wanderous!

will be singing christmas songs in yogya, celebrating the new year in bali, visiting the burial sites of the star voyagers in tana toraja, seeing my favorite animal of all time (well, since the 4th grade) IN THE WILD!!! and chilling in danau toba in north sumatra with a few visits back to gresik until the end of january so will be somewhat out of touch. happy holidays!

http://www.orangutans-sos.org/

Oct 29th- Nov 9th Amazing Adventures with Alaskan Amigas!

Gresik

Seeing a flash of blond hair round the corner, my heart leapt! Lena and Alida were actually here! It was a great and surreal reunion. The seven male airport employees who had been helping me keep an eye out and making small talk all the while for them were also greatly relieved. We rode back to Gresik from Surabaya by public transport so they could get a richer taste of Indo. It was fun explaining things like that all the bus vendors would toss anything from reflexology handouts to stickers to fried tofu on our laps and that they would come back to collect them later giving us time to carefully consider. We were squeezed into a sufficiently crowded angkot after the sweaty musical bus ride.

My family was sooooo excited to see them. We were greeted by a sign that read: Welcome to Alina and Allida. We all sang along to the Beatles together while eating amazing amounts of food.

The next morning Alida and Lena came to school with me. Chaotic of course. I introduced them to each of my classes, shouting over the din, HI! THESE ARE MY FRIENDS FROM ALASKA! They cheered, they flashed their cell phone cameras. Another great slice of life.

Bromo, Java

We awoke at 3:30 am and shared a jeep with some friendly indo university students up to Mt. Penanjakan. From the vantage point there we saw the sunrise slowly sweep over a vast volcanic ash sea, illuminating the peak of Mt Bromo, flanked by Mt Batok and Mt Kursi and shadowed by the massive Mt Semaru (Java’s highest peak at 3676 m) in the background.

Borobudar, Java

Immense buddhist temple built by Sailendra dynasty between 750 and 850 AD. “Colossal three-dimensional tantric mandala...conceived as a buddhist vision of the cosmos in stone.” Overwhelming intricacy. Though also Indonesia’s single most popular tourist attraction so flood of foreigners with their money and locals trying to float some of it their way was also overwhelming.

Rainburst. Hundreds of buddhas remain stoically at peace while hundreds of tourists flee for cover leaving us smiling up at the skies in suprise and slowly spiraling onward towards nirvana.

Kuta, Bali

Kuta is not my cup of tea. I suppose it could be my red bull and vodka- not always a good idea, but every now and then - porque no? We landed in Bali late at night so we crashed in Kuta and had some fun. Went to a favorite kareoke bar (from rinjani trip) and sang some Grease ( Summer NIIIIIIIIII-IIIIIIIIIghts!) and met an old character with a hat covered in various pins so of course Alida happens to have an Alaska pin on her to add to his collection and we end up swaying and singing some random old song about Alaska with him. Stayed long enough to earn our headbands and moved on to reggae beats and on and on.

Ubud, Bali – my cup of ginger tea

Sunday- Made it to Ubud by the next evening. Found a great coffee shop and perused the following with pleasure: www.yannarthusbertrand2.org La Terre Vue du Ciel. Went out for live reggae. Great band. Even better dancers in the barefoot crowd. eccentric spanish magician whirling cape stomping feet, looong versatile indo dreads beaming smiles and shaking it all around, some good ol hippie dancing and endearingly awkard crane dancing.

Monday - Ubud is the birthplace of the modern movement of Balinese art. We went to the Museum Puri Lukisan or Palace of Fine Arts. An expansive collection. Was especially drawn to

Birth of Hanoman – I Gusti Made Deblog, 1936

Octopus – I Gusti Made Deblog, 1955

Cosmic Circle – I Dewa Nyoman Batuan, 1975

The Dream of Dharmawangsa - I Gusti Nyoman Lempad, 1957

Love and Grasshopper – Ida Bagus Made

Atomic War in Indra’s Heaven – Ida Bagus Nyana

Looking for Fish in the Sea – I Ketut Rogig 1955

Learned about the hindu mythology and recurring characters from the Ramayana epic.

Spent after a long time haggling silkly sarong prices at the market, we indulged in massages. Then off to see a Kecak Fire Monkey Chant Dance in the nearby village of Junjungan. The Kecak dance is based on ancient sanghyang trance rituals combined with the story line from the Ramayana epic. However, I later learned that the chant as it is today was actually created in 1930 in Bali to entertain tourists. The name “Kecak” is derived from the sound of the performers chanting “cak-cak-cak,” (pronounced chak-chak-chak) which is reminiscent of chattering monkeys. This chanting fills the role of an orchestra, simulating the staccato rhythms of the gamelan. This is the same chanting portrayed in the incredible film Baraka http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkxuPxdsZ58. The performance space was simple, a large wooden structure empty save for a smattering of less than a dozen chairs and a large fiery tree creation in the center that provided all of the flickering light for the performance. The chattering monkey was comprised of many men, teenages to elders, wearing matching sarongs and beaming grins. They all seemed to be having a great time throughout. The Ramayana story was portrayed by gorgeous young women and elaborately costumed men. I had the strong urge to be a part of the chattering chant, to melt in the chak-chak-chak and flames for a moment. During the show a thunder and lightning storm raged on outside and provided further dramatic effects.

After the performance the girls dashed off on their motorbikes, flashes of decadent golds and greens washed away in the torrential rain.

Tuesday- Went on a guided eco-bike ride through a rich verdant rice paddy paradise. Stopped at agro-tourism center to sample delish, locally grown and brewed coffees, teas, and hot chocolate, myriad fruits, and punch-packing wines. also pulled up to traditional village home complete with fighting cocks, big pigs and an AXL ROSE poster. a temple with wedding preparations in progress - where i was generously offered a “good very” husband. A bountiful banyan tree. A rice paddy harvest – i have to admit i had always been terribly ignorant of the rice cultivation process, we took at turn at threshing or THAK!-ING the stalks bit only to be laughed at by great huge gap-graced smiles. Carvers sent wood chips soaring skyward unearthing goddesses below.

Monkey forest sanctuary. Madly mischievious macaques! Asked the lady at the front gate how she keeps them from pillaging her hefty banana booty and she craftily held up her wooden slingshot

Drawn to reggae again by promises of same rocking band. Kept an eye out for magicians and cranes but found new expat friends instead, everyone drunk on bintang and hope (night before election day!)

Wednesday – ELECTION ELATION CELEBRATION DAY! Woke up early (relatively) and on a tip from newfound friends we made for Naughty Nuri’s Bar. Rowdy expats, live CNN coverage , breakfast, and beers half-off all day- what more could a couple of hungover hopefuls want? To borrow from my companions Alida and Lena, “we toasted our new president elect with Bintang beers, tears, cheers and sighs of relief.” Wonderful communal release [i have started to experiment with the little binoculars “Find” feature of this word program in an attempt to keep my wonderfuls and beautifuls and such nonsense under some control] sobbed and made long many distance phone calls.

Read about Naughty Nuri's: [thanks alida and lena]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/oct/30/barack-obama-absentee-voting-bali

It was ALSO LENA’S BIRTHDAY! a better day for jubilation can hardly be justified. After long naps and a glowing wayang kulit shadow puppet show we were quite impressed with our ability to rally that night and go out dancing with balinese locals. Cover band that kept surprising us.

Thursday - last day in Ubud spent at our favorite organic YUM spot (Juice Ja on Jalan Dewi Sita) finally indulged in the chocolate passionfruit crepe i’d been eyeing for days. Bought lots of beads (at Palito Beads Shop Jalan Hanoman) went to Gunung Kawi, immense ancient carved cliffside shrines in lush rice paddy valley nearby.

Amed, East Bali

Finally left Ubud Thursday and arrived in Amed on the eastern coast by nightfall. Looking for a place to stay, when we came upon a beach bungalow with a colorful hammock and gathering of locals ‘round a guitar, drinking local brew we knew we’d found our home for the next couple nights (Shellside Bungalows, Jemeluk). possibly haunted... strange first night.

Friday – my first time diving! (Mmm sorry, no binoculars can help now) – it was beautiful bluuuuue. WHOOSH! wrapped in wondrous hues of blues. Light sparkling above. Ummm sparkles and blues? even a barren wasteland below would have held me in rapture. But the coral reef teeming with life, splashes of color rushing, gliding, undulating (right as typed that Joanna Newsom sang about seaweed and squids). First dive with an instructor in coral reef, second with instructor and the more experienced and similarly smitten Lena and Alida at the wreck of the U.S.S. Liberty which was torpedoed in 1942. Highly recommend Eco-Dive in Jemeluk.

Beach bonfire , guitar strings and arak slings aglow.

Saturday – snorkeling, beach massage, pilfered pillow missions, a search sans success for a sparkly sandal

Back to Java

sinking into the delight that is a RotiBoy hot bun mmm....

Sunday – rain storm in Gresik, hujan-hujan and a farewell to friends!

Oct 28th - One Random Night in Bandung or indebted with kitten karma

After i finally said goodbye to all the students and teachers i set off in search of a place to sleep for the night. A common phenomenon i have found is to arrive at an accomodation that is listed in Lonely Planet as cheap and simple and find it extensively renovated and at least twice the price. I imagine that after being published, these previously quiet, charming hostels and bungalows get so much business that they can afford to fancify. I fear i would feel far too much responsibility writing for such an ubiquitous travel guide knowing the potential economic impact it would have. For many travelers, Indonesia is a great escape to be explored with vim and vigor, for others it is daunting and it is far more comforting to adopt LP tunnel vision. When writing for a city like Ubud how would you go about picking the one budget homestay with simple rooms and cold water, over the many others? One family flourishes while others struggle or merely get by due to a travel writer’s wandering left turn instead of right?

Spent all afternoon in a cafe reading Ordinary Wolves by Seth Kantner, pouring words rain and coffee. Evening came and i played with kittens who were for sale outside a mall. Immediate, long-lasting fluff ball drugs. Realized i actually knew where i was and wandered towards Novotel and my favorite warung where i ordered the usual, tempe bakar – grilled tempe with some special sauce, and was happily pleased i could handle more sambal than the last time i’d been there. Was indebted with kitten karma so also ordered a fried fish to share with the stray cat under the table. Made my way towards the familiar Circle K across from Novotel and taught some indo emo kids hanging around out front how to shotgun a beer. Snuck into Novotel to use the lux bathrooms and felt thoroughly confused by sense of space and time.

Oct 25 – 28 Study Tour or shiny power rangers fantasy land

When i first learned that i would be traveling with the entire senior class on their study tour to Jakarta BY BUS, i was less than thrilled due to reasons that are instantly illuminated upon glancing at a map of java. We set out break of dawn Saturday morning and arrived in jakarta sometime Monday morning. 48 hours of kareoke, snacks, motels, prayer pit stops, and of course lots and lots of cell phone flashes. Its times those that i feel so pathetically in need of technological treasures like the ipod i don’t have. The reward for our wearisome traveling: a ridiculous day at indo sea world and indo disney land with over 400 indo teenagers.

a few jellies calmly floated my wavering consciousness back towards the surface, but was violently stung by giant sea turtle crowding and molestation.



Indo disney land or, Fantasy Land, was reminiscent of any other amusement park in america, minus all those pesky safety standards. went on a water ride with airplane style seatbelts with seven seventeen year-old girls only there was no attendent who made sure everyone was buckled and panic quickly flew around our frisbee-shaped float boat as we flew acround a bend – none of them had never been on a plane before, and if a car happens to have a seatbelt here and you happen to fasten it, well it earns you what i like to call power ranger status. This won’t make much sense even with an explanatory sentence thrown in - i often feel that i am such a spectacle that i would not draw any more attention if i were decked out in a shiny power ranger suit, preferably red, or blue, or green. I can never make up my mind. I did end up riding every ride in the place. I thought the scariest one was one of those flipping, spinning, upside-down, high in the sky, with restraints that dont seem quite to be holding you in, but it was in fact the small world boat tunnel ride. Creeepy dolls.



The next day we went to Bandung (where i had my 3 week ETA orientation) and went shopping. Luckily the impending arrival of alida and lena brought double blessings – i had to be back to meet them at the airport before the study tour was due back in gresik so i booked a flight out of Bandung the next morning and escaped the loooong return trip on wheels.

Birthing Adventures Part I

Oct. 15th-18th Rumah Sakit (Hospital, "Sick Room") Muhammadiyah

Yesterday i saw my first birth! I live just down the street from one of Gresik’s several hospitals. As luck would have it, the one I stopped in at on my way home happens to specialize in maternal care. Ive been volunteering there since. So far I had mostly been helping transport patients, bathing and feeding newborns, filling in charts and such but yesterday i was greeted by a widening cervix that was already 7 cm dilated! It was incredibly exciting! One of the doctors let me gingerly put my gloved hand inside the panting woman to feel the baby’s head! I could hardly believe my luck and was thanking the doctor and mother-to-be profusely when she peed all over me (the mother that is), projectile peeing to easily rival any male’s golden arc- can’t believe i am getting to see births up close in the splash-zone.

Things progressed quickly from there, the obstetrician came and there was poo, about a quarter liter more of urine, soooo much blood, and eventually a giant baby head popped out all wrinkly wet and wailing! I had grabbed onto the mothers hand by now, as much for my sake as for hers. i was holding my breathe until the baby finally squirted the rest of the way out. Whew incredible release. Also, had no idea the placenta would look like that.

The mother was in pain, I held her hand, gave her water and talked to her to distract her from her episiotomy sutures. I asked her if she had thought of a name yet and she asked me for some suggestions. I tried to avoid the question saying i didnt know very many indonesian names yet, but they were all laughing and pressing me for a response so i said my favorite boy back home was named Johnny.

When i finally made my way home after noodles and laughs with the nurses, i stopped in to say goodnight to the newborn. His nametag said JONI.

Saturday 18th – saw another birth! Was awoken in the middle of the night by a text message from one of the nurses, quickly threw on some clothes and went out the door running. There is a note taped to the wall next to the nurses’ station that reads (in indonesian): PLEASE CALL MIKAELA (THE BULE :) ) IF THERE IS A BIRTH. 24 HOURS!

It was a baby girl with dark eyes quietly kicking and looking around, there was much cooing and other such silly noises on my behalf. The mother burst into a smile when I told her she had a beautiful daughter. She was born with Down syndrome and her parents joy was without a shadow of shock or disappointment. I am yet not sure if the hospital offers prenatal screens for Down syndrome.

glossary of terms

sometimes my thoughts flow without regard for the fact that many of you do not know that a "bule" and "warung" are not in fact large extinct mammals...

• Angkot – one of the many names of the endlessly but often equally frustrating minibuses used for public transport. Minibus is somewhat of a misnomer, they are no close relative of the bus. maybe more like mini minivans or mini party van– imagine what an uninspired teenager might due to a scrapped minivan if he wanted to convert it into a mini growhouse or a DD vehicle for friends unconcerned about comfort or safety. They are cheap and go all over which is great! But “the drivers wait until their vehicles are crammed to capacity before they contemplate moving [which is also great in an eco-conscious way if you have the patience], or they may go keliling – driving endlessly around town looking for a full complement of passengers. Often there are people, produce, chickens, baskets and even bicycles hanging out the windows and doors.” –LP (got lazY)
• Bapak/pak – father or mr. Pak for short
• Becak- bicycle taxi
• Ibu/Bu – mother or mrs. “Bu” for short which is obviously great
• Bule – foreigner
• Novotel – the ridiculously fancy hotel that all the ETAs stayed at for our 3 week orientation in Bandung, West Java
• Sambal – SPICY homemade chili sauce often served with meals
• Surabaya – huge city, over 3 million people, just under an hour away from Gresik.
• Warung- simple mobile streetside cafe

On Health (or) WHOOPS a meatball lovechild

So i have joined a gym or a “FEETness.” Its aptly called the Tiara Club because, well, its the fanciest “FEETness” center Gresik has to offer. Of course there is no A/C nor even a slowly sweeping floor fan. There are 3 resistence bikes, though if you are so picky as to actually require resistence from your resistence bike, you are left with only one. There are 3 treadmills but I have yet to see anyone move faster than a power walk on them and am not sure if faster is an available option. The weight machines are so heavily oiled that the weights often stick together until they suddenly come clamoring down with a crash. And so on...

My first day there I planned on only going for a swim but the pool is closed on Mondays so I asked for a quick tour instead. Beefy white foreigners like Jean-Claude Van Damme wearing get-ups that look like the stretchy lovechild of a pair of Speedos and suspenders adorned the walls in framed posters. Then one walked up to me. The Indo version. The first really built indonesian I have met. He shook my hand then pointed at a bicycle and told me to get on for a 10 minute warm-up. It turned out to be the one with resistence, quite a bit of it. I tried to cut it short, i already rode my bicycle to the gym, a 15 minute ride. But he didnt really understand and i was too out of breath to try my Indonesian again. Then to the weights. Maybe it was because it was the first time i had lifted weights for months, or because i was trying to show the men there that women can lift weights, or the fact that the Indo Hulk was looming over me saying “lagi, lagi, lagi” (again, again, again).

I was still so sore a few days later that my dear dear host sister and host mom had to help me get dressed in the morning and undressed in the afternoon because i could not bend my left arm more than a slight amount without crying out. I felt pretty damn foolish. But they did give me an amazing loooong tiger balm massage in my bed with my A/C on. I am one lucky lady.

I returned a few days later to use the pool. I have always wanted to be a better swimmer. I can sloppily and inefficiently thrash about in calm waters just fine but if i ever needed to fight rapids or waves or conserve my energy over long distances i would be screwed. My good friend kev started teaching me how to swim better during orientation in the Novotel pool. Partially inspired by watching Gattaca on the hotel tv before falling alseep, I got up a few mornings before lecture to practice my new skills and have been meaning to find a place to continue doing so here ever since. My friend who lived here last year told me that she used to swim at Tiara in just her bikini and a tank top. This was a shock to me at first but i confirmed it with the kind english-speaking receptionist who said it would be just fine. I warily stepped out of the locker room with a sports bra, a sleeveless top, and my bikini bottom still covered by a tightly wrapped towel. The shallow end of the pool was filled with screaming little kids being watched by Ibu’s in jilbabs. Until of course they all started watching me. I removed the towel as close as i could to my point of entry into the deep end. I felt as though my bare thighs might as well have been flashing neon BEER signs. i felt as though Allah might strike me down. I clumsily leapt/ran into the pool. I clumsily swam about. In my later exhaustion i accidently climbed back out of the pool a good 40 feet from where i’d left my towel. In a hurry to reach it and avoid (additional) notice, i tried to power walk like the treadmill crowd and WHOOOOPS slipped, flying bare thighs, landed on butt. Had to laugh at it all. Think i maybe won over any Ibu’s who may have been judging my lasciviousness with my comic relief.

Turns out i shouldnt have been so worried about my exposed thighs. Later in the locker room i saw women changing into bikinis with a bit of mesh here and spandex there. They were getting ready for their aerobics class and they somehow changed into these stretchy elaborate get-ups while simultaneously eating meatballs on a stick. Every one of them. There is a meatball-on-a-stick stand (bakso) right outside the gym and it apparently makes a killing every afternoon as women arrive droves to dance about to techno Usher. I tried the aerobics class the other day. It was so crazy fast and rhythmically demanding i gave up after 20 sweaty embarrassing minutes. I’d rather go running than see my multiple reflections flailing about in vain.

There’s nothing like having volcano hikes kick your butt to get you motivated to get into better health. Unfortunately that requires both more exercise and a healthier diet, both of which are hard to come by here. I have been running a few days a week since I got here, with one long break after hiking Rinjani. But when i try to convince myself to get up out of my bed, close my book or dvd player, leave my air-conditioned room and go on a run, there are so many more reasons not to want to than ever before. Whether running in the states, costa rica, or spain, running has always been an act of introspection, an opportunity to get away from it all, a rhythmic escape into my thoughts, panting healing release. It has also, often, been an escape into gorgeous natural surroundings.

Here, I am running out INTO it all. WHAM hot crowded streets, dodging everything from motorcycles, food stalls and their choking haze, becaks and their overly-friendly drivers, to writhing chicken bundles on the sidewalk every stride. i am forced to run solo without musical accompaniment (no ipod until my friend brings one back to me at christmas), so it all rushes in. I am such a ridiculous spectacle, supposedly other indonesians go running here but i have yet to see any other than an old barefoot man on the other side of town. I find myself silently blessing every person i pass who doesnt yell something out to me, try to give me a high five, wave, or try to chase me. After 20 minutes of this deluge i finally leap off the pavement onto grass at my tiny patch of “nature,” a soccer field. I run some laps around one soccer field then run down a busy street again to run laps around another soccer field. There are usually boys playing soccer and they usually yell out “Hello MEESter! where are you going? Where are you from? What is your phone number? I love you? What is our name?” (in indonesian and more or less in that order) they do so relentlessly. Somehow they fail to notice that my conversational abilities might be somewhat hindered by my inability to breathe due to a potent combination of exhaust and exhaustion. How can they fail to notice that crowded beads of sweat are hurridly hurling themselves off my hot skin towards a freefall escape in every direction?

But every now and then i get lucky, arrive at the first soccer field, empty, dusk approaching, softened light floats through a bougainvilla tree, golden clouds, call to prayer resonates harmoniously and for a few laps its strangely beautiful. Sometimes i really appreciate watching a great play in a soccer game or even just hearing the THUNK of soccer balls being kicked over and over again. And sometimes a super cute little kid screams when they see me, little legs a tumbling mess as they chase me down the street and i let them win and its great.

I was going to start writing about all the various forms of deep-fried food but i’ll leave that for another time.

My Halloween Party or the disgruntled adventures of captain spoon

I was in yogyakarta with lena and alida on halloween (en route and in the company of a disgruntled older couple) so i had a belated halloween party for my english club students... very belated. The planning was exhausting. Had to go to several buzzing with women, buzzing with flies markets to find pumpkins. Had a wonderful time staying up late into the night with my host family drawing and painting ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, vampires, skeletons, spiders, effeminate devils and ridiculous spirits, including one that we decided looked like kung fu panda. Helped my host cousin fry and besprinkle about 40 donuts. Cooking homemade donuts is dangerous, not due to the hot bubbling oil but due to the sampling duties. Experienced two different Jell-O diSASters. Transformed myself and my host sister Nikmah into black cats with a bit of eyeliner and construction paper. I know there are many of you still reeling from the shock you received one sentence back- i was NOT a sparkle nor anything else reinterpreted in a sparkly way.

It was all worth it to have Indo Teenage Rambo and Indo Harry Potter and Captain Spoon (not to be confused with his somewhat more intimidating foe, Captain Hook) arrive at my door. I got to turn one of my students into an Emo Rocker with my eyeliner (complete with tears) for not coming in costume while the others cheered EH-MO! EH-MO! We carved three pumpkins, Captain Spoon was especially handy. Ha. We bobbed for apples which was hilarious because the first maybe 7 students took care to not get wet. Then one particularly competitive boy just dove in and emerged triumphant. More followed suit. I placed 4th and my whiskers were whisked away.

It was pretty cool when we all stood around in my kitchen staring at the glowing jack-o-lantern flicker in the dark.

Thanksgiving

The US Embassy in Surabaya hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for the ETA’s and ELF’s living in the area. favorites were the pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, broccoli and Coronas. There were a lot of us bules in town for the weekend so three looong nights of clubbing followed.

Was somehow convinced to go to the surabaya zoo. Confronted my discomfort. Was even more terrible than i could have imagined, devastating primate stares.

dew on my shoes

Pulled the first all-nighter last night since the last time i tried to sit down and do some blog writing. One of my friends pointed out that i am the only person he knows who pulls all-nighters after college. Problem is, do not have a laptop and have to borrow school’s laptop because can not think properly in internet cafe setting with indo remix of umbrella ella ella eh eh going on and on and usually there are kids peering curiously and unabashedly over my shoulder at whatever i am typing. And have not been able to borrow school laptop for awhile (one went missing) and by chance was able to have it for one night only so stayed up.

stayed up until 5:30 and then went on a run. I dont know whether it was the sleep deprivation, many cups of black ginger tea, ridiculously early hour, or what, but WHUSH everything was LUSH vivid. Saw so much more than usual, all the small things (one of my students’ favorite songs) that usually fade into the noise. Must really try to go running in the morning more often because there is less honking, more praying, less soccer-playing suitors, more tai chi swooshers, less vroom vroom, more boom! bright red blossoms underfoot, shaken down by the rains.

Will try to get more dew on my running shoes from now on.