One of the really great things about the Indonesia Fulbright program is that they will provide 2 weeks of language training if you want to study bahasa Indonesia. They typically use one of two language providers in Yogyakarta (Yoyga) and let me pick which one. I (really rather randomly) chose Wisma Bahasa (lit. Language Guesthouse) and think I made a great choice. The classes are intense (I have class from 10:15am-5:00pm with a one-hour break for lunch and by the end of the day am so filled with new words that I often can't think of them, even when I'm speaking English! :-) Wisma Bahasa is set up with 5 (1.75 hour) sections. Section #1 (8am) was filled for the whole time we are here so we chose to have Sections #2, 3, 4. Each section is with a different teacher which gives us more variety (and fun to meet the different instructors) but also makes it more challenging to meet each teacher's expectations for the day.
We are now about 3/4 of the way through class. Because it takes up the better part of the day, I've been choosing between doing email and posting to the blog in the morning (in the evening it's just time for dinner and to finish up any homework we have). Wisma Bahasa is situated in an area with about 3 universities within walking distance and so there are lots of students and lots of eateries catering to students. This means lots of really tasty food that is also really cheap! A typical dinner with a drink like ice tea or limeade costs under $7 for Tim and I together.
It's rainy season in Indonesia now which mostly means wet afternoons/evenings but sometimes means a major rain with thunder and lighting rumbling all around. There are moats around the streets that divert the majority of the water but the roads still flood (there are standing waves around this bend when it rains hard). Yesterday the electricity went out in our last class (and Tim got out about 10 minutes early) but my teacher said not too worry, soon the generator would be set up so we set the book aside and switched to oral questions and answers in the dark until the lights came on again. |