8/27/2012

8/27/2012 Questions

Q. First, you said they are big into family. Do they do genealogy? Second, do they take a lot of pictures of family and do scrapbooks?

A. I do not know if they do geneology as far back as you have done but they definatly know who their ansestors are and where they came from, they take tons of pictures everytime we do anything we take a picture but they like to upload them to fb more than printing them out. The walls in our house have family pictures all over them and I am sure that they have a photo album somewhere but I don't think they are on decorated pages (like our scrapbooking).

Q. Do they have dogs for dinner or as pets? Do they have swimsuits? How's your langauge coming along? When you hang with your host sister's friends, do they speak in Indonesian? What kind of music do they listen to? What did you eat for breakfast this morning??????

A. My neighboor has lots of dogs for pets and so far I have not eaten dog and dog has not been on the menu. However, my Host sister is terrified of dogs, and they are not as popular pets as birds and fish are(we have a Coi pond in our house). They do have swimsuits but, the ones I have seen look more like wresling unitards. They have sleeves and little shorts with a big zipper down the frount. In tourist areas (Bali, etc)  Bathing suits are more popular. My language is coming along pretty slowly but that is partly because all the movies and most of the music that my family listens to is in English. My sister's friends speak Indonesian to eachother but, when it is a direct question to me they ask in English. They listen to popular American music along with some popular Indonesian music. I had fried rice and cereal for breakfast this morning.Indonesians do not have very different meals for breakfast/lunch/dinner, dinner is just the biggest. My family bought the cereal just for me no one else in the family eats it. I think I got all of them. Love you Aunt Sarah!

Q. Ok, so on introduction, you give your name and what to call you...how is that different.  And why do you give your age and birthday?  Do they view b-days like us with astro. signs depend. on when you were born? Or are some birth months better than others?  Or regarded differently?  The big question:  Have you had McDonald's delivered yet?  Or even gone to a "fast food" rest?  love mom

A. Well the first part is the same. But, I litteraly say "you can call me this". I have never had to say that in America because I am not a teacher or an adult introducing myself to kids. I have no idea why they give thier age and birthday. Originaly my host sister said that people often give their home addresses too but, she quickly realized that was too difficult for me to remember. For Rotary I had a long and complex intro that has been mostly worthless. My first meal in Indonesia right after I got off the plane was McDonalds and My family recently had McDonalds for dinner but I have not had them deliver.

8/27/2012

Today my host sister started school again which meant that I was home with only my brother (who is afraid to talk to me) and the servers (who speak little English). I started off the day by going with my host brother and one of our driver to Immigration. I had already been to immigration only a couple of days after I arrived and I came back for my "Kitas" which is basically a long term stay permit. I gave the officials the slip they had given me a week and a half earlier and they took my picture, gave me a different receipt and told me to come back on Friday. I don't know why I have to come so many times but, they have my Passport so I guess I have to listen to them. We came home, I studied Indonesian a little and I looked at my school schedule and decided what classes I want to take. I don't know if my choices will be approved so, I will put them online when I know for sure. For dinner I had a bite of Cow Brain and some Cow lung (cooked a different way) I also had rice, some fried veggies, tofu and a few chicken nuggets. My host family laughs every time they tell me what food is for dinner. I think they enjoy making fun of the fact that Americans are spoiled and only eat the meat from animals not their organs. I am loving Indonesia more everyday and I can't wait until I can speak fluently in the language.

8/27/2012 Highlight

I spent several hours today just sitting on our families porch that looks out onto the street from the second floor. I really enjoyed the breeze and the sounds of my neighborhood as I studied Indonesian and napped in the sun. :)