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Published: February 9th 2012
Language Games
Maybe graffiti is a better way to communicate after all. My friend Kirstie will do a book (?), I hope, on the distinct nature of graffiti in Jogja. Love the characters here.It's been over three weeks now since Bapak and Ibu Heru herded me into a taxi on the way to Yogyakarta International Airport. Jogja, as it is affectionately dubbed, was my home for three months until this past January. Although the time was very brief, I experienced so much that it felt like I was there for a lot longer. My original purpose for going, to learn enough Indonesian language to apply for microfinance jobs with American organizations, became overwhelmed by the vitality of being in a new and very richly endowed cultural milieu.
I think Jogja is a very easy place to love although I admit I am generally underwhelmed by the level of infrastructure and living evironment of Indonesian cities. Jogja has all of the unpleasantries of most large Indonesian cities, horrible congestion, poverty and pollution combined with plenty of dirt, but that is just the form. Students from all over Indonesia flock here to some of Indonesia's best universities while tourists (international and domestic) do the same to take in Jogja's assiduously promoted but well articulated traditional Javanese culture. However, Jogja, like other cultural cities such as Chiang Mai in Thailand or Boston in the
Jogja at night
From Bukit Bintang in the east. United States, is more than just the city itself. It is builit up of many fascinating components. The most famous, Malioboro, is an avenue that runs to the main sultan's palace-the cultural center-and is the city's main shopping district. It is also a hub for taking a peek into what Indonesia's has to offer; witness my previous travel blogs and Facebook photos for more of Jogja and more of Indonesia. But in all honesty, you will not likely find what you are looking for on Malioboro unless you plan a very short stay. It is a great place to buy batik, go out at night, shop at the mall or experience Javanese culture, but it is like many of the photos you see here, only a snapshot: Of course, if you can establish a relationship that transcends the buyer-seller/consumer-producer dichotomy with some of the people or socially oriented organizations around Malioboro, you will develop a broader portfolio of pictures to share. Personally, I had a lot more fun at the small chocolate factories-where you can watch production-Monggo for Belgian style, in the Kota Gede part of town, and Cokelat Roso, on Sultan Agung, for local tastes-often with ingredients from jamu,
Borobodur
A transcendant glimpse into the people of Indonesia? a local herbal drink, such as tamarind.
You have to get out and see the cities surroundings and numerous eclectic leisure venues;restaurants; temples; rice fields; mountains; beaches; traditional neighborhoods; puppet performances; and public organizations. The hectic pace of life in Jogja, although much slower than in Jakarta, can put such amenities out of reach or make them seem mundane if you stay long enough. People work long and hard for very little money in Jogja. Tourists and even people from Jakarta can't believe how cheap it is here, but for many working in the city (often for an average of $2.00 a day) I suspect they see it quite differently. It always depends on who you ask. In a place where you can rent a house for a year for less than five hundred dolllars such questions are certainly wanting to be asked. This dearth of massive money circulation allows Jogja to keep some of the charm of its localness avoiding skyscrapers and massive industrial growth. Small scale business flourishes in Jogja while the factories of Indonesia seek out more industrial cities like Jakarta, Semarang or Surabaya. Many Indonesians from the bigger cities I have spoken with
see it as backward or even quaint, but it always has a distinct identity: At the same time, many Indonesians I have spoken with that went to university and now live in other cities speak of it with a twinkle in their eyes; Like a married a couple I once met who had fallen in love while studying there. Jogja has developed a unique aura or brand that many other cities in Indonesia just don't have.
For three months I stayed with Ibu and Bapak Heru at their homestay (named Homestay Heru....you can find Ibu's website with a Google search online) which is much like a boarding house for PHD students, NGO workers, longer stay tourists, government officials, Indonesian businesspeople, and curious types like myself. Ibu Heru, with wonderful hospitality, always manages to hold this wonderfully diverse group together with shared meals, simple but comfortable rooms and a location near Jogja's most well-known Indonesian language schools, Alam Bahasa and Wisma Bahasa. Embassies, NGOs and religious organizations send legions of their flock to these houses of speak. (Although not being allowed to have guests is a bit constricting, unlike in a more private arrangement, the diversity of the
Free Lunch
Every Thursday a nice spread is offered for students at Alam Bahasa. Here, one of my friends, Hans, gives his farewell speech (in Indonesian) on his last day before we eat.....something we all got to do in front of everyone before leaving the school. communal environment and living with Indonesians offers a healthy tradeoff. There are always plenty people around to hang out with.)
Ibu gathers these individuals together from all over the world into a quite local but cosmopolitan family. She does so with generous aplomb. Given Indonesia's own multitude of diversity this might be assumed to be a typical Indonesian skill, but she really excels in her home-centred diplomacy. Like most Indonesians Ibu is very social. With a mixture of Indonesian, English and French she speaks with us in our different languages and at our various levels of Indonesian. She has a real gift. Bapak is quiet but his frequent laughter and constant presence are comforting. Their remaining daughter at home, Nana, manages the other house and she is fun to talk with as well as a wealth of information about contemporary goings on such as local jazz performances. They all make you feel at home while managing to provide privacy and convenience.
In three months I managed to get a 'Sertifikat' as a 'Working Indonesian' at the Alam Bahasa language school while hopefully managing to communicate better. I know what I did learn enhanced my
Sunset at the beach
Crowded and often dirty during the day, early morning and just before sunset offer beautiful light for viewing. experience exponentially even if I am yet to be really fluent in Indonesian. Outside of language, I learned to cook (main dishes, desserts, and beverages), make batik, imitate classical Javanese dance (very badly), and even sing a few Indonesian pop songs(with words in front of me). The school took me to Mount Merapi (the famous active volcano that you can see from town), Borobodur (the world's largest Buddhist temple), Prambanan (the most famous Hindu temple in Indonesia), Imogiri (burial place of Java's sultans), Pagilaran tea plantation, Pekalongan batik market, Semarang's architectural sights, the beach, the herbal drink shop, a microfinance institution, a holistic recycling village and even sunset at the airport. All eight of my instructors (Ita, Mila, Eka, Rina, Agnes, Anting, Dika and Lisa) were so patient and understanding of my daily needs. (Six hours of daily language instruction). I miss them all as well as the rest of the large staff at the school. As much as Ibu Heru, they did all they could to make me feel at home in Jogja. I hope to see them all again, not just on Facebook.
I spent many hours tooling around town on my motorbike as well
A true 'merantau'
Merantau can have the meaning sort of like 'sojourner' in English. Perhaps 'wanderer' would be better? as walking and taking the Transjogja bus to different spots. My ever rotating group of mates at Alam Bahasa (most people stayed for shorter durations than me) kept me company on many occaisions Nina, Marika, Nanya, Kirstie, Pascal, Remi and Dee are especially missed. But I met so many interesting people. This was equally true at Homestay Heru where the people like the adventurous couple of Robert and Patricia who often kept the dinner/breakfast table chatting away and took me on my first exploratory trips around the town (by foot and motorbike). On my intial trip by motorbike to fill up with gas, I met Naning who works all day......every day, filling up people's tanks with gas. He works long and hard for very little money so I would sometimes stop by to chat on my way to or from school when I wasn't on the bike. Dewi and her daughter Evira I met while exploring temples near Prambanan. We took a trip to the beaches together on a later date and now stay in touch via FB.
The two young guys who repaired my motorbike in Temanggung(over an hour from the city), Antok and Sukarno, regularly
My trophy after three months
I would rather it be the opposite of M&Ms.....with the proof coming out of my mouth rather than my hand. texted me by SMS while I was there. My classical dance teachers, Anom and Atun, stay in touch via FB as well. All of the guys from the shop where I rented my bike became good friends. They were always at work so I would often stop by and chat with them....a good opportunity to practice Indonesian while learning a little Javanese, but fun as well. (Mas Udah has the smoothest and slowest pitched voice so I loved talking with him.) Also, the incorrigible Sutardi who introduced himself to me while walking (in English) on Jalan Malioboro is always stalking me on Facebook. But he has a drive I admire. And of course, Fanti, my favorite date while I was in Jogja. From Manado, a diving paradise in Sulawesi, she just graduated from a Christian College in Jogja. She tells me she will go to work for Freeport mining in Papua New Guineau within a few months. We often ate together, shopped and took some trips to the city outskirts. I really miss Linda, the ever present and very cute housekeeper from Homestay Heru, who would always chat me up after school. Her persistence, along with Ibu Heru, helped my
Indonesian a lot. People like Rena (from Wonosobo) and Aryadi (from Sragen) are good friends as well.
I saw so much and learned so much it is really hard to write this blog, but I have been telling myself to do so before I forget what I dearly wanted to remember. It is said that forgetting, as part of memory, allows us to move on. I would like to think of this blog as both a process of memory and forgetting so that I feel at ease to move forward. Jogja is a place that has greatly enriched my perceptions and experiences in Southeast Asia. I hope I will be back sometime. As they say in Indonesia,"Sampai Jumpa!".....see you (but not sure when).
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raharasi
L_Raharasi
Yogyakarta: Sojourning Adventure, Language, Culture and Friendship
Yogyakarta is awesome... I love living here. This is not because I'm a native Yogyakarta, after I got around some places in Indonesia, so far Yogyakarta is still the most comfortable. nice blog. i hope u willl back yo Yogyakarta some day. it seems there are still many places that you have not visited. :)