A little lesson on Ramadan

So Ramadan started last week. Ramadan is when the good muslims fast and obstain from all things naughty and nice during daylight hours for a month. From 4am till 6pm nothing can pass through their lips. No water - nothing. So while I'm dying in the heat and guzzling bottles of water. Everyone around me is going around hungry and thristy. Except for the like 1% non-muslims. Also there is no smoking, no sex, and lots of praying, and Tv is all special - encouraging you not to break your fast and it tells you when you are allowed eat again. It's a bit like Lent I suppose - except all things bold can go on when the sun goes down! Then when Ramadan is over it's like Christmas woohoo - party time for a week in Indonesia - That's when I go meet all of Ipung's family. Better start studying my Bahasa Indonesia!

The little things in Life

Something that is clearly missing in Indonesia and I desperately want to clean everything and everywhere. It's the simple inexpensive bleach. Everything is brown - baths, toilets, cups... brown brown brown.... bleach bleach bleach I want it.

Sweet - how quick can I rot my teeth in Indonesia?... woohooo everthing is sooooo sweet. How about a spoon of sugar or five...

Salty... If it's not sweet it's salty... lumps of the stuff... heart attack heaven!

Just to round everything off nicely lets soak everything in oil!!! Almost all Indonesian food is fried - and not used fried with a little oil but - deep, deep fried.

Don't get me wrong the food is all great - I'm loving it but I am having serious concerns about my health... Even fruit juices are mixed with lovely deliciously sweet condensed milk... Watch out enormous Aileen may be coming your way soon.

Malang To Semarang

So I have my finished my training in the lovely cool Malang in East Java and now I am living in the lovely hot and sticky Semarang which is the capital of central Java. I will be living here for the next few months teaching in a senior high school. Which has 1955 students - major change from teaching 16 students!It's hard to get used to be called Mrs.Aileen and everyone going on about me having a Javanese husband even getting called Mrs Ipung sometimes-emmm! I have taken up residence with one of the English teachers, her family, and their maid. I am a bit freaked out with being waited on. I also am being forced to eat continously. It's strange living with people. I've been a loner for the past 2 years!I have been thrown in the deep end at school - they just throw me into a class room and say talk to them. Indonesian kids are great though not at all shy - asking me all about my husband. Not at all as shy as Japanese students!

Weekend Wanderings

My new most favourite drink in the world! Avacado juice with chocolate milk - absolute heaven

Marriages and motorbikes

Well it's week number 2 in Indonesia. Things are going swimmingly. Getting used to classes starting at 7.30am and the mosques singing at 4am. Indonesia barely sleeps. Not getting used to how much mosquitoes love to eat me and buzz in my ears. My feet are the most popular part of my body... heavens knows why.

The life of the person in a relationship is emmm... somewhat difficult in this lovely strict muslim country. Couples barely touch eachother. There is absolutely no kissing in public - you can even be arrested in some cities. If you are not married it is very difficult to do anything. You can't live together, it's difficult to find a hotel that'll let non-married couples stay in the same room. Basically marriage is the only answer. A wedding cert in Indonesia looks like a passport and it's the way to get anywhere near your man. You have to show it to your landlord to rent a house, stay in a hotel... the list goes on. It's also very entertaining being a foreigner in Indonesia with an Indonesian man on my arm the looks are just fabulous... thankfully Japan has eased me in nicely!

So on to motorbikes. One week ago I was never on a motorbike, but i had to face my fear as it's the only way to get around in Indonesia. Wonderful Aileen though is on the bike an hour and then I go and burn a gapping hole in my leg. Silly little me didn't know that you are supposed to always get off the left side of a bike and silly little Pung didn't tell me either! So my burn wasn't that bad until I decided to go to the doctor just to make sure everything was ok... however this doctor well... he's good for the drugs but not much else. He cut off all the dead skin burst the blister and stuck a bit of gauze on the wound that my lovely skin started growing over, So feck the doctor I have restarted treating it myself along with my first aid kit buddy Michelle - we had fun with tweezers and antispectic earlier. So tomorrow - it'd back to the doctor for drugs only... hopefully it'll heal up soon enough with not much of a scar ;) fingers crossed eh!

Woohooo Indonesia

So I have arrived into my new life in Indonesia. I am currently in the city of Malang in west Java. So far Indonesia seems to be a mixed bag of other experiences in The Philppines and India. There are people, motorbikes and smiling children yelling "hello mister". Emm yes indeed I am a fine man. It's all lovely. Stomach is ok - so far so good- I am well stocked with toilet roll just incase! However I was coaxed into eating off a food stand on the street today by Mr.Hungarian. It's hard to remember peoples names at the mo, but countries are way easier. So anyway at the moment I am staying in an education centre where i'm learning how to speak Bahasa Indonesian (Jesus I think I have learned more Indonesian in 2 days than I have learned Japanese in 2 years!- Although the Japanese girls hopped on me yesterday when they discovered I could speak some Japanese and jesus they nearly colapsed when they saw all my stationary was from Muji!) I am also learning how to teach in Indonesian schools - classes are hilariously uninformative. Oh and we have culture class. Tried to learn Javanese dance today.. emmm didn't go so well. I am sharing my room with a girl from Madagascar - Does anyone know where it is? Oh it's exciting to try and find on the map! I have become friends with 7 people from Slovakia. Dear Slovakians are wonderful people. The Bangledeshies (can't spell) are great craic too. The great thing about this programmme is that there is even a bigger mixed bag of people than Jet in Japan. Mosquitoes haven't killed me yet but the oh aren't they little feckers! So yeah getting into the slow pace of things here - such a completely and utterly different place than Japan. On the down side of things I have discovered in the past few hours that i have to teach for 6 months now and I only get to study for 4. Boohooo... I am completely uninformed about everything - everyone else is too though - so I think I just have to get well used to it. Oh and the college I was supposed to go to was distroyed in the earthquake - so emmm going to a different place now. I might try change to a university though and only study batik. I'll be looking into it tomorrow. Takes ten years for anything to happen here. Suppose that is somewhat like Japland! So to finish its all wonderful - tip toeing around the hens and chickens in the street- No bird flu is going to get me!! Right my arse is sore - this internet cafe doesn't have chairs! Photos to come when I start taking my camera into the streets, i have been such a diligent student that I haven't really had the time - I am suprising myself so much!