This post is an accurate example of how I ACTUALLY journal. Chaos.
- Have you caught a catfish with your bare hands??? No? Well, I have :)
- They're slimy.
Where my NSLI-Y cohort caught catfish.
- I learned how to walk on stilts.
- Andddd I have a couple bruises to show for it.
- I have eaten chicken feet, cow brains, fried eel, buffalo on a stick, and so, SO much more.
- I miss being a vegetarian... but I’m happy I put it aside for this trip.
- There are a lot of different bananas here.
- Oranges are GREEN?!?!?
- And they have several stupidly bitter seeds in every gosh darn slice.
- They're still good though.
- I love tempe
- I just made some today in a village an hour away.
- I LOATH cockroaches.
- The first time I ever saw one, I was in the shower, and I spotted two longgggg antennas sweeping the air, less than a foot away from my face. The MASSIVE shiny brown lump was sitting on my shampoo bottle.
- They move fast.
Me waddling on stilts in a village.
- We went to a place today to learn about permaculture: a way of cultivating crops while learning from and supporting the natural environment.
- I loved it, obviously.
- Our “guide” was an incredibly intelligent, thoughtful person who had so much love and pride for the land he cared for.
- He gave us a tour barefoot, with an easy grin and a cup of coffee in hand. THAT is my kind of people :)
- I saw a chicken cross the street yesterday.
- We had a bonfire.
- We were singing, dancing, and eating corn on the cob.
- I like fire.
Fireeeee!!!!
- When we took a city tour by car, the road was so steep our car literally could not get up it. We tried three times—apparently, the gears kept leaping or something (???).
- They had to bring another car.
View from our tourism car thingamajig.
- During the city tour, we went to a chicken church.
- Twas a precious idea (all religions in one place in peace) but the presentation… well. It was a bit too amusing to take seriously.
- Like a child’s dream come true.
It's a church. And it's a chicken. (Wait, sorry, no, I mean PIGEON.)
- We also went to a bee farm. Considering I was a bee keeper’s apprentice back in the U.S., I found this incredibly ironic.
- The honey tastes different here.
- The bees were really sluggish—maybe from the heat or maybe they are just like that.
Bee hives at Ashfa Madu.
- I will not buy a coffee for 45,000 Rp ($3). Too expensive.
- The things I’ve seen on motorcycles…
- A bike.
- Bales of grass.
- 4 people on one bike.
- A 10-year old (?) driving two of his friends.
- Everyday there’s something new.
- In the U.S., most people on motorcycles are big men with scruffy beards and leather jackets. Here? EVERYONE drives a motorcycle (well, not EVERYONE, but close to it).
- Last weekend I was knee-deep in cow crap. It washed out of my pants. Eventually.
Yeeeeup. I held the plow steady as the cow and I trudged through the mud (+ fertilizer (fertilizer=cow poop)).
- I know how to make a sword, a pyramid, and a woven cube out of a coconut leaf.
- American food is really expensive here.
- There’s KFC, McDonald’s, Starbucks, etc.
- I went to a Pizza Hut and it was literally a high-class restaurant—the drinks were served with limes.
Me at Borobudur, a Buddhist temple.
- Borobudur blew my mind and swept away my soul.
- Just seeing the massive structure from a distance was awe-inspiring enough, but walking up the stairs, grazing my hands along the ancient stone? Indescribable.
- There’s so much beautiful symbolism in every single part of the place.
- Sitting down with your back leaning against the temple is very peaceful. Grounding.
Free snacks from the nice lady in the boba shop :)
- I just got 8 guavas and two bags of snacks for FREE as thanks for a few pictures.
- Being a “bule” (“foreigner”) has some REAL nice perks.
- Any street is walkable if you’re brave enough.
- Getting to the other side of the street is akin to the game “Crossy Road”.
- Yogyakarta has so much SOUL. Or, as my mom would say, “character”.
- Nearly every scene I’ve ever imagined in my books—royal palaces, ancient temples, elaborate gardens, long skinny alleyways, streets lined with little shops, parkour paradise—is here.
- I will NEVER tire of exploring this city.
A quiet street I found on the way to my favorite coffee shop.
- I don’t know how I’m ever going to return to MN. I love this place too much.
- I found an opportunity to live here as a volunteer for the permaculture place I mentioned earlier. Free room and board. So… after I come back from Chile…
- My world has shifted.
Thanks for reading!!! Maybe I’ll be back to my usual style next week :)
P.S. If you want more elaboration, just ask! I can make edits really easily.
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Comments
Maia,
I am enjoying each and every post. You are a very adventure driven young lady. Thank you for sharing your amazing life!
Hi Maia,
Sheila here from Rotary. I am really enjoying this blog and it amazes me all the incredible experiences you are getting while there! I hope you will keep good notes and pics so you can do a slideshow presentation for Rotary! Keep on keeping on, girl!
Bee keeper apprentice and world traveler you write very good stories about your adventures. Got some honey for you from the hives you worked on.