Fire and Rice: Innocents Abroad

This was the title of my last post that I deleted later in the day because I wasn't feeling the same way at that point. Yesterday was a general election day so we - and everyone in Indonesia - got the day off. Our reason for a free day was not to vote however, but to stay away from the poll stations. This was pretty difficult seeing as they were everywhere (I wouldn't be surprised if they set up polls in people's houses) but I at least avoided them as much as I could. Around mid-morning, after a skype date broke off because I ran out of minutes, I walked down a large hill to get my notebook that I left in the building where we have our afternoon sessions. In that 20 minute jalan-jalan (walk; also works as an explanation of where you're going) I passed by 10 or so polling stations. Since the previous night my neighborhood was filled with bollywood-type music (I think it was actually Indo pop but it sounded like a bollywood soundtrack) coming from loudspeakers in the house next door. I didn't associate it with the election until the following day when I saw that outside each polling station there were 10 or so amps blasting Indonesian and also American pop. It was a weird juxstaposition seeing all the Ibu's sitting around nonchalantly with Adele playing at concert-level volume right above them but I'm getting used to it. My host family doesn't listen to music but my friend Sarah's Bapak is obsessed with Beyonce, Alicia Keys and actually pretty much any American pop star. While driving us around (he's technically related to my family so he invites me on outings) he plays music videos on a little tv screen. Last night we went out for some karaoke and he knew all the words to the pop songs we picked to sing.

So that was election day - schools closed and everyone socialized at the polls all day (even though I think they closed at noon?) except for us Peace Corps volunteers who went hiking or over to each others' houses to watch Iron Man while studying. July 9th is the presidential election and I assume we will have a lot more restrictions, although from what few articles I've read it sounds like they're not expecting as high a turn-out as the last presidential election five years ago so maybe Peace Corps won't put us on total lock-down.

Some things have clicked for me in the past week and while I'm starting to really miss people back home I feel pretty good at a month in. I'm reading the Great Gatsby not because I want to think about American affluence right now but because it's either that, the Game of Thrones series or the Hunger Games series, which are all on this guy's kindle that I borrowed who got it as a hand-me-down from his dad. So if you were thinking that you reeeeeally wanted to send me something but were concerned about porn making it through the postal service then pdfs of books/any reading is a great idea! : )

Pics taken this week:

Outside of the school where I get wifi.

Me and Mr. Soria, the tenant staying with my host family. He's awesome and even practices his English with me and breaks down some of the communication barriers I'm having with my host family.