One day in Yogya

7:00 AM:
My alarm goes off. I hit the button and close my eyes for a few more minutes.

7:05 AM:
I get out of bed and grab my toothbrush and toothpaste from the top of the bureau. I have a bathroom connected to my bedroom, but it doesn't have a sink, so I have to go into another bathroom to brush my teeth. I pad across the linolium in my bare feet, of course (no shoes allowed inside the house) and greet the Ibu (mother) of the house with "Selamat Pagi!" (Good Morning)

7:15 AM:
One of the servent's comes to my room to tell me breakfast is ready. She doesn't speak a word of English, but I know the word for breakfast at least. She seems very sweet and always happy, I wish I could talk to her a little more.

Breakfast is upstairs. The entire upstairs is basically a balcony with a few enclosed rooms. This morning we eat Sate Ayam (chicken skewers) with Peanut Sauce, watermelon and this strange rice stuff that is basically smashed rice cooked in a log and cut up. I don't like the rice stuff very much. It's weird to eat Sate for breakfast.

I chat with Tomo, a girl from Japan, and a new arrival to the guest house - a psychologist who will be working in Aceh.

8:00 AM
I return to my room to Mandi (bathe). Bathing in Indonesia is completely different than in the States. You have a big tub filled with cold water. You use a small bucket with a handle to scoop the water over your head. When wet, you proceed to shampoo, etc. Then you dump more cold water over your head. It's not my favorite thing in the morning (although it does wake you up!) but it feels really nice in the afternoon and evening after being out in the heat all day. Indonesians will Mandi up to 4 times a day when it's hot or they're really active.

8:30 - 9:30 AM
I sit in my room and study Indonesian for a bit. I sort of fall asleep for about half an hour. I try to memorize the days of the week. I think I have it down. Senin, Selasa, Rabu, Kamis, Jumat, Sabtu, Minggu.

9:30 AM
I walk the three minutes to Wisma Bahasa, my language school. Class doesn't start until 10:15 but I want to use the wireless internet. When I get there, the internet is down. Typical. So I just sort of hang out. Soon a friend arrives and we chat until class begins.

10:15 AM - 12:00 PM
I learn food vocab and sentence structure.

12:00 - 1:00 PM
Lunch. The school has a little canteen. Today I have two tiny pieces of chicken, a piece of fried tempeh and some noodles. It costs 12,000 Rp. which is more than I think it should, but oh well.

1:00 - 3:00 PM
I learn about positions. My book is on top of the table. Buku saya di atas meja.

3:00 PM
Class is over over and now I'm at an internet cafe with two friends and updating my blog! I'm also drinking hot lime and eating french fries that I suspect were gotten from the McDonalds down the street. But the hot lime is wonderful.