Ice Skating

Ice-skating with Indonesians makes for great entertainment. No, its not just the trill of gliding along the ice and doing triple sow-cows that got me excited (ok, I'm really not all that good myself), but instead the gut-busting hilarity of watching people step, and fall on the ice for the first time... and the second... and the 64th time. We skated at a mall where the glass-walled rink is surrounded by a huge food court. So not only do you have the humility of falling, but falling in front of over 500 people who are eating their fried rice. We skated for more than 5 hours and all left a little wet on the bottom but with stomaches aching from all the laughter and fun.
These two friends graduated from the top technology university in Indonesia, but knowing the ins and outs of frictional resistance and gravity forces doesn't prevent you from experiencing them. Having never skated before in his life, this little guy was gliding around with no problem after just a few minutes of help. It sure helps to start young.


Gerry was a champion. He had to have fallen at least 64 times or more during our 5 hours of skating, but he kept getting up and trying again until he got it down. This was just one of several wipe-outs that I caught on video. Enjoy!

Idul Fitri Holiday

Idul Fitri is the biggest holiday in Indonesia. It's kind of like the Indonesian equivalent of Christmas (although they have Christmas too). Universities and schools are out for two weeks, businesses close down for a number of days, and families leave the big cities to return home for celebrations with extended family. A tradition of "house-to-house" visiting also exists. My housemates and I took advantage of the opportunity and visited the home of our house helper, Ibu Yoyo (center, in the red dress). Throughout the year we pay her to come and cook two meals a day and wash and iron all our clothes. She's great.
We visited Ibu Yoyo's house for an hour and a half and enjoyed a wide selection of special foods, including ketupat, the rice dish above that is cooked inside a package of woven coconut leaves.

Idul Fitri is celebrated as the breaking of the fasting month. For one month many of the people in this country fast during the days (from 4:30 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening) from all food and drink. During this month, the fast is often broken in the evenings with the sweet fruit dish shown above.

Surprise Birthday Party

My Birthday in Indo!

Indonesia flips things around when it comes to celebrating birthdays. Instead of getting treated out, you're the one who "gets" to treat others out. Despite the differences in cultures, I greatly enjoyed my first Indonesian birthday. The cake above was the product of a cake mix, frosting, sprinkles, decorations, and candles sent over by my dear sister and baked by a close American friend.
I found a restaurant where birthdays are free, so I took advantage of the offer and ordered a tenderloin steak, pancakes with strawberries on top (not pictured), and avocado juice mixed with chocolate. The latter might not sound real appetizing, but it actually is quite tasty. I'm not sure which made my friends happier, my birthday or the free food that I treated them to. I'm guessing it was more the food, but we had a great time anyways!

Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival

This past Tuesday I had the privilege of celebrating "Mid-Autumn Festival" with my Vietnamese friends. They cooked up a feast of traditional foods (below) and topped it off with a "lantern" star (above) like those traditionally made by children in Vietnam during this holiday.

Farming the Side of a Volcano

Now that my Indonesian is getting better and my schedule is a little more open, I've been taking advantages of opportunities to visit vegetable farms and learn more about production practices. A few weeks back I visited this organic vegetable farm a few hours outside of Bandung. Organic vegetable production is a rather new concept in a country that has recently done a good job of destroying its environment through the overuse of pesticides. Therefore this farm is designed not only to make a profit, but also educate surrounding farmers. Located on the side of a volcanic mountain, its lava-based soils are 97% sand, presenting a major challenge to the retention of nutrients required for the production of quality vegetables. This volcano most recently erupted in 1982, causing 68 deaths.The broccoli crop had been repeatedly destroyed by pests until the installation of these netted row covers, a commonly used pest-barrier in organic vegetable production.Fresh produce is being washed before its morning shipment into town. Farmers often live below the poverty level in Indonesia due the fact that most of the profit is taken by a marketing chain that may included as many as 6 steps from farmer to consumer. This farm is working on a marketing scheme that cuts out some of these "middle-men" and establishes a 3 step marketing chain: farmer to distributor to consumer. This increases the profit of farmers and allows them to move above the poverty line (about $2 income per day) to a profit of over $3 per day.

During my time at the farm I used a bona fide weedwhacker for about 5 hours or more, cutting down shoulder-high grass and small brush in order to clear a new area for farming. It was incredibly refreshing, enjoyable, and invigorating experience to "tame the jungle."

The Making of Tofu

Tofu, one of of the main sources of protein in the Indonesian diet, originates from soybeans. The soybeans above were actually imported from the U.S., who knows, maybe even from the soybean farmers of NE Kansas!
The soybeans are fermented and then ground into a soupy paste as shown above. Boiling hot water is added, leaching out certain parts of the soybeans into a barrel below. The soupy part "sets up" as it cools and becomes the actual tofu, while the solid, doughy part that remains is used to make fish food for a nearby commercial fish farm. The process is relatively short and efficient.
The finished product doesn't look like much, but after cooked or fried and spiced up, its not too bad, although I still prefer a T-bone steak any day. But in a land where meat is expensive and protein deficient, tofu makes for a good daily supplement to a rice-based diet.