Wild on Jakarta?
Tonight at sundown marked the end of fasting for Ramadhan for Muslims, and Idul Fitri is tomorrow and Friday.
This evening we went into Jakarta to meet our head of school and his wife for dinner at a swanky hotel. (Note to self...if one forgets to eat lunch, one should not have two pre-dinner glasses of wine in the hotel bar, even if said wine is complementary and one's boss insists, as one will promptly become what the Aussies call "rather pissed.")
We enjoyed light traffic on the way in, then enjoyed four fabulous courses of Italian food accompanied by live guitar music. After coffee and sorbet, we said good night to our friends (who were staying at the hotel) and called for our driver.
While we were waiting for him, we noticed loud beating of drums coming from the street in front of the hotel. We couldn't see anything from where we were, but weren't surprised to hear drums as the biggest mosque in the city is located nearby. Once we got into the car and left the hotel grounds, though, we were met with a party.
Instead of just drumming coming from a mosque, the streets had erupted in craziness. Everywhere there were people on top of buses and trucks (similar to the crazy soccer fans we'd seen a few months back), people banging drums, blowing horns, waving flags and just generally celebrating.
Our driver, Supardi, told us he was going to take back roads rather than take Jalan Sudirman, a fairly major Jakarta street, back to the toll road. After 30 fascinating minutes of side streets and the party atmosphere, we found ourselves on a road alongside Artha Gading, one of many massive malls in the city. The surprising thing for us was that the hotel had been in central Jakarta, whereas this mall is located considerably further north. In a city the size of Lincoln, that's far-ish. In a city of more than 12 million people...that's a wee bit o' drivin'.
We got onto the toll road there, and made it home in under 40 minutes. This journey in bad traffic can take between 2 and 3 hours, and I think tonight we made record time. The toll roads were practically empty, as everyone was inside the city celebrating. The mosques around our house are going full-force, drums and loudspeakers blaring. It's pretty cool. I really love listening to the five-times-daily calls to prayer from the area mosques. Usually we can only hear one really well, and it's especially beautiful to listen to at night. Tonight, though, we can hear every mosque in town, so it isn't as pretty and peaceful as listening to just one.
We might not get much sleep tonight, but considering for the last month our Muslim friends have been getting up at 3:30 a.m. to pray and eat before fasting all day, we can deal. I think by far one of the most amazing experiences here has been witnessing the month of Ramadhan surrounded by those who observe it. It's really beautiful. One of my Muslim students explained why he fasts-he said it's to remember that there are those less fortunate and to be able to focus more on God than on worldly things. Pretty cool coming from a 16-year-old kid. He also said Ramadhan is a time for asking and giving forgiveness to fellow humans and for giving generously to the poor.
It's been incredibly eye-opening to see and try to understand these things here...the most religious diversity I experienced back home was listening to people argue about which color hymnal God probably liked best.
Of course, not all eye-opening experiences have been pleasant at the time, but in retrospect I am infinitely thankful for every second I've had so far here. From my lowest points of homesickness, culture shock and despair to the highest points of fascination and awe and everything in between, I'm thankful for it all. It may have taken me a little over a year to realize it but I am completely, absolutely in love with Indonesia.
This evening we went into Jakarta to meet our head of school and his wife for dinner at a swanky hotel. (Note to self...if one forgets to eat lunch, one should not have two pre-dinner glasses of wine in the hotel bar, even if said wine is complementary and one's boss insists, as one will promptly become what the Aussies call "rather pissed.")
We enjoyed light traffic on the way in, then enjoyed four fabulous courses of Italian food accompanied by live guitar music. After coffee and sorbet, we said good night to our friends (who were staying at the hotel) and called for our driver.
While we were waiting for him, we noticed loud beating of drums coming from the street in front of the hotel. We couldn't see anything from where we were, but weren't surprised to hear drums as the biggest mosque in the city is located nearby. Once we got into the car and left the hotel grounds, though, we were met with a party.
Instead of just drumming coming from a mosque, the streets had erupted in craziness. Everywhere there were people on top of buses and trucks (similar to the crazy soccer fans we'd seen a few months back), people banging drums, blowing horns, waving flags and just generally celebrating.
Our driver, Supardi, told us he was going to take back roads rather than take Jalan Sudirman, a fairly major Jakarta street, back to the toll road. After 30 fascinating minutes of side streets and the party atmosphere, we found ourselves on a road alongside Artha Gading, one of many massive malls in the city. The surprising thing for us was that the hotel had been in central Jakarta, whereas this mall is located considerably further north. In a city the size of Lincoln, that's far-ish. In a city of more than 12 million people...that's a wee bit o' drivin'.
We got onto the toll road there, and made it home in under 40 minutes. This journey in bad traffic can take between 2 and 3 hours, and I think tonight we made record time. The toll roads were practically empty, as everyone was inside the city celebrating. The mosques around our house are going full-force, drums and loudspeakers blaring. It's pretty cool. I really love listening to the five-times-daily calls to prayer from the area mosques. Usually we can only hear one really well, and it's especially beautiful to listen to at night. Tonight, though, we can hear every mosque in town, so it isn't as pretty and peaceful as listening to just one.
We might not get much sleep tonight, but considering for the last month our Muslim friends have been getting up at 3:30 a.m. to pray and eat before fasting all day, we can deal. I think by far one of the most amazing experiences here has been witnessing the month of Ramadhan surrounded by those who observe it. It's really beautiful. One of my Muslim students explained why he fasts-he said it's to remember that there are those less fortunate and to be able to focus more on God than on worldly things. Pretty cool coming from a 16-year-old kid. He also said Ramadhan is a time for asking and giving forgiveness to fellow humans and for giving generously to the poor.
It's been incredibly eye-opening to see and try to understand these things here...the most religious diversity I experienced back home was listening to people argue about which color hymnal God probably liked best.
Of course, not all eye-opening experiences have been pleasant at the time, but in retrospect I am infinitely thankful for every second I've had so far here. From my lowest points of homesickness, culture shock and despair to the highest points of fascination and awe and everything in between, I'm thankful for it all. It may have taken me a little over a year to realize it but I am completely, absolutely in love with Indonesia.
posted by Erin @ 10:47 AM
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