kschnell
Kerry Joined: July 15th 2008
Logged in: November 27th 2008
Logged in: November 27th 2008
Want to see how I am getting to Indonesia? RouteMap
Travel Blog Posts
Hello again Sorry I have done such a poor job of updating my blog. I just returned from a whirlwind trip to the States - I visited nine states for ten medical school interviews in two and half weeks. It was quite a trip. As far as I know, the interviews went well. While I am a bit worse for the wear, I am excited to be back and re-immersing. I think the hardest part of the adjustment to life in Bontang is over, which means I have much to look forward to. When my interviewers asked about Bontang, I found myself describing the unique nature of the city. That is, as I have said before, Bontang is a city of migrants; forty years ago, there was no Bontang. As such, Bontang is composed of Indonesians ... read more
Hello again, Pancakes are a hit in Bontang. A couple of weeks ago, some teachers came to my house and cooked for me. I wanted to contribute, so I offered to make them pancakes, the only simple “American” food I could think to make without an oven. The teachers loved them, and word spread about a delicious “traditional” American food. Last Friday, the teachers came over to my house again and I taught them how to make pancakes. We made six batches (probably about 50 pancakes) and then brought them to an event at the school. To a gorgeous spread of bakso (Indonesian meatballs), noodles, fruits, sweets, and coconut drinks, I added a Tupperware container full of pancakes…classy, right?! While I have trouble believing the cold pancakes were truly delicious, they were a big hit. One ... read more
Greetings from Borneo, My return to the jungle has reminded that I am, well, really in the jungle. When I opened my door upon returning from my trip, lizards scurried up the walls and a salamander-like creature half-slithered, half-crawled across the floor. The lizards don’t bother me, but I was less-than-pleased with my new salamander friend. As such, I took a plastic container and tried to trap it. In doing so, I accidentally cut off half of its tail. The tail piece took on a life of its own - it jumped and wriggled across the floor. I left the tail to itself, figuring it would “die.” However, several minutes later, the energizer-bunny of a tail showed no signs of slowing, so I “killed” it…I never thought I would have to kill a tail :) The ... read more
Tangkubanparahu
Hello all, The internet is up and running at my school, so I can post pictures - yeah! Let’s see, I just returned from a week-long trip to Java. All of the ETAs had to go to Jakarta to give fingerprints, signatures, ect. for our residency permits. Many of the ETAs, including myself, then extended our trips to spend a bit of time exploring Java. I spent one night is Jakarta, a sprawling, polluted city and then headed to Yogyakarta. Yogya for short, this city is considered a cultural stronghold of Central Java. Just after arriving in Yogya, a couple of us decided to, spur of the moment, spend the night hiking a local volcano. We left our hostel at 10pm, beginning the hike up Mount Merapi at 1am. The hike was anything but easy; we ... read more
Hello All, I am settling into life in Bontang. I know where to buy my groceries, how to work my washing machine, and where to find drinking water at school. As in orientation, my days start at 6am. School begins at 7, and many students are there until 5 or 6 in the evening. My days end anywhere from noon to 5pm. At school, I have been introducing myself to classes and observing lessons. Students have asked me about everything from my opinions on global warming and the upcoming presidential election to my favorite Indonesian food and impressions of Indonesia. The other American in my town got asked what she thought the first time she tried rice. That is, the student did not know we have rice in the US! What we consider personal questions in ... read more
Hello all, I just walked to an internet café, in the rain, from my new home in Bontang. Thus far, everything is going well. My house is very nice - I have air conditioning, hot water, and a washing machine. Everyone at the school I am going to be working at has been very friendly. My counterpart in particular has been very helpful. He took me shopping, showed me around the school, and gave me a tour of Bontang. By counterpart, I mean the teacher that has been assigned to be my “go-to person” at the school. My counterpart, Eugeng, has taught English for over 16 years. He now teaches one English class and spends the rest of his time on administrative work. He, along with the counterparts of the other ETAs, met us in Bandung ... read more
Well, tomorrow I am off to my home for the next nine months. It is going to be a bittersweet moment - I am excited to get settled into Bontang, but sad to leave the friends I have made. It is amazing what trips like this can do for friendships; I feel like I have known many of the other Fulbrighters for more than two weeks. I realize I have been a bit slow on updating my blog. Orientation was informative, but intense. Our days started with a 6am wake-up call, breakfast, and then class from 8am-4pm. We spent half of our days working on Bahasa Indonesia, the language most Indonesians speak, and the other half learning about teaching English as a foreign language. Outside of the classroom, the biggest surprise has been the number of ... read more
Hello all, I hope everything is going well back in the States. I am a little bit more than a week into my orientation in Bandung, East Java. Bandung is a large city a couple of hours south of Jakarta. It is a bit polluted, but the weather is fantastic because we are up in the mountains. We drove through Jakarta to get to Bandung, and I as struck by the sharp contrast between Jakarta and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Driving through Jakarta, there seemed to be miles upon miles of sky scrapers. The highway had overpasses and underpasses, and a lot of the cars we were driving with were shiny and new. From what I remember of Dar es Salaam, there was a small cluster of tall buildings in the downtown area. While some of ... read more
Hello again, I have arrived in Indonesia...and was welcomed by three medical school secondary applications. I am safe and sound; I will write more later. Kerry... read more
Singapore
Hello all, I have made it safely to Singapore and am waiting to get on my plane to Jakarta. My trip here was smooth and uneventful. I spent last night in a luxury hotel in downtown Singapore - life is pretty good :) Singapore is an unbelievably nice country/city. The downtown was clean, organized, and very easy to navigate. We arrived last night at around midnight Singaporean time (11am in Minnesota). Full of adrenaline, I dropped of my bag, showered, and walked around the city with other ETAs (English Teaching Assistants). I walked around again this morning - Singaporeans speak English, so it felt almost like walking around an American city. That is all the news as of yet - I'm safe in SE Asia! Kerry... read more
