9/21/2012
I spent the first 2 hours slowly writing
the blogs that I had been putting off. You might ask "but, Alaina, you
have school. How did you start your day by writing for 2 hours?" The
answer is simple. I had no idea what I should have been doing in my 5 hour long
animation class and I refuse to ask questions that I do not want to know the
answer to. My classmates were all busy doing something, and none of the
teachers had said anything so I made myself busy. When I finished I started
drawing tedious patterns to waste time. Eventually a teacher walked over and I
opened a blank Photoshop document. He asked me if I was done and I told him
that I had no idea what I was doing and that I have no idea how to use
Photoshop. He asked "well, if you didn't use Photoshop in America, what
did you use?" and I had to explain again that in America we do not have
vocational schools and that I went to a high school and learned from books. He
talked to me for a little bit and then he returned to the front of the
classroom, allowing me to return to drawing aimlessly. At about 11am my class
started packing up so I asked one of my classmates and she said that class was
over (only one hour early). So, I started walking home. When I got home I made
sure that the maid saw me so that she didn't send the driver to get me in an
hour. She laughed when I told her that school finished early for what felt like
the hundredth time. I had nothing planned for the rest of the night so I just
relaxed and waited for my family to come home. All of the people in my family
are always really busy. My Dad is running for governor, my Mom works at a large
bank my Sister is going to Medical School and my Brother lives in Jakarta. I
ate dinner by myself and watched a movie but no one was home yet. I eventually
gave up waiting and just went to bed.
9/21/2012 Highlight
It might sound kind of sad but I was in a
classroom with really comfortable chairs. They were just basic office chairs
(cushion, wheels, and the ability to spin in endless circles). In my other
classes we either sit on the floor, on really small school desks or wooden
desks with wooden benches for the seats. Needless to say I am rarely
comfortable at school and I was very excited to have a good chair. Also I got
to get some extra sleep, which is always needed and I finished my blogs.
9/22/2012
It is Saturday, so of course I have school.
I woke up at 5, took a shower, got dressed in my uniform and then headed
downstairs for breakfast. When I got to the table, there was no food on it yet
(which is weird because the maid always had food out on time for breakfast). I
went into the kitchen to find our maid and she looked at me like I was crazy
and then asked me if I had school today. I say yes, I have school and then she
started speaking in rapid Indonesian. I told her that I would go ask Diandra. I
went upstairs to find Diandra still in her PJ's (she normally goes to school at
the same time as me, so she should have been dressed), and she also looked surprised
to see me up and dressed. I asked her if I had school and she said "no, I
told you last night, right?" I said "No, I didn't even see you last
night." She apologized for forgetting to tell me that I was ditching
school today and I went back to my room. I would have loved to go back to sleep
but, I had now been up for an hour and I wasn't tired anymore. I turns out we
were going on vacation. My Mom, Diandra, the exchange student from Belgium, the
exchange student from Brazil and I all loaded in the car. We drove for what
seemed like forever. Distance is really hard to determine here because most of
the time the traffic is so bad the car barely moves. I am quite certain that I
could have walked the parts with lots of traffic faster. We finally got out of
Bandung, into the suburbs. We got to one of my Mom's friend's house where we transferred
into two jeeps. The jeeps took us even farther out of the city until we got to
a small village house. It was made in a traditional style and it was very
beautiful. The countryside is so quite compared to the busy city that I have
been a permanent resident in for the last month and a half. We ate lunch at the
house. The rice was really different, it had these little yellow things in it.
They were really crunchy and I thought that they were just vegetables until I
saw an eye. They were not vegetables, they were really tiny, yellow fish. (They
look like shredded carrot-- very tiny). YUM! I was eating a bunch of tiny fish,
I am really glad that my family did not tell me what they were before I started
eating. We got back in the car and started driving up the mountain. We kept
going up and up, and the air kept getting cooler and cooler. It was so nice to
be chilly for the first time since I got here. It is so hot in Indonesia, and
it was really nice to cool down. We were
so high up there was fog all around us from clouds and my ears sounded like POP
Rocks from the elevation. The mountain was covered in Tea bushes, thousands of
tea bushes. It was so nice just to drive around looking at the landscape. Even
though we were out of the city there was still trash everywhere. People here
are much more likely to throw trash on the ground than they are to hold the
trash until they find a trash can. It is really depressing to see such a
beautiful mountain covered in trash. My Mom said that we were going to the hot
springs and I got really excited. I have always wanted to go to a natural hot
spring and this was finally my chance. We got to the hot springs and it was
nothing like what I imagined. What the 'hot springs' turned out to be was a
series of poorly maintained pools with spring water in them (which means that
there are no chemicals in it because it is natural) and tons of people
everywhere. It was really gross, and there was no way that I was going to get
in that water. Lucky for me my family and friends found it really nasty too and
we quickly left without getting in the water. Afterward we drove to a dormant
volcano. It was a place where a long time ago a volcano exploded and left
Sulfur pools and extremely hot water springs. We stayed for a while looking at
everything. Just before we left we read the history of the place. I won't go
into it here but it involved a ghost and immediately Laticia and I said that
ghosts weren't real. Diandra just looked at us, and explained how in their
culture many people believe in ghosts and other mystic things. We agreed to
disagree and then we went home. On the way we had some of the best Sate I have
ever had. I really like Sate (for my American friends it is basically meat,
chicken, beef or lamb, grilled on a stick and covered in sweet sauce and then
dipped in peanut sauce). I ended up spending the night over at Laticia's house.
9/22/2012 Highlight
It was a really amazing day but, I am
really glad that I did not have to go to school. I loved driving around the mountain
too.
9/23/2012
I woke up in Laticia's house on Sunday
morning. She Skyped he family and then we just hung out. All day we watched
movies, talked and ate a lot. We talked about school in Indonesia, our friends
in America, how hard the exchange is and just about everything else you could
think of. Laticia lives in a huge house.
Her family is a very wealthy Chinese family who owns a baby supply store in
Bandung. The only problem with her house is that it is almost 30 minutes away
from my house. I told my family at about 2pm that I wanted to go home but they
were unable to get me until 7pm because one of my drivers was out of town and
the other was at a wedding. I am learning a lot this year about patience. In
America I have had my license for more than a year and I drive myself
everywhere. Now that I cannot drive, I have to plan out my activities and wait
to be able to borrow the drivers. When I got home, I watched a movie and went to
bed. It wasn't a busy day but, because Sunday is my only day off from school, I
am always very tired and try to recover from the school week.
9/23/2012 Highlight
I was able to spend tons of time with
Laticia, and talk to someone who understands perfectly what I am going through.
Thanks for reading :)
9/24/2012
I woke up and went to school. I was talking
with my friends in our classroom waiting for the daily ceremony to begin. The
ceremony should have started already but, no one was gathering in the
courtyard. My friends saw me looking outside to the courtyard and they told me
that there would be no ceremony today. I promptly did a huge victory fist pump
and screamed "Yes!!!!!" My friends thought it was really funny and
for the rest of the day they kept pumping their fists and screaming
"Yes!!". I do not think that I can be blamed for getting really excited
that I did not have to stand for 30 minutes listening to someone talk about
something that I do not understand. Before class started I went to the school
store to buy some supplies for my manual drawing class that I had later that day.
With some difficulty I told a teacher what I needed and she gave it to me. I
asked he how much the supplies cost and she said they were free. I said "no,
how much" and she insisted that they were free, so I thanked her and went
to class. Digital drawing was my first class of the day and we had a test. It had two parts, some multiple choice and
then we had to recreate something that the teacher had made in the test using Photoshop.
I guessed on all the answers to the
Multiple choice questions. My friends were very concerned because they did not
want me to fail the test. I told them that my grades do not matter and that
failing the test is "no problem." The practical application was a
little more difficult. I was able to do a decent job before I called my teacher
over to check. He said that it was not perfect and showed me how to use the
envelop function to bend and curve my words. I thanked him and then I just
talked to my friends for the rest of the class. My next class was Manual
Drawing and we also had a test. My teacher gave everyone a page of instructions
and a blank sheet of paper. He tried to explain what I should do, but I had no
idea what he was trying to say. So on one side of the paper I drew basic 3D
shapes. (sphere, cube, cylinder, triangular pyramid, etc.) and on the back I
made a pattern very similar to what we had done in class the week before. One
of the people in my class told me that I needed to write a list on the first
side so I copied their paper and then I turned in my test. I still had to wait
until the class ended so I out my head down on my desk, only to wake up to the
flash of one of my classmate's cameras. I sat up, and made them give me their
phone so I could delete the picture. Given the amount of time that I spend
asleep in school I would have expected someone to take a picture earlier.
Finally my teacher told us that we could go home and he apologized for not
being able to explain the test to me. I told him that it was fine and that he
should not worry. I walked home (this is now more common because my school
almost always gets out earlier). When I got home my maid told me that the
drivers were out of town (so I guess it was good that I assumed that I should
walk home) and that I would not be able to go to my Indonesian lesson with Aunt
Anita. So, I spent the afternoon in relative boredom. While I was on facebook I
got a message that surprised me. My manual drawing teacher is friends with me
on facebook and he sent me a message that asked me if I remembered writing on
my test. Over the last several weeks, I have developed a habit for venting in
messy cursive that I don't think anyone could read. I just like to write (instead
of doodling) and most of the time the words do not mean anything. My teacher
sent me a message with some of the words that I had written on my test and he
said that I should try to write a poem about Indonesia. Well, it is another
first. I have never been told something I wrote could be a poem (and it proves
that 99% of poetry is complete nonsense).
9/24/2012 Highlight
I had a really great seminary lesson today.
It was on the parables in Matthew Chapter 13. Even though I really miss my
seminary class in America I am very blessed that I am able to do seminary here
in Indonesia. Thanks for listening
9/25/2012 Question
Q. I thought you graduated High School. Why
are you still in school?
A. I am really sorry Grandpa that it has
taken so long for me to answer this question. Basically Rotary (the service
organization that sponsored and organized my exchange) says that we must go to school. I
do not have a choice. It is also good to go to school because I am able to
learn the language faster and meet kids my own age. Without school I would just
sit alone at home all day. So even though school is confusing and a little
boring it is very beneficial (and it is required). Thanks for the question
Grandpa. I love you and Grandma so much!!!! Have a great day :)
9/25/2012
School again... YES!!! I got to school and
I was talking to my friends again when they told me good and bad news. Good
news: No morning ceremony for the next two weeks. Bad news: We did not have the
ceremony for two weeks because we will have end of the semester exams in every
class for the next two weeks. Honestly, this 'bad' news was not too bad. I
don't care about my grades so I can just wing it and have fun, "no
problem". I went to my first class which is Seni Budya (Culture). My
friends helped me do the class work so that I could do it correctly. During the
class the power went out in the school about four times (about 2-3 minutes each
time). The power goes out often here but most of the time I do not notice
because all my classrooms use natural light to light the room. But, the
classroom I was in this morning is my only class were is does not have any
windows (it is the music room and I think they want to protect the wooden instruments
from damage). After class I went to my Indonesian class. We had to rewrite a
letter from the textbook to practice the structure. It was easy but it still
took me a while to complete. My final class of the day was digital drawing. We
had another test. I guessed on the questions and then my friends gave me the
correct answers. I am proud to say that without understanding more than 5 words
I was able to get 4 out of 10 questions right (not to shabby when there are 5
choices for each question--thank you Chinese class for teaching me how to
guess). The I moved out to the practical lesson. We had to make a little fish with the word 'drawing' in it. Class ended early but, I could not go home
because I had Angklung practice after school. So I talked to my friends and
played on my computer until it was time for practice. I went to Angklung practice and the room
smelled very bad (again because it does not have any windows-- same room as
earlier) so we moved to another room. The new room meant that I did not have to
sit on the floor, which was a welcome relief. I think I finally have the song
down. The song we are playing is Mars Bamboo Rucing (it is a nation song for
Indonesia). I thought I was doing really well until our director took down the
sheet music. I cannot remember when to play. Imagine if you will, that you have
just started playing the piano and you are responsible of playing every B note
in Beethoven. That is a little dramatic but, it is exactly how I felt. I had no
idea when to play and I was lost the majority of the time. I rode home with my
driver and relaxed a little until one of the drivers told me that we should go
get Diandra. Instead of getting Diandra, everyone in my family met at a restaurant
for dinner. The food was really good and talking to my family was even better.
I am able to communicate more and more in Indonesian every day. Another
cultural difference from Indonesia and America is that Indonesians are rarely
in a rush. We sat at the table long after we were done with all of our food,
just talking. When we got home, I was able to Skype my mom for an hour and just
talk to her. I love telling my family in America about my adventures here and
seeing their smiling faces.
9/25/2012 Highlight
Today's highlight was really great. While
we were taking our practical test today in Digital Drawing I know how to do the
activity without any help. There is one tool that I know how to use on Corel
Draw (similar to Photoshop) and that is the freehand tool and then you and edit
the freehand. I was able to quickly make my little fishy with almost no
difficulty and then I moved on to the words. If you remember, yesterday my
teacher showed me how to use the envelop tool on Photoshop. I knew that I
needed to use the envelop tool to do the project, so I searched Corel Draw for
'Envelop'. I was able to find it and I started to mess around with the text to
get it to fit in my fish. To make my success even sweeter, people started
coming over to me and saying "you can do it?" and the asking me to
teach them how to do it. Most of them did not even know how to draw the little
fish, let alone morph the text. To say that I was overly-pleased with myself
would be an understatement. I knew how to do something that most of my classmates
did not know how to do and I have never touched Photoshop or Corel draw before.
Yaaa me!!!! The teacher still gave me a six, I don't really think that is good
but I do not know how my art could have been any better (it looks just like the
example).
9/26/2012
Today I woke up really late at 5:45. Which
means I had 15 minutes to shower, to get dressed and to get downstairs for
breakfast. I did it, luckily for me I have never taken a long time to get ready
in the morning. I ate breakfast and then went to school. I started the day with
English class. It was very boring, as always, because I already speak English.
I can tell that my English is getting worse though. I really feel sorry for
everyone who tries to read my blog and they have to guess what I was trying to
say because I forgot a word or spelled a word wrong. While we were on break in
English class I showed the class picture of me and my family in America. The
completely surrounded me, screaming questions at me in a mix of Indonesian,
English and Sudanese. I had to shout to explain the photos and to answer some
questions. Everyone seems to like looking at pictures of America and my family,
to them I am a celebrity. Many of them have never talked to a foreigner before
and they are eager to get to know me. When the class was over I moved to my
math class to find that math had been switched with physics. My teacher said
that we had a test and she read the two questions to us. I had to copy my neighbor's
paper because I could not write what the teacher was saying. I took Physics
last year in America, but it is nothing compared to trying to answer a physics
question in another language. I tried to translate the first question with my
dictionary and then I wrote "sorry I do not understand" in
Indonesian. I spent the rest of the class studying Indonesian. When the physics
class ended (I should not have had to go anyway) I had lunch. I talked to many
people in the courtyard while I waited for lunch to end. When it did end I went
to class to find that it was Seni Budya again (the same class as yesterday).
The teacher told me it was the same lesson so I said that I would ask my guide
in the office if I should go to that class. I got to the office and I had to
explain to one of my teachers that the classes were the same and she brought me
to another administrator. We talked for a while until we decide that I should
not have to go to the class and that I can go home early. I walked home, very
pleased to get out of another class. I ate lunch, did seminary and then went to
Indonesian class. Class was very good. I always enjoy going because I know that
it helps me. After two hours of class I waited for my driver and I went home.
And now I am finishing my blogs.
9/26/2012 Highlight
I was able to convince an administrator
that I should not have to go to school, and he let me go home early. I like my
school a lot but it is nice to have more free time. I also got a workbook in
Indonesian class that I think will help me learn the language even faster.
Thanks for reading :)
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