The Ordinary Beginnings of an Ordinary Week

Good Morning!

In typical Ellery fashion, I am in the "post frequently" phase of one of my "post-nothing-and-then-post-frequently" cycles. I thought that, in addition to a little update on the last few days, I'd use this post to write out some things that I have been reflecting upon, particularly pertaining to my purpose for being here this year. Forgive me for any off-course ramblings that may result. :)

I forgot to mention in my last post one of the little ways that God was at work in my life here on Friday. I woke up feeling rather blue, facing my first day "alone" again after 19 days of the company of other SALTers and Andrew. While I thought I did a good job of covering up my feelings at school, the teachers were not fooled (though they were kind enough to not say anything about it in the moment). 9:30 is always break time at school, and as I was sitting down for the half an hour "istirahat", my phone beeped. I checked it to find a text from Riki, saying that she was in my host dad's store at the moment, as her host family was buying a new computer. Riki! From a village three hours away! What were the odds of that? I didn't ask questions, but fairly ran home to find Riki in the shop. Within five minutes, we rearranged both of our schedules to accommodate an impromptu lunch date, and then Riki joined me at the TK for the rest of the morning. It was at this point that the teachers mentioned how I had seemed quite depressed in the morning, but was looking much happier now. I felt a little bad about that (that the company of my host community couldn't perk me up the same way that a fellow SALTer could), but it is in those "low" moments that I really need someone with whom I can easily talk to (because speaking in a language other than one's native tongue requires a lot of extra concentration), and who understands where I'm coming from. Riki gave me some positive affirmation after watching me teach a lesson, and then we were off to have lunch together. Even though she had to leave around 3, having Riki here for those few hours made such a difference in my mood. It was one time when the Indonesian randomness of life just happened to work in our favour! I think the good Lord above knew what I needed, and sent Riki my way to fulfill that need. It definitely salvaged the day for me.

On Saturday morning, after teaching a quick lesson to TK-B (we're in the midst of an animal unit, and learned about cats on Saturday), I headed off on another Outbound adventure with my play group. This is the fourth trip of this nature that I have taken between Easter weekend and now, between TK, PPA, and youth. This time, we went to an adventure park that had a "ropes"activity, a playground, a petting zoo, paddle boat rides, and a splash pad. We spent the morning going through the activities (or more accurately, standing under the scrawny palm trees while the three year olds endured the heat) , following it up with lunch at the park, before heading back to the church. A particular highlight of this little endeavour was when the animal guy threw corn for the caged pigeons to consume, and they all flocked at once, swooping dangerously close to my face in their mad dash for food. Fun times indeed.

That Friday get-together with Riki was followed up by yet another impromptu visit on Saturday afternoon, from none other than my dear Laura. Some people from her school had a revival to attend at the Holy Stadium in Semarang, and they offered to drop her off at my house while that was going on. We hung out for awhile, and then headed over to church for youth, before coming back and eating dinner at my place. Laura left around 9, and I was able to chat with Andrew for the first time since he left, making Saturday a really great day overall!

Sunday morning was church as usual (I think the pastor had banked up some passion after a somewhat subdued service last week, and we were all the beneficiaries of that), and then it was out for lunch to celebrate Pak Har's birthday. Now if there is one thing I can tell you about my host dad, it is that he knows and loves his foods. We don't always see eye-to-eye when describing a food as "enak" ("delicious"), but when it comes to eating out, he usually hits the nail right on the head, and the result has been some pretty phenomenal meals here in Semarang. Sunday was no exception, and I found myself seated in a Chinese restaurant (my host family is Ethnic Chinese), with a spread of shrimp, beef, soup, and- the highlight of the meal- Peking duck, before me. I've never tried Peking duck before, but it was absolutely delicious. In fact the whole meal was phenomenal- there wasn't a thing that I didn't enjoy. (Much unlike an experience a few weeks ago where I was taken out for "Padang", a type of restaurant that serves a small plate of a whoooole bunch- 23 to be exact- different dishes, and has you pay for the ones you eat, while the others are served to another table. These dishes are served at the typical room temperature, and items range from goat stomach to intestines to some sort of hoof, and everything in between. I liked precisely one of the 23 dishes.) After Pak Har's birthday lunch, we stopped by the Chinese Traditional Market, which smelled very much like raw warm chicken meat (likely because there was raw warm chicken meat for sale). Many people at the market were excited by the sighting of a bule, and I was able to take a whole bunch of pictures as a result. From the market, we headed off for the weekly trip to the mall, then to the bookstore, and then back home again. We laid low for the afternoon and evening, and I was wildly unproductive with my time.

This morning I went to the TK rather than to Salatiga, as I normally would on a Monday, since I took last Thursday morning off to see Andrew off. Mondays are the kiddies' dance classes, and that is always a real treat to watch. I also learned how to cook a really delicious dessert/soup/beverage that Bu Intan has made several times this year, and that I really enjoy. I'm curious to see if I'll be able to find all of the ingredients for it back in Canada. If I can, I've found my substitute for hot chocolate and tea this winter! It's funny, before coming to Indonesia, and even in my first few months in the Indo, I thought that Canada doesn't lack anything, food-wise. Of course, I was coming at it from a Western food search perspective. Now, as I am trying to get my hands on some of my favourite Indonesian recipes, I find myself thinking, "man, I don't think I'm going to be able to get my hands on banana leaves or coconut jellies or "nangka" very easily." Even if I can find the ingredients, I have a feeling that they'll be rather costly. I cannot envision paying a lot for banana leaves, which are used here indispensably, found in even the cheapest dishes, and used to wrap food-to-go.

This afternoon consisted of a failed attempt to tackle the mess that is my room, and some searching online for Indonesian restaurants in Kitchener. The one that got good reviews costs $60-100 per person! I am going to have to make the most of this 2 months, food-wise especially...

Have a great day!
Love,
Ellery

A Visit From My Pacar!

Hello to you, my patient readers, from a very apologetic young lady in Central Java!

I do owe you a huge apology for the lag in posts. It’s been on my mind almost every day to get something up on my blog, but the month of April absolutely flew by, and now, almost exactly a month later, I am finally free and able to get something worth reading (I hope!) up here.

My biggest prompter was Bu Lucy, a lady from PPA Sendang Guwo, who presented me with a gift today, and reminded me (unknowingly) that these special moments are forgotten if they are not recorded. The gift was a key chain, handmade by Bu Lucy herself, with a picture of Andrew (my boyfriend) and I in it. It’s big and blue and covered in glitter, and it is filled with love and care, which is what I find so special about it. Almost every day, the love of my host community is demonstrated to me, be it in the spaghetti that Bu Intan made especially for me, the surprise Birthday cake that the staff at church got for Andrew (and the accompanying song) on his birthday, the Rendang that Bu Ira sent over for lunch today, or in the half-eaten cookies that my TK kiddies offer to me. (Did anyone pick up on the food theme there?) If I were to record every loving act that my host community shows toward me, I could have filled my whole journal. And that’s despite my days of moodiness and resistance to the culture, which still pop up here and there. I’m truly showered with unconditional love each and every day, and just when I seem to forget it, something like the keychain comes along to remind me.

The month that has passed since my last “real” blog (April 7) dragged by at an unfathomably slow rate, and then picked up speed around April 18^th, which just so happens to coincide with the arrival of Andrew and Ellen, Mike’s girlfriend. The weeks prior to Andrew’s arrival were filled with Easter activities (yes, after Easter- for some reason, the actual date of these major holidays isn’t really all that important. Case in point: the Christmas banner at church, which was taken down in March), an unexpected little endeavour to Jogja and Solo, a visa renewal/SALTer reunion, and a few days with Mike. In fact, last night was my first night alone again in 20 days.

The trip to Jogja and Solo was completely unexpected, and was brought on by the visit of an MCC worker from Laos who arrived a few days prior to an MCC conference, and wanted to do some sightseeing. I was thrilled for the opportunity (which was presented to me on the Wednesday), and on Thursday morning (waaaaay back on April 12^th), Wendy and I were off to see Borobudur (the Buddhist temple that we also visited when my parents were here) and Prambanan (a cluster of Hindu Temples), and hit up some Batik stores in Solo. We spent the night at Sushant and Priti’s house (MCC workers from India) and enjoyed a fabulous homemade Indian meal for dinner. We also got a chance to go to Kopeng to see a really pretty waterfall there (which would have totally been worth it if not for the gridlock traffic that we encountered on our way home.) It was a packed two days, but definitely a lot of fun! 

That Saturday, Riki arrived, followed by Laura on Sunday morning, and Mike on Sunday afternoon. Jason was the last to arrive on Sunday evening, and us Canadian YALTers enjoyed a night together before taking care of visa renewal stuff (just in Semarang) for the last time, on Monday morning. Visa renewal was followed by a great lunch, and then Jason headed back to Kudus, and the rest of us headed back to my place. Riki and Laura left on Tuesday, and that left just one (long and seemingly endless) night before Andrew and Ellen’s arrival.

On April 18^th, after 8 months and 11 days apart (but who’s counting?), Andrew arrived, along with Mike’s girlfriend, Ellen. I cannot tell you how awesome it was to finally see him again, and it’s also hard to explain how normal it felt for him to be here, right from the get-go! We spent Thursday and Friday in my host community, following my normal schedule of TK, Ichthus, and PPA. It’s amazing how quickly so many things that I’ve been talking about these past 8 months, became clear to him. Within 2 days, he had tried a handful of Indonesian foods (including fried papaya leaves and deep fried whole catfish), ridden on a motorbike, spoken on Ichthus FM, saw my PPA Sendang Guwo site, played Zombie and “Dinosaurus” with my TK kids, watched a bunch of top-quality Indo action films in the home of one of my students, been sung to twice and presented with two cakes for his birthday (as well as pose with me for a picture of me feeding him the cake, an idea that my Indo friends thought was “so cute”… we thought otherwise), and introduced to most of the people that I most often interact with here in the Indo. The days were jam-packed, and he was jet-lagged, but he participated in everything wholeheartedly, asked tons of questions, and interacted with everyone despite the language barrier. I was so impressed!

We left on Saturday morning for a MUCH anticipated trip to Gili Trawangan, an island off the coast of Lombok, which is off the coast of Bali. Laura and I had done the vast majority of planning for the trip, and had decided to cut costs by taking the bus/ferry/speedboat combo there, and flying home. The trek there took about 30 hours from start to finish (the same amount of time that it took Andrew and Ellen to get here from Canada), but it was cool to get a chance to see Bali (we had to drive across it to get to Lombok), and ride some ferries and speedboats. The trek was also almost immediately forgotten upon our arrival in what I can only describe as true tropical paradise. Laura and I had done some research back in November and December, and had concluded that Gili Trawangan was the best match for our needs/desires- away from Java, reasonably priced, authentically Indonesian (not too overly touristy, like much of Bali tends to be), lots of good food options. We hit the nail right on the head- Gili Trawangan not only met, but far exceeded my already high expectations.

From the moment we arrived until the moment we left, we soaked up all that the island has to offer. Gili Trawangan is the biggest of a series of three popular Gili islands, and is the most developed. It is said to be the up-and-coming Bali, with tourism spiking just in the last five years. That said, there are still no motorized vehicles on the island, just bikes and horse carts, and there is just one 20-minute walk stretch of shops and restaurants and spas. The rest of the island is still filled with a lot of natural space, including a big hill that we climbed to watch the sunset over the mountains of Bali, on Thursday night. The population of Gili Trawangan is around 800 people, and the only access is by speedboat. The entire island takes less than two hours to walk around, which gives you an idea of how small it is. We visited in what is considered low season, which added a multitude of perks to the already perfect place, including cheaper prices for accommodations, and crowd-free beaches. The water was crystal clear, and we snorkeled several times (even taking a snorkeling trip to all three islands one day), and saw beautiful fish and huge sea turtles. The beaches were both sunny and shady, and there were tons of places to sit. In fact, every restaurant was literally on the beach (the “floors” were sand), and we set up our base at an Austrian restaurant with little gazebos right on the beach.

Our accommodation was a little place called Martas, run by a British woman who wants nothing more than to make your time as stress-free and enjoyable as possible. She bent over backwards to help us out, and everything was “no problem!” We stayed in a 2 bedroom “bungalow”, with a huge day bed outside, and a loft room upstairs. Breakfasts were included, and consisted of whole wheat toast and eggs or omelets or crepes, fresh fruit and fruit juice, and coffee or tea. Martas is a block off of the main strip, so right near the action, but removed enough to make it quieter than other accommodations. The whole trip was just one great thing after another, and I feel so lucky to have had that experience.

We flew back, leaving Ellen and Mike in Lombok to head back to Mike’s placement, and arrived back in Semarang on Saturday night. We were immediately plunged right back into the swing of things here, starting with two back-to-back church services on Sunday (7:30-1 on the pew, with an hour in between there for visiting at church). I was glad that Andrew got the chance to experience the more realistic parts of my placement as well. We all headed to Salatiga on Monday, and did a normal Monday routine for me, adding a visit to Pak Lilik and Ibu Christin’s to that. There was a thick envelope awaiting me at the MCC office, and inside I found letters from a whole bunch of kids at NUMC, my home church in Canada. Letters and packages mean so much for us here, and it was so special to get a tangible reminder of the people who are thinking of me and praying for me often, even after 8 months.

On Tuesday, we went to TK as usual, and then we headed out in search for Kopi Luwak, a really special (and a tad on the pricey side) coffee made from coffee beans that are found in the droppings of an animal called a Luwak. How one first discovered this delicacy I’ll never know, but the coffee that results is said to be the most delicious coffee in the world, and can sell for up to $50 a cup in North America. Thankfully, it didn’t cost anywhere near that here, and Andrew claimed it was a pretty awesome cup of coffee. (He let me try a precious sip, but it was lost on me, as I’m not really much of a coffee drinker.)

Wednesday is one of my busy days, so we were kept going from morning until night. The evening was a particularly good one though, as it was a chance for Andrew to talk to some native Indonesians in English (it’s my night at the Gloria Patri Learning Centre, where I help teach with people who have spent time in North America). We went to a delicious warung for dinner, owned by a woman from the Gloria Patri church. She fed us until we could eat no more, and then didn’t let us pay a cent for any of it. It was so generous, and the food was absolutely fantastic.

I had to say bye to Andrew yesterday morning, and while it was definitely not a fun thing to do, I was able to hold back any tears (mainly because I knew people would ask if I cried- people here have a funny thing with crying. It’s like crying is one of the most embarrassing things you could do, and people laugh at me for it! And yet it’s the first question I got from a whole bunch of people today), and I sent him off with the knowledge that the longest time apart is behind us, and I’ll be back in just 10 weeks.  

Speaking of that, it really is just two and a half months until I’m home! This year has felt like a strange time warp, moving slowly and yet unbelievably quickly at the same time. While I am undoubtedly excited about being reunited with my loved ones at home, I’m glad that I still have time here, as there are still quite a few things I’d like to do before I leave. These next two and a half months are filled with lots of good things, and I’m betting that they’ll fly by!

Well, there’s the long-overdue update! Thanks for bearing with it. I hope that everyone at home is doing well! Sending love, thoughts, and prayers your way!

Have a great day!

Love,

Ellery

New Update Coming Soon!!

Hi Everyone!!

It has been so long since I've posted, a testament to the craziness of these last few weeks. I was told that after Easter, time really picks up, and that has definitely proven to be the case. Between post-Easter Easter activities (the actual date of holidays doesn't really seem to matter all that much here- I was hanging up the Easter decorations in the TK two days after Easter weekend), a surprise trip to Jogja/Solo with an MCC worker from Laos, and the arrival (FINALLY!) of Andrew (my boyfriend), there just hasn't been time to sit down and write the blog post that I have been wanting to write.

We leave first thing tomorrow morning for a week-long getaway to Gili Trawangan, a small island (no motorized vehicles allowed) off the coast of Lombok (a bigger island that is just off the coast of Bali). We're taking a bus there (over 24 hours. But only $40!), and there is still much to do before then, so I will have to leave a blog post for another week, but I just wanted to let you know that I am STILL HERE, and that I will definitely send you an update once I have internet again after our trip.

I hope you have all had great weeks, and that life is just going great for you!!
Have an awesome day!

Love,
Ellery

Selamat Paskah!

Selamat Paskah- Happy Easter!

I'm writing this in the mid-afternoon of the Saturday of the Easter Weekend- it sure is different from a typical Easter Weekend at home! Easter break, as I mentioned before, began as of Tuesday afternoon. School will start up again on Tuesday, April 10, giving the teachers and students nearly a week of holidays! I feel as though the time has been used wisely so far...

On Tuesday night, after a lazy afternoon, I headed to church to be one of three judges in a Nasi Goreng competition. In the weeks leading up to Easter, the Sola Gratia church does all sorts of little competitions with different groups and communities within the church body. Last week I judged an Easter Egg Scene competition (using chicken and quail eggs and other craft supplies to create some sort of scene), and this week, the competition was to see who could use fried rice and fresh vegetables to create the most beautiful and creative plate. It was fun to be involved, and I got some Nasi Goreng out of it, which is always a delicious treat.

Working hard on a Nasi Goreng creation!

 I woke up on Wednesday morning with a big- and I mean big- goal to accomplish that day: baking Paska. Those of you who come from the Russian Mennonite background should know full well what this is, but for those of you who are not familiar with this, I'll fill you in. Paska is a sweet bread that is baked (usually by Grandmas and Omas) just once a year, at Easter. It uses lemon and sometimes orange, and is topped with white icing and- the most important part- colourful sprinkles. In my family, around Easter, Paska appears on the breakfast table, as a dessert, and in our Easter baskets, as well as on the faspa dinner table during that "light" meal that follows the big Easter lunch. It has forever been one of the main symbols of the Easter season for me, and, while there are many compromises that one has to make when overseas as far as traditions are concerned, Paska was not something I was willing to sacrifice. It was especially difficult to overlook considering that in Bahasa Indonesia, the word for Easter is Paskah, so I found myself thinking about that bread every day for the last few weeks. After a dream about it on Tuesday night, I knew that it must be tackled. Grandma had emailed me her recipe a few weeks ago, and we had emailed back and forth about it several times since then, so I felt like I was as well-prepared for the laborious task as I could possibly be. On Wednesday morning, my host mom and I headed out to the "baking essentials store" and picked up everything needed. My host mom is a truly amazing woman, and she had decided to undergo this baking task with me, which turned out to be quite vital- I could not have done it alone. We stood at the counter in the store, and requested items from behind the counter; it's kind of old fashioned, but it's a very convenient system! The highlight was finding the rainbow sprinkles- I was worried that I wouldn't be able to track those down. We got down to baking around 1:30 in the afternoon, and tensions were high when at 3:30, it looked like the yeast wasn't going to react (this was my first time baking with yeast). Things were a little touch-and-go for awhile, but by 6:30 we had the first batch in the oven (and by this time, Laura had joined me), and we waited anxiously to see how they turned out. The result? Amazing. I would never dare utter the words "they were as good as my grandma's", but I also cannot say that we could have improved upon them. They were light, fluffy, just sweet enough, and perfectly Paska-esque. My host family disagreed. While they said the first batch was good, they preferred the next batch- crispy on the outside (crispy!!!) and soft on the inside. My host mom has since tried it with chocolate spread in the middle, and suggested that I take this idea back to my family in Canada. I withheld a gasp of shock and horror, and refrained from explaining that such an action would be a near sin, and allowed her to enjoy the Paska just as she pleased (though I had to look away). Beyond just tasting good, the Paska symbolized something much greater. It gave me a glimmer of hope that one day I too might be like my grandmas. It's only ever been a dream of mine to be able to wake up in the morning and say, "hey, I have an extra 7 minutes this morning, and some flour, I'll just whip up a quick batch of zwieback." (I know it's not that simple, but my grandmas make it look that way!) It is common to walk into my grandmas' homes and smell delicious things being baked and cooked, and while it is always most enjoyable to be the beneficiary of those situations, I also really want to someday be able to do the same thing myself. This paska baking endeavour (and, might I add, in a country where the ingredients and baking equipment are all a bit different) was a step- a big step- in that direction! So I felt very accomplished on Wednesday night.We even brought some Paska to my pastor and his family, all the way across town!

Enjoying Paska with my "Nanek" ("Grandma").

The baking streak continued on Thursday morning, with a much simpler and previously tested banana chocolate chip muffin recipe. These went over even better than the paska among the Indonesian population, likely because bananas are a very (VERY) common ingredient in many foods here, and also because it's hard to find fault with a good banana chocolate chip muffin recipe. Laura headed home after lunch, and I headed off to Ichthus FM, where I shared my baked goods with my very appreciative co-host, Chris. PPA was canceled on Thursday afternoon, but in the evening,we had a foot-washing church service. This definitely pushed the limits of my comfort zone, as foot washing is both not a ritual that we practice in my home church, and is also not something I have really felt comfortable participating in during other events that I've been at in the past. In the case of this service, every single person in the church gets their feet washed and washes someone else's feet. It went surprisingly quickly and smoothly, and it was a really interesting event to witness, as it is so unlike anything that I've seen before. There were just so many people!

Yesterday was Good Friday, and it was also the day that both PPA Sola Gratia and PPA Sendang Guwo had their yearly outing as a team. I was invited by both groups to their separate events, which was very flattering. I ended up joining Sendang Guwo, who had asked me to join them awhile back. We drove for over an hour to get to a place that has fishing ponds, a swimming pool, big pavilions, and food. It was a REALLY awesome day! Some of the leaders, including myself, arrived before the kids did, and we had some time to hang out and catch the early morning activities at this place. One of these early morning activities involves the guys who work in the "restaurant" scooping lots of fish out of the river, and killing them, to be fried later. The method is quite special to watch: one man wades in the water, and uses a net to scoop out fish. He dumps the fish onto the ground beside the river, where another man waits with a wooden mallet. This man then engages in a live version of "whack-a-mole", bopping the jumping fish on the head to kill them. While it totally freaked me out, I also had the urge to try this myself, and they handed me the net so that I could both catch and kill my own fish. I was successful in catching a fish (one fish only), but the killing was a bit more difficult, and I couldn't stomach hitting it over the head more than one time. It was a memorable little experience though!

Killing fish for lunch!

 The kids arrived by 9AM, and after a quick little sermon, we were hunting for quail eggs and decorating Easter eggs, which I also judged. We had a huge lunch of grilled fish (the ones we killed in the morning- nice and fresh!), rice, and veggies, and then spent the afternoon in the pool. I had forgotten my sunscreen, and the consequences of this error are fairly severe- my arms and face are a rather unappealing shade of red. Swimming was a LOT of fun though. I discovered that most of the kids don't know how to swim, a concept that really baffles me, but that makes complete sense- if you don't take the lessons, how could you know how to? It just comes so second nature to me that I couldn't fathom not knowing how to do it. I looked it up though, and according to yahoo!answers (the most reliable source of information...), over half of the world population cannot swim. Just another thing that I totally take for granted. Anyways, so most of the kids were sticking to the shallow (and I mean shallow- about a foot and a half deep) end, until some of them worked up the courage to join me in the "deep" (5 feet) end. I spent the afternoon giving "swimming lessons" to an ever-growing group of kids. It took a lot for these kids to work up the nerve to push off from the safety of the stairs, but slowly, one-by-one, they got more confident, and trusted me enough to know that I wasn't going to let them drown in the 5 feet of water. It was a good feeling to be so trusted!

Last night was a Good Friday service at church, and during this more solemn service, the youth did a re-enactment of Jesus getting nailed to the cross. The differences in church life just know no bounds! The front of the church is all decked out with a huge tomb, complete with a real doorway. It is an extremely well-done set. We participated in communion, which actually is quite similar to my church at home, except that both the wine and the bread are passed out at the same time.

The front of my church, all decked out for Easter

 In the evening, we celebrated my host brother's birthday, and I hit the hay quite early. I woke up this morning in good time, and have taken it easy today. I learned how to make a really delicious soup that my host mom makes (called Zuppa Soup- a chicken and corn cream soup, baked in the oven with puff pastry). We got to enjoy that for a late lunch. This day has somehow slipped right by me- it's almost 4:30 already! I have a growing to-do list of things to get done before Andrew arrives in a mere 11 days (I say "mere" more in the hopes that it will go fast rather than with the belief that 11 days is very short). Youth is canceled tonight, as we will be going on an outing tomorrow after church. Church begins at 5AM tomorrow, so I'm hoping to get to bed nice and early tonight!

Anyways, I'll let you get back to your Easter Weekend festivities and celebrations!
Thinking of you!

Lots of love,
Ellery
PS- below are some additional photos that don't really fit with anything I've said in my blog, but that may be of interest to you! Happy Easter :)

We made pancakes with maple syrup for "Canadian Snack Day" at PPA. They were well-enjoyed, but the Hershey's Chocolate Chips went over better than the syrup.

Green Canyon, Pangandaran. We swam up and around the corner, and then jumped off rocks into the rapids!

"Ikan Bakar" (Grilled Fish): one of my favourite foods here. (So much so that I may have already posted pictures of this before... I cannot remember!)

Easter Approaches

Selamat Sore dan Apa Kabar? ("Safe late-afternoon and How are you?")

And now it's April! Five days away from Easter, and just over two weeks away from the arrival of two much-anticipated visitors from Canada ;)

Honestly, this past week has been a bit of a longing-for-home week. I thought that perhaps these little bouts of homesickness wouldn't happen anymore, since I'm three and a half months away from the end, but I guess one is never immune to those bouts of homesickness, no matter how much or how little time one has left away from home. With Easter just around the corner, my mind has been wandering to the traditions of Easter egg hunts, Easter baskets, paska (which is actually the word for "Easter" in Bahasa Indonesia, so my mind has been on paska in particular!), and above all, spending time with family. There is nothing I hate more than missing out on family stuff!!

I also find that I am really missing my church at home. At holidays in particular, I find myself longing for the familiar songs, the familiar faces, the familiar length, and the familiar language of my home church. Sunday was admittedly a bit of a meltdown day for me, as I have found any 3+ hour church service day to be. On Sunday I attended the typical morning service (2 and a half hours) and then the youth service (another 2 and a half hours). Like any given Sunday, this time was spent with lots of loud and repetitive hands-in-the-air praise and worship music, long sermons, lengthy prayers that got more and less passionate as the background music got louder and softer, and alter calls. In my head, I know that this is what people here get meaning out of. This is the worship style that they grew up with, and these are the people that they grew up worshiping with (and the language that they've grown up worshiping in). Frustratingly, my emotions cannot seem to catch up with my brain, and I find myself increasingly irritated with this style of worship that I am entirely unable to connect with. Two and half hours is my limit- I start turning a little bit ugly after that!

As Easter approaches, I'm confronted for a second time this year, with a difficult moral dilemma. In Indonesia, where bombings are a more common occurrence than in North America, church security is a concern, particularly around the major holidays (Christmas and Easter). A few years ago, 19 churches on Java were bombed on Christmas Eve, by Muslim Extremists. An interesting result of the bombings was the provision of security to churches all over- by Muslims. I honestly do not know the details of the story (though if you are interested, I can find out the specifics for you) but to me, that gesture on part of the Indonesian Muslim community, was a very significant act of peacebuilding and reconciliation between the Muslim and Christian communities. The result of this also means that an armed security guard stands at the entrance/in the parking lot of churches on these major holidays. This is where I struggle. After we were required to leave Solo following the bombing in September, I have not been able to shake a feeling of uneasiness in church, particularly on these major holidays. So, even though it doesn't entirely squelch my anxiety, I am partly grateful for this provision of security. However, this raises huge contradictions in my beliefs about pacifism and the rejection of violence- particularly lethal weapons- as a means to control people. A few weeks ago, Jason brought up a similar bone of contention that he struggles with in his/my own home country; the police. Even Canada uses violence- or the threat of it- as one means to keep its citizens in line. How simple- and hypocritical- it is for me to say that I reject the use of violence and consider it wrong, while I live in security because others, who I don't have to face, are willing to carry the gun. (I say this with the realization that this grossly oversimplifies circumstances and situations.) How much more complicated and uncomfortable it is for me to walk past an armed guard at the gate of my Indonesian church. I am SO thankful that I went away this year, rather than next year, after my undergrad would be finished. I'm so eager to get back into the classroom and have these discussions and raise my confusions with those who may have more insight and therefore a more grounded and justified opinion on topics such as these. I also welcome the thoughts of anyone who considers this a topic worthy of discussion, no matter what your views are- I am very interested to hear what you have to say!

Last week was a bit of a tumultuous one for all of Indonesia, as it was announced that fuel prices would go up by 33% as of April 1. Fuel prices have not been climbing in Indonesia as they have in other parts of the world, and people can still fill up for 4,500 rupiah per liter. The proposed price increase had a lot of people really upset- of course, an increase in fuel prices also affects the cost of everything else, including food and electricity- and last week there were a number of demonstrations in the major cities (including Semarang, but they were not too huge here) that were significant enough to sway the votes in the government. Long story short, prices did not go up on April 1 as was originally planned, but with conditions. If you are interested, here's a link to an article about it:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/03/31/fuel-price-hike-still-play.html

And now onto lighter, day-to-day stuff... We have been heavily immersed in "Easter Crafts Week" at school, and I really got in touch with my creative side, as we made chickens, bunnies, eggs, and Easter baskets in my classes. Easter break begins as of this afternoon, and the fun picks up again next week, as the TK will be celebrating Easter a week after the actual holiday. I have to admit, I've been quite impressed with how the crafts have turned out-I felt like Neil Buchanan (Art Attack anyone? Anyone born in the early 90's should know what I'm talking about). At my church, and possibly in other churches here, it is a tradition for kids to go on an egg hunt for Easter. The biggest difference between this egg hunt and the egg hunts that I am used to, is that these kids search for real eggs (chicken or duck), where we most often search for candy-filled plastic ones. The eggs here are not decorated or coloured either. I told them about the Easter Bunny today, using a yellow rabbit puppet to help paint the picture in their minds. They had never heard of the Easter Bunny, but they were pretty enthused about the idea of getting chocolates for Easter. We decorated paper eggs today, and stuck them together, leaving an opening at the top. I promised them that the Easter Bunny would put a chocolate inside these Easter Eggs, so long as they did a good job colouring. The kids took this task very seriously; one of my kiddies was colouring her whole egg yellow, and she showed it to me, asking, "Miss Ellery, semua kuning, tidak-apa apa??" ("Is it ok if it's all yellow??") I said that it was ok, but that the Easter Bunny would like it better if it had more colours on it. The next time I looked at her egg, it was covered with every colour in her pencil crayon packet. They take that chocolate seriously.

Last week, I was invited into the house of one of my students. A part of his house is used for the PPA Sendang Guwo office/meeting place, so I am there every week, but never inside the living quarters. However, the last few weeks, this student who lives there has taken a bit of a liking to me, and has been eagerly telling me about his vast and diverse DVD collection (of top quality films, let me assure you...). He asked me in class if I would like to watch one of them next time I was at PPA, and I said of course I would, so sure enough, he came running out with two DVDs in his hand- one in Mandarin and one in English- for me to choose from. I chose the English sing-along (sung by non-English speakers, which made it an extra special treat), and in we went to watch. This was the first time that I have been inside a really low-income home, and it was also one of the first times that I've been really overwhelmed by the conditions that some people live in. My 5 year old student invited me to sit down on the bed, and I discovered that, besides being really dirty, it was rock hard. It was just such a wake-up call for me, to the struggles that this family, and so many others like it, must face day-to-day- struggles that never even enter my "middle-class" mind.

I was told a really interesting little story on Sunday, about a comment made by a guest speaker at a conference that one of the YALTers attended. This speaker is, from what I've been told, heavily involved in a church planting organization. He spoke of one of his mission trips that he took, to an area that was hit hard by a tsunami, an area where MCC was also working at the time. This man spoke of the money his organization spent, and the money that MCC spent (MCC had spent far more), doing two completely different types of work in the region. He concluded his story with the statement that when all was said and done, his organization saved hundreds of souls, and MCC didn't save one. I was taken aback by this story, and I have thought about it a lot since Sunday. It really astounds me sometimes how divided the views are about how to most effectively help others, even within one religion. Of course, since I'm serving with MCC because I believe in their values and priorities, it is extremely difficult for me to see the mission that this man believes in, as even an equally-as-effective service program, let alone one that is more effective (as this man implied). I would be so curious to see what this man would have to say if the opportunity arose to engage in a sit-down discussion.

Like I said before, we have just begun our Easter break. I plan to make paska on Thursday (or attempt it anyways), and there are a few little events here and there throughout the weekend. Of course, Easter festivities in church will be taking place as well. I ask for your ongoing prayers, particularly for a peaceful Easter season in Indonesia.

Have a great week, everyone! Happy Easter!!
Love,
Ellery

And Back to Routine

Selamat Malam!

After all the excitement of last week and last weekend, it was about time for my Indonesian life to resume some normalcy, and that's just how it has been these last few days.

Since I had that week off for the retreat, it didn't make sense for me to head right back to Salatiga on Monday, so I stuck around Semarang, and helped at the TK in the morning. I spent the afternoon writing that enormous blog post that you may or may not have had time to plod through (and believe me, I don't blame you if you didn't make it to the end!)

On Tuesday, I went to the TK in the morning, and then headed off to the orthodontist in the afternoon to remedy a little mishap that occurred about two weeks ago, involving a pebble in the nasi (rice). It is not uncommon to find small stones in the rice we eat here, as the rice is often dried along the side of the roads, where it is exposed to such things as gravel. It's a rather unpleasant discovery, given that the texture of small stones (which often crumble if bitten) is... well, unpleasant. This time, however, the stone positioned itself just right so that when I took my first bite of nasi, the stone popped the glue off the upper wire in my mouth. (I debated the feasibility of instigating a personal rice boycott after this occurrence as rice is not my absolute favourite food, but in a country where people believe that you cannot be full if you haven't eaten rice, I've decided to postpone the boycott until my return to the homeland). Anyways, so it was off to the orthodontist to re-glue the wire. It feels funny to do things like go to the orthodontist when I think about where I am, but these are the experiences that remind me of the similarities between our cultures. I have learned, much to my dismay, that I really have held Canada in higher regard than any other country. This has extended so far as to believe that no one outside of my home country can do things as well as people in my home country can. I was so leery of going to the orthodontist here, thinking that they wouldn't know what the problem was, wouldn't have the equipment to fix it (I'm not sure why I believed glue to be unique to Canada...), that the facility wouldn't be clean, and so on. Well, of course, they knew exactly what the problem was, had exactly what they needed to fix it, and even charged through the nose for it, just like they would in Canada! And yes, it was spotlessly clean. The only notable difference was that, instead of one person fixing it, four or five people stood around me. I felt like I was going into some sort of serious surgery of sorts! So even something as small as a broken wire has provided an opportunity to learn and to grow here in the Indo! On Tuesday night, I went to the brand new photo print shop that just opened up around the corner, to make some hard copies of my pictures. They had a promo on, and 134 pictures came to about $9. It was amazing!

I taught English to the TK-A class on Wednesday. I usually teach them on Fridays, but this Friday is a national holiday (an opportunity to sleep in!!), so we moved class around. My kiddies in the TK have really taken to playing a game where I pick them up one at a time, and spin them really fast. They have asked if we can play that, along with tag, every single day, and so lately, I have been coming home from TK a sweaty mess, but leaving behind some very happy little kids! I am definitely not the world's most effective teacher, so I am thankful for other little ways to leave a positive impact on the school. Those kids are probably my favourite part about living in Indonesia, and I think that they are my biggest source of learning opportunities here. Those little four and five year olds just pour out love and patience on me every single day. They explain and re-explain something if I am not understanding, and if they cannot explain it, they'll often call another friend over to try to explain it. They never laugh at my language blunders, and they often seem to just magically understand something even when my instructions have been unbelievably weak. Almost always, when I arrive at the school, I am greeted by shouts of "Bu Ellery! Bu Ellery!", and hugs (that usually turn into clings, which require me prying them from my torso). They're so excited for stories and games, and they pour their little hearts into everything they do. And they don't just show love to me- they are so kind to each other too (usually). I see it most often in they way that they treat a physically challenged boy in my TK-B class. From what it looks like, Diaz has a mild case of cerebral palsy, which affects only his ability to walk. (it certainly doesn't affect his singing voice, which he uses enthusiastically during our singing times. "A Pizza Hut" is his favourite.) He's much slower, and more unstable than the rest of the kids, but he participates wholeheartedly in every game and activity- and he is wholeheartedly included. When he falls, the kids stop to help him up. When we play Duck, Duck, Goose, someone will always choose him, and then play at a speed that he can play with, but somehow make it look like they were playing for real. And it comes second nature to them. It's like they are blind to his differences. In fact, one day I asked the teacher if the kids every treat Diaz any differently. She looked at me like I was crazy, and responded, "No, not at all!" That answer speaks volumes to me about the hearts of these beautiful little children. I feel unbelievably blessed to get to spend every day with these kids. (Oh man, my eyes are welling up!)

Pak Har's cousin was here for just one night, Tuesday night, and we went to a warung for Mie Titee (pork and noodles in a sweet garlic broth), and sate babi (pork satay).Since my host parents go allll out when they host people, we also headed to a grilled corn stand that was super busy (despite its locations in a factory outlet parking lot), and served delicious grilled corn in many different flavours. This place also makes grilled sandwiches, which they stick in between two metal grills, and grill over a fire pit.

On Wednesday, I also led PPA at Sola Gratia, where I tried out a bunch of new group games on the kids. Man, they were difficult to please! I had like 5 games lined up, which I thought would be more than enough to fill the hour, and yet I found myself struggling immensely to fill the time after 30 minutes. We got through it though, and then I was off to Gloria Patri to help out at the learning centre there. Debora and I went out for dinner afterwards, to a warung/snack bar, and had a chance to catch up and talk about MCC Indonesia-related stuff. (Debora was an IVEPer a few years ago.) It was a really great evening!

This morning, I followed the typical Thursday routine, teaching Play Group at TK. We moved on to learning numbers today, and 1-3 went over quite successfully! In the afternoon, I spoke on Ichthus FM by myself, as my co-host was unable to attend. It is much more fun to do that with someone else! But I felt accomplished, sitting in the studio all by myself, knowing how to work everything (and praying that there wouldn't be a power outage, because then I'd really be stuck)! I went to PPA Sendang Guwo after that, and we played some games there. The kids at Sendang Guwo are another really awesome little group!

Tonight, we went to a restaurant called "Alcatraz" for dinner (this week provided several opportunities for mealtime excursions). The restaurant is decorated to look like the Alcatraz prison, and there are pictures of Alcatraz everywhere. It was pretty great! We went for a drive through the really upscale part of Semarang, where I laid eyes on the biggest, most elaborate homes that I have ever seen in my life! They rival Hollywood in their size and grandeur!

Tomorrow is a National Holiday, which means an opportunity to sleep in! We'll see what the afternoon holds.

Have a great day!
Love,
Ellery

The Retreat, The Modeling, and Other Little Musings

Hello Hello, Family and Friends!

Finally, after two very busy weeks, I have a free afternoon, which I am dedicating primarily to providing you, my loyal readers, with a tremendous (in length, if nothing else) account of what these past two weeks held for me here in Java. Brace yourselves... ;)

In all honesty, I have nearly no recollection of the day-to-day activities that took place in the week prior to the MCC Annual Retreat, with the exception of the birthday party and a pancake-making extravaganza at PPA. (This is a prime example of why one is encouraged to keep a journal on their travels! It's amazing how quickly the events of day-to-day life are forgotten.)

The birthday party is a difficult one to forget on account of it being dramatically different from any birthday party I have ever been to before. The plan was that I was going to be picked up at 2:30 by motorbike, and we would meet everyone at the place where we were going to be fishing, presumably for our dinner. Feeling well-experienced in Indonesian culture, I only started getting ready at 2:30, and still found myself waiting around for my ride at 3:10 (though to give them credit, I did receive a text to let me know that they were running behind.) It was only after I was picked up that my illusions of finally grasping the Indonesian culture were shattered, for punctuality is not the only cultural difference, surprising as this may sound. Of course we weren't heading straight to the restaurant; we were stopping at a "hostel" to meet everyone first, and then heading out. At the hostel, I was ushered into the bedroom of the boyfriend of one of the youth, and invited to sit down on his bed, a mattress on the floor (I'm guessing that this place was more of a student budget-friendly accommodation). I'm not sure if this kind of thing sounds weird to those of you living in the West or to you SALTers out there, because as I've mentioned before, my concept of "normal" has taken some dramatic shifts. This, along with the fourteen power surges over the course of 45 minutes, didn't phase me nearly as much as it would have back in September. Nor did it phase me that, when we finally got on the road to get to the fishing place, it was after 4PM. By this time, the sky had taken on an ominous tinge, and I foolishly had forgotten to bring any sort of rain jacket. About five minutes into the journey, the clouds opened, and a true monsoon swept over the city. My friend made valiant efforts to keep me dry during the twenty minute journey, but it was hopeless, and by the time we arrived, I was soaked from shoulder to toe (my head was protected by my helmet), and for the first time, I experienced the sensation of feeling cold in Semarang. Because people here have a very strong (and perhaps sometimes justified) belief that rainwater will make a person ill, everyone was very concerned about my situation. It took a lot of convincing to assure everyone that I was fine and that no one would be angry at them for allowing me to get wet.

We spent the next 15 minutes deciding on where to sit in the empty restaurant, and then finally sat down. Our food- fish- arrived 10 minutes later, at which point I discovered that we would not be fishing for food. I was eager to dig in while the fish were still hot, but the birthday boy was MIA, and so we waited for another 20 minutes before commencing with the eating. (But room temperature food is preferred among most people I've met here anyways.) We ate quickly, chatting a little, and watching one lone person halfheartedly cast his fishing rod into the water. There was one person there who I had not yet met, and I just didn't connect with her very well (namely because she mocked every Indonesian word that came out of my mouth, and made jokes about me in front of me in Bahasa Indonesia, thinking that I wouldn't understand... it's a wee bit challenging to really enjoy that kind of company). Once we ate, everyone packed up and headed home, but not before egging the birthday boy, a prank that I was told is "sangat lucu" ("very funny"), but that ended on a bit of an awkward note as it was not as well received by the birthday boy as was originally anticipated. Still, despite its unexpected components, I was glad I was invited, and glad that I went. Everything that happens here, good or bad, fun or boring, stressful or carefree, adds to the repertoire of new life experiences!

I went to Salatiga on Monday where I found an AWESOME package from my sister waiting for me! The package included so many treats, including Herb, a stuffed sheep, who has made his home base in Kopeng, with Laura. Besides the package, everything else about my Salatiga day was standard, and enjoyable, as always.

On Wednesday evening, in place of Gloria Patri, I was picked up by the makeup artist to try the dress that she had selected for me to wear at the makeup competition. All the way to the designer's studio, she was telling me how pretty it was, and how the designer is one of the best in Semarang. Once again, I imposed my Western mentality on a non-Western situation, creating a vision of the dress that I would be wearing. As it would be, the reality of the dress was just a titch different than my vision, for in my vision, the dress extended beyond my thigh, and was void of a plunging neckline. In my vision, the dress also fit like a glove, which wasn't exactly the case. After a tearing sound occurred as I was trying to put it on, the women at the studio pulled out a pair of scissors and cut every seam out of the side of the dress. The whole scene was about as classy as it sounds. After a few minutes, I decided I should probably break the news to the crew that I am here representing a church organization, and how it really wouldn't reflect well on me or on MCC to have me walk down the catwalk (there was a catwalk!) in a glorified bathing suit. The designer took this quite personally, and when all was said and done, she said that she simply could not modify it to suit my needs, and took us off of her list of projects. The makeup artist felt so bad that I had not liked the dress (and I too felt bad, since she had put time and effort into choosing it), and assured me that the next one would better suit my needs. Since I was leaving on Friday for the retreat, she asked me to send her my measurements, and said she would find a dress for me while I was on retreat. A good chunk of my Thursday evening was then spent with Nanek (my host grandma) and Ibu Vonny, trying to get all of the measurements together.

Three weeks ago, the staff at PPA Sendang Guwo asked me if I would be willing to cook a Canadian snack with the kids there, and so on the Thursday afternoon prior to retreat, I arrived at PPA with homemade pancake batter, chocolate chips, strawberries, bananas, and- the Canadian component- maple syrup! The PPA staff, knowing that I was going to make pancakes, had also made what they called the "Semarang Pancake", so that we could do a taste comparison. Their pancake was actually a crepe with chocolate and cheese inside, a combination that I have slowly been growing accustomed to here. It was actually really delicious! Cooking with the kids and staff at PPA was SO much fun! People especially loved the Hershey's chocolate chips, and I am now on the hook to provide a bag to each of the staff members before I head home. (Andrew, how much room do you think you'll have in that suitcase?? :P) I don't know if they ate out of politeness or not, but every drop of pancake batter and syrup was consumed, along with the strawberries and bananas. I was really happy that it was so successful.

On Friday, after teaching at the TK in the morning, I headed to Salatiga for the MCC Annual Regional Retreat. This meant that everyone serving with MCC Indonesia, along with the families of the team members, were invited on this 6 day getaway. And oh, what a getaway it was! The adventure started off on Friday, with my first (and likely only) hair cut in Indonesia. After that, I joined Laura in conquering the task of baking enough cookies/brownies/muffins to cover the evening snacks for 30+ people for 5 nights. Luckily, Laura had things well underway when I arrived, so my involvement was deduced to making a batch of banana chocolate chip muffins. The Jantzi's ordered chicken from Bu Wati (a warung in Salatiga), and we enjoyed that for dinner. After dinner, Paul (Dan and Jeanne's son) took a bunch of us to the International school to climb the rock wall there. We also played some tag and some basketball, and then concluded the evening with strawberry juice and deep fried ice cream at Yege's, a local "restaurant." Mike and Nancy were there too, which meant that all the YALTers were united once more (the only time we will all be together again before we head home), and being together made me feel so happy and content.

I slept at Dan and Jeanne's, and awoke in time to snag a bagel (WITH CREAM CHEESE!!) before we headed out to the office, where everyone was meeting. MCC rented a coach bus to get us to Pangandaran, a beach area in South West Java, about 10 hours away. The bus ride went smoothly (or rather, flawlessly- "smooth" is not the word I would use to describe the roads that we took to get to Pangandaran), and we arrived in time for a late supper at "Pantai Indah", the hotel that we would be staying at for the week. Since we arrived later than expected, our evening was free. Most of us went to bed pretty early that night. It's funny how exhausting it can be to sit and do nothing in a vehicle for 10 hours!!

We were in Pangandaran from Saturday to Thursday, and each day was set up in the same manner. Worship started at 9, and breakfast was served before that. Breakfasts were a nice balance of Indonesian food (fried rice, noodles, etc.) and Western food (white bread, pancakes, omlettes), and some in-between food (fried bananas and fried cassava). At 9, we would all meet in the meeting room for an hour-long worship service, led each day by a different component of the MCC team (YALTers, MCC National crew, MCC International crew, etc.). We had a coffee break from 10-10:30, and then guest speaker sessions (which this year, were presented by each and every one of the people on the MCC team) from 10:30 until noon. The theme for these sessions this year was "Kingdom Tales: In Indonesia as it is in Heaven." The topic was a tough one, and I went the honest route in my presentation, sharing about the struggle that I have experienced this year in the faith department. Other people presented some really insightful and interesting stories that served the intended purpose of providing encouraging stories about seeing God's kingdom at work here in Indonesia. One story that was particularly interesting was Jason's. After I posted a just a few weeks ago about how supportive I am of the Compassion International Program, Jason did a presentation that included reasons for why he is not pro child sponsorship. I was intrigued by the words he spoke, and also found a lot of what he said to make sense. His presentation is on his blog (http://jasoninjava.blogspot.com/), and he and I also had a really interesting follow-up conversation about it that made me realize the significance of doing a lot of research and gaining a good understanding about the concept of  missions such as child sponsorship, and organizations that support it. It was definitely a thought-provoking discussion.

The afternoons and evenings on the retreat were free for us to do as we please, and man, did we ever use that time wisely. We went to the beach every day, renting boogie boards and surf boards, and playing in the giant waves. On our first day, we took catamarans (Indonesianized ones- wipe those yacht-esque pictures from your minds) to a little beach just a ways away from the main beach. We were told that the waves were smaller there, and while this was true, they were replaced by a strong current and a rocky bottom rather than that smooth sand bottom that we were expecting. At least three of us cut our feet and ankles while swimming in that water! The beach also had monkeys, which at first I thought was a cool bonus, until I discovered that monkeys are not very nice creatures. These ones, while wild, were completely brazen, having grown accustomed to people being around. Apparently they were also accustomed to being fed and watered, and if the food and drinks were not volunteered, the monkeys would seek other means (ie: ripping the bottle from your hand) to acquire the goods they desired. Poor Riki lost her water bottle under these circumstances, and Jason would have too, if he hadn't engaged in a tug-of-war that ended badly for the monkey. The most memorable monkey-human interaction that I witnessed was between Mike and a little gray monkey that Mike had sought to fool. Mike thought it might be funny to fill a water bottle with salt water from the ocean, and see how the monkey would respond. Once the bottle was filled, Mike walked along the beach with the bottle in hand, past a group of monkeys who were fighting a ways back in the bushes (likely over Riki's bottle). When he saw them, he changed his mind about the prank, but by then it was too late, for one of the monkeys had spotted the bottle from way in the distance, and came racing toward an oblivious Mike, who turned around at the last second, and threw the bottle at the monkey to avoid an encounter like Riki and Jason. The monkey scurried up a tree, and we all watched as it gnawed a hole in the bottom corner to get at the liquid inside. I'm not sure what we were expecting, but as we watched, the monkey, clearly disgusted, cast the bottle aside, and looked Mike square in the eye with his beady little yellow eyes. Its ears went back, and it leaped from the tree, sending Mike sprinting toward the ocean, in hopes of escaping the wrath of the little gray monkey. Thankfully the monkey chose not to pursue Mike, but the prank had totally backfired, and for the rest of the week, Mike was leery of any monkey we came in contact with.

On Monday afternoon, we had the option to go to Green Canyon, an absolutely beautiful canyon in Pangandaran. We took catamarans up a river, and then partway into the canyon. The boats waited as those of us who wanted to, swam against the current, to a place farther up, where we could jump from rocks, right into the rapids, and get carried back down the river. It was so SO beautiful, and such a unique experience, to be swimming in that kind of water, in a stunningly beautiful environment!

On Wednesday we embarked on a "Jungle Trek", but being tough and frugal Mennonites, we decided to ignore the warnings about a group of Russian hikers that went missing, and forgo the tourguide, certain that we could find the beautiful waterfalls- our intended destination- all by ourselves. We did not get lost, but we also never found the waterfalls, and I immediately regretted going on a hike through bushland wearing flip flops, as the ground was wet and slippery. I wound up taking my flip flops off and walking barefoot, but this meant watching the ground carefully to avoid stepping on those giant red poisonous millipedes or the thorns from fallen branches, and so the amount of "jungle" that I saw was limited to two red poisonous millipedes and one black monkey. But, another adventure! That evening, we rented bicycles built for 3, and, after mastering the deceptively tricky knack of riding them, we took off to do some souvenir shopping and riding around. It was a really fun little endeavour that concluded with an evening on the beach (which we had all to ourselves).

All of our meals throughout the week were provided by the hotel. Lunches were usually chicken or another meat, and rice. Dinner was always shrimp and/or squid, and fish. In Canada, an all-you-can-eat seafood dinner like that would cost a small fortune, but here, I've grown accustomed to finding seafood just about everywhere. It was delicious, and I think that the vast amounts of seafood will be something that I will really miss when I go back to Canada. I just won't be able to afford it on that darned student budget! ;)

We headed home on Thursday morning, arriving back in Salatiga around 7:30 PM. Us YALTers went out for dinner together, and then spent the night at Dan and Jeanne's or Karen and Major's. We all went our separate ways on Friday morning, with Riki and Mike accompanying me back to Semarang. We took Mike to the airport to say good-bye for another month (he'll be back on the 15th, three days before Andrew and his girlfriend Ellen arrive), and Riki stayed the night.

Saturday began my immersion into the world of modeling, beginning with a dress fitting on Saturday afternoon. Riki accompanied me on this endeavour. The dress was muuuuch more suitable this time around (and turned out to be much more in keeping with the rest of the dresses worn by the other models). It was gold, mermaid style, with lots of black lace and flowy gold tulle. It was also still much too small, but the people at the studio were awesome, and they took my measurements again, and immediately set to work on making it fit. The makeup artist (the girl who asked me to be her model) took Riki and I out for an incredible Japanese lunch as a thank-you. It was just unbelievable!

Riki went home in the late afternoon, and my host parents and I stopped at a souvenir store on our way home from dropping her off at the bus terminal. It's a really cool little place, with lots of authentic Javanese souvenirs. I've made a mental note to head back there in the next four months (less than, as of today!) In the evening, I played keyboard in the youth worship band for the first time. It was nice to get involved in that way, and great to brush up on my keyboarding skills!

After a rather fitful night sleep, I awoke on Sunday morning... the BIG DAY!! First though, I headed to church, and then joined in "Morning Tea" after the service. My host parents then took me out for lunch at Mbok De, a really great Javanese restaurant/warung, that serves some of the best Indonesian food that I've tried. I got picked up almost immediately after getting back to the house, and I was taken for lunch AGAIN. I didn't know that lunch was included in this modeling deal! While I was quite full after Mbok De, I couldn't turn down the opportunity to try Ox nose, a texture that is pretty much exactly what you would picture nose to be like. The taste wasn't too bad though!

From there, we headed over to the studio, and so began the transformation. My hair took an hour and a half, and the final result was a 1920's look that I have never personally sported. It was fun though! Then on went the dress, which was still being sewn right up until 45 minutes before the show. They were cutting the tulle off of it even after it was on me. I slipped into the gold heels that I had practiced walking in the night before, and hobbled on out to the car, where the driver kindly gathered my dress for me, and patiently waited as I contorted my body in new and exciting ways to try to get myself into the car without tearing the (very form fitting) dress. (The grace of a model is not yet a gift that I possess.)

We arrived at the mall, and I wish someone could have been there to laugh over the spectacle of me, a white woman, traipsing through the Java Mall in an excessive gown and stilettos. Every single person stopped and turned their heads, and I noticed people whispering to each other and glancing back at me. I think I must have a vague idea of how a celebrity feels. Perhaps fun for an evening, but definitely not my lifestyle of choice.

Karen, Major, and Laura came to support me, and they arrived just a few minutes after me. We watched the Javanese wedding makeup show that was on before the "Evening Gown Makeup Contest", of which I was a part. Karen and Major bought me french fries from McDonald's, and for awhile, I thought I had to be the only model consuming McDonald's before a show. Then I spotted another model scarfing down a hamburger, and I didn't feel quite so bad. The Javanese wedding show ran late, and we waited for forever until we finally got started. During that waiting time, I got a chance to talk to some of the other models. Most of them were really friendly, but one of them, a girl who must have a better sense of the magnitude of these competitions than I do, tossed her head and informed me that "You're the only bule (foreigner) in this competition, and it's actually really unfair." I couldn't help but chuckle at that, and responded, "well, if it makes you feel any better, I've never modeled before, and have never walked the catwalk." She seemed to calm down a bit after that. This same girl also told me that her native language was English, and it was difficult to take her seriously after that. (Who tries to convince a true native English speaker that their native tongue is English!? I know I can't judge based on an accent, but the grammar gave her away.)

The contest finally began an hour and a half behind schedule. We all walked out to chairs that were set up on the stage, and for 45 minutes, sat perfectly still while our makeup artists worked their magic. The time went fast, and before I knew it, my face had been completely transformed, right down to fake eyelashes. Next came the part that I was a bit apprehensive about- the walk down the runway. Thankfully I did not completely wipe out, but the darned dress got stuck on my shoe, and it was also too tight to go up and down stairs, which I had to do. I made up for the blunder with a little laugh and a curtsy, and everyone laughed pretty hard at that (with me, rather than at me, I hope...) The whole experience was just wildly out of my element, and something that I would never dare try at home, but I made that commitment to myself to say yes to every new experience that this year presented, and I'm doing my best to follow through on that.  While we did not win (the make-up was too "minimalist" for the judges, who prefer that caked on look over subtlety), it was definitely an AWESOME experience, and just too ridiculous to not enjoy!

Well, I have been working on this post for over three hours now, and I think it's time to give your (and my) sore eyes a break!Thank you so much for bearing with the lag in posts, and even more so for plodding through the essays that follow!

Have a great day!
Lots of love,
Ellery

PS- The two pictures below mean that I have FINALLY figured out how to resize my photos so that they do not take so long to load. This means that my posts should once again include pictures! I'm excited to be able to give you a better glimpse into my life here now that I have this option, but I'll leave that for the next post.

With my proud host parents, post-modeling gig! They filmed the whole thing for future viewing pleasure.

 

Catamarans line the edge of the river. (Green Canyon Adventure!)