Today is Saturday, and generally we don’t have class on Saturday. However, (playing the committed student) I chose to take four hours of class in the morning because my time here in Yogya is quite short; I leave in five days for Pontianak. After class, I joined three Indonesians who do volunteer work in Bantul, the location of the massive earthquake last year. The volunteer work is participatory video; the volunteers help children age 9-15 create videos of their daily experience. Today the purpose of the visit was to play with the kids and teach them a bit of English.
As we drove to the town, I could see the incredible destruction from the earthquake. Most of the buildings in Bantul are new – built within the last year – and many temporary structures are still being used as houses and shops. All the new buildings are more earthquake resistant than before the quake, built with concrete columns instead of simply bricks.
The children were adorable: very shy at first, almost all female, and all looking much younger than their ages. After introductions we sat down inside, on the floor, and asked each other questions such as “what is your favorite color?” and “who is your favorite singer?” They all have cell phones and were very eager to get my number. The fact that they all own phones is surprising given their 1) young ages and 2) relative poverty. After chatting inside for a bit, and snacking on papaya and chips offered by the parents, we walked around the village. Very green, with fruit trees, goat pens, and gardens scattered between small houses, the area is quite beautiful and peaceful but also very obviously poor.
Sampai jumpa!
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