitants or maybe 3 or so. The reefs hosted amazing tropical fish of many colours & I finally learned how to snorkel. It was great. The men on the boat with us would jump out into the crystal blue or deep blue seas & spear fish, that they then cooked for lunch. I tried to eat some, it was definitely tasty but I think I may have even given up fish now. I couldn't bear to eat a fish that was whole on my plate. Anyway it was absolute paradise. We stayed on a 'hotel' on stilts in the middle of the ocean, they had a shark pool with sting rays & little nemo fish. The Indo guys were great & very fun to hang out with. After a six hour ferry back to the mainland on Tuesday we drove another 8 hours to get back to Jogja. Very exhausting!
Last night checked out the final Bball match between two universities here, UGM vs UNY. It was so loud & the crowd went nuts. Then checked out some live jazz with a group of friends. Oh and yoga with sweden & canada. I am getting better at bending my body into insane positions. These classes are not your typical classes you would find in Australia. Always using different aparatus & wooden blocks, I even had five kilo weights placed on my legs to try and make them stretch more. The classroom is extremely warm with a fan that barely does a thing.
Tonight we are off to Banjarmasin with Lion Air. Banjarmasin is in South Kalimantan in Borneo. We will spend tonight there then off to a small island where our friend who studies here is from. We are being accommodated by the government & will be speaking with the government and schools about empowerment through education. It is going to be very interesting especially since we haven't really organised anything to say yet. We will do that tonight. I am doing a speech in Indonesian to one school & Peezy will do the other one.
We have had tshirts made for this trip to wear to the schools etc. It seems like it will be a big deal for them, I don't think foreigners come to this island very much.
Will back back to Jogja on Monday then only a week and a half left.
Booked flights to KL & onto Chiang Mai.
Will miss being here I think.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Street art in JOG....
I was not expecting so much
art & creative, expressive graffiti.
It is everywhere & most of it is good.
Empty walls are taken up by
colourful street art, often with a
message about health or education.
It definitely helps to add colour & brighten up this
city.
We have asked if it is legal, as we haven't seen anyone in the act.
Who knows who is actually doing this..
Maybe these guys...
Saturday, March 12, 2011
URLS
here are some interesting URLs..
I know this guy, he is involved in an NGO here in Yogya, very interesting people, young with initiative & want to make a change to society.
Not that I was looking but it popped up while I was surfing the web, thought it was interesting.
Yogya folk's blog also who are involved in this NGO I have spoken of in the blog already.
I know this blog is out there for all the world to see but I don't really expect people to look. There are people checking this from Australia (most likely my family), Indonesia (most likely my partner), Brasil (My brother) but also UK, USA, Malaysia & China. That astounds me. My blog is now also linked to someone else's website.. I really want to look at it but the link always fails. The internet here is terrible. I feel I need to watch what I say or I will get into trouble!
end week 5!
12-3-10
Well I think it has been nearly a week since I wrote anything on here and it has been a fast week. On Sunday we spent the morning at Merapi. It was incredible to see what destruction really looks like. It was also very humbling and sad to be in an area of such devastation and death and displacement. Especially to be involved in tourism due to their misfortune but it is a way for them to rebuild and make money. They charged an entrance fee to see each area. It was a fun day as we headed up there on a rickety old bus with a new friend of Ben's from UGM and then found a man to take me around on the back of his bike, while Ben's mate & Ben got on another scooter. It cost 100,000 RP for each bike and we were out for over 2 hours. It was hard for them to ride through the deep ash and Ben came off the bike once (though they were going slow trying to navigate the ash and became bogged, his landing was soft). Then we ventured down to the southern area of Jogja & checked out a few of the other touristy locations which was good to see ie the old water palace and we found an awesome vegetarian restaurant called Milas.
Our housemate's canadian friend arrived from Jakarta on Sunday as well. I believe she has open plans & may stay for the entire month. She is living with us & like me is a lady of leisure. She can't speak a lick of Indo & is starting classes on Monday. I have decided after reading through the language classes brochure that my bahasa is good enough to do without.
So what else have I done this week... Helped Canada find her way around. Yoga. Swimming. Riding my old, creaky, difficult bike. Devastating loss of Manu v Liverpool. We found a cafe/restaurant/warung close by that was showing the game and we smuggled in a heap of longnecks. Liverpool had the biggest following that night but I haven't noticed any liverpool paraphernalia around the city, however loads of MUFC. I found myself going for the underdog, however never imagined MUFC could be an underdog.
Karaoke on Tuesday night with some of the friends we have made so far. Unfortunately a couple who were living upstairs who we have been going out with have just left. It was lovely to have them, but especially a local, around to help. Karaoke was impressive.
Wednesday night saw us meeting to discuss heading to Kalimantan with our friend Ronaldo to educate/inspire local people about education and to discuss our differing education systems and what is available to young people when they study.. At least this is what I think what we will be doing. I think we'll head out there once this month and then again in June. The price is hefty to get out there, I think we have to get two flights, however the cause is just & Ronalda is lovely & it sounds like the people of Kalimantan are quite disadvantaged with less opportunities and less confidence.
This week I am fighting a fluey type thing. Constant headache most of the week that won't leave me no matter how much water, sleep and good food I try to eat. Though the good food is difficult, nearly everything I eat is fried or has something fried in it. Hopefully all the riding, swimming, yoga will take care of that. My throat is a little sore & been sleeping in a lot. Plus the stomach isn't feel 100%. It hasn't been too bad but a but of a nuisance.
Yesterday I went riding through the busy streets of Jogja, ie main roads etc. Rode a fair distance & stopped on Jalan Malioboro & did a little bit of shopping. I haven't done too much since I arrived. I got some awesome & very comfy batik thongs, a batik dress (that looks like a huge patchwork potato sack but I love it) and a tye dyed dress that Canada & I both got. We found a batik market that was so enclosed, hot and stuffy. It was terrible! There was also a spice market that looked interesting but it lead on to a stinky fish stench so we turned around and got out of there.
Last night we were taken out to dinner at a true warung. A place I would never have eaten at. One of those warungs they tell you not to eat at but since I was with some nice local lads who were excited to show us, I couldn't quite say no. I had some cold rice with tempeh & tofu that was sitting cold but then he put it over some coals for a few minutes and added some kecup manis. Kecup manis is really good but it is on another level when it is grilled on tofu/tempeh. It was delicious! We both had hot tea, and a filling meal each and the entire cost put together was 9000 Rp, ie $1 AUD. My gut is ok so far today as well. So we sat in a circle under a tarp in the rain at the warung and chatted and when I needed to go & pee I was taken to a stranger's home to use their loo (squat). How kind is that. People are very nice. The guys we went out with were the same group we went to the orphanage with. They have started their own NGO that went from a few people to now 40. They do a number of things to try and improve the social conscience of people in Jogja but they also help to organise blood donations in Jogja & have been successful in doing so. I think they use a lot of social networking sites to get the message out and request specific blood groups depending on what circumstances arise. I am hoping to go along with them one time when there is an emergency and see what they do & how they collaborate their work with the hospital. Mid post-dinner chatting last night one of the guys got a phone call then asked if any us were blood group B, he said he was so got up and went to the hospital to donate blood because they needed it urgently. Pretty honourable people, it is inspiring.
We had a quiet Friday night. I don't know what I am doing this weekend. I need to book my flights to Thailand & pay for that volunteering...
Well I think it has been nearly a week since I wrote anything on here and it has been a fast week. On Sunday we spent the morning at Merapi. It was incredible to see what destruction really looks like. It was also very humbling and sad to be in an area of such devastation and death and displacement. Especially to be involved in tourism due to their misfortune but it is a way for them to rebuild and make money. They charged an entrance fee to see each area. It was a fun day as we headed up there on a rickety old bus with a new friend of Ben's from UGM and then found a man to take me around on the back of his bike, while Ben's mate & Ben got on another scooter. It cost 100,000 RP for each bike and we were out for over 2 hours. It was hard for them to ride through the deep ash and Ben came off the bike once (though they were going slow trying to navigate the ash and became bogged, his landing was soft). Then we ventured down to the southern area of Jogja & checked out a few of the other touristy locations which was good to see ie the old water palace and we found an awesome vegetarian restaurant called Milas.
Our housemate's canadian friend arrived from Jakarta on Sunday as well. I believe she has open plans & may stay for the entire month. She is living with us & like me is a lady of leisure. She can't speak a lick of Indo & is starting classes on Monday. I have decided after reading through the language classes brochure that my bahasa is good enough to do without.
So what else have I done this week... Helped Canada find her way around. Yoga. Swimming. Riding my old, creaky, difficult bike. Devastating loss of Manu v Liverpool. We found a cafe/restaurant/warung close by that was showing the game and we smuggled in a heap of longnecks. Liverpool had the biggest following that night but I haven't noticed any liverpool paraphernalia around the city, however loads of MUFC. I found myself going for the underdog, however never imagined MUFC could be an underdog.
Karaoke on Tuesday night with some of the friends we have made so far. Unfortunately a couple who were living upstairs who we have been going out with have just left. It was lovely to have them, but especially a local, around to help. Karaoke was impressive.
Wednesday night saw us meeting to discuss heading to Kalimantan with our friend Ronaldo to educate/inspire local people about education and to discuss our differing education systems and what is available to young people when they study.. At least this is what I think what we will be doing. I think we'll head out there once this month and then again in June. The price is hefty to get out there, I think we have to get two flights, however the cause is just & Ronalda is lovely & it sounds like the people of Kalimantan are quite disadvantaged with less opportunities and less confidence.
This week I am fighting a fluey type thing. Constant headache most of the week that won't leave me no matter how much water, sleep and good food I try to eat. Though the good food is difficult, nearly everything I eat is fried or has something fried in it. Hopefully all the riding, swimming, yoga will take care of that. My throat is a little sore & been sleeping in a lot. Plus the stomach isn't feel 100%. It hasn't been too bad but a but of a nuisance.
Yesterday I went riding through the busy streets of Jogja, ie main roads etc. Rode a fair distance & stopped on Jalan Malioboro & did a little bit of shopping. I haven't done too much since I arrived. I got some awesome & very comfy batik thongs, a batik dress (that looks like a huge patchwork potato sack but I love it) and a tye dyed dress that Canada & I both got. We found a batik market that was so enclosed, hot and stuffy. It was terrible! There was also a spice market that looked interesting but it lead on to a stinky fish stench so we turned around and got out of there.
Last night we were taken out to dinner at a true warung. A place I would never have eaten at. One of those warungs they tell you not to eat at but since I was with some nice local lads who were excited to show us, I couldn't quite say no. I had some cold rice with tempeh & tofu that was sitting cold but then he put it over some coals for a few minutes and added some kecup manis. Kecup manis is really good but it is on another level when it is grilled on tofu/tempeh. It was delicious! We both had hot tea, and a filling meal each and the entire cost put together was 9000 Rp, ie $1 AUD. My gut is ok so far today as well. So we sat in a circle under a tarp in the rain at the warung and chatted and when I needed to go & pee I was taken to a stranger's home to use their loo (squat). How kind is that. People are very nice. The guys we went out with were the same group we went to the orphanage with. They have started their own NGO that went from a few people to now 40. They do a number of things to try and improve the social conscience of people in Jogja but they also help to organise blood donations in Jogja & have been successful in doing so. I think they use a lot of social networking sites to get the message out and request specific blood groups depending on what circumstances arise. I am hoping to go along with them one time when there is an emergency and see what they do & how they collaborate their work with the hospital. Mid post-dinner chatting last night one of the guys got a phone call then asked if any us were blood group B, he said he was so got up and went to the hospital to donate blood because they needed it urgently. Pretty honourable people, it is inspiring.
We had a quiet Friday night. I don't know what I am doing this weekend. I need to book my flights to Thailand & pay for that volunteering...
Saturday, March 5, 2011
A new month in Indonesia
5/3/11
Easy to believe it has been a month already overseas but this feels like it has gone really fast so far.
This week I....
Began riding a bike around, that has made getting around locally so much easier. Got caught in a huge downpour, in the dark, with no lights on my bike, on a very busy main road. Got completely soaked through. It can be pretty hairy trying to get across a four laned road with loads of motorbikes & a few cars, they generally drive quite slow, maybe 40km/hr and have a good sense of looking out for eachother.
Joined a Yoga class. This yoga is hard work and since I'm not the most flexible of humans it is pretty challenging but I do like it. The room is hot with no A/C or fan so you sweat like crazy as you stretch yourself through & over chairs & climb from downward dog up onto the wall with your feet. I have a month's membership with them.
Got my first yogya sunburn on my nose & forehead when I was lazing in the pool chit chatting.
Climbed out of bed at 530am for the first time since I've been away & walked to school in the misty rain at 630. Spent the day at school in year 5's english classes helping them out. They were extremely excited by a foreigner & especially clapped when I told them I was from Australia. Once they finally got over their shyness, at the end of class, I was confronted with a barrage of questions from these 8 to 10 year olds-
"How old are you?" "What is your phone number?" "Where do you live?" "Why are you here?" "What are your religious beliefs?" "Do you have facebook?" "Can I be your friend on FB?"
I didn't really know how to tell the kiddies no to my phone number and facebook. I kinda just ignored the question. They all looked confused when I wouldn't be their facebook buddy or give out my phone number. Next week they have exams so I have to wait until the following week to see if I can help out again. Such sporadic opportunities, it's a bit annoying.
I also went to the orphanage I have had in mind to volunteer it but that just goes into the too hard basket now.
We got a last minute invitation to a dress up party, going as someone/thing starting with the first letter of your name. J for janitor. So JP & I were janitors. B for Barber. Ben looked good with a homemade barber's belt I made for him an hour before the party. We were very resourceful! It was a pretty good party, it was stinking hot even though we didn't even get there until 1030pm. I was happy & had many laughs. It was a pretty good night.
Last night after yoga we went & drank vodka with two swedish girls, how very cultural.
Today we are going to an orphanage to watch a film or two with the children. Ben interviewed this NGO who I don't know much about but they have organised the films for the children to watch. I am excited to do this today & hope this I can maybe organise volunteer work with these children.
I had a phone interview yesterday for volunteering in Thailand, in Chiang Mai at a home for single mothers & their babies/children. I am keen to do this. I can start on the 15th April & stay for five or six weeks. I plan to be back to Jogja in time for Ben's birthday. The only thing about the volunteering is that it will cost me about $900 to do so, however I know I am guarenteed work every day, I will be housed for the entire time with breakfast daily & a couple of language lessons. $900 seems to be a lot of money for a place like Thailand, I surely haven't spent that much in Indonesia yet over the month. I have looked into the organisation as much as possible & it looks good & legit. Thailand have 30 day visa on arrival too so I will either cross out of Thailand for the day to get an extra 15 days if I stay for 5-6 weeks or I will see if I can get a sixty day visa organised here in Indonesia. I don't know where I will go for a week or so between leaving Indonesia & heading to Thailand. Maybe Laos.
I have a flight booked for Singapore tomorrow that I won't be using. Unfortunately I can't change the destination & use it for heading elsewhere. I can only change the date. I don't see myself wanting to head to Singapore until I re-enter Indonesia from Thailand.
I feel pretty settled now & have re accepted my sporadic Indo routine knowing that I will have definite work & a big challenge lying ahead of me.
Easy to believe it has been a month already overseas but this feels like it has gone really fast so far.
This week I....
Began riding a bike around, that has made getting around locally so much easier. Got caught in a huge downpour, in the dark, with no lights on my bike, on a very busy main road. Got completely soaked through. It can be pretty hairy trying to get across a four laned road with loads of motorbikes & a few cars, they generally drive quite slow, maybe 40km/hr and have a good sense of looking out for eachother.
Joined a Yoga class. This yoga is hard work and since I'm not the most flexible of humans it is pretty challenging but I do like it. The room is hot with no A/C or fan so you sweat like crazy as you stretch yourself through & over chairs & climb from downward dog up onto the wall with your feet. I have a month's membership with them.
Got my first yogya sunburn on my nose & forehead when I was lazing in the pool chit chatting.
Climbed out of bed at 530am for the first time since I've been away & walked to school in the misty rain at 630. Spent the day at school in year 5's english classes helping them out. They were extremely excited by a foreigner & especially clapped when I told them I was from Australia. Once they finally got over their shyness, at the end of class, I was confronted with a barrage of questions from these 8 to 10 year olds-
"How old are you?" "What is your phone number?" "Where do you live?" "Why are you here?" "What are your religious beliefs?" "Do you have facebook?" "Can I be your friend on FB?"
I didn't really know how to tell the kiddies no to my phone number and facebook. I kinda just ignored the question. They all looked confused when I wouldn't be their facebook buddy or give out my phone number. Next week they have exams so I have to wait until the following week to see if I can help out again. Such sporadic opportunities, it's a bit annoying.
I also went to the orphanage I have had in mind to volunteer it but that just goes into the too hard basket now.
We got a last minute invitation to a dress up party, going as someone/thing starting with the first letter of your name. J for janitor. So JP & I were janitors. B for Barber. Ben looked good with a homemade barber's belt I made for him an hour before the party. We were very resourceful! It was a pretty good party, it was stinking hot even though we didn't even get there until 1030pm. I was happy & had many laughs. It was a pretty good night.
Last night after yoga we went & drank vodka with two swedish girls, how very cultural.
Today we are going to an orphanage to watch a film or two with the children. Ben interviewed this NGO who I don't know much about but they have organised the films for the children to watch. I am excited to do this today & hope this I can maybe organise volunteer work with these children.
I had a phone interview yesterday for volunteering in Thailand, in Chiang Mai at a home for single mothers & their babies/children. I am keen to do this. I can start on the 15th April & stay for five or six weeks. I plan to be back to Jogja in time for Ben's birthday. The only thing about the volunteering is that it will cost me about $900 to do so, however I know I am guarenteed work every day, I will be housed for the entire time with breakfast daily & a couple of language lessons. $900 seems to be a lot of money for a place like Thailand, I surely haven't spent that much in Indonesia yet over the month. I have looked into the organisation as much as possible & it looks good & legit. Thailand have 30 day visa on arrival too so I will either cross out of Thailand for the day to get an extra 15 days if I stay for 5-6 weeks or I will see if I can get a sixty day visa organised here in Indonesia. I don't know where I will go for a week or so between leaving Indonesia & heading to Thailand. Maybe Laos.
I have a flight booked for Singapore tomorrow that I won't be using. Unfortunately I can't change the destination & use it for heading elsewhere. I can only change the date. I don't see myself wanting to head to Singapore until I re-enter Indonesia from Thailand.
I feel pretty settled now & have re accepted my sporadic Indo routine knowing that I will have definite work & a big challenge lying ahead of me.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Almost successful
The 'maid' here took me by bicycle to the orphanage, however i NEED an appointment before they will talk to me about it. It was a confusing situation being there with no one who could speak a lick of english and the maid trying to explain to them what I wanted and then telling me in very fast hard to understand Indo what I needed to do. I have to call them to make the appointment which should be a fun ordeal. Hoping I can go there weekly, since I am only going to be here another four weeks and then again for three and a half weeks in June. It is only a five minute bike ride from where I live too.
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