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.