Hello again from Indonesia!
I write from my first Indonesian internet cafe experience. I am with my other sub-village PC group members. We can currently hear the last call to prayer of the day by the local mosque. I just finished updating my goggle doc for PC volunteers with my phone number (082139698457, plus some*international area codes probably, but idk which! Mind the international calling/texting rates, and be aware that I'm 12 hours in the future from Wisconsin/Minnesota!)
I have moved in with my host family whose last name I cannot tell you because Indonesian families do not use last names! My quarters are tight but full of laughter and hard work! Bu Mul is my 50-something yr old ibu (mom), Andi is my 29 yr old host brother (kakak laki-laki), his wife (istrinya) is Nisa, their precious 2-year old daughter is Nafa (pictures to come!), my host sister (maybe 26?) is Mala (kakak perempuan), and I just found out she has a husband< Kalam?? who now lives with us, too! Yikes! More on the living situation later.
We live in the sub village of Sidomulyo, one block off of the main road through Batu, a region in East Java. Each of the PC training groups (there are 8 groups), live in Batu in different subvillages. I'll be with these new friends until June 15th.
Here's our daily schedule:
Minggu (Sunday): Hang with my host family
Senin (Mon): TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) class in Bumiaji (nearby subvillage with another group of 6 volunteers) from 8 AM to 3:30 PM.
Selasa (Tues) - Kamis (Thursday): Bahasa Indonesia class from 8 AM to 3 PM with Pak Hengky (pronounced, I kid you not, Hankie.) He's the best language facilitator ever. Basically, we go to class, laugh with Hengky for 6 hours, and learn some Bahasa Indonesian in between! Right now, I can ask very useful things, such as: "How long was your shower (mandi)?" or "What color is that shirt?" YES! Hengky is a 50-something teacher of Bahasa Indonesia, so he is used to working with Americans. We sit barefoot in class, listen to him literally fall to the ground laughing (literally), and talking about drinking beer, which would be taboo for anyone but Hengky, a Catholic!
Anyways, 3 to 5 PM we hang with Mas Teguh, a 30-something Indonesian guy who is also the BEST cultural facilitator. Basically we walk the streets of our village and bombard him with questions about Indo culture, including how to get a significant other (simply say "I love you" to a close friend and bam, you are dating!), how to properly offer someone something to eat (use the RIGHT hand!), and how to buy a cell phone (read: let Teguh talk, and the Americans just stand there looking good!)
Jumat (Fri): Friday is hub day, so we go to the Universitas di Malang to meet all 46 volunteers and do lots of training. Last Friday we did cultural training, a welcome by the President/Director of the Universitas, medical sessions about safe water and food, TEFL with Valya the Ukranian rockstar trainer, and more cultural training from Betsy, the American rockstar trainer. I have been so impressed by the experience and support of the PC trainers. I fedl very supported, safe, and cared for at all times!
Sabtu (Saturday): Hang out time. This week we had to buy phones, so we rode 3 angkots (like a shady public bus) 2 hours to Malang to the mall (pretty much an American mall, weird!) to buy supplies!
I have to go home before Bu Mul freaks out (though last time I came home after dark, she was just napping on the couch, undeterred!) and do some studying!
One fun story, first. I taught my entire extended family "Go Fish" with Andi and Nisa's help (because they speak English so well, like practically fluently! I have to work on getting them to stop that, though!). We got to the point where I needed to "Go Fish" and Bu Mul needed to tell me that, so I prompted her to do so. She turned to me and yelled, "Go Piss!" YES! Some things are so quality when said in an accent!
That's all for tonight, folks!
Love, Sarah
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