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.