If you do not expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail. -Heraclitus
Let me just say... this has been the CRAZIEST weekend yet! I had no idea when I woke up on Saturday morning what was in store for me (probably because I couldn't read the Indonesian schedule for the day... but that's beside point). The CLS troop piled into our 8 cars at 8:15am (even though the schedule originally said 7am--but I've learned to never trust the schedule) and headed for the 1.5 hour ride to the Ngdas village.
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| My village host family :) |
Once I arrived, I was met by my local host family--who turned out to be some of the sweetest people I've ever met! The father (who was about a foot shorter than me) and his two sons took Katie and I on a tour through the village and plantation. Throughout the trip, I was able to find out (mostly through Katie's Indonesian, because she is a MUCH better speaker than I am), that there were Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus living locally. I thought this was amazing--especially since I guestimated the village to be no more than a couple-hundred people. As we walked through the plantation, the 12-year-old son eagerly pointed out all the different fruits and vegetables, often picking off a sample for Katie and I to try. In this part of Indonesia, the everyday language is bahasa Jawa, not bahasa Indonesia, so children learn bahasa Indonesia once they start school. Consequently, the youngest son--who was only 3 years old--only knew Java! I often got confused with the father and older son would switch in Java to speak the baby. However, I understood the 12-year-old almost perfectly in bahasa Indonesia, but I decided it was because both he and I still speak like children.... whoops.
After taking a tour through the village, I was able to witness some "Kuda Lumping." Kuda Lumping is a traditional Javanese dance that is often performed at various celebrations. While I knew we were going to see a traditional dance that day, what I didn't know was that this dance involved eating broken glass, inhaling narcotic substances, and trancing. After 2 hours into the performance, the mood switched from happy-go-lucky to very serious. Suddenly, the performers started inhaling perfumes and going into trances, claiming to be possessed by evil spirits. At first I just though this was all just part of the act, but I soon realized that something was up--these people were definitely feeling something. Whips were suddenly pulled out of bags and broken glass was fed to people who were trancing. Those who were possessed started eat grass, stomping around as if they were horses, and lunging at the crowd of villagers that had formed. It was definitely something I had never seen before! By the end, I felt like I was in some sort of movie--and if someone had tried sacrifice a human to the gods or pull out someone's heart, I probably wouldn't have been too surprised... I wish I could have stayed and really paid attention, but unfortunately, I started to get a fever, and headed back to my host family's house to rest before the performance was over.
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| Kuda Lumping = "flat horse" |
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| The crowd of villagers watching the performance |
The next morning, but sickness had alleviated somewhat, so I decided to head out to see the sunrise with the rest of the CLS crew. We met at 2am at the heart of the village (my friends and I have since decided that CLS should be renamed to Program Tidak Tidur, or PTT = No Sleep). We then preceded to pile into jeeps that once again reminded me of an Indiana Jones film and head up a nearby mountain. About 5 minutes into the ride, we noticed that the back door of our jeep didn't lock, and subsequently it kept flying open every few minutes! This was great... we were awake at 2 in the morning so high up that clouds were obstructing our view of the dirt road, driving up a mountain so steep that cars aren't allowed, with a jeep door that won't shut--this was seriously like the beginning of a horror movie. But after about an hour of being jostled around and feeling like I would lose whatever food was left in me, we finally reached a destination. And then I finally understood why all my Indonesian friends had told me it would be cold--because it was "dingin sekali" (VERY COLD)! I didn't believe the advice I was given because they had said it would be cold on multiple previous occasions that just turned out to be in the mid-70s. But this was different--it was FREEZING! I found a warm corner of a food shack and huddled there for the 3 hours. When the pink glow of the sunrise finally began to peak, the CLS crew climbed the remaining way to the overlook point and watched a gorgeous sunrise. It was perhaps one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen :)
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| Indonesian Sunrise :) |
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| the Bromo crater from a distance -- yup, thats an active volcano! |
Next, we were off to Bromo, and I was sooooo siked! I was finally starting to overcome my sickness and fatigue and began to start enjoying the trip more. I slept through most of the bumpy ride down the mountain and woke up just as we were nearing the crater. This was a scene I had never seen before! There stood a smoke volcanic crater nestled between countless mountains and other towering volcanoes. For miles stretched nothing but dirt and short grass, blowing the wind. The ground was ashy and the air felt dirty. After taking a not-so-quick trip the bathroom (where I learned that some Indonesian women pee over the drain, not in the toilet...), I eagerly headed to the crater itself. After about 20 minutes, I started to feel the effects of mountain air on my lungs--all the sudden I was gasping for my oxygen and had to push myself forward. But the view at the top was worth it! I sat myself down at the edge of Bromo and just looked at the scenery, it was gorgeous.
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| looking down into the crater |
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| the view from the top! |
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| Andrea and I at the top--with ash blowing our faces.... |
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| Conner and I in front of a neighboring mountain |
Our last and final adventure of the weekend was to a nearby waterfall. Only about 10 of us went (the rest opted to head directly back to Malang), but it was totally worth it. I've seen waterfalls before, but this one stuck out to me because of the "jungle" feeling it had. After walking about 1km to get to waterfall, we were met with a sea of mud--which we had to cross if we wanted a good view. I carefully tread across the less-mushy parts of the mud and tried my best not to fall flat on my face. Unfortunately, my shoes didn't stay as clean as I had hoped, but then again, they were already full of volcano ash, so a little mud wasn't so bad. The water slashed down the side of the mountain with an incredible force, hitting the rocks below and spraying water in all directions. It was a amazing end to such a memorable weekend, and I am so fortunate to have had so many amazing experiences with CLS! And I can't wait to see what next weekend has in store--bring in Gili and Lombok!
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| Julia, Sam, Andrea, and I in front of the WATERFALL! GAH! |
Labels: bromo, CLS, host family, Indonesia: Summer 13, kuda lumping, mountain, plantation, social values, sunrise, travel, waterfall
