Jakarta Photos

My favorite form of transportation in Jakarta, known as the Bajaj.  I once saw 6 people cram into one of these.   

Gathering with the RF in Jakarta

Kids waiting to break the fast at one of the Rahmania Foundation events

There were so many children and not enough room, so we had the Ifthaar in the street. 

Lenna waiting to hand out boxed dinners and money to the needy children. 

Traditional food to break the fast (dates, bananas,  juice, and other treats)

Islam is truly incorporated into everyday life.   Signs like these are common around airports and gas stations.  

Typical Jakarta traffic. The ONLY things moving are the motorbikes.

Final pitstop in Jakarta

I have returned safely to Jakarta and will be attempting to pack in my last 24 hours. I doubt I will have the time or desire to post again until I get back to the good old U S of A. I will be sure to add pictures upon my return. Looking forward to seeing many of you soon! Although I am not looking forward to my rediculous flights from Jakarta to Seoul to Atlanta to Philly... It's gonna be a long one. But well worth it.

Pure Happiness

My first day in Cianjur was extremely eventful- within an hour of my arrival I was whisked away on the back of a motorbike to see the town and visit an extremely authentic tea plantation. My guide for the day was a 20 year old, English-studying, Britney Spears-loving, spunky little Indonesia guy named Jamal. After zooming around for hours, to the point where we were in the middle of nowhere, it suddenly started pouring and we were caught in a giant rainstorm. Eventually we realized that the clouds had no agenda of clearing up, so we headed to his sister's house to seek refuge. Giving up on it ever stopping, we bundled up and headed to his village to break the fast in his "traditional" house with his family. Apparently this was the only time a foreigner had ever joined them for this so they were quite excited and although they couldn't speak English I had a really nice time. After Jamal paraded me around his village- literally, children were flocking to us from everywhere shouting bule, bule! (white person) and following behind wherever we walked- we finally braved the storm and headed back to Yudi's house. 

On the ride home Jamal asked me, "Leeza, are you happy?" At first I thought to myself, as I think most Americans would, 'Happy with what?... happy with the weather, with my travels, with riding on this bike, with my university, with my research, with my job, with my friends?'... but then I realized it was truly a simple question. At that very moment- riding on the back of a motorbike with kid I just met, freezing and soaking wet, zig zagging through the jungle of Indonesia, doding trucks and frogs- I was extremely and honestly happy, 
so I simply replied, "Yes."

University of Delaware meets Indonesia

Cianjur has been amazing so far.  I am extremely happy that I decided to venture out here; it is an absolutely beautiful area full of lush jungle and rice fields winding through villages and up mountains.  The homestay program is truly wonderful as well- a man and his wife essentially run a hostel out of their home that aims to give westerners a real cultural experience.  There is currently a couple from Austria and a girl from Germany staying here too, which has been refreshing to meet other people who I can truly communicate in English with- I have missed being able to be sarcastic (it doesn't translate well..).  Although I am only staying a few days, I have been packing in the sights and adventures.  They have a few young guys who are at "our disposal" as our travel guides to pretty much take us wherever we want (either by motorbike or the back of pick-up trucks).
However, the best (or more like most ironic) part about this weekend is that the man who runs the program is named Yudi, as in UD or YouDee (our mascot). Ha!  When I first made the connection, I couldn't stop laughing to myself.  It's like some sort of sign that the University of Delaware wants me to be here. 

Outside Yudi's home.  He is on the far right, his wife is on the far left.  

One last adventure away from this crazy city

Although Jakarta has been an amazing place to be regarding connections and research, it is not the most palatable city- to say the least.  Consequently, I have discovered this wonderful homestay program located in Cianjur (a small town about 2 hours away from Jakarta) that I will be going to tomorrow.  Kind of a last minute decision, but I just needed a break from the overcrowded and dirty streets here.  I plan to stay a few days- seeing a tea plantation, floating village, just living a few days in the life of rural Indonesia.. and of course, interviewing women on the jilbab.  This is mostly and FYI in case I don't have internet there.  

Also, I completely failed to mention one of the most exciting things about Indonesia!  Apparently my name is very common here (although they pronounce it Leeza), which means that I frequently see my name in giant letters indicating "Liza's Clothing Store" or something of the like.  It also means that people, for once, don't have trouble figuring out my name.  Who would have thought my name would be more common here than in my own country. 

Ramadhan

Apologies for the lack of writing. I have gotten to the point where things seem relatively normal and somewhat unexciting to me, but then I realize that the things I have been doing are in no way your everyday American activities. I havebeen spending most of my time volunteering. Rahmania Foundation (Lenna and Pak's organization that I have been connected with) is very philanthropic and one of their main programs is to bring dinner to needy children in the region to break the fast for Ramadhan, going to a different location every night.
For those of you who are unaware, Ramadan is the holy moth in Islam where Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset (about 5:30am until 6pm) EVERYDAY for one month. Children and old people generally partake in this as well. This grand fasting leads to two things: really loud noises at 5 am as everyone gets in their last meal before the morning prayer, and a wonderful celebration to break the fast in the evening (this is known as Ifthaar).


       


                                                                                                                                   For the past few nights I have been attending the Ifthaar programs put on by Rahmania Foundation. The evening usually unfolds like this: We head to a mosque where there are between 200 and 500 little kids crammed into a room the size of a small classroom. Lenna leads a program, sort of like an elementary school assembly, where we play games with the kids, and she gives prizes to those who can best recite suras from al-Qur'an. After we essentially finish stalling the kids, it is time for the mad rush to get them all food in time. In addition to a large dinner we also give them each 20,000 Indonesian Rupiah, which is about 2 dollars. This is usually my job, and every single kid comes me to and gives me "salam" (a Muslim greeting of respect where they either kiss my hand or touch it to their forehead) in return for an envelope with the money, so they are able to buy a toy or something. After this mad rush, we head into the mosque or school room where Lenna and I typically break the fast with the teachers of the area. Everyone sits waiting and waiting until the second the call to prayer starts and then it is at last ok to eat.






I am not fasting, although I almost did it one day- I made it from 7am until 6pm! I can go without eating, but it is just too hot here to not drink all day. I don't know how everyone can do that here. Fasting for a month takes so much discipline.


I have really enjoyed spending time with the kids, they are all so sweet and adorable. Some of them are orphans and others have to walk miles to get to our programs, that it just breaks my heart. The other night we were near Bogor and one of the kids arrived late because his house was so far away. He was sobbing because he was so afraid that he wouldn't be able to eat since he was late. Seeing things like that really puts things in to perspective, and I am happy that I have been able to at least give my time to help out and give back.










                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         On a more entertaining note, I will leave you with a crazy experience I had recently. For the program in Bogor, Pak thought it would be a good idea to spend the day there since it is about an hour away, and there were other guests in town from Singapore. We stopped at a plant nursery and as we were about to leave, the owner suggested we try a fish massage...??? Pak and the other ladies insisted, so we headed to this pond/spa aread for a fish pedicure. Essentially you stick your legs in this pond and dozens of little fish instantly come up and nibble on your legs and feet, apparently eating all of the dead skin cells off. Gross and weird, but after I got used to it (and got over the whole concept), it was kind of cool. Neat experience at least. I wish I had my camera cord so I could upload photos. I will be sure to add them once I get back.

"relaxing" at the fish spa

Today is the Indonesian Independence Day, and I was expecting some big festival comparative to the 4th of July.  However, they really don't do anything besides get off of work and hang Indonesian Flags everywhere.  I have been asking everyone for weeks if there would be an celebrations- perhaps a parade or fireworks and no one really seemed to have any idea. So, I pretty much took that as a no... and turns out, I am right.  However, it is believed that festivities are not taking place since it is during Ramadhan this year, and it's pretty hard to have a celebration when you can't eat or drink.  The way I see it, this country pretty much shuts down for an entire month.. unfortunate for the non-Muslims.
Hope everyone is enjoying the heatwave back home. From what I've been hearing it's about the same temperature as here, but remember that in Indonesia it is socially unacceptable to wear shorts...
Be back in a week!

Trusting the Locals

I met a man at the airport on Monday. Two days later I was at his house breaking the fast for the first night of Ramadhan with his entire family.


Allow me to explain..
I was waiting for my baggage at the airport on Monday after going to Aceh, when this middle aged Indonesian man casually started some conversation with me. Usually when this happens, people just want to practice their English or are fascinated with talking to a bule (slang for white person). I often just give simple short answers but since we had already waited over a half an hour for our baggage to arrive, I figured we had time so I started to tell him about my research. Within minutes we had exchanged numbers and he told me to call him to meet his wife who wears the jilbab. Now, most people would just take the number and smile and never look back. I, on the other hand, called him the next day. The day after that he and his lovely wife picked me up and we spent the next 8 hours together all around the city between his office, his sister's house, and his mother's house (stopping at many markets along the way) talking about the jilbab and Islam and just life in general. Between his wife and his daughters I was able to get some very interesting information for my research, but even more so I completely bonded with these people. They were truly a wonderful family, and insisted that I was part of their family too (sorry mom and dad, but they told me to call you and say that I would not be returning home). I hope to see them again soon.

Ika (the man from the airport's wife) and me

Yus' daughters and family members after dinner at their house

 This is part of my attempt to get back in the Wisconsin mindset. No offense to probably 90% of the people reading this, but living on the East Coast has left me somewhat jaded. When someone now approaches me, I tend to think that they must have some sort of ulterior motive. I hate this. Consequently, I am trying to revert back to my Midwest ideals that everyone is a genuinely good person and honestly just wants to help. My story above shows that it proves to trust people and luckily enough for me, I had a similar experience earlier that same day.
 I stopped into the visitor information center the other day to get some general information and ideas of things to do in the area. Before I even was able to ask any questions, I found myself deep in political and philosophical conversation with the old man who worked there. Eventually I told him that I was thinking about going to Bogor (a town about an hour away). He insisted that I just go with him, "not as work but for human relationship"... whatever that means. haha. Torn between being skeeved out and completely trusting of this old guy, he called me later that night and convinced me to go with him early the next morning. He took me to the train station, toured me around the beautiful botanical gardens all morning and refused to let me pay for anything. At the end of the day I kept expecting him to be like, "ok that will be 2 million rupiahs" but he just shook my hand, told me to call him again, and we parted ways. Crazy. For the record, he claimed he was 75 years old. If he would have told me that he was 40 I probably would have believed him, but then again Indonesians seem to age very well.

• On a different note, I (somewhat) figured out the deal with the phones. All phones here are prepaid. Additionally, there are about 6 main service providers, which work something like those in the US such that all calls between people with Verizon are free. Consequently, it is not uncommon for someone to have three phones: one with SIMPATI because this is the company that all of their co-workers use, one with XL to talk to their family, and a third with some other random company that is cheap to talk to most other providers with. Confused yet?? It seems like quite a hassel to have to deal with three phones and constantly figuring out which one to call who with. This also leads to the frequent problem of trying to have a conversation with someone while their other phones are ringing in the background. I will no longer complain about the phone service in America.

• One last noteworthy observation- In Islam women are required to cover their aura, which is all parts of the body except for the face and hands. Naturally, this means that feet are required to be covered too. However... most people here wear flip flops. This presents an interesting dilemma. How do they go about this issue? Socks with a toe-slit just between the first and second toes. Clever solution, if you ask me, but I think they look like camels. However many times women will wear dressy sandals or high heels and still wear these socks, which looks quite silly to American eyes.

Back to the crowded streets of Jakarta

I am so sad to have left Banda Aceh. To be honest, I was pretty apprehensive about going there. From all of the things I had read and all of the things people had said to me about how corrupt, devestated, and unstable the region is, I was quite nervous to go. However, I like to see things for myself and make my own conclusions so I decided to go regardless of all the hearsay. And as it turns out, at least from my experience this past week, all of the talk really is just talk. The people were some of the nicest I've encountered in all of my travels (perhaps to make up for Aceh's negative image), and the sights were truly breathtaking.

I had originally planned to go to Aceh for about a week and a half. However, after arriving in Jakarta my apprehension grew so I decided to only visit for a week. Now that my journey to the Island of Sumatra is over, I regret not staying longer. I already miss the students' smiling and curious faces, as well as the eager to help adults. This is the bittersweet part of traveling: making bonds with people who truly impact your life, but knowing that chances are you will never see them again.

From a research standpoint, Aceh was very interesting. I obviously went to Aceh because the province is under Shari'a Law, so I was expecting a huge contrast from Jakarta. However, more shocking to me was the fact that I really didn't feel much of a difference. I never saw any "Morality Police"- I did see some police officers but to my knowledge they weren't morality police, although the head police station looked to be about the size and stature of the White House so to say that police do not have a large force over the town would not be an accurate statement. Additionally, there are still a few women who don't wear the jilbab despite the law. The only differences from Jakarta that were outwardly noticable to me were the addition of little girls and babies wearing the jilbab (although they often try and remove it because they are so hot) as well as generally speaking more women in Aceh wear lose fitting clothes than in Jakarta, where it is common to see girls wearing jilbab but wearing very tight shirts and pants. I was very curious to see what the dress is like at the beach, so I was really excited when one of the girls I met took me and some friends to see the beach and get some lunch there. There weren't too many people swimming, but those who were were mostly men. The few women brave enough to face the waves were swimming in their clothes, and almost every one still had their jilbab on. I am enjoying seeing how the jilbab is incorporated into everyday life.

Wearing a jilbab has been an interesting experience for me as well. I wore one everyday while I was in Aceh, mostly out of respect and to avoid conflict, as well as to embody the culture. All of the girls at the boarding school repeatedly told me how beautiful I was with it, and the teachers joked that I looked like a Pakistani or Egyptian. It took a bit of getting used to , but in the end I didn't mind wearing it as much as I had anticipated. My biggest qualm, however, is that between wearing long skirts, long sleeve shirts, and a jilbab it gets VERY hot. I envy the men who are able to prance about in t-shirts here.

One last remark about Aceh: eventhough the tsunami was nearly five years ago, you can still strongly feel its everlasting presence on the people and the land. Some of the sights were truly amazing (in a drepressing sort of way) such as the 63 meter long barge that is now stranded 4 km inland. Every time somone toured me around town, they would constantly remark where the water had been up to (as high as 30 meters) as well as account personal stories.

I feel fortunate to have met so many amazing people in Banda Aceh, and I can only hope that one day some of them will make it to the US and I will be able to return the kindness, generousity and hospitality that they flooded me with.

Alive and Well in Aceh

Sorry for the lack of communication! The Internet has been virtually nonexistant for my last few days. Just as an update, I have been staying between two places- I spent my first night here at the former islamic university president's home, and then I spent the last three nights at an Islamic boarding school about 15 minutes out of town toward the mountains (their boarding school was originally right in town, but was completely demolished during the tsunami). Although both places were lovely and everyone was so nice and generous, I am in need of a bit of privacy apart from all of this communal living, so I have headed into town to crash at a hotel for my last two nights. However, instead of boring you all with my plans that mean relatively nothing to you, I thought I would entertain you with my top ten interesting tidbits for the time being.


1. Celine Dion- Let's start with the most entertaining. A teacher and his wife picked me up from the airport and took me back to their boarding school for the afternoon. Some of the English teachers there were so excited, especially since this was apparently their first time talking with a "native speaker", that they made me go around to every classroom to see all 90-something of their students. The first classroom was the most advanced class, so naturally they asked to most questions (once they got over their shyness). Long story short, I ended up singing 'My heart will go on' to them. They begged and pleaded with me to sing something, and they honestly looked like they were going to cry if I didn't, so I eventually caved. And somehow Celine Dion was requested. So there I was, headscarf and all, standing at the front of a classroom with 30 students staring at me while I sang. The funniest part was that right at the end of my serenade, one of the girls fell out of her chair. I'm convinced it was because my rendition was so terrible, but they all claimed that it was because she was so mesmorized by my beautiful voice.. ha.

 2. Yellow fingernails-but only on my right hand. Confused yet? Well, in Acehnese culture it is custom to eat with your hands. Generally speaking, a meal consists of about 10 dishes (mostly fish in various sauces) and a bowl of rice. You dump whatever you want on your rice, kind of mush it together, and then shovel it into your mouth (which for me is disgustingly messy, but they somehow seem to be fairly neat and successful). But don't forget, they only use their right hand- which is especially fun when it comes to tearing a huge piece of chicken into little pieces... not easy to do with one hand. Anyways, I tried some curry that I loved, and ate lots of it. Somehow it adhered to my nailpolish, and now I look like a chain smoker.



3. Street signs- I get lost a lot here. Generally speaking, I have a decent sense of direction, but the street signs here pretty much void that. First of all, they are few and far between. Cross streets usually have them, but if you are walking down a street for two miles chances are you won't see any signs except for the one at the start of the street. But even more confusing, is that they face the opposite direction than in the US. Street signs are perpendicular to the street that they are indicating. That took me a while to figure out...haha. So, if you are driving down the road, you pretty much have to wait until you are at the road to realize it is infact the one you need to turn down. Kind of silly, if you ask me.


4. Hanging out with the rich and the famous- ok, so not really. But, on my last night in Jakarta Pak and Lenna invited me to go with them to an event hosted by YASMIN, some sort of islamic non-profit organization. Upon arrival, I realized it was quite an exclusive event that included dinner, musical performances, speeches (which I couldn't understand) and the highlight of the night- a movie. The movie, also in bahasa Indonesia, was roughly translated to something like 'Grandma goes to Mecca' and was actually very good... at least what I understood. Well, the best part was that the director, writer, and leading actors were there! Apparently the main guy is one of the most famous Indonesian actors. We got to meet them all and take pictures and such. So, for having no idea what I was getting myself into, I'd say it was a pretty successful night.


5. Traffic jams- traffic in Jakarta is unbelievable. To get to the event, it was supposed to be a 15 minute drive. Due to traffic, it took over ONE HOUR AND 20 MINUTES. Not joking. The head of the organization said many people texted him saying that the traffic was too bad and they just turned around and went home.


6. Phones- many people have multiple cell phones here. Pak has 3. I haven't quite understood why. Additionally, everyone texts. EVERYONE. So to the elderly generation of America, I kindly say- get with it. If a little old Indonesian man who has never left his village can figure it out, so can you.

6. Naps- apparently, they are mandatory here. After arriving to the boarding school soon after I got to Aceh they put me in a room with a bed and told me to sleep.. They insisted I rest and then shut the door. Today, I asked one of the women a question about something for this afternoon, and flustered, she told me she needed to nap first and then she could answer it. Whenever there is a lull in conversation or if a class has finished, someone always says to me, "If you want to take rest, no problem!" and then they stare at me until I go to my room to sleep. For the record, I hate naps. However, I think the rest of UD would do quite well here. Nonetheless, that explains how everyone can wake up at 5 or 6, but then be up until 12 or 1. Including little kids!


7. Tatan- Essentially since I arrived in Banda Aceh Tatan has been like my big sister. She is a 27 year old English teacher at the boarding school and has taken it upon herself to pretty much not leave my side. She brings me food for every meal, and takes me all over the school and town. She loves exchange cultural stories and ask many questions about America, which are usually pretty amusing. And she loves to talk about the Qur'an and her students. The funniest thing she told me today was that after I sang the titanic song apparently some of her students came up to her and asked if I was Celine Dion- they thought I was, and wanted my autograph...haha.


8.Teaching- Although Tatan is an English teacher, her pronounciation is far from good. Consequently, the teachers decided that I would teach their classes. However, they failed to notify me of this. My first morning at the school, one of them asked if I would come to her class. I was very excited so I gladly accompanied her. After the students greeted us, she announced that I would be teaching, told me I had freedom to teach them whatever, and then left. I tried to channel my elementary education roommate, but I'm not so sure teaching is my forte. I eventually caught on to the idea of working with pronounciation for words like: thirsty vs Thursday, soon vs sun, world vs word, etc. I'd like to believe I at least helped to motivate the students a bit. Even if their English is so-so, they are also studying Indonesian, Achenese, and Arabic. Impressive.

 9. Baths- These are requested as often as naps. At first I was a bit offended but then I remembered reading about it in one of my culture books. People take a bath about 3 times a day, which also means they go through about 4 outfits per day. Crazy. Although it is hot here, their style of bath is not so appealing to me, so I tend to only take one per day. They have this thing called a mandi, which is essentially a big water tank usually made of cement or tile. You stand next to it, grab a bucket, and dump water all over until you are sufficiently clean (relatively speaking, of course).

 10. Honking- People honk for every possible reason. Taxi's honk to see if I want a ride, everyone else honks when they are passing someone, turning, coming to an intersection, and any time they are approaching a motorcycle. However, honking never seems to be in rage. One time I was in a car here, and my driver decided it would be a good idea to pass about 5 cars at one time. Naturally another car in the same direction started coming right at us. They both honked in notification, and the other car nonchalantly went onto the shoulder. This happens all the time. Nobody even slows down or freaks out. Amazing.


There you have it. My latest revelations.


asalamalaikum!


Liza

Leaving on a jet plane

Not much has really happened since my last post, until Sunday evening. Lenna invited me back over to the Rahmania Foundation office to meet Pak Rahman, the head of the foundation. He is a hilarious older man who has much insight about Islam, and just life in general, and the three of us sat drinking tea and eating potatoes (random- they were honestly just baked potatoes that are eaten plain, but they peel off the skin first) for three hours. Lenna and Pak have truly been amazing, and I can already tell that if it weren't for them, I would still be amiss in this crazy city. More to come on their help in a bit...




I am leaving Jakarta tomorrow to head to the northern most point of the island of Sumatra, a city called Banda Aceh. This area is best known for two things: the tsunami and islamic law. Naturally, my interest in visiting this area is due to the latter. I have been anticipating this part of my trip with much excitement, but mostly with great caution- for many reasons. As most of you know, I am really good at putting things off until last minute... and fortunately enough for me, I live with the belief that everything works out in the end. Well, I planned to book this flight months ago and after several failed attemps (too expensive, stupid websites, etc..) I figured I'd just try and book something once I was here. Somehow I was able to wander into a travel agency and book a roundtrip with less than a week's notice for a price less than half of what was originally expected. score. So now that I actually have a flight, it's time to actually focus on the destination. I have been somewhat nervous about going there because they rule under Shari'a Law, meaning that all women must be covered (except for hands and face), no alcohol may be consumed, and other laws regarding curfews and mixed company are strictly enforced. Now when I say strictly enforced, I mean by Morality Police. I have ready many different things regarding if these rules apply to non-Muslims or tourists, but I plan on abiding by them to avoid any conflict.


When I showed up to the RF to meet Pak, he was very excited to hear that I was heading to Aceh because that is where he is from. Within minutes he was on the phone, planning to find somewhere for me to stay (I was just going to find a hostel or couchsurf somewhere, last minute planning again haha) and even had Lenna on another phone. Unfortunately they were speaking bahasa Indonesia so I had no idea what they were saying but they insisted they would find me somewhere to stay that wasn't a hotel so I could actually meet people. On another note, Lenna has been trying to convince me to get a cell phone so we can contact eachother more easily. Long story short, at the end of the night she gave me her phone (she is going to use one of the three that Pak has), took me to buy a SIMcard, and had her driver and Pak take me all the way to the other side of Jakarta to my hostel. Talk about hospitality! Then, a few hours later Pak called to say he apparently secured me a place to stay with the ex-President of some Islamic University in Banda Aceh.


Long story short, I walked away (or got driven, rather) from a simple afternoon meeting with ample Islamic readings and hijab fashion magazines, delicious tea and food, lovely conversation, a cell phone, a place to stay, and crazy connections. I can't even begin to thank the two of them for their generosity. Needless to say, I am now much more at ease with my next adventure that I am about to embark on.


As a heads up, I have NO IDEA how good my internet access will be in Aceh... I'll do my best to keep everyone posted!


Love,
Liza


Comical side note- Pak gave me his theory on gay people.  He said that when women dress very provacatively they become unattractive because they leave nothing to the imagination, and therefore men no longer desire them... so, they become gay.  haha, gotta love that logic.

Finally getting somewhere

My first day here was definitely a day of adjustment. However after yesterday, I feel much more inspired and excited for this journey. Last night I went to a meeting through the Rahmania Foundation, an organization that hosts weekly night meetings open to Muslims (both expats and locals) who want to learn and disuss more about their religion. It also serves as a forum for people who are interested in converting. The head of this group, Lenna is a truly amazing and loving person. I arrived to her house 2 hours early (sort of by accident), but she welcomed me and allowed me to read about Islam and chat with her until the others arrived. The meeting itself was about 20 Muslim women (all but three wore the jilbab) and 3 Muslim men (one a recent American convert who married one of the young Indonesian women). Everyone sat in a circle with al- Qur'an and the Ulemaa (equivalent of a priest in Islam) started with a prayer. He then asked if I would like to open the disscussion by asking a question. I was able to get a lot of honest feedback from these amazing people who were so open and excited about my project. It was very neat because the women would share their opinion and the Ulema would be the voice of the book by citing al-Qur'an and having us read the Suras to actually see what it says, and we were able to discuss and interpret from there.

The night ended with some delicious food and I was able to casually talk to most of the women in attendance. Many really want to help so we eagerly exchanged emails and some even gave me gifts. They were so generous and welcomed me back next week, as well as to other events such as helping orphans break the fast during Ramadan. I am so thankful to have attended this gathering, and that Lenna graciously hosted me for all 6 hours I was there. She even offered to help me find other groups that I have been struggling to contact. As Muslims would say, alhumduliallah! (roughly translated to praise God).

On a more candid and comical note, I have a few noteworthy observations...

1. Random Parade- this morning I was sitting in the courtyard of my hostel eating breakfast when I heard a drum and a few random brass instruments. We all rushed over to see and there was about 100 little kids, mostly in Islamic dress, walking down the street. We watched for the 30 seconds it took and then everyone sat down. No disucussion. But even if there were, I wouldn't be able to understand it. I couldn't even guess what that makeshift parade was about. hmm.

2. I'm a millionaire- at least in Indonesian standards. I exchanged a few hundred dollars yesterday, and in return I got over 3 million Indonesian Rupiahs. Pretty awesome.

3. Sidewalks, or lack there of- I can't stress enough how impossible it is to walk in this city. I mentioned that there are scarcely any crosswalks, but more importantly the sidewalks are near non-existant. Usually they have giant cement pillars down the middle, which I assume is to keep all vehicles off because they will drive anywhere that they can possibly fit. Additionally, everyone who has nothing to do seems to just lounge on the sidewalks staring and talking to the few daring enough to walk by. More imposing though are the kaka lima, the little cart restaurants that often appear quite permanent. Think of the street vendors in Philly or NYC, it is very similar to that.. except put one every 15 feet, add a handful of chairs, and place your entire extended family around it (either in the chairs or just laying in the middle of your way). And that right there is the recipe for an awkward walk down the "sidewalk".

4. "Hello miss, goodmorning!"- this is seemingly the only phrase that everyone knows in English. It doesn't matter what time it is, they usually say "goodmorning". At this point I am still finding this relatively amusing, however it is going to get old very fast because everyone says this. EVERYONE. Street vendors, little children, shop owners, taxi drivers, and my favorite.... Police. The people who would seemingly be the most professional are infact the ones who yell at me the most. Nonetheless, my favorites are the occaisonal accidental "hello mister" or curious "where are you going?". Hasn't failed to make me smile yet.

5. Calling all Americans- there are no Americans anywhere here. Every non-Indonesian person I see ends up being French or Australian. I have honestly only seen one American. I guess most Americans who go to Indonesia go to Bali and not this crazy, hot, hectic capital. Well, I guess you could say that I'm not a typical American.

6. (reaction to #1)- I think I figured out the parade. or at least I am pretending to justify it. Over night my street has morphed into a stage for the annual Jalan Jaksa FESTIVAL!! It's one weekend every year, and it just so happens that it is when I'm here. Nice timing, eh?


Hope you are still enjoying reading. As you are well aware, I love to ramble so if you have any questions/interests feel free to ask!


Liza

I made it!

Well, it has been a crazy past few days. After a LONG day of travel and an even longer search to find a hostel, I'm happy to say I am alive and well. For the sake of my parents, I will spare the details, but let's just say that last night I didn't get out of the airport until midnight. Long story short, I owe a lot to an amazing Chilean couple who let me tag along with them all night so I wasn't wandering the streets alone until we found a hotel. Fun fact about where we stayed: they served fried rice for breakfast. mmmmmmmmm.. that was something new to wake up to.

I am currently staying in a hostel on Jalan Jaksa, a street in Jakarta that is full of hostels and cafes and is pretty much known as the backpacker's haven around here. Jakarta itself is a very interesting place. One of the books I read before I left described it as "overwhelming" and I couldn't find a better word myself. It is a huge, dirty, crazy, busy city. I am terrified to cross the streets. The cars zig-zag everywhere but mostly the mopeds and litte rickshaw things could care less about you ever getting across. Oh, and there is only a cross walk about every mile or so. Basically to get across the street, you have to hold you arm up (only your right, since the left hand is never used to do anything because it is considered unclean) and hope for the best. Hopefully I master that by the time I leave.

Indonesians seem very nice, but the language barrier is much greater than I had anticipated. Hopefully this won't hinder my research ...That's all for now, don't want to bore you all with my rambling. Just wanted to announce that I made it. Hopefully more interesting things to come soon. Or at least some delicious food escapades.
selamat tinggal! (goodbye)

Liza


PS- I am writing this at noon, sitting in an outdoor cafe drinking freshly squeezed apple juice, and the call to prayer is echoing throughout the allyways. Its gonna be an exciting month.

And so it begins...

Tomorrow I leave for Indonesia.  Finally.  It seemed like this much awaited day would never arrive.  My close family and friend's have been aware of this giant undertaking for almost a year now, but for those of you unaware of much of my project, I will briefly explain it. 

Starting last September I starting applying for this amazing scholarship awarded by UD alum David Plastino for any "self-designed off-campus project".  After almost a year of research, preparation, and interviews, I am ready to embark on this dream trip.  I will be traveling to Indonesia for 30 days this summer and Egypt for 30 days next winter to conduct independent research in order to complete a senior thesis.  As an Interntional Relations major focusing on the Middle East, my project naturally encompasses Islam, a multifaceted religion that I have become truly enthralled in.  My thesis is entitiled, "Contrasting Indonesia and Egypt: the role of the hijab in public versus private life as a religious and cultural choice" and I will be interviewing young Muslim women who wear the hijab (headscarf) during these two months abroad to hopefully unveil (bad pun, I know) answers regarding where, when, and why the hijab is worn, mostly focusing on the difference between public and private life. 

You may wonder- why Indonesia and Egypt??? Well, the reasons are simple.  Most blatantly, Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation (serving as the home to over 200 million) and Egpyt is the world's most populous Arab nation.  Additionally, I believe that studying a country outside of the turmoil of the Middle East is very important when studying such a politically powered garment as the hijab.  I hope it turns out to be as interesting of a comparison as I anticipate. 

This blog (my first!!) aims to inform, update, and hopefully entertain, any excited/interested/concerned friends and family as I partake in this sure-to-be-life-changing experience.  I will try and update at least every other day, but I am not sure yet as to how my internet access will be. 

Please comment and enjoy!
Liza