Sunday Shopping

This country is very inexpensive – similar to Thailand. You can buy a shirt, dinner, or a cup of coffee for a dollar. Cigarettes cost less than a dollar and everyone smokes here – I’ve been offered a cigarette nearly each day. Apparently Yogya, the city I’m living in, is a “student city” with more than 40 universities and other post-secondary schools. Thus the place is filled with young people, and is very cheap even compared to other cities in Indonesia.

So…given the cheap prices, last Sunday I was a window shopaholic! Very uncharacteristic for me. The day started when my home stay host (Laras, see pic below) and I biked to a weekly flea market at 6 am. The market was packed with people selling all sorts of junk and food – the most exciting thing in the market was probably a merry-go-round for small children powered not by “on the grid” electricity, but by a man on a pedal bike! I didn’t buy anything, simply took in the sounds and smells.

After the market I decided to get some exercise by riding my pedal bike around the city. I found a bird market (which I didn’t enter because of bird flu – probably not a problem, but why take the chance?), and a traditional market with a variety of spices, batik, modern clothing, and prepared food. Everyone stared, because as far as I could tell I was one of the only “asing” (foreigners) in the place.

After my morning window shopping marathon (in which I bought nothing) I had class at Realia. My teacher, Fajar, invited me to hang out with her after class. She is my age and finishing a degree in accounting/management economics. First we swung by her boarding house (on her motorbike, no less – eek! – they scare me, but I have a feeling I’ll be getting around via motorbike often in this country) and then we drove to the Amplex Mall – same American malls, with expensive clothes, accessory, and food shops. I bought a couple of shirts at the mall. Afterwards, we went to dinner at a little restaurant near Realia called “special sambal” (sambal = chili). Here, we sat on the floor (traditionally, Indonesians sit on the ground to eat) and I ate with my right hand only. I quickly discovered that eating rice, vegetables, and chili with only one hand without making a mess requires more talent than I currently have! My friend finished her meal in about 10 minutes while I spent at least ½ hour eating, due to my poor fine motor skills =)