January 22: Last Day

LAST DAY IN INDONESIA!! 

It wouldn’t be a normal day in the life of a Calvin interim student in Indo if we didn’t wake up early and pack a day as full as possible.  So that’s just what we did. 

UPH, the university close to the Aryaduta Hotel where we were staying, invited us to attend their Tuesday morning chapel.  We had visited before, but that was before classes had begun and the service was mostly in English.  This time, with classes in session, we got to be there with the actual UPH students and not just the faculty and staff.  The service was in Bahasa with an English translator for during the sermon.  All the singing was done in Bahasa, which I really enjoyed.  Bahasa Indonesia is such a beautiful language.  I would love to learn it someday, especially if I ever planned to return to Indonesia. 

After the service the education and business students spilt into two groups.  The business students went to go listen to a presentation and the education students, of whom I am one, had the privilege of meeting with some UPH faculty to learn more about the Teachers College.  Then we sat in on a class in the Teacher College.  The class was in both English and Bahasa.  I found it interesting how they taught and learned in two languages.  I wonder how the students feel about that.  They went to room with some other students to watch a presentation, done by UPH students, on the teachers college and their experience there.  But first they had a student dance a traditional Balinese dance. 

I got the impression that the students are generally happy at UPH and enjoy learning there.  After they get an education there they have to go to a school which UPH assigns them.  They could go anywhere across the country.  They could go to an SPH, SDH, or SLH school.  Most of them are nervous to find out which location they will be assigned  Since Indonesia has different languages in different regions of the countries, teachers will face challenges as they try to teach students in Bahasa, English, and their native language, when they only know Bahasa well and some students don’t know Bahasa yet.  It sounded like the parents of the students were more worried about where they would be placed then the students were. 

After the presentation, Professor Buursma told an interactive story which included me and three other playing a giant potato named Pudge.  We all had a good time with the story and learned from it.  Then we all sat in a circle and just asked each other questions.  We asked and answered sorts of questions about our families, hopes for the future, UPH, our impression of Indonesia, favorite foods, and more.  I loved this discussion!!   We had a little more time at the end to just talk to the students in a casual setting.  Some of them asked for our email addresses or Facebook names so we can stay in touch and practice English with them. 

Lunch at the cafeteria included rice, sate, and other Indo foods.

Back to hotel and time to pack up!  We leave for the airport at 20:00 and get home 16:30 the 23rd. 

We’ve had a good time here in Indonesia. 

Some lessons I have learned or that have been reinforced are:
Don’t judge
Don’t be afraid of anything
Try everything
Don’t favor people

On this trip…

New faces turned into new friendships

New places turned into memorable places

Scary things turned into familiar things

It has been a trip full of thought provoking experiences, fun, and learning.  

-Erin

January 21: Flying, a School Visit, and Creambaths!

We left the hotel at 5am and drove to the airport, ready to leave Bali for Jakarta.  Our plane was late so we had some time in the airport to relax.  When we arrived in Jakarta, we grabbed our baggage and pulled out some professional clothing, as we were going to stop at a school on our way to Karawaci.

After changing into our professional clothes and buying a few snacks, we got on our bus to head to IPEKA.  When we arrived at IPEKA, we went to a conference room to hear about what their perspective on education is, where exactly their campuses are located, and what they're planning for the future.  Then we split up into two groups and toured the school.  This school was also in a high rise type building, I believe it was 6 stories, although unlike SPH in Karawaci (the other high rise school) they were able to have a pool, tennis courts, and other sports facilities located around the building.  (Growing up in West Michigan I've never seen a school in a high rise, so I'm still trying to get used to this idea.)  We went back to the conference room where they provided us lunch and we talked a bit more while we ate.

 Students in the hallway

 The Canteen (Cafeteria)

Professor Van Der Heide and Professor Buursma

with some of the people from IPEKA

We then left IPEKA to head to our creambath appointments!  We had to go in shifts, so we dropped some off at the salon and some went back to the hotel and went later.  If you are ever in Indonesia, get a creambath!  They wash your hair and put some stuff in it and massage your head, neck, shoulders, and arms.  It felt amazing!  Some of the girls also got manicures and/or pedicures.  Ruwan and Professor Van Der Heide got their hair cut and Rachel got a perm.  We all left the salon feeling wonderful and looking pretty good!

We picked up some people at the hotel and then we all headed out to dinner.  We split up and had dinner wherever we wanted to eat.  We had the rest of the night off and the group I ate with ended up at the mall riding a roller coaster and playing arcade games!  We all enjoyed our free time and some of us made use of the time to write journals or go on the wifi, and then went to bed to prepare for our last day in Indonesia.

-Kalee

January 20: Chimps and Hippos and Zebras, Oh My!

Thaaaaaaat's right folks! It's blog time once again! Ready to hear about the grand adventures we took on this day? Well, ready or not, here we go!

This morning was probably my favorite of all of our morning in Indonesia. What amazing adventure did we go on? What awesome site did we see? What did we do, you ask? Nothing. Nothing at all. This morning we got to sleep in. It was wonderful after getting up by around 7 or 8 almost every other day of this trip. I spent it eating breakfast, writing journals, and just generally chilling. It was great.

Around 10:30 we headed to another monkey park. These were far nicer than the ones we met before. We fed them bananas and, following Nate's example from before, let them climb on our backs. They were very cute and mostly kind. It was a very enjoyable morning.

Chillin' at the pool

Susan feeding a monkey

For lunch we ate at the Dirty Duck restaurant. We all had duck or chicken and it was delicious. There was also some juice (which we guessed was mango pineapple) that was also very tasty. Overall, a very nice lunch. 

 At the Dirty Duck

At the Dirty Duck

After lunch we went to the Bali safari and marine park. First we attended a show involving live animals and a very impressive set. There were elephants, goats, ducks, and even a leopard. It was incredible to say the least, but we weren't allowed to take pictures, unfortunately. 

After the show we went on a safari in a van at the park. There were many cool animals, as you can see below. 

After the safari we stopped at McDonalds for some food to tide us over until dinner, we stopped by Tanah Lot (a market area by the beach) to see the sunset. It was gorgeous. Several people got wet and lots of pictures were taken. It was a nice end to the night.

 Sunset at Tanah Lot

Group photo (minus profs) at Tanah Lot

After Tanah Lot we drove back to the hotel and got our own dinners for the night. All in all in was a very good day in Indo.

-Ben

January 19: Bike Tour

Another gorgeous day in Bali!!  We have been told that it was nonstop raining for days before we came.  But we’ve seen almost nothing but sunshine since we’ve been here!  Thank the Lord!  Especially since many of the activities we do and places we visit are outdoors.  I hope this good weather keeps up for the next few days. 

This morning we got in the bus early to ride up to a little farm in the mountains where they grow all sorts of spices and foods like coffee, vanilla, chocolate, and fruits.  After taking a little walk through the farm we got to sample several different types of coffees and teas that were made from plants grown at the farm.  The coffee was DECILIOUS!  Being an extreme coffee enthusiast, I must say this might have been one of the best parts of the trip.  We even had the um.. privilege.. of getting to try the famous Luwak coffee.  It is called Luwak coffee because the coffee beans are fed to the Luwak and then harvested from their feces, cleaned up, and ground up to make coffee.  Believe it or not, having coffee beans pass through the digestive system of the Luwak give the bean a delicious flavor.  We all were wondering how they figured that out… Our group got to buy coffee, chocolate, and tea at the gift shop at the end of the tour.  We all bought something to bring back home with us. 

Cute little Luwak

After the farm tour and coffee tasting we headed further up the mountain to eat a second breakfast at a beautiful restaurant at the top.  We dined on delicious banana pancakes and fruit in order to power up for our bike ride down the mountain.

 View from the restaurant

Banana Pancake

We glided through villages and got to stop along the way to have the tour guide explain parts of the village and the culture.  We stopped in a Hindu village compound where we saw all sorts of sacrifices to the Hindu gods and evil spirits.  The villagers warmly welcomed us with “hellos” and outstretched arms anticipating a high five as we flew by on our bikes.  We stopped at a rice field and observed people harvesting and thrashing the rice.  It is hard to believe that people go through all that grueling manual work for a bowl of rice!  The scenery took my breath away with its beauty!  Some rain drops decided to join us for the last leg of our journey.  We welcomed it after being in the sun for so long!

 Taking a breather during the bike ride

 Our bikes in front of the village temple

Thrashing the rice

After the ride the tour guide invited us to his home for lunch.  It turned out to be the best meal we ate while in Indo!  Barefoot, sitting on cushions on the floor, we ate delicious traditional Indonesia foods such as Gado Gado, Tempe, and Sate.  I thoroughly enjoying this meal and appreciated the opportunity to be in the inside of someone’s living space.

The delicious food

We were all on our own for dinner tonight so Michelle and I headed to IndoMart to get the ice cream we had been craving.  It was so great to just to relax, explore the city a little bit, and hang out with friends. 

Yet another beautiful full day which actually felt like three days. 

-Erin 

January 18: Statues, Tattoos, and a View

Well here you are again, living vicariously through friends and family, experiencing life halfway across the world. Get ready to hear about more of our adventures on the island of Bali.

The day started bright and clear as we headed to the beach to spend the morning doing water sports. There were lots of things available. A couple of our group members jet skied. Some went on a glass bottom boat to an island and got to see and hold animals such as a bat and a toucan. A couple others went snorkeling again. I went on a fly fish with a few other people. Now, a fly fish is not the same thing as fly fishing (much to the disappointment of Professor Van Der Heide). It is basically a combination of tubing and para-sailing. Needless to say, it was awesome. After our activities we relaxed on the beach and ate some ice cream until it was time to go.

For lunch we went to a restaurant in the area where some Hindu people are working on building the world's largest statue. The food was a pretty standard Indonesian meal. The statue, though, was anything but typical. Here are pictures of a basic outline of what the statue is going to look like and some of the pieces. As you can undoubtedly see once the statue is finished, it will be HUGE.

 Outline of Statue-to-be

 One part of the statue

 Another part of the statue

While we were walking around the statue area we stumbled upon a man giving temporary tattoos. Needless to say, we were soon all adorned with pictures of bats, dolphins, flowers, suns, and more. The most memorable was when Ruwan requested a flower, but the artist informed him that he would not be getting a flower, but a scorpion. We all had a good laugh about that. 

Gecko Tattoos

A little while later we headed to another area with some Hindu temples and a great view of the sea. There were also several monkeys running around. These were very mischievous monkeys, attempting to steal cameras, sunglasses, and sandals. Sometimes they were successful. They soon inspired fear in many of our members and made the rest of this particular journey quite interesting as the monkeys popped in and out of the brush. Classic to form, Nate allowed a monkey to climb on his back. It started cleaning his hair and was actually kind of cute. 

Awwwww

After the monkeys we headed back to the Hindu statue area for another dance show. Before the main show there was a single dancer on stage. Periodically she would enter the audience and choose someone to join her on stage for a little while. After a bit of support from our group we convinced her to pick one of our resident dancers (Chantel) to dance with her. As if there were any doubt, Chantel quickly stole the show.

Chantel jammin' hard

A video of part of the show we saw

After the rest of the dance show we left for a seafood dinner at the famous Jimbaran Bay. As per usual, we enjoyed the food and each others' company very much. During dinner we were serenaded by a band who knew American songs. They were very good and funny to boot. I received a marriage proposal from one of the musicians during one of the songs. However, he didn't have a ring to give me so I declined. We walked out to hang out on the beach for a little while after dinner. It felt wonderful out there. From dinner we headed back the hotel for the night, another successful day of exploring Indonesia accomplished.

-Ben

January 17: Travel Day and Kuta Beach

We met in the lobby at 4:45am to check out and eat our breakfast (bread boxes provided by the hotel) and then we left for the airport to head to Bali.  Our plane stopped in a city on the island of Java, we got off the plane, and 10-15 minutes later boarded that same plane again.  We landed in Bali a little after 10am.  After arriving at our hotel we searched out some food for lunch, which was a lot harder than usual since the hotel restaurant didn't have most of the food we wanted to order.  We ended up deciding to get ready for Kuta Beach and searching out lunch there.

When we were all ready, we headed to Kuta Beach which was pretty close by and we all went to Johnny Rockets for lunch; we were all craving American food.  After lunch we split up; some went to the markets and some went to the beach.  It was a beautiful sunny day and it was nice to have some free time.  People walked away with some good souvenirs and a few even surfed!  We left Kuta Beach around 7pm and many of us hung out at the pool once we were back at the hotel.

A flip flop vending machine!

(at the mall which we ate at)

Great sunset after a day at the markets

-Kalee

January 16: Snorkeling

Since we have been in Indonesia, I have found myself coming to the end of the day and being simply amazed at how many places we visited that day, the people we have met, and the new experiences we have had.  Yesterday was no exception.  We had the incredible opportunity to explore the wonders beneath the sea by snorkeling off the island of Bunaken.

We started the day out with a delicious breakfast at the hotel.  Right after, we loaded ourselves onto the bus which took us to the boat.  Decked in swimsuits and sunglasses, we sailed across the water to the island.  The sky got all the rain out of its system durning the 40 minute ride over so during our time on the island we enjoyed nothing but blue skies and sunshine while we were on the island.

Heading out to the Island for Snorkeling

We each got a mask, snorkel, and flippers and then went back out to the ocean.  Only few people in our group had ever snorkeled before so it was a new experience of many of us.  We just jumped in fins first and started exploring.  Since you are floating on the water when you snorkel it almost feels like you are flying over a fantastic new world of fish and coral.  Our group rented a underwater camera so we got some sweet pictures of us with the fish in their natural habitat.  I would definitely go snorkeling again, I'd just make sure to put more sunscreen on my back and try not to get so much salt water my mouth.

 Aleah

Erin, Kelsey, and Nate

After snorkeling we ate lunch at a restaurant on Bunaken.  The food was delicious and I got to drink coconut milk straight from a coconut. The view from the restaurant was incredible!!  The ocean with the mountains right next to it is simply breath taking.  I feel so blessed to get to experience so much of God's natural beauty.

View from Island

We got to sit out at the front of the boat of the trip back to Manado.  Rocking up and down on the waves of an ocean across the globe is quite a peaceful and thought provoking experience.

When we got back to the hotel, some of us jumped in the pool, which has a beautiful view of the ocean and mountains, before we went to go do a little shopping and get dinner.

We had some interesting Chinese food that not everyone was not too crazy about, so when we got back to the hotel we ordered some good old Pizza Hut pizza and played cards.  Definitely a good group hang out night.

I'm feeling so blessed and amazed at the incredible things we are dong on this trip!

--Erin