Climbing higher

I'm finally beginning to settle into Indonesia, in my second city (Bandung) and about to head to my third and final (Surabaya). Understanding the difference between Jakarta and Bandung is like understanding the difference between total chaos and normalcy (well.... as normal as life in Indonesia can be). We left the absurdity of Jakarta almost a full week and a half ago and arrived in Bandung 2.5 hours later.

Bandung is much more pleasant than Jakarta. There is less traffic, less pollution, less humidity, less people, pretty much less of everything. Because of it's high elevation in the mountains of West Java, it averages highs of 78 degrees instead of highs of 96 degrees like the rest of Indonesia does. We arrived for three weeks of training that will include (or has already included) learning elementary Bahasa Indonesia which is the Lingua Franca of Indonesia, and also the world's easiest language to learn - there are no tenses, genders, and everything pretty much follows as simple a set of forms as possible. We are also learning methods for teaching English in an Indonesian context.

These activities have really dominated our schedule as admittedly has the comforts of the hotel we are staying in. State department protocol apparently mandates that in addition to flying American flag carriers we have to stay in at least 4 star hotels wherever we go, translation = awesome. We are staying in the Sheraton Bandung which is more a compound than a hotel, complete with a sauna, two pools, hot tub, massages for 12 dollars, shuttle service to any point in Bandung, catered meals throughout and so much more.


This is a photo of some of my fellow ETAs outside on their respective balconies just after we arrived. When we did arrive we were greeted by complimentary tea and a performance of the Javanese dancers shown below. Needless to say there is little to complain about in life right now.

Also, as a part of our training we visited schools similar to those we are about to begin working at. I wish I had brought my camera because that has easily been one of best experiences here to date. The students were boarders at what Indonesians call pesantren or a local Muslim high with an emphasis in religion. Everyone was in uniform and the classes averaged about 30. Their biggest asset was their enthusiasm. In a class of all girls, they demonstrated incredible energy, answered every question they were asked with assertiveness and showed how great their desire to learn english. They also loved Justin Bieber, and their enthusiasm for pop culture trumped their interest in any other subject. Needless to say it was a really informative trip and got me really excited about moving to SMA Khadija in two weeks!

The first weekend we were here about half of the ETAs, including myself, visited another city called Garut and spent Saturday climbing a very very active volcano (not the one that is erupting right now...). The volcano has had two eruptions and provided incredible scenery of the surrounding area as well as the volcano itself. I posted a picture below but if you would like to see more check out my facebook photos here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049838&l=88f5c42866&id=1243380068

Needless to say, it was pretty amazing. However, it was topped soon after by one of the best birthday celebrations I think I ever had (I turned 23 - dua puluh tiga- last Friday). This group of 44 people is easily one of the best I have ever been apart of and they made my bday super fun. It happened to be that we had just learned how to sing happy birthday several ways in Indonesian, and my fellow ETAs practiced at every opportunity on Friday, more public the better. We spent the night at one of the very few bars in Bandung that stays open during Ramadan: Cloud 9. It is named as such because of its incredible view of Bandung, and it also makes for a great place to spend a Friday night. If you are ever in Bandung check it out, always best to roll with a group of several dozen Americans. I snapped this photo while we were waiting for the photographer to arrive for our group shot. Thanks for a great bday everyone!