Jalan-Jalan for Java

One of the things that has perplexed me the most being in Indonesia is the difficulty in finding coffee. In a nation synonymous with coffee - Java, Sumatra - there is a surprising lack of places which serve actual coffee. By actual coffee I mean coffee that comes from beans and brewed with hot water, not brown granules that dissolve in water. There is an abundance of people selling instant coffee. You can find it at Circle K, little street stalls, and even people riding bicycles with packets decorating the handle bars. However, in my opinion if you are going to have a vice, addiction to coffee, you should enjoy the quality stuff. I don't believe in fake sugar or powdered creamer.

Today, I had enough of the instant coffee. It just was not working, so I took a morning Jalan-Jalan (walk if you haven't remembered your Bahasa from previous posts) to the nearest coffee shop which happens to be about 20 minutes out of my way. The problem with this is that tomorrow I will want a latte again. While I normally would not mind a 20 minute walk, in Jakarta it is a different story. The humidity and pollution quickly make you rethink your journey, especially when you have to wear those clothes at work all day. The traffic makes you question the wisdom of cross streets - just close your eyes, hold out your hand as a barrier, and take the first step (DON'T ACTUALLY CLOSE YOUR EYES). Luckily today there was a little breeze and it didn't seem quite so hot, at least when you were in the shade. That first sip of my ice latte made it worth it, though tomorrow I think I might opt for extra sleep. Needless to say I am counting the days, 17 to be exact, until I am back in Little Rock with my many coffee making appliances.

Question & Answer

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.

Happy 4th of July

How do you celebrate the Fourth of July from Jakarta? There are several restaurants offering beer and barbecue at a premium price for expats; however, I am celebrating by sitting in a training for female parliamentarians about managing campaigns next to my Australian friend. It is an odd way to celebrate Independence Day, sitting in the back of a conference room frantically trying to translate the PowerPoint presentation.

The 4th of July Card made by Jessie, my Aussie friend, during the training.

Obama, Obama Bagus

I have had the same conversation with pretty much every taxi driver. After telling the driver where I want to go, the next question is inevitably "dari mana" (where are you from). Once I give the answer, America, the next phrase without fail is "Obama, Obama bagus (good)." Indonesian, particularly taxi drivers in Jakarta, have a fondness for the 44th President. As a result, you can find this odd little statue in front of an elementary school in Menteng (an upscale neighborhood in central Jakarta) that proclaims, " A young boy named Barry played with his mother, Ann in Menteng area. He grew up to be the 444th President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Barack Obama." After taking my photo, I was on my way again, jalan-jalan (walking walking). It took about 45 minutes to get there, after 6 weeks of trying, and I looked at the statue for a total of maybe 5 minutes. At least, I have my photo. 

  

Here are some other highlights from this past week, which included completing the remaining Jakarta tourist attractions and listening to some jazz. Unfortunately, I was not able to take the elevator to the top of MONAS as it was being repaired. In Indonesia, you quickly learn that nothing goes according to plans or schedule.

Waiting to go into MONAS

MONAS

Inside the National Mosque

Mom and Security Officer/Tour Guide

Portuguese Church

Happy Knife Sharpener who helped my mom and I cross the street. He also insisted I take his photo. 

Oran Etkins and Indonesian Friends - Saturday night jazz.

Kickin' It in Kota

I spent this weekend hanging out in the old town of Batavia or Kota. This is the northern part of Jakarta that was the center of Dutch colonialism. In between the smog, trash, traffic, and people you can imagine the grand area that it once was. Many of the buildings are rotting away but some have been kept as museums.

Saturday, I went down to Kota. The first stop of the day was the Mandiri Bank Museum. Complete with creepy mannequins, this museum aims to representing banking as it was back in the 1930s. 

After the bank museum it was the Wayang Museum. Daniel, a puppet maker and owner, kept popping up to give us an impromptu tour. 

 

After the Wayang Museum it was a fancy lunch at Cafe Batavia. It overlooks the central square in Kota. While the building and views were impressive, the food not so much. There was so more wandering around before heading home.

On Sunday, I met Jessie, an intern from work, at Anomali for breakfast. I ordered the creme brulee latte, which includes caramelizing the sugar on top with a torch. Jessie got a hot chocolate, which includes getting your portrait drawn on top in chocolate. 

 

 

We then headed down to Kota for some more exploring. Jessie had not been yet. We had some minor transportation difficulties, but eventually arrived at our destination. We soon learned we were as much of a tourist attraction as the sights in Kota. We took at least ten photos including one family portrait complete with mom, baby, and son. Here are some sights from Taman Fatahillah that were captured between taking photos with Indonesians.

  

We then went to the art and ceramics museum and back to the Wayang Puppet Museum where we actually got to see the last ten minutes of a show. Finally we walked to the old watchtower to get a view of the harbor. 

 

  

 

Our last stop of the the day was Plaza Indonesia for dinner and some window shopping. From the bus overpass I got a good view of the Welcome Statue. We had a delicious dinner complete with exotic fruit blends, blueberry cardamon and pomegranate ginger.

 

Week Three Highlights

Some highlights from my third week in Indonesia:

MONDAY: Try mangosteen.

 

TUESDAY: Saw a horrible movie, Bel Ami but ate delicious pizza in a restaurant that looked like a Swiss ski resort (sorry no photo).

WEDNESDAY: New intern at work and no internet at work.

THURSDAY: Saw a great movie, Dark Shadows.

FRIDAY: Visited Parliament for a work function, fit four people in a bajaj (really wish I had a picture of this), had amazing ginger fizz and nasi campur.

Women's Leadership Forum at Parliament.

Imagine four people in the back.

Ginger Fizz

Nasi Campur

Reflections on Rain

Today was a slightly soggy walk into work. As I left my room, I could already feel the oppressive humidity that suggests an eminent rain storm. As I stepped outside, I looked up at the sky and saw the ominous grey clouds. I had a quick game of charades with the housekeeper to make sure that my laundry would get done, then I started my walk through the neighborhood.

I felt a couple drops of rain so I picked up my pace to avoid getting caught in a true downpour. I also tried a couple of times to open my new Indonesian umbrella. It worked last night but somehow seemed to be unwilling to open this morning. Oh well, it was not really raining yet.

I turned a corner a came across a couple of chickens. Not a normal encounter on my walk. I wanted to take out my camera to capture the city chickens but felt some more rain so I scurried off. I finally got to Wolter Monginsidi aka Frogger Street when it started to sprinkle a little harder. I struggled with my umbrella a little as I also kept an eye on the traffic looking for my opportunity to cross the street.

Success!

A break in the traffic, I get across the street. I fumble around a little more and manage to open my umbrella. I did get more than my usual stares for being a bule walking in Jakarta. I walk the last bit to the office relatively dry under my umbrella, the flower cut-outs are an interesting design feature.

All the way in I was wishing for my rain boots sitting back in Little Rock. No matter how hard I try, inevitably I forget something when packing or in this case there was just not enough room. Maybe it is just an occasion to visit another mall, Jakarta does have loads of those.

A Study in Contrast

This weekend has been an interesting juxtaposition of cultures. Last night I went out in Kemang, a Jakarta neighborhood. I ended up at an Irish bar listening to an Indonesian cover band singing everything from Maroon 5 to The Corrs. The fiddle player was pretty good, so their rendition of The Corrs was not half bad. 

Scene at the Irish bar.

After an evening of Irish - Indonesian culture, Alex and I decided to venture to Taman Mini (Beautiful Little Indonesia - think Indonesian Epcot). Naturally, the day started with a 2 hour public transportation adventure. It took three different Transjakarta buses and a angkot to get to Taman Mini. While making a bus transfer, I did get a good view of car free days in Jakarta. Every Sunday morning certain streets in Jakarta are closed to traffic. It was nice to see the streets clogged with bicyclist and runners opposed to cars, ojeks, bajaj, and buses. 

Car free street in Jakarta!

Once at Taman Mini I started to walk around the park visiting representation of everything from Bali to Sumatra to Kalimantan. I'll admit that after a while it all started to blend together. Then again it might be because the limited English translation - another feasting outfit that is what the last 7 plaques said. That was until I stumbled across the strains of Katy Perry and the Black Eyed Peas emerging from a special events tent. While I did not get to go inside the tent, the pop music extravaganza made an interesting soundtrack. 

Elephant chair

At the Bali site.

Dancing with a bear!

Right before I heard the strains of Firework by Katy Perry.

There were these neon colored animals roaming the park. This must be one of the worst jobs considering the overwhelming heat in Jakarta. Interestingly, on the way back from Taman Mini there were people dressed in sheep costumes along the side of the street.

Blue Pooh Bear ?

The castle - it was almost like the Magic Kingdom ;) Right before another English language interview!

One of the things that strikes me during my adventures is the abundance of cars. Even in the botanical gardens in Bogor or at Taman Mini there are cars roving the parks and ojeks zigzagging through the traffic. It makes me wistful for my little patio with its tree back in Little Rock. 

Project Plan Take 2

When I got to work on Monday this week, I was able to sit down with my supervisor and discuss my work plan. By discuss, I mean throw out what I originally planned and start from scratch. I was pretty sure that this was going to happen despite prior communication and planning.

I am pretty good at adapting to the unexpected at work if any of the stories from previous jobs are to be believed … the time I had to sharpen 500 pencils two at a time, or the several times I have broken shredders, lets not forget waxing the clothing racks, transferring a box of floppy disks onto the server, or dressing like a pirate!

Previous work stories aside, I am excited about my new project as it blends nicely with my interest in advocacy. I will be developing a resource guide and manual for the one-on-one coaching program with female politicians in Indonesia. The background research has been interesting and I am learning a lot about the challenges of political quotas and democracy in the developing world. I wondering if there will be a humorous work story from this summer to add to archives.

In other office news we got three new coworkers this week. Three kittens have claimed the office garage as their home. One thing I have noticed about Jakarta is the abundance of cats roaming the streets. Don't worry Jeff, none are as cute as the booboos.

The Booboos.

A taxi, a bus, a train, and an angkot

Yesterday started off with a taxi ride to the morning cake market. There were cakes, pastries, and savory treats galore. It was a feast for both my eyes and tastes buds. While maybe not the healthiest breakfast, it certainly was tasty. 

Making fresh cakes. These had meat inside.

Chocolate, need I say more.

Alex before trying green mystery cake!

After the cake market Alex and I jumped on a Transjakarta Bus to Monas and Gambir Station. The Transjakarta Busway is the city's attempt at mass transit. We didn't stop for long at Monas as we were trying to get to Bogor. It is something to come back to as there are many sights around the monument, including the largest Mosque in Jakarta.

After a couple of wrong turns and attempts at directions we made it to the train station. We almost got on the wrong train, but eventually made it on to the train to Bogor. 

View of Jakarta from train platform.

Upon  arriving in Bogor, we stopped at the Tourist Information Office for a map and some directions. Unfortunately those directions were a little off, left really meant right, so maybe the walk took a little longer than 15 minutes. Eventually, we arrived at the Botanic Gardens. While taking a water break on a shady bench, we were approached by an English Club who interviewed us. 

After the Botanic Gardens, we boarded an angkot to the Gong Factory. An angkot is a green minibus that seats 10 people. Though the Gong Factory was closed, we did get to see some of the gongs. 

Finally, it was time to make the journey back to Jakarta which was an angkot, a train, a bus, and then a taxi!