Blogs from Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia, Asia - page 22

Monday June 30, 2008 - I arrived in Yogy at 3:15 pm and called Miranda. She came to get me around 3:45 and it was nice to see her. It's been almost three years. We walked to one of the guesthouses where I could leave my bag and meet her boyfriend and then we sat down and chatted for a while. Then we went to a travel agent to arrange tickets to Bali for the coming weekend. Bought our tickets and then went for some dinner. We had fried noodles at a little stand outside. Super cheaper than anything I'd had yet. And good. We went to get my bag and then got a cab ride back to her place. We spent a few more hours talking and catching up and went to sleep really late. ... read more

I recovered very quickly from that bout of dietary indiscretion, though I certainly milked it for all the sympathy I could! One of my professors from home was visiting my campus the next day. Perhaps I was still a bit ill, she looked very alarmed and turned into a mother hen the minute she saw me. The rest of the week was very busy with my project. Everything is finally up and running. Again, I am sparing the details here, if you’d like to hear more, email me! It’s very gratifying to finally have everything work out and come together! I took the day off on Friday again so that I could visit the nearby beach with my Indonesian boy. It is really excellent dating someone with a motorcycle! The beach is in Parangtritis (Paris for ... read more

My project is progressing rather slowly… There are, of course, many hurdles to jump through. This is expected, and I am certainly not concerned yet. I have an office in the anatomy department of the veterinary school here. The anatomy department has a huge collection of animal skeletons and bones. It’s really cool! There are several articulated (assembled) cows; in my office are two complete monkey skeletons and a civet. The monkeys (maybe macaques) are very creepy, miniature humans with tails. I hid them in the corner. It’s fun being in the office there, everyone I’m working with is incredibly helpful and friendly! I’m really coming to love Jogja! I really love where I’m living, especially now that I’ve replaced the bedspread and my room is slightly less overwhelmingly blue! I really wasn’t expecting to have ... read more

I’ve certainly benefited this week from the shopping and dining savvy of the group of Americans I’m working with - I’m arriving right as they are arranging to head home and so I’ve tagged along on several shopping expeditions. And Yogya is the place for fun shopping in Indonesia. It’s also the place for poor quality mass-produced tourist junk, so you need to be smart about it. Another girl from my university who is working on this project was in town with her sister, and so we attacked the fun Yogya markets en force loaded with shopping savvy. We visited a silversmith shop where you can make your own jewelry. It’s run by a lovely young Indonesian guy who speaks excellent English and has a calm and friendly “artiste” demeanor. And a ponytail. And by shop ... read more

I’ve had several days to get settled in Yogya. I’ve met all my advisors at the University, and my Indonesian student counterpart. It is a very beautiful campus! I’ve finally moved my enormous pack of supplies to their final resting place - I’ve been given an office! And, they found me a really lovely room in a guesthouse for only $160 a month (oh, laundry is an additional $6 a month!). The room is decorated entirely (floor tiles and wall paint included) in shades of sky blue, which is quite fitting for me, though perhaps wouldn’t be my first choice. For now, I’m still staying in the lovely guesthouse so that I can tag along with Jenni until she leaves this weekend. Today we went batik shopping! It will make the Indonesians very happy if I ... read more