During study, Thursdays are our day set aside for a full-day field trip. For this first day, we planned on visiting the Kraton here in Yogyakarta. Yogya is a “special district” and continues to have a living Sultan who rules as governor here. The rain poured down, but we braved…
Gavin adjusts a sarong– a traditional garb for Indonesian men Has it really only been one week since the SSTer’s arrived? The first week of SST was brimming with new experiences: the first days of jet-lagged orientation, meeting host families, language class, bus trips, a lecture, new…
Saturday was a full day of orientation. We started the morning with a walk to UKDW, the university where our language classes will take place. On the way we stopped at Ibu Ning and Ibu Martha’s home so students meet a host family and see their first Indonesian home. Ibu…
And they’re here! Traveling to Indonesia is not for the faint of heart, but this crew appears to have weathered it well. As the Indonesia 2024 SST leaders, my partner Ben & I have been in Indonesia for the past month, meeting with host families, language teachers,…
There are only a few kaki lima, or street food stands, near the campus of Universitas Nusa Cendana (UNDANA) where I am located for my service assignment, and outside my neighborhood along the busy coastal road the little mobile stalls only open in the evening. However, on my 20 minute…
These photos are from a short adventure I had about a week and a half ago with one of the friends I have made here, Titan, and one of the teachers at the university that has been helping me navigate through my experience, Ibu Indri. This trip occurred shortly after…
During my placement at Interfide, I was given the opportunity to visit some highschools and help with the “The Power of Goodness” program. The power of goodness is a workshop that Interfide does that teaches people how to love your so-called enemy. For example, during the workshop at one of…
It’s difficult to pick one experience that sums up my time here in Indonesia. I think the difference between here and the U.S. is the pace of life here in Indonesia. The morning after I was dropped off at STT Sankakla I remember there was a group of students knocking…
At this point you are likely wondering “what on earth is a ‘kebun’ “? Well luckily I am here to enlighten you: “kebun” is the Bahasa Indonesia word for farm, plantation, garden, gardener, and many others. It is one of my favorite Indonesian words and now you all have the…
While our SST group was in Philadelphia, we were all assigned Indonesian language buddies to help us practice our bahasa Indonesia. Me and Antoinette were assigned Yaya. We talked to her quite a bit in Philadelphia, and made plans to meet up with her once we reached Indonesia. This…
