About a week ago I sent a classmate a list of questions to answer about their first couple of weeks in Uganda. I got the answers but was also sent my own set of questions to answer. I though I would share the questions and answers. Also if you have a question or two about my experience feel free to let me know.
JK sounds like… TRAFFIC. A symphony of ojeks, baja, and metro mini buses. Don't forget to
mix in a liberal amount of car horns for percussion. Ojeks make a typical zooming sound
of motorbikes. Baja make lots of put-put sounds as they ply the streets
looking for customers. The buses make much louder put-put
sounds with the occasional comment yelled as it passes.
JK smells like…many things. Open sewers and trash is the one I notice the most. This is
especially true on hot days (all of them) when it has not rained in
awhile (which I am usually thankful for because puddles of polluted
water are no fun to walk through). On a better note, you will also get the smell of sate, nasi goreng, or soto being cooked at a warung (food stall).
One thing that I have grown to appreciate is… this is a hard one and it could be taken two ways (something back home
or something here). The thing I will have a new appreciation for back
home is street signs. It is a little thing but makes a big difference.
First, in Jakarta the street signs are opposite to how they are in the
states, so it makes finding your way around really difficult. Also they
are only on the beginning and ends of streets, so if you come to a
street that starts 2 blocks down you will have no street name. It makes
getting lost super easy. The thing that I have grown to appreciate here
is fruit juice. I will miss it when I get back. Most restaurants serve
fresh juices and given the multitude of tropical fruits here they are
quite diverse. I could probably make them back home but that would
involve a juicer and constantly buying fresh fruit, and I am a little
too lazy for that.
Because of my experience here, one thing that I will start doing/making back in the US is…tempeh. You find it at most every meal here. It can be cooked into this sweet crunchy dish or is really good with green beans.
The first non-English phrase I used here was… and the people reacted doing this…
I can't really remember the first phrase in Bahasa I used. The first day
or two were a big blur of jet lag and confusion. The first interaction
that I can remember was buying my cell phone. In true Laura fashion, I
got up early to go purchase my cell phone before work. I think it was my
second day of work. The first thing I said was "anda bisa bicara bahasa
ingrissi." Do you speak English? The answer was of course no. From
there we used charades my calculator on my iphone and a couple other
words I knew in bahasa to conclude my transaction. I purchased a lovely
cell phone that has the special feature of disco lights. At first, I really disliked the phone but I
then figured out how to change the language to English things have improved since then.
My favorite word thus far is…
The word that describes Jakarta the best is macet (traffic). The word
the is used most of selamat (safe used in greetings, congratulations,
good byes ...). My favorite phrase is probably jalan-jalan which means
walking or traveling. The security guards next door say it to me every
time I leave my kost.
When I pass by (young) kids, they… A) yell bule (white person) or B) ask to take photos with me.
