Saat November–Moments of November
This post is going to be a little more casual. Hmm, what happened in November…
Clockwise from top-left: Wearing a traditional dhalang costume on stage after the first wayang performance; a grade X student holds her wayang kertas rendition of Krishna; sinden sing during a performance of wayang kulit; students have fun with real wayang puppets in Seni/Budaya class
Student Participation and the MAN poker card series
My counterpart and I created our own deck of cards with information about the world written in both English and bahasa Indonesia. We use the deck as a means of selecting students to participate in class as well as an interesting piece of media to keep the students engaged.Each suit of the 52-card poker deck is characterized by a specific topic. Hearts are “U.S. Culture,” Diamonds are “Influential World Women,” Clubs are “Important Places in the World,” and Spades are “Globalization.” Each of the four aces sticks to the suit’s theme but compares something relevant in Indonesia to something relevant in the United States.
You can download the Microsoft PowerPoint file I used to make and print the cards here [MAN poker cards, powerpoint file]. The list of all 52 subjects on my deck is listed at the very end of this post. If you want to make your own deck, feel free to change some of cards to fit your own desires.
To whom it may concern, it cost me about Rp 17.000 to get a good laminating job on these cards. My school offered to pay for it.
Banyak bahasa (link to page)
I just wrote a page titled ‘Banyak bahasa’ about the languages of Indonesia and Java. I have posted it as a ‘page’ under the tab ‘Learn About Indonesia.’ You’ll find that tab at the top of this website.
Or you can click this link to go straight to the new article.
Enjoy!
Saat September & October—Moments of September & October: What do I do every day?
This blog entry is a long and wandering account of what my day looks like on a week to week basis. Parts of the text jump into a more reflective mood, but this post still paints a simple rendition of what my life has been like. I wish I could write something more substantial right now, but I realize it’s been two months without updating my blog, and there are some people back home who might want to have even the slightest clue of what I’ve been up to. One major reason this post simplifies service in the Peace Corps is that I’ve focused almost solely on successes and aspirations. I’ve given no time to failures, frustrations, and reality checks that will come in the future. I elaborate on this omission a little more at the end of the post, but for now I’ll continue onto the task of filling you in.
Saat Augustus—Moments of August
Close up of Bromo, Batok, and Semeru; Acara 17 Augustus; Upacara Kasada
‘Twas a good month to start the Saat series because the Julian calendar month of August 2011 happened to include Ramadan, Indonesia’s Independence Day, and the Kasada festival at G. Bromo—possibly the three most important annual events to occur in East Java. Independence Day follows the Julian calendar and is, therefore, celebrated every August 17, but Ramadan follows the Islamic calendar and Kasada follows the Javanese calendar. As it can be seen, then, the combination of these three events into a single thirty day stretch is quite serendipitous. For it to occur in just my second month at permanent site also makes for a great introduction to Indonesian culture. Also of note during this month are concessions to jam karat and debates about cheating in Indonesia.
Kasada Festival, Gunung Bromo; And What about Indonesia’s “Culture of Disaster”?
The blog includes a short video and a longer textual explanation of the Kasada festival at Gunung Bromo (Mt. Bromo) in East Java, Indonesia. Besides from being a beautiful and entertaining ritual, the legend and practice of Kasada also describe an interesting relationship between the local people and the volcanic environment. The thoughts and information in this post come from my readings of Bromo, the Tengger people, and my recent trip to partake in the August 2011 Kasada festival.
Ash eruption footage courtesy of Kyoshi Nishi, JICA Silver Expert (publicly available from the Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network 29:07, 07/2004)
{click the ‘YouTube’ icon on the video screen to watch full size in YouTube}
Saat July—Moments of July (Part III): Who knows the difference between the U.S. and America? (And who knows the difference between the U.S., Mexico, and Australia?)
Instead of updating my blog with frequent posts about “I did this today/I did that today” and ending up with a thousand entries by the time things are done, I’m going to instead try to distill each month into one post full of tidbits from my journal, e-mail correspondences, or memory. I think that this format will (1) be easier to parse through for you, (2) give me a chance to reflect on things before I share them publically, and (3) still provide a comprehensive idea of what my daily life is like in Indonesia.
That being said, I am not prepared to write a Saat July (Moments of July) that encompasses all of my daily habits or important notes. There are three topics I still want to share with you: (1) The Anniversary and purpose of Peace Corps, (2) a short and funny story about local food and media, and (3) a funny story about my failures to explain where exactly I’m from.
Saat July—Moments of July (Part II): Bakso and the local media (Has President Obama been Redeemed?)
Instead of updating my blog with frequent posts about “I did this today/I did that today” and ending up with a thousand entries by the time things are done, I’m going to instead try to distill each month into one post full of tidbits from my journal, e-mail correspondences, or memory. I think that this format will (1) be easier to parse through for you, (2) give me a chance to reflect on things before I share them publically, and (3) still provide a comprehensive idea of what my daily life is like in Indonesia.
That being said, I am not prepared to write a Saat July (Moments of July) that encompasses all of my daily habits or important notes. There are three topics I still want to share with you: (1) The Anniversary and purpose of Peace Corps, (2) a short and funny story about local food and media, and (3) a funny story about my failures to explain where exactly I’m from.
Saat July—Moments of July (Part I): Reflecting on Peace Corps’s 50th Anniversary and the words of Sargent Shriver
Instead of updating my blog with frequent posts about “I did this today/I did that today” and ending up with a thousand entries by the time things are done, I’m going to instead try to distill each month into one post full of tidbits from my journal, e-mail correspondences, or memory. I think that this format will (1) be easier to parse through for you, (2) give me a chance to reflect on things before I share them publically, and (3) still provide a comprehensive idea of what my daily life is like in Indonesia.
That being said, I am not prepared to write a Saat July (Moments of July) that encompasses all of my daily habits or important notes. There are three topics I still want to share with you: (1) The Anniversary and purpose of Peace Corps, (2) a short and funny story about local food and media, and (3) a funny story about my failures to explain where exactly I’m from.
Special Request–Please help & Pass on to anyone who might be interested!
Indonesian Recipe: Pecel
A Sweet and spicy peanut sauce served best with rice, spinach, and sprouts
Do you want to go hear the Minister of Religion speak in Banyuwangi City?
This was the question posed to me one Saturday morning.
A Reflection on Pre-Service Training: Part 8, Other Fun Side Adventures
What sort of things do you do to occupy your time in Indonesia? Can you see any volcanoes? Have you been on any hikes? (more…)
A Reflection on Pre-Service Training: Part 7, Teaching Experience and PC activities
Coming Soon… (more…)
A Reflection on Pre-Service Training: Part 6, Transportation
How do trainees and typical Indonesians get around on a daily basis?
A Reflection on Pre-Service Training: Part 5, Clothes
What sorts of beautiful and culturally unique articles of clothing are typical in Indonesia?
A Reflection on Pre-Service Training: Part 4, Food
How would you describe the taste, types, and amount of food in Indonesia?
A Reflection on Pre-Service Training: Part 3, Language Acquisition
What languages are spoken in Indonesia? What has it been like acquire the necessary communication skills for survival? (more…)
A Reflection on Pre-Service Training: Part 2, Daily Schedule
What has my daily schedule been like as a PC trainee? What is the typical daily schedule like for Indonesians?
A Reflection on Pre-Service Training: Part 1, the PST Schedule
This is by far the most boring point of the ‘A Reflection Pre-Service Training’ series, but it will give you a rough idea of how I’ve been spending my last 10 weeks. This is just an outline, and commentary on some of these subjects is given in later posts. (more…)
A Reflection on Pre-Service Training: An Eight Part Catch-Up
Introduction to an eight part series on my experiences thus far in Indonesia during Pre-Service Training (PST)
The PC Pre-Service Training schedule, the daily schedule (both mine and that of Indonesia in general), language acquisition, the food, the clothes, the transportation, teaching experiences and PC activities, as well as other fun things I’ve done on the side.
A Journey Takes Shape
What has the experience been like thus far as the Peace Corps group traveled from San Francisco to Surabaya, Indonesia? What sorts of things have you been doing in Pre-Service Training orientation in Surabaya? Where will you be staying for the 10-week Pre-Service training?
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, a world without end…less posibilities, people, and places to expore
Placement in East Java, Indonesia
I have officially received placement in East Java, Indonesia. Staging will be on April 4th in San Francisco, and departure will be on April 5th. More information will follow soon.
to see a map of Java, follow the link below
Awaiting Placement/Site Introduction
Welcome to my Peace Corps Masters International blog. This is where you will be able to follow my experiences as a volunteer and researcher throughout my time in the Peace Corps.
Updated information will be infrequent during the Fall and Spring semesters as I complete coursework and await a Peace Corps assignment. In the mean time, feel free to explore the links that are provided on the right-hand side of this page. Peruse Michigan Tech’s resources to learn more about the unique programs offered. ”MTU PCMI Geohazards” explains the concept of the program and more information for prospective students. ”MTU PIRE” contains specific information about the people and projects throughout the program’s history. The additional links are popular media sources that I find informative, easily accessible to the general public, and enjoyable. Additional pages (listed on the top right of this page) will include more information about myself and others in the program.
Upon assignment and departure, the blog should fill up quickly, and you will be able to use the toolbar to search my posts by month or category.
