Part Two

Yogyakarta By Night

Eyeballing the distance from Jakarta to Yogyakarta on a map, I had pegged it at not much more than 200 miles. Apparently it is considerably farther! Our bus route winds through slow-moving Java highways, with bathroom/food stops every two hours. The journey takes all night.


When we arrive in the morning we are informed that the Darmasiswa Initiative is paying for two nights in the luxuriously dilapidated Hotel Rose, after which time our lodging will be up to us. We are urged to find a place to live quickly.


I find a place relatively quickly; a tiny apartment above a nice lady named Susi’s house/batik shop. Susi speaks good English, the room is affordable and meets my needs*… it looks good. It’ll be ready at the end of the week. Score one for taking care of things promptly!

The next day our program administrator at ISI Jogja shows up for a meeting wearing this:

He says it was a gift from his friend, a U of O teacher who was also the first person to major in Jewelry there. I demonstrate the reaction sending this photo will elicit from certain friends [a resounding “GO DU-UUUCKS!!!”]… He seems quite pleased. During all subsequent interactions he addresses me as Mr. Oregon. I have no problem with this.

After being distracted by all the buses, hotels, orientation, and general “moving to another country” business, the first trip to the ISI Jogja campus reminds we why I wanted to come here in the first place. [“Oh yeah, I’m studying awesome art that’s going to help me get way better…”]

First classes are profoundly exciting. This is my classroom:

Since ISI Jogja is considered one of the best places in the world to study wayang kulit and gamelan, I had feared that the wizened masters we’re studying under would have no patience for my foreignness and lack of Indonesian language skills. As it turns out, they are really nice, laid-back dudes who mostly seem amused by my fumbling Indonesian. So far I understand maybe 10% of what’s spoken, but since the classes are performance-based, they can typically demonstrate proper technique without language. One of my three(!) classmates translates the rough gist of parts I miss. I still need to learn the language ASAP** [and I’m making progress] but for the time being things are workable.

I have three classes this semester: Wayang Kulit puppeteering, Gamelan, and Voice (singing gamelan tunes). Gamelan is a lot math-ier than I had realized. With all due modesty, learning a series of relatively simple parts layered over one another with just enough changes to make it tricky [hence, more rewarding] to play causes me to think several times: “This works a lot like something I would write!”

It occurs to me that I shouldn’t get distracted from what I’m doing here by the awesomeness of what I’m doing here. Once we get further into the school year I trust this feeling will fade. Or not...

As for the city itself, Jogjakarta is enjoyable and not too hard to get around. Much of the city is still in ruins from the big earthquake a few years ago. The pollution is less pronounced than in Jakarta, the air isn’t quite as thick.

This is an Indonesian hamburger:

The whole thing is soggy enough to necessitate the knife and fork, but the chili sauce and cucumber contribute to a unique taste sensation. Recommended!

On an unrelated note: I learned the Indonesian word for intestinal worms is cacing, pronounced “chuh-chinnngggg!”

By the end of the week, the apartment is finally ready. I move in. I pay my rent for the year.

Moving in was the last loose end I was waiting to take care of. I am now officially living here. Most of me is excited and fully committed to this adventure. It’s good; I know it’ll ultimately be great. But I confess: there’s a part of me that hates me for leaving Portland. It howls and claws bitterly at its cage, gnashing empty gums. It’s a fearful, petty feeling I’m not particularly proud of that should –I hope- subside soon enough. But two weeks in, I definitely miss everyone at home.

Maybe it’s best to close things here with two amusing scenes from the Malioboro mall:

*It’s two small adjoining rooms, really just enough space for a bed and a desk to work at. Similar to a less-than-optimal living situation I enjoyed a few years ago… Fingers crossed that a foreign setting and renewed sense of artistic purpose can keep this from ending up like that did. Ohhhhh my!

**Funny thing about that… While all the Darmasiswa literature said we’d be studying Indonesian along with the area of art/culture we’d chosen, it turns out they meant they assume we’ll study Indonesian while we’re here but that isn’t included in the scholarship. Oops! Make that two languages I get to learn Independent Study-style!

Note: there are more Indonesian graffiti photos here and I put grainy digital-camera video here. More soon!