Teaching in Indonesia has many challenges but one that is out of our control is the constant interruptions to class and school schedule. During this second semester, the students have been amazing but cannot help but lose focus as class is constantly interrupted with announcements and short classes primarily due to the 12th grade “practicing” for the national exam and the 11th grade study tour trip to Bali.
At the beginning of March, 200+ students and I (Daniel) headed to Bali by bus. The trip started at 3 am from the school with all the students full of energy. By 3am the next day they had visited a university on the way and arrived at the first site in Bali called Tanah Lot. On the long bus ride, sleep was hard to come by as the 4 full-sized travel buses were full. For most students this was their first time to Bali and many had never played in the ocean. At the first beach most students were still tired and had little interest to leave the rest area. No swimming or playing in the sand, except for a few brave girls who rode a tube behind a speed boat. My thoughts were, “Did we travel all the way to Bali for nothing?” Fortunately, one of the most exciting moments of the trip came that evening while visiting the second beach of the day. At this beach, cleverly named Dreamland, the students had no idea what to think as we entered the brand-new beach which is being developed for luxury hotels and private access. The students began taking photos near the water, unaware that the tide was rising. Before long, the waves had reached the students and soon all the students were in the water, fully clothed and having the time of their lives. It was the happiest I have ever seen them.
Before leaving for Bali the students were given a homework assignment to interview an English speaker. The last day while at Kuta beach, most students built up enough courage to walk the beach and successfully talk with tourists. I had to help a few groups get started but many students searched on their own for a second conversation. “Lagi Mr. Daniel. Ini asik!” – “Again Mr. Daniel. This is fun!” It was really neat watching the students and teachers experiencing the modern and Western feel of Bali. In this case, they were the cultural outsiders but they pushed through those uncomfortable and scary moments and had a great trip.
For those reading this blog I warn you that the main tourist areas of Southern Bali are extremely crowded and trashed out. During one swim, what I thought was seaweed floating in the water, turned out to be plastic. It was disgusting. But, the Balinese culture with its Hindu roots is calm and genuine, so if you visit the non-tourist hotspots, Bali can be wonderful. Also the peanuts in Bali are a must buy.
The week after Bali happened to be a holiday for the 10th and 11th grades as the 12th grade was completing their final exam for the school. This school exam is early in the semester in order to allow time for final preparations for the National Exam in April. Since Paige and I both had the week off, we decided to rest up and search out new activities. We had recently ridden our bicycles 25 km through many small villages to the closest city of Madiun for the first time. During that trip, a reporter saw us and we made the local newspaper the next day with the title “Bule Gowes Bareng” (White People Peddling Together). We made a second trip to Madiun and met up with Maryellen, another volunteer who had motivated us to bike there. There we discussed our plans to join many volunteers, lead by Jay who is a PC volunteer and aspiring volcanologist, to hike an active volcano to help Jay place observation equipment. Unfortunately last minute the trip was canceled to weather and unstable conditions.
As a backup plan, Paige, Dan, Maryellen, and I decided to stay close to our area and explore our local mountain called Lawu (note: all mountains in Indonesia are volcanoes) and a few old Hindu temples. After a few bus connections we all met up at a waterfall called Grojogan Sewu near Tawangmangu. To our surprise the waterfall was big (100 meters) and the area was extremely clean and preserved. From there we started a two hour hike to Candi Sukoh. Along the way we climbed a path through beautiful mountain farms, growing everything from cabbage to roses. On arrival we were taken aback by the serenity of the temple that dated back to the late 1400’s. Most structures and carving were intact and we were able to picnic on top of the highest structure by ourselves. Of course we snacked on a variety of cookies and homemade trail mix!
Around 3 pm the clouds rolled in quickly and the temple was suddenly surrounded by a dense fog with a little rain. At this point due to little knowledge other than a small paragraph in Lonely Planet, we decided to continue on and search for the second temple. By the end of it all, 20+ km of mountain climbing, 7 hours of hiking at a steep slope (the last two in the dark), and many refusals to hop on the back of a motorcycle we made it to Candi Cetho. We were relieved to find a clean and cheap place to stay did exist! It was a great moment in our Peace Corps time as all four of us with high spirits, silently marched on to the top as we tackled an unknown challenge. I can easily say most people would have refused to push through the pain or fear in hopes of finding the temple, but none of us even had the thought of stopping. Thank you Indonesia and these new friends for an amazing 30 hours!
After arriving back to our home, Paige and I decided to relax the rest of our Saturday. To our surprise a group of girls from my school showed up wanting to interview Mrs. Paige, because they had been unable to find an interview in Bali. The interviews went well but it was the reaction to our wedding picture that is worth sharing. After they asked many random questions, including how weddings are in the USA, we handed them a framed picture of us at our wedding and the girls began to study it. They would each grab it and set it in front of them and just stare followed by many compliments and conversation. They then started looking us up and down as if they could not believe the picture was actually us. It was really entertaining and a great cultural exchange.
Pictures will be posted soon!
Pictures will be posted soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment