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 :)