This past week I've been switching classes every day in school so that I can get to know all of the students and classes offered at my SMA. It's been interesting for sure, to be the New Kid, day after day, and everyone is super friendly and welcoming (asking me to stay with their class for the rest of the year) but answering the same questions over and over has gotten frustrating.
- "What do you think about Indonesia?"
- "Is American school different than Indonesian school?"
- "Where have you already been in Surabaya?"
- "What is your favorite Indonesian food?"
- "Why are you vegetarian?"
- "What do you think of our class?"
- "Do you have a boyfriend?"
- "Who is the most handsome boy in class?"
- "What is your religion?"
- "Why aren't you practicing?"
This weekend I went to the Indie Clothing Expo with one of my classes. It was strange to be in a friend group made up entirely from one class. It was almost like a field trip. I asked one girl why her boyfriend didn't come too and she said it would be "inappropriate" because it was a class trip and he was actually playing pool with some of his own classmates. Surabaya has an amazing population of independent clothing designers. Everything was very cheap and unique.
Sunday my family went into the countryside to spend some time with my sixteen year old host brother who lives year-round at an Islamic boarding school. I wore my new jilbab and we went to an outdoors park. There we did a rope course and zip lining, here called "Flying Fox" (which with an Indonesian accent sounds exactly like "flying fuck" and caused quite a miscommunication beforehand). My host siblings rode four-wheelers but I declined to because it's so common in America and I think it's just a waste of gasoline. And they were driving at a max of 10mph. We also went to Terapi Ikan (Fish Therapy-note the Bahasa Indonesia word for Therapy is Terapi-they absolutely cannot pronounced the "th" sound so they replace "th"s with "t"s when they borrow English words) where swarms of little fish eat the "dead skin and stress" off of your feet. I couldn't keep my feet in for more than five seconds at a time-these fish were so much more aggressive than those in the Missisquoi back in Lowell. My host brother actually started bleeding in several places from the bites. Later we went swimming (in a fish-free pool) where I taught my little host brother to swim while everyone else in the pool watched. There was one other bule there. My host family said "Look, it's your friend." and I glowered at them. Just because I'm not Indonesian does not mean I'm friends with the retiree german tourist that's checking out all the young Indonesian women.
The rainy season was supposed to start weeks ago, but I've only experienced one hujan (at desa on a hot night. I asked Ibu if I could go out and "shower in the rain" and she was very polite and concerned about what she thought was me asking to walk around her village naked. After that was cleared up I was allowed outside fully clothed where I danced in the downpour) rather than the daily torrent that is normal at this time of the year. Everyone here blames global warming.
The dryness is causing dust to accumulate everywhere. Apparently this dust contains small worms that landed on my hand and bit me causing a rash. The rain needs to come soon! 
On Wednesday I missed school to attend an "Election Party" at the US Consulate in Surabaya. After going through airport-procedure security I was allowed inside the compound. There I saw the first American flag I've seen in a month-which evoked more feelings than all the American flags I've seen in my life before put together. It was so strange to be surrounded by fluent English speakers and signs that I could actually 100% understand. I went from being the tallest back to being the shortest person in every room. It was great to talk to the other ex-patriots there and cheer when CNN projected Obama's win. I'm pretty sure all of us were liberals. We also ate american food, but even the Consulate was unable to find good cheese in Surabaya. I've been searching for weeks and at the Consulate I asked every other bule I met, but none of us could find any. But one of my Indonesian friends did find Nutella for me this week, which I bought off of her (because it's ridiculously expensive here) and she has now become my official Nutella-dealer.
Tomorrow, November 10th, is Hari Pahlawan (Heroes' Day) in honor of the Surabayan heroes of Indonesia's National Revolution who fought in the Battle of Surabaya against the British and Dutch troops. At school today we dressed up in kebaya, army outfits, and doctor's uniforms (and other "heroic garb") and had traditional contests such as nasi tumpeng (rice-cone) making, batik, and a best couple contest. I wore Ibu's kebaya and spent the entire day working on my batik that I slaved over so long that I never want to see again.
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