Minggu Kedua

This first week of school I have felt like I'm starring in a movie mashup between "Never Been Kissed" (an adult woman journalist poses undercover as a high school student for an insider perspective on teenage culture) and "She's the Man" (a girl poses as a boy in order to play soccer-not a masterpiece of film or plot-but still entertaining).  I'm in a class of students two years younger than me and much more innocent/less mature and feel like I'm going undercover to assimilate to their culture and age.  Also, girls in Indonesia do not play soccer-so I play futsal with the boys.  Everyone at school stares at me because I'm bule (a white person) already, but when I play futsal everyone gathers around the courtyard to watch.  I feel like I'm representing not just my own soccer skills but those of bule around the world and the female gender in athletics.  With all this pressure the friendly futsal matches after school become very intense and important to me.

Upon going to the governor's mansion in Surabaya to pick up my little brother after his concert I met Governor Soekarwo (head of East Java) who, just like every other Indonesian I've met thus far, is super friendly, personable and interested in my opinion of Indonesia.  My host father complained that he's lived in Surabaya for years and has never met the Governor and I did in my first week!

 I travelled to the countryside for the first time this week.  The landscapes were dramatic and the mountains impossibly tall.  I wore my first hijab when I visited my host brother at his muslim boarding school.  When his friends saw me they told him that I am not "real bule" (because of my dark skin and because they could not see my covered light hair).

While in the countryside the family and I visited Taman Safari: a wildlife park without the strict rules of America.  

Kids are allowed to hold the live tiger cubs here!

 Here random strangers request to take pictures with me, because as a bule I'm apparently a very rare and beautiful thing.  One thing that has already shifted in my perception of the world is the concept of beauty:
I always assumed that attraction was physiological, not mental, but I've come to realize that we find others appealing because of societal standards.  While we all know tan skin is thought of as attractive in the US, here in Indonesia pale skin is highly valued and people go to all lengths to avoid the sun.  One woman who came my house was wearing gloves, and I noticed all the motorcyclists wore light jackets (not for safety) and in the 90 degree weather I was very confused.  Then when I asked I discovered it is to limit sun exposure because any tan is a bad tan.  To go even further white skin is so prized that "skin doctors" here sell ointments to bleach one's skin.  Kind like the opposite of a spray-on tan, except even more unhealthy.  Braces are thought to be very attractive as well, and children with perfectly fine teeth often beg their parents to buy them braces.

     
   On Saturday night someone climbed over the fence to our front patio and stole Bapak's and my brother's shoes.  Because I live in a muslim household it is traditional to keep all our shoes outside as it is considered impolite to wear them into the house.  We're lucky that the thief didn't steal all of our shoes.  Bapak told the block-leader when we visited his house to introduce me.
At home this week I also learned the importance of showers to Indonesians.  Most people here mandi (shower) up to three times each day and despite their frequency, each shower is still long and thorough.  They have a saying: A quick shower is like a mandi-bebek (a duck shower-because ducks apparently only fluff water on their feathers and are not truly clean).  In fact, everything the people here do is at a relaxed and methodical pace.  I've noticed that I eat too fast, walk too fast, and get ready too early compared to everyone else here.  Even the teachers at school show up late and stay late enough that I'm still unclear of when the blocks begin and end.