SHOCKER! (and a semester test for you!)

I have been in Indonesia about 8 1/2 months now, and there are some things that began as a shocker every time they happened or every time I saw them.

I take it as a sign of cultural adaptation that I no longer am (too) shocked by some of the strange things that happen. If there is indeed something utterly odd, usually I just chuckle to myself and say, "Oh, Indonesia!"

Enjoy the memories of my weird encounters of 2012!

Seeing monkeys in random places...

Cow skin that appears in my food...which I casually do not eat. Ever. 

Way too much attention that appears at unexpected times...

Monster tall.

Street musicians that wear Teletubbies outfits. The first time I saw this I was blow away!
Teletubbies in Indonesia? But now I've learned it's the most popular (read: scary-looking)
street musician costume in my area...

Huge piles of shoes everywhere to sort through to recycle.
I've since learned that this is unique to my village, awesome. 

Inappropriate shirts worn by children. I also saw one that a Muslim girl was wearing that said
something about drinking and being merry. That one clearly wasn't translated for her...

Indonesia: totally normal to wear masks out when in transit. I'd personally go for gloves
 if I was gonna cover up, cause people here do not wash their hands often enough...

Men showing affection by touching. Definitely different than in the US, where
masculinity is often associated with not touching anyone other than a high-five or bro-hug.

Personal grooming in public is more normal than in the US. My neighbor was trimming
 her eyebrows on her front porch while chatting to me a few days ago. 

Mass amounts of food (usually) no longer leave me in awe of how much time that took to cook,
cause food in these amounts are just cropping up everywhere!

My friend Rois (biggest xenophile I've ever met!) frequently brings me foreigners to meet, because why would I not want to meet other random white people?? Usually it's harmless, but it's still a little weird, let's be honest!

Garbage strewn everywhere, yuck! I still have yet to throw anything away casually
on the ground, and here's to another year of keeping it that way! 

The living room becomes a garage at night...or 24/7!

Ants are all over the place, gross! I can't say that I totally am used to these guys
 all over, but I've learned preemptive measures to avoid them visiting! 

And for kicks, here is a semester one test for you (all of the students from elementary school to high school test every day for about 7 school days), based on the answers my students gave on their tests! Be it noted that my test was not in this format, nor was it 5 random questions. These are just random gems from a bunch of different places!

A: General review

They are to be going is fruit rais. [Just take a sec to try to figure that one out. Answer is at the bottom of this post...]

That is clock past 9. [It is 8:45. Seems we'll have to work on time again...]

B: How are you?

I am supper.         [Really, you = dinner?? I think you meant "I am super."]

I am borken heat.        [Borken heat? Wow, it really is a bad day if you are borken heat. Translation: I am broken-hearted." Whoever taught my students "broken-hearted" is my enemy, because that's all they resort to when I ask them how they are. Including the 14, 15 and 16 year old boys: "Miss, I broken heart!"

He is not bed.    ["I am not bad."But apparently everyone here feels "bed" and sleeps in a "badroom." ]

C: What do you want to do after you graduate?

I want to nurse. [Well that is dead honest. Usually we say, "I want to have children" but whatever works! Haha, but really, she wants to become a nurse.] 

I am be an architecture. [Some days I feel like I'd rather be a building, too, dear student. But I think you really want to be an architect.]

I want to doctor. [Again, working on the difference between the noun and verb, here!]

D: Introduction

I am 7.  [If you are 7 you are a brilliant kid because you are a 10th grader. What you really mean is, "I am the 7th child in my family."]

Two brothers want two sisters. [Hopefully those two brothers "want" two sisters from a non-related family, otherwise that's a genetically questionable sentence, cher student! The real answer? "I have two brothers and two sisters."] 

E: How does she feel? 

She is board.   [She is bored. That's pretty close, correct when you pronounce it, anyways!]

She is bork.    [She is bored. What the heck is bork!? I don't know, but I like it.] 

She is boark.   [She is bored.] 

The answer to that mystery sentence from part A? "They are going to eat fried rice."