Negotiation

I’m here. I have officially passed the honeymoon phase and reached the negotiation phase of culture shock. I am going through a bit of homesickness after a very rough few days at work. They managed to get me ALL the wrong supplies for my entry point, even after my very specific list. Needless to say, I’m wanting a ice cold IPA with a burger on the grill in my backyard. Or a coffee and pumpkin muffin stop at ERC on the way to stone arch, with each step I take crunching the leaves below my feet. Or a night of baking with a few glasses of red wine. Or a packer game with my boys. On the plus side, the packers creamed the Vikings yesterday, but did anyone have any doubts? Yeah I’m starting to really CRAVE some things.

How am I filling these voids? By trying to throw myself into further diversions. I’m trying to find good live music. For god sake, I may be joining a band, with the zero musical talent I have to offer! I’ve joined an online group to find some volunteer opportunities, though none have surfaced yet. I’m reading about Buddhism, and trying to really immerse myself in it. Do I have time for any of this? Nope. Not this term, but I need something more. I feel empty and unfulfilled now that I traveled and realized where I am living. 

The fact that this picture has orange fallen leaves is a mockery. 

So tonight after eating half a pack of Oreos to fill me up, I went to the gym. This helped immensely! Among the elliptical, tread mills, and free weights in the dark deserted gym I sang my songs. If a single person would have walked in, they either would have presumed I was the most crazy person in the world, or that they gym was haunted by a ghost.

Firstly I blasted out some great Bob Dylan. I sang the line “Get your mind off winter time, you ain’t going nowhere” with so much passion, trying to pull myself back to where I am. Summer, heat, humidity. "We'll climb that hill no matter how steep, when we get up to it."

Then I got to some of the new music my brother sent to me.

By Myself

I have been listening to this non-stop since he gave it to me. One of the songs is clearly about a girl wanting to remain single. For me? They lyrics were all about me not being able to be in a relationship with Minneapolis. It’s sad. I know. I have this bizarre need to make every song pertain to what I’m going through. In this case, Minneapolis is the boy, and I am the girl who needs to be by herself to find herself.

It begins to thunder, and lightning illuminates the darkness of the gym. Another song plays. I’m not sure what “message” is in it, but it is something.

I sing out what I am feeling. I let the emotions take over my legs, and beat them on the treadmill to the pace. I feel slightly better.

I come home and finish the pack of Oreos. I feel full. We will ignore the fact that Wikipedia says that compulsive eating and weight gain tends to accompany this phase of culture shock. I look at tickets home, just to see. 2 grand? Nah. I think I’ll do Sulawesi with my Canadian boys, and take my first solo trip. I have to remind myself why I love this. I need to feel full like I did a month ago.

I will get back on the "happy" and "fulfilled" bandwagon soon. I promise.

New Experiences

Riding a Motorbike

I just got done riding my first motorbike in Jakarta traffic. It wasn’t too bad. I volunteered at a friend’s class as he teaches adults and needed them to converse with some English speaking people they didn’t already know. Basically they tried to sell me laptops using the sales lingo/outline they had been given. I was picked up by a tiny Indonesian boy, and was running a bit late, so I hopped on with a loose helmet. 2 issues: I couldn’t see because of my stupid bangs (not a real problem since I wasn’t driving) and due to my long white legs, and the fact that I was wearing wedges my legs went far above this short guys arms/shoulders. I’m freakishly tall here. He had to hold his arms up above my legs, straining to reach the handles of the bike. It also started raining (only a bit.) On the way home it was much more comfortable as I was behind a tall white dude. Morgan went a bit faster (there wasn’t as much traffic) so I actually had to hold on a bit. It wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it would be, and it felt so nice to have wind blowing on me that wasn’t air-conditioned. I’d like to get a bike just for the fun of driving it around. I know I wouldn’t get anywhere, and the chances of ending up back home and alive would be small. Mostly because I cannot seem to create a map of this city in my mind, and I wouldn’t have the first clue how to drive, or drive in the awful traffic of the city.

typical 

Indonesian Wedding

One of my co-workers got married! Lucky for me I was invited to the wedding. Here, they invite everyone. I was also invited to my student’s sisters wedding, but I will not be attending. I was really excited to get the cultural experience. Some interesting things I learned:

1. The dress/customs depend largely on which area of Indonesia one is from. For example, the wedding I attended was a Balinese wedding, meaning that the family was from Bali, they had dancers from Bali, and they wore lots of flowers in their slicked back and painted on hair. I was shown pictures of a wedding in Sulawesi and their dress was quite different, and they always wear red on their wedding day.
2. They don’t dance at their receptions. They have performers dance for you, but there is no dance floor or dancing music.
3. You eat standing. There was a ton of food, and all was very delicious, but there were no tables to sit down on. I simply got a plate of food (followed by 3 more) and held my plate in front of me while eating.
4. It isn’t customary to give presents, only cash. The amount is pretty standard unless you are a family member, then it changes based on your social status.
5. The bride always changes after the ceremony. They wear white dress for the ceremony, but change to a different dress for the reception. 

moving slowly

I’m sure there was more, but that is all I can seem to remember.  We arrived early, and were eventually let into the hall. The couple and family walking in, down an aisle very, very, extremely slowly and then sat on the stage for the performances.  3 dances took place, all from Bali. One of the performances consisted of a man dressed as a woman and I’m not sure of the symbolism of this. Then we all walked on the stage to offer congratulations and get pictures taken. It was quite the hassle to get the entire Royal Academy staff that attending in one picture, but we managed.  

performance number 3

The next part was the best part: food! They had SOOOOOOO much food. I began with a pork/chicken creamy soup with a puff pastry on top. Then I moved on to some Dim Sum, before hitting the full course buffet of veggies, rice, chicken cordon blue, shrimp, beef lasagnaish dish (it wasn’t made with noodles and was spicy) and french fries. At this point I was already quite full and luckily Jackson came and offered me one sate ayam (chicken sate) so I wouldn’t have to eat a whole platter. I moved onto the dessert table where there was a delicious bread pudding dish, with cinnamon and raisins. On the way home we asked what this dish was made out of and they said it is actually coconut baked for a very long time in cream. It was divine, and I had 2 servings before moving on to the very sweet coconut milk ice cream. At this point I reached capacity and chugged a glass of water. I should also note that not a drop of alcohol was served. It was a wonderful evening with my co-workers and I’m very thankful to have experienced it.

Solo Run Outside

Most weekends Angie and I have been trying to meet up with our co-workers at car free morning. On Sundays they shut down the main road of the city from cars (from about 5-10am) and allow people to bike/walk/run. Quite a strange concept, but also awesome. They don’t really have parks or runnable sidewalks here, so you take what you can get. Every time I go I feel like I’m in a parade because the street is full of people, musical performers, and banners with causes. I also will commonly get asked “Miss what’s your name” by little kids, and pointed at/followed by Indonesian men. Most Sundays we meet our co-workers at the bus stop about a 15 minute walk away and ride the bus there, however we realized that we could run to the street in about 20 minutes and we always run into our coworkers miraculously anyway, so busing was pointless. We decided to simply leave the house at 5:30 and run there, run to Monas (the end of the car-free road) and then to run home, stopping to walk if we met our co-workers along the way.

On Sunday Angie woke up feeling quite ill even though we had made it to bed by 11 after zero drinks (for her) and 2 beers (for me) the night before. I was a bit disappointed but decided to go anyway, figuring I’d manage to find someone I knew. We had walked the route once in our first month here, but I was still nervous about finding my way. The streets were mostly empty on the way there, however at one point I was crossing a main road and ended up balancing my weight on the median while running to my new favorite “pump me up!” song. It was a bit nerve racking, with cars flying by on both sides of me, but I was proud of myself for finally looking the right way when crossing the road. It has been a rough transition to look the opposite way, and usually Angie has to pull me out of harms way. A few times I was nervous I was on the wrong route and would get utterly lost in the city, but I had brought a bit of money with in case I had to catch a cab home. I made it without any problems, proving that once I walk somewhere I can totally make a map in my head. I didn’t manage to meet anyone, but I did walk/run to and from Monas twice, and managed to get home by about 7:00. I’d say I put in a good 10K, and quite enjoyed some running outside time, even thought the sidewalks and crowds are crap. I’ll take what I can get.

Untitled Blog Post #2

holding hands with a monkey!

4/9/13

My mind roams. It knows that tonight is one of those nights where sleep just isn’t an option. First it goes through my day, and nit picks all the little errors I’ve made. I note that tomorrow I need to switch my IPC lesson to get more photographs for portfolios, and to teach the kids how to double check their work. What are we doing for IPC next week? I need to get some items for the experiment. And holy mama the week after that is exit point. And the due date for portfolios. Stressed out. I tell myself to breathe. I can do this.

I slept like a baby for the last 4 nights in a row. What is going on? I know what I want, and what I desire, but I can’t have it. And even if I could would it make me truly happy? No matter which way my mind spins the truth I am here, in Jakarta, making this life work. And I am doing a damn fine job. Go to bed brain, you can do your thing tomorrow.

9/9/13

I spent last night out eating sushi and ice cream with the three girls. It was great because we did the total cliché girl things and talked about our ex-boyfriends, and our best and worst dates. Then this morning I was messaging my bestie from back home about other boy issues and I came to the following conclusion: Being over someone and being ready to move on are 2 totally different things.

16/9/13

 I worked for 12 hours today and was completely exhausted. I spent the end of last week sick and then partied way to hard for my own good on Saturday night. Anyway as I drifted off to bed last night I grew extremely nostalgic for Albania. All I wanted was to be in my apartment with the patio door opened sitting and drinking wine and reading a book, or eating Jimmy’s while enjoying a nice conversation with my friends. Or to be sitting at umbrellas after work eating quofte, and drinking dollar stellas.  But you can never go back, you can only go forward. So I try to enjoy the now. Meaning I try to enjoy the gross beer, the rice, and the chats with my friends here. Only 2 weeks ‘til vacation!!

22/9/13

Today I am missing home in a very different way than I have ever missed it before. I’m used to being either completely content with my life, or missing home like crazy to the point of wanting to break my contract and head home. Today however I am completely content with my life here. I’ve had a splendid weekend with my friends, and I’m thinking I could do this teaching abroad thing for a long time. That being said, all I really want to do with my Sunday afternoon is teleport home to bake cookies with my mom, or to walk to get coffee or a beer with my brother. I’m confused, and I feel disconnected from myself and who I am right now. I don’t think I’ve ever deserved or needed a vacation as bad as I do right now. 1 week to go!

30/9/13

I spent my first weekend of my holiday in awesome company. My friend Chris just finished a CELTA course in Vietnam and decided to take a month off to travel before beginning work. Lucky for me, he decided to make Indonesia his destination. On Saturday I met him at about 11:00, and we then headed to a water park to celebrate my friend Morgan’s birthday. I had a bit too much to drink the night before (celebrating the end of term and whatnot) and so the day was a little rough. It ended with us watching scary movies and fireworks out the window. The next morning I woke up completely exhausted as I had been up all night battling with nausea and twangs of pain in my stomach. Welcome 3^rd world stomach bug number 2! After contemplating in my mind my options for the morning I hopped out of bed and got ready to head to a charity walk. (The other option was to lay in bed and think about my illness.) The walk was great and made me feel much better. We spent the rest of the day lounging, and in the evening met up with our friends for some coffee. At one point yesterday Chris told me that I had a great group of friends here. He is completely right, and I think I’ll gladly keep them all.

6/10/13

About 2 weeks ago I met this awesome guy from Texas. He taught me great life lessons and convinced me that someday I want to have a child of my own. Here we go world. I’m telling you that I made a decision about this. We’ll see if it sticks. Anyway after knowing him for only two weeks I had to say goodbye as he is going back to Texas. I think it is strange how you can meet these random people in life, and they can affect you in random ways and then boom: they are gone. Kind of really incredible.

I'll keep working on it. 

15/10/13

Feeling depressed. Listening to depressing music. What is wrong with me. Time to get back to the healthy lifestyle of working out, drinking water, sleeping, and eating fruits and veggies instead of carbs. Rainy season is coming. Better keep my Vitamin D. Last night I forced myself to go to the gym and felt so much better afterwards. I think I’m addicted to it. Not a bad addiction I must say. If I throw one part of my routine off right now I shut down. I’ve become more flexible as a teacher, but not as a person.

17/10/13

I’m just reflecting on some quality advice my mother sent me, in relation to my last post. It is so good that I have decided to share it with the world.

 “Serious and not so serious, you are learning from life experiences. You are always becoming a new person. I still am, and when someone loves you they allow that. Loving is not about you, it is really about the other person, and giving the best of you to them to make them a better person and vice a versa. Someone falls in love with giving themselves to you and letting you do the same in return. That is the reason so many people feel young love is so dangerous. I think all love is dangerous, but once you commit to doing it you go with the changes in one another and make it work. Sometimes it’s amazing and sometimes it’s really hard.” I don’t feel that much of this pertains to me right now. I'm far in between my past love and love in the future, but I thought it was too good to not share.

19/10/13

I keep wanting to write. I’m going through something. Something confusing. Maybe I’ve just been here long enough to get into that “I hate it phase.” Or leaving the city for 2 weeks and getting out in nature made me realize how much I hate it. Except I don’t hate it. In Albania I cried all the time, but I have still only cried twice since arriving here. What?!?!? Last night I had a long chat with my friends from Albania (I got to talk to all 3) and I started really missing it. We all discussed the things we loved about it, and the things that made it better than where we are now. I totally the miss the freedom of our traveling via car, the beer (surprise), and the freedom to walk everywhere. It seems I took some things for granted. I wonder what I’m taking for granted here? The pineapple and papaya for sure.

To end on a positive note: I have some kick ass friends. One saw I was upset, and going through a rough patch and drove out of his way to bring me chocolate. I also spent the day exploring the ex-pat part of the city with Angie. I bought some cute dresses, roamed the ex-pat grocery store debating acceptable prices for cheese, and acceptable cheating for my diet, discovered some delicious places for American breakfast, and purchased 2 books to get myself out of my watching TV all the time funk. TV is not living. I have to DO SOMETHING! Something to improve myself and my mind.

Me, Myself, and I

I swore I would keep this blog post private, but I prefer to just be open with the few who care enough to read this. Plus I like looking back on my emotions from the last 2 years of blogging, and I’m sure 25 year old Tiara will want to remember how 23 year old Tiara felt at this point in her life. So, here goes. I’ve been single for almost 2 years now. In those 2 years I’ve been lonely a few times, and sometimes sad, but I’ve never WANTED a relationship. I’ve always been fine with being single.

Yes!

To be honest I don’t want a “boyfriend.” I came to Indonesia thinking I’d remain single for awhile. I know eventually I need to get back out there, but I'm finally happy being single, so I want to embrace it for as long as I can.

But then, things happened, and things continue to happen now. Things that make being single more complicated. I don’t want to complicate my life, I’ve only been here 3 months. I have things to explore, places to go, work to do, things to learn about myself.

I know writing has always helped me figure confusing life stuff out in the past, so here is a list of reasons why I’m scared to start a romantic relationship of any sort:

1. I’m not ME here. I mean I am me here, but the majority of who I was in Minnesota is gone. If I do meet someone here, how will they ever get to know the real me? I can’t be super brainsy about IPA’s here, and I certainly have become a lightweight now that I’ve cut back on my drinking. No guy here is ever going to understand my obsession with bluegrass. He won’t be able to see me dance my ass off at a hoedown, or watch me freak out when TBT plays my favorite song. No guy here is ever going to watch my reactions as I watch a packer game. He won't get to see me grab my iPod to go out for a short run and return an hour later because "the good songs just kept coming." He won’t get to see crazy nature-loving Tiara. To know me you need to go hiking with me, camping with me, sit around a fire and cook with me. Great now I've managed to make myself miss home. 

   

   Superbowl Champs!

   

   Flannel, no make up, tent nearby, life is good. 

   

   breaking it down at the Pert Near concert. By "breaking it down" I mean looking like a complete fool with my awesome brother. Typical. 

2. I’m still trying to figure out who I am and what I want for my future. 5 years ago I knew I wanted to get married, have kids, be a stay at home mom living in the suburbs. I don’t want that. I don’t know what I want anymore. I’m starting to get there. I’ve figured out some of it, but I still don’t know when I want it, or how to get it. I spent the last 2 years single and searching, and they have been the best 2 years of my life. I don’t want to give it up.
3. How the hell does one make a relationship work? I don’t remember what it is like to be a girlfriend. And I don’t think I want to be the same kind of girlfriend I was in all the previous relationships. Moreover, I can’t be the same girlfriend because I’m not the same person. I wonder what kind of girlfriend I would be?
4. Cultural differences. I’m living in a foreign country. I’ve met one man from American man since I’ve been here, but he was 40 something and had a wife and 3 kids at home. He was awesome. Taught me a lot about relationships actually. Convinced me that I want to do some things in the future. I digress...the thing about dating people from other countries is that you have these barriers that you have to overcome. Sometimes you don’t even know they exist, until they do. I’ve read about it, I’ve watched it. Freaky.
5. Someone is bound to get hurt right? I hurt the last guy I dated. And the one before that crushed me. And the one before that I damaged as well. I know everybody hurts sometimes, and all that jazz, but if I can just avoid it all, then why not?

So most of these things wouldn’t matter for just a fun non-serious relationship, but is there a point to a relationship if there is no future for it? I remember my mom asking me this same question when I was 19 and in an “open relationship.” I told her yes. Without a doubt yes there was a point. Because relationships teach you things and change you, irregardless of the seriousness, right?

My mind keeps floating back, confused about this connection. I’m sitting on a porch overlooking the ocean with my roommate discussing what I should do. She responds with: The only way to go over one man is to get under another. Oh silly Angie. How does one go about meeting someone in a foreign country? How does someone go about meeting someone that they actually like, someone who meets their requirements? What the hell are my requirements? All I really want to do is keep Tiara happy, and keep her figuring out her life. I’m lost. Go for it? Continue to fight every instinct? Either way there are risks and complications.

I have nothing to offer anyone. No one has anything to offer me.

Oh life, why must you be so intensely puzzling?

Belitung Island

Day 1: We arrived, spent time on our beach, watched the sunset and ate dinner. The evening was spent playing card games on our porch. This reminded me of Remyx days as our primary game was mafia. Angie also taught us a great game called lunchbox.

sunset

Day 2: We drove a long distance to a beach on the other side of the island. It was totally gorgeous and we spent the morning sun bathing, swimming, and eating sea food. In the afternoon we drove home, ate dinner, and Angie, Eron, and myself went down to the water to watch the stars.

Beach!

Where we tanned

Day 3: This was our day of Island hopping. We walked to the pier and hopped on a boat to travel to the first island where we got to see sea turtles. I ended up buying Angie a sea turtle to release into the wild as a birthday present. Angie named her sea turtle George and we took him on the boat with us out to the open sea to let him go. Then we went snorkeling. I had a bit of difficulty at first because water kept coming in my mouth. Dustin tested out my gear said it was fine and then watched me go under and pointed out I was going ALL the way under. Silly Tiara. Not thinking. Then I practiced and got it down pretty nicely. I saw some cool blue fish, some beautiful coral, and awesome brown fish. I swam all around and eventually made it to the Island a short distance away. There we ate lunch right before it started down pouring. It is for sure the rainy season now. We waited out the rain in the boat, and all ended up soaked. Eventually, though it was still raining, we went to another island and did some more swimming and eventually snorkeling after we realized there were all sorts of starfish around.  I ended up performing a star-fish wedding ceremony for a few of the larger star fish, and their love children attended. Eventually it was time to go home and relax a bit. I ended up heading down to star gaze on my own for awhile and was eventually joined by Dustin, and about 10 minutes later by Chris. I was glad some other people understood that we were out in the middle of nature. We had decided to all squish into one bungalow to save money, so the night ended with us trying to figure out where everyone was going to sleep/how to share 3 blankets among 6 people.

Angie, George and I! One happy family :)

letting George go in the sea!

Starfish wedding ceremony! Somplak and Sombong

Star Fish!

The whole crew!

Day 4: We were told that this day was a public holiday on the Island as the village was preparing for a traditional event. The event, Buong Jong, consisted of calling the spirits into human bodies, the human bodies dancing, and then casting the spirits out. Then they took a mini-boat out into the open ocean and released it as an offering, so that they would have good luck with fishing and sailing for the next year. We got to see the whole ceremony and to take a boat out to the open water to see the mini-boat being released. It was a pretty cool thing to experience. Afterward we were taken to the beach that made Belitung famous (it was in some movie) to swim, and then we drove to a more private beach to swim some more. We had lunch and headed back to our own beach and pool to continue swimming and I got to feel and touch lots of jellyfish that didn’t sting. It was pretty cool. I spent my evening indulging in my book until everyone but me and Angie went to dinner. We simply weren’t hungry so I forced down an apple and we decided to go for a late night swim just the two of us. We hopping in the water and drank Bintang (which translates into “star” in Bahasa) underneath the stars. “Ahhh! There’s a jellyfish in my ass!” I screamed at one point, so eventually we got out of the water and sat on the rock to chat about life and boys and typical girl stuff. Finally we showered and waited for the others to return, and were asked to go and look at the stars again, which I agreed to do, knowing it would be the last time I would see them for months.

Buong Jong: ensures safe sailing for the year

offering the boat to the sea as a sacrifice

Guys...I'm wearing a bikini. And I'm not hiding my body :)

Day 5: Basically we woke up, I read my book and packed, and went to the airport to go home. Though it is my 3^rd time reading it I am consuming the book page by page and quote by quote.

Random Thoughts from Belitung Island

So the blog post from my last trip is going to be different. Very different. I'm really enjoying experimenting with my writing. I hope you are enjoying my random, unimportant thoughts. Just click play and read on.

In the Car

As I sit in a the car with a lurching stomach from yet another 3^rd world bug I laugh out of sheer happiness. I look out my window into the jungle we are driving through to get to the beach on the other side of this “small island” off Sumatra, and I think about how vast and large this world is.

I’m not one to believe in the whole “fate” thing, or the whole “predestination" thing. I believe that we make our own choices and they get us where we are. But when I think about the decisions that got me here I’m amazed at how even the small decisions can make a difference. And when I look around me I believe I am meant to be here, with these people in this moment. It is such a strange and odd feeling.

Moreover, isn’t it crazy how the choices I made broke me from a little innocent girl, and how each choice I make now is building me into the strong and secure woman I was meant to be.

Under the Stars

I’m here in a large group of 10 people. Most of them are sitting inside watching TV. Angie tried to convince them to come play some card games on our deck overlooking the ocean, but no one responded. I’m gone, out the front door. By myself I walk to the beach, 97 steps below our bungalow, unable to fathom when the next time I will get to see stars or breathe fresh air will be. I stare out at the sea and soak up every little bit of nature I’ve been given. I play with the soft sand in my hand as I look at the moonlight shining off the ocean. The waves crash up on the shore, and frogs croak in the background as I inhale the coolness of the breeze.

I think of how tiny the grains of sand are in my hand. I think of how tiny the stars are in the sky. I think of tiny I am in the universe. My finger writes random words in the sand. They are up for meditation:

Family

Nature

Minnesota

Be Here

Move Forward

Happiness

Take a Chance

Some man from the lower bungalow comes out of his hut and walks to sea line. He looks out at the sky for 2 minutes, turns around and slowly returns. No one understands.

I get my chance. I don’t take it. I am a coward.

Jogjakarta: Sultan's Palace, Water Castle, and tourist shopping

This was definitely the least exquisite day, as it was mostly a touristy day. The boys didn’t pick us up until 9:30, but we were unable to sleep in because a little kid was screaming loudly. I spent my morning sipping on free coffee from the hotel and editing pictures. I can’t believe how many I have!

We were then escorted to Sultan’s palace, and taught a brief history of all the previous sultans from a local guide. Everything in the entire place had something to do with sex. I swear to god. It was all about men, women, and the nature between them. As he was talking about the sons and daughters of the Sultans he mentioned that the current Sultan has only 5 daughters, and not sons. “And why do you think this is?” he asked. “Because I have read the book of sexual, and it is because of natural. You must have aggressive sexual. The last Sultan had 4 wives, he had 17 sons and 5 daughters. And why? Because he make aggressive sexual. The 7^th sultan had 22 wives and 78 children.” Yeah dude, let’s not mention the fact that it might have to do with the fact that the current Sultan chose to only have one wife. I’m sure it is all about the woman’s aggressiveness in bed.  There are no scientific facts to prove that the men actually decide the sex of a child. Granted the guide was 66, so I’ll give him some credit. He also couldn’t understand why the current Sultan’s daughter has been married for a year and is not pregnant.

Inside the palace

Next we took a pedicab to the water castle. This is where the Sultan came with his concubines to choose one to sleep with. The water castle has 3 pools. One for his children, one for the concubines and a private one for him and his lady of choice. He would look down on the pool, throw a flower, and the lady that caught it would be the “lucky one” who joined him.

Private Pool!

After the water palace we went to the bird market, for which I have no words other than vom-central. I seriously almost threw up. The cages were the most crowded I’ve ever seen, and the stench was beyond comparison. Then we had lunch, where they had delicious biscuits and we were able to watch a dancer perform. The end of our day consisted of shopping at the famous market for Batik and souvenirs to send home for Christmas presents. Then Andi and Diang escorted us to the airport where we sat and had a coffee. 

We are concubines. This is the Sultan's love nest. Guys....they put fires underneath to keep it warm. As if it gets cold here ever....

Looking back on this vacation and comparing it to all the other ones in Albania I’m just dumbfounded by my life. I try to choose a trip that sticks out in my memory as the best, but each of them have be so phenomenal and enjoyed with such lovely company that I just cannot chose one. I was thinking this was the best vacation culturally as I learned so much about history and religion, but then I remember being astonished by the history of Bosnia. The best part about this vacation is that it is only half over! I’m off for a week of relaxing on beaches with my co-workers. I cannot wait. CITED!

Jogjakarta: Pindul Cave and Parangtritis Beach

We got to sleep-in, which really meant we got up at the same time, but had time to shave and relax a bit rather than rushing to get ready. We drove about and hour and a half away and were introduced to our cave tubing guide for the morning, Thomas. His English was a bit rough, but we either laughed or nodded in understanding. I was told it would be safe to take my camera with me, but I was still a bit skeptical. The camera survived and the pictures are awesome! Thomas was like our personal photographer the entire time, getting pictures at different angles placing us in the right place for the light, therefore we dubbed him “Thomas, the little engine guide who could.”

drip-drop, we are getting beautiful!

We went through Pindul cave, which had 3 parts, it got darker and darker until you reached the light from heaven. In the first chamber we were shown the swallow nests, and as we continued to the second and third chambers we were shown bat families and bat poop on the wall, and told legends about the cave. In one area it is believed if the water drips on you and you are female you will be more beautiful, and in another area if you touch the rock and are male you will be more strong. Once we reached the light of heaven we got out to swim, rock climb and jump a very short distance to the water.

After some time cooling off in the water, we were piled into a small truck and driven 2km to a river. I felt like I was back at summer camp, in a tube, on a river, lazing about. We were told there were all sorts of scary animals, especially sharks, and sure enough (in the form of a rock) there was. 

OH MY GOD! A SHARK!

Eventually we came to a waterfall and were able to jump, first 5meters off a bridge, and then 10 meters off a cliff. I was fine with the bridge, but the cliff freaked me out a little. Angie had to talk me down a bit, and finally I screamed “Go Pack Go!” and went for it. I almost made a rookie mistake of keeping my legs apart, but remembered about 3M before I hit to put them together. Thus in my picture I look like a complete idiot. Oh well, at least we were able to show up some older men who were too nervous to jump. 

yeah, a little nervous

We cooled off under the waterfall and were on our way, with a large group of Indonesian men who kept taking our pictures. Once we got off the river we played with bubbles using some Indonesian plants Thomas showed us, while waiting for our ride back. Sweet ginger tea and traditional Indonesian music to relax for a bit and then it was time for lunch, as it was already 2 in the afternoon.

awesome!

Andi and Diang were unable to take us back to the city for lunch, since it would have been too late, so we were asked if we minded eating a local place. This was no problem for us. We were served soup, veggies (I think papaya leaves in garlic pepper sauce) and the BEST chicken I have ever had. I started with a leg and continued digging in until suddenly I noticed there was a head. They had literally cooked the entire chicken for us, and it was so good that me and Angie ate every single bite. Anyone watching us eat this thing would surly have thought we hadn’t eaten in days. We nibbled on the bones, including the neck, until every inch of that thing had been devoured.

best. chicken. ever.

The car ride to our next destination was quite long, so I snoozed a bit, and eventually was awaken by Diang hitting a small bump, to which he responded by apologizing over and over again. Then we were told a bit about the beach we were going to, though we had already heard the legend of the beautiful princess who haunts the beach. If you wear green (her favorite) color she gets jealous and will take you. Angie was, of course, wearing green, and so Diang and Andi got nervous and told her she mustn’t stare out at the sea or she would be taken. 

sunset!

We were also told that we could not swim because the water was too rough, and no ship had ever been able to pass this beach and survive. We spent an hour or so walking along the water, watching crazy kids surfing in these dangerous waters, and be asked to practice English or take our picture. We decided that from now on we will just pretend that we don’t speak English and Angie will speak Afrikaans while I speak Albanian back. I was craving a beer, because when don’t I crave a beer, and I was lucky enough to find a shop that sold it. 

Happy 3 months in Indonesia and 3 months of knowing each other :)

Me and Angie split a large on the beach while random strangers once again came up to take pictures with us. We managed to get away with only taking one, but it was absolutely ridiculous that these people managed to miss the sunset because they were taking a picture with us. We headed back to the car and poor Andi was searching for us because he was nervous about Angie and her green. Dinner was seafood, but I could hardly eat as I was so stuffed from the chicken. Chris came over to the hotel with beer and we exchanged stories of the day and watched How I Met Your Mother before passing out.

Jogjakarta: I left my heart in Dieng Plateau

After another breakfast of chicken, noodles, and rice, I treated myself to two delicious coconut dessert rolls. They were so good I couldn’t resist a second. We were picked up at 7:30 again, and were driven 3.5 hours to Dieng Plateau. I spent the first hour or so blogging, and editing photos, and then began to notice all the beauty around me. And by beauty I mean green. Lots and lots of green. I kept thinking to myself that I had my hiking shoes and even though I was wearing a dress they could just drop me off right here and I’d spend my day hiking. 

Beauty!

Eventually we got up in the mountains and I began to notice an increasing amount of plantations. I grew more and more excited the higher up we got. Our first stop was to look at the view, where we were fed peanuts which were soaked in milk? Maybe. I forget. But I know the reason for eating them was so that you would have lots of energy to make love, since it gets cold in Dieng plateau in the winter. For real? Probably like 20 degrees celcius Angie had previously commented on how much cooler it was, though we were both still wearing short sleeve and shirts and felt comfortable. Then we headed to see Arjuna temple, which was a nice change of pace as there were very few tourist there, and no one asked to take our picture. After exploring, and playing in the grass for a bit (a commodity here) we were escorted to see a volcanic crater. 

Arjuna Temple

It smelled like sulfur, and all around the water was bubbling. Andi informed us that the sulfur water and rock is used to create medicine for itchy skin or skin with sores on it. At least it used to be. Now everyone is turning to western medicine. 

crater

Our final stop was at Telaga Warna. 2 boys in leather jackets were our escorts here and I was a little nervous when they started leading us to the top of the hill, on a random dirt path. Luckily I was in my element, so for part of the way I ended up leading the group. Hiking in a dress and flip flops wasn’t the best experience, but was much cooler than any other option. My dress had a ton of pricklies in it when we got down, but overall I’d try it again. The view at the top was breathtaking and I remembered reading about these lakes when I first started researching Indonesia. The lakes are different colors, and change color depending on the time of year you see them. 

pre-hike

At the bottom of the hill the leather jacket boys kept asking for our facebook names or emails. We refused and got in the car. We were then taken to yet another delicious lunch before being driven 3.5 hours home. 

Top of the hill

You begin to learn small things about people after being in a car with them for so long. Our driver likes his hard candies and likes to giggle at mine and Angies message alerts. He’s quite cute, but doesn’t speak much English, but apologizes over and over again every time we hit a bump. We also managed to listen to 1 album 4 times. It was called Roberta, but really it was just popular songs sung by a person named Roberta. It was actually my favorite album in the car as well. Killing Me Softly was on it as well as Marvin Gay, and the voice was a bit jazzy as opposed to just awful like all the other Indonesian singers. Once we arrived back in Jogjakarta we headed to dinner, which consisted of tofu, and beef, and some strange soup. Not too bad, although the dessert was the worst I have ever had. 

Once we arrived back at the hotel we got ready and headed out for some beers with Chris. We met up at a local backpackers area and Chris brought his friend Rose who he had met at the hostel. We shared itineraries as she was traveling through Indonesia for 2 whole months. This evening made me happy of our pre-planned, no work trip, but also ready to get back out into that crazy, I have no idea what I’m doing traveling. I think over winter break I want to take a small solo trip. I have no idea where I’ll go, but I think it’d be fun to do 4 or 5 days on my own, stay in hostels, and meet random people. I have an entire 5 weeks off, so I think I could easily fit this in. Any suggestions about where I should go?

Jogjakarta: Borobudur, Village life, Mount Merapi, and the Prambanan ballet

Our morning started with a traditional Indonesian breakfast of rice and pasta. Can I just say that I’m pretty sure I managed to put back on 5kgs since this vacation started. Yuck! The fresh guava juice was out of this world!

Then Andi picked us up to drive us Borobudur: The 8^th wonder of the world. I spent the time in the car enjoying the scenery and messaging my best friend back home about how crazy the world is, and my thoughts on soul mates: We definitely have more than one, because I’ve met so many already. Though none of them have been the exact perfect combination for me to consider spending the rest of my life with. I’m not minding this right now. I think it is great to know that there are so many out there for me to find.  I’ll keep searching.

Borobudur! The largest Buddhist temple in the world. 

We arrived at Borobudur after an hour long drive and were escorted into the park area where we were told about the history of the temple, how the volcanic eruption in 2009 effected it and what they have done to restore it. I have been very interested in studying Buddhism since last fall, and I was looking forward to learning a little more about it, after completing an introductory book about a month ago. Everything in the temple has some sort of symbolism and I’d try to post about all of it, but I’m sure no one really cares and I can’t remember all of it.

Borobudur!

I’ll share my favorite parts: The top of the temple is called Nirvana, so the steps to the top are very steep to symbolize that the trip to Nirvana is not easy. The stupa on the top 4 levels of the temple are represented in 8’s. 1 on the top layer to represent god, 16 on the second top layer, then 24, and then 36. These are all numbers divisible by 8, the number that represents the 8-fold path that Buddhists should follow. When you divide them by 8 and add up their quotients you get 1+2+3+4 which equals 9. In Buddhism 9 symbolizes the end of life. Inside each Stupa is a statue of a Buddha, and you can see through to him by looking into either diamond shaped or square shaped holes. This represents the ability for everyone to discover religion on their own. The diamonds represent the uncertainty of life, and the squares represent the balance of life. Sorry for my major rant. I just could not get over the insanity of it all.

Buddha in the stupa!

Meanwhile many, many Indonesian people kept interrupting our guide to ask for pictures. This happened yesterday as well, but it was always while we were taking photos, not while the guide was talking. I got really, very, frustrated. I think I screamed “I’m trying to learn here!” at one of them. I wouldn’t have minded so much if it was one picture here and there, but if you took one you immediately had 20 more people lined up to take pictures of you. Angie was very calm and took pictures while I went off and explored, ignoring the influx of “Excuse me, photo?” that kept coming my way. I tried my best to put myself in their shoes by thinking of someone famous I’d like to have my picture taken with. I’m sorry, but if I saw Aaron Rodgers and I were at the largest Buddhist temple in the world, at the same time, I think I’d still be focused on the later.

missing Buddha head

This got me longing for the solitude of the Balkans. We’d go just about anywhere and it would be empty and silent. It also made me realize that when I go back (if I go back) it won’t be this way. Seriously people, it’s beautiful, but you totally shouldn’t go, because I don’t want it to be ruined. Once the door opens it can never be shut. I began to think about Buddhism and the beliefs. Mainly the first belief that we are human and we always desire more. Our wants can never be fulfilled. Here I was standing on top of the largest Buddhist temple in the world, high on my list of places to visit in Indonesia, and all I wanted was more. Pull yourself here, Tiara!

After we made it out of the park we were driven to a small nearby village. A man came out of his house dressed in a Celtics jersey and I started to giggle a little. Then he went and changed into his Sunday best for us, we were given sun hats, introduced to another tour guide named WeWe and escorted to a small carriage with a single horse attached. The man drove the carriage to another small house to observe and help make cassava chips. We certainly did more observing than helping, but they tasted delicious! We were shown how the family has to get water from the well, for bathing, and to boil before drinking. Most of the local families do their laundry in the river during dry season, because there simply isn’t enough water in the well. Made me feel quite bad about my own lifestyle. 

Our ride for the afternoon

We were shown the plants they use to dye Batik (native dress) red, some quite large jack fruits, and then we headed to see a view of the river and some different plantations. The river looks decently clean and we were shown the area where three different rivers meet. The rivers carry ash from when Mount Merapi erupted and villagers will dig it out, dry it out, and sell it for its nutrients. Then we walked to the cassava plantation and were able to see a man working to pull up the cassava from the ground. The whole row of cassava would yield him about $5. I’m not even going to tell you how much time it takes to grow, for fear that you might start crying. 

cassava plantation

The next part of the journey was the scariest: through the salak (or snake skin fruit) plantation, and the trees all have thorns on them, which are apparently poisonous.  WeWe showed us how the plants have to be pollinated by people individually and then allowed us to taste the fruit from the tree. Me and Angie had tried this fruit several times in Jakarta and had been disappointed on almost every occasion. It always tasted bitter and disgusting. This fruit, however, tasted sweet and incredible. I ate all of mine up and we split a second. 

scared of the thorns.

The last part of our village journey was to a small house where we were offered jasmine tea and cookies. By cookies they meant sweets made of rice and sugar, but it was still delicious. We were also offered brown sugar cubes, however you weren’t supposed to put them into the tea, just suck on them while you were drinking the tea. This reminded me a lot of the Bosnian coffee traditions. Another great part of the day came when we were asked to play traditional Indonesian songs on the Kepyak (similar to a xylophone.) I immediately thought about my brother, and was able to capture a video of it, though I made several mistakes. Definitely a highlight of the trip, though I’m not sure of anything that hasn’t been.

Next we visited Mendut temple, which houses a large statue of Buddha. This is also where women go to pray for a baby. I lit some incense and created some small twisted version of the prayer. We walked clockwise around the temple looking at the relief and then headed to a large tree (I forget what kind) to swing like Tarzan. I was surprised at how sturdy the branches we swung from were. After we finished several children followed in our footsteps. Me and Angie are always such good examples.

saying a prayer to have a baby....

I'm a monkey!

We were taken to lunch, which was at the same restaurant as the previous day, only the Borobudur version instead of the Jogjakarta version. Hopping back in the car we were driven to Mount Merapi. I snoozed on the way, completely exhausted, and when we finally arrived we were unable to see much because it was so cloudy. Andi said it is all up to nature whether or not you can see the volcano. We walked around for a bit and me and Angie found a place to squat and pee, before opting to cut our losses, skip the jeep ride, and head home for a shower, as we figured visibility would be quite bad.

Next up was our romantic dinner and Ramayan ballet in front of Pranamban temple. Andi got us the best seats for dinner and we were able to look out and see the beauty of the lit up temple. We giggled that we would probably have front row seats to the ballet, but in all seriousness we were escorted to the center of the 3^rd row in the VIP section. The ballet was stunning, and we were lucky to have a short description in front of us as all the singing was in Bahasa. The costumes were beautiful, the music was traditional, and the squatting they did during the dancing made our quad shake at the sight. The whole thing took place right in front of the lit up temple. The story was one of love and loyalty, and of course in the end, both of these virtues won. At intermission we were offered snacks and coffee, and once the ballet was done we were escorted to the hotel where we fell asleep quite quickly.

ballet!