Didn't See That One Coming...

A certain question was frequently put to me in my preparation for this venture:  "Are you nervous?"  My reply was always "No, I don't really know what to expect, so I have nothing to worry about yet."  This was a perfectly true statement.  I tried to begin this experience with few, if any, expectations.  Expectations, however, are funny things.  I've learned that even if one has none for a specific event, every person still has general ideas as to how the world works, or at least, how it SHOULD work.  "People get road rage," "Cats explore everything and everywhere," "Pickles are and always will be nasty, odorous little splats of green yuck, and shouldn't go anywhere near a burger."  That sort of thing.  However, even these general principles of life that we've all built up over the course of a lifetime of pickle misfortunes can be prodded and abused.  Here are some surprises I've had in my recent and expanding experience in Indonesia.

Smoking:  Very popular, and there's no age limit.  You can start smoking in the cradle if that's how your parents roll.  It's also permitted in restaurants and malls and such.   However, many of the cigarette packs have horrific pictures of lung cancer and gum disease printed on them.  A very appetizing sight when you're waiting in line.

Frozen:  This bloody Disney movie.  It's everywhere.  I thought it was bad in the US but no.  It's a plague here.  The White Plague.  (Actually, I kinda like that.  I might keep using that.)  I don't think I've seen even a hint of any other Disney movie outside of stores in the mall, except MAYBE Mickey and Minnie.  But I've seen Frozen everywhere there are kids.  It's scary.

Selfies: OH DEAR LORD THE SELFIES.  So...many...selfies... It's the thing to do. Along with generally taking millions of pictures with friends.   I've accepted it as part of the culture, but I still find it highly amusing.  And, as my skin color, height, nose shape, etc. is rather unusual here, it has become very unsurprising if someone wants a selfie with me.  Let me paint you a picture.  I was at a small festival with some friends and there were some folks from a reptile conservation showing off thier charges.  One of the caretakers wanted a picture with me and one of the snakes.  Then someone else jumped in with another snake, and then a bunch of other people threw their phones at their friends and jumped in with us and soon there were somewhere between 6-9 folks posing with the reptiles and the white guy.  It was very entertaining.

Flash Cards:  You know, index cards, note cards, flash cards... ring a bell?  Not here.  They don't exist.  I've looked.  And nobody's ever heard of them.  It's not exactly earth-shattering, but it makes studying Indonesian vocab a wee bit trickier.

How Quickly I Learned to Say My Age in Indonesian:  Rather quickly.  I was informed about this during my training upon arrival; that which is considered "personal info" in the US has no such meaning here.  People have no problem asking for or giving information about their age, height, weight, relationship status, religion, etc.  It's just part of the culture.  So you roll with it.
Uumur saya dua puluh lima tahun.  Btw.

The Sun:  Apparently, being almost directly on the equator means the sun rises and sets at the same time every day.  And that time is between 5:30 and 6:00, both in the morning and evening.  Almost exactly 12 hours of daylight.  Can't argue with consistency.

Tofu: As common in meals as chicken and fish.  Or to Americans, chicken and turkey.

Islam Call to Prayer:  I've learned many, many things about Islam so far.  It's been super interesting.  I'll probably end up talking about it in a later post.  As you may or may not know, Muslims pray five times a day: Sunrise, noon, 3:00pm, sunset, and 7:00pm.  As it was explained to me, repeated prayer serves as a constant reminder of God's presence and the individual's duty to him.  Fair enough, I can respect that.  But upon my arrival, I was not prepared for the call to prayer.  This is the public announcement that serves as a reminder that the time for prayer is approaching.
Storytime.  I stayed in a guest house for my first week.  This house commanded a pretty fair view of Semarang: not a bad tactic for a welcoming.  I had just moved my stuff into my room and was outside examining the city which was to be my home for a year, when suddenly, down from the city, and a bit to my right, a strange intonation arose.  It took me a minute to figure out it was coming from a loudspeaker and another minute of failing to figure out if it was human or recorded.  But by the time these two minutes had passed, another voice started up, this time down and to my left.  It was also over a loudspeaker, and it was the same sort of intoning, (not singing), but it was definitely a different voice, and therefore a different key.  The two voices did not harmonize.  A third voice arose, then a fourth.  The first one finished.  A fifth began, somewhere else.  The voices rose all over the city before me, different persons, different "melodies" (for lack of a better word).  Eventually, after about fifteen minutes, one voice was left.  Then it was over.  The experience was fascinating, strange, and, I'll admit, a bit eerie.  I've grown quite used to it by now, but there's a part of me that enjoys hearing it. It's almost comforting.

Difficulty Explaining English Words: I was not ready for this one.  If I say so myself, it's a GOOD thing I'm pretty darn good with English grammar and have a pretty decent vocabulary, because I've really been tested.  I was totally caught off guard by having to explain the difference between "really" and "very."  Think about it.  It's not as easy as it seems.  Some other examples I've had to field:  Bathroom vs Restroom, Would vs Will, when it's appropriate to use "I've" vs "I Have," and Beside vs Besides.  I've also had to define certain words.  Have you ever had to define "Acknowledge" in simple terms?  I haven't.  It's not exactly a cakewalk.  However, I'm a word nerd and I love it.  That being said, it will be very ironic if there are any errors in this post.  (Yes, correct use of "irony.")