Back to Lombok

All the sight seeing in Singapore really got me exhausted. I was almost brain dead at the airport, and when the immigration lady asked me the date when I had arrived, my mind went blank. She was pretty nice about it even though I couldn’t even find my entry card. When I got to Jakarta, my passport flew out of my hands onto the desk of the immigration officer, who laughed at me while I sheepishly apologized. I spent the wait time at the airport in a stupor, and when I got to Lombok, I tried to get in the taxi on the driver’s side (I’m still not used to the wheel on the opposite side of what I’ve always known). I made it home and passed out, and although the next day I could have slept the entire day, I got up early to go to my Bahasa Indonesia lesson and try to begin working.

My first class at UNRAM. 

One of the classes I’m supposed to teach doesn’t start until the end of October, so I had a pretty short day. I met the conversation club students, we created a Facebook group and started adding members, and then I went home and napped for a couple of hours. Later that evening, I met one of the Fullbright English Teaching Assistants and we went to grab a bite and talk about our experiences in Indonesia so far. It was great to finally meet another American who was going through the same adaptation process I’m experiencing. As we walked down the street, the bule parade kept attracting the local’s attention. At least I wasn’t the only one being stared at this time.

On Thursday, I finally had my first “class,” which I co-taught with Pak Bahar, the head of the language department. However, he had to leave early and I didn’t really have any idea of what the class was about, so we just did introductions and a little bit of Q&A’s about students background knowledge and expectations. There are about 80 students in the class, thus the introductions lasted a considerable amount of time. The students seemed really excited to be there, and I observed that they were not shy at all, and really wanted to practice their speaking skills. We had a good time. Later, I was supposed to meet Mira to finalize some details on the schedule, but she had to cancel because she had been working on a long report and was very tired. I just stayed in my office in the language center working on some personal stuff, and then went to the Pusat Bahasa’s main office to hang out with the other teachers for a little bit.

Students practicing their table technique.

Friday was a downer, but at least it was Friday. I went to my office in the rektorat to meet Mira and go with her to the vice-rector’s office to talk about getting a bicycle and using a classroom for extracurricular activities, but he was in class when we got there. Mira had to go teach too, so we agreed on meeting after her class. When I tried talking to the vice-rector again, he was already gone (Fridays are prayer days and everyone leaves around 11am). Then, Mira sent me a text message canceling our meeting for the third time. She was going to a conference for the weekend and had some things to do before leaving. I was about to cry out of frustration, so I decided to go home and call it a day. That night, my neighbor, Galih, invited me to go to see his students practice percussion at his school. We walked there and I listened to a group beat on plastic containers with sticks, and then some guys played table. I had no idea a table could be a musical instrument, but I was amazed at how synchronized they were and how technical a table could be. It was a good way to decompress and enjoy a simple night listening to music.

Car Free Day in Mataram.

This was my first weekend in Mataram after almost a month of being in Indonesia. All I wanted to do was to stay home, clean, go grocery shopping, cook. You know… all those little ordinary and familiar things that give you a sense of home. On Saturday night, there was a concert a one of the big parks in the city and Galih and two of his friends invited me to go with them. I wasn’t feeling very social, but I was hungry and decided to go along to get some food and people-watch. The music wasn’t great, but at least I had some very delicious soup and then went home. Sunday morning was Car Free Day, and my neighbor and one of the students came to my house at 6:30 in the morning to pick me up to go running. I enjoyed jogging among a crowd and looking at people roller-skating, biking, walking, or just hanging out. Udayana street, the place were everybody congregated, was packed and full of life. I was glad to get to see how people spend their Sunday mornings in Mataram, and I’m sure I will be back on a regular basis. On our way back, we stopped at a small traditional market (I learned it is pretty close to my place!) and bought some vegetables for lunch, which we cooked in the patio of the boys’ school. It was a simple, yet delicious meal consisting of rice, steamed vegetables, peanut sauce, and rice crackers. I went back home to take a short break before meeting up with the boys again to go to a nearby beach.

Lunch by Galih and friends. Pacin

Three and a half hours passed. I was about to give up on the idea of going to the beach when the boys showed up. I was upset, but trying to keep in mind that we are in Indonesian time. Also, they had made rice to accompany some beans I had made (which they told me were meant to be used for sweet drinks. Whatever. I cook what I want.) We went to the beach and it was, once again, packed. I got into the introverted mode and pretty much didn’t speak the entire evening. Sometimes I should just stay in and be alone…

Beach near Mataram.

And then, it was Monday again.