Christmas Songs (and a flood) in October and Determination

Okay, okay. I know this is the second "late" post, but life happens, right? Maybe sporadic posting is the new thing! Anyway, as you can tell from the title, this post is going to be about a few rather random events. The first is pretty much self explanatory. I made the huge mistake (okay that's an exaggeration) of listening to Christmas music already. Surprisingly it hasn't made me homesick though. When I say "huge mistake" you might be thinking that I'm simply referring to the fact that I started listening to it so early, but that isn't really the problem (I mean, I guess it is a slight issue...). The main "problem" is that I'm currently living in the country with the largest Muslim-majority population in the world, so Christmas isn't exactly the biggest thing here, meaning that it will be almost nothing like what I'm used to. PLUS, it's also worth noting that I am currently residing just below the equator, so it never gets cold like I'm used to. (A huge thank you to whoever decided to place me in Bandung though. I think I would have melted anywhere else!)

And now for the part you've been waiting for...okay maybe not really, but here's the flood explanation. This actually just happened a few days ago. It was gloomy for the two days or so preceding the whole "flood" thing, and so I obviously knew that it was going to rain sooner or later. Well let me tell you something...boy did it rain. (Sorry for the bad grammar. Other than college applications, I haven't really used formal English in a while.) In fact, it rained so hard that at least half of my classroom's floor was covered in water and part of the ceiling fell down. Once that part of the ceiling came down, everyone started excitedly saying "Besok libur?!" So yeah that was interesting. (And no, I didn't have the next day off.)

As for the determination, it all has to do with the language. At this point, I really want to know so much more than I do, but that's nothing some hard work can't fix!The main problem is that I'm not speaking Indonesian enough right now, but I'm determined to fix that. I even talked to some of the other exchange students about using as much Indonesian as possible and telling each other all of the funny stories that result from it. And trust me, there WILL be a lot of entertaining stories! That's just part of the learning process though. I'll keep you updated on how that's turning out! In addition, on Wednesday I decided to try something new while I was at school. The first class I had is one that I don't really ever understand anything in, so I decided to translate a book. After my reading practice, I decided to use sport and history to work on improving my listening skills. From there I had English class, which is pretty much a brain break. I'm hoping that dividing the day up like that will be helpful, but I guess only time will tell!

In other news, I've recently decided that I really miss some of the foods that I'm used to eating, so I made pizza and croissants with my host sister. For anyone who knows me well enough, that probably sounds weird considering the fact that I always complain about pizza, and I'm not a big fan of bread. Nonetheless, it's true. I have pictures to prove it! The oven I used has an actual fire in it, so it was a little different to figure out at first. All I had to do was watch the food and tell one of the helpers when it was done, but somehow I still managed to slightly burn my first batch of croissants...oops!

Here are some random pictures:

Salak...enak!

Garpu dan pisau...di mana?
(I've been here for almost two months,
but I haven't completely mastered eating with my hand yet...)

Yummy food from Bali

Croissants!

Perfectly round pizza

And becuase all of my other pictures of are of food...
Here's a random library selfie!

Indonesian Word of the Day: Bingung - Confused (I wouldn't be surprised if this became one of my most used words...)

Jessie Ware - Say You Love Me

It's Been Quite a Week

I wrote this post on Sunday and forgot to post it. Sorry! I'm also super tired, so please forgive me if it doesn't all make sense.

This week has been an interesting one, and I'm honestly not even sure where to begin. I usually have an idea of what I'm going to write about (and a title) before I start writing, but today I have no clue. I guess the easiest way to is pick up where I left off.

If you read last week's post, you'll see that I went to an Indonesian church service for the first time. It was slightly more traditional than I have become accustomed to, but I definitely plan on going as often possible. This is probably going to sound strange, but I had the weirdest feeling that something bad happened while I was there. Nonetheless, I came back home and ate dinner without really thinking anything of that feeling. It wasn't until a little bit later that I was made aware of what had actually happened. My dad called me, but once again I didn't really think too much of it. I knew something was wrong the second I heard him speak though. It all made sense when he told me that there had been a death in the family. To make a long story short, my parents and I decided that it would probably be best for me to do my best to attend the funeral. Within a few days we had (almost) everything ready for me to go. We had approval from AFS USA and Bina Antarbudaya, and we had plane tickets booked. The only thing left to do was get exit and re-entry permits. That's where our planning stopped though. We wouldn't have been able to get a permit until the day after the funeral, so don't worry. I'm still sitting in my room in Indonesia!

If our plans would have gone through, I would be in the United States right now, which would have been so weird. I honestly can't even imagine what it would feel like (aka how odd it would feel) to be back so soon. As I said to one of my friends, I was more reluctant to leave Indonesia for a week than I was to leave the US for 11 months. That probably sounds like an exaggeration, but it's completely true.  I guess that just goes to show how easy it can be for some people (aka me) to adapt to a new place!

Until next time!

Indonesian Word of the Day: Pinjam - to borrow

Sundanese Word of the Day: Hiji - One (I feel like I'm cheating with such easy words, but I really don't know that many...)

OneRepublic - I Lived

I seriously love this song so much. I remember sitting at OneRepublic's concert the day after PDO and immediately thinking of my upcoming exchange when they played this song. Needless to say, this song will forever be one my exchange songs. Also, huge shout out to whoever came up with the video idea!

What People Don't Realize

I have heard countless people say that the United States and Southeast Asia are pretty much opposites. To be completely honest, I have no idea if this is true or not. As weird as it probably sounds, I had never been out of the country until I hopped on that plane to Japan last month. (Does that make me extra crazy for wanting to go on exchange??) Because of that, I really have nothing with which I can compare the United States to other than Indonesia. I mean, if we're getting technical here, I was in Japan too, but I was just in the airport for like 2 hours.

Anyway, the point of this post isn't actually my lack of experience in international travel. However, it is quite interesting that my first time abroad happens to include being over 10,000 miles away from my home in the US for almost 11 months, right? Okay so now that that's established, I'll start the actual post...

One of the questions I have been asked the most is this: What are the differences between the United States and Indonesia? I get this question from people in Indonesia and from people in the US. It seems simple enough, but sometimes I honestly don't know how to answer it. When I think about it, there are two ways to answer the question. The first way is the simpler of the two and the way that I usually choose. It typically involves me saying something about motorcycles, school, food, and the weather. However, there is a second way to answer the question. It's an answer that most people probably would not expect and almost certainly would not be satisfied to hear. You see, the truth is that Indonesia really is not as different as most people seem to think. The streets may look different and often lack sidewalks. There really are far too many motorcycles to count. The languages that roll off of people's tongues sometimes do still sound foreign. Despite all of that though, there is an almost indescribable sense that so many things are the same. (I literally sat at my desk for 15 minutes trying to come up with a better way to explain that). What many people seem to fail to realize is that people are people. I am not joking when I say that sometimes I wake up and completely forget that I'm not in the US. (That could also be because of the fact that I'm so tired...) It's actually really funny because my classmates remind me so much of some of my American friends, and my host family is like my family in so many ways. I guess what I'm trying to say is something that we have all heard before. We're not so different after all.

After what seems like the longest paragraph ever, I guess I should also give a mini update. This is going to be super short because I didn't do very much this week. I ended up getting sick and staying in bed for what felt like forever (it was only like 2 days though). I probably should have stayed home for three days, but I tried to be super Tori and went to school on Wednesday. (Note to future self: remember the 6th grade pneumonia incident? That never works out well...). I'm also (finally) going to church today, so that should be interesting!

Until next time!

Indonesian Word of the Day: Batuk - Cough

Ben Howard - The Fear

I think this will always be one of my favorite songs. Please give it a listen!

P.S. I know that my past few posts have been lacking pictures. I think I'll make up for it by making a post with a lot of pictures soon! 

ONE MONTH (and a vlog!)

That's right. I've been in Indonesia for a month. I can't believe it! Time seems to be flying by. I'm going to bed, so I'm not going to make this very long. I just want to say that I finally made another vlog! This one is kinda like a Skype call haha I'll have a more structured one next time!

Attractive thumbnail, right? (YouTube has something against me...)

Sorry for the bad quality. I also don't know why I left that cough in the video...

Terima kasih!

The One About Language

I actually wrote this post a few days ago...I'm sorry that I didn't post it sooner! 

I'm sorry that I didn't post last week, but I kinda intentionally held off on releasing this post. As you can tell from the title, this one is about language. It has been a little hard to learn the language because my host family wants me to help them improve their English, and my English teachers seem to always want me to do a lot of speaking in English. However, I asked one of my friends at school to make sure I speak as much Indonesian as possible while I'm at school, so hopefully that will make others speak to me in Indonesian instead of trying to practice their English. In addition, I have been trying to translate things, and the one thing that really seems to help is translating the Bible. I don't know if it's the fact that I am already familiar with it or what, but (I think) it's really helping me learn vocab and grammar. Translating news articles is proving to be interesting as well. I'm hoping to get a book or two in Indonesian!

Despite what some people may think, learning a language (or languages in my case) through immersion is not quite a walk in the park. I definitely agree that it is the best way to learn a language though. The idea of not being able to fully communicate with those around me is forcing me to try to soak up as much Indonesian as I possibly can. Right now, I am at the point where I can understand more than I can speak. Even still, I can only understand parts of what is being said. An example from school is when one of the teachers will say something in class. Sometimes I understand nothing, and sometimes I can understand everything. It's usually somewhere between the two though.

In addition, apparently I don't look too foreign because quite a few people have met have tried to speak to me in Indonesian or Sundanese.  Also, this is a bit random, but telling people I'm from America is interesting. Just as one of  my friends and I predicted, a lot of people don't think I'm  from the United States. It's actually pretty funny because I've had people think I'm from Latin America, Africa, and even Papua New Guinea. I guess that's part of the whole "teaching people about my country" thing though. Contrary to what seems to be a somewhat popular belief here, the United States is a very diverse country.

That's all I have for today. Thanks for reading!

Indonesian Word of the Day: Ada - There is/there are

Sundanese Word of the Day: Nuhun - Thank You

Pachelbel's Canon

This is my absolute favorite song! 

First Impressions Can Be Tough

Just so you're not confused, I wrote this post yesterday. Also, I'm sorry for the lack of pictures. I'll post some later! 

As I write this, I am sitting at school on my fourth day. My class is currently taking a math exam, and I may or may not be wearing the wrong uniform...oops! That's just one example of what I have come to call bule fails. Just in case you're wondering, this is not the first bule fail regarding sekolah dan seragam (school and uniform). Hari rabu (aka my second day of school) we are supposed to wear a kebaya instead of our regular uniform shirt, and my class also happens to have sport (gym class), which means another uniform. When I came to school on Wednesday, I did not have either one, but it was fine because the teachers knew that I was (am..) new. The same goes for today. I should be wearing my school batik, which is mostly blue, but I am wearing the only type of uniform shirt that I have...the regular white one. As annoying as these small mistakes can be, I am fine with them because they are easy to fix. However, the language thing is another story...I know I said that I would make this post about language, but I have decided to do that next week instead.

Okay so getting back to what the post is supposed to be about.. As the title suggests, I am going to write about some of my first impressions of different places, so probably Indonesia as a whole (aka when I first landed in Jakarta), Bandung, and school.

Arrival: When we finally landed in Jakarta and went through customs, I got my first taste of Indonesia. It was somewhere around midnight, and I was extremely tired from traveling for so long. However, I wanted to take everything in. When we met up with the AFS (I guess technically Bina Antarbudaya) volunteers, we went outside, and I immediately felt the Jakarta heat. As we waited to pile into a few different cars, an adorable kitten appeared on my right. There were a few people nearby, and they were speaking rapidly in Indonesian. I didn't understand a word, but I'm sure that I could at least get a general idea of what was being said by now!) From what I saw, Indonesia was a pretty awesome place, and now I can definitely say that I was right!

Bandung: Now that I think about it, I honestly don't remember too much of what I thought when I first arrived in Bandung. I do remember being slightly confused though. Orientation was one thing because most of it was in English, and arriving in my host city was a whole other thing. The first time that I actually stepped food on Bandung's soil was when I was switching cars to go home with my host family's driver. I remember looking over at the road nearby and thinking how busy it was. I used to always hear about Jakarta's traffic, but Bandung has a lot of traffic too! As I neared my new home, I also remember thinking how narrow the roads were. I still think the same thing now!

School: When I entered my host school for the first time, I definitely remember thinking how different it looked from my high school in the US. Walking to my class was also very different from what I am used to. Students excitedly ran up to me and wanted to try out their English with an American. Even though I expected it, it was still a little overwhelming. Arriving in my class was no different. The students were SO loud and excited when they found out that someone from the US would be joining them for the next year. I remember thinking that they were all really nice, and that still holds true. So far, the girl I share a desk with is the one I have talked to the most, but I'm definitely up for making lots of new friends in the coming weeks and months. By the way, I came in the middle of the school day, and my class was doing chemistry. The teacher expected me to do work right away, and I'm actually glad she did. Even though I couldn't really understand what was being said, I was glad that I could actually do the work! By the end of my few hours there, it was way too hot for a skirt that reaches the ankles and a long sleeved shirt, but I survived! As I hoped, I enjoyed my first day and first week of school. I still find it really funny that people from other classes (aka people I don't know) will scream my name in the halls and ask for pictures though.

Fun fact: I've officially been in Indonesia for two weeks! How crazy is that?!

Thanks for reading!

Indonesian Word of the Day: Sarapan - Breakfast

Tulus - Jangan Cintai Aku Apa Adanya

I hear this song ALL the time on the radio, and I really like it!

I was actually listening to it as I wrote this post :) 

I'm Here!

Okay so remember how I said that I wasn't going to blog for my first few weeks here? Well let's just say that idea has kinda been thrown out of the window. I've only been here for about six days, and I'm already writing...

I'm really tired (I actually fell asleep while writing this), so I'm going to keep this post relatively short. I arrived in Jakarta very late on Friday night. The six of us Americans were the last of the students to arrive (think 2 am) at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, which is where we stayed for the three days of orientation. By the way, Taman Mini is a really cool place. It's a miniature version of Indonesia and a great way to see some of Indonesia's diversity.

I believe this is part of the Bali section

Orientation was over on Monday night, and we all left for our host communities on Tuesday morning. I was picked up by Yuka's very nice host family, and I had my first taste of sate while in Indonesia while on the way to Bandung. It was very enak! When we got to Bandung, we stopped off so that I could go home the rest of the way with my family's driver. I wouldn't say that the car ride was awkward, but I felt bad not being able to communicate with him. Once I arrived here, I met some members of my host family and went out to dinner with my host sisters.

View from my window

Yesterday, like today, I was really tired, so I slept a lot. I stayed home for most of the day, but I went out with my host brother and two cousins or something. Even though it was only my fifth day here, I tried street food. I know, I know that wasn't the best idea. However, I didn't get sick from it, and I really liked it! Speaking of food, I feel bad because my host family thinks that I don't like the food because I don't eat a ton. In reality, I really like all of the food. My stomach just can't hold it! Saya kenyang might just have to become one of my favorite phrases.

Even though I have been here for almost a week, it is still weird to think that I am actually in Indonesia. It is a very beautiful country, and I cannot imagine going anywhere else for exchange. For everyone that has yet to come to Indonesia, I guess I should describe what it is like right now. The call to prayer is going off as I write this. The rain just ended, and the sun is beginning to appear from behind the clouds. There is a rooster crowing in the background, and my little host niece is downstairs screaming about whatever it is that one year olds scream about.

I don't know when I'll blog again, but I think I'll write the next post about trying to learn three languages at once. Yes, it is as hard as it sounds.

Sampai jumpa lagi!

Indonesian Word of the Day: Malu - Shy (This is often said about my host niece and nephew)

Coldplay - A Sky Full of Stars 

I think this song will forever remind me of Indonesia!