Nearly there!!

So, only one more class and four exams to go and I am free to travel!! I can't believe that it is nearly over. I am so proud of myself for sticking it out. Christina left on the 5th December and I miss her like all hell. But I am trying to see this as a push to go and interact more with Indonesian people. :-) After all, I still have lots more to learn!!! My goal has not been achieved yet.

Earlier, I did something I was really proud of. I gave a 10 minute presentation on my own in Indonesian. I was really nervous beforehand, but I did it!!! I never thought I would capable of doing something like that. I feel really accomplished.

Missing everyone like hell, but somehow strangely adapted to this whole thing. Life here just feels.. normal. Can't wait to do some more travel.

Catch Up

above: Gili Trawangan

Above: Jogja airport, covered in ash

above: our plane, covered in ash. Flight was cancelled for obvious reasons.

Well today is a really sad day. Ari's dad has passed away. I got a message from him at 2 am this morning. I didnt know how to respond. 8 years of Indonesian language and I hadnt been taught how to comfort someone in the event of death. I guess its not something you think will really come up. And I guess noone wants to talk about it. Which got me onto the topic of death, and Christina and I were discussing it all this afternoon. What an unpleasant topic. Anyway, my love goes out to Ari in his time of grief. Aku turut berduka cita, Mas Ri. xox

In other depressing news, Yogya has been right in the middle of all of the Gunung Merapi / Volcano Merapi disaster. For a while, during the eruptions, there was ash rain. That was pretty scary. Everything was covered in ash, and the air was unbreathable. We all had to wear masks wherever we went. It was really eeery. Then the universities were used as places to put all the refugees, those people that lived within a 20 kilometer radius of merapi were evacuated. There were some people that refused to leave and they were burnt alive in their homes. I saw footage on the news and it took my breath away. It was a horrible time in Jogja. ACICIS ordered us to evacuate and I went to Lombok again with Christina.

Sorry if this post sounds rather negative but it's been a rough few weeks. On the bright side of life, two more weeks of classes left to go only!!! Two exams and three assignments to go and Im a free spirit! Then daddy comes to Indonesia on the 4 January. so lots to look forward to.

On the weekend there was the ACICIS field trip to Imogiri, which is the graveyard of all the Javanese Sultans. I got to wear traditional Javanese dress which was nice! Then we went to a Batik workshop, where I made my own Batik print.

Really miss you all.
xoxo

I'm going to Lombok again!! This time with Christina... we are going to leave next friday and come back on the monday morning after.. Plans are to visit: the monkey forest, waterfalls, Hindu temple and of course the beach.
Finished all of my teaching practical now, I really miss the kids. Just as I started to love being there, I was finished!! the kids all added me on facebook and said that they missed me. how sweet!!! I might voluntarily go back and do some more teaching/helping. I am definately glad that I picked teaching as my profession; it feels right for me.

Earlier I was interviewed for radio... I think it went pretty well, except for the last question. The dj asked us if we had any messages for the people of Jogja after the eruption of Merapi. I understood the question but I had no idea how to answer. I felt so awkard. :-/ Oh well, its over now.

PRAC TEACHING

So, the sign above says: Wear your helmet: Its safe, and you'll look hotter too
The other one: discipline and spirit: the keys to success

So, I did my first lot of actual teaching today. So far, I have only been observing and not doing
any actual teaching. I taught the English class but I had to use Indonesian to explain everything to the students. I feel like I did pretty well. My teachers only advice was that I didn't go for long enough. But that is an organisational issue, not a language issue, so I can take that one in my stride. Tomorrow I do some more teaching, and I am feeling rather confident and competent. Feeling really happy and positive.

Ari is coming over soon and we are going out to look @ electronics, might get some speakers for my ipod finally. Got a fridge and a mini stove so I can cook and avoid getting sick again. Made a new friend, who has invited me to maybe go back to his village in Flores. Things are looking up! Heaps of activities on the weekend: theres gonna be a film festival, Im gonna get interviewed for local radio, and then me, Ari, Nodu and Christina are going to Borobodur temple if all goes to plan.

p.s. if you read my blog, please comment! :-)

RANDOM PICTURES

Cuz I tried to post them before, but it wouldn't let me....

BOGOR

Well, it's been a while since I posted last. I can't lie, I have my up days and my down days. Right now it's been a bit more down than up... I keep getting sick, keep eating the wrong things and end up with some kind of bug. Then I have to miss uni, which adds to my stress because I still have trouble with my language. I think I am keeping up reasonably well, but I don't feel like an academic here. I keep feeling like my Indonesian should be better by now, and I am worried that I am making mistakes that nobody is telling me about. And AKU KANGEN BANGET AMA KELUARGAQ! UDAH 2 BULAN AKU GAK KETEMU AMA MEREKA.The temptation is to just stay in my kos room and not leave. On the bright side of life, I have some amazing friends that have really helped me out.

Makasih banyak kpd Bridge & Rini, Adis Bon, Ari & Christina buat biarin aku curhat :-) aku <3 kalian. Pas aku sedih (lebay!) kalian nenangin aku. :-) Kemaren pas aku mikirin pulang ke Australia, mas Ari yg hiburin aku. Tadi, pas aku nangis, mas Bon yg dengarin cerita ku. Mbak Dis selalu bantuin aku dgn hal2 sehari2. Dan Rini, Bridge & Christina selalu rela temani aku di kos, pas perlu teman ngobrol. Aku benar2 beruntung, bisa dapat teman gitu.



Ya udah... ganti topik aja ya :P

So... last weekend I went to Bogor.. I met up with another one of my penpals there, Yohan. We spent three days jalan2 around Bogor. We went and visited the mountains and then the kebun raya/ botanical gardens of Bogor. The kebun raya was absolutely massive; I don't think it would have been possible to have seen it all in one day. I saw some amazing trees... like a tree in a tree... pohon berada di dalam pohon... :-O

JALAN2 BERIKUTNYA??? MUNGKIN KE JAKARTA... DITUNGGU YA :P

Ultah q di Jogja...

Well.. yesterday was my birthday. It started off with me going to the high school where I do my prac teaching.. that was all pretty usual. Didn't really feel like my bday @ all. Although, stroke of midnight adelaide time (9.30pm the day before here) i received a flood of messages. Stroke of midnight here.. i receive random phone calls with people singing happy birthday then hanging up... the messages didnt stop coming til 6 am. *bikin GR* hehehe.

The day got really good when I went to Pondok Cabe and about 20 of my new friends showed up to celebrate my bday. I was really touched. Then we went to moviebox, and ordered OUR OWN PRIVATE CINEMA and watched twilight. man it was awesome. one cultural difference: here, the birthday person shouts everyone else... :P

kepada semua teman2q yg datang ke pesta ultah q kemaren, aku mau ucapkan MAKASIH BANYAK. Aku sangat terharu & seneng semalam. Awalnya aku sangat kangen ama keluarga q, tapi kalian jadi keluarga q kemaren...

Jatim- Mojokerto & Gresik

Im getting slacker and slacker with my blog posts! I think that is a sign that I am adapting to my life here in Indonesia. Heaps has happened! I went to Mojokerto in Jawa Timur (east java) with Sari to meet up with Didin... We went sightseeing and saw the most beautiful waterfall. It was amazing. Gak bisa terlukiskan dengan kata2! We also saw the Majapahit Palace... Sari and Didin loved taking photos all the time... so I was like yang mana yang turis nya? Cuz, even though it's ME that is the tourist, they are the ones always ambil foto2 di mana2! Staying in Mojokerto was amazing. Didin's aunty and uncle took me for a drive around town, walaupun kebanyakan toko2 tutup buat lebaran. *Didin, sampaikan salam buat keluargamu ya?*

Trus, aku ke Gresik. Gresik is kind of close to Surabaya... I mean, you can drive there, but its lumayan jauh. I stayed in Didin's parents house. It was really fun, because Didin's family are very warm dan heboh *menurut Sari, mereka H2- Heboh & Hangat wkwkwkw*I loved Didin's parents, by the end of it her dad was saying "anak saya" about me (he was calling me his child lol). Everyone seemed really friendly and keen to talk to me, which was fun but overwhelming. lol.... Sometimes I could hear people say "mana bule nya?" hahaha. I was dying for some pizza so I took a trip to the shops and bought imported ingredients, and taught Didin and her mum the way to make proper pizza. But apparently it wasnt pedas/ spicey enough! All the people in the kampung came over to try it... trus langsung tambah sambal! Ampunnnnnnnnnnnnnnn! dasar.

Didin's brother took me to the mall in Surabaya.. Aku terpesona, karena malnya besar banget! Ada 5an lantai (there were like about 5 floors). I went shopping and I got a guess bag for like half price, which was the equivalent of Australian $50. YAY!

Hari nih, hari ultah teman terdekat ku di Australia. Jadi kangen nongkrong sama dia. :-( Big birthday shout outs to shez joyce! love you hun.

photos included:

aq sama Didin & ortu nya (me with didin and her parents)
aq di kolam pemandian (me at the bathing pools)

LOMBOK- the most beautiful place ever.

Well kiddos, I just got back from Lombok... Spent four days there. Had the opportunity to meet my penpal... 4 years we've been writing and this week finally had the chance to meet! where do i start? well... we spent the weekend jalan2 ing on his motor bike... we went to see monkeys. i took kacang (nuts) but before i got to open them they were stolen out of my hands by a cheeky monkey and taken into the forest lol. We ate beach side together at little warungs... had iced teas overlooking the beach... Went to the mall in Mataram as well. It was the best fun! Lombok is so beautiful. I cant even describe how much I fell in love with that place. Sigh. The hardest part was getting there! I was sposed to leave at 6 am on Friday and get to Lombok at 11 am... but the plane was delayed by 5 hours in Jogja and 2 hours in Surabaya... so I got there late afternoon on Friday... GRRR what a waste. i really enjoyed lombok, the people are really friendly and it was relaxed... sometimes Jogja feels too crowded and busy for me... I dunno. Felt really nice when I got back and my kos mates were all like Stacey we missssssssed you! How was Lombok? :-)

finally updated!

Hey guys!!! sorry I have been so malas with the updating of the blog. But internet is so SHITE at my kos that I dont feel motivated in the least. So, what's new hey? Well, I'm slowly starting to get used to life here. There are ups and downs, like anything. Moments where I want to go straight home and moments where I never want to leave. I've started to make friends now, I've got a few people to hang out with. But I'm not sure how to truely connect beyond hanging out at uni. Sometimes I find that I gugup (stutter) a lot when I try to talk because I am so nervous. There are so many new words going to my brain!!!


Tomorrow I leave at 6 am to go to Lombok! It will be the first time ever I get to meet my penpal! Im excited but a little nervous. Next week I am mudik-ing to Jawa Tenggah to go to Jusnita's friend Didin's house. That should be exciting.

My pendamping (student helper) is really nice. She's like my best friend here. Her english is really excellent but I try to use Indonesian when we are together. The picture above is us eating together :-) Couldnt resist also uploading a picture of my ID card... OMG Im actually enrolleda t a foreign uni!!

Buka Puasa; Jadi Orang Terkenal; Kejadian yg Aneh

Last night I went to a celebration at the school that Sari teaches at... The kids were all having a sleepover at the school and a lomba pandu suara (choir competition). I am amazed at the skills that kids have. All the kids can sing well and play instruments. It is so different to Australia. I got a chance to buka puasa (break the fast, its fasting month here in Indonesia for Muslim people) and to hang out with the teachers, who were all really enthusiastic to practise En glish with me. I had my first weird incident though, one of the teachers wanted to touch Bule (white) skin, lol.. so he went to stroke my arm. weird but funny :P

Ive made heaps of new friends at uni... Although everyone wants to practise English with me! lol. Not helpful. Sometimes I feel like a celebrity... since us ILTI Exchange Students are the ONLY foreign students (that are white at least)... we really stick out. Earlier, I was walking down the corridor and I heard a hushed voice say: Its Stacey! and everyone's head popped up and they all waved enthusiastically. Wish I was that popular in Australia!!! lol.


I made a collage for my door... put the picture on my blog. Trying to make my kos room as home-like as possible, seeing as I am going to be living here for the next six months. Internet here really shits me off, its so unreliable. So if anyone wonders why I am not online much or not responding to emails, thats why...

I joined the gym at the Jogjakarta Plaza Hotel the other day. Went for the first time earlier this morning. Felt awesome.

bagi semua teman2ku yg bisa bhs indonesia:

tadi malam, aku sempat buka puasa sama teman2 Muslim ku... aku ikuti acara di SD Mulia Dua (temanku, Sari, ngajar di situ)... Pengalaman tuh mengagumkan. :-) Aku betah tinggal di Jogja, walaupun kangen teman2 & keluarga di Australia. OHYA dan makanan & minuman di sini lezat. Aku udah kecanduan ES JERUK----> enak banget tuh!!! ada bbrp warung yg dekat ke kos ku juga... HOREEEE! Emang murah, makan di warung & resto di Jogja.

Ok sudah cukup... thats enough... ayooo jawab.... come on, reply... ceritain ttng hidup kalian... tell me about ur lives... aku rindu kalian semua... I miss you all..


love Stace

First Day of Study!

Today was my first day of studying at the university. It was pretty full on and there was a lot that I didnt understand, which was pretty daunting. I kept wanting to turn around and run out of the classroom and not come back... But I refuse to do that! I'm here for a reason and... hopefully every day it will get easier. The dosen / lecturer seems really nice, he told me I can ask him for help whenever I need it. I feel pretty overwhelmed but I'm guessing that that is pretty normal... I made a new friend and she is really nice. She is going to help me with assignments and stuff like that. I am really lucky because Indonesian people are so friendly and willing to help.

I went to the doctor just then and he said not to worry its just a normal case of stomach upset caused by change of diet and weather. I've been dosed up with heaps of medicine so that should do the trick.

Tomorrow is Indonesian Independence day... from what I hear it should be pretty fun, heaps of festivities. Looking forward to it. :-)

Bits and Pieces

Well, I finally found somewhere to live... My kos /boarding house is really nice... ada kamar mandi di dalam & WC Barat; kamarnya besar; ada AC... DAN GAK ADA JAM MALAM. Cowok dilarang masuk tapi aku gpp. Kalo aku nemuin "pangeran kraton" sendiri, kan aku bisa ke kraton :P Gak usah bawa cowok ke kos :P

So in English: I have my own bathroom and western toilet. I have airconditioning & a big room. There is no curfew. Boys arent allowed to come into the kos but that doesnt matter . If I find a prince I can just go back to his palace right :P

Just little bits and pieces: the light switches here GLOW.. so you can find the switch in the dark. At atms, your card comes out LAST not FIRST... they have YELLOW watermelon... bread is SWEET... KFC is SPICEY....


Oh, and I keep getting pointed at and called "Bule" *white person* lol.

I have had a sick stomach since I got here which is rather unfortunate. Sometimes I get frustrated about my language abilities but.... Im sure it will get better. SEMANGAT YA :)

JOGJA!

Well, what can I say. Yesterday I arrived in Indonesia for the first time ever. I was feeling really nervous when I stepped off the plane at Denpasar in Bali. The airport is so different to anything I have ever seen in Australia. The buildings are a lot older and the airport is just smaller in general. I was really nervous about getting the right stamp, but it turns out most people in Bali can speak enough English that it wasn't a problem. So, I got the right stamp. Then I had to figure out where my luggage was. I met a really friendly guy who helped me not only carry my luggage but also get to the other terminal and check in for my next flight. Then he helped me find food too. I had KFC... which cost me Rupiah 56,000 which is less than $10. It was expensive by Indo standards lol but we had to order everything piece by piece, cuz the standard meal comes with RICE instead of chips and I wanted chips. My twister was SPICY! lol. Everything here seems rather spicy but sooo good.

I arrived at the hotel to find out that I was staying in the same room with another one of the ACICIS students, Renee. Was a bit of a shock but good to have someone else around. She's pretty cool and we get along well. We went for a bit of a walk earlier and got totally lost. But at least we werent on our own!

Earlier I tried gudeg (a specialty of Jogja) :D It was sooo tasty. yummmmm.

I caught a becak to the bank earlier, which cost me rupiah 5,000 (just over 50cents)... For those of you that dont know, a becak is like a horse and cart situation... except this time the "horse" was actually a person peddling so the becak moves forward. lol it was so cool. I got pretty overwhelmed by the becak drivers because they are so pushy... I said no but I obviously wasnt forceful enough. It is so hard!!! People everywhere in the street want to talk which is really nice but also really confronting. Don't get me wrong, everyone here has been really, really friendly and super patient with my Indonesian skills which is pretty awesome. Special thanks to Sari for picking me up from the airport last night and helping me catch a taxi. At some ungodly hour this morning I was woken up by the call to morning prayer... which is a whole bunch of singing and bells chiming... Muslim prayer time :)

Jalan2 di Sydney

nah... aku mendarat di Sydney jam 3 sore pd hari Sabtu... trus menginap di rumahnya Ben. Senin berangkat ke Newcastle selama 3 hari. Besok kembali ke Sydney lagi... Lagi di rumahnya Ben. Bosan nih.

Hanya dua hari lagi sampai aku cabut ke Jogja....... :D Pada hari sabtu pagi... Jam 8.55! Gembira banget aku, tapi cemas juga.

My Last Night In Adelaide (for six months)

Well, it's the night before I fly out to Sydney... from Sydney I leave for Indonesia. So, tonight is the last night in a while that I will spend in my own bed. I said goodbye to some of my closest friends today and it was really hard. Especially those of my Indonesian friends who won't be here when I return in six months. I went to a house warming party for some of my Indonesian friends earlier which was really nice but exhausting, because we mainly spoke Indonesian!!!!!!! Makes me feel better to know that i can actually do it, even if I dont understand everything!!!

Special mention to Putri... we had our photo taken in a photo booth in the Myer Centre today... sampai ketemu di Solo ya Put :-) Kamu teman istimewa Put :-*

I am all packed now! I weighed my bag and it is only 17.3 kg! Can you believe it?! So proud.

More Packing

The closer it gets til I leave (less than a week now), the more i worry about luggage. Am I taking too much ? I dunno.






This is what I am taking:

CLOTHES

5 or 6 cotton t-shirts
1 denim skirt
1 cotton skirt
2 pairs 3/4 pants
10 pairs underwear
1 batik sarong
1 pair bathers
1 pair fisherman pants

SHOES

1 pair sandals
1 pair flats
1 pair thongs

TOILETRIES

sunscreen
sting-gose
travel bottle shampoo/conditioner
deoderant
compact mirror
sunscreen
painkillers
mini first aid kit
toothpaste
toothbrush


MISCELLANEOUS

travel pillow
one stuffed animal
power adaptor

tell me what you think people!

Packing & Vaccinations

Makin lama, makin penuh, suitcase ku!

I went with Elisa earlier on today to Marion to get some bits and pieces for my trip. I got some of the essential medical supplies like antibacterial cream, painkillers (apparently hard to get?), travel cosmetic bottles and various other things... Some new cotton PJs and heaps of cotton underwear lol.

I got my vaccinations earlier as well... My arm feels like a pin cushion! Tapi harus di-vaccinate, biar nggak jadi sakit... Oh yeah and there is a bandaid on my arm in that picture !

HANYA TIGA MINGGU LAGI SAMPAI AKU TIBA DI INDONESIA! :) Gak sabar lagi.. Pengen ketemu sama teman2 Indonesia ku. Sayang sekali, teman pena ku takkan di Lombok kalo aku di Indonesia nanti... soalnya dia pengen kerja di KL :( Tapi aku bisa ketemu sama Jeng Verra, Mbak Sari & Ari... Dan semoga berteman sama teman2 baru juga :-) Kadang2 aku lupa.. Harus kuliah selama di Indonesia :P Aku mau berpetualang aja wakakaka.

Going Away Party

Earlier on today, I had a going away party at my house with all of my friends. I was really touched by how many people showed up to see me off, and by all of the lovely gifts I got. It was really nice to have all of my friends support me. I was really stressed at first, worrying that everyone was having a good time etc. but then I relaxed and started enjoying myself... After the party, Elisa & Lachlan showed up to take me to dinner at A-Dong. Bon came with us but he had to leave before his food even came out! What a shame :-(

Had a good chance at the party to practise my Indonesian because a few of my Indonesian friends came... dan mereka bawa TAHU ISI! Masakan Indonesia kesukaan ku! Horeee! Makasih mbak jusnita!!!! Thanks to all my guests for coming, I had a great time! Terima kasih banyak!!! Aku gak sabar lagi... Pengen ke Indonesia :-) Ok2 aku add foto2 pestanya...




Sorry if your photo isn't up here... It takes ages to upload the photos and there are too many anyway. I will post them all on Facebook.


Sampai ketemu lagiiiiiiiii ya
Stay x

Packing!!

I have already started packing. As you can see, I've packed the essentials so far!

1 x purple fisherman's pants
1 x Lonely Planet Guide to Indonesia
1 x Lonely Planet Indonesian Phrasebook
5 x suitcase locks (pink!)
1 x passport holder (Pink! ordered from ciaobella.com)
1 x travel wallet (Pink! also ordered from ciaobella.com)
3 x pink luggage tags
1 x kamus (dictionary)
1 x travel pillow
1 x ipod charger & headphones (also.. pink!)

PLANE TICKETS!

I bought a new camera tonight... it's a HOT PINK nikon coolpix s300... cost me $198 from dick smiths... I didn't mean to buy it... I was on my way to Bon's place and I drove past Dick Smiths... Jadi aku putar dan masuk toko nya... trus aku beli kamera baru :P

It Arrived!

I only ordered it yesterday... and my travel accesories arrived today... Im sposed to be doing some last minute studying for my exam.. but I keep looking at them lol. They are soooooooo cute and shiny and PINK! I'll post some pics up later on, after the exam. Well, off to study now! :-)


*1st July* since I have a camera now, I've taken pics of the accesories.... There are more pics on another post :) Here's the travel wallet in detail:

Travel Accessories!

So, I was procrastinating about studying for exams... When I "happened" to stumble across the cutest website called Ciao Bella Travel Products... where you can buy pretty much every travel accessory you could ever want or need... in the cutest colors and designs! After much "oooh-ing" and "ahh-ing" I ended up buying a pink passport holder, travel wallet & luggage tags. It was a bit expensive, for $43 but not too bad. Can't wait for them to come in the mail!!! :D

Check out the passport holder I got and other cute travel goodies

http://www.ciaobellatravel.com.au/main.php?mod=Shop&file=Product&cat=57&pid=1639

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Sometimes I am so conscious of the fact that people are able to read what I write on here... But i try not to let it colour what I say because I want this to be an authentic record of my trip, from the beginning to the end. Well at the moment I am sakit (sick) which means that I have to take time off of work. Which means I am stressing out big time about finding the rest of the money for my flights (due next monday).... I am STILL waiting for my OS Help Loan, that $5000 would come in real handy any time now. Who knows when I will get it? I was told that it would come in last saturday but it didn't... I'm getting rather cynical about the whole thing really, everyone keeps *saying* that things will happen and then I except them and are let down.

Just found out my vaccinations will be $225 ish dollars... Jesus dont know where I am gonna come up with that money, Ive got only 5 hours this week cuz Ive got exams... And I had to take most of the weekend off, which really hurt my pocket... weekend rates are very nice indeed. All my savings were funneled into my plane tickets and application.. Getting passport stuff... etc etc. Big money, overseas travel is!!! Hopefully after exams end for me next wednesday I'll get some more shifts and then I can save some more. And hopefully this grant will actually come through! I'm gonna head to uni to try to chase it up again tomorrow.

Tak takut lagi

Finally I am starting to feel more self confident about speaking Indonesian :-) I know my Indonesian is not sempurna but it is getting there. I'm learning that it is OK to not ALWAYS know everything that people are talking about, as long as I can understand something I am happy! :-) Anyway, so instead of being takut, I am now gembira about my trip to Indonesia!

BRING IT ON!

Money matters... Keuangan...

Wahhhhhhhhhh! Kan perlu uang/ duit supaya bisa ke luar negeri......

So, money matters. I have been simpan uang for a while now... But $900 application to ACICIS and $1550 for flights has made a substantial dent in my savings! Jadi.. aku cari beasiswa/ scholarship from ACICIS and a OS Help Loan from the university. So I melamar/applied for the OS Help Loan... and because they don't know much about ACICIS... my application got held up! Dan... tidak ada yg kasitau!! :-( Marah! No-one told me !

I went in kemaren/yesterday... and I was finally told... So its all gone through and should be paid next week hopefully! YAY! Akhirnya! :P

Finally starting to feel gembira about my trip :D looking forward to it... Gak sabar lagi yaaaaaa

Bought my tickets!

All my friends expect me to write this blog in Indonesian... tapi aku ada teman2 dan keluarga yg gak bisa Bhs Indonesia dong! Biar campuran.........


ku baru saja membeli tiket pesawat nya!!! ku berangkat ke Indonesia pd tanggal 7 Augustus & pulang pd tanggal 7 Februari tahun dpn. :-)

So, I decided to telepon the biro wisatawan tadi siang... And before I knew it I was booking my tickets to Indonesia !!! $1550 and one BIG smile later, I have my tickets in my hot little hands. Didn't mean to book it today, just got a little carried away... Oh well.

So for my friends in Sydney, I'll see you on the 1st August before I fly out to Denpasar. For my friends in Adelaide, I hope that you will come to my bbq to say farewell... And to all my friends in Indonesia... CANT WAIT TO SEE YOU!

Just something I randomly thought of...

One of my best friends, Benyamin Hutabarat, (I called him Pendek, or Pen for short haha) lives in Sydney. In January I went to go and stay with him... It was the first time I'd been in such close contact with Indonesian people. I think he thought it was really strange but I was really amused by the fact that everything was written in Indonesian everywhere. Like on the laundry powder: "Untuk bersama: Ben, Danny & *someone else I forgot their name*" haha. And also, above the kompor/stove their was a handwritten sign: "Kompor jangan lupa dimatikan, bahaya kebakaran" (Dont forget to turn off the stove, because of the danger of fire). Apparently his flatmate kept forgeting to turn off the stove. Anyway, it was so different to what I was used to. Yes, I was in Australia but in some ways it felt like I wasn't... I guess it was my first kinda taste in a way of what living in Indonesia is going to be like, so that's why I feel justified putting this post up... :P also, I made fun of some of my Indonesian friends for taking photos of everything here, so I just wanted to let them know I understand....

So to make this blog a bit funnier, here's the picture I took of that sign :P

Gambaran Jogja...

Hmm so people keep asking me what Jogja is like.... lol I wish I knew! I'd love to help you all but I have no idea myself. All I know, is that you can eat dog in Jogja... Yes, I was shocked as well. It continues to haunt me to this day. When my friend told me that, I was actually sitting next to my dog. No way I will ever try that! Still tossing up whether to get a motor bike or not.. :S Knowing me, I'll probably kill myself if I ever even so much as LOOK at a motorbike!

Oh, and if anyone is wondering, the huge photo is the flyer for the program I am going on. It is a brand new program. That's right, I will be one of the first ever students to go on this program! Exciting, right?? I''ll get to take teaching subjects at Sanata Dharma University AND do three hours of teaching practicals per week :-)

So, I'm posting a link to someone ELSE's pictures... haha. :P

http://www.acicis.murdoch.edu.au/hi/clairepics.html

Also, Bondan, kamu bisa bantu, kan??? Bisa tambah fotomu, kan? Please??? :P

My overactive imagination

Sometimes, I think that my trip to Indonesia is just. too. difficult.
lol.

I feel like I should start at the beginning! (It's a very good place to start!) Before I even applied to ACICIS. Well, it all started in second year, I think, when my teachers started asking me if I would be interested in going over to study in Indonesia. Partly because of my fear to do so, and partly because I knew my boyfriend at the time wouldn't like it, I never seriously considered the idea. Then one day, I was speaking with my friend Rae, who questioned why I wouldn't even consider going. And, then I seriously started thinking about it. Why shouldn't I go? That was the beginning of a period where I fought bitterly with my (now ex) boyfriend about going to Indonesia. He just couldn't understand why I needed to go to Indonesia in order to learn Indonesian! In retrospective I'm not bitter towards him, I just think perhaps he was ignorant about learning a second language.

That problem over, I had to start the application process. WOW, that was difficult!! Every person I went to, told me to go and talk to someone else. No-one seemed to know anything about what I was talking about, and I would get sent from one faculty to another. i.e. Asian studies would send me to Humanities, then Humanities would suggest I go to Asian Studies!!! Frustration! Then, because Indonesia is counted as a "level four, high risk destination", I had to fill out an application to study there before I could even apply to the program.

Thankfully, my request was approved. I waited anxiously for my application to the program to be approved, which it evidently clearly was.

Now starts the next of my difficulties. I have been practising Indonesian day and night. I read the news in Indonesia; listen to Indonesian music and radio recordings. I meet with an Indonesian friend at least once a week. I've recently starting watching movies and reading novels in Indonesian. But I feel like my Indonesian is not improving. It's really freaking me out. I know that I speak very formal Indonesian, not the every day Indonesian that is used by most people. This is despite my attempts.

I've been getting really worried about this. I got so freaked out that tonight I started crying when a friend of mine told me that I had been making mistakes. It was really ridiculous but indicative of how wound up I was. Fortunately, I have a friend who has already gone on the program, and he let me read his blog. It seems that he was thinking exactly the same thing as me. This was a pretty big comfort to me. :-) I thought I was just eccentric, but perhaps I'm not so weird after all... Anyway, thanks heaps Bondan, reading your blog made me feel ten times better. I really liked reading about all the fun things you did with your Indonesian friends. It reminded me that there will be good times :-) Gotta stop stressing so much!!!

I got my letter today...

Wow so I got my OFFICIAL letter in the post today that I am definately going on the ACICIS program.

My response was to immediately burst into tears! When mum asked whether I was happy or sad, I couldn't reply! I think I was crying more as a way to let go of some emotion! I've been wanting to do this for the last couple of years and have had to fight really hard for it, there have been people who don't want me to go. And there have been enormous fears and anxieties on my behalf.

holy hell, its official.....

Some Information

Hey Guys,

Since, as of this week, it is OFFICIAL that I will be going to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for six months (August 10- January 11), I decided to give you some more information...

Here's some information about what I will be doing and where I will be doing it later on this year.

I will be going to the university of Sanata Dharma in Yogyakarta.


I will most likely be staying in a Rumah Kos (boarding house) in Indonesia which will give me an opportunity to make lots of new Indonesian friends! It might look something like this: Click here

I will be going on the FIRST ever ILTI Indonesian Language Teaching Immersion program held by ACICIS.

Click on the underlined text for links!!!

Hope you all enjoy my blog as it goes along!

love, Stace xx

First Post

Well, I've started this blog as a way to keep up with everyone whilst I am in Indonesia later on this year. Well.. I'm going to head to Indonesia in three months!!! And I am very much looking forward to it. Guess I should jot down my feelings leading up to the event?! Well I feel very excited and nervous and scared all at the same time!! I'm doing as much preparation as I can... but there's only so much you can do right??