idul-adha

I know I have been lazy with my blog lately, so I thought I'd give you all an update. Part of the reason I've been lazy is because the photo uploading speed seems to be slower than usual and my local internet place. So I decided to make a post without photos.

As it gets closer to christmas I am starting to feel more and more homesick, although it doens't actually feel like the holiday season at all. When I see the rare christmas tree or decoration it feels odd, like seeing a christmas tree in July. Afterall the weather here is exactly like it was when I arrived in August with the exception of their being more rain now. On Christmas day, my only plan is to go to church with the Christian woman i know. I apologize to everybody because you're not getting christmas cards or presents. It's impossible to find so much as a postcard in this town, Christmas cards are out of the question. And I just don't want to do anything that feels Christmasy. Becuase 1) it doesn't feel like christmas and 2) it would just make me unbareably homesick if it did.

Let's see, a few weeks ago some American friends of mine who are also volunteering with VIA came to visit me here in Ponorogo and we attended Idul-Adha festivities which involved the sacrifice and butchering of a goat. Or 6 goats to be presise. It was similaniously an interesting, disgusting, funny and delisious event. I'd never seen an animal butchered like that before. There's a definitely line when what you are seeing changes from a dead animal to meat. It made me thing a lot about American meat habits. I've always believed that if a person is so disgusted by raw meat that they are uncomfortable handling it and cooking it, they should really not be eating meat at all. I think it's important when we eat meat to acknowledge and be aware of the fact that yes, you're eating an animal. It used to be alive and moving and making sounds, it has bones and hair and a heart and intestines, just like you. If you can't handle that, don't eat it. don't pretend meat is no different than a potato. anyway, Indonesians know their meat is meat. It's impossible to ignore here. And they have no qualms about butchering together. At Idul-Adha, the men did the skinning and gutting and the women butchered the meat into mangable portions. The whole community gathered, children included. And they had a great time posing with the goat heads, playing with the goat organs and hacking through the goat bones. It was surreal.

This week is Islamic New Year so there are all kinds 0f interesting activities going on which I will try to photograph and upload