Hey so this is just a quick post to say that I have actually finally started to do my daily vlog challenge, which somehow kinda extended to a daily photo on Instagram too. Feel free to check out my pictures, and here's my second vlog!
P.S. I will be writing an actual blogpost and will finally make my Q+A video in the near future. In the mean time, feel free to send me any additional questions you may have.
Also, huge congratulations to all the YES Abroad finalists (including my little brother)! You guys have an amazing year to look forward to, and I'm so excited for you all!
Seven months down and only a little over three to go. That's crazy, right?! Even though I've been here for so long, I haven't done anywhere near as many things as I would like or feel like I should do, and that has led to some pretty extreme boredom. Maybe it's because I'm not as outgoing as I could be (anyone who knows me would probably agree) or maybe it's because I just haven't gone about it the right way. Whatever the cause, I do know one thing: I really need to get out there and do something. Whether it's learning something new, teaching someone something, or visiting a new place, I really want the next few months to be the best ones yet, and I am extremely determined to make that happen.
To push myself even further, I'm giving myself a challenge that will extend far beyond the time I have left in this beautiful country. I'm challenging myself to make a vlog every single day for the minimum of one year. Sounds a bit crazy and overly ambitious, right? Well I'm taking it one step further and starting BESOK (aka tomorrow). Why? Because sometimes the best thing to do is to keep pushing yourself, even when you think you can't push yourself any more. Plus, I will be pretty cool to look back on all these videos as time goes on!
You'll be hearing from me tomorrow!
Tori
Edit: actually I've decided that it's definitely more feasible to upload the video the day after it's filmed, so I'll be posting the first one on Wednesday!
It's been over a month since I've posted anything on this blog, and I apologize! I've written a few blog posts and made a few videos but just haven't posted any yet.
As you can see by the title of this post, I have been in Indonesia for 200 days (I don't actually remember the exact number..), which is bitter sweet because that means I only have about 100 days left. For the past four (maybe five??) days or so I've pretty much just been lying in bed, so I don't really have any interesting stories, although I do have an annoying hacking cough and fever that just won't seem to go away! I've taken over the counter medicine gone to the doctor and gotten prescription medicine, and even tried herbal remedies, but nothing seems to be helping! I probably couldn't even count the number of times I've been asked "Tori, sudah minum obat?" within the past two days or so. However, I'm not complaining because it could definitely be worse! It probably seems fishy that I got sick the week of most of my midterms, but trust me, I would much rather be taking tests than spending all day burning up and coughing!
I'm actually writing this on my phone, so I don't think I'll be adding a song to this post because the formatting will be off.
Anyway, congrats to all the YES Abroad semifinalists! Have fun at IPSE, and feel free to ask me any questions you may have because I just might be cooped up in my room for another few days (but hopefully not!)
Also, congrats to my little brother for winning a scholarship to study abroad. Way to take after your favorite older sister 😎
Hopefully my next post will be very soon and much more interesting!
So it's been a while since I last wrote. However, now I want to try this blog thing again. Starting now, I want to try to write all my blog posts using both English and Indonesian. It might be a little hard at first, but hopefully it will become easier (and more correct...).
Actually this post is super short because it's really just about a question: Is there anyone who has questions about Indonesia or exchange (or maybe about something else that's relevant)? I think I'm going to make a video (at least one) in order to let people know about exchange, Indonesia, and the US. If you have a question, feel free to send me a message or comment below!
Bahasa Indonesia: (Masih belajar jadi tentu ada kesalahan!)
Ahh sudah lama sejak menulis di blog. Namun sekarang mau coba lagi! Mulai sekarang mau coba nulis semua blog posts pake Bahasa Inggris dan Bahasa Indonesia juga. Awalnya mungkin sedikit susah tapi semoga menjadi lebih mudah (dan lebih benar...). Sebenarnya post ini pendek karena hanya tentang pertanyaan: Apakah ada orang yang punya pertanyaan tentang Amerika atau menjadi pertukaran pelajar (atau mungkin tentang hal lain)? Kalau ada, kirim pesan atau komentar di bawah. Mau buat video agar kasih tau orang tentang exchange, Indonesia, dan AS. Terima kasih!
Mungkin ada banyak kesalahan...maaf ya! Indonesian Word of the Day: Cari - To look/search for (I honestly chose this because akhirnya I'm almost done reading Looking for Alaska in Indonesian...looks like I need to buy another book to read!)
Song of the Day:
Bastille - Pompeii
I actually chose this song to tell a story. Even though I have been here for almost six months (crazy right?!), my younger host brother and I still don't really talk, which can be just as awkward as it sounds since we're driven to school together every morning. Well this morning I walked out to the car and heard Pompeii playing. Instead of tiredly jamming out to the song, I decided to ask my brother whether or not Bastille has ever played a concert in Indonesia. (Just in case you're wondering, as with many other artists, the answer is sadly no.) That one question led to talking about other concerts, our love for Ed Sheeran, and even college. Not too shabby for before 6 AM, right? Now let's see how I do tomorrow...
Hellooo. Apa kabar? I'm sorry I have been gone for a few weeks. However, I have decided to start my vlogs back up. Here's the first one:
I'm sorry the quality is so poor. I was trying to figure out my webcam and forgot to change the quality. This is really just a trial run though, so it's okay! My next one will be on a specific topic, so I (hopefully) won't be rambling as much. I'll probably eventually do at least one video in Indonesian, but we'll see...
Indonesian word of the day: Matahari - Sun (literally eye of the day)
One of the first things that my host family told me when I arrived back in August was that they had planned a trip to Bali over Christmas. They then proceeded to ask if it was okay for me not to be in my new home for Christmas. Of course I said yes! I mean, come on...Bali for Christmas?! Flash forward 4 months and I just got back from the trip.
I was awakened way too early for my liking on the morning on Christmas Eve (think 3:45 am) and told to get ready. Before I knew it, we were in the car on the way to the airport. After checking our luggage and saying goodbye to the relatives returning to Padang, we boarded the plane to Denpasar. As soon as I sat down, I realized that I was hearing familiar music. It turned out to be Christmas music! Because the flight was so short, I spent most of the time looking out the window at some of the amazing mountains that we flew over. Before long we were over the water and landing in Bali. Even though we were in the domestic terminal, I was almost shocked at the number of foreigners that I saw. Of course, that was only the beginning though. As with cities on Java, Bali's cities also have lots of traffic, so the drive to our villa took a little while. When we finally arrived, my host sister asked if I wanted to go swimming, and it was then that I realized that I had forgotten a swimsuit...it was okay though because we found a solution. After swimming in a pool for a while, we decided to head to the beach to watch the sunset. It was really beautiful! Unfortunately I had the wrong phone with me though, so my pictures aren't the greatest.
Pretty sunset on the beach
The next day was Christmas, which turned out to be a very, very rainy day. I can't really complain though because it is the rainy season after all. That was also the day that the rest of the relatives arrived in Bali. There were about 35 people in all, so I had to try to remember a lot of new names! By the time breakfast was over, it felt like half the world had wished me a merry Christmas, which I really appreciated since I was the only person there who celebrated the holiday. After going out to the store to buy some snacks and stuff, we returned to the villa and had a family event. As is typical of Indonesia, there were plenty of games and some singing. At one point, each group of immediate family members was supposed to go to the front and sing a song together. When my host family was called I wasn't paying attention and didn't hear it, so when they finished, my host mom came over to me and said something along the lines of "Tori, did you forget? We are one family." I honestly thought that was like the sweetest thing ever because she even said it in English, which is not a language that she speaks very well.
It's definitely still the rainy season...
The next morning we were awakened somewhat early and told to get ready. After eating breakfast, we were loaded onto a bus. Both me and pretty much all of my host cousins fell asleep, and all the adults took pictures of us because that meant that the entire back of the bus was sleeping. When I woke up, we were somewhere in the mountains and went to go eat lunch. Apparently we were supposed to go somewhere else too, but we just ended up going to Tanah Lot, which was very pretty. In the end we all ended up getting pretty much soaked because it decided to pour while we were there. While I was with my host siblings and cousins, we took lots of selfies that ended up in lots of screaming and laughing due to the fact that the waves kept coming over our previous path and the rocks we were standing on were so slippery. It was fun and definitely memorable!
Tanah Lot
On Saturday my older host brother and his wife headed up a trip for the young people to do some water sports on the beach. It was lots of fun, and I definitely plan on going again if I end up returning to Bali before I leave. Unfortunately we couldn't really use our cameras, so I don't have any pictures from that right now. When we finished with that, we met up with the parents at a seafood restaurant on the beach.
Yummy seafood on the beach
The next two days were spent shopping and relaxing. I had just enough space to bring back all of the gifts I bought! In all, I think it's safe to say that I enjoyed my time in Bali and would love to go back, especially when it's no longer the rainy season.
We accidentally ordered tons of food because
we didn't realize that we brought our own...so ayam bakar it is!
So basically I was supposed to post this at the beginning of the month...minta maaf!
It's official. I have now spent over 100 days in Indonesia. I guess it's fair to say that I've done quite a bit in those 100 days. I wish I could say that this post was an original idea, but I'm actually borrowing an idea used by two YES Abroad alumnae, Hannah (Malaysia) and Carly (Indonesia).
10 Differences Between Indonesia and the United States
Weather, of course! Even when Indonesians think it's cold, I still think the weather is nice.
So. Many. Motorcycles.
There seem to be cats everywhere in Indonesia!
Rice all day every day (Sometimes instead of asking if I have eaten yet, my host family asks if I have eaten rice yet.)
Light switches go down when the light is on and up when the light is off
There isn't usually any toilet paper
Squat toilets are pretty common in public places
Instead of a cafeteria at school, there is a kantin that serves food that actually tastes good
Almost all the cars here are white, silver, or black
Language (I feel almost like I'm cheating with this one, but it's amazing how many different languages are spoken in Indonesia!)
10 Things I've Learned So Far
Understanding Indonesian and understanding school are two totally different things
The words exchange student and tired go hand in hand
It's not possible to eat too many mangos
Learning a language through immersion is somehow both harder and easier than I thought
I actually like bread and pizza
It's not weird to have someone ask where you live like two seconds after you meet (there will be a blog post about this and other very un-American questions at some point)
Try (almost) everything when it comes to food. Some of the stuff I was a little afraid to try in the beginning has ended up as some of my favorite food!
Talking to another exchange student can make any day brighter
Never underestimate the traffic (or the rain..) in Indonesia
Finding ways to amuse yourself is important on exchange
10 Things I Want to Do Before I Leave
Become fluent in Indonesian
Have a few conversations using only Sundanese
Learn the Minangkabau language
Visit Bali
See a few volcanoes (Since this post is so late, I can now say that I've officially done this. However, I am definitely up for seeing more!)
Visit an island other than Jawa or Bali (I know, very specific)
Visit my host dad's village (He showed me pictures, and it's in the middle of the forest. Pretty cool!)
Learn how to cook some of my favorite Indonesian foods
Prepare an entire American meal for my host family (I have made a few things, but not a whole meal yet)
Learn some traditional dance
10 Favorite Foods/Drinks (There are actually way too many good ones to name...)
Martabak manis
Ayam bakar
Salak (snake fruit)
Rendang - I don't even eat beef in the US, but rendang is actually really good!
Mpek-mpek
Es teh manis
Nasi goreng
Ayam penyet
Mangga (I'm forever eating one of these)
Keju aroma
10 Things I Miss (For some reason I had the hardest time coming up with ten things)
Soft pretzels from my favorite place
Lox and bagels
Sophie, the cat, even though she's mean and scratched up my entire leg a day or two before I left
Cold weather and snow
Feeling challenged at school (Okay, okay I still don't understand everything, but still)
Being able to have a conversation about pretty much anything (I'm definitely still somewhat lacking in the area of vocabulary)
Not having to convert measurements in my head (This hardly happens now, but this is sometimes when my American really shows)
Thinking in English (right now my brain is stuck somewhere between Indonesian and English, which gets somewhat confusing)
Waking up for school later than 5
Family and friends
10 Things I've Thought Were Weird But Am Now Used To
Eating with hand (Now I usually feel weird using a sendok and garpu for things that I usually eat with my hands. Let's not even get started on what will be like to regularly use a knife again in the US...)
My host family has servants and a driver
The amount of free time we have at school
A lot of tings on tv are in English with Indonesian subtitles
Corn bread has a totally different meaning here. (Think of a danish with corn in the middle...kinda)
Seeing an entire family (4 or 5 people) on one motorcycle
Oven heated by an actual fire
Hearing Christmas music and seeing Christmas decorations at stores
Pretty much everything except for rice just sits out on the table and is eaten at room temperature
Indonesian money (This probably sounds weird, so I'll explain. In the beginning it took me forever to pay for stuff because I didn't remember which color meant which amount yet, but now I only occasionally mess up by doing stuff like trying to use a 100 rupiah coin when I mean to use a 1000 rupiah coin...)
10 Embarrassing/Funny Things That Have Happened to Me
It took me what seemed like forever to learn how to open the front gate because it opens the opposite way I thought it did
For some reason, I am terrible at unlocking the doors at my host family's house...I better not get locked out anytime soon!
When people want to have full in person conversations in Indonesian with me after seeing that I kinda know what I'm saying via SMS
Whenever people try to guess where I'm from (Papua is the most popular)
On like my second day in Bandung, someone I had never met asked "dari mana?" and I thought they were asking where I was from instead of where I just came from because it can be used for both things
One day I forgot to turn my alarm on, so the next morning one of the helpers came to ask me if I was going to school. I said yes (I think...). However, when I got ready and went downstairs, my host brother and driver were already gone. My host dad said the helper though I said I wasn't going to school, which may very well have happened because my Indonesian is especially bad when I'm groggy. Anyway, my host mom took me to school on the way to work instead, but I was almost late...oops! Moral of the story: always set your alarm for school.
My host family thought I couldn't speak Indonesian for quite a while, but actually aku bisa tapi masih sedikit malu
When I tried to use the oven for the first time and my croissants got too dark
One day I was on the treadmill and all the helpers ended up watching me...
One time I translated and almost completed an entire chemistry midterm because the teacher thought I was from Papua and totally understood Indonesian
10 Things I Hope to Never Forget
The excitement I felt about coming here
The Indonesian language
The amazing feeling that is hujan in Indonesia
Walking out of the airport in Jakarta and immediately feeling the heat...even though it was well after midnight
The things that I continue to learn throughout my exchange
My host family
The amazingness that is martabak manis (oops had to say it)
This quote from a friend: "But all you can do is hold on tight and count on the fact that if you don't let the hard times break you, this experience will only build you up and make you stronger than ever before"
Those occasional times when I think "oh my goodness I'm over 10,000 miles away from 'home' but it doesn't even feel like it"
The fact that dreams do come true (I know that sounds super cliche, but I'm actually living what was only a dream earlier this year)
10 Things I'm Thankful For
Other exchange students
Parents for letting me come here
My host family for willingly opening up their home to let this crazy American girl live with them for almost a year
The KL-YES Abroad scholarship. Because so few people come here on exchange, I think it's pretty safe to say that there is absolutely no way that I would be in Indonesia right now without it.
Skype. From college interviews to talking with other exchange students, Skype has pretty much been a lifesaver.
My Indonesian friends for being patient when I don't understand something
Classical music
Pizza and ice cream, which may as well be the official foods of exchange students
The fact that I can pretty much be on a gap year without it actually being a gap year
Successfully living in Indonesia for over 100 days!
10 Reasons Everyone Should Come to Indonesia
Good food
It really is unlike any other country
So many different cultures
In general, Indonesian people are very welcoming
There are tons of islands to visit
It's so different yet somehow so similar to what you're probably used to
You're missing out on visiting a pretty awesome country
The mix of modern and traditional is actually pretty cool to see
You can stop taking my word for it and see things for yourself
Good food (yes, I am aware that this is on the list twice)
