Mall Day!

26 Oct 13

There’s a scene in “Gran Torino” where Clint Eastwood’s character is invited over by his Hmong neighbors to eat “bar-b-que.”  You see him sitting at the table getting food served to him by the platefuls, and as he refuses they insist and they win in the long haul.  This is very similar to my situation, in that I am provided 2 meals in which plates of food are put before me.  In the beginning, I had no issues eating most of what was put in front of me, but the train is slowing down.  In fact, I was eating so much, I had no desires to eat lunch during my lesson hours.

            It is a culture thing, because when I don’t eat the food served to me, it makes the Indonesian people feel bad.  At the same time though, it is physically impossibly for me to eat all of this food.  So, I have explained to them that the food is delicious, and I would like smaller portions.  This is pretty easy, because the contract that I am under pays for the food; I would imagine this would be a lot different if someone was giving me dinner as a gesture of kindness, and I could not eat all of the food.  So, we will see how the next week goes.

            I was able to take a break Friday to do some more sight seeing in downtown Jakarta.  There was a new-comers brief at the Embassy, but I was unable to attend because it was not arranged for me to show up…I really didn’t want to watch a 2 hr video anyway. 

So, I took a bus down to one of the larger malls called Blok M.  I was able to look at some souvenirs (most likely Christmas presents) and get more accustomed to the market culture in Indonesia.  I would call my morning hanging out in the traditional markets.

            In the afternoon, I went across the street to the Blok M Plaza which has more of a “contemporary “ feel to it and the set up was similar to the Guggenheim Museum, where you could keep walking up in a spiral fashion the 6 floors.  I ate lunch there, watched a movie, got a haircut, and bought a couple of books.  Later in the evening I attended a farewell party at the Defense Attache’s house and it was really nice to be around military people once again.  He talked about all of the good things that the U.S. is doing in Indonesia, and it really made me proud to be working in this type of job.

First weekend at the Zoo...

22 Oct 2013

Average Dinner at the Homestay

So classes have started and I was able to do some sight seeing during my first weekend in Indonesia, as well attend church meetings.  The classes are very advanced, I am the only student, and the teachers are very good.  The school is about 2 blocks down from the Homestay, so I can walk to school everyday.  Thursday and Friday were pretty routine.  I had class from 10am to 3pm with a 1 hour lunch.  We read advanced level (bachelors/masters) articles, watch authentic videos, and there is much more writing practice than I had before at DLI.  This school should last about a month.

Yep, that glass is cracked...

Saturday, I decided to venture and go some place by myself, and I decided (for learning purposes and my overall interest in animals) to go to the zoo.  Ibu Nana dropped me off at the zoo and I was on my own from there.  The price of admission was 4,000 Rupiah, which is about $0.40.  I was thinking this place was going to be small, but boy was I wrong.  What amazed me was not the fact that there were a lot of people there, but the fact that people take advantage of the places to sell their items….from cut-out tarp material for sitting on and having a picnic to street vendor food.  I decided to try to walk the perimeter, so I wouldn’t miss anything.  The result was that I only saw half of the zoo, so I will have to go back.  Another thing I noticed is that the animals were very lively…as hot and humid as it was, the animals were way more active than the ones at American zoos.  Ibu Nana told me it was because they are so hungry and want to get food from visitors.  I thought the animals looked healthy, with exception to the orangutans.

This one male orangutan was surrounded by pieces of garbage (probably left over from a flood), and was trying to eat the food that the visitors were throwing at it, separating that from the garbage.  Then, a female orangutan came out of the cave with a (what looked like) granola bar wrapper in her mouth.  I then noticed that there is a completely separate exhibit for primates that is free of food, and more strict and a cleaner environment.  So, next time I go, I will have to check that out.

Saturday evening I accompanied Ibu Nana and her sister to the traditional market, which is as traditional as it gets.  We are talking about crowded, open-air markets that are littered with tables for selling fruit, fresh meat, all sorts of spices, vegetables, snacks, etc.  I just hope the tables that I saw with whole (de-feathered) chickens are not used for the fruit or vegetables.  It reminded me of Guatemala, just different fruits and vegetables.

Sunday morning I was able to attend Stake Conference at the church building in Jakarta.  This was a special meeting, so several wards were present, to include English speakers.   The first part of the meeting was conducted in Indonesian with a translator, so things were repeated in English.  I found myself sometimes completing a translation before it was repeated in English, which made me feel good about my language abilities, but I was not about to go up and volunteer to translate. 

The second half of the meeting was a broadcast pre-recorded from Salt Lake City which had Elder Holland, Elder Hales, Elder Evans (the Seventy Elder presiding over the region) and one of the Primary Presidency.  This was cool, because you got a church leadership perspective specific to Asia.  We watched the “I’ll Go Where You Want me to Go” video, (probably the Asian version) where a Chinese missionary and his family all have separate missionary experiences, and afterwards the leadership discussed certain insights.  They were very adamant about the advancement of missionary work in Asia.  It was a very enlightening experience, and I am so glad that I found a church home here in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Today was a brutal language day, and I truly got served a piece of “humble pie.”  These lessons are somewhat canned, but when they say advanced….they mean “advanced.”  This is good, because I am definitely getting the lesson material that I need to understand the culture and social issues that are currently confronting Indonesia…in particular, Jakarta.

Gereja Mormon??...Sukses

17 Oct

My class does not start for a couple of days, so my second day in Indonesia was spent doing a street   Ibu Kessy (another Homestay owner) took me around Jakarta and I was able to take several pictures and see a lot of sites ranging from Old Jakarta to the newer Fantasy World (Indonesia’s Disneyland)…we didn’t go in of course.  It was really neat seeing all the different sites.
tour of Jakarta.

            “Old Jakarta” is pretty famous for tourists because there are really old buildings there…buildings that were around during the time of Indonesia gaining its independence, which was 1945.  One of the restaurants in the square is called Café Batavia, and I believe it is the second oldest building that still remains.  We then went to see the National Monument, and on the way we passed buildings like the Indonesian President’s palace and the American Embassy.  The National Monument was very crowded because it was a national holiday.  I was able to take some pictures, but it was too far of a walk to actually experience it…maybe another time.

For lunch we ate at a restaurant called “Bakmi GM”- “GM” stands for Gadjah Mada, one of Indonesia’s historical figures.  I ate Nasi Goreng (fried rice) with smoked chicken and it was really good.  The restaurant was actually on the 4^th floor of one of the malls, and its setup was quite different from what I was used to in the United States.  Goodbye free re-fills and large portions!  My tour guide is very accommodating and she tries to buy everything for me…she paid for my lunch and she tried to pay for things I bought at a corner store.

Yesterday I was able to get my cell phone set up for local calls, which was a little nerve-racking, but I felt like it was necessary just in case of emergencies.  Ibu Kessy once again paid for the sim card and prepaid phone card…she is just too nice, but I made a deal that I would pay for lunch, and I will make sure to repay her later on.From there, it was more sight seeing, but this sight seeing was more church-based.  I was able to map my way to a local LDS church building, which is quite a feat if you do not know exactly where it is.  The building was very similar to those I often visited in Guatemala.  It was completely gated off, beautiful landscaping and the all-familiar sign on the front that is recognizable by its font…what a site to see in such a far off place.  One of the men there was a member and he brought Ibu Kessy and me inside to check it out.  He then told me that there is a distribution center where I could get religious materials in Indonesian.
 

For lunch, I was able to try the all-famous “bakso”, which are seasoned meatballs that are accompanied by a broth or soup.  Supposedly, this is one of President Obama’s favorite Indonesian dish.  They were really delicious…I particularly liked the “udang goreng” (fired shrimp) flavored ones.  We then went over to the distribution center and it happened to be the Mission President’s home.  I was able to talk to some missionaries and I purchased a “Preach My Gospel” guide in Indonesian.  I also looked for Ibu Helen’s (one of my DLI Indonesian teachers) friends who works in the translation department for the church.  I was not able to find her friend, but I did meet some other workers.  While this was going on, the missionaries were talking with Ibu Kessy (who is Muslim by the way), and I totally did not mean that to happen.  It is interesting though, because the people who I have come across so far and talked with about the church have been very open and interested.  I don’t find this to be taboo at all here, which is quite a relief.  Of course, I am very cautious in my language, but I definitely see that the people here are very open-minded.

Today was my first day of class, which began at 10am and ended at 3pm.  With a 1 hour lunch, that makes a 4 hour study period…not too bad.  It also appears that these study sessions are going to be quite challenging, yet rewarding.

It begins...

14 Oct 2013

So, my Indonesian adventure began with a complete re-route of my flights due to some fog in San Francisco.  Gretchen, Elise and Grant dropped me off at the Monterey Regional Airport at around 7:30am, and I did not leave the U.S. until 1am.  I had to get re-routed to L.A., and the flight to L.A. didn’t leave until 7pm that night, so I spent most of the day in the USO, which was really nice and relaxing.

After a 12-13 hr flight to Taiwan, I was able to Facetime with Gretchen, which was really nice.  Being in a foreign airport with no one else was a new experience for me.  I had a snickers bar from the USO, but other than that, I waited for the next flight to get something to eat and drink…afterall, I don’t speak Chinese.

EVA Air was the airline that I used and it was very nice.  Each seat had a view screen and there were a variety of new movies and TV shows that I was able to watch to pass the time.  EVA also did a good job taking care of a baggage situation.  Since, I was originally supposed to go through S. Korea, one of my pieces of luggage was unaccounted for in Taiwan, but EVA was able to track it down, and luckily it had flown to Taiwan.  With a 2 baggage limit, I guess they assumed that I only had 2 bags.

Oh, that's why they get lost in ATL

After a long journey, I made it to Jakarta with all of my baggage, which is quite interesting.  I can go to the other side of the world and I am able to retain all my baggage, whereas if I go through Atlanta Airport…usually, I don’t come out on top…something happens at that Atlanta Airport, and I don’t know why?  I digress…Got to Jakarta around 1pm, had a driver waiting for me, and we hit the roads.  Driving in Jakarta is an experience in itself…what a crazy ride!

I got to my homestay, and was completely blown away.  Gated complex, interior columns, beautiful palace-  I have a private bath w/ shower and bath; queen-sized bed, AC (wall unit), a balcony, and close to a thousand movies and Intl cable TV…they know me so well.

like features, a waterfall/koi pond, a pool, and then there is my bedroom.

"Hey, where are we going?"

So, it was weird, because of the flight, I just missed Sunday all together, which has kind of thrown me off…Back to the Future style…still trying to make sense of the Intl Dateline concept.  I got quite a lot of sleep the first night, but was woken up by fireworks at the nearby mosque; they were celebrating the holiday of Idul Adha.  Per Muslim tradition, this day commemorates when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael (Christians believe it was Isaac), and God then sent an angel stop him from doing it…a test of obedience and the importance of understanding sacrifice.  So, there are celebrations and the rich people (sometimes from another country) give the poor people animals to "sacrifice" so they can eat meat...this is very interesting.  After I woke up, I decided to see if I could video chat with Gretchen and we were able to, and it was pretty clear…that makes these trips away so much better, when there is a clear chatting capability…usually not available in deployed environments.