Day 8--Goodbye Jakarta!

Our last day here at Jakarta was awesome! 

When the head of the International Office of the University of Indonesia told us that Friday will be a “fun day”, we did not know that he was not exaggerating. Our daily activities started with the bike ride around campus. Although I was not able to go because I needed to rest up, Ellie said that it was a lot of fun. After breakfast, we headed to the TMII, which I would describe as a miniature “Epcot” of Indonesian provinces, cultures, and peoples. We had a tour guide and he was very informative. We visited the Museum of Indonesia and our tour guide showed us various traditional wedding batiks for couples from different parts of Indonesia. Each type had its own story. They were beautiful! 

Another part of the tour was the traditional houses of peoples around Indonesia and the purpose of how each is structured was explained to us as well. The next part of our day was to actually visit some of the traditional houses we learned about in the Museum of Indonesia there at the park! But my favorite part of the day was when I got to pet a Komodo Dragon!!! At first I was really scared about going near it because it was about eight feet long- almost twice as big as I am! But eventually, I got my courage to go down to its cage and touched the Komodo Dragon! Now I can say that I have touched a Komodo Dragon, and I have photos to prove it! 

After this, we all had a chance to take a picture and touch a python. Ellie enjoyed it, but I was just deathly afraid of it! It was heavier than me!!! Then, we had our farewell dinner and the food was delicious! Saying goodbye to everyone at UI who was a part of this program was very sad. We took a lot of pictures!
Off to Yogyakarta!

--Theresa Mejia, Lehigh University

 

Many thanks to Jakarta! We're now in Jogja for another adventure! 

-Anggita Paramesti, Gadjah Mada University

 

Yesterday was a really awesome day--post morning bike ride we were taken to TMII, which is kinda like an Indonesian epcot. There we were able to see representations of various traditional dress and homes from around the country. One thing I have noticed both at TMII and in the Chinese markets we explored the day before is the blatant lack of respect for animals that is obviously present in America, but seems to be more socially acceptable here. In the markets chickens and frogs would be tied alive by their necks to walls and at the park monkeys were chained by the neck and forced to beg for their owners. I found these things disturbing that they were so openly accepted by the general public--though it certainly happens in the states, it is definitely not carried out in such a public manner.

--Ellie McGuire, Lehigh University

 

For our last day in Jakarta, we took a break from the academic lectures and discussions and soaked in TMII’s cultural sights. As a result of this trip, I have actually been able to discern Balinese structures from Javanese or Sumatrese styles. TMII painted a picture of how unique the culture is in each region as exemplified by the houses they lived in and the traditional batik they wore for their marriage ceremonies. 

Indonesia is so culturally diverse and yet reveals strong nationalistic pride. I wonder though, are you Acehnese first or Indonesian first? The highlight of the day was the Komodo dragon. I actually touched a komodo dragon, one of the deadliest animals, “the last living dinosaur.” Allegedly, they fed it a special diet to mitigate the production of bacteria in its mouth, which is its mechanism for killing. How many people can say they touched a komodo dragon? I’m sure not many Lehigh students have. 

We concluded the day with a farewell dinner. When talking with the participants, I realized we were not only saying goodbye to Jakarta, we were saying goodbye to our timid, reserved conversations with one another and embracing the difficulty of engaging in controversial discussions. Today, we not only took on a new city in Indonesia, but we also entered a new stage in our relationships with one another. 

After a quick briefing about UGM and Yogyakarta in our new home, I have a feeling I’m going to really enjoy this week.

-Angela Farren, Lehigh University 

 

Our last full day in Jakarta at UI was amazing. We went to the TMII which was a sort of cultural exhibition for Indonesia. The other girls were saying it reminded them of Epcot at Disney World but I’ve never been. 

The first part of the trip was spent at the best museum I’ve ever been to. The outside of it was intricately carved with Hindu statues and a beautiful water garden! I also really liked the exhibit of traditional wedding dresses from all of the different regions. One of my favorite shows in America is Say Yes to the Dress so it was really interesting to see how all of those dresses differ from Western style dresses. One thing I’ve noticed about Indonesian culture is that it is definitely a blend of ancient tradition and modern technology. I really can appreciate that sort of culture because tradition is so important for cultural identity and they hold on to that and yet still are modernizing without necessarily westernizing. 

The museum also had really interesting exhibits about cultural ceremony and tools they used to hunt, decorate and celebrate with. After the museum we ate lunch and then continued to go around the park. Throughout the park there were full scale models of all the different types of houses different people lived in and at one stop there was a man with a monkey on a chain doing tricks and wearing clothes. When I saw that I felt kind of bad for the monkey because it was held captive like that and I wasn’t sure if the man was treating it well. That was the first of three tropical animals I got to hold because after that we went to the zoo area where I touched a komodo dragon and held a huge snake! I was so terrified to touch the komodo because it was so humongous and deadly, but after the older girls took a try at it I felt more courageous. 

After the TMII we spent some time at the mall and then had a fabulous farewell dinner. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone not knowing if I would ever see them again. 

--Shannon Cassidy, Lehigh University 

 

Cultural Day!

--Cindhi Cintokowati, Gadjah Mada University