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