Going...

eth⋅no⋅cen⋅trism

/ˌɛθnoʊˈsɛntrɪzəm/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [eth-noh-sen-triz-uhm]

–noun

1.	Sociology. the belief in the inherent superiority of one's own ethnic group or culture.

2.	a tendency to view alien groups or cultures from the perspective of one's own.

It's one of the words my Dad really likes to use. I have been learning a bit more about where we are going and what to expect as far a culture goes. Over the last 12 weeks, we've noticed more than a few differences between the Canadians and Indonesians. Some are simple, if sometimes irritating, like walking speed, or Facebook addiction. But going there is going to be bit more intense, and I'm wondering what will have the most affect.
Right now I think the things that are weighing most on my mind, the things that will cause the most disturbance will be, in order: heat/humidity, spiciness of food (amount of oil used may also be a factor), and language barrier. There's not much I can do but adapt to them. The first two will be a matter of time, the last will probably find some balance later on.
All of Indonesia speaks Bahasa Indonesia, but every region has it's own distinct dialects that can make a big difference, compare German with English. They area we're going to will speak Sundanese primarily but should have learned Bahasa to some degree. We are going to live with some of the more affluent members of the community, probably going to have at least a high school education. I'm hope I'm prepared for anything, no matter what it's going to be interesting and new. Fun facts: squatting toilets only, no toilet paper just water, no hot water for showers,
As usual, it's the night before and I haven't finished packing. I'm pretty much ready to give up trying to anticipate what will be available and what won't and just go with it. Unlike most times I travel, that's a big open ended question. Still, I think it'll be something I'll enjoy, or at least learn from. But the purpose of the definition is just to remind myself that I'm not in a place to judge others culture, and realize that I'm going to be doing a lot of shrugging things off.
We leave tomorrow and I've already said goodbye to most people. My host mother, Maria, left this morning. She has a conference she had to go to, and we all got up to see her off. It was emotional, expecially for Hendri. He put on a special song to say "thank you" for everything. We both gave gifts to thank them. I made a dream catcher for them, and Hendri got a picture of us all and framed it. I am definitely going to be coming back sometime soon, but Hendri doesn't have that luxury, though he is planning on returning in 2015. We both really appreciated both Maria and Ken for their hospitality, above and beyond the call of the program, so I think we'll both be missing them.
Hopefully I find a computer again soon, but we'll have to wait and see. I have a few bits of info on where we're going and what we're doing but they're few and vague. I think we'll be living close to each other, which is the hope. We spend the first week in transition. A day in Jakarta, meeting the minister of sports and youth, and other officials. 3-5 days in Bandung with short term host families to help us adjust and gather things we may need. I'm only bringing one bag, most of that is books and gifts, so I'll have to pick up some clothes etc. Then we are off to the town. We are starting to plan some volunteer activities for the area, ranging from gathering clean water to more social issues. Apparently, female circumcision is big in this area. That's raising the hackles on a few group members. We may cause a stir when we get there, after we learn to communicate to people.
With any luck, I'll post again soon.
Love, Justin