And We Thought the US Gas Crisis Was Bad…

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Heather

Watching vehicles of all kinds and sizes cue for petrol at the gas station across the street from my hotel in Makale is a flash-back to ‘70s American gas rationing. Cars, trucks, buses, and motorbikes line up in and out of the station and into the very narrow, dusty local road which is the only way through town. The line-up causes traffic jams, which in turn cause all sorts of chaos and confusion as transport of all kinds attempts to maneuver into, or around, the station.

Frequently the few gas stations here run out of gas – all at different times of day. Many days they ALL run out of gas, and the curb-side petrol vendors dispense the liquid gold from Absolut bottles through a plastic funnel for a premium price. Sometimes even these shops run out of expensive gas, and then it’s panic time if you need to get anywhere.

Petrol is king in this area; I’m quite sure that the only thing from preventing all-out gang warfare over it is Indonesian patience and reluctance to lose face. Seriously – if the ONLY way you can get anywhere is via your petrol-powered vehicle, and said vehicle is sidelined due to lack of fuel, you’re bound to get a little hot.

My American “sensibilities” cause me to wonder how the people here put up with this situation. Indonesia has PLENTY of its own petrol, and yet people in this somewhat remote area (which is truly NOT very remote by Indonesian definitions) have to put “cue in line for petrol” on their daily “to do” lists. It’s disruptive to life, not to mention a complete waste of time and the very petrol the half-full trucks use to deliver it.

One night Merda, my host here, motioned towards a closed gas station, pointing out the trucks that were lined up at the pumps, engines off and no drivers in sight. She explained to me that when the stations ran out of gas during the night, truck and car owners would park their cars in line and get up early the next morning to fill up and move them. That was the only way to guarantee they would get fuel without having to wait in a long line the next morning. Sigh.

This year, Indonesians will be hit with a huge rise in gas prices. Torajans can expect to pay between Rp 6000-6500 (US $0.65-0.71) per liter for fuel by April, with rumored additional increases later in the year. Why? I can’t seem to get to the bottom of that one. This is still dirt cheap by American standards, but it will represent a 30% increase for Indonesians. While a price increase that dramatic might deter people from frivolous driving in the US, there is not a lot of frivolous driving here – most people just simply can’t afford it.

The effect this increase will have on the lines at the pump remains to be seen. For now I’ll just continue to gawk at the station across the street with its constant stream of vehicles that only stops when the petrol runs out.

And for a bit of irony – the whole block just suffered a blackout, and the petrol station has a generator! Isn’t that sweet?!?

Posted in Asia, blogging, English teachers abroad, English teaching, Indonesia, professional blogging, reality, shocking, southeast asia, Tanah Toraja, teacher education, teachers who travel, teaching English, travel, travel writing, traveling with Heather, travelwithheather, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sometimes We Just Have to Punt…

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Heather

Day one of teacher training got off to a SLOOOWWWWWWW start. Merda sent me a message telling me to take my time, and we ended up starting – with speeches – at almost 11:00 instead of 8. While I was expecting a delay, it still made for a tense morning fretting about the speech I was going to give in Indonesian to kick off my part of the training.

My speech was a basic introduction – niceties about how beautiful Tanah Toraja is, followed by outlining goals for the training and thanking the participants for their time and commitment to the week’s work. Only about 1/2 of the participants could make it today because it’s the first day of the new school term; many either needed to get their children settled in or had business to attend to at their own schools. Nevertheless, I delivered this speech to the 60+ people who were there, sweating bullets the whole time. Kris, my host’s husband, sat next to me at the “bigwig” table (with the local head of education and some other very important people). When I got stuck on a word he said it very quietly under his breath – that was helpful. The audience clapped for me and even laughed at a joke I told. Merda said it all sounded very good, but I think it’s her job to tell me that. Otherwise I might have died right there on the spot.

After the introduction in poor Bahasa Indonesia, I told the participants (in English) about the outcomes and goals for the week, and then we went to work. It was rough at first; Indonesian people tend to be shy in front of large groups (unless it’s their job to do speeches), and this group was no different than the others I’ve worked with. The “warm up” was enough to make me, once again, sweat bullets waiting to see if anyone would actually participate in this week’s training. Thankfully they did warm up pretty quickly, and we were off to a slow jog.

I don’t know how the rest of the week will go, but I do know from experience that the first day is the most difficult, and that this training is likely to turn out just fine. And that we will have more speeches at the end of the week. Mine will NOT be in Indonesian!

And now I’m ready for a nap.

Posted in Asia, blogging, education, English teachers abroad, English teaching, Heather Boylan, Indonesia, learning curve, scared shitless, southeast asia, Tanah Toraja, teacher education, teachers who travel, teaching English, travel writing, traveling with Heather, travelwithheather, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

60+ English Teachers Await My Return to Tana Toraja!

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Heather

Apparently Deceased Family Members were Avid Smokers!

No, friends – that is NOT a photo of the teachers…

By 10:00 Saturday morning I had ridden a motorbike, an airplane, a bus, a taxi, another taxi, and another bus in just the FIRST part of my trip to Tana Toraja. I was exhausted. And then the ten hour bus ride began.

Getting to Tana Toraja is no small feat. I am, however, learning that by Indonesian standards, travel from Bali to TT is pretty easy and fast. There is a direct flight from Bali to Makassar and a host of “luxury” bus lines that run between Makassar and TT several times daily. These conveniences make the trip downright simple.

But it’s a long trip to make in one day – made longer if you can’t find your bus and your Indonesian skills are embarrassingly lacking.

The bus ride was pretty uneventful even though I almost missed it. Once again an angel took time out of his day to make sure I got my lost ass to the right bus station.

The bus was comfortable; the driver played funny old Indonesian comedy videos that reminded me of American shows from the ‘70s (think: “Love, American Style,” only in Indonesian). He also played American and Indonesian pop music.

We wound our way through the lush landscape, escaping imminent death by narrowly missing every cliff, car, motorbike, truck, chicken, dog, child and tour bus in our path. We managing to run over only one soccer ball – POP!

Reflecting back on the seven Indonesian lessons I’ve had in the last two weeks, and listening carefully to people speaking and reading signs all around me, I feel like I’m FINALLY learning Indonesian. I still need a ton of practice, especially in speaking and “thinking fast.” But I’m starting to feel less stupid and out of it.

In Bali, where most people speak good English, I’ve not had to practice Bahasa Indonesia that much. Here in Makale and Tanah Toraja, I will not have the luxury of that ignorance.

The mountains in Tanah Toraja are every bit as beautiful as I remember. It’s difficult to look out at them and realize that it’s 80+ degrees outside. They look so much like the Colorado mountains that I expect the mountain air to be at least brisk. But I know that this week is going to be a hot one, and I’m prepared for that.

About 10 kilometers from Makale our bus pulled over to pick up the passengers of another bus that had mechanical issues. Our bus was suddenly very crowded. Interestingly, the other bus had many tourists on it, while mine only Indonesians and me – and they were from the same bus company.

My new seat-mate was a man a little older than me from Holland. He and a group of people came to Sualwesi from Bali the night prior and were working their way through Tana Toraja to the Togean Islands, an incredible part of Sulawesi. He told me about his early childhood in Jakarta, where his father had been a diplomat. His tales of being a child in Jakarta  shortly after the Dutch and Indonesians had re-established  diplomatic relations were fascinating.

As we entered Makale I kept my eyes peeled for the hotel where my host had told me to meet her. She suddenly appeared in the doorway of the bus to greet me and make sure I got there! What a pleasant surprise that was, as I was pretty sure I would get lost again.

Merda treated me to dinner and made sure I had all I needed to rest after the long travel day. I watched a DVD on my computer for a bit before discovering that my hotel has more channels of English-language television than I’ve ever seen in Indonesia! I was so tired that not even English TV could keep me awake.

I slept the sleep of the dead (quite appropriate in Tana Toraja, the land of the endless funeral). I woke up at 8:00 Sunday, ready to plan for the training and even have a little fun.

Merda picked me up around noon, and we went for a nice lunch in downtown Makale. Lonely Planet Indonesia insinuates that Makale is not worth a second glance.

I have my opinions about Lonely Planet books in general. I’ve found the lack of information and mis-information in the Indonesia guide to be annoying and even maddening.

Makale and Rantepao are the two main “towns” in Tana Toraja, the places to stay for day-tours to local sites. Rantepao is LP’s town of choice as it does seem a bit more set up for “tourism,” but Makale is where you get more of a feel for local life.

After lunch we went up into the hills to “surprise” one of last summer’s training participants. Randy, another American, is here working at an Adventist school. It was great to catch up with him and to hear about all the projects and dreams he has for his school. We will definitely collaborate more in the future on training, grant writing, and other joint ventures with Merda.

Seeing him and meeting with him and Merda today reminded me about why I am here, and have chosen to pursue the rather unconventional life path I’m now traveling. The three of us have big plans for the teachers and students of Tana Toraja!

Tonight I will look over and attempt to learn the introductory “speech” my Indonesian teacher helped me write for the opening of training tomorrow. I’m very nervous to deliver this speech, but think it will be good to begin training with me making a total ass out of myself by attempting to speak my little bit of Indonesian.

I’m hoping that watching me go out on a limb like this for them will help the teachers become comfortable speaking English to me and their colleagues during this training. Or maybe they will just think I’m a complete fool and attempt to make the most of having a good time during their “release” from school.

Either way, I’m looking forward to getting started – to challenging the teachers to think differently about the ways they teach English, and to help their students REALLY engage in the challenge. I have over 60 teachers this time – gulp!!! Updates to follow…

Posted in Asia, blogging, butterflies in stomach, education, English teachers abroad, English teaching, Heather Boylan, Indonesia, learning curve, lessons, scared shitless, southeast asia, Tanah Toraja, teacher education, teachers who travel, teaching English, travel, travel writing, traveling with Heather, travelwithheather, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment