Sunday, June 17 – Our beautiful Scavenger Hunt and our first meeting with Dr. Kelli Swazey. Dr. Kelly works at the Center for Religious and Cross Cultural Studies in Jogjakarta as a Public Policy Advisor. Leaning Indonesian – the language is......Read More
Badass Sampela girls turn into strong Sampela women. In this community, the women are the holders and keepers of money, and so if a husband comes home having caught too few fish and asks for money for cigarettes, the wives say “you did not......Read More
June 22, 2018. Day 8 in Indonesia. Day 1 in Sampela Selamat Malam! Good evening! Today we left the resort in Wakatobi National Park and took a motorboat for one hour and a half to arrive in Sampela, officially known as Desa Sama Bahari, where the......Read More
June 24, 2008 Day 10 in Indonesia. Day 3 in Sampela Since I arrived in Indonesia, I’m getting somewhat accustomed to my sleep being disrupted multiple times a night. At first it was the jet lag. And then it was the 3am calls to pray, the roosters......Read More
We are enjoying a lovely transition period between our Wakatobi national park stay and our landing in Sempela. We are scarfing down enak (delicious food) breakfast before heading off for our boat ride....Read More
We’re heading into our second homestay, living with a Bajau community in Wakatobi National Park. This will be a highly immersive experience, and we’ll have limited cell service while we’re there. We will post updates as we can......Read More
Just arrived at Patuno on Wangi Wangi. Intense processing as we prepare for Sampela. We are really looking forward to this leg of the trip. A lot of good energy all around. Grateful to our two amazing group leaders, Matt and Jamie. Femke, Jeff and......Read More
As I sip on my kombucha at our post-homestay retreat Bumi Langit, I cannot help but feel thankful and incredibly lucky for the last two days. Being in Kedungmiri made me feel so connected to not only bahasa Indonesian (language) but also the orang......Read More
We’re halfway through our first rural homestay. We are accompanying families into the rice fields, biking to a nearby river with homestay siblings, taking language classes, and engaging in conversations about contemporary culture and religion with......Read More
Yesterday morning we watched the sunrise from the top of Borobudur, a 9th-century Buddhist temple in Central Java, Indonesia. We arrived in the dark and made our way up the steep stone stairs of the temple, not quite knowing what to expect. We......Read More
Our group is together and traveling through the initial orientation phase of our course surrounded by beautiful rice paddies and many smiles. More updates will come as we settle in. Internet connectivity has been slow out here so we appreciate your......Read More
I like to describe myself as an ardent feminist. I would also like to describe myself as someone who has deep respect for others’ personal beliefs and societal customs. Modesty in Islam is something that crosses these two (at times conflicting)......Read More
Hello, everyone! We’ve both been feeling grateful and excited in reading your Yak posts. We hear genuine curiosity in your reflections and questions – about what’s at play in Indonesia, about the ways in which those themes and issues have......Read More
Hi all, We’ve gotten a few questions via email that we think will be helpful for the entire group. Q: Is a long skirt required? A: No. You’ll be fine if you end up wearing pants (and swimming shorts) the whole trip. Q: How often will......Read More
