consistency in inconsistency

sarah
May 29, 2019
6 min read

Updated: May 30, 2019

If there is one thing that has been consistent, it has been my lack of consistent updates. Well, I am still here and still enjoying each and every day as I learn more about my community and myself. Since it has been so long since my last update, I will separate this post into 3 parts which are all significant in my last 2.5 months.

a trip like no other-

From the information I have gathered, it seems that many high schools in Indonesia take a study tour trip to one of Java’s popular cities. This year, my 11th grade students voted for Jogjakarta over Bali. Jogjakarta is a very old city in Central Java and home to so much history, many universities and the famous Borobudur Temple. Our itinerary was jam packed with visits to different universities, museums, and of course the temple. But, the craziest part of this journey was the simple logistics. Yes, you are probably thinking “okay cool, school field trip,” just as I was when I was invited to go. WELL, let me tell you. This trip was from Tuesday night-Saturday morning with 320 students and 20 teachers!!!! Everyone on a bus, 7 buses!!!!! I was in shock. I mean mouth open, disbelief type of shock. How did we not leave anyone behind? Beats me. The coordination alone was enough for me to decide it was necessary to blog about. I still shake my head thinking about it. We drove all night for 12 hours only stopping to pray at 3am. Yes, at 3am we stopped for the first of 5 daily prayers, and all 340 people got off the buses to spend an hour praying. We also stopped to shower because we arrived in Jogja around 6am. Again, 340 people all got off the bus to shower and change into our uniforms to tour the schools. And again, nobody was left behind or forgotten (insert Lilo and Stitch Ohana quote).

I really enjoyed the trip regardless of how exhausting it was. The universities were cool to see and learn a little bit more about higher education here and the sites we saw were obviously beautiful. Borobudur Temple is the largest Buddhist Temple in the world, so that was incredible. BUT, the best part about this trip was having the opportunity to spend time with my students outside of the classroom and school setting. Whether it was screaming karaoke on the bus (in English and Indonesian), or eating together (and poking fun at lack of tolerance for spicy food), I truly feel like I got so much closer with them. They’re funny and goofy and so similar to what I remember high schoolers being like (I am old now). We got to talk about their futures and hope for University and I got to share my experience from college. While I have never been so tired in my life, I felt so energized too. Nothing like the energy of young people experiencing life together.

berbuka bersama-

Okay, this is huge. For the last month, I have been fasting with my family during Ramadan. In the Islamic faith, every year Ramadan happens for around 30 days in May until the celebration of Eid al-Fitr in early June. For 30ishh days we do not eat or drink from sun-up to sun-down. Ramadan celebrates the first time the Holy Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. It is an entire month full of prayer, community, and reflection and while I do not consider myself a particularly religious person, I really wanted show solidarity with my host family. This is my first time fasting, ever, and was excited to jump right in. But let me be the first to say, it is tough.

While I could go on and on about Ramadan, I think it’s important to try to paint a picture for all of you to see what happens on any given day. Every morning at 3am, we wake up before the call for Fjar, the sunrise prayer, and eat breakfast together. This is called Suhoor. Then, at exactly 5:15pm every day, we hear the call for Maghrib, the sunset prayer, and everyone heads to the kitchen to break the fast. Hence the title of this section, berbuka bersama, which means to break the fast together. Usually, fast is broken with es buah (iced fruit). This is a drink usually with different chopped up fruit, sugar, and water. I spend the first 5 minutes literally chugging water. Then we eat. Often, the food during Ramadan is more, in both quantity and quality, than usual because of the importance of the month and what we are celebrating. After we eat and drink, my family and everyone else in the neighborhood heads to the mosque to pray together. At this time, all 6 mosques within maybe 100- 500 feet distance from my house are ringing with prayers and sometimes they last until 10pm or later. School is very mellow during Ramadan as I haven’t taught a class in over a month. Most restaurants and places of business are shut down during the day and open around sunset for hungry customers. Every week, students will break their fast together at school, or friends will get together at each other’s houses. Gifts are given, clothes are purchased, and every night is a mini-celebration. Everything is slow during the day, and busier than ever all night long. Eid al-Fitr is next week so I will have to post again about that experience.

Thus far, Ramadan has taught me so much about Islam in general. I knew of Ramadan before coming here, but not much more than that. While I am not participating in the religious aspect of Ramadan, I get to fully experience the fasting and take a moment to think about food and what I consume. To truly appreciate the simplicity and necessity of consumption for survival, but also to reflect on the accessibility and privilege of my access to food and how lucky I am to have it. It is also a special moment to get closer to my family and understand more about their faith. Witnessing such devotion from my community has been inspiring and shown me a type of energy and intention I hope to carry out in things I pursue in my life, whether religious or not.

out of site, out of mind-

Other than study tours and Ramadan, I have taken advantage of a mellow school schedule and had a couple weekenders with some of my fellow volunteers. Seeing my fellow Americans is always awesome for obvious reasons. I get to enjoy a few beers, eat something with cheese on it, and vent about my experiences with people who understand my life better than anyone else. But I also like to see my other PCVs for less obvious reasons. For example, walking at faster paces or speaking super-fast English and using sarcasm.

In the last couple weeks, I have gone camping on a riverbed, and showered in the river next to said bed. I have woken up at 5am to help release baby turtles from a conservatory into the wild. I hiked at 2am in complete darkness, high enough to see the milky way, to see an active volcano and I have swum in the greenest and clearest water I have ever seen in my life. Never have I felt so small (above the clouds and next to the volcano) and so big (watching those little turtles encounter the world and ocean for the first time). While I love every minute, I spend with my students, at my school, and in my community, there is nothing quite like being out in nature remembering how lucky and privileged I am to be where I am in the world and doing what I am doing.

Wonderful Indonesia! is the tourism slogan and boy, does it reign true. I get to spend 2 years in one of the most diverse, beautiful, and downright breathtaking places in the world, and for that I couldn’t be more thankful; for the challenges, for the growth, and for the damn good times.