Indonesia Raya, Merdeka Merdeka

Above the clouds, Mt. Rinjani, Lombok, Indonesia 6/28/08

In a far away land where the clock reads 12 hours ahead, it is Independence Day (Merdeka) for Indonesia!

Like every country, Indonesia has its struggles and darkness, and also its successes and beauty.
Without fireworks here in Florida, I will write in celebration of Indonesia's efforts to be better and all its wonders.

This time last year was the first time I celebrated Merdeka in Indonesia. While BBQ and beer are essentials for many celebrations of 4th of July, it works a bit differently in Indonesia.

August 17, 1945 is celebrated through marching, singing, dancing, playing sports, eating, loud horns, and fireworks with schoolmates, workmates, family and often dangdut music. "Dangdut is the music of my countryyy!" I wish I could be a part of those activities today, but there will always be things I miss about Indonesia.
- My students that will be the future of Indonesia.
- My grandfather whose LOVE for Indonesia outweighs all that he dislikes about it.
- My family always with a lending hand and a gossip trail to keep me in check.
- My fellow teachers who loved to show me the food, sites and culture of Indonesia.
- Struggling musicians on the street appreciative of a listen, smile... and some change.
- Bottled water, toys, maps, and food as street intersection service.
- Beautiful beaches, mountains, hills, reefs, and monuments.
- Street food that's both delicious and cheap.
- Bahasa Indonesia.
- Jam karet ~ rubber time ;)

... and much more.

Selamat Ulang Tahun yang ke 63, Indonesia!
Selamat Merdeka!!!

10 Things I Learned

8/10

- My parents aren’t insane. They’re actually quite amazing parents who have worked hard to get to the US and came for the opportunities, but they don’t want us kids to take advantage of ALL the opportunities ;)
- Accept a lending hand. If it’s handing out food, advice, lectures, ill-informed theories, or general genuine help, just take it. I can do with it what I please, but I don’t live in this world by myself. I like warm cultures better than cold ones.
- Reciprocity. If compromise for a single situation doesn’t work, I can wait till the next time to give or accept. The exchange doesn’t have to be the same form.
- Take language classes even when abroad. Proper Indonesian is not the easiest language to learn! I shoulda taken formal classes cuz the informal meetings don’t always work out, especially in Indonesia. … and Mexico. It doesn’t hurt. Only helps.
- Respect my elders. And others that deserve that respect. I can further limit my options for those I respect. It can be a small effort for me, but a huge deal for others.
- It’s ok to say, “I don’t know.” My English grammar sucks and I didn’t want to teach the wrong thing. Sometimes I don’t know all the answers to their questions about English, US, or anything. Who does know ALL the answers?!
- Body language is a universal language.
Forget this English is a universal language crap. Although body language can have its accents, it speaks volumes in any country. Certainly in Indonesia where music, dancing, and singin is everywhere.
- Critical and creative thinking are gifts. Thinking outside the box is a luxury not everyone in the world is afforded.
- Asking “why?” is important, but sometimes the answer isn’t always important. I encourage my students to always ask why to anything they learn. To take everything they learn with a grain of salt. Yet the answer to why someone believes something doesn’t always matter. Whether it’s fasting during Ramadhan, eating turkey on “thanksgiving” day, shooting fireworks on July 4th, praying 5 times a day, celebrating the body & blood of Christ… all these things are interpreted in different ways, but the results to me can show community, peace and beauty.
- Bureaucracy taunts me. In the past, present, and future, bureaucracy will stay. The Fulbright mission of mutual understanding between nations has been red taped to only allow the understanding of the U.S. English language and culture. While we tried to open minds, we are not allowed to present the students with scholarships outside of the US, or debrief, or publish what we learned.
and where are there US high school students learning Indonesian language or at least culture? …

These are the first that came to mind...there's more where that came from.

Hopeful Critic Lagi Bingung

7/31/08

Today this hopeful critic is bingung – confused.
For about a month I was traveling with my brother around Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and Indonesia… and I got back to Florida, my home state July 8th, and since then I’ve been ok chillin/entertaining family, job searching, catching up with people, and but of course playin’ capoeira.

I’ve had a few weeks to write , but I didn’t know the words to wrap this up. I guess it’s an unfinished journey … but the Fulbright ETA part has surely ended. So I’ll tell you about my transition thoughts…

For the first time since I’ve been back in the US, an overwhelming weight has settled on my heart and in my throat. (That sounds so cheesy, but that’s really how it feels!)
ahm.. In capoeira today the professor was talking about the family vibe you can find in capoeira groups… He made me think of my family networks that have grown out of not only capoeira, but also dance, school, sports, and livin with my grandpa ;)

I am blessed to have these friends and family around the world that have connected with me at different points in my life… and I know that I’m lucky to live in this generation where I can keep these ties with a click of a button. … but I can’t be there.

So much of me is attached to different places, groups, issues, and people that all that’s left is salty cheeks and a wandering mind.

Now I’m not sure what’s the next step, but hopefully something that I can go into with the same passion and excitement that I had for being a Fulbright ETA in Indonesia. After catching up with people with varying stories of success, struggle, and life at square one … I’m stoked to get through one of these open doors, but there’s so much research to do! And when you like to hike and you like to cruise, how do you know whether to take the paved or unpaved roads? Why can’t there just be a choice of blue or red pill?

Mt. Rinjani, Lombok ~ 3 day hike 6/28/08

WORDS competition in Jakarta Post!

6 months of work published in The Jakarta Post! Check it out here.



Thank you to everyone that supported this successful endeavor!

Maggots, Orangutangs, Blood Suckers, and Rapids

I have a lot of stories to tell, but there's one day in particular that deserves to be highlighted.

I just got back from Medan, Sumatera yesterday night. 9 of us met up there for Danielle's bday. We went to a town close by for a couple days called Bukit Lawang to do some hiking. Twas a beautiful place with enough power for yummy dinner time and plenty of darkness to see the stars and breath in clean air.

Friday morning I started off the day with an egg, tomato, & cheese sandwich. Half way through a tomato dropped on my plate and as I was about to take a chomp out of it, I noticed a couple of white-worm-maggot-like thingamajigs in my tomato. Often times there may be hair or stones in my Indo food, but not usually worms. So I removed all tomatos and kept eating :P

The maggots were only part of the introduction to my adventures that day as we trekked across some rivers and up mountains to see all sorts of critters. One of the most popular in the jungle was an orangutang named Mina. They described Mina as the only really mean orangutang who likes to steal bags looking for food and who is known for biting locals. Lucky for us Mina swung down from the trees and planted herself right in our path with her baby clinging to her side. She stole our bag full of water and was quite upset to not find food. I was the last in the line taking pictures and video until she got a bit too close for comfort. With not much space to escape, Mina grabbed my arm and I tried to pull back but she's a strong lil sucker. The main guide - Coless started throwing rocks at her to try to distract her. Apparently she was out to bite me until she was hit by a rock and started running towards Coless. The other guides had me cued me to run and thankfully I got away with just a couple scratches and bruises. We had three guides with us that day and each one of them saved me from multiple catastrophes. So moving on to the next heroes of the day were Rinto and Arnol - removing blood suckers from me every now and then, and saving me from many steep falls.

One time the guides made me fall, but they did eventually catch me. hahah. This time we were on 4 tubes attached to make a raft for 7 people in order to get back to the our base by water. At some point the raft got wrapped around a huge rock and we were stuck there with river rapids crashing our left sides into the rocks and water. So with what I thought was clever thinking, I leaned over to the right to get us back on track. but really I just tossed myself and my friend over board. I grabbed my friend Angie with my feet being swept off the rocks below me and we bounced around a bit until we were saved yet again and pushed back on the tubes. wooooweee!

It was a wild ride for sure, but in the end you just gotta roll with the punches. I coulda got mad for maggots in my food, almost being bitten by an orangutang, or guides missing a big rock dead ahead. ... but they also saved me a hell of a lot of times, and it was still a lot of fun! It was a trek not laid out in stone in any sense of that phrase. I loved it and am down to do it again! Ma, you wana come? :D

Even if I did get bitten, that'd be some sweet oleh2 (souvenir) and I guess I'm supposed to be honored because Mina doesn't usually go after tourists. But I have Indonesian blooood! and skin color of the locals. :p

But alls good now. I'm still alive despite maggots in my stomach, blood suckage, and other encounters with the beautiful beasts of the wilderness. I highly recommend it... especially in good company. Thank you all for a trip... fall, and laugh that will be hard to forget.

Damai.

"Asli Complicated"

Sorry for being so out of touch... especially after saying I would be better about it : S I have been uber busy with WORDS, new extracurriculars at school, traveling, and... WORDS. Reading many of these creative works across 5 Indo islands has gotten me to get my brain in creative mode too a bit. So here's a lil somethin2 I wrote for my kids the day we shared works for the first round of the competition...

"Asli Complicated"


I am American
I am Indonesian
I am hyphenated
Asli complicated

In multiple cultures my pride lies
Not only in Indonesia and the U.S.
In Brazil, Mexico, and China I have ties
Each place contributes to a culture called “Jess”

See there’s no one country that I belong
Frustrating as that may be, I get along
My Bahasa Indonesian may not be lancar
But here I know a comforting smile is never far

Indonesia is where my roots are
So when I salsa or play Capoeira
My moves stem from Indonesia

Indonesia is where there’s family
My daily nasi and houses of memory
Memories from before I was born
My heritage before my identity was torn

There are still blanks in my family tree
I don’t know all of my history
Records unwritten or lost without a key
But I don’t need it to define me

I know my family was here for Merdeka!
Bandung is the hometown of my dua kaka
I was raised with Indonesian rules
and since then I’ve gained new tools

New tools for new perspectives
Everyday with improved lenses
Never forgetting my roots, my base
Because of the past, I have a bright future to face

Terima kasih.

Glossary
asli - genuinely
lancar - fluent
nasi - rice
Merdeka! - Freedom! (Independence Day)
dua kaka - two sisters
Terima kasih - Thank you

Sand of time running thin... and I keep stackin' them lil grains!

Just six more days until I can read the work of my students for the WORDS competition about What does it mean to be Indonesian? woooowee I'm stoked!

In helping them get the ball rolling on what to write, I did a group brainstorming lesson plan about what does it mean to be American. It is pretty challenging to fit the meaning of American into 500 words! I mean just finding what approach or piece of the American you want to discuss. Ah, well many myths were dispelled or at least doubted about Americans, and then they worked on their own to brainstorm "What does it mean to be Indonesian?" In the beginning many of the students struggled, but once they understood that it's more about their opinions of Indonesians, they had a lot to say with a lot of emotion.

It looks like a live stream is not a feasible option for the final competition, but we will be working on a DVD and we have foundations willing to publish finalists' work. Whether we are able to work with them depends on our higher ups - AMINEF (American Indonesian Exchange Foundation) admins. Ah, bureaucracy, how I loathe thee.

Before my head aches from thinking too much about that, I shall move on to happy thoughts. My kids! Oh man, I'm feeling time running thin and.... right happy thoughts, so my kids rocked at a debate competition that we had been preparing for, for about 2 months. Really just one month intensely practicing. It was beautiful getting to know them and watching them really develop their critical skills - realizing that there are numerous sides of an issue, and arguing those points in English! Their English skills are still a bit shaky, but we still ended up going home with 3 wins out of 6 debates with some of the top-ranked schools in the city - we beat schools ranked higher than our school. Yay!

Imagine being in high school and debating why supermarkets should pay farmers more money in a foreign language. Ok so for some of you it may be easy, but still ideas of supply and demand, benefits/drawbacks of domestic goods, etc. are tough! especially in another language. (I kind of look like a high schooler in that pic eh?)

Soooo since ya'll get to see lovely pics of my students, I thought it was only fair that they see pics of you! haha. So I made a few lesson plans revolving around pictures of ya'll and another set of pics from USA. teehee! They wrote some funny stories about you guys. I should have copied them all, but there have been like 200 I've read so far. I'll try to pick the best ones and email yas. So here are your pictures on the board. They were guessing which were the three that were not U.S. citizens.

I know I haven't been the best at keeping in touch, but I just got internet at my house so I should be better about it. Although I also just started a capoeira class, salsa class, and words workshop in addition to students Eng club, teachers Eng club, and English tutoring...and bowling and friends' wedding - performing capoeira :P


Miss yas. Paz e amor.