Notes from the other side of the world…

by Chuck Lynd

They used to say if you dig a hole straight through the earth you will come out the other side in China! Even before the Internet, people had time to think of such things. I grew up in the 1950s and half a century or so later I flew from Columbus to Detroit to Tokyo to Singapore to Jakarta, Indonesia… 22 hours in the air, 36 total thanks to a lengthy stopover in Singapore and a few hours sleep in a Transit Hotel, which you can book in 4 hour blocks of time…

I left on July 26 with a team of teacher educators from OSU, Indiana U., and U of Illinois to spend a full month meeting teacher ed faculty in 12 Indonesian universities. I was there to help assess their information technology systems and help faculty learn to teach using the Internet. The goal is to offer courses via distance learning to help teachers upgrade their skills. After a week of workshops and visiting two universities in Jakarta, our team split up to visit other members of this budding US/Indonesia Teacher Ed Consortium. This gave me the opportunity to fly from Java to visit universities in Sulawesi, Sumatra, and Bali. I had never been to the other side of the world so this was an adventure I couldn’t refuse... here are some random observations and a few pictures to lend some color to the text.

Indonesia is an archipelago comprised of 17,000 islands straddling the equator, from the tragic tsunami on the western edge of Sumatra’s Banda Aceh region to the Papuan people of Irian Jaya on the western side of the island of New Guinea. After the Dutch colonial period ended in 1942, the Japanese ruled for three years until Hiroshima and Nagasaki sent them home. While I was there Indonesia celebrated their 62nd birthday of Independence on August 17. Red and white flags of all sizes were everywhere, and they celebrate by holding little competitions that appear to be part of their traditional culture – e.g., seeing who can climb up a greased coconut tree the fastest! No fireworks… but lots of fun and smiles everywhere.

The Indonesians are famously friendly and their ready smiles are contagious. Often we were the only white people around and the source of great curiosity. “Hey mister, where you from?” (asked of both men and women) America… many thumbs up for the USA, though in conversations many expressed polite concern for our government’s war policies. They are a Muslim nation, 80%. Indonesians speak their native ethnic tongue – Javanese, Balinese, Batak, Sudanese, etc. – and in school they learn Bahasa Indonesia – a national language constructed to bridge the ethnic divides, much like Swahili in Africa – and also English, the international language.

And such hospitality! Our hosts at the universities drove us around in an SUV… not just from hotel to campus, but to local restaurants, often for lunch and dinner (at one we selected the fish that was grilled just for us) and to temples, and markets, a batik home-industry, a national park, art galleries, beaches, festivals and more during the weekends. This was a feast for our senses but gave us little down time. Indonesians focus on the group and community, whereas we Americans felt our individual need to kick back, rest, and spend time alone.

Yogyakarta is a cultural center of traditional Javanese culture… the slang pronunciation is Jogja, apparently due to the Dutch pronunciation. Jogja is a tourist mecca, chock full of art galleries, cafes, parks, and located near major tourist attractions like Borobudur, one of the wonders of the world that I was fortunate to visit. From wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur> “Borobudur is a ninth century Buddhist Mahayana monument… comprised of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.” It was abandoned when the Muslims swept through from the west to the east and was rediscovered in 1814, covered over with vegetation. Major restoration efforts, including help from the United Nations, has restored this remarkable work. The reliefs at the base include pictures of people gambling and gossiping, gluttonous and lusting after one another. But as pilgrims walk the circular path to the top the reliefs depict progressively more enlightened states of awareness until reaching the highest state of enlightenment at the top. Borobudur is located in a beautiful rural setting with a mountainous backdrop and scenic views along the path to nirvana.

Indonesia is a Muslim nation but it is rooted in Hindu traditions. Yes, Muslims really do pray five times every day… I awoke at 5 a.m. every morning in the hotel listening to the local Imam’s chanting prayers droning through little speakers scattered across local rooftops. This ritual meshes well with the Indonesians who arise very early to enjoy the relatively cool mornings. But the Muslims realized that they could not suppress the Hindi cultural traditions, which are infused in countless every day rituals and ceremonies. Hinduism is a major world religion but, like Shintoism in Japan, its roots are many centuries old and they inform the folklore and mythology of the people and places throughout the islands. For example, I attended two Muslim weddings that displayed all their traditional elaborate dress, including both men and boys wearing sarongs with wooden swords tucked in the sash at their backs. One featured a beautifully costumed dance troupe that performed traditional Javanese dances that included the Hindu story of Rama and the Princess and the band of 1000 monkeys who helped him save the princess.

Karaoke? Yes! Indonesians love to sing and karaoke bands are common in local restaurants and at weddings and parties and any celebration that affords them the opportunity to sing beautiful melodies. They love American popular music and not only current tunes but they often know songs from the 30s to the 50s… Deans and university rectors (presidents) would ask us our favorite songs, then promptly get up and sing for the entire group. They were disappointed I think that we were not able to reciprocate. One fully decked out Muslim woman with beautiful head scarf and batik outfit surprised and delighted our team when she belted out John Denver’s Country Roads. That image stays with me because it changed forever my image of Muslim women!

Most of the Hindus remaining in Indonesia live in Bali. I believe everything you imagine about Bali is true! This is where the Hindu traditions flower and delight the western tourists, but in spite of the commercialization it is simply irresistible. The arts of painting, batik, sculpture, dance, and even a Balinese TV channel broadcasts their theater for all to appreciate. I was lucky to meet a very enlightened Hindu man who, as he told us, was in the last third of his life – youth, adult, now an elder – practicing vegetarian diet and studying with the local priests to prepare his soul for its next incarnation. He dressed simply and was also very tuned into climate change issues and the environment. Global warming is apparently affecting the rice farmers, making it difficult to predict the monsoon rains and causing problems with the traditional cycles of planting and harvesting. His family owned a local village temple and we were invited to come and observe a 3 day festival – a long enough event to give everyone in nearby villages time to visit and participate. Women brought fruit and flowers and decorations to the temple to offer blessings to the gods and goddesses. The temple was open to the air and spread out into several distinct areas with various statues, decorations, areas for chanting, drumming, etc. The atmosphere was celebratory and chaotic. I saw three different “Barongs” – like Chinese dragons, the Barong is a colorful, wild eyed looking creature supported by people underneath its costume and headdress… they are said to scare away evil spirits and bring good luck. They arrive in the temple area with great fanfare, drumming, and general shouts and noisemaking. Dogs wander around freely and three of them barked and argued over which one would get to gnaw on a large bone. This experienced taught me that a religious event can be a festival, reserving a place for quiet and solemn presence, but also exuberant and a source of community celebration.

Amid all the tradition and rituals of the Indonesian peoples, of course, globalization has arrived I learned that after 62 years of independence, and near perfect conditions for tourism, not a single hotel chain is owned by an Indonesian company. Corporate logos from international firms adorn the many skycrapers in Jakarta, Surabaya, and Medan – all huge cities with major problems of poverty, pollution (tbe practice of open air burning of trash in rural areas has come to the city and its suburbs) and traffic that is taylor made for films like Koyaanisqatsi. I have to say that the architecture of the buildings is often bold, colorful, and striking in appearance. We spent many hours riding from place to place by our willing hosts and this afforded the opportunity to peer out the window and take in the amazing sights and sounds of this exotic country. Hundreds of “warungs” – their name for open air shops that line every road and sell every imaginable “stuff” you might need… internet cafes, restaurants that cook and barbecue right on the sidewalks, mopeds that weave in and around the cars and SUVs (all wearing helmets except the women and children), young people trying to earn pennies by selling papers or singing songs on their guitar at stop signs, and Muslim women in traditional dress and their children wearing jeans and tee shirts with corporate logos. Pop culture is alive and well – Indonesian Idol is one of the most popular TV programs. They love to sing!

I could go on and on. Indonesians eat with a spoon in their right hand a fork in the left – no knives. Their traditional toilets are, well, different. If you can’t go there, check out the local Indonesian arts and cuisine every summer at the Asian Festival in Franklin Park. If anyone wants more info, I am uploading lots more pics to flickr or email Chuck at clynd@cavenet.com.