Unorganized thoughts and feelings

I lie on my twin sized bed (the only size of bed I’ve ever had in my life), in front of a fan on the highest setting, with a full tummy after a large dinner of rice, fried chicken and tempe with my Ibu kos. Since I am finally not going to sleep immediately at 7 p.m. every day (I’m pushing it to a daring 8 p.m.), I finally have some time to reflect on what I’ve been doing here and what has been meaningful to me.

Firstly, I don’t know what my initial expectations of Indonesia were. After a busy Spring semester, I moved out of my RA room and into a plane to Ecuador on the same day, and ten days after my return, I embarked on what felt like the longest journey ever to Indonesia with a bunch of ambitious and brilliant strangers who I had only seen in a strange Skype calls or in print on the list of participants that was sent to us a few days before we all met in Washington. I never found the time to research anything about Indonesia before I came, although I assumed I would have an easy time adjusting because I have a pretty good understanding of Thai culture, or as I’m starting to realize, Bangkok culture, and the proximity of the two nations were bound to overlap.

However, Indonesia is a mix of countless culture, and it is evident in the language.  Some of my favorite moments in language learning are when I learn a word that is similar to or the same as a word in the language that I love, Spanish. For example, Shoe in Spanish is zapato, and sepatu in Indonesian. The word for free, gratis, is the same in both languages. Also, a huge difference between Thailand and Indonesia that I’ve noticed is obviously the presence of Islam in Indonesia. In Thailand, religion shows itself through prayer houses with incense smoke swirling about on every corner, and people placing offerings for Buddhist monks on their doorsteps.

Here in East Java, and throughout much of Indonesia, almost the entire population is comprised of practicing Muslims. Driving down a windy Indonesian street, one will see many mosques with beautiful colorful domes, and many woman wearing the jilbab, or headscarf. My stay in Malang is particularly special because I am here during the month of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims, which ends with Idul Fitri, a special holiday with which Ramadan concludes. I am still learning about Ramadan, so I am not sure of all of the nuances behind the month: why it’s so important to Muslim people, what are the special traditions, etc. I’m looking forward to sharing this time with my new Indonesian friends.

Speaking of friends, I feel really fortunate about the relationships I’ve built here so far. I’ve really bonded with the other students in my class, which I believe is a result of spending five (!) hours a day in the same class with the same five students five days a week. Even spend though we spend every day together in class, I look forward to spending time with them on the weekends, too. The teachers are also very attentive to our needs and knowledgeable about the subject. I am so amazed at how much I’ve been able to learn in such a short time. I have a very long way to go, but I’ve come so far. I can easily order food at restaurants, ask and answer basic questions, ask for directions (which I have done many times due to my inability to find my own home), and give presentations and write paragraphs for class, after only three weeks. Last week, the teachers took us to karaoke, and it was a surreal experience. I got to watch my teacher successfully rap some of my favorite American pop songs while my friends and I practiced our favorite lagu dangdut, Terlena. My tutors, who are basically assigned to be my friends, are so fun, and I love spending time with them. They are patient with my Indonesian and take me to all of their favorite places in Malang (most of which include snacks). Also, my neighbor Phoebe, another student in the program, has helped me find my way home, listened to Beyonce with me many times, and laughed about nothing after stressful days at school. Human relationships are the reason I love traveling so much.

Although this post has little direction or organization, I think that it explains a lot about what I’m doing now. I’m still trying to figure out what my purpose is, and where Indonesia fits into my future, but I think I’ll know. Maybe I’ll know tomorrow, or on my plane ride back to the states, or in a year from now. Luckily, I’m not in a rush. 

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Kabun teh Wonosari

After finally adjusting to the time difference and (sort of) getting a hang of my walk home from school, I was ready to take a relaxing weekend with the rest of the members of the CLS Indonesia program at the beautiful Wonosari tea plantation. The plantation was only about 45 minutes by bus from our university.

Bus ride to Wonosari with Phoebe!

When we arrived, I could only notice how beautiful it was: endless fields of bright green tea plants surrounded by mountains and a clear sky. We spent our first few hours walking through the plantation, learning about the varieties of teas that are grown there (green, black, and white).

For class, we were assigned to interview the pemetik teh, or tea pickers, using the language that we've learned after two weeks in class. As usual, I was nervous to speak, but the women were very patient with us and we got to learn a lot about their job.

In the evening,  we enjoyed language games and free time, where I had the chance to nongkrong (hang out) with the friends I've made in class in a relaxing and picturesque setting. Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky to be able to spend my summer learning something I love, meeting interesting new people, and seeing incredible places I never would have seen otherwise.

I went to sleep at 8 pm, a late bedtime for me here in Indonesia (I've been waking up at 4!), and had a rather comfortable rest. Although it was certainly not without Indonesian language practice, the weekend at Wonosari was an enjoyable treat after a constantly stimulating and intense two weeks in language class.

My class!

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A Day in Malang

My journey to Malang seemed everlasting. In the past week, I've met the 26 other brilliant American students who are in Malang with me now, spent a day in Washington D.C., heard from people with careers that use the Indonesian language, explored the monuments of Washington (one of my very favorite U.S. cities) with new friends, then embarked on a strenous 30-something hour journey to Malang in which I watched 8 films. It's been quite the experience already, and I've only just gotten started!

For the CLS program, the other students and I study Indonesian language intensively. Although we have various cultural activities on the weekends, our Monday - Friday schedule stays the same.

Every morning, I jelan-jelan, or take the walk, to school. It's about a 20 mintue walk through the busy Malang streets, saturated with motor bikes and cars that seem to drive on any part of the road that is available at the time. The walk is quite scenic, as Indonesia has many varieties of beautiful plants, and one particular street is l just lined with colorful caged birds for sale as pets that chirp as I walk past.

Once I get to UM, or Universitas Negeri Malang, I head to D8, the building that houses the CLS program within UM's Faculty of Literature. It's a gorgeous large building that certainly welcomes learning. At 8 AM, class starts, so I take my seat in the Musi class. All the classrooms are named after Indonesian rivers.

There are several class levels in the program, including three beigginer classrooms, each consisting of five people or less. In my class, I study with Mbak Lourdes, Mbak Margarethe, Mbak Mariam, Mas Chase and Ibu Christine Su, the director of Southeast Asian Studies at Ohio University and the coordinator of the program, who is sitting in on our class for the first two weeks. (Mbak, Mas, and Ibu are polite ways to address people in Javanese culture, and it is rude to not use them.)

The class is from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. with short breaks , complete with snacks and tea or coffee, at every hour. We learn at a very accelerated rate compared to a typical university language class, which is a challenge,  but the gurus, or teachers,  are incredibly patient with us. There are four gurus in the class (for five students!). Needless to say,  individual attention isn't a problem in this classroom. Our main guru, Mbak Nissa, is both delightfully funny and very knowledgeable of the Indonesian and English languages. In our class, we've been learning a variety of topics,  from vocabulary to grammar to linguistic pronunciation.

After our fun yet intense classes, we have lunch, which is catered to D8 everyday and is always a treat. It's a good time to catch up with the students in the other classes and the D8 cat.

When lunch hour is over, we meet with our peer tutors to study and to practice speaking Indonesian. We go to anywhere I choose to go. So far, we've gone to the enormous mall across fron university called MATOS, and we've gone to the perpustakaan,  or campus library.

My peer tutors are the most helpful and friendly people, and I don't know what I would have done without them. They've helped with to communicate with my Ibu,  host mom, they've taught me the route to and from my house, and they've been really really helpful and patient with my beginning level of Indonesian. Their names are Mbak Ririn and Mbak Tyas, and I get to spend lots of time with them!

When peer tutor time is over, I walk home to meet Ibu Arif. Sometimes I practice what I've learned in class with her, other times I hang out with her niece who is often over to visit. She is about 10 years old (I don't know how to ask yet), and she reminds me so much of myself. Yesterday,  we sang Indonesian patriotic songs that she learned in school, and I helped her practice English.

At around 6:30 p.m.,  I eat dinner with Ibu Arif, then complete my homework and head to sleep. It's definitely an intense program, but I feel so happy,  comfortable, and fortunate to be here in Malang.

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I'm going to Indonesia!

After returning home about a week ago from Ecuador, I've been a busy lady. I've had to simultaneously beat a mild Ecuadorian sickness, visit with my friends from home, start some post-grad application items, nap a lot, and quickly (and somewhat haphazardly) prepare for my next endeavor: two months in Malang, Indonesia.

I have received a Critical Language Scholarship, a scholarship funded by the U.S. Department of State. I'm one of approximately 550 American university students studying languages deemed critical by the U.S. government in 13 different nations around the world. I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity, and I am so grateful to my parents who gave me a love for the world, my many different language professors over the years, the Fellowships Office at Ohio State who read a bunch of terrible drafts of my application essays, and my references who probably spent a lot of time writing nice things about me.

This would be a good time to let everyone know that my blog and posts are not official U.S. Department of State websites and the views and information presented are my own, not those of the CLS Program, the Department of State, Ohio University, or The Ohio State University.

We get to see this volcano!

The university where I'll be studying!

Now, I know it may seem somewhat random that I've chosen to go to Indonesia for two months for language study, as someone who has taken a lot of coursework in Spanish and who loves Latin American culture. However, my connection to Southeast Asia is clear, as a Thai-American; furthermore, I'm excited to be a public diplomat of sorts for the U.S., and to share my values and learn from those of the Indonesian people. Also, I apparently visited Indonesia as a toddler! Who knew.

To be honest, it feels a little random even to me, but I am interested and nervous to see how I'll navigate in a country and with a host family where I truly do not know the language. It was a quick turnaround from my last international travel, about ten days, and I don't yet feel fully prepared. Fortunately, I know that it will be a transformative experience, and I look forward to seeing what these next two months hold!

Anticipations: Meeting the other participants, meeting my host family, food, language class, going to see a volcano, the beach, warm weather, getting to know the city of Malang

Concerns: travel sickness, failing at learning the language, learning a lot of cultural differences

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