I've been technology-less for the past week since I left my laptop at the Asus Service Center in Jakarta. I'm not sure what kind of programs they're running on it right now but I actually just wanted them to open it so I could see what kind of battery it had and order a new one. That might have gotten lost in translation but it's been really refreshing not being tied to technology. I can still check email and charge my ipod on the school laptop sometimes, when it's here, so I am still attached to the threads of technology.
So my update. On Saturday I joined my host parents on a sort of training camp for ibus (missus) wanting to make the hajj. They invited me about a month ago and were very excited when my tajemalela trip was cancelled and I could come. We met at the Islamic Center in Karawang Central at 6 in the morning, all of us wearing white (even me, even though I would only be watching the day's activities). A flock of ibus were milling about in the parking lot when we arrived. My host mother bought a new megaphone for this event because she was the HIIC (Head Ibu In Charge).
Our whole group filled three Agramas buses (similar to Greyhound). First, we drove one hour to Bekasi. This pilgrimage training center was right in the middle of industrial Bekasi and at first I was confused as to why we had driven an hour away to hang out at some cement factories. But we drove down a long driveway and entered a university campus, behind which sat a mock Ka'aba right in the middle of this big pit of sand.
The ibus were shepherded into the hot sun and crowded around a tour guide who explained for about an hour that this was the door of the Ka'aba (yeah....) and this is what you say at what point when you are walking around the Ka'aba and so on. It was very interesting to watch. They then migrated over to a sandy path between two sets of rocks and walked back and forth a few times, all the while saying verses from the Qur'an. Then time for a lunch break at the canteen and then a lecture (where my host mom and another guy from the training center - what I'm calling it - spoke for a few hours about making the pilgrimage).
During the lunch break I talked with an older woman and she surprised me by saying that she had already made the hajj in 2013. I asked her why she was here at hajj boot camp and she said it was spiritually refreshing. I guess if you only have the resources to make the hajj once then this is the next best thing. After lunch I unofficially volunteered for kid care and hung out with three kids for the rest of the afternoon until we left Bekasi. The mosque we were in was very beautiful with lattice doorways and a tall circular ceiling with Arabic writing around it. It was very light and bright.
Around 5 o'clock - after some bus troubles - we were off again. I asked Umi, my host mother, where we were going next and she said "another mosque." Early on in the day she handed me a huge bag of snacks, I guess as both a reward for sitting through everything and so that I wouldn't have to go wandering off in search for food. I'm not above bribery. They were delicious.
At 7 we squeezed into another narrow driveway right between some warungs in the middle of Depok, another town. After passing through a toll center the driveway opened into sprawling lawns with hundreds of rows of large flower pots with viney trees sitting atop stands on a neatly manicured lawn. I wanted to take a picture but at this point realized that my camera had died. A moment later I was very saddened by this fact when the "other mosque" came into view.
A while ago I read an article in the New York Times about 'thin places.' The Irish have a saying that goes, "heaven and earth are only three feet apart but in thin places that distance is even shorter." On Saturday night I visited a thin place. If you want to look up more pictures, it's called the Masjid Kubah Emas (Masjid Dian Al Mahri) in Depok, west Java.
We unloaded from the buses and there was a mad rush for the toilets. Then we ate some bakso. Then I was pulled into a gazillion photos and even bought one from an opportunistic photographer who could spot a gullible bule a mile away. Finally, it was time to pray and we entered this underground chamber where we gave our shoes to the Mistress of Shoes (who then turned them over to the custody of a bunch of kittens playing with the shoelaces in the cubbyholes). We went back above ground and came out into this grand courtyard in the shadow of the golden domes of the mosque. I was back on kid duty as I wasn't allowed to enter the mosque (no veil and also only Muslims are allowed inside) but that was A-OK because the courtyard was truly surreal, especially at night. There were some minarets and along the wall were glowing windows like hundreds of little moons with Arabic writing on them. The Imam sung the last prayer and I got tingles walking at the feet of the gigantic columns and occasionally looking in the stone portholes at the inside of the mosque.
I am now very glad I was placed in West Java and am especially glad that I was placed with a family who is able to take me on trips like these.
So my update. On Saturday I joined my host parents on a sort of training camp for ibus (missus) wanting to make the hajj. They invited me about a month ago and were very excited when my tajemalela trip was cancelled and I could come. We met at the Islamic Center in Karawang Central at 6 in the morning, all of us wearing white (even me, even though I would only be watching the day's activities). A flock of ibus were milling about in the parking lot when we arrived. My host mother bought a new megaphone for this event because she was the HIIC (Head Ibu In Charge).
During the lunch break I talked with an older woman and she surprised me by saying that she had already made the hajj in 2013. I asked her why she was here at hajj boot camp and she said it was spiritually refreshing. I guess if you only have the resources to make the hajj once then this is the next best thing. After lunch I unofficially volunteered for kid care and hung out with three kids for the rest of the afternoon until we left Bekasi. The mosque we were in was very beautiful with lattice doorways and a tall circular ceiling with Arabic writing around it. It was very light and bright.
Around 5 o'clock - after some bus troubles - we were off again. I asked Umi, my host mother, where we were going next and she said "another mosque." Early on in the day she handed me a huge bag of snacks, I guess as both a reward for sitting through everything and so that I wouldn't have to go wandering off in search for food. I'm not above bribery. They were delicious.
At 7 we squeezed into another narrow driveway right between some warungs in the middle of Depok, another town. After passing through a toll center the driveway opened into sprawling lawns with hundreds of rows of large flower pots with viney trees sitting atop stands on a neatly manicured lawn. I wanted to take a picture but at this point realized that my camera had died. A moment later I was very saddened by this fact when the "other mosque" came into view.
A while ago I read an article in the New York Times about 'thin places.' The Irish have a saying that goes, "heaven and earth are only three feet apart but in thin places that distance is even shorter." On Saturday night I visited a thin place. If you want to look up more pictures, it's called the Masjid Kubah Emas (Masjid Dian Al Mahri) in Depok, west Java.We unloaded from the buses and there was a mad rush for the toilets. Then we ate some bakso. Then I was pulled into a gazillion photos and even bought one from an opportunistic photographer who could spot a gullible bule a mile away. Finally, it was time to pray and we entered this underground chamber where we gave our shoes to the Mistress of Shoes (who then turned them over to the custody of a bunch of kittens playing with the shoelaces in the cubbyholes). We went back above ground and came out into this grand courtyard in the shadow of the golden domes of the mosque. I was back on kid duty as I wasn't allowed to enter the mosque (no veil and also only Muslims are allowed inside) but that was A-OK because the courtyard was truly surreal, especially at night. There were some minarets and along the wall were glowing windows like hundreds of little moons with Arabic writing on them. The Imam sung the last prayer and I got tingles walking at the feet of the gigantic columns and occasionally looking in the stone portholes at the inside of the mosque.
I am now very glad I was placed in West Java and am especially glad that I was placed with a family who is able to take me on trips like these.
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