Well, at least the first step in that direction. Today I learned how to ride a motorbike! I've been bugging my friends for about a month now, asking them to teach me how to use a "motor" as they are called in Indonesia. Four of my male friends (and coworkers) took me to a deserted parking lot at the local university and showed me the basics of bike riding. First, I should mention that just like cars motorbikes come in two flavors: automatic and manual. Manual transmission is usual here, and the bike I learned on was manual.
After going over the basics of motorbike operation (how to start the bike, how many gears (4), how to work the kickstand, how to stop) one of my friends sat behind me on the bike as I inched my way forward in second gear. Balance on a motorbike is surprisingly easy -- more so than a bike -- and the braking system is reassuring with a front AND back break. My confidence high after successfully navigating around the parking lot, my friends decided that I should drive around campus, on REAL streets with other cars and people. Eek! I soon discovered that motorbikes are actually very safe -- they are incredibly easy to control and steer, and SUPER FUN to drive. I'm a convert. Too bad New Haven is cold and snowy most of the year, or I would sell my car and trade it in for a motorbike in a second.
I haven't yet attempted driving on a big street (the drivers in Pontianak are crazy, even by Indonesian standards) but my friends promise that future lessons will include heavy traffic lessons.
Enough for now. Tomorrow I'm flying to Yogyakarta for a month of language lessons. I'm half happy, half sad to leave Ponti -- I've been here for two weeks straight now, and its been very nice to stay in one place for a relatively long time. On the other hand this place can be terribly boring, and Yogya is a young city with plenty of nightlife and activities, so it promises to be more fun than Ponti-land!
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