Part 1: Getting more immersed in Indonesia
Jeremy, Kassandra, Aaron, Khavita, Linda (all friends teaching in Jakarta) and I went to the Indonesian National Museum. It was fairly interesting and it only took about two hours to walk through and see everything. This is the maximum amount of time any sane person can spend in a museum without risking falling asleep while standing up. Well done Indonesia for keeping the museum small enough so people don't get disengaged before they've seen everything. Not so well done Indonesia with the height of some of your displays, leaving us large Westerners having to come up with creative ways to read the displays, as Jeremy is demonstrating below.
After my weekend visit in Jakarta I had a two-day training conference for teaching Cambridge AS and A level. This is a fancy name for how to teach grade 11 and 12 at schools where the students will be writing the standardized Cambridge exams. The delegates were teachers from many schools across Indonesia so it was an excellent opportunity to meet some teachers from other international schools. What immediately struck me was how much younger I was then all of the other teachers. Additionally, how much less experienced I was than all of the other teachers. It was a reminder of how challenging the teaching assignment I have been given this year is and that there aren't many other first year teachers in the situation I am in. I have realized that this year will be by far the most difficult year of my entire teaching career. Its a comforting thought because I am now managing very well, and I can be confident that I can handle any teaching assignment I happen to get in the future.
Cambridge sent a British lady to train us, and we received a certificate for our efforts. That stylish t-shirt I am wearing is called a batik and is traditional Indonesian attire.
Tallis invited me out for dinner with an old friend he taught with in China who is now teaching in Jakarta. Ronnie was one of the coolest guys I have ever met. Not only did he sound exactly like Russell Peters, but he was the type of guy who carried the conversation at all times, keeping everyone engaged and included and you just knew that this guy has never met anyone who didn't immediately get along with him. Just to put an exclamation mark on how awesome he is he picked up the tab and afterwards we exchanged contacts for future encounters. He had taught for 8 years in China and between him and Tallis I learned so much about international teaching and the world (literally) of opportunities that are out there.
Back to Bandung now: Two of my students took me out on a hiking trip one Saturday afternoon. Hiking is a euphemism for near death experience on a mountain. These students take their hiking seriously and feed on adrenaline. If I had to try and estimate the incline of this mountain we "hiked" down it would be about 45-60 degrees. There was no path, and for good reason because no human was meant to try and walk down this way (there was a paved trail you could hike on if you went in the entrance to the park). The two strategies were 1) a) grab a tree branch or root that you believe (hope) can support your weight, b) hold tight and jump forward as much as possible holding onto the branch and when you are fully extended try to find solid footing. c) Repeat steps a and b. 2) a) Spot a tree a few metres down the hill that you believe (hope) is well rooted, b) jump/slide down the mountain and stop yourself on said tree. c) Repeat steps a and b.
At the bottom of this mountain was a cool bit of history and one that meant something to me personally. There were several caves here that were occupied in world war 2. Some were occupied by the dutch, and some by the Japanese. One of my uncles fought for the Dutch army in Indonesia for 3 years after WWII. Indonesia was under Japanese rule during the war and when the Japanese surrendered in WWII Indonesia declared its independence. There were 5 or so different local groups that wanted control in Indonesia, but also the Dutch weren't ready to give up control of a country that had been so prosperous for them with spices. My Uncle Bill fought for 3 years and took a bullet through the neck. He survived the shot, and was back in action only a month later. He is alive and well today at 86 years old and I made a point (rather my Dad made sure it happened) to visit him before I left for Indonesia. He educated me a lot about Indonesia and the history of the post WWII power struggles. He has been back to Indonesia to visit as recently as 1995 and the most amazing thing happened. In the airport he met a stranger who asked him why he was in Indonesia. This man had fought in the same war as my uncle, but for the opposite side. They said to each other "once we were enemies, but now we are friends" and they visited the cemeteries of their fellow soldiers together and my uncle stayed with him and his family for several days. The site I visited was not where he fought, he fought on an entirely different island, but seeing the caves definitely made me think of Uncle Bill.
One of the caves occupied during and after WWII
I had the honour of being the MC of the prefect induction ceremony at Bina Bangsa School Bandung and welcomed the returning and first time prefects for the 2013-2014 academic year. Prefects have to display exemplary leadership skills and/or role model traits and as part of the nomination committee I am pleased with the selection of prefects.
I would like to point out 10/15 of the students in my homeroom class are prefects
This article was in an Indonesian newspaper a few days ago and links back to Alice, Kyle, Cass, myself and the two school drivers, Jojo and Okie going to a professional soccer match in September. The article was about support from around the world for the Bandung soccer team, the Persib Vikings. The article is in Bahasa but a picture in the paper is a picture in the paper, regardless of what language the paper is written in.
I can't tie this into a story at all but it was the first time in my life I've had a meal that was substantially bigger than my head. What's more is it was $4.00 and they lit it on fire in front of me before I ate it. It was also delicious. It was a BBQ eel pizza but if you order it as a "Volcano" they bring it out to you as a giant hollow ball of pizza dough first.
My last update for part one of this blog entry is a series of decisions I made to ensure that when I leave this country I will have no regrets knowing that I dove right into this experience and put my whole heart into it. I have committed to trying to learn the language, Bahasa Indonesia, and have already received some very encouraging responses from interactions with locals at stores or in public places, as well as the Indonesian staff at the school. Indonesians love when a Bule is making an effort to interact with them in their native language.
The second decision I made was that I need some independence in travelling around since I am at the mercy of taxis and school cars for getting around. So I bought a motorcyle
The three stores I had to go to to find a helmet was quite a blow to my self esteem but I can Kruis around town now on my own set of wheels
Part 2: Pacar Cantik
My first visitor of my time in Indonesia, travelling over 40 hours thanks to some unfortunately long layovers, was my pacar cantik (beautiful girlfriend) Lynsey. Having a visitor to show around allowed me to realize just how much I have learned and how comfortable I have become in Indonesia.
We spent the first weekend in Jakarta so she could see the Nation's capital and meet some of the Jakarta teachers who I had become so close with during the induction Ceremony in June/July and have maintained our friendship on holidays and weekends. Jeremy and Kass were excellent hosts but no one can welcome someone to Indonesia like Indonesian's themselves and we experienced one of the best examples of Indonesian kindness that I have been a part of in my time here. Two weeks earlier at a restaurant called "B Steak" Jeremy had commented to our server that he liked her "I heart B Steak" pin and asked if he could have one (we eat there all the time). She tried to give him her pin since they didn't have any extra laying around but he declined. Two weeks later that same server approached us with the manager apologizing that the restaurant still didn't have any pins for him and gave him a desert on the house as an apology. The thoughtfulness of this waitress remembering Jeremy and his request and feeling badly for not being able to give him a pin is such a great example of how kind and giving Indonesians are.
Walking to the mall for $7 massages Jeremy sighted an iguana and we laughed when he tried to catch it in an open field. Jeremy and his quickness and resilience got the last laugh though
Back in Bandung:
To me, travelling is all about stepping out of your comfort zone. I had arranged a karaoke night with several of the other teachers and a few of the admin staff. After I told Lynsey about this plan she informed me she has a fear of singing in public and could not possibly do karaoke. The incredible enthusiasm of the admin staff and encouragement and support of the group quickly turned that fear into enjoyment. However no one was able to get quite as many perfect scores as Kyle and I.
When the admin staff weren't singing Bruno Mars or Justin Beiber they would revert to Indo pop
Our monthly Karaoke team
When I told my friend Rachael that I was getting a motorcycle she told me motorcycle owners were called organ donors.
After letting Lynsey drive and nearly ending up with us in a ditch I learned Rachael wasn't joking.
This is one of the restaurants just minutes from my school.
After Lynsey spent a week in Bandung seeing my new life, meeting my new friends, and of course coming to school and meeting my students, it was time for the one week term break and we headed to Bali.
We were picked up from our hotel in Kuta on Saturday morning and took a van with 3 others to the fast boat to the Gili Islands. Ben is from Belfast, Ireland and is currently working in Shanghai. Robert and Aliza are from Melbourne and were heading to Gili Trawangan to meet a bunch of other friends for a 40th birthday getaway. When we got off the fast boat and Aliza and Rob asked "Are we going to wait until dinner to meet up or should we meet up in an hour and grab a drink?" I knew the start of a great friendship had began.
Our new friends! From left to right Robert, Aliza, Ben, Trev, Lynsey
Right when we arrived on Gili T we split from the group and checked into a comfortable but affordable guest house, run be two locals who we became great friends with by the end of the week. When we met up with Rob and Aliza, we learned that they were staying at a little bit of a nicer place and that we were more than welcome to use their pool.
When we met Rob and Aliza's Aussie friends the next day we learned that they were staying at a very very nice place with a beautiful pool complete with waterfall and swim up bar, and again we were more than welcome to use their pool too.
This is part of the place our Aussie friends were staying and it literally looks like a page in a travel magazine
Can't go to the Gilis without watching the sun set over the mountains
After sunset the fire performance began. Last time I was here they would joke "who's next?" after their performance so this time I was determined to call them on their bluff to let a tourist swing flaming metal balls around.
Except that they weren't bluffing. They let me swing flaming metal balls around
One night after dinner with our Aussie crew Robert started setting up chairs on the beach and called everyone over. Throughout dinner he had been organizing charades and we played the funnest game of charades of my life. The Australian crew was so enthusiastic and the restaurant did a great job replenishing our Bintangs when they went empty, all of which made for a hilarious time.
So much Australian enthusiasm
Our Aussie group all out for dinner pre-charades
With my earlier comment of travelling being all about stepping out of your comfort zone I couldn't find an excuse not to try my first ever pedicure. I had trust issues that the lady wasn't going to tickle my feet but all in all it was a pretty relaxing foot massage and my toes have never looked so well-groomed.
Notice the sun burn. Ouch!
I first tried scuba diving in Belize less than two years ago but it is something that has definitely changed my life. I fell in love with it and have now amassed 40 dives and counting. I have literally discovered a new world being able to go 40 metres below the surface of the ocean for almost an hour at a time and see so many living organisms I otherwise would never have seen. It has also shaped the way I travel, looking into countries largely based on the opportunities for diving. It has even shaped how I meet people because you are always diving in small groups, with people from all over the world, and they always have a keen sense of discovery and adventure and love nothing more than to share dive and travel stories with people they've just met.
Knowing how much diving has changed my life I encouraged Lynsey to get her open water certification and she jumped in with both fins (literally). While she was taking her course I was doing fun dives and meeting some amazing people. I met two guys from Australia named Dean and Dan and was able to dive with them a few times, which almost always turns in to dinner and some beers later that day. I met two very interesting gentlemen who were from England originally, but had moved to Thailand to live a life where they could dive every day. Gal has been a dive master for 6 months in Thailand and at the same dive shop Neil has been instructing new divers for 5 years and has been able to share the first time diving experience with thousands of people. These two were like so many other travellers I have met who have realized that if you are not happy with your life (for example working in a rat race business world in an over populated city) you can change it.
Watching Lynsey learn how to dive took me back to my first time diving. I was lucky enough to be in a course with two friends, Cole and Khalif, and my sister Emma. Until actually paying attention to a first time diver I forgot how challenging it can be and how much more there is to it than what it looks like on tv. Lyns had a slight panic attack underwater but was calmed down very well by her experienced instructor. Despite in that moment feeling convinced she would bail on the course, she stuck with it and was rewarded by seeing sea turtles, sting rays, octopus, white tip sharks, nemos, sea slugs, lobsters and so much more. Welcome to the world of diving Lynso.
First day of the course
Ivan, one of the local dive masters
Course complete and off for a fun dive with a super cool dive buddy
After the dive course it was time to say goodbye to our new Aussie friends. For me it was a see you later because I am determined to visit Australia for two weeks next August.
Again we took a fastboat off the island but lucked out and there were only 6 people on the whole boat. We learned our lesson last time about riding on the roof so stayed in the shaded inside.
I am not the most experienced traveller but I have travelled quite a bit over the past two years. I strongly believe that the most important item you could ever bring while travelling is a pillow. Any trip longer than an hour in a plane, car, bus or boat and I would choose a pillow over any other item. I have now learned that when travelling with a girl the second most important item you can bring while travelling. . . is a second pillow.
We headed to Ubud, the cultural capital of Bali. I had been hear before in August with Jeremy, Kass and Aaron but Ubud is a place where you could spend months without discovering everything, and years without needing a change. But, it is impossible to go to Ubud and not go to the monkey forest.
I just want to know how the monkey was able to put on the green dress
We ran into Patrick and Nava, two teachers for BBS. The four of us were at teachers college at Queen's just 6 months ago
As a science teacher I teach about developing theories from careful observations. Based on what the sign says and what the monkey is doing I think the only plausible explanation is that monkeys can read
One of the highlights in Ubud was a cylcing tour through the mountains. Included was breakfast, lunch, water and fruit, transportation, bike rental, tour guide and 8 hours of cycling down a mountain while stopping along the way to experience lots of Balinese culture, all for only $35. Highly recommend this to anyone who visits Ubud.
We stopped for some pictures of the rice field from the mountain top on our way to breakfast
Breakfast was overlooking a volcano that had erupted only 35 years earlier
After breakfast we headed to a Kopi Luwak where the rarest drink in the world is brewed. This is the coffee made from beans that have been eaten and excreted by the chiva animal, a small cat like creature.
Here is Lynsey drinking her Cat-pooh-chino
Our tour guide, nickname Ring, was excellent, filled with many one liners. My favourite was his joke when he found out we were Canadian and it was time to leave breakfast. He said "Let's make like hockey and get the puck out of here".
We stopped along the way of our bike tour and got to hold a very poisonous looking spider. Rumour has it I didn't even blink
This is the Indonesian equivalent to a scarecrow that is meant to keep birds from eating the rice
Alternatively the workers of the rice field who had to bring their children to work would have their children fly kites. This not only keeps the children entertained, and allows the parents to be able to know where they child is at all times, but it also helps to scare off birds from eating the rice.
Rice is such a staple in the Indonesian diet. Anywhere you go in the countryside you will see miles upon miles of rice field. Even though so much rice is grown in Indonesia, it is also a very large import. Many Indonesians believe that you cannot feel full if you do not eat rice with a meal. If you think of a country with 250 million people and all of them eat rice at every meal, it is no wonder so much rice is grown here as well as imported.
As part of our tour we helped some of the rice workers.
inexperienced rice workers will use one hand to hit the rice loose
Experienced rice workers will use two hands
Somehow those tiny Indonesian ladies carry bags like this one home on their heads every day. They don't get paid in money, they get paid in rice. 60% of the yield to the land owners, and 40% to the workers. I was just taking my cut
As seemed to be the theme of this trip we met a really nice couple from Australia called Bruce and Donna.
I thought this sign was absolutely hilarious
Our final days in Ubud turned into full on relax mode. I even gave into the idea of trying yoga for the first time. Mostly because we went to a yoga/spa place and it looked like this:
I have never seen the movie Eat Pray Love. I likely will never watch it. But Lyns is convinced this yoga place, or one very similar, was the set for the scene where Julia Roberts goes to Bali.
I hope that this post has helped convince a few more of my friends to come for a visit. I have Brindan, who is currently on exchange in Hong Kong, coming to visit for a weekend in November. And I will be meeting Cole and Lucas in Thailand for a week in March. I would love to share this beautiful country with you and just like this hilarious taxi driver, my hugs are always free.
Until next time
