12.5.2012
My friends had exams
today. I went to school and went to my normal classroom but none of my usual
classmates were there and the kids who were there were all studying out of an
Arabic textbook. I had no desire to take a test in Arabic so I went down to the
library. I 'studied' for a little while and then I went home. When I got home
my host Dad was sitting at the kitchen table and he questioned me about why I
was home so early. I explained that I was not learning today because I had
exams and that I was free to go home. I went upstairs, changed and come back
downstairs. When my Dad asked me where I was going I said Trans Studio. He then
kindly informed me that Trans Studio wasn't open yet. So, I watched TV and
waited to be able to go to the mall. When I go there I was looking for some
pretty simple things. I wanted some food and I wanted Jeans. I bought corn oil,
pasta and Prego. I had cake mix and I wanted to make dinner for my host family.
When I went to buy jeans everything was very expensive. The mall only has
luxury brands, I am talking about 150$ jeans at Ralph Lauren and many other
very expensive stores. I never buy expensive name brand stuff, I just don't see
the need to pay for overpriced things that don't fit me well. After a disappointing
morning I decided to walk down the street by the mall to see if I could find
any smaller stores. The street is very busy and it probably wasn't super safe
but, I did it anyway. It paid off, I found a small factory outlet store and I
went inside. I ended up buying the perfect jeans shorts. Yes, they were on the
men's rack but the store didn't have my size in women's (because I am
freakishly large). Not only did the jeans fit me they also only cost 12$ which
made me feel much better. I took an Angkot home, which was my first time alone
on an Angkot. The rest of the day was spent relaxing. I didn't have very much
to do, so I watched a movie, took a shower, took a nap and chilled out the rest
of the day.
12.5.2012 Highlight
While at the mall I
went to Bread Talk. It is a very popular store here that sells all different
types of bread and cakes. I found banana bread and I bought a slice. While I
was relaxing at home I ate it. It wasn't as good as my Mom's and I prefer it
without chocolate but it was still really good.
12.6.2012
I didn't even bother
going to school today because I knew I would have nothing to do. I slept in and
wasted the day. Nothing exciting. Until the Missionaries for my church came
over at about 7pm. We talked and they gave me a lesson in English, which was very
nice. I was very grateful to be able to talk to the missionaries and have
someone give me a lesson that I could actually understand. After they left I
downloaded the Indexing program onto my computer. For those of you who do not
know my Church is very big into family history. Part of being able to do family
history is typing up old ship records and other official documents and putting
them on the database. I taught myself how to work the program and then I
started typing names.
12.6.2012 Highlight
Everything I did today
was pretty great!
12.7.2012
One of my friends asked
me to come to school today because he wanted to give me something, so I went to
school. I talked to many different people until the library opened. I listened
to music, indexed more names and played more games of solitaire than I care to
admit. After being at school for about 3 hours I decided to walk home even
though my friend hadn't shown up. I went home and started watching a movie. It
was called "The day after Tomorrow Ice Age 2" I thought that the '2'
was just a typo so I put in the DVD. The movie was terrible, I got through
about 10 minutes before I looked up the original actors in the real movie. I
discovered that this movie was a poorly made re-make. I couldn't watch another
minute so I put in another movie. My friend texted me at about noon and asked
me where I was. I told him that I was already home and he said that he would
drop it off at my house. It was an invitation to a Christmas party at his
church (one of the few Christians at my school) but, the only problem was that
it was for tonight and I couldn't go. I said that I was sorry but, I didn't
know if I could go. I could not go. The rest of the day was spent doing
nothing.
12.7.2012 Highlight
On the way home a group
of about 7 elementary school kids stopped me. I don't stop for anything while I
am walking home and I really have no idea how they got my attention but, they
did. They were all super cute and when I turned around they looked very
nervous. I asked them what they wanted and they asked (very politely) if they
could take a picture with them. I said that they could and we sat down to take
a picture. Most of the children we very nervous and did not want to be in the
photo I called them over and told them to sit next to me. After the picture,
they thanked me and said goodbye. I love little kids and these were very nice
and cute. I hope that I was their highlight!
12.8.2012
No school again. So, I
had another day at home with the maid. My family is so busy. I was planning on
making dinner for my host family but at noon I got a message saying that my mom
and dad had to go to Jakarta and that it would be better if I made dinner on
Sunday. Nothing exciting today.
12.9.2012
I got woken up by a
phone call from my second host sister. She said that her family wanted to come
over and talk to me before I moved in. We made plans and I got out of bed. I
got dressed and ready for church. I was able to go to church. I always love
going to church but today was extra special. It was the primary program.
(Primary is the class for all kids under 12 at my church and every year they
sing and have little talks for the meeting). There were 6 kids and 2 babies
along with 5 Moms/teachers. They were very cute and they sang all of their
songs perfectly. One of the little girls was so cute, she kept waving her arms
like she was the conductor. After church I went home and my 2nd host family
came over to talk to me. They seem very, very nice and I can't wait to live
with them. We only talked for a little bit and then they left. I went back
upstairs and took a short little nap. I woke up when my mom and dad got home
from Jakarta. They brought some food and after a pre-meal snack I started
making dinner. It doesn't take a genius to make pasta and heat up Prego but, I
was still proud of myself for doing it perfectly. It was great! And the cake
for dessert was great too. It could not have gone any better and I really think
that my family liked the meal. During dessert I gave my host family my little
presents from America. Then, I spent the next hour completely packing up my
room because, I will be moving out on Tuesday. I want to thank my host family
for everything. I could not have had a better 1st host family and I will always
remember you!
12.9.2012 Highlight
Everything went
perfectly today, I could not have asked for anything more.
I decided to make a
list of some of the biggest cultural differences, of course there are much more
but, these are some of them. Enjoy!
Cultural Differences:
1. Wet is clean
2. Old people grasp your elbow not hold your hand
3. "Belum makan nasi, belum makan" - If you
haven't eaten rice, you haven't eaten
4. 2 showers a day
5. Food is not made per meal it is made for the day and
then left on the table under a cover. Whenever you are hungry you can just go
eat. Rice stays fresh all day in the rice cooker.
6. Time is not well defined and structured like it is in
America.
7. Condiments go with EVERYTHING. (and not just a little)
8. Having a maid and/or a driver is perfectly normal
9. Smoking is very popular and it is legal/normal to
smoke everywhere
10.If you
are sick it is because you have not eaten (or you are cold)
11. People love wearing jackets (90 degree weather year
round)
12.Littering
is totally acceptable
13.Most
people are Muslim (this causes MANY differences)
14.People
believe in ghosts
15.People
are very upfront about looks. It is not unusual for someone you don't know to
come up to you and say "I am the prettiest person in the class, do you
think I am pretty?"
16.Most
places including peoples' houses and some classrooms require you to take off
your shoes.
17. Burping and making other noises with your mouth is
acceptable.
18.Almost
everything is paid for in cash, credit cards are a pain and they are not
accepted at most stores (only very nice malls let you use credit cards)
19.Shaking
hands is very different: Before you shake someone's hand their gender, age, respectability,
religion and a hundred other contributing factors must run through your head.
If someone does shake your hand (American style) the handshake is very weak and
floppy, not strong and aggressive like we do in America. Many people will
extend both hands and you slide yours in-between theirs (kind of like playing
slide) and then you bring your hands to your chest. If someone is Muslim, you
might be accepted to do a traditional Muslim greeting. The younger person takes
the other's hand and raises it to their head and bows at the same time.
Finally, some people chose to do the kisses (2 kisses one on each cheek) but,
you will never kiss a man. I know it is complicated, just imagine doing it
every day.
20. Squat potties exist and just for everyone's
information I am pretty good at using them now.
21.People
like touching other people for seemingly no reason.
22. School is fun and people like being at school.
Teachers also don't show up.
23. People like to ask very personal/weird questions. The
word for this is "Kepo" it is used to describe a nosey person who
asks too many questions.
24. Tea is served all the time.
25. They have local languages and most people know their
traditional language as well as Indonesian.
