Days 12 & 13

Theresa with a member of the Jogja Hip Hop Foundation

 Yesterday was a really eventful day. My favorite activities were learning about the batik making process and meeting the Jogja Hip Hop Foundation. We visited a batik store, were we had access to the back rooms. We saw the stamping process and the painting process for batiks. The backrooms were hot because batik requires you to use hot wax in order to print the designs. The stamps were beautiful, the workers precise, and the batik were slowly coming along. We even had a session for making our own batiks! This process was hard and I realized why batiks can get really expensive! Making batiks is laborious! At the end of the day, our custom batiks were dyed and dried for us- they looked awesome! 

Before dinner, we met with Jogja Hiphop Foundation. I was really excited about meeting them because I thought it would be awesome to meet people who are so in touch and proud of their culture. We met all of the members and basically had a photo-shoot with them. They were a silly, fun, and easy-going group of guys who were welcoming. At first they said they were tired when we asked them for a quick rap, but by the end of the night, they finally gave us a small show They were awesome!   

Today, we had to wake up really early to be on the road by 6 am. We were headed to the Borobudur Temple. If you want to see the beauty of Indonesia, go to Jogja, go to the Borobudur Temple, and go to the provinces. I love the mountains and the rice paddies that go on for acres!

--Theresa Mejia, Lehigh University

 

Ellie, learning how to batik

Yesterday and today were full of fun experiences. Yesterday we were able to try our hand at batik, which has given me a newfound appreciation for the beautiful fabrics we see everywhere here and all the work that goes into making them. We then had the amazing opportunity to meet with some of the guys from the Indonesian hip hop foundation, which turns classic Javanese poems into hip hop rap that sounds remarkably like the Spanish style we hear at home. The founder at the foundation told us that "culture is his religion" which is I think is a really interesting perspective on the way that religion permeates every aspect of life here in Indonesia.
 

Today we got up super early to head to Borobudur temple, which was totally worth it because by 8AM it was HOT and crowded already. The temple was amazing, as is expected from one of the previous 7 Wonders of the World. The funniest part of the day was that we literally couldn't walk 3 feet without people asking to take photos with us like we were celebrities. There were also many young boys there from different boarding schools who asked for interviews to practice their English, which seemed silly because their language skills were impeccable already. 

My favorite part of the day was meeting with some Indonesian Buddhist monks who explained their belief system. For me, I feel as if my personal beliefs correlate most closely with Buddhism, which emphasizes human action and morality versus formal worship. Overall, our experiences over the past two days have both been fun and cultural while also being extremely informative and educational.

--Ellie McGuire, Lehigh University 

 

Our lecture about Islamic radicalism was very significant for me because I have very little knowledge on the topic. We discussed how the global impact of Islamic radicalism is exemplified by the success of the Iran revolution in 1979, the transnational mobilization for Jihad during the Afghan War in 1979, and finally Osama Bin Ladin’s Fatwa in 1998. Bin Ladin voiced the ruling to kill the Americans and their allies, claiming this was the individual duty of every Muslim in any country. But why is terrorism prevalent only in Islamic societies? I learned that their hostility is a response to the vulnerable position they once held in the face of Western powers. The professor described their responses as moral shocks, where an unexpected event or piece of information raises a sense of outrage, or acts of identity, which requires that they take action to overcome an identity crisis. 

 Again, I was still unsure why only Islamic societies felt so obligation to act so rashly in the name of their religion? The Jihad. Islamic extremists use the Jihad as a mechanism to justify their actions. Just because this concept comes from the Quran, does that make their actions right? Jihad represents the internal struggle against evil. It is the fight against evil within ourselves, not the fight against others. It can also be interpreted as the struggle against religious or political oppression. History reveals that Islamic extremists are not protecting their religion from external threats, rather they are creating wars rooted in aggression. One can only think that through these militaristic acts, their ultimate goal is to achieve Muslim dominion of the entire world. 

 I wish the lecture lasted longer than an hour because we merely grazed the topic and there is so much more I want to learn. Ironically, we concluded the day with a meeting with the Hip Hop Foundation. Knowing how powerful the role of religion is in Indonesia, I couldn’t help but ask the lead singer whether or not he was religious. He responded “culture is my religion.” He went on to say that “culture is a weapon, religion is not a weapon,” undoubtedly alluding to the Islamic terrorists attacks that occur sporadically across the globe. He uses music to spread his message and finds no problem with those who disagree. Meanwhile, Islamic radicalism relays the message that those who are non-believers are infidels and thus a threat to Islam. When will it stop?

--Angela Farren, Lehigh University 

 

These past few days have been amazing and eye opening. Yesterday we got to try and make batik, which was extremely hard. Mine looked like a blob. Some of the girls did a really nice job but I guess I don’t have the knack for it. I really got to see how labor intensive it is to make such intricate designs. Its amazing that something so simple as a fabric is now embedded in the culture as well. Batik is used for any sort of formal occasion and different patterns also used to indicate different levels of society. Cindhi was also telling me about different tenses of language that are used amongst different classes of people. Apparently there are 5 forms of languages that are used in the hierarchy of society and then another separate language that is universal. For example if a servant was speaking to a king, they would address each other in the same way, which I thought was really cool.
 

We also got to meet up with some really cool rappers, including one called Kill The DJ. After we watched their documentary they explained to us how they live their lives and the things they thought about religion and culture. One of the things that I really liked was that they were really honest with us and weren’t afraid to say the truth. Their culture is their religion. Another cool aspect of their raps were that they used a lot of their lyrics from ancient Javanese poetry. They even did a freestyle rap for us at the end of it all and we later found out they used the highest form of Javanese language to sing it! What an honor!
 

Today when we went to Borobudor I saw one of the most incredible things ever. It was amazing to see how much history was present in the stone and to see the stories being told in the relief carvings. Once we got to the top there was a breathtaking view of the surrounding countryside that I will never forget. Another interesting thing about the temple were all of the tourists that wanted to take pictures with us. Paparazzi! We couldn’t turn a corner without ten people asking, but I actually didn’t mind. I thought about how rare it probably is for them to see too many white people here and how cool it must be to see something you almost only see on TV right in front of your eyes.
 

Later we went to a Buddhist temple where we actually got to talk to a monk. I thought that was so interesting. I’ve never actually come in contact with anyone that practices that religion and I am really interested in it and I’m glad we got that opportunity to talk to him because we learned a lot.
 

Can’t wait for another day of education and fun tomorrow! Woo hoo!

--Shannon Cassidy, Lehigh University