Now that I'm back in Ann Arbor, I'm one of the frenzied folks rushing from point A to B, only now I'm aware of it, so laugh at myself while stressing about shit that doesn't really matter. Is this how bipolar disorder starts? Ah well. Much and little have changed, and junior year feels like a wave pool: occasionally turbulent when the master planners of higher education wish to turn on the switch, chilly in a way to remind you that the world is turning and you're no longer engulfed in summer air, and full of urine. Ha. I kid.
The environment here is different, and I definitely miss Indonesia. In Indoland, we were outside for the majority of the day, lounged on the beach whenever we pleased, and yes, received a couple full body massages. The colors were vibrant, coconuts were a-plenty, and the overall geography was stunning. Los Estados Unidos can't really compare in those categories, although the toilets (and other facilities) here are more convenient (convenience is often overrated), efficiency (which I appreciate) is more important than stolen organs, and I have access to tons of veggies!
Which loops this blog back to it's initial purpose of portraying food in all its vegetarian glory. Only now, there's a twist. This semester, I'm in a sustainability seminar, and we all made 'let's try to be less hypocritical and actually change our behavior' goals. Mine is to produce less waste from food, which means the farmers market and People's Food Co-op are my new Ann Arbor hotspots. The farmers market is great... fresh and locally grown fruits and veggies galore! They taste amazing. We've gotten so used to eating food for fuel that we've forgotten about taste, enjoyment, and nutrition. Concurrently, our bodies biologically haven't caught up to cultural evolution, and still crave the fattiest and saltiest of processed foods with addictive additives. We're too busy to notice how sluggish we feel, too on-the-go to notice our bodies and minds transitioning to melancholic states, and too ready to pop pills as a solution to health issues.
A recent conversation regarding problems and solutions with fellow SSI friends really made me think. We live in a society where problems must be solved. But they must be solved NOW. So instead of addressing the root of the issue from which all evil ensues, we only scrape away the top layer, and grow frustrated upon discovering that the problem still exists. The quick-fix infrastructure of America is based on this principle. The household phrases 'get rich quick' and 'lose 10 pounds in 10 minutes' have been around for far too long.
It's time to visit the past, when people made their own food, enjoyed the taste, and left the table satisfied, not uncomfortably full. And so, the plan is to eventually eliminate food packaging. Goodbye wrappers, shrink wrap, tummy aches, plastic, and uber convenience. Hello lifestyle change, time crunches, obstacles, and health.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
beaches and volcanos
i'm currently trying to upload pictures onto facebook after attempting to download adobe flash player twice on this computer, failing, and resorting to uploading one picture at a time the slow way. this rush of western impatience is strange. i've gotten used to waiting for people, places, and all other nouns. but faced with a computer, i'm again jittery with impatience, the disease of my generation.
we're in mataram, the capital junkyard city of lombok. lombok itself is one of the most beautiful places i've been.
oops, gotta bounce. maybe i'll find a gorengan (street food where they fry anything and everything) on the way back to the hotel !
we're in mataram, the capital junkyard city of lombok. lombok itself is one of the most beautiful places i've been.
oops, gotta bounce. maybe i'll find a gorengan (street food where they fry anything and everything) on the way back to the hotel !
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
when everybody wants your money
oh paper (aka money), how crazy you make people. you make them lie, spin tales of starving children and social work, and rob the shit out of the bastards who eat it up. i know this. i've known this for a long time. yet there i was, buying the crap (literal and figurative). yesterday (or the day before?) i fell victim to the batik mafia.
starts with a man on the street excitedly telling you about an art gallery that's moving out of town the next day to tour sumatra. lies. people offer you really yummy tea. ok that was nice. you're shown really beautiful batik paintings. the people are so nice. it's fake. the paintings are one of a kind. not at all. you pay way way way too much money because the salesmen are brilliant. they inject meaning into everything. they spin tales. they're really storytellers at heart, and you walk out in a trance, only to emerge feeling like an idiot and wanting to punch yourself in the face.
it's okay, because i learned how really good salesmen work. it's all about creating meaning, a setting, and a story. maybe i'll become a batik mafia member if all else goes to hell.
besides this incidence, i've been loving Jogjakarta. It's so beautiful and cultured. Yesterday we rented bikes and rode all around the city, visiting a sultan's palace, an old water palace that was currently in shambles, and eventually stopped at a bus station where we caught a ride to a little restaurant/yoga/culture retreat center. they had a tiny tiny museum, but it was really beautiful. The food was really different from what i've had so far. I had a javanese noodle soup. Biking in the city was crazy. On multiple occasions I was almost run over by a herd of motorcycles. There was lots of honking, yelling, and rushing. It would go from the most peaceful of rides to the most hectic. We had to rush back from the restaurant to catch another tour to see the Ramayana ballet, which was pretty cool. The stage was in front of this huge hindu temple, and it all played out under a full moon.
Today, we woke up at 4:30 am to visit Borobudur, the buddhist temple. Just got back. It was really lovely, but it's too fresh in my mind to fully think about. Also, i wanted to know more about buddism but none of the tour guides seemed to know. They'd always just tie everything back to the Qaran, which really makes no sense.
Gotta run, and i'm starving. Fresh mango juice, sappan tea, and a vegetable dish awaits.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
last day in the village
upon arriving in the village an entire month ago, i remember looking at the bathroom (hole in the ground, a couple multipurpose buckets of various sizes to aid in showering and flushing) and thinking, 'alright. only 30 days. you can do this.' luckily, thanks to human evolution, we have the ability to adapt. i feel like high fiving my ancestors.
so tomorrow, i'm heading off to jogjakarta with three girls and we're permanently saying goodbye to sindangsari, our temporary home. YES!! it's been great, but i miss cleanliness and we've had the entire month to think about where to go and what to do. no really, i almost have certain sections memorized. pg 481 describes how to get from bali to lombok (way more expensive than i thought. crap). creeped out? ha. and unfortunately, instead of learning bahasa indonesian, carolien and i have been addicted to crossword puzzles and i've expanded my english vocabulary from this experience.
but aside from ironic learning habits, i had a really great time here. the type of great time that i cant really describe because you have to know the people, kind of like how The Office wouldn't be funny if you didn't know every character's quirks. i'm glad we're leaving so i can avoid eating fried and super sugary food (indonesian staples), be confident about my supply of running water, and end this month long diarrhea streak. yet, i'll definitely be sad the leave all of our indonesian friends... a kinder culture does not exist.
today, we had our final event. events/presentations are always really interesting here because the indonesian interns hold the meetings in bahasa, so we never really know what's going to happen the day of. the grand finale of the internship was a festival organized primarily by the education group to promote acceptance of disabilities. there's a local school here for handicapped children, and we initially thought there were huge stigmas against them. turns out, those stigmas don't exist, so we pretty much through one big party. my favorite part was when three little boys dressed in leopard print dresses and white/blue crowns danced to shakira's waka waka. told you that song was everywhere. also, a girl born without arms was selling her paintings. they're really beautiful, and she demonstrated painting with her toes. cool shit.
goodbye village. im storing my large suitcase and traveling with my backpack, so i you don't get a present when i get back, you know why.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Waka Waka!
Imagine being in a foreign country, not knowing the language, and going to local elementary schools in a rural village to crudely teach english. The kids have no idea what you're saying, and are so shy that when you try talking to them, they giggle like mad and hide their faces behind their books. A few brave ones will come up to you, say hi, but then giggle and run away the moment you return the friendly greeting.
Well, we've found a loophole in the language barrier, because every single living creature in Indonesia knows the words to Shakira's WAKA WAKA!! Sometimes, just for kicks, we have the entire class sing the song, and i have a couple videos of entire classrooms of adorable 5th graders singing. Then, when teaching them greetings, we played musical chairs to the song. Everyone started singing and dancing (one little boy did an amazing Shakira impersonation), and when the music stopped they had to sit down and talk to the person next to them. They had to say 'Hello, my name is __, what is your name?/ How old are you? / What's your favorite ice cream flavor? / etc." It was really funny (and fun) because they didn't really know what was going on, so conversations went like this:
-Hi My name is Kiki. What is your name?
-I am nine years old. What ice cream favorite?
-I'm fine thank you.
We're doing this because there's a lot of downtown, and we're pretty much done putting together the presentation for the group of women entrepreneurs.
Then, on the 24th, we're throwing a village-wide party to promote acceptance of disabled kids, since there's still a stigma against handicapped children. A talent show, free food, and music will be accompanied by a cook off from the group of women entrepreneurs (our project is to get them to use casava - the most abundant plant in the village - in more recipes, or even chop up the root, fry it, and sell it as a snack called opak). That's the plan, but in Indonesia, things are rarely punctual and plans tend to change without us non-bahasa speakers realizing.
Oh, back to the school kids for a sec. Today, after school, a bunch of little girls came to our house and we had a karaoke afternoon + dance party. I tried teaching them the garba (indian dancing in a big circle), but everyone stayed stationary, which defeated the purpose. Also, the little girls were too shy because boys were in the room. aw shucks. One of the little boys in a class we taught on Wednesday was so smart, i wanted to abduct him from the village and take him somewhere he can get an amazing education and do great things. But, i'm 20 years old, and am not bill or melinda gates.
Also, yesterday, Noha and I went on quite an adventure. Apparently travelers cheques are extremely outdated. Well shit because that's all I brought. I went to two cities, two banks, a post office, and money changer, but no one accepted my checks. A couple people even laughed at me, like I was some time traveler from the 1980's who refused to believe technology had invented ATM's. Noha and I also got into a fight with a guard at one of the banks. Everyone was arguing. I tried opening the door while he kept holding it shut, insisting that they dont change money there and that we couldn't talk to someone who spoke english. That was interesting.
And I discovered a way to avoid getting cheated into paying 2 or 3 times as much as the actual price for public transportation: pretend I'm straight from India! Yesterday, I mimicked my mom's words and gestures ('gando! thari bhuli thai! thunai kai nuthee apvanee!), and they backed off. great success.
I tried thinking of a good way to describe Indonesia. Think palm trees and tropical plants lining every road, rice patties EVERYWHERE, even near big cities like Jakarta, big huge smiles, and brightly colored houses - - some with watermarks, like they've survived a tsunami and are still a-ok. Others have shiny tiles, but the roadside stands and markets have a 'i've seen funny things because Indonesia is ridiculous, and there's a speck of dirt here for each memory' kinda vibe.
Well, we've found a loophole in the language barrier, because every single living creature in Indonesia knows the words to Shakira's WAKA WAKA!! Sometimes, just for kicks, we have the entire class sing the song, and i have a couple videos of entire classrooms of adorable 5th graders singing. Then, when teaching them greetings, we played musical chairs to the song. Everyone started singing and dancing (one little boy did an amazing Shakira impersonation), and when the music stopped they had to sit down and talk to the person next to them. They had to say 'Hello, my name is __, what is your name?/ How old are you? / What's your favorite ice cream flavor? / etc." It was really funny (and fun) because they didn't really know what was going on, so conversations went like this:
-Hi My name is Kiki. What is your name?
-I am nine years old. What ice cream favorite?
-I'm fine thank you.
We're doing this because there's a lot of downtown, and we're pretty much done putting together the presentation for the group of women entrepreneurs.
Then, on the 24th, we're throwing a village-wide party to promote acceptance of disabled kids, since there's still a stigma against handicapped children. A talent show, free food, and music will be accompanied by a cook off from the group of women entrepreneurs (our project is to get them to use casava - the most abundant plant in the village - in more recipes, or even chop up the root, fry it, and sell it as a snack called opak). That's the plan, but in Indonesia, things are rarely punctual and plans tend to change without us non-bahasa speakers realizing.
Oh, back to the school kids for a sec. Today, after school, a bunch of little girls came to our house and we had a karaoke afternoon + dance party. I tried teaching them the garba (indian dancing in a big circle), but everyone stayed stationary, which defeated the purpose. Also, the little girls were too shy because boys were in the room. aw shucks. One of the little boys in a class we taught on Wednesday was so smart, i wanted to abduct him from the village and take him somewhere he can get an amazing education and do great things. But, i'm 20 years old, and am not bill or melinda gates.
Also, yesterday, Noha and I went on quite an adventure. Apparently travelers cheques are extremely outdated. Well shit because that's all I brought. I went to two cities, two banks, a post office, and money changer, but no one accepted my checks. A couple people even laughed at me, like I was some time traveler from the 1980's who refused to believe technology had invented ATM's. Noha and I also got into a fight with a guard at one of the banks. Everyone was arguing. I tried opening the door while he kept holding it shut, insisting that they dont change money there and that we couldn't talk to someone who spoke english. That was interesting.
And I discovered a way to avoid getting cheated into paying 2 or 3 times as much as the actual price for public transportation: pretend I'm straight from India! Yesterday, I mimicked my mom's words and gestures ('gando! thari bhuli thai! thunai kai nuthee apvanee!), and they backed off. great success.
I tried thinking of a good way to describe Indonesia. Think palm trees and tropical plants lining every road, rice patties EVERYWHERE, even near big cities like Jakarta, big huge smiles, and brightly colored houses - - some with watermarks, like they've survived a tsunami and are still a-ok. Others have shiny tiles, but the roadside stands and markets have a 'i've seen funny things because Indonesia is ridiculous, and there's a speck of dirt here for each memory' kinda vibe.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
WHOA internet two days in a row. rejoice.
My friends and i made our way to the grocery store to make pancakes for the village, and also stumbled upon an internet cafe. we actually had our eyes peeled for one.
Again, not too much time to write, and I keep forgetting what I wrote in my journal, already wrote on this blog, already talked about with someone, etc, so forgive the repetitions.
Pooja, you made a good point about agro-economics, but you don't understand how things work here. people just don't like extra work, and we don't exactly have the means (we have no money, and i am the only person here who has taken introductory accounting/knows how to make a business plan). An analysis based on my knowledge alone is comical. it would probably consist of a huge doodle, with some random numbers thrown in to make it look legit.
Again, I don't have much time, but mom, I send you an email every so often to let you know I'm alive. There really is a very slight possibility for death. While in the village, we go to bed before 11, wake up around 9, walk around and snack, eat breakfast, do our laundry, and read. Occasionally, we watch movies, or walk to the nearby mini food market for some snacks. Most things are fried. One thing I really like about the culture here is that everyone shares their food. They offer whatever they have to everyone, so even if they only have a couple bites left, that's perfectly ok. Hoarding is a very western thing apparently.
Also, EVERYONE all over the world followed the U.S. elections. People who can only speak in their random village dialect come up to me upon finding out I'm from the US and say 'barack obama!'. American headlines are global headlines. Often, U.S. news comes before local Egyptian or Dutch news, and they know of the U.S. political process in depth. Noha, my friend from Egypt, said that everyone down to the beggers were following the election, and parties ensued all over the world. I knew the U.S. had major political/social/economic weight, but I'm still continually shocked.
Yo pooj... sorry to hear about the heat wave. honestly, it's not much cooler here. And there aren't any fans or air conditioning... so enjoy the indoors. The bucket showers aren't too bad... the waiting around is what gets to me. For example, I went to the beach with a group of about 20, and the car behind us somehow to lost. it took us 6 instead of 2.5 hours to get there.
Also, I should tell you guys about the people i'm traveling with. Nicky and Carolien are dutch, and Noha is egyptian. They're all really cool and nice, and everyone is really different, which makes it a good mix. One thing all four of us have noticed about Indonesia is the repression of sexuality. We were watching Avatar on a laptop and during the scene where the avatars are making out n Eywa, the Indonesian student we were watching it with covers the screen and goes 'why do they have to do that in every movie?!'. Nicky wisely says that it's a part of life. I knew the guy had a girlfriend, so asked 'well, don't you kiss your girlfriend?'. He pointed to his cheek and said he only kisses here there.
It's not just this guy, but it's everyone. Most of the indonesian students have boyfriends or girlfriends, but they treat any form of sexuality has something that's gross and forbidden. Also, when we went to the beach, which was a touristy place, we were really surprised to find that everyone on the beach was fully clothed. Forget bathing suits, but many women still wore their headscarves and long pants. It's especially strange for Nicky and Carolien, who are from Holland where laws are the polar opposite. They can buy weed at cafes and it's normal there for them to sleep over at their boyfriend's place, even in the same bed. The families are completely okay with it. Egypt is definitely more conservative than the U.S., but Noha has also been surprised by conservatism here.
The four of us are getting used to public transportation, which at times is like a really bad carnival ride. On our way back from the beach, we deviated from the AIESEC group, stayed an extra night, and came back on a bus. The driver almost challenged another large bus to a duel, and a poor kid's head banged against the door as everyone started yelling at the driver in bahasa.
Well, I'm going to go try to keep my mind occupied. Between the heat and lack of activity, I often feel brain dead. The email from my dear parents urging me to learn something made me smile. Don't worry, I will make the most out of this internship. Today, I made a presentation with Noha on how to make a business plan, determine price and cost, and market the product. However, that's the most productive we have been so far.
What I am learning is mainly from the people I'm with. I'm learning about staying positive even when things don't work out as planned, living with complete strangers, learning about the Dutch, Egyptian, and Indonesian customs, appreciating generosity, making light of situations, and dealing with diarrhea. Too much information? Well at least you don't have to deal with it.
I'm just kidding, the runs have gotten better.
Yeah.. I think I'm going to end on that note.
Again, not too much time to write, and I keep forgetting what I wrote in my journal, already wrote on this blog, already talked about with someone, etc, so forgive the repetitions.
Pooja, you made a good point about agro-economics, but you don't understand how things work here. people just don't like extra work, and we don't exactly have the means (we have no money, and i am the only person here who has taken introductory accounting/knows how to make a business plan). An analysis based on my knowledge alone is comical. it would probably consist of a huge doodle, with some random numbers thrown in to make it look legit.
Again, I don't have much time, but mom, I send you an email every so often to let you know I'm alive. There really is a very slight possibility for death. While in the village, we go to bed before 11, wake up around 9, walk around and snack, eat breakfast, do our laundry, and read. Occasionally, we watch movies, or walk to the nearby mini food market for some snacks. Most things are fried. One thing I really like about the culture here is that everyone shares their food. They offer whatever they have to everyone, so even if they only have a couple bites left, that's perfectly ok. Hoarding is a very western thing apparently.
Also, EVERYONE all over the world followed the U.S. elections. People who can only speak in their random village dialect come up to me upon finding out I'm from the US and say 'barack obama!'. American headlines are global headlines. Often, U.S. news comes before local Egyptian or Dutch news, and they know of the U.S. political process in depth. Noha, my friend from Egypt, said that everyone down to the beggers were following the election, and parties ensued all over the world. I knew the U.S. had major political/social/economic weight, but I'm still continually shocked.
Yo pooj... sorry to hear about the heat wave. honestly, it's not much cooler here. And there aren't any fans or air conditioning... so enjoy the indoors. The bucket showers aren't too bad... the waiting around is what gets to me. For example, I went to the beach with a group of about 20, and the car behind us somehow to lost. it took us 6 instead of 2.5 hours to get there.
Also, I should tell you guys about the people i'm traveling with. Nicky and Carolien are dutch, and Noha is egyptian. They're all really cool and nice, and everyone is really different, which makes it a good mix. One thing all four of us have noticed about Indonesia is the repression of sexuality. We were watching Avatar on a laptop and during the scene where the avatars are making out n Eywa, the Indonesian student we were watching it with covers the screen and goes 'why do they have to do that in every movie?!'. Nicky wisely says that it's a part of life. I knew the guy had a girlfriend, so asked 'well, don't you kiss your girlfriend?'. He pointed to his cheek and said he only kisses here there.
It's not just this guy, but it's everyone. Most of the indonesian students have boyfriends or girlfriends, but they treat any form of sexuality has something that's gross and forbidden. Also, when we went to the beach, which was a touristy place, we were really surprised to find that everyone on the beach was fully clothed. Forget bathing suits, but many women still wore their headscarves and long pants. It's especially strange for Nicky and Carolien, who are from Holland where laws are the polar opposite. They can buy weed at cafes and it's normal there for them to sleep over at their boyfriend's place, even in the same bed. The families are completely okay with it. Egypt is definitely more conservative than the U.S., but Noha has also been surprised by conservatism here.
The four of us are getting used to public transportation, which at times is like a really bad carnival ride. On our way back from the beach, we deviated from the AIESEC group, stayed an extra night, and came back on a bus. The driver almost challenged another large bus to a duel, and a poor kid's head banged against the door as everyone started yelling at the driver in bahasa.
Well, I'm going to go try to keep my mind occupied. Between the heat and lack of activity, I often feel brain dead. The email from my dear parents urging me to learn something made me smile. Don't worry, I will make the most out of this internship. Today, I made a presentation with Noha on how to make a business plan, determine price and cost, and market the product. However, that's the most productive we have been so far.
What I am learning is mainly from the people I'm with. I'm learning about staying positive even when things don't work out as planned, living with complete strangers, learning about the Dutch, Egyptian, and Indonesian customs, appreciating generosity, making light of situations, and dealing with diarrhea. Too much information? Well at least you don't have to deal with it.
I'm just kidding, the runs have gotten better.
Yeah.. I think I'm going to end on that note.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Poonam Goreng
Hi family :)
I just read your comments and checked my facebook, and realized how much I miss you all (and friends and home in general of course). Not to the point where Im homesick and resenting Indonesia (oh noo not at all!!)... but i wish i could hear Pooja's sarcastic remarks when funny things happen, or talk to Mom every now and then (my cell phone and sim card are broken, which is the nice way of saying that I accidentally disabled my SIM card and cant figure out how to unlock my phone. Plus, I'm in a rural village where the signal is slight). Don't worry Dad... I'm eating lots of fried Indonesian food and thinking about you and the chum chum incident in India.
Speaking of fried food. EVERYTHING IS FRIED IN INDONESIA. Goreng means fried, which leads me to my blog title... Poonam Goreng. The humidity is off the charts ridiculous, so I along with the food I eat, am a fried little beast. The mosquitos especially love Poonam Goreng. Then when I go to itch the bites, my skin explodes in rash because I'm allergic to the sun.
ANYWAY. Despite being eaten alive and sweating like a very large fat man, I really love Indonesia. The village experience is nothing like what I expected, and is in fact a large slap in the face dose of reality. I thought I could just march into this random village where I dont know the language and make a difference. ha. wrong. Life isn't like that, and a lot of developing countries don't need the kind of help I thought I could give. Anyway, Ive been doing a lot of thinking, which is much easier because my idealistic views are more in check.
The project i'm working on is an entrepreneurship venture where we're trying to convince women to sell opac (fried plant roots that takes like fried nothing). We must convince them because they don't really feel like going through the trouble of making a business out of it. Their farmer husbands make enough money, but alas, we need a project and the nutrition/health in the village is better than in Jakarta (my first project was on public health, when we assumed it would be a problem).
I just realized that there's so much to say.
Village conditions: simple, can get dirty because we're a bunch of students living in a house, and students are universally dirty. Hole in the ground toilet, which i'm very used to and now kind of like. Cold bucket showers, which are nice in the heat, but not so nice when the water is brown. The food is good, but i'm done with anything fried or rice related after this trip.
This past weekend the international interns and I (two girls from holland, one from egyPt) and I escaped to a beach town with huge huge waves and watched the final world cup game. I was cheering for the dutch because i've gotten pretty close to the dutch girls and don't really care about the outcome of the game. Although I can't even IMAGINE the parties going on in Spain right now. Anyway, this was a nice break. We had real mattresses and hot showers!! Oh, and non fried food at a swiss restaurant.
And of course... I must share with you all the story of the gin. The gin are creatures living among humans, but they're dead and we're not supposed to see them. However, they sometimes emerge and are scary. They're hairy little islamic ghosts for the most part.
A few nights ago, I wake up around midnight to hear frantic chanting. The Indonesian students I'm living with are praying like mad, and this continues until almost 4 am. So, i'm pissed because there are 5 designated times to pray and this was not one of them. Also, it's very hot, and I had diarrhea. The combination of it all left me cranky. The next day, I find out that they were praying because they heard THE GIN! Meaning that at midnight for a couple nights in a row, they heard loud masculine snoring, even though we're a house of girls. So loud snoring at bedtime is apparently unheard of. The other international interns and I occasionally snore, so any one of us could be ' the gin '.
Then, Carolien (one of the dutch girls) opened a little cupboard by my bed (yes, I snagged a bed!) and lo and behold, we found the gin. It's a little teddy bear with one ear ripped off and shoved in the corner of the cupboard. We've been making lots of gin jokes. I really wish Pooja had been there during the 4 hour chanting session.
Also, writing this post took a lot of energy because this computer is incredibly slow and is programmed in bahasa indonesia, so I had a lot of trouble finding the 'sign in' button.
To summarize, Indonesia is hilarious. The people are so incredibly nice (except some creepy men) and Indonesians love foreigners. While walking down the street, especially with the blonde dutch girls, we're constantly being yelled at ("hello miss! buy my cheap trinket! Insert some dirty phrase in bahasa!"). Palm trees are everywhere, and the houses are pretty bright colors. The interns I'm staying with are really cool and help me maintain a positive attitude about the internship, which can sometimes be slow. Time is in some kind of warp, because people really do move in slow motion. Everything is really cheap, and not knowing the language is such hindrance. I love the rain, and the random events.
We're having a meeting!! Whooo productivity. The Indonesian interns keep ignoring me when I talk about the importance of costing the opac to figure out the price. I guess people globally hate accounting.
Selamat malan (good night).
I just read your comments and checked my facebook, and realized how much I miss you all (and friends and home in general of course). Not to the point where Im homesick and resenting Indonesia (oh noo not at all!!)... but i wish i could hear Pooja's sarcastic remarks when funny things happen, or talk to Mom every now and then (my cell phone and sim card are broken, which is the nice way of saying that I accidentally disabled my SIM card and cant figure out how to unlock my phone. Plus, I'm in a rural village where the signal is slight). Don't worry Dad... I'm eating lots of fried Indonesian food and thinking about you and the chum chum incident in India.
Speaking of fried food. EVERYTHING IS FRIED IN INDONESIA. Goreng means fried, which leads me to my blog title... Poonam Goreng. The humidity is off the charts ridiculous, so I along with the food I eat, am a fried little beast. The mosquitos especially love Poonam Goreng. Then when I go to itch the bites, my skin explodes in rash because I'm allergic to the sun.
ANYWAY. Despite being eaten alive and sweating like a very large fat man, I really love Indonesia. The village experience is nothing like what I expected, and is in fact a large slap in the face dose of reality. I thought I could just march into this random village where I dont know the language and make a difference. ha. wrong. Life isn't like that, and a lot of developing countries don't need the kind of help I thought I could give. Anyway, Ive been doing a lot of thinking, which is much easier because my idealistic views are more in check.
The project i'm working on is an entrepreneurship venture where we're trying to convince women to sell opac (fried plant roots that takes like fried nothing). We must convince them because they don't really feel like going through the trouble of making a business out of it. Their farmer husbands make enough money, but alas, we need a project and the nutrition/health in the village is better than in Jakarta (my first project was on public health, when we assumed it would be a problem).
I just realized that there's so much to say.
Village conditions: simple, can get dirty because we're a bunch of students living in a house, and students are universally dirty. Hole in the ground toilet, which i'm very used to and now kind of like. Cold bucket showers, which are nice in the heat, but not so nice when the water is brown. The food is good, but i'm done with anything fried or rice related after this trip.
This past weekend the international interns and I (two girls from holland, one from egyPt) and I escaped to a beach town with huge huge waves and watched the final world cup game. I was cheering for the dutch because i've gotten pretty close to the dutch girls and don't really care about the outcome of the game. Although I can't even IMAGINE the parties going on in Spain right now. Anyway, this was a nice break. We had real mattresses and hot showers!! Oh, and non fried food at a swiss restaurant.
And of course... I must share with you all the story of the gin. The gin are creatures living among humans, but they're dead and we're not supposed to see them. However, they sometimes emerge and are scary. They're hairy little islamic ghosts for the most part.
A few nights ago, I wake up around midnight to hear frantic chanting. The Indonesian students I'm living with are praying like mad, and this continues until almost 4 am. So, i'm pissed because there are 5 designated times to pray and this was not one of them. Also, it's very hot, and I had diarrhea. The combination of it all left me cranky. The next day, I find out that they were praying because they heard THE GIN! Meaning that at midnight for a couple nights in a row, they heard loud masculine snoring, even though we're a house of girls. So loud snoring at bedtime is apparently unheard of. The other international interns and I occasionally snore, so any one of us could be ' the gin '.
Then, Carolien (one of the dutch girls) opened a little cupboard by my bed (yes, I snagged a bed!) and lo and behold, we found the gin. It's a little teddy bear with one ear ripped off and shoved in the corner of the cupboard. We've been making lots of gin jokes. I really wish Pooja had been there during the 4 hour chanting session.
Also, writing this post took a lot of energy because this computer is incredibly slow and is programmed in bahasa indonesia, so I had a lot of trouble finding the 'sign in' button.
To summarize, Indonesia is hilarious. The people are so incredibly nice (except some creepy men) and Indonesians love foreigners. While walking down the street, especially with the blonde dutch girls, we're constantly being yelled at ("hello miss! buy my cheap trinket! Insert some dirty phrase in bahasa!"). Palm trees are everywhere, and the houses are pretty bright colors. The interns I'm staying with are really cool and help me maintain a positive attitude about the internship, which can sometimes be slow. Time is in some kind of warp, because people really do move in slow motion. Everything is really cheap, and not knowing the language is such hindrance. I love the rain, and the random events.
We're having a meeting!! Whooo productivity. The Indonesian interns keep ignoring me when I talk about the importance of costing the opac to figure out the price. I guess people globally hate accounting.
Selamat malan (good night).
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