Airplanes and Orientations

So, I made it to Indonesia in one piece and I'm posting...finally. It took me from early morning on August 19th to even earlier on August 22nd to actually get to Indonesia with a total of 22 hours of flight time. We landed in the Jakarta airport just after midnight on the 22nd and got to Taman Mini, the theme park/outdoor cultural museum where we stayed for the in country orientation, at about 3:00. Because it was so early in the morning, my first experience of Jakarta was of completely empty streets and a relatively cool 80 degrees. The next few days were a combination of information about Indonesia, preparing for the talent show, and meeting exchange students from different countries. There are 37 of us total here, 9 from the US, and the rest from Belgium, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Iceland, Panama, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, and Australia. In addition, a few dozen AFS Indonesia alumni, or kaks (big brothers/sisters), helped us to understand more about life in Indonesia. We learned about squat toilets and basin showers, Indonesian food, and the proper way to greet elders with a salim, or touching your forehead to the back of their hand. On the second day of orientation the staff took us out into Taman Mini to go to the Museum Indonesia and play an Amazing Race style game throughout the rest of the park. My team didn't win the overall competition, but we did have the best cheer. Day three was mostly preparation for the welcoming party talent show in the evening. Each country presented a song or dance from their country, like salsa dancing from Panama, a mambo from Italy, and a traditional dance that I don't know the name of from Thailand. The Americans all dressed up in matching t-shirts and did the Cha-Cha Slide. I wore the cheesehead that I brought; it was quite popular among the other exchange students. The welcoming party itself was held at a cafe about an hour away from Taman Mini. Many former AFS Indonesia alumni and host families came to welcome us to Indonesia and watch our talent show, although of the representatives from each embassy who apparently usually come, only one person from Spain actually showed up. Overall, the orientation and welcoming party were a great introduction to Indonesia.

 The courtyard where we did an exercise/dance routine to wake up one morning while at Taman Mini.

Random picture from the Desa Wisata hostel in Taman Mini.

 The hostel that I stayed in during orientation at Taman Mini.

 There were lots of cats like this one running around Desa Wisata.

 My alarm clock every morning during orientation.

 I didn't manage to get many pictures of Taman Mini outside Desa Wisata, but I did get this soccer ball building from the bus. Other buildings I didn't get pictures of were the traditional housing from each province of Jakarta and a building shaped like a komodo dragon.

 Creating a world of Packer fans, one person at a time.

 Typical Jakarta traffic, although usually both sides of the street are full.

 The American contingent of exchange students in Indonesia.

The American booth at our welcoming party, made of the hodge-podge of Americana stashed in our luggage.