Its a Noun. No Wait! Now its a Verb

I am digging deep into learning Bahasa Indonesia now and slowly but surely putting together the puzzle pieces of the language. It is one of the simpler languages in the world to learn. It uses the same 26 letters of the alphabet (A-Z) as English does, although some letters are pronounced differently. So, there is no learning complicated symbols like Mandarin! They don't conjugate their verbs for past, present or future tense but they do have an interesting system to turn a noun (and sometimes an adjective) into a verb. Yep, you read that right, in Bahasa Indonesia you can take a noun (kata benda) and turn it into a verb (kata kerja) with the simple addition of a prefix and sometimes a suffix.

The picture above is the list of Grammar (Tata Bahasa) lessons I am learning in the mornings right now from Unit 3. You can see all the different prefixes and suffixes you can add to each base word (kata dasar). Each of these additions, changes or adds something to the meaning of the word and has rules attached to it, like some need to be followed by a preposition. Here are a few examples: 

Lesson #41: Ber + Adik (younger sibling) = have a younger sister. Or in my case I could write "Saya beradik tiga" (I have three younger siblings). There is a more formal and longer way of saying it too of course - Saya mempunyai tiga adik. 

Lesson #42: Ber + Topi (hat) = wearing a hat. Dia bertopi hitam (He is wearing a black hat). 

You can add "ber" and "ter" to a whole lot of root words to make someone have something, wear something, something to exist, be a multiple of a number, happen unintentionally, or be the most, just to name a few. There are lots of different combinations of prefixes and suffixes you can add to make words say something new like me+root word+kan or me+root word+i. 

Then they get a bit more complicated. To start with you can add the prefix "me-" to most of the nouns to make a verb. But you can't just add it to all of the words in the same way, it all depends on what letter the word starts with. For example if the word starts with "l" like the word lihat (look) you can just add me+lihat = melihat (to look). If however it starts with a "b" like beli (buy) you have to add mem+beli = membeli (to buy). To different starting letters you have to add, mem, men, and meng, so you just have to know which one goes with which and memorize each one. Then it gets even a bit more difficult with some words, like those that start with p, t, k, and s. When you add the prefix "me-" to words that start with those letters you have to throw those letters out and replace them with either, m, n, ng, or ny. For example: the word "kering" means dry but the word "mengeringkan" (the k turned into a ng) means to make something dry. Yep, more memorizing!

Where it gets really interesting though is when the adding of all these prefixes and suffixes actually changes the meaning of the word. For example "umum" means general or public but the word "mengumumkan" means to announce something. 

Well there you have it, just a little glimpse into the fun of learning Bahasa Indonesia. There is a lot of new information coming at me every day and it quickly gets overwhelming. As of today I am halfway through my second unit (of six) of Language School! 

Visa Trip to Singapore

My New Visa in my Passport

Well it is official - I have my one-year KITAS visa to study Bahasa Indonesia! I have just about wrapped up my time in Singapore and will head back to Indonesia tomorrow and dive right into the next unit of language school.

Though Indonesia and Singapore are only about two hours apart by plane they are two very different worlds. I woke in one world with a vinegar bug in my shower, water that wasn't safe to drink, and the sound of the morning call to prayer from the mosque in the background. Travel in Indonesia is full of the sound of car and motorbike horns and airports are full of people pushing and showing to get to the front of the line. It doesn't matter what "boarding group" you are in, everyone wants to get on the plane right away. No personal space at all! My first stop in the Singapore airport was the women's bathroom where all the women were lined up and patiently waiting. Two women tried to cut in and edge to the front of the line and the whole line of women reminded them rather firmly to queue and they were ushered to the back of the line. There isn't a lot of personal space here either but everyone is so polite about it. Here everything is organized from the taxi line, to a lovely room with AC and safe drinking water. And the metro system here is amazing. I take a taxi to and from the airport and that is about it because the subway and bus system can get me just about everywhere else. (technically I could take the subway to the airport too but it is a bit tricky with all the escalators and my bags.) Anyway it is quite the adjustment and I am headed back through it again tomorrow.

The View out my Hostel Room

Traveling by myself and doing these things by myself is never my favorite idea but the Lord has provided as He always does. I have a great place to stay - the YMCA Hostel, which close to some great shopping and three different MRT (subway) lines. I was also incredibly blessed to have someone process the visa for me, which saved me a lot of time and frustration. I dropped my passport off at his office in the morning (just three subway stops and one transfer away!) and picked it up again that evening. Back doors take one day and front doors take at least a couple of days and lot more stress, especially when you are trying to do it by yourself :) The malls near my hostel have lots of stores with familiar brands and favorite foods. My list of things to take back to friends in Indonesia keeps growing -- good thing I brought a big enough suitcase :) Thanks for all your prayers for the visa and a safe trip!

Ramadan

Here in Indonesia, the most-populated Muslim country according to many sources, we are wrapping up a special month in the Islamic calendar called Ramadan. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims must refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, or marital relations during the daylight hours (about 5 am - 6 pm). In addition, those fasting are supposed to refrain from bad habits - lying, getting angry, using bad language as well as to be more diligent in prayer and give to charities. Participating in Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Reasons they participate include:  

• To develop compassion for the poor and needy who feel hungry every day.
• As a spiritually and physically cleansing experience. Just like many other faith traditions, fasting is seen as an opportunity to separate yourself from the things of this world and to concentrate on your relationship with God.
• To become closer to God by contemplating his will in your life.
• To build self-discipline and to become a better person. 

So what does this look like living here in Salatiga, Indonesia. Our mornings start early between 2-3 am with a wake-up call provided by band of drummers walking through our neighborhood. Their job is to wake everyone up, so they can eat a meal before the sun comes up. You can listen to it below: 

Then shortly after that the local mosques call out bangun, bangun, bangun (wake up) and a short prayer. Then about an hour and half later the first of five official calls to prayer comes. The call to prayer sounds something like this:




The pace slows down during the month as there is no eating or even drinking of water during the day. Many take naps during the day and are awake at night. Around 6 pm (sun goes down at around 5:30 pm) the fast is opened (buka puasa). Family, friends, and neighbors eat together in a very celebratory fashion. There is an added extra hour of prayer in the evening after the fast has been opened for those that want to attend. Evenings and nights tend to be nosier as more people are awake and there are lots of (big!) fireworks etc going off. I will admit it has taken some time to get use to the noise but it has been interesting to observe. 

This week Ramadan comes to a close, with two days of celebrating and feasting called Idul Fitri. All offices are closed, people have received a bonus and they head home to their villages. This creates a mass exodus from big cities like Jakarta, creating huge traffic jams. Shopping places and markets are packed and prices are high as people buy food for the feasting and new clothes. Typically, people go to visit their extended family members, neighbors and others to pay their respects. It is typical to say when you greet people during these days, mohon maaf lahir dan batin, which is basically an apology for anything you might have done in the past year to cause offense or to shame them. 

One of the things I try to do every morning is read an online version of the Jakarta Post, which is an English language newspaper from Indonesia. I figure it is a good way to learn more about this place I am living. Here are a few recent articles from the Jakarta Post about things happening during Ramadan and Idul Fitri...

• This article talks about the many different sects of Islam in Indonesia and how they determine when Ramadan starts. Let's just say they don't all agree. 
• During Ramadan, many restaurants are closed during the day and stay open late at night. As you can imagine, it is considered rude to eat in front of those fasting during Ramadan, even if you are not fasting. In some places there are raids on local eateries, if they are not following the rule. This article has a picture taken of a couple during one of those raids and lists as some of the different regulations being enforced in different areas of Indonesia. 
• To prepare for Idul Fitri, this article had several suggestions of things to do. 
• The huge increase in traffic though does lead to lots of problems, including severe injuries and deaths. Last year 908 people died in traffic accidents during Idul Fitri. As of this article today, the number of deaths for this year was 178 and climbing but still significantly less than last year.

Last night Idul Fitri started and this was part of the parade that went in front of our house. It was quite long and loud but fun to see! 

Sorry the quality isn't better, but it was dark out and there are not a lot of streetlights around. 

Happy Birthday!

For a couple of years now, I have been dreaming that next year I would be celebrating my birthday next year in Indonesia. This year that dream came true. It was a bit bittersweet though because I would have loved to be celebrating with my family and friends in the US. My sister, Kristin, reminded me that instead of cake on my birthday, we would frequently celebrate with a layered ice cream treat that my mom made. This year though I started some new traditions or at least borrowed a few traditions from Indonesian culture. Here is how the day went, with a few pictures...

I woke up to find these beautiful flowers and a card from the friends and teammates I am living with right now on the table along with a breakfast of coffee cake and eggs. 

Then after an hour or so of homework I headed off to language school for my grammar class. For lunch we had a traditional Indonesian celebration meal that includes yellow rice (rice that has been soaked and cooked in coconut milk and spices). Yum! 

Then it was back to language school for class. Mondays are chapel days, where word had gotten out it was my birthday. So as a language learning exercise they sang me the an Indonesian birthday song, which goes on for many many verses :) 

Unfortunately, by that time my stomach was bothering me, so the afternoon was a bit rough but I was determined to go out and enjoy a birthday dinner with my friends and housemates. We went to a local restaurant that serves several different types of cuisine and I enjoyed a hamburger and fries. My mouth thought it was delicious and so it didn't matter too much that my stomach didn't like it as much :) 

I was so blessed through the day by Skype conversations with friends, texts from family, cards from friends, birthday greetings via Facebook, gifts from teammates, and a phone conversation with my Grandparents! I was loved by family and friends around the world and over many, many hours thanks to the time difference!  

A gift from my friends/teammates/housemates

A birthday card from my church in the US that actually arrived on my birthday (well ok so it was technically still my birthday in the US).