Adventures in Solo

Today, Aswan’s mom’s kampung (neighborhood) took a trip to Surakarta (Solo). They rented a whole bus! Salatiga (where we live) is about halfway between Semarang (where Aswan’s family lives) and Solo, so they picked us up on the way. First, we went to a tourist place that had nothing to do with the original reason for making it into a tourist place. It was originally a sugar factory, but the tourist attraction was a children’s waterpark. Waaaaaaay in the back, we found some fun stuff for adults to do too. Like terapi ikan (fish therapy) and terapi batu (rock therapy). I had heard of the fish thing (do y’all have that in America now, where the fish eat the dead skin off your feet?), but never the rock thing. The fish were fun. The rocks huuuuuuurt.

There were all different kinds of rocks in this little sidewalk, some sharp, some rounded, some small and close together, some big and spaced farther apart. It was based on the principles of reflexology. Aswan’s sister thought it was great, but as she was telling me how much she wished she could do this every morning to feel fresh, her face suggested otherwise. It was a mixture of “someone is shoving bamboo shoots under my fingernails” and “I’m constipated”.

After the so-called rock therapy, I went to soak my poor feet with the fish again. And as I watched, a bunch of obviously redneck women in jilbabs (head coverings) walked up, threw off their shoes, and walked down the whole sidewalk like it was the softest yard of grass they’d ever walked on. I was embarrassed and thankful that they weren’t there 5 minutes earlier to see my performance.

Speaking of head coverings, a little while later, Aswan and I left and went to see if we could go into the old sugar factory. On the way there, we passed a man leading (there are some assumptions involved in this) his two wives and 3 children through the park. They were extremists (which you are way more likely to see in Solo than Salatiga), and both wives were wearing niqabs (this is the big billowy Muslim covering that allows you to see ONLY the eyes – most Indonesian Muslim women wear the jilbab (aka hijab) head covering that leaves the face exposed – Google it if you have no clue what I’m talking about). What struck me as funny was that the older of the two women was nursing a baby as she walked around. Haven’t you kind of defeated the purpose of the niqab when you’ve got your right breast exposed to the world? On a related side note, when I asked Aswan what the Indonesian word is for “niqab”, he simply replied, “Ninja”.

Anyways, after 2 failed attempts, we finally made our way into the sugar factory! It was built in 1826 and stopped functioning in the 1900s. It is in the process of being restored. According to the guy we talked to, this is the oldest functioning sugar factory left.

Work ethic – Work hard, Work smart, Work sincerely.

Dad, the B&W is for you. : )

We had planned to go hiking and spend the afternoon in another outdoorsy mountain spot that I forget the name of, but it started raining, so plans changed. Since it was mostly ladies who came on the trip, they decided to go shopping in a market especially for batik fabric and clothing. And since it was raining, they decided to spend the rest of the day there. 4 hours. Aswan and I knew we couldn’t look at batik for that long without throwing up all over it, so we decided to ditch and go for a walk. We ended up at the museum and palace of the King of Solo.

They had way cooler tile 200 years ago.

Just outside the entrance to the palace. I think this might be one of my top 10 favorite pictures I’ve taken in Indonesia.

The first palatial building.

I LOVE these giant antique bowls! Dutch, no doubt.

A HUGE oar from one of the king’s boats. Better yet, the look on Aswan’s face.

Jeff Foxworthy, anyone? The moustache!

Kings of yore. They all had the same name, just different numbers. This picture shows some of the more recent kings, Pakoe Boewono VI – X.

We encountered this sign at the entrance to the throne room and king’s courtyard. At first I actually thought I had to take off my underwear to go in. As it turned out, I got to keep them. But I had to take off my sandals.

Tower in the courtyard.

This guy might seem insignificant. But he is what is called an abdi dalam (an inside/inner servant). These people continue to work in the palace even though there is no longer an acting king of Solo. There is still a man with the title of king, but he neither lives in the palace nor governs anything. However, there are still workers in the palace who have sworn to work there until the day they die, earning 25 cents a day. They are the poorest of the poor, but they know they hold a prestigious position. Because not everyone gets to work for the king. Only the abdi dalam.

Another favorite picture of the day.

Trying to decide if we should stay at the palace or head back to the market. This is notable because it is the first photo we have ever inflicted upon ourselves.

While heading out of the palace. I really just love doors.

Back in the market, we found some of Aswan’s family. This is his older sister, Noer, her husband, Andi (a famous judo champion), and their 3 yr old daughter, Jasmin. She is way more naughty than she looks.

I had mixed feelings about today. Traveling in groups always stresses me out. But I better get used to it if I’m planning on staying here... Because nothing is more important in Indonesia than community!

Ah, the weekend...

The perfect time to clean out that layer of black mold you find growing in the cupboard under the kitchen sink.

Wait. What? SICK!

Yes, yes, it's true. Today was what we call an "Indo Day". I am fed up with rainy season, which hasn't ended for a year and a half now. Last night, I was pulling moldly clothes out of my wardrobe and throwing them in the hamper to be washed. Today, I was looking for a dish and almost had a breakdown when I realized how much mold was growing in my cupboards. Then, to make matters worse, as I was crawling head first into the cupboards to reach the very back with a scrub brush and disinfectant wash, it started RAINING! The nerve...

It's really tempting on days like this to compare Indonesia with my home country and grumble about how we don't get mold growing on everything that doesn't move or geckos that poop all over the walls and everything hanging on them in America, like it's the best place on earth or something.

I mean, America's alright. But still, like 360 days out of the year (361 for leap years), I prefer living in Indonesia. Today - as I sneezed and blew my nose repeatedly due to mold exposure, had pots, pans, tupperware, and everything else from my drawers and cupboards strewn across the kitchen floor, and used a borderline toxic floor cleaner just to wipe down my shelves - was one of the other 5.

The good news is that my kitchen is now relatively mold free. And way more organized.

Since being home...

Getting back into the swing of things is always tough. Last quarter is always the hardest as a teacher. I know I shouldn’t complain, because I get like a fourth of the year off work, but last quarter is the one with the fewest days off. I love my job, but it is exhausting in every way possible. Days off are a more than welcome blessing. Finishing well takes a lot of work and determination. Even this first week back has been exhausting. But life is never without its small joys.

Before spring break, I got a package from my mom. I had asked her to send me some seeds, because I can never seem to get Indonesian ones to grow. So she sent me enough seeds to cover half the island of Java in herbs and cucumbers. And also a peat starter/mini greenhouse kit. So the day before I left for Bandung, I planted 6 different kinds of seeds. And when I came back, I had some little green surprises waiting for me!

That’s basil in the background and oregano in the front. I like growing things... It’s the farmer in me. So far here, I’ve only had success with cats. I’m glad to have something to take care of that I’m not allergic to.

  And just a week later, this is what I have in my little window box! The oregano is on the left, that cilantro in the center just shot up from nowhere (it’s been there 3 days), and the basil is on the right.

This morning I found another little cilantro plant just barely pushing its way through the dirt, and by this afternoon, it already looked like this:

I just went and checked it again, and it already has its head out of the ground and a little leaf on top!

I think the oregano is the most fun to take pictures of! : )

In other news, there have been TONS of cicadas around my house lately! They are so loud that it makes watching movies in the early evening rather arduous since I can’t hear anything and instead have to attempt to lip read every single character. Somehow though, I assumed that even though these cicadas sound just like the ones we have in America, they must be different since I live on the opposite side of the world where everything is foreign.... Until I found this stuck on a tree outside my house on my way home from work the other day...

THEY’RE THE SAME!

In anticipation of baby plants growing when I got back, I brought with me a bottle of volcanic mud to use as fertilizer when I put them in their big kid pots. Very high in nutrients. However, since I haven’t potted the plants, some of the mud made its way to my face, and I had my first ever facial. Can’t say that I felt or looked any different after, but it was still kinda fun.

One more thing I’ve been excited about lately is the fact that I found a bunch of Penguin Classics, still plastic wrapped and in ENGLISH, while I was in Bandung. They have so much more import stuff on that side of the island.... *wistful sigh* So I bought 3 classics that I’ve never read before. I’m pretty hit or miss when it comes to liking classics. And there’s rarely an in between for me. I love it or I just can’t get through it because it is so profoundly boring and/or difficult. However, Silas Marner has proven to be quite a good read! I’ve almost finished it in less than a week. I also bought Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence and White Fang and The Call of the Wild by Jack London. And the best part? They were only $3 each! And I love their green, recycled paper covers! Penguin Classics are cute books.

I researched online and found that I can buy the entire set of Penguin Classics for $13,000 on Amazon. Anybody want to contribute to the fund?? *wink*

The volcano

During our 3 days in Bandung (see previous post), we decided that we would spend 2 days doing the big city thing, shopping and malls and restaurants and all that, but that the third day would be spent outside of the city. I suggested we should be in town Thursday and Friday, but then spend Saturday out of town, since that would be the busiest day, and the whole town is like a Best Buy on Black Friday. Everyone was agreeable, so that was our plan. We were extremely glad we did it that way, because on Saturday, the biggest  mall (which we had been at BOTH of the previous days) caught on fire and was evacuated, and then there was a bomb threat (which turned out to be a prank, copycatting 6 recent bombs in Jakarta) at the Simpang Lima (kind of the central area of town).

But for most of the day, we were blissfully unaware of what was going on in town since we were at the top of a local inactive volcano, Tangkuban Perahu.

It was overcast that day, which gave the whole thing kind of an eerie feeling. It was great fun taking pictures! Someone told us about a geyser and sulfur pools a 20 minute hike down the outside of the volcano, so we decided to go. Locals told us that our van (which had driven us to the top) could drive down and meet us right there at the sulfur pools, because there was another parking lot/tourist area further down. Since not all of us were exactly dressed for hiking (not being made aware of our plans for the day before setting out that morning), we decided that would be the best option. So we bought some eggs (for boiling in the sulfur pools, of course!) and rain ponchos (because it started raining right before we set off) and headed down the heavily forested side of the volcano.

One of the first things we spotted on the way down was a guy making carvings beside the trail. We stopped and chatted with him for a bit. We were asking about the artwork on the candleholders he was making.

But he explained to us that this is what the wood looks like naturally! He didn’t draw or paint on it at all! He only cut down the tree and used a machete to carve. I checked out the little bench he had been sitting on to carve before we approached, and sure enough...

Check out those wood chips... This stuff is legit! Hands down the coolest wood I’ve ever seen. The crazy thing is that the tree is really ugly. It looks like a mentally handicapped palm tree with a skin condition. The bark is ugly and gray and it really looks like nothing special. Just goes to show that our God is a God of surprises! And he knows what’s on the inside, even when we don’t!

As we hiked, there were some students who wanted to be way in front, and there were others who were struggling and kind of hung back. BTW, Indonesian mud is like ICE. And hiking downhill in the rain is no easy feat. Luckily, there were steps. I was quite content to allow myself to remain in between the two groups. Not all the way in the front, but also not in the back with the stragglers. For most of the foggy, drizzly hike, I was alone. And it was fun. I didn’t have to make conversation or listen to anyone complain about anything. I just got to enjoy the peace and silence – fog certainly does a good job of making one feel extra isolated – and go at my own speed and enjoy nature, something that rarely happens on the most densely populated island in the world!

Once we reached the “halfway” point (I’m skeptical about the actual distances quoted to us), we all caught up with each other. I noticed something funny with JiHyun’s rain poncho...

Me: Ji, what happened to your poncho?

Him: What are you talking about?

Me: Uhm... Like two-thirds of it is missing.

Him: Oh... THAT! When I put it on, I thought I was putting my head through the head hole, but it was ACTUALLY the arm hole, so then my head got stuck and I had to rip off the sleeve.

Me: Did you do that twice?

Him: No. The other sleeve got ripped off when I got attacked by a bear.

Me: A bear?

Him: A friendly bear.

Bahahaha... I’m pretty sure that nobody makes me laugh like JiHyun. On a near daily basis. Gotta love that kid. Anyways, to continue, from this supposed halfway point, we could see down into the sulfur pits below...

A bit foggy, so hard to see. We pressed on, and in no time (but WAY longer than the estimated 20 minutes!), we were at the bottom. The main attraction was the geyser. I’ve never seen one before!

I was the second one down, and when the rest of the group caught up, I made Vartika take a picture with me. More accustomed to the indoor pleasures of life, her only comment was, “I. AM. NEVER. HIKING. AGAIN!!!”

We spent about 30 minutes soaking our feet in the hot pools of water, boiling and eating eggs, climbing the fences labeled “No tourists beyond this point” (you can see a green one in the background above), and other general exploring.

When we were ready to leave, I asked some guys hanging out there were the parking lot was, and they pointed down a trail and said, “Oh, just right over there”. So I headed that way. Twenty minutes later, I was convinced they had given me wrong directions. Another 20 minutes, and I thought I was lost forever and began to plan how to forge a new life for myself in this sulfuric wilderness (my mind goes strange places when I have nobody to talk to). About 15 minutes after that, I smelled tempe cooking and I knew I was nearing civilization. I prayed that I had miraculously ended up in the same place as the car, because I had left my cell phone in the car that I was looking for. It was the right place. So I sat there and snacked with the lady frying up tempe and tofu until the rest of the group straggled out. Two were in tears.

I don’t care what they say. I loved every minute of that hike. Also, at lunch, I found a guy selling raspberries, and I bought two boxes for $2!

All in all, our 20 minute hike was about 4 hours. And if I had never made it out of there, I totally would have built myself a new house out of that awesome wood!

Bandung (bahn-doong)

I spent the last half of spring break in the city of Bandung (located in West Java, a few hours drive from Jakarta), also known as Paris Van Java. Legend has it that back in the days of Dutch rule, a Dutch noble came to Indonesia, and declared Bandung to be just like Paris, but on Java!

I’m not sure that I’d go that far in my praise of Bandung, but it is a great place to visit. It definitely has the big city feel so stereotypical of Southeast Asia, but at the same time, it has its own unique experiences to offer, one of my personal favorites being the plethora of factory outlets. Go look in your closet, check the tags, and I can just about guarantee you that plenty of your clothing is labeled “Made in Indonesia”. When the garment factories here have a surplus, or if there is a small error in the product, stuff gets sent to Bandung. There are literally HUNDREDS of outlet stores. I was there 2 years ago and got a pair of American Eagle jeans for just under $10 and a pair of Atticus (skate brand) skinny jeans for about $15. Sadly, the boys weren’t so much into shopping, so we only got to visit 3 outlets, and I found no new jeans (all I have remaining are the two pairs I bought there 2 years ago. I was hoping to be able to avoid paying American prices for new jeans this summer). But I did find some awesome deals, the top 3 of which are a Gap skirt – original price tag $134 but bought for $15, a Gap long sleeved button down shirt – original price tag $46 but bought for $10, and an Abercrombie and Fitch cardigan.

Once I got home, I think I realized the defect which allowed it to be so cheap ($12). Can you spot the errors in the picture below taken of the tag sewn into the cardigan? And now that I look, there’s some in the original pricetag in the photo above as well!

However, I know it’s not a knockoff due to the actual tag sewn into the neck, seen below. They got it right on this one! Interesting that this one was made in China, yet still somehow ended up at the Bandung outlets...

Some other awesome experiences we had while visiting Bandung were eating in a “Blind restaurant” – one of those newfangled restaurants that are so overwhelmingly pitch black inside that they supposedly cause your other senses to be heightened. We mostly just felt claustrophobic and really hot, due to there being no AC or any other air movement at all in this pitch black room. Then we all (including some of the guys!) got groped by the waiter as he “helped” us find our way out. We also ate at an all you can eat shabu-shabu restaurant, which was DELICIOUS, even moreso after I learned how to use the stupid cooker thing in the middle of the table and could stop eating my meat raw. (Just kidding! Didn’t eat it raw...)

HyeJi was an expert, and quite a good teacher! Eating with the Korean students was especially beneficial given that the only cooking utensils we were given were wooden chopsticks.

Though riding a cross-Java train full of fleas and cockroaches and traveling with 12 teenagers doesn’t come without its frustrations, it was a really great trip! One of the students has grandparents who live in Bandung, and they were so kind as to host us, provide all our transportation around Bandung (they rented a minibus and hired a driver, instructed to take us wherever we asked!), and to serve us breakfast and take us out for dinner every single night! Words cannot describe their hospitality, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they LOVE doing it.

In conclusion (can you tell I’ve been proofreading papers lately?), I’d like to mengingatkan you (because I can’t remember how to say it in English) of the toll road that I mentioned in a recent blog post. Remember how I wrote about how much I love driving on that road because it is so empty and traffic is so fast? I learned on the way back from Bandung that this is not always the case. We took the night train back, arriving in Semarang at 5 AM. From there, it is about an hour and a half’s car ride home. The last 20 minutes of the trip can now be completed in 5 thanks to the new toll road. Except for early in the morning, apparently. I guess the bewildered citizens of the toll road area really have no idea what to do with this wonderful piece of pavement the government slapped down in their back yard. So they’ve turned it into a morning market! The last five minutes of our trip, in which all of us desperately wanted nothing more than to be at home and lay our weary bodies in our beds, ended up being about 30, thanks to this:

I mean, do you even SEE at the very left, there is a guy selling BALOONS! And behind the green motorbike is a portable restaurant of which the people sitting on the median are customers. This is the TOLL ROAD, people! Ohhhhh.... Indonesia.

To conclude my conclusion, I leave you with a picture of the greatest toilet my hindparts have ever had the privilege of sitting on. It is RECTANGULAR! And oh, so retro! Get excited.