To finish the trip description; on our second day in Jakarta , we were shown some of the typical tourist sites. First we went to a theme park, which depicted Indonesia in full. Their was a huge IMAX theater where we watched an movie about Indonesia and all its splendor, which made us all the more excited to get out and see some of it. It's hard to imagine that such a diverse country can exist, because all of the islands have such strong cultural differences that to make any one of them its own nation would stretch limits. it's rare for such diverse people to agree enough to run a country together, let alone agree on a single language that many people still do not speak in the outer villages. The park had a couple zoos ( I got to pet a komodo dragon), examples of houses form all the different areas of Indonesia, tons of food stands, a water park, even a lagoon with miniature islands representing the country. The place was so big that Hendri, before coming to Canada, spent 2 days there without doing anything twice. Its the size of a small town.
We went to one of their bigger malls, which is where we spent our afternoon and evening. The air conditioning was a blessed change of pace, more than a couple people had been burned during the day. Not much was bought by my group. Most of the things were expensive, comparable to N.American prices. We were told that in Bandung, we would be allowed to shop at outlet malls so I just bought a flash drive to hold pictures. We got out of Jakarta on our third day there. The bus ride out was pretty uneventful, got to Bandung and had to wait for some meetings. We got got talked at a lot on this journey, mostly government officials, but it did mean a lot of boxed lunches. It also meant that given the Indonesian lack of sense of time, we were stuck waiting for long periods of it, and missed our shopping excursion. I wasn't to disappointed, though I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Bandung. After leaving Jakarta, it seemed small, but it was still bigger than Toronto. Luckily I, unlike others, didn't need to buy a whole lot.
The next day was my Birthday. Considering many of my previous birthdays have been studying for or writing exams, this turned out fairly well. The bus sang the birthday song, I had to sit through another long and boring meeting, got lunch at a beautiful fancy restaurant, and I had a small Indonesian green cupcake lit with an emergency candle. Then we got to the community and things went sideways. I had been feeling queasy in the bus, but didn't think too hard on it. When we got to the village, there was a parade waiting for us, with clowns guiding us down the street, and children waving Indonesian flags. None of us knew what was going on, but we were led to the town square with most of the town and some of the surrounding town members watching us. We were seated with some of the Madrasa (CWY in Indonesia) officials and important members of the town. They put on a play that is native to the area, that was a little intricate and involved inviting someone into the family. We all still had no idea what was going on, but somehow I was chosen to represent the group in the play, so I walked up, got a wreath of flowers from a girl, and had lots of pictures taken. by this time, I wasn't feel well at all, sick to my stomach and dizzy. I found a bathroom, had to use a squat toilet for the first time, and came out to find a flock of girls who all wanted a picture with me. After that, I rejoined my group and had to sit down. I didn't perform the dance we've been doing for all the other official gatherings because my vision was starting to go white. After the speeches and stuff were done, I took refuge in the bus and when they kicked me out of there, I went to the mayors office and laid down on one of the couches.
I wasn't in the mood to socialize with people but some people came to me. One of them was a teacher at the school next door, who, upon learning I was ill attempted reflexology on me, starting with my feet. I'm not sure it worked, but it was surprisingly painful and eventually I'd had an almost full body massage. It's interesting to be sick and have no idea what the people taking care of you are saying. I don't really recommend it, but, as didn't want to offend anyone by refusing, I just sort of went with it. While gettng this massage, my host parents came in to meet me. Hendri had been there the whole time, and he and the other Indonesians we had in the group had been pretty good about translating here. Even with his help though, I wasn't sure how they took the situation. It's funny looking back but I was trying to make introductions as cordially as possible while someone translated and someone else was rubbing a salve on my back. Meanwhile, I just wanted to a familiar place to lie down and sleep.
We got taken home soon after. The sun had set, it was raining, and everyone else had made their own way home. The ride was a bit long in the dark, and I had a glimpse of Steph (a group member) in a house we passed. Otherwise, I had no idea where everyone was living but I just wanted to find the bed. Not a great way to introduce myself to the family, but considering the entirety of the day, still a solid birthday.
The saickness lasted into the 3rd day in the villiage, and kind of left a dmaper on my spirits. Hard to stay positive and find comfort in a strange place and new language while sick. SAtill things get better everyday, and we have our work placements now. I'm teaching english and sometimes milking cows. Thats pretty much what all the jobs were, but I got my choice. I'm getting up at 530 or 6 everyday, but we're gong to bed around 9. Not much to do and there are no street lights. After dark, everything stops. Next time I'll have more current stories. 2nd week here.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
There is life in Indonesia.
I am in the town,have been for a few days now. the travel wasn't actually that bad. I was expecting something really arduous, but the worst part of it was the driving. From Halifax to Toronto something was wrong with the pressure in the cabin, andas my nose was pretty stuffy, it somehow deadened the nerve to the top left half of my teeth. It was a little diconcerting to have them all slowly go numb, but that was about as exciting as that flight got. The Toronto Hong Kong flight was actually fun. I got a bit restless towards the end, but I slept for the first 8 hrs and spent the rest dong crosswords, watched a few movies and finished writing in my canadian journal. The time pretty much flew by...
Getting to Hong Kong in the middle of the night was probably a good thng, as the place is huge and greatly resembles a mall. As stores started to open up, we explored what we could, straining our invisible CWY leash. Considering how little time it took for us to feed ourselves, we bascally wandered shops with no real interest to buy for an hr. Even if one of us had the urge to buy an overpriced gucci bag, we didn't have room to store it. We had to take a train to our gate, and soon we were on our way to Indonesia.
By this tme the sun had caught up to us and we could see Thailnd and some of the other Islands of Indoneasia on our approach. Finally getting there, we were hit by a warm moist wave of air. Jakarta at this time of year is a hot place to be. The airport was busy, we had brought a hundred or so Indonesians finishing their trip to Mecca, so the baggage claim was filled withfairly quiet but bustling people making gathering luggage a problem. Driving in general in Indoneasia is done with more care to where you want to go than those around you, which holds truer for luggage carts. More than one of us got hit by a reckless driver. Actually getting into the city was even worse. I have no idea why there aren't more accidents, but they certainly cut it close, and I'm glad I don't have to drive. Its insanity, whipping into the tiniest gap, and the motorcyclists are even worse, dodging cars and people like traffic cones. Pedestrians beware in Indonesia, it's one of the things they were all concerned about.
We got to the hostel type place we were being housed and had to unload baggae and find rooms. The city itself reeked, garbage everywhere, and the heavy air kept the exhaust from all the cars weighed down, like a blue blanket over the city. The heat was oppressive, especially when the sun deigned to peak through the clouds, and we were all greatful for the air conditioned rooms, and the tradtional cold Indonesian showers.
Biggest cultural hit beyond the garbage, which is piled, then burned in the peoples yards, is the bathrooms. We started the trip with si tdown toilets, a bucket full of water and a hose. I didn't have to go for the first while, but the group soon became very comfortable discussing their uncomfortable bowel movements. The only things that has changed is the loss of a sitdown and a hose.
We had 2 days n Jakarta which was kinda nice, as we were all asleep the first evening around 6, time zones finally catching up with us. The next day we were all up around 4 or 5, had an early breakfast and ventured into the city. There was a mall nearby that wasn't open yet, but the AC was a nice change of pace, and we got to take in a bit of the city from it's higher windows, watching people go on their way to work. There is no rush hour in Jakarta, just grid lock and not gridlock. the city is so spread out and massive, that getting to where we went later required an extra couple hrs just considering that, and we still were late to most of our events. I'll cover that and the rest of the trip later.
As a heads up to where Im at now, I'm ok. Thisisn't really what I thought it'd be like. think our main concern herewill be pollution. Like Jakarta, and apparently the rest of Indonesia, there is no recycling, compst or really any kind of garbage pick up. Some plastcicbottles are collected on occasion, but glass bottle are only collected in certain cities, not the villages. Everything else is either buried or burned in ther front yards, or, thrown into the river or woods. Healthy all around, it creates an endless haze over the town which is added to by a constant cloud of cigarette smoke, which the men do anywhere and everywhere, and I don't think the motorbikes and cars are at N.American emission standards. I get the sense they want to change things here, but need a leader to do it. Enter us with our white skin and English voces, which make everything better. I've seen a lot of faces whitened by makeup since arrving. White is in, and everybody accepts it, favours it. We are pretty much superstars here, I was mobed for my photo the first time I got out of the bathroom here. The kjids following us and people pointing and laughing and shouting"Boulays" was kind of endearing at first but it is wearing us down fast. Topped with everyone having dire need of the bathroom and trying every cure we know for stomach illness, spirits here are low. know it will all pass, and we gain stregnth from the group, but a few of us are feeling a little down, trying not to count downthe days tocome home. Hope I'm more hopeful by the next post, but right now I miss home and don't really get things here, even though the family is being pretty nice considering the language barrier. The town is honoured to have us, so I geuss that counts for something.
Love to everyone
Justin
I am in the town,have been for a few days now. the travel wasn't actually that bad. I was expecting something really arduous, but the worst part of it was the driving. From Halifax to Toronto something was wrong with the pressure in the cabin, andas my nose was pretty stuffy, it somehow deadened the nerve to the top left half of my teeth. It was a little diconcerting to have them all slowly go numb, but that was about as exciting as that flight got. The Toronto Hong Kong flight was actually fun. I got a bit restless towards the end, but I slept for the first 8 hrs and spent the rest dong crosswords, watched a few movies and finished writing in my canadian journal. The time pretty much flew by...
Getting to Hong Kong in the middle of the night was probably a good thng, as the place is huge and greatly resembles a mall. As stores started to open up, we explored what we could, straining our invisible CWY leash. Considering how little time it took for us to feed ourselves, we bascally wandered shops with no real interest to buy for an hr. Even if one of us had the urge to buy an overpriced gucci bag, we didn't have room to store it. We had to take a train to our gate, and soon we were on our way to Indonesia.
By this tme the sun had caught up to us and we could see Thailnd and some of the other Islands of Indoneasia on our approach. Finally getting there, we were hit by a warm moist wave of air. Jakarta at this time of year is a hot place to be. The airport was busy, we had brought a hundred or so Indonesians finishing their trip to Mecca, so the baggage claim was filled withfairly quiet but bustling people making gathering luggage a problem. Driving in general in Indoneasia is done with more care to where you want to go than those around you, which holds truer for luggage carts. More than one of us got hit by a reckless driver. Actually getting into the city was even worse. I have no idea why there aren't more accidents, but they certainly cut it close, and I'm glad I don't have to drive. Its insanity, whipping into the tiniest gap, and the motorcyclists are even worse, dodging cars and people like traffic cones. Pedestrians beware in Indonesia, it's one of the things they were all concerned about.
We got to the hostel type place we were being housed and had to unload baggae and find rooms. The city itself reeked, garbage everywhere, and the heavy air kept the exhaust from all the cars weighed down, like a blue blanket over the city. The heat was oppressive, especially when the sun deigned to peak through the clouds, and we were all greatful for the air conditioned rooms, and the tradtional cold Indonesian showers.
Biggest cultural hit beyond the garbage, which is piled, then burned in the peoples yards, is the bathrooms. We started the trip with si tdown toilets, a bucket full of water and a hose. I didn't have to go for the first while, but the group soon became very comfortable discussing their uncomfortable bowel movements. The only things that has changed is the loss of a sitdown and a hose.
We had 2 days n Jakarta which was kinda nice, as we were all asleep the first evening around 6, time zones finally catching up with us. The next day we were all up around 4 or 5, had an early breakfast and ventured into the city. There was a mall nearby that wasn't open yet, but the AC was a nice change of pace, and we got to take in a bit of the city from it's higher windows, watching people go on their way to work. There is no rush hour in Jakarta, just grid lock and not gridlock. the city is so spread out and massive, that getting to where we went later required an extra couple hrs just considering that, and we still were late to most of our events. I'll cover that and the rest of the trip later.
As a heads up to where Im at now, I'm ok. Thisisn't really what I thought it'd be like. think our main concern herewill be pollution. Like Jakarta, and apparently the rest of Indonesia, there is no recycling, compst or really any kind of garbage pick up. Some plastcicbottles are collected on occasion, but glass bottle are only collected in certain cities, not the villages. Everything else is either buried or burned in ther front yards, or, thrown into the river or woods. Healthy all around, it creates an endless haze over the town which is added to by a constant cloud of cigarette smoke, which the men do anywhere and everywhere, and I don't think the motorbikes and cars are at N.American emission standards. I get the sense they want to change things here, but need a leader to do it. Enter us with our white skin and English voces, which make everything better. I've seen a lot of faces whitened by makeup since arrving. White is in, and everybody accepts it, favours it. We are pretty much superstars here, I was mobed for my photo the first time I got out of the bathroom here. The kjids following us and people pointing and laughing and shouting"Boulays" was kind of endearing at first but it is wearing us down fast. Topped with everyone having dire need of the bathroom and trying every cure we know for stomach illness, spirits here are low. know it will all pass, and we gain stregnth from the group, but a few of us are feeling a little down, trying not to count downthe days tocome home. Hope I'm more hopeful by the next post, but right now I miss home and don't really get things here, even though the family is being pretty nice considering the language barrier. The town is honoured to have us, so I geuss that counts for something.
Love to everyone
Justin
Friday, November 27, 2009
Going...
eth⋅no⋅cen⋅trism
[eth-noh-sen-triz-uh
m]–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
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
It's been awhile since the last post. A lot has gone on and not all of it is good, but I may not have internet access for awhile so I had better put some more posts up.
Recently my cousin, Danny Byatt, passed away. He is greatly missed by his family.
That has been a big part of how the last few days have passed, trying to find a way around the rules I agreed to to be in the program. I can't take a bus or rent a car, and people are to busy to drive that far out of their way. I will be in Dartmouth at the Quality Inn on Sunday, so I'll be able to go around town and see people then, but it's not the same.
This past month has really zipped by. I am trying to remember the bigger details to share. This weekend we went to a sweat lodge which was a pretty intense experience. 2 hrs in a sauna not much bigger than a van. 16 people squished in, though most people didn't last the whole time. In fact most of the Indonesians were out in the first half hr, but the ones who stayed I think really enjoyed it. It was much hotter than I thought it would be, the steam was suffocating and it burned to breath to hard. I couldn't talk very much, and staying still was reccomended, but the people doing it were able to full out sing. Practise makes perfect I guess, and they were very kind. They fed us afterwards, lent people towels and shorts, and fed us after wards, and they didn't charge. They seemed happy to share their culture, and I think the group really appreciated it. We invited them to a potluck we are holding on Friday for the host families.
We already had an afternoon tea/performance for the work placements. We haven't been working since last Thurs., and we invited all the supervisors in for a thank you. We all gave them a card, and a speech. We appreciated their efforts, all of them seem very kind and welcoming, great examples of the town. I know I'm going to miss working on the farm. Wasn't always exciting, but we got free apples, good working conditions, outdoors, and in a beautiful place, plus they were both very nice, offering drives encouragement etc.
the last post was about the fundraiser. It seems like that's made up most of our time here, and definetly required the most focus. We reviewed it the other day, to the discomfort of some. There was a clear difference in the group on who did work, and who felt that others could have done more, which led to a few peoples great stress. I'm not sure we'll be doing another show like that, but I think that in the end, we're not going to change much as a group, and the show turned out quite nice. I stand by our work (those who did it), and, if there is a next time, maybe people will change their habits. Their was a lot of energy at the beggining, but our group has a bit of a focusing problem, and plans that are made aren't always explained to everyone, or followed through.
Anyway, we leave Antigonish in 5 days. I've already started packing as we have to go to a debriefing camp for the next 3 days. Once we get back, we prep for the host family dinner, then say goodbye. Leave town on Sun. It's going to be a busy week, shooting by already. I'm still not sure how I feel about leaving. When I was a kid flipping through my parents National Geographic magazines, I decided Indonesia was the most beautiful, diverse, and fascinating country. Now I'm days away from getting there, and either it hasn't really registered that I'm leaving, or I 'm too distracted to care about it. I have a few worries. Electricity, internet connections, social comparisons, etc. I'll make a list in my next post. Either way, the countdown has begun...
Recently my cousin, Danny Byatt, passed away. He is greatly missed by his family.
That has been a big part of how the last few days have passed, trying to find a way around the rules I agreed to to be in the program. I can't take a bus or rent a car, and people are to busy to drive that far out of their way. I will be in Dartmouth at the Quality Inn on Sunday, so I'll be able to go around town and see people then, but it's not the same.
This past month has really zipped by. I am trying to remember the bigger details to share. This weekend we went to a sweat lodge which was a pretty intense experience. 2 hrs in a sauna not much bigger than a van. 16 people squished in, though most people didn't last the whole time. In fact most of the Indonesians were out in the first half hr, but the ones who stayed I think really enjoyed it. It was much hotter than I thought it would be, the steam was suffocating and it burned to breath to hard. I couldn't talk very much, and staying still was reccomended, but the people doing it were able to full out sing. Practise makes perfect I guess, and they were very kind. They fed us afterwards, lent people towels and shorts, and fed us after wards, and they didn't charge. They seemed happy to share their culture, and I think the group really appreciated it. We invited them to a potluck we are holding on Friday for the host families.
We already had an afternoon tea/performance for the work placements. We haven't been working since last Thurs., and we invited all the supervisors in for a thank you. We all gave them a card, and a speech. We appreciated their efforts, all of them seem very kind and welcoming, great examples of the town. I know I'm going to miss working on the farm. Wasn't always exciting, but we got free apples, good working conditions, outdoors, and in a beautiful place, plus they were both very nice, offering drives encouragement etc.
the last post was about the fundraiser. It seems like that's made up most of our time here, and definetly required the most focus. We reviewed it the other day, to the discomfort of some. There was a clear difference in the group on who did work, and who felt that others could have done more, which led to a few peoples great stress. I'm not sure we'll be doing another show like that, but I think that in the end, we're not going to change much as a group, and the show turned out quite nice. I stand by our work (those who did it), and, if there is a next time, maybe people will change their habits. Their was a lot of energy at the beggining, but our group has a bit of a focusing problem, and plans that are made aren't always explained to everyone, or followed through.
Anyway, we leave Antigonish in 5 days. I've already started packing as we have to go to a debriefing camp for the next 3 days. Once we get back, we prep for the host family dinner, then say goodbye. Leave town on Sun. It's going to be a busy week, shooting by already. I'm still not sure how I feel about leaving. When I was a kid flipping through my parents National Geographic magazines, I decided Indonesia was the most beautiful, diverse, and fascinating country. Now I'm days away from getting there, and either it hasn't really registered that I'm leaving, or I 'm too distracted to care about it. I have a few worries. Electricity, internet connections, social comparisons, etc. I'll make a list in my next post. Either way, the countdown has begun...
Sunday, November 15, 2009
So, since last post, a few things have happened. The biggest would be the fundraiser, which went very well. We raised over 1600, which isn't too shabby. Watch, enjoy, point out the flaws.
1. Part 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74YuXeD4Zeg
2. Part 2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTgHi9n_Uqc
3. Part 3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0vyGj6YWgA
4. Part 4 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lULORvdubVU
5. Part 5 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_uaFWFvg28
6. Part 6 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5S_pVUri1Q
7. Part 7 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PZNmlPUbuU
8. Part 8 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AhSVmBPTlg
9. Part 9 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfdh4j7uzMs
It was stressful putting it all together, more for some than for others. It took the better part of Sat. to cook all the food, decorate the church and rehearse for a bit. I spent most of the morning cooking nasi goren (fried rice). I think I can cook it in my sleep now. We were still eating it for the sleepover on Thurs. But I think it went well, I enjoyed the hustle/bustle of the kitchen, we performed well, fed the audience some decent food, I think everyone enjoyed the show. More to come later.
1. Part 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74YuXeD4Zeg
2. Part 2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTgHi9n_Uqc
3. Part 3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0vyGj6YWgA
4. Part 4 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lULORvdubVU
5. Part 5 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_uaFWFvg28
6. Part 6 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5S_pVUri1Q
7. Part 7 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PZNmlPUbuU
8. Part 8 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AhSVmBPTlg
9. Part 9 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfdh4j7uzMs
It was stressful putting it all together, more for some than for others. It took the better part of Sat. to cook all the food, decorate the church and rehearse for a bit. I spent most of the morning cooking nasi goren (fried rice). I think I can cook it in my sleep now. We were still eating it for the sleepover on Thurs. But I think it went well, I enjoyed the hustle/bustle of the kitchen, we performed well, fed the audience some decent food, I think everyone enjoyed the show. More to come later.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
So, as some of you know, I've been sick for about a week now. I'm better, or getting there. Still in a bit of a fog, and tired, but I don't have a fever or chills, and my throat doesn't hurt any more. Hopefully I can get back to running regulrarly again after Saturday. Until then, I have to hope that my immune system will keep up the good work. Some days I've felt fine but others, not so much.
Over the weekend we had a Halloween party. I spent a good part of the day cooking. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny. We weren't sure if the part was going to be cancelled or not due to H1N1 but I figured if it didn't go to the potluck it would be eaten here. I made a really nice spice bread, beef dumplings (which are harder to make than I thought), and spaghetti. Good hearty food for harvest. We found out the party was on, and after a rush to get costumes together at the last minute we were on our way.
Now, it's important to preface the party by saying that this was many of the Indonesians first encounter with Halloween. hendri was very excited by the idea to dress up, and, using some random bits and pieces from Maria and Kens "halloween costume bag", he formed a ghoulish cosutme that looked store bought. I coped out, and went as a vampire. Simple, and easy to put together, though I probably matched dozens of people in town. Luckily our group was a bit more imaginative, and there were no copies. Most costumes showed a bit of effort, or at least, signifisanct ingenuity. The evening was a blast, all the effort and energy that children normally build up for the holiday, in semi-adult bodies. Many pictures were taken, and we grabbed a quick dinner. Then, as the Antigonish curfew closed in, it was decided that trick or treating should be taken advantage of. So, the Canadians decided to take the Indonesians around the block. Pretty incredible, and hilarious. As a group, they would chrage a house, running across the yard, yelling random things, and acting scary. Then, as they gathered in front of the door to yell "trick or treat" (the occupant either amused or worried), they would start singing Indonesian songs (pretty common for our group) and a Canadian would explain who we were as candy was dolled out.
We finished the evening with sorting and sharing candy, after a surprisingly succesful venture, and played a gmae called werewolves. We were allowed to bring alcohol to the party, so there were a couple bottles of wine finished off. It was a pretty great evening.
The morning after, however, the illness returned and many people were once again out for the count. I was feverish and in solitude for most of the day. Which was unfortunate not only for my own comfort, but this was the day Marias family, some of whom were visiting from Holland, were coming for dinner here. Close to 30 people in total, and even though I had promised earlier to help cook, and it would be nice to meet more people of the family, I was in hiding, and rather miserable for it. It would also hae been a prime opportunity to sell tickets for our show.
Either way, I'm better now, and starting tomorrow morning, we start work and don't stop cooking, singing or dancing until 8, Saturday. I'm excited for the show, sad I won't be doing swing, but we just didn't have time to learn it with both of us feeling ill this last week. But there is still plenty to do, and learn. Other people in the group have taken the brunt of the labour for a couple reasons. I wanted to do more, but given my position in the community and the low frequency I go into town and see the others, I don't have many opportunities to help out. Still, I imagine everyone will be needed tomorrow. Should be fun.
Over the weekend we had a Halloween party. I spent a good part of the day cooking. It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny. We weren't sure if the part was going to be cancelled or not due to H1N1 but I figured if it didn't go to the potluck it would be eaten here. I made a really nice spice bread, beef dumplings (which are harder to make than I thought), and spaghetti. Good hearty food for harvest. We found out the party was on, and after a rush to get costumes together at the last minute we were on our way.
Now, it's important to preface the party by saying that this was many of the Indonesians first encounter with Halloween. hendri was very excited by the idea to dress up, and, using some random bits and pieces from Maria and Kens "halloween costume bag", he formed a ghoulish cosutme that looked store bought. I coped out, and went as a vampire. Simple, and easy to put together, though I probably matched dozens of people in town. Luckily our group was a bit more imaginative, and there were no copies. Most costumes showed a bit of effort, or at least, signifisanct ingenuity. The evening was a blast, all the effort and energy that children normally build up for the holiday, in semi-adult bodies. Many pictures were taken, and we grabbed a quick dinner. Then, as the Antigonish curfew closed in, it was decided that trick or treating should be taken advantage of. So, the Canadians decided to take the Indonesians around the block. Pretty incredible, and hilarious. As a group, they would chrage a house, running across the yard, yelling random things, and acting scary. Then, as they gathered in front of the door to yell "trick or treat" (the occupant either amused or worried), they would start singing Indonesian songs (pretty common for our group) and a Canadian would explain who we were as candy was dolled out.
We finished the evening with sorting and sharing candy, after a surprisingly succesful venture, and played a gmae called werewolves. We were allowed to bring alcohol to the party, so there were a couple bottles of wine finished off. It was a pretty great evening.
The morning after, however, the illness returned and many people were once again out for the count. I was feverish and in solitude for most of the day. Which was unfortunate not only for my own comfort, but this was the day Marias family, some of whom were visiting from Holland, were coming for dinner here. Close to 30 people in total, and even though I had promised earlier to help cook, and it would be nice to meet more people of the family, I was in hiding, and rather miserable for it. It would also hae been a prime opportunity to sell tickets for our show.
Either way, I'm better now, and starting tomorrow morning, we start work and don't stop cooking, singing or dancing until 8, Saturday. I'm excited for the show, sad I won't be doing swing, but we just didn't have time to learn it with both of us feeling ill this last week. But there is still plenty to do, and learn. Other people in the group have taken the brunt of the labour for a couple reasons. I wanted to do more, but given my position in the community and the low frequency I go into town and see the others, I don't have many opportunities to help out. Still, I imagine everyone will be needed tomorrow. Should be fun.
Friday, October 30, 2009
There is an exceptional, warm feeling to be had when finding out the book you've been waiting for has come into print and is 40% off. The newest of a series I've been following for the better part of the decade is now my weekend project, which has made this day so much better. For those who have been following this H1N1 thing, Antigonish has been one of the hardest hit areas in Canada. Go figure. A few of our group have contracted the disease and are feeling "fluish". I still don't unerstand the hype. According to one of our members more people die from toaster related incidents, I kinda want to see those studies. Meeting today, about half of us were in quarantine, and a couple of us have just left, myself among them. I am pretty sure this was just a bad head cold, otherwise this has been blow way out of proportion, but I was still unhappy for a couple days trying to gain some body and mental stability. But the foggy veil has lifted, I'm not chilled, and I'm getting better at not dropping my swing partner, though she may now be infected, sorry about that.
Swing may be dropped from this shows set list as we are still working on choreography and we have less than a week to learn. The individual moves we can do, but putting them in a sequence that will shock and amaze is proving more difficult than I'd anticipated. But we both want to learn so when we get to Indonesia, we can pass it off as "traditional canadian dance". It was invented in N. America, so it's close.
On wed. Hendri and I finally did our presentations on our homes. His had more media than mine, taken from a tourist advertisment and covered all of Indonesia whereas mine is a little more scoially focused, going into Native concerns and global warming. The classes seemed to like them both, although my first presentation was to a gr. 11 class that was not into the whole school idea and I got a lot of blank faces. The gr. 5's just wanted to hear ghost stories from the Nahanni, so I'll have to look up more of those. I like working at the school, despite the longer day. It's interesting and helps me work on my presentation skills which have come along way in the last year. We go back on monday.
Hopefully, people will be better for tomorrow, because we have a halloween party planned if we aren't still infected. I'm not sure what I'm going as, but I'm healthier so I want to get out.
Happy Halloween
Swing may be dropped from this shows set list as we are still working on choreography and we have less than a week to learn. The individual moves we can do, but putting them in a sequence that will shock and amaze is proving more difficult than I'd anticipated. But we both want to learn so when we get to Indonesia, we can pass it off as "traditional canadian dance". It was invented in N. America, so it's close.
On wed. Hendri and I finally did our presentations on our homes. His had more media than mine, taken from a tourist advertisment and covered all of Indonesia whereas mine is a little more scoially focused, going into Native concerns and global warming. The classes seemed to like them both, although my first presentation was to a gr. 11 class that was not into the whole school idea and I got a lot of blank faces. The gr. 5's just wanted to hear ghost stories from the Nahanni, so I'll have to look up more of those. I like working at the school, despite the longer day. It's interesting and helps me work on my presentation skills which have come along way in the last year. We go back on monday.
Hopefully, people will be better for tomorrow, because we have a halloween party planned if we aren't still infected. I'm not sure what I'm going as, but I'm healthier so I want to get out.
Happy Halloween
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