Jenny’s Journies

Tuesday, 30 May 2006 @ 11:38am.

I am very grateful to have heard from several friends in Yogyakarta. Their properties have been damaged, but they still have their health. I hope everyone finds the strength to continue.

As for me, my trip to Yogyakarta has been temporarily postponed. I was originally supposed to go there for the Fulbright-AMINEF program and then stay an extra week or two for my own research, but the program location was changed to Jakarta since flights were limited, delayed, or cancelled due to low visibility from Mt. Merapi. I was still going to go to Yogya until the earthquake occurred; now is not the right time for research there. On a personal note, it is difficult to stay focused on work when others are suffering and have to struggle to obtain basic necessities such as food, water, shelter, and health care.

Recent news in English regarding post-earthquake efforts:

“Urgent need for hospitals, tents” (CNN)
“Aid flow begins for Java victims” (BBC)
“Fearful Jakartans seek out relatives amid devastation” (The Jakarta Post)

And in more sad news, East Timor is in the midst of violence again, though foreign peacekeepers have improved the situation over the past few days:

“East Timor hit by fresh looting” (BBC)
“About 2,000 RI citizens still in Dili” (The Jakarta Post)

Sunday, 28 May 2006 @ 12:40pm.

Cellphone and email services are down, so still no word from friends in Yogyakarta. We are all anxiously awaiting word. We are all praying.

Here are some recent news reports in English:

“Deadly quake strikes Yogya” (The Jakarta Post)
“Experts dismiss ties to Merapi” (The Jakarta Post)
“Search for Java quake survivors” (BBC)
“Yogyakartans face post-quake fears” (The Jakarta Post)
“U.N. agencies rush aid to Indonesia” (CNN)

Saturday, 27 May 2006 @ 1:05pm.

So much can change overnight here… Here is the posting I was working on from yesterday:

Although there are clearly exceptions, Americans tend to be very particular when it comes to “touch.” We are usually aware of personal space and adapt touch to the level of familiarity with another person (e.g., stranger-acquaintance-friend-best friend-family). One American made a good point when we were on a panel at the Fulbright-AMINEF pre-departure/orientation program: some ethnic groups (e.g., Flores) use touch to establish relationships and get closer to others, while Americans often use touch to express familiarity and existing relationships. In Jakarta and other parts of Java, many people are conservative in the sense that men may touch men (e.g., holding hands) and women may touch women, but opposite sex touching beyond a handshake (and sometimes a kiss on each cheek) in public and with non-family members or new people is frowned upon. That being said, however, given the sheer number of people here, everyone is forced to touch when they are cramped in a crowded bus or elevator. Strangers may also walk up to babies and young children and pinch their cheeks or arms and unlike some American reactions of suspicion, concern, or fear, it’s mostly accepted here.

I had one last lunch with Julie before she leaves for the U.S. today (26 May 2006). We were joined by our advisor and his wife and daughter. We went to Kedai Tiga Nyonya and had a delicious meal. I especially liked the ikan pecah kulit (fish - English name?) and poffertjes (a Dutch dessert of small round pancakes, but with an Indonesian twist - shredded cheese on top). The jus belimbing (starfruit juice) was refreshing, too. I was expecting it to be a lot sweeter because many Indonesians like to add sugar or syrup to drinks, but it was just the plain fresh juice this time. Here is a picture of belimbing:

In contrast to the posting above, here are my comments for today:

I woke up this morning and turned on the news as usual, but what did I see on the television? Not the regular sports, political, or health topics, but rather I saw image after image of the gempa or gempa bumi (earthquake) aftermath in Yogyakarta. The earthquake occurred just before 6am. It is so very, very sad! Some of the video and pictures showed people crying, but most just had shock on their faces. The streets were full as people went outside for safety (buildings can fall apart easily in natural disasters). Reports vary about how many people have been injured or killed. The earthquake is said to have been between 5.9 and 6.2 in magnitude. A new, scary dimension is the fear that many people experienced this morning because they thought a tsunami would follow the earthquake. This has thankfully not occurred so far and everyone continues to hope that it does not. I emailed and texted friends in Yogya and hope to hear from them soon.

Thursday, 25 May 2006 @ 12:15pm.

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind.” — William James

This quote came from an email service called “The All-But-Dissertation Survival Guide.” For ABD’s, I suggest visiting the website and reading some of the archived articles if you haven’t already done so.

This past Monday-Wednesday, I helped with the Fulbright-AMINEF pre-departure/orientation program for Indonesians who are going to study and work in the U.S. It was a fabulous program. The student grantees are an amazing group of people and I’m sure will not only learn a lot, but will also be great cultural ambassadors. Some are in non-degree programs, others will work towards their M.A.s, and another group will be in Ph.D. programs. There are also grantees who will teach languages (Indonesian or Javanese) or certain fields (Humanities or Social Sciences) at the university level. I was so happy to see that one returning grantee and one current grantee were former students of mine from when I taught at Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta (2000-2002). I must admit that I felt a bit old, though! It was a great mini-reunion. I also met up with American Fulbright friends who were helping the program as well and that was wonderful. I know it must seem like I’m gushing right now, but it was just really nice to meet scholars and friends all under one roof.

Additional recent observations and experiences that made me smile:

* Children in school uniforms walking home and sharing a slice of papaya.
* Two older men at a government office holding hands in a gesture of friendship.
* A woman wearing a headscarf in a unique style: braided down her back.
* Tasting my first hot chocolate in four months at Cafe Oh La La.
* Meeting up with an American friend who also has curly hair.
* Getting a good exchange rate yesterday (it turns out that every bank has its own rate!).

Sunday, 21 May 2006 @ 8:23pm. I had a lovely time yesterday evening. A friend is returning to the U.S. later this week, so there is the usual round of going-away parties. Last night was a somewhat strange, but good mix of food, company, and activities. The host’s house was wonderful with its tiled floors, open-air feel (mostly large windows as opposed to stuffy walls), beautiful batik and modern art hanging on the walls, and an amazing book collection in the office. The host designed his one-floor house by gathering designs from the internet (!) and then submitting the ideas to an architect friend. I liked the feel of the place because of its international influence (e.g., Indonesian, Thai, and European art), but yet the place was “simple” (e.g., uncluttered and minimal furniture). Most of the evening was devoted to chatting with office colleagues and meeting new people from affiliate organizations. Near the close of the evening, there was “American Idol” on the television screen, but it was muted so we (Indonesians, Americans, and an Australian) could dance to reggae music. I snacked the whole time on singkong (cassava) chips, cute little pastries, shrimp satay, grapes, and asinan (salty-sour-sweet fruit salad). I had the pleasure of tasting a kurma (date fruit) with an almond in the middle from Mesir (Egypt), too. I did NOT try the shisha (also known as narguileh, hubble bubble, or hookah).

There was a second going-away party for my friend this afternoon. More good food and good company (more foreigners this time). I brought a papaya to the get-together and was pretty proud of myself for picking a good, ripe one. I had interesting discussions with folks at this party, in particular about the challenges of being a foreigner (and a woman) here, as well as hardships related to research. It’s nice to know that I am not alone, but it’s too bad that most of us have such difficulties, especially regarding fieldwork. Perhaps I am lucky in some respects, though, since having family from Southeast Asia has helped me to adapt relatively quickly and more easily compared to some other students. There are a lot of similarities, for instance, between Filipino and Indonesian customs so there isn’t as much or maybe the same kinds of culture shock or cultural adjustment.

Quote of the Day: “Your research is very timely and important, which is why no one should know about it.” (someone making a joke about my research and numerous fieldwork challenges)

I won’t be online for the next couple of days since I will be helping with a Fulbright-AMINEF orientation/pre-departure program. I will assist in discussions with Indonesian students who will be going to the U.S. this fall. I’m very much looking forward to interacting with the students and engaging in a bit of “cross-cultural understanding.”

Friday, 19 May 2006 @ 1:28pm. I don’t have an “average” day here. In fact, each day is full of surprises, both positive and negative. This morning I went to the governor’s office with the intention of picking up a permission letter that essentially renews my research permit in Jakarta. Even though all of the photocopies were in order and the renewal letter was on top of the documents and ready to go, I had to return to the office a second time to show them the original copies. I have to go back on Monday to pick up the original copies and the renewal letter. Deja vu x 3.

After lunch, I was told that the Freedom Institute is putting together promotional materials and needed photographs of the researchers here. Before I knew it, I was being photographed at my desk by a guy with a fancy camera and huge flash. I kept laughing each time he corrected my position. “I’m a researcher, not a model,” I repeated. I later found out that another staff member opted out of today’s photoshoot and I teased that it wasn’t fair since I didn’t get to do the same. She gets to dress up another day, while I looked less formal and certainly not made up today!

In other not-so-average news…

The boarding house finally has a new toaster. This is wonderful! The old one broke weeks ago and despite several requests, we went without one for what felt like ages. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the jaffle maker was in better condition, but alas, everything stuck to it and I basically had to scrape out my bread during each use. I don’t know what possessed the family to finally purchase a toaster, but I don’t care. I’m just happy we have one now. Funny how my priorities as of late revolve around toast.

Many commercial trucks and buses here have stickers plastered across the tops of their windshields. The stickers tend to be very colorful, in print or cursive writing, and include personal names, place names, or “lucky” phrases. I saw a delivery truck today that said “doa ibu” (mother’s prayer).

I found that even when the Rupiah shifts in favor of those who have dollars, it doesn’t matter. I went to an ATM machine on Tuesday thinking I would be getting the “good rate.” I really, really need the better rates because the stronger Rupiah is wreaking havoc on my personal and research budgets. Turns out that I got the same rate as the previous week despite the fact that the newspapers and websites said the markets closed at certain levels. I guess the banks don’t change the rates each day to match the markets???

The U.S. media has been reporting on Mt. Merapi this past week. I’ve read some accounts that say Merapi has already erupted. In Indonesian, the verb “meletus” also means to erupt, but the headlines here do not use it because it has the connotation of “explosion.” Apparently, a little lava does not equal a “true” eruption or explosion.

“American Idol” is popular here. I’ve spoken to a few people who absolutely love it, even more so than “Indonesian Idol.” Folks are eager to see the final show.

Since this is a majority Muslim country, one usually doesn’t find pork served at restaurants. When I shared a Hawaiian pizza with a friend the other night, I realized that Canadian bacon isn’t Canadian bacon if it’s made out of chicken. It was nice to have a different kind of carb instead of rice or noodles, though.

Wednesday, 17 May 2006 @ 6:31pm. Thanks to the person from Downunder for correcting my Indonesian from a previous blog post concerning phone registration. I accidentally typed the second SMS from when I was double-checking, rather than the first one that I got right after registration.

Thanks to folks who have suggested taking pictures of the newspaper articles as well. We’re looking into that option right now. Someone suggested making use of the digital archives. We’ve looked into this and have run into two problems: (1) it’s expensive to either print or save the articles to a CD, and (2) the digital archives don’t always include photographs and captions. I need the photographs and captions because frequently the full stories are missing, and I still need to code those cases. We’re going to check another location to see about the completeness of their digital archives.

Still have a bit of a cough, but I feel a lot better than earlier last week - yeah! I think the sun helped… Julie and I ventured to Pulau Seribu (Thousand Islands - there’s actually only around 100-300 and even fewer are developed) last weekend. It turned out to be so pricey that we only spent one day there or rather a day and half including travel time. We visited Pulau Sepa. It was a small island - we walked around it in less than 10 minutes and we strolled! We were in the cheapest accomodations since we’re just students, but even that was ridiculously expensive. No hot water, mattresses on the floor, ants on the wall, rusty doors, broken toilet, etc., but we were essentially paying to be out of Jakarta. The main thing that was worth it was the food, which was served buffet style. We had fresh ikan kakap (snapper) for dinner for example. Pulau Sepa is about 1.5 hours by small boat/ferry from Ancol Marina, which is in North Jakarta. The water was a beautiful blue-green close to the island and dark blue farther out. Unfortunately, there was garbage in several parts of the area. Successful eco-tourism is very much lacking. One couldn’t help but wonder where all the money goes, especially since many tourists (domestic and international) pay a ton of money to visit the various islands… Julie and I waded into the water to check out some of the coral, which was not very colorful at all, but had interesting fish swimming by. I saw lots of cool fish with a simple pair of goggles. Think of the exotic fish one sees in tropical aquariums. I saw little bright blue and black fish. Fish with black and yellow stripes. Several fish that reminded me of black & whites (those yummy cookies in New York that have half black frosting and half white frosting). But then there were the pale pink aggressive fish. At first, I though, “Oh, how cute. Pink fish.” Before I knew it, I got bit on my leg! I think they were just a tad too territorial for my tastes. The next day when we went into the water, the pink fish left us alone, but funny enough, we got stung by a jellyfish! Didn’t see it coming at all. Didn’t see it after it stung us. It was a quick sting on my arm, different from the mini-chomp of the fish from the previous day. I had little bumps in a nice, neat row. All I could think was that these were more stories or fodder for my love-hate relationship with Jakarta. Pretty beach and fresh air, but can’t tame the wildlife. We also rented a little paddleboat of sorts for half an hour. We didn’t go out very far as the waves were strong. It was really nice to do something outdoorsy for once, however. I’ll try to post pictures at some point. My computer is in the States being repaired, so I don’t know the next time I’ll be able to upload pictures…

Now it’s been back to work. I hired a second assistant to help with certain kinds of data collection this month. I hope that goes well.

Friday, 12 May 2006 @ 11:32am. I’ve been dealing with the flu and am now feeling better. The Ibu and family at my boarding house think I got the flu because of the “weather change.” A person at the office suggested I got sick from working too hard and it’s an indication I need to take a break. Both are probably correct. I don’t feel that I’m working all that hard actually, but if I take a step back and look at my situation, I might be!

Last Sunday, I attended a rally organized by the Prosperous Justice party (PKS). The rally campaigned “one man, one dollar” to support Palestine. According to The Jakarta Post and Antara newswire, PKS collected around Rp. 700 million (USD $80,000) in donations. PKS will establish a bank account and then purchase food and clothing with the help of the Indonesian government and a Palestinian representative. Direct bank transactions are not allowed at the present time.

In a previous posting, I mentioned that rain may have put a damper on the May Day labor protests. Apparently, hired rainmen might have been behind the weather that day.

A recent text message: “Nomor Anda telah terdaftar sebelumnya. Terima kasih atas partisipasi Anda dalam registrasi pelanggan prabayar.” This basically says thank you for registering your handphone number. All prepaid cellular phone users must register with the government due to a ministerial decree from October 2005. Registration consists of texting your name, ID card number, date and place of birth, and address to 4444. The government instituted the registration process to prevent or minimize criminal activities (e.g., scams and terrorism). April 28th was the original registration deadline, but the deadline has been extended for a couple more months because of technical difficulties (e.g., operators have been overwhelmed by the millions of users trying to register). Failure to register means loss of service.

Friday, 05 May 2006 @ 4:25pm. Ahhh, the mystic parallels… Former president Suharto was admitted to Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta yesterday with gastrointestinal bleeding, according to Metro TV and The Jakarta Post. Someone at lunch today mentioned that it was strikingly similar to the first flow of lava spilling from Mt. Merapi, which also occured yesterday.

Latest favorite television program… KICK ANDY. This is a new program on Metro TV, which started 02 March 2006 and airs every Thursday at 10:30-11:30pm WIB (Waktu Indonesia Barat - Western Indonesia Time). The show is hosted by Andy F. Noya and tackles very interesting topics, several of which I have not yet heard discussed in such an intelligent, thoughtful, fair, and public manner as on this show.

Last night’s program was about people with disabilities. Past shows included topics such as Siamese twins, “hot” films from the 1980s, domestic violence, and cosmetic surgery. The show usually provides multiple perspectives, as well as pros and cons, but the material is controversial so I can’t help but wonder how long it will remain on the air.

Latest research challenge… What can be done if certain data comes from older newspapers that are bound into volumes and you are not permitted to make photocopies? And the internet versions when available are different or incomplete compared to the paper copies? Sigh… The data is right there in front of me, but I can’t code anything if I can’t make photocopies. My assistant and I are looking into our options, but if you have a suggestion, please pass it along. I would hate to think I can’t include some potentially great information in my dissertation simply because of a photocopy problem.

Thursday, 04 May 2006 @ 6:46pm. It’s a little hard to think that U-M students are now on summer break. Without the structure of classes and a semester schedule, my days kind of run into one another…

I haven’t quite figured out the schedule, but apparently once a month the men at the office get a hair cut on the same day or close to the same day. It’s very cute! I actually got a trim yesterday at a local salon, too.

So today I am reaffirming the notion that I am a big nerd. I need to embrace this identity since apparently I have been one since I was a child. I love data. Sad, but true! I got to work with some survey data today and the hours just flew by. Most of the work involved translating, but it was still fun. This was much better than having to deal with a very leaky AC at my boarding house and freshly laundered sheets that got soaked in the rain instead of dried in the sun!