10/28/2012
Question
Q.
Thanks animal-slaughter day
for the new blogs! :) Also, you said thanks for the good question at the end of
that last one like the rest of our questions aren't good ones. My question
asking if you tell people there that I am your favorite family member was very
well thought out and intelligent. I'm offended. :) That's cool that you got to
watch some of the debate. How interested is Indonesia in our election? We love
you!
A.I have actually been able to watch the last 2
debates courtesy of YouTube. It took forever to load and it wasn't very
rewarding but I can proudly say that I watched them. Most people seem to be
more concerned with American Pop Culture than they are with American Politics.
Politics in general are not a very popular topic with kids my age. My friends
in America have flooded my Facebook news feed with comments on Politics and the
debates while, my friends in Indonesia post about their twitter's 3rd birthday
and what music they are listening to. Maybe adults care more, but I have not
gotten that impression. If you asked people about the Presidential election
they would be able to tell you that President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are
both contenders for the Presidency. They would also tell you that they want
Obama to win because he lived in Jakarta for several years and that he misses
Bakso (meatball soup- famous to Indonesia) and nasi goreng (fried rice). I love
you too!!!!
10/28/2012
Sunday morning. Woke up, straightened my hair,
got dressed, put make-up on, ate breakfast and had my driver take me to church.
Normally, I have plans on Sunday, or my family is out of town and the drivers
are gone so I can't get to the meeting. This is first time in two months that I
have been able to go to church. My driver and I got lost on the way there but
we found it and I was still on time. I love church! All of the meetings are
taught in Bahasa Indonesian (Bahasa in Indonesian means language- sometimes
Indonesian is called Bahasa but this is not really correct). I did not
understand anything but, it was still great to be there. The little branch has
a real building - I was expecting someone's house. Four Elder missionaries are
assigned to the building and there were about 25 people there. During Sacrament
meeting (they hold this meeting 3rd hour instead of the typical 1st hour) I was
asked to introduce myself and bear my testimony. I was able to do a really good
introduction in Indonesian by myself. My testimony was translated by one of the
members because I don't know any gospel terms in Indonesian. Three of the
missionaries are from Indonesia and there is one from Utah. According to the
Indonesian government the Mormon church is a legitimate church but the
missionaries are not allowed to knock on doors and talk to people. They have to
wait for someone to ask what they were doing here in Bandung or they had to
bring up religion before they could talk about the church. Two of the
missionaries live about an hour and a half away from the building and they have
to drive to the church every Sunday and for every activity. It is kind of weird
to be in a branch, not a huge ward. (For those of you who are not Mormon- each
individual church is called a ward, but if it is very small it is called a
branch). After the meeting I had to wait for my driver to pick me up, I felt
really bad for making some of the members wait with me. The rest of the day was
spent relaxing and just hanging out.
10/28/2012 Highlight
Going to church and meeting new friends. I was
also able to communicate in my Indonesian than I have ever been able to do
before.
10/29/2012
Monday morning. I woke up at 6:02 am (my school
starts at 6:30). I had to throw my clothes on, pack my backpack, shovel down
breakfast and get in the car as fast as I could to get to school on time. Ceremony
this morning was long... just like every Monday. It was extra- special because
of some holiday (not Eid
al-Adha) and it lasted an hour and ten minutes. Next time you get the chance,
go stand in the middle of a courtyard surrounded by people wearing a long
skirt, socks, tennis shoes, a button up shirt and a hat. The just stand there
for an hour and a half, randomly salute, recite Muslim phrases and then go back
to standing in attention. It is not fun or safe. Today, I saw a boy completely
collapse in front of me. He was caught and then team-lifted to the back because
he couldn't stand on him own. It is not healthy or safe. After we were finally
released I had Digital Drawing. I was still very tired because I didn't sleep
well. The teacher wasn't there and we sit on the floor anyway so I used my
backpack for a pillow and got comfortable. I woke up three hours later. Someone
had the good sense not to wake me up. I would never be able to take a three
hour nap in American school (only 45 minute ones). When I woke up it was time
to change classes so I walked to Manual Drawing class. I realized that in my
rush to get ready this morning I had forgotten my drawing book and my ruler.
Which, meant that I couldn't do anything. I wrote down the measurements for the
assignment that we were given and then I doodled in one of my notebooks. Soon
enough school was over so I started walking home. I stopped at two stores on
the way home, one was a small store where I bought two markers and a drawing
book (I only had a couple of pages of drawing paper that I had been using as my
book). Then I went to Indomart (basically Walgreens) to buy snacks and a water
bottle. I went home, did seminary, did the drawing I should have done in class
watched the Hunger Games and now I am writing my blog.
10/29/2012
I used to be
scared to go to stores by myself. Today, I went to two different stores by
myself. Everyday my Indonesian skills are getting better. It was a good day!
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