A Trip to the Movies

Today my roommate and I are thinking about going into town to watch a movie. Though this may sound strange, but going to the movies is quite a "cultural" experience for me! Here are the steps you need to follow.

1. Check movie time at 4 different malls to see if any of them are playing a movie from the US that you want to see.

2. Make sure you are ready to leave 2 hours before hand.

3. Wait for the bus, which follows no particular time schedule.

4. Get on the bus and about 1/2 way into the city, the driver's helper comes around to collect the 5000 Rp (50 cents).

5. Watch for the intersection you want to get off at and yell kiri kiri! to get the bus drive to pull over to the left (people drive in the left side of the rode here).

6. Wait for an angkot to come by that is going to your particular destination.

7. Ride the angkot to the mall and pay whatever you think is a fair price- usually 3000Rp (30 cents).

8. Find the movie theater and walk up to the ticket counter.

9. Pay for your movie and using the screen, select which seats you want to sit in when inside the movie theater.

10. Stand outside your movie theater until the light (which is the theater number) flashes on so that you can enter.

After that you can enjoy your movie with Indonesian subtitles and feel a bit more in the loop with what is going on in the States.

While I enjoy going to the movies, this is a process that rarely happens. Oh, Indonesia.

Normal?

I had a chat online with a friend of mine today where he asked me, is there anything unusual about living in Indonesia? Fair question, right? I would wonder the same if I knew someone who lived in a different country from me.

Although there are things that are unusual like riding around in angkots, bathroom lights being on the outside of the bathroom door instead of inside, different foods... I had a hard time coming up with anything on the spot.

I think about my family, especially older family members, and I realize how as people age, people tend get set in their ways and in their perceptions of what normal is.

When I was at summer training, we talked about children who grow up moving all around the world and living in different countries. They have a very different perception of normal that even what I do, growing up in a very multi-cultural area of the United States. Is it normal that people walk around wearing a headdress or a burka? Is it normal that for an entire month of the year, a group of people publicly fast together? Is it normal that your class size is 15 kids? Is it normal that people live outside the country they were born in? While you and I would probably answer no to all of those questions, the kids I teach would answer yes to each without batting an eye.

This has been my challenge living in Indonesia. I ask myself questions all the time as well. Is it normal that some people live in complete poverty, lucky to have shoes on their feet while others live in large, air conditioned houses? Is it normal to live in a place where every person has a maid cleaning their house (including myself)? Is it normal to not have a car, but rather ride motorcycle everywhere?

I try to image dropping myself into a foreign country at age 35, or 45, or 65. How would I react differently to my surroundings? Would I have a harsher appraisal of my surroundings? Would I accept the "normal standard" or status quo that exists?

I challenge you to look into yourself and join this little journey with me. What is normal? And, can normal change?

A Little about Indonesia

My goal was to post a couple times a week, but no internet at home plus insanely packed days of orientation and planning have dictated my life otherwise these past few weeks.

If you want to know a little about my perceptions of Indonesia… Read below in your spare timeJ

I have discovered a bit about the Indonesian culture. They speak bahasa Indonesia… NOT Indonesian. Bahasa is their world for “language” so you would say “Saya bahasa Indonesia”… literally “I language Indonesia”… to express that you speak their language. They have four different greeting for different times of the day. You don’t really say “Hi” or “Hello” to someone, but rather you greet a person based on the time of day. “Selamat Pagi” is equivalent to “Good Morning”; “Selamat Siang” is equivalent to “Good afternoon”; “Selamat Sore” is equivalent to “Good evening”; and “Selamat Malam” is equivalent to “Good night”. This website has pronunciations if you want to start practicing for your visit here! http://www.seasite.niu.edu/indonesian/percakapan/indonesia7days/indo7days_fs.htm

The food is… differentJ. The cuisine varies greatly by region, but generally, rice is available at every meal. A typical Indonesian meal has rice, some type of meat and a sauce (usually sembal or something spicy). They eat a lot of fried meat, fried rice, and fried tofu. Eating here has been bit of a challenge here because eating raw fruits and vegetables takes A LOT of work… you have to clean it with soap and running tap water… after that you soak it in this chemical that kills all the bad stuff… then you wash the chemical off with bottled water… and then you let it dry. Only then can you eat it. Needless to say, eating something like salad can be QUITE a process. I have found a meat that I enjoy a lot here and that is ayam sate: chicken grilled on a stick and then covered in a light peanut sauce (think Thai kinda peanut curry).

As for transportation, most of the people who have been working at my school more than a year own a motorcycle. When I was younger my dad had a couple motorcycles, so riding on the back of one is nothing new. My roommate Laura is great about letting me hop on the back when we are headed out the door at the same time. If I have to get into town (like to buy groceries or stuff for my room), I can hop a ride with the administrators (who share a car that has a driver) or take the bus for $0.45. Traffic… hmmm… not sure if I have words for it. The ONLY comparison I have seen to it is when I was in the streets of Dehli in India a few years ago.

Anything you are curious about regarding life in Indonesia??

A Few Thoughts on Change

Taking my "Tour de Florida" these past few weeks has got me thinking about change. As a kid, I HATED change. Most of my college years, I resisted the idea as well. Now that I'm out of college, I realize how much life is filled with change. I think these days I am seeking it because I have learned it is a losing battle to resist.

I had a good conversation with some great friends yesterday in which one friend said, "You'll leave and when you come back, you'll think everything should be the same. But it won't. People will have new cars, new jobs, new houses. You'll feel like you're the only one changing but will come to find out that everyone else's lives are changing too." How true is that? When I was in Orlando, I was riding in my friend's car and she was talking about how she will be buying a new one soon. I started thinking to myself... that's not allowed! She's always had this car! It's ridiculous how I cling to familiar things like my FRIEND'S CAR... it's not even my own stuff or my own situations. I think this is why reverse culture shock is so hard for me. I want the familiar to stay familiar, but it never does. Life is constantly evolving.

I am going to visit my church from high school tomorrow. I have not been involved there since high school, and I often wonder if anyone from there remembers me. The church had gone through several changes since I left including new buildings and a name change. I am praying that I can see the joy and beauty in change, and not become discouraged or frustrated by it.

A Story about a Monkey

I'm glad you're stopping in to see what my little corner of the world looks like! I am in Southaven, MS right now, preparing to leave to go to Indonesia to teach at an international school. As you think, stop in for a few entertaining stories and to get a look at the "Krystle-spin" on the world:)

I am at "PFO"- pre-field orientation- for two weeks and am learning some neat stuff! I am going to share a story that one of the presenters told us, basically explaining why we should be at training and the frame of mind to enter into while here.

"In the jungle lived a monkey- he was a very nice and caring monkey. He liked to have fun, and also really cared about everything around him. One day, it began to rain- it rained and rained for days. Because of the rain, he had to move to another area of the jungle. It didn't matter though that he had to move- there were still trees, still food, still things to climb on. In the new area he went to, the jungle floor was flooded. He climbed to the top of the tallest tree and sat there for a while. The monkey sat there through the rain and stayed there watching the land dry up from the floods. One day he noticed there was a fish that was struggling- the water level was so low that the fish was flopping crazily around in the little water it was in. Quickly the monkey sped down the tree, grabbed the fish, and carried it over to the dry land. He put the fish on the ground and since he saw that the fish was flopping around even faster, he assumed that the fish was thankful! Eventually, the fish calmed down and stopped moving. Content with himself for helping the fish out of the water, he left. He was glad to have helped the fish."

I think that is a neat story because it makes me think so much about intentions. I can go somewhere with the best of intentions, but if I am not knowledgeable about others around me or situations they may be in, I may end up hurting them more than helping them! By participating in training, I hope that I learn great ways to help my students and guide them to thrive in the culture that they are in.