Blogs from Bogor, Java, Indonesia, Asia

I am very pleased with my research team. They are super organized and are getting through all necessary interviews quicker than expected (which means I get to go back to my oasis in Jakarta a day early). I also don’t feel like I have to hover over them to make sure everything goes according to protocol. The research capacity here in Indonesia is quite high. But as in other countries, data collection is often an uncomfortable process. My research manager called yesterday evening to say he was going straight home rather than meeting me for a debrief meeting because he just spent the last couple of hours doing an interview while sitting next to a chicken coop and was not smelling so nice. Yesterday morning I sat in on a focus group with women from a ... read more

My time in Indonesia this trip has been a bit frustrating so far, mostly because the IRB (in the U.S.) delayed our start. I spent an extra few days in Jakarta waiting for paperwork. My team was trained and ready to go, already having scheduled several interviews. But, bureaucracy requires extreme patience. Right now I am sitting in a little community center in the backstreets of Bogor, an hour outside of Jakarta. One of my fieldworkers is leading a focus group discussion with 8 men. They are all sitting on the floor on a rug, eating snacks we brought, half of them wearing a traditional Muslim head covering. They hardly notice me sitting in the corner of the stuffy room. The field worker is leading them in a photo elicitation exercise where he shows them photos ... read more

Bhavatu Sabba Mangalam Wow. 10 Days Vipassana meditation course completed with almost flying colors, and all I have to do is describe it. Well, not so easy so I have spent a few days figuring out how to go about it. What the hell is meditation anyway? If you are anything like what I was just a couple of weeks ago, you only have a vague idea what meditation is. Something like sitting cross-legged and concentrating really hard and then you would be able to levitate within a few hours or read peoples' minds. I guess the best way to get an understanding is to simply just try it. If not the full ten days then at least 10 minutes. Even though I'm definitely not qualified to instruct anyone in Anapana or Vipassana meditation then here ... read more

Ooit 13 keer de Eiffeltoren opgeweest, 13 zomers zonder onweer meegemaakt, 13 vrijdag de 13e meegemaakt zonder incidenten, nee? Nou da’s niet erg maar ooit meer dan 13 uur in de file gestaan dan? Ook niet, nou wij wel! Op de weg van Bandung naar Bogor op zondag tijdens een groot festijn (In Bogor). Indonesië laat zien waarom het toch een derde wereldland is, organisatievermogen van een loden deur. Amper Puncak voorbij voorbij of het rampzalige scenario ontvouwde zich, Puncak is de naam van een pas op het Indonesische eiland Java die men passeert, als men van Bogor naar Bandung reist. Letterlijk vertaald betekent puncak top. Het hoogste punt van de pas bevindt zich op ongeveer 1500 m hoogte. Aangezien dit een hoog gelegen en daardoor relatief koel gebied is, was het al voor de tweede ... read more

Keramik Fungsi: Fungsi dari karya saya yang pertama adalah gelas atau cankir untuk minum, sedangkan fungsi dari karya saya yang kedua adalah piring buah untuk menempatkan buah-buahan yang akan disajikan. Proses Pembuatan: A. Keramik Pertama Proses pembuatan dari keramik yang pertama diawali dengan membasahi tanah liat yang akan digunakan agar menjadi lembut, setelah itu baru diambil sedikit bagian dari tanah liat tersebut dan dibentuk menjadi bulat. Setelah tanah liat membulat, lalu dibuat menjadi panjang kira-kira 15cm. Kemudian, kedua ujungnya disatukan sehingga membentuk cincin dan tahap ini terus diulang sampai lima kali, lalu ditumpuk menjadi satu. Kemudian, diambil lagi sedikit bagian dari tanah liat, dibentuk bulat dan pipihkan. Lalu bagian yang pipih tersebut ditempel di bawah tumpukan cincin tadi sehingga menjadi dasar gelas. Setelah itu sambungan dari tiap cincin... read more

Indonesia - Jakarta Time for a change in country, yet again. I was flying to Jakarta but had been unable to find any accomodation as it was the local holidays! Last minute change of plan, whilst sat in KL airport, I read about a homestay programme where you live with locals and they show you how they live etc. So having arranged it all with the guy I was met in a place called Bogor by one of his students. He has young lads who work for and with him who are English teachers, but they show people like me around in order to practice their English, in return I get to meet and live like a local person would! This has got to be one of the best things I did, I lived with a ... read more

Bogor's main attraction is the botanical gardens and it's a big draw for locals as well as westerners. The packed train certainly suggested that it would be busy. Scores of families lined up along the platform and when the train arrived everyone jumped on. This was our first taste of Indonesian trains and the only ticket we could buy was economy. Trains come in three classes EKONOMI = no seat numbers sit where you want, cockroaches under your feet, strong smell of sweat, filthy rotten seats. BUSINESS = seat number allocated - guaranteed seat, cockroaches, strong smell of sweat, filthy rotten seats. EXECUTIVE = completely different to anything in Indonesia - think business class virgin trains. So off we shuttled on our 1 hour journey (with the above mentioned, only the sweaty smell was twice as ... read more