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. :-)