Central Java

1. Day 71 – Pasar Kedu, Indonesia

I’m now in Central Java, spending time in a family in a smallish town. The idea is a cultural exchange, with English practice thrown in the lot.

Whereas the first bus to get there was a luxury bus, with complimentary water and snack, the second bus was… different.

I’m pretty sure any shock absorber had given up years before. Both doors stayed opened during the trip, with the bus sometimes hardly stopping for passengers before leaving again. It filled up quite soon, with two little girls looking at me when they thought I wasn’t paying attention.

They finally dropped me at my destination. 

Three others Europeans are finishing their cultural exchange this week, and will be gone by next week.

The idea is to be available to children who play around, often too young to learn English, and to go to classes during English lessons with the older ones to help and motivate them.

Next week there will be the celebrations for Independence Day, and there should be music (gamelan) and dancing.

Living in a Javanese home means living without Western amenities, such as hot water, toilet seat, fridge, oven… I even have a wasp nest in my room, but I intend to ask if they could remove it. (The wasps are really big.)

There isn’t Wi-Fi either, so I’m using my phone to access internet and write this. There will probably be more than a few typos and less pictures than usual.

I’m also nursing a cold, a stuffed nose, and the muezzin like to make their first call at 4:20 AM. Both parents in the family smoke. I’m grumpy.

I went for a walk around the town with the other woman; they grow rice and tobacco around here. They dry the tobacco leaves on huge frames in the sun.