I have to say that I'm going through a bit of culture shock! I think the Peace Corps in Tonga was a little easier since we had a few months of training/orientation before starting to work.
I'll be working at Sanata Dharma University here and will teach classes in the English Education Dept. (teacher training) and the Faculty of Letters (literature). All of my coworkers speak perfect English and they have been so helpful. I have two counterparts who have been assigned to help me while I'm here, Tata and Mita. Mita has been out of town, but Tata has been helping me get my house set up, showing me where to get groceries, etc.
My house is HUGE for one person! I live just about 5 minutes from the center of town in a small community. My neighbors don't speak ANY English, except for one boy who is a university student. So I've given myself a crash course in survival Indonesian. Most of the time I just smile. My house has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths. The baths have taken a while to get used to. The toilets are typical Asian style....just a hole in the floor with footrests on either side. Each bath also has a small tub that holds water. I wish it was a bathtub, but not so! This is the water used to flush using a scoop. I have a wonderful garden area and have been planting some tropical plants.
I live on a pretty busy road and there are many warungs (small family owned eateries) around. I've been surviving on this food since I haven't had a stove or frig.
The city of Yogyakarta is a fairly busy city of about 450,000 people. It's full of contrasts......huge shopping malls with Starbucks, dirt floor markets with women selling exotic fruits and veggies, and the home of the king and queen of Yogyakarta. (There is also a President who oversees the entire country). Mount Merapi is a beautiful cone shaped, smoking volcano that looms over the city. It's a safe distance away though....I hope.
My first trip to the grocery store was an interesting one. I spent over an hour in there just trying to figure out what many things were and ended up with a mostly empty grocery cart. I was happy to see lots of tropical fruits, one being bright pink! They also had lots of fish and seafood so I'll be content for the next 6 months. Some things I probably won't be buying.......packs of chicken and fish heads.
On Dec. 20 I'll be joining the other fellows on a trip to Borneo! The highlight will be seeing orangutans in the wild. I can't wait! Promise to post some pictures as soon as I find a fast internet connection. Have a great Christmas!
I'll be working at Sanata Dharma University here and will teach classes in the English Education Dept. (teacher training) and the Faculty of Letters (literature). All of my coworkers speak perfect English and they have been so helpful. I have two counterparts who have been assigned to help me while I'm here, Tata and Mita. Mita has been out of town, but Tata has been helping me get my house set up, showing me where to get groceries, etc.
My house is HUGE for one person! I live just about 5 minutes from the center of town in a small community. My neighbors don't speak ANY English, except for one boy who is a university student. So I've given myself a crash course in survival Indonesian. Most of the time I just smile. My house has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths. The baths have taken a while to get used to. The toilets are typical Asian style....just a hole in the floor with footrests on either side. Each bath also has a small tub that holds water. I wish it was a bathtub, but not so! This is the water used to flush using a scoop. I have a wonderful garden area and have been planting some tropical plants.
I live on a pretty busy road and there are many warungs (small family owned eateries) around. I've been surviving on this food since I haven't had a stove or frig.
The city of Yogyakarta is a fairly busy city of about 450,000 people. It's full of contrasts......huge shopping malls with Starbucks, dirt floor markets with women selling exotic fruits and veggies, and the home of the king and queen of Yogyakarta. (There is also a President who oversees the entire country). Mount Merapi is a beautiful cone shaped, smoking volcano that looms over the city. It's a safe distance away though....I hope.
My first trip to the grocery store was an interesting one. I spent over an hour in there just trying to figure out what many things were and ended up with a mostly empty grocery cart. I was happy to see lots of tropical fruits, one being bright pink! They also had lots of fish and seafood so I'll be content for the next 6 months. Some things I probably won't be buying.......packs of chicken and fish heads.
On Dec. 20 I'll be joining the other fellows on a trip to Borneo! The highlight will be seeing orangutans in the wild. I can't wait! Promise to post some pictures as soon as I find a fast internet connection. Have a great Christmas!
