Reflections (Diary Entry)

By: Cheah Wui Jia

15 July 2009

You learn things about yourself that you never knew during a Monash study trip to Yogyakarta.

One thing is certain: when I sleep at night, I need a blanket. To myself. Waging a tug of war with someone else over a piece of cloth does not come across as particularly appealing to me. Nor does immobilising myself in my sleep like a specimen in solution; I had to inhibit the overwhelming tendency to encroach into someone else's sleeping territory when sharing a bed (“Oh my God Wui Jia. You sleep all over the place, I don't have space anymore,”)

Different bed times are tantamount to disaster. Roommates of light sleepers are to be pitied. Twitch a muscle and the light sleeper arouses with a start. With bated breath you would have to inch across the room on tiptoe, stealing a glance at your snoozing roommate whose wrath you just might incur if you ever wake her up with your noise. Feeling as sneaky as a thief would when breaking into a house, you realise that turning on the tap would be a no no; you wince at the fact that your roommate might just stir at the sound of running water.

I used to think that wearing socks to sleep at night was for ninnies, until I came to Yogyakarta. The nights were so cold, that I curled into excruciating positions that I never knew I was ever capable of achieving (“There's something I need to tell you Wui Jia. You sleep in the weirdest positions ever.”). I began having bizarre dreams; one night I dreamt that an army of ants started viciously attacking the stash of food supplies that I had kept in the hotel room. Drenching myself in icy water during a bath in the evening did not help the situation. I developed such phobic tendencies for bath time, such that I was horrified at how I increasingly resembled under aged rascals who refused to obey Mom's orders to take baths. I had to weigh the consequences of smelling like my dog, against the painful repercussions of sending jolts of shock through myself while taking an icy shower.

Menstrual cramps. My poor roommate. Feeling like a cantankerous old woman, I swung like a pendulum from being a talkative ball of joy to becoming a sullen sour prune. During my moody times having meals with eighteen other fellow travelers became like a fight to preserve my sanity in a noisy fish market. The buzzing flies that I encountered at restaurants had the potential to trigger an eruption of stress hormones, and my roommate kept me at arm's length during my moments of silence to prevent a disruption in the qi that had been so harmoniously established between the both of us.

Playing with the children at HUMANA not only released a good rush of endorphins, it made me realise that the simplest pleasures in life could consist of a Freudian memory retreat to childhood. However, I was reminded of how my agility and speed paled in comparison to that of children; during a game of captain's ball, they darted from one end of the court to the other before I could bat an eyelid. After a few rounds of games, I already felt like all the air had been knocked out of me. It was heartening to watch the children dive into the candy that we had brought for them. A simple but nonetheless often taken for granted experience: having a piece of candy to suck on. Those children burst into peals of laughter at almost anything that had the vaguest resemblance to humour.

I am definitely looking forward to the shopping experience tomorrow with my beloved roommate Abeer. I hear she's a bargain queen.

WRITER'S PROFILE: Cheah Wui Jia is doing a double major in Psychology and Writing at Monash University in Malaysia. Hailing from the state of Penang, she has developed a love-and-hate relationship for tasty but unhealthy food. She found the Kali Code experience particularly enlightening as she discovered a profound irony in the joy of a people whose lives are also ridden with poverty. She is immensely grateful for the opportunity to participate in this study trip to Yogyakarta; the people she met whilst touring and the fellow travelers whom she stayed with, have instilled within her the desire to continually live life to the fullest.

Diary Entry: Day 7

By: Feeza Ashruff

15 July 2009

At the break of dawn on day 7, it was a sure thing to find everyone still covered in their blankets embracing every last bit of their dreams from the night before. On day 7 we knew that there were no early sessions in the morning to wake up for and everyone just slept in except the travelers who had stories due in the morning at 10.00 a.m. Everyone had been reminded the night before that the whole afternoon was free for those who had to pursue their still unwritten stories due in the following days. Hence, in the morning all the travelers were scattered doing their own things; Joanna who had a soft story to write on Batik headed off with our student guide Ike and a few other fellow travellers who were personally interested in Batik to Kampung Kauman, where they were scheduled to learn the art of Batik from Batik master Lukman Jamali. While they were off to their Batik session, the other students were once again out on the streets bargaining their hearts out to buy souvenirs for their folks back home. Occasionally the shoppers would convene and compare prices of the goods bought, to get the best deals.

The results of the Batik session at Kauman

By 2.00pm everyone began heading back to the hotel from wherever they were to meet up with Dr.Yeoh at the lobby before heading off together for the final session in this trip; meeting the children of HUMANA, a kind of day care centre for underprivileged children. However on the way to HUMANA we lost our way and was rescued by Mbak Adis a representative from the shelter. Despite getting lost, we still arrived 15 minutes before the scheduled time of 3pm and thus had plenty of time convening in the HUMANA house and getting to know the adorable kids before heading off to a schoolyard nearby to play some pre-planned games. After lots of translations and miscommunication with the children we managed to play 3 games which were 'wolf and sheep', 'ular dan naga' and also basketball. Everyone including the travelers played along, laughing and running together with the children. A few injuries occurred to the travelers- Shazwan was accidentally hit in the face and I had my foot stomped on. Painful, but I am sure that for both Shazwan and I, these injuries only made the day more memorable, as sometimes memories are made from injuries. At the end of the session we took the compulsory sedate group photograph and Dr Yeoh's favourite 'jumping shot'. We also distributed the candies, toys and books that were brought for the children in the centre. We then slowly walked back to the hotel feeling really exhausted and old.

Playing 'Ular Naga Panjang' (Long Dragon) a traditional Indonesian game with the children

The children laughing and playing with the students

When we arrived, we gathered at the lobby for tomorrow's briefing and right after the briefing everyone was once again free to do their own activities; some headed off for dinner, some to the cyber cafe writing up their blog entries while the rest went shopping.Melanie and i went for a wonderful massage and spa at a hotel near by with Farhanah as our escort. I must say that today was one of the most laidback day on the entire trip to Yogyakarta.


WRITER'S PROFILE: Feeza is currently a third year student (hopefully graduating in 2 days time) majoring in International Studies and minoring in Communication. She is an absolute crazy one. Laughing is her middle name and she is always in love with children. One of the most veteran travelers in the IN SEARCH series organized by Dr.Yeoh and Monash University Sunway Campus, Feeza is also a person with a very complex heart and mind. She hides her feelings a lot (seriously) but adores her family and friends to bits. =)

HUMANA

By: Wei Jia Xi

15 July 2009

Background Information: HUMANA is one of the NGOs in Yogyakarta which has been helping and supporting street boys, between the age of nine and eighteen. It was established in 1982, with the informal name, Girli. The organization could also be described as a cooperation between street children, the employees of HUMANA and volunteers who are working together seeking alternative possibilities for the life of the street children.

Since 2002, HUMANA started to focus on street children from the kampungs (villages). The main focus of HUMANA’s activities is prevention. Today, HUMANA has 5 bases in 5 different kampungs (villages). In this project, HUMANA chose education and health care accessibility as their main concerns. The reason is that education and health care are basic needs that marginalized children do not have.

On the 15th of July, our group of Monash travellers visited the HUMANA branch located at Yogyakarta's Malioboro Street. Earlier on, those who did not bring gifts from Malaysia went to the nearby mall to purchase some small gifts for the children of HUMANA-sweets,biscuits and a basketball. At 4pm the group arrived at the HUMANA centre, to see the smilling (albeit nervous) faces of the children and teenagers greeting them. As the HUMANA children were rather shy, a short introduction session was held as an ice breaker. The children were then told to pick a Monash traveller and they led to a nearby schoolyard for the games session.

one of the many series of games we played with the children

After the ice-breaking session, the children were especially playful and cheeky

During the intervals between the games we played, the Monash students chatted with the HUMANA children and discovered that most of the children were not orphans. Due to poverty and parents who are forced to work long hours, the children are sent to HUMANA during the day to play and study in a safe environment. Mr Presta, one of the facilitators at the centre works as the middle man between the underprivileged families of the neighbourhood and HUMANA. Being familiar with most residents in the neighbourhood, it is easier for him to act as the point of communication to approach the parents of the children he sees left unattended during the day to join the HUMANA centre. His role is also to help the underprivileged children in their homework and healthcare, but he is not meant to take over the role as a parent to these children. The children see him more as a friend than a parent.

The presence of HUMANA helps prevent these children from becoming child labourers as Mr Presta and the other HUMANA facilitators make every effort to show the parents of the children the importance of education. When asked if there were any conflicts among the parents and HUMANA facilitators, Mr Presta proudly declares "so far, no". He explained that the HUMANA facilitators pay extra attention in maintaining the balance between the parents, the children and the organisation's intervention. He adds that HUMANA wants only "to help the children, ensure the human rights of the children and ensure their access to education and health care" and that they were careful not to create problems for the children by antagonizing their parents. To do this, he says it is sometimes best for HUMANA to keep a distance from the family dynamics of the children.

Interview with HUMANA Facilitators

Mr. Presta and colleague

HUMANA has a wide range of networks including links to the Swiss Embassy which provides a mobile clinic health care service for children who have no access to health care services. HUMANA also hands out scholarships to children until they are 18 years of age. Funds for HUMANA comes mainly from public donations.

When asked if he had any regrets working for HUMANA, Mr Presta smiled and said "this is what I chose. I want to have a full time job taking care of these children. I have a happy family, I just want everyone else to have one too".

Students and HUMANA

*View more pictures of the day from our photo album


WRITER'S PROFILE: Wei Jia Xi or Cici, is studying Bachelor of Arts majoring in Communication. Coming from Chongqing, China, Cici loves to eat spicy food and has a particular interest in film and video recording. She is part of the video team, where she has learned new things, and feels thankful for having the opportunity to participate in this trip

Gendhong Women of Beringharjo

By: Neneng Retna Kurnia

15 July 2009

Beringharjo, a market which I visited today is located in the heart of Yogyakarta on Malioboro street. The market three floors, each floor selling different goods.The first and second floor are filled up with accessories, jajanan (snacks), food staples like rice, spices, vegetables, and also clothes. The topmost floor is used as a kind of storage area, which sells products in bulk for the smaller stores. All this may make Beringharjo sound like a regular market, but there is something unique about Beringharjo-the gendhong women.

Customers can ask one out of the many Gendhong women to carry their shopping

On the third floor, I finally found a group of gendhong women, the group which I have been curious about ever since I was selected to write about them.Gendhong is a Javanese word meaning to carry something on the back.Based on my observation, one can only see this kind of women in Yogyakarta. The group of these women were chatting with each other on the bridge that links the North and South side of the market. Most of them are old women. Mbak Yatni, 34 years old, has already been working 22 years as a gendhong woman. With a typical Javanese face, brown skin and friendly smile, she shared some information about herself-like anyone else, she was willing to face hardship to make a living. In her mother's footstep, Mbak Yatni whose education ended in the elementary level decided to work as a gendhong woman to support her three children. Everyday, Mbak Yatni carries a variety of items on her back, such as food staples like rice or noodles. Each gendhong carrier has the capacity for 50lbs, and for each carrier load Mbak Yatni usually earns 1000 rupiah, or 10 American cents. Per day, she usually earns a total of 25,000-30,000 rupiah (around 2-3 dollars). It's hard work, especially since women are not physically built to carry heavy loads.

Gendhong women of Beringharjo

When asked about her secret to being able to carry such heavy loads, Mbak Yatni confides that she drinks jamu everyday, like the other older gendhong women. Jamu or herbs is a traditional medicine from Indonesia. For Indonesians, jamu is well known as an energy booster. Jamu is also believed to be beneficial to ones health and beauty. However, the jamu tradition is not popular among the younger generation of women.

Mbak Yatni telling her tale

In another part of the market, there are three young energetic ladies who were carrying many packets of snacks on their back. I followed them to their destination, the Candi store where they work. With permission from their supervisors in the store, I was able to observe how these ladies work and to interview them. Hesti, 25 years old is the oldest among the three and she started working at the store six years ago. She is divorced with a child, and stopped her education in junior high school due to financial difficulties. Hesti introduced me to the youngest woman of the group, 17 year old Linda. All three earns approximately 400,000 rupiahs per month (around 40 USD). Asked about their hopes for the future, Hesti said she wanted to start up her own business while Linda hopes to continue her education when she has the necessary funds. Unlike the older generation of Gendhong women like Mbak Yatni, these young women do not credit their strength to jamu. Instead, they believe that they are naturally strong. Linda added that she has her strength from having sufficient sleep and eating regularly.

These women's stories also indirectly reveal the fluidity of the construction of the ideal masculinity. As opposed to the general consensus that a man should support a woman financially, the men in these women's lives have no problem with them contributing financially. Mbak Yatni's husband is a becak driver (trishaw driver) and it could be possible that there is no resistance on his part in allowing Mbak Yatni to work because it is financially necessary for her to work. Financial neccessity could be the main contributor in modifying the notion of masculinity among these people.

Observing their day, it seems to me life is unfair. These women have tough lives, with no opportunity to education, thus being unable to earn a higher income. Yet to my amazement, these Gendhong women do not complain, instead they are often seen smiling and helping each other good naturedly.

WRITER'S PROFILE: Neneng Retna Kurnia is a final year student in Monash University Sunway Campus. She is pursuing Bachelor of Arts majoring in Communication and International Studies. She is an Indonesian who is mixed with two ethnics of Indonesia, Bugis and Sunda. From several group of NGOs to gendhong women, she thinks that they all teach different knowledge on how to stand tall in this harmful world.

Street Murals

By: Chong Jinn Wei

15 July 2009

He gets up before the sun even rises. Proceeding to an alleyway, he stares at a wall covered with filth and old propaganda posters. Taking out his brush, he begins his work. Hours later on that same wall, a colorful and uplifting piece of art brightens up the formerly dark and filthy alley. This is the product of a mural artist who spends time painting Yogyakarta, wall by wall, contributing to making the city the colorful place it is is today.

The many street murals that can be seen all over the city are works that require blood, sweat and tears of mural artists in Yogyakarta. Seeing their completed works of art in broad daylight after spending a night or many nights working on it is extremely rewarding for these artists.

In this study trip, I've had the privilege to meet and interview Pak Bambang, one of the many artists who draw murals which give Yogyakarta its colour. Pak Bambang currently works as a lecturer in ISI (Institute Seni Indonesia / The art Institute of Indonesia). He was also part of the now closed, Apotik Comics, a company which was active in mural painting and comic publishing. The style of the many murals he has painted are heavily influenced by his time at Apotik Comics as he structures some of his murals in a comic format. The tools that are mainly used to make these murals are wall paint, roof paint, brushes, long sticks and bamboo scaffolds.

Pak Bambang explained the process of how these murals are made. First, he needs to plan what he wants to draw before actually painting at the site. Secondly, he asks for permission from the people around the area he has chosen by showing them what he wants to paint in their area. He then cleans the chosen wall and begins sketching the outline of his work. Later, he paints the walls with the corresponding colours. This process may take several days and require a lot help from other people before the product is finally completed.

Drawing inspiration from his life experiences and current events from the television and newspapers, he draws art that acts as a parody and critique towards local events and issues. He explains that some of his murals required him to paint large structures like bridges. In such projects the use of bamboo scaffolds is necessary to reach places as high as 8 meters to paint the murals.

Street Murals that acts as a critique to social issues

'Lestarikan Budaya Jawa' (Save Javanese Culture)

His opinion on other artists who also create murals around the city is that their works may bestow the city with striking colours, but these works tend to lack meaningful messages. Pak Bambang strongly feels that murals should have an uplifting theme that relates to the people living in the particular neighborhood where it is drawn. For example, in the lead-up to 17 August th of August each year, during Indonesia's Independence Day, many artists will usually draw murals with colours that match the occasion, but Pak Bambang feels that these murals are nothing but superficial decoration which lack a meaningful message.

There are times when Pak Bambang's murals are painted over by other artists. He feels sad and disappointed when he sees his artwork, a product of hardwork by him and his friends painted over by another mural or worse, defaced by graffiti.

Pak bambang is just one of the many artists active in drawing murals and producing other artworks. His colourful and meaningful works have given life in the city of Yogyakarta that would have otherwise been at best plain and at worst ugly and dirty. Meaningful or not, these various colourful murals in tight corners, wall, shops gutters, bridges and underpasses have given Yogyakarta a unique characteristic.

Murals can be found all over the city

Murals are not just painted on walls- bridges and gutters around the city are colorfully painted

WRITER'S PROFILE: Jinn Wei is a Writing & Communication major from Malaysia. Intrigued when he read books and saw videos of the various street murals in Yogyakarta, Jinn Wei wondered whether there was a deeper meaning behind those murals other than being colourful and fancily designed. The fact that these murals which would have been labelled 'graffiti' in other places served the positive purpose of creating a colourful street atmosphere unique in Yogyakarta drew him to investigate more about them.

Waxing lyrical Batik style.

By: Joanna Molloy

15 July 2009

Stepping foot on Malioboro, the main street and tourist drag in Yogyakarta, means being struck by the bedazzling array of Batik. Shops proclaim this to be the 'City of Batik', and I most definitely concur. Road-side stalls burst with colour as Batik is brazenly displayed anywhere and everywhere. It is all too easy to get caught up not only in the batik craze, but also in a pattern of consumption. First you are bargaining for a batik patch-work shoulder bag, and all too soon you find yourself laden with piles of intricately detailed cloth, eight bangles, a pair of flip-flops and five of the bags you initially wished to acquire (friend, friend, sister, friend, self). The most standard rule of fashion- to wear no more than one pattern simultaneously- is mercilessly abandoned as locals and tourists alike swathe themselves in this brightly patterned cloth..

Wandering along the colourful streets, I began to wonder how a textile had become so prolific; what could batik really means to this city? Yogyakarta offers a wide array of Batik: machine produced for the masses, finer handmade versions for the more discerning customer and Batik fine art for a select few. I mused over what role this textile played in Yogyakarta, not only culturally, but also in economic, traditional and social terms.

In this search, four students from the Monash team, accompanied by our charming student guide Ike, went on a journey to discover more about Yogyakartan Batik. We found ourselves once again in the Muhammadiyah Muslim community- Kampung Kauman. Teguh Ariebowo and his Father Lukman Jamali, an acclaimed Batik artist, took us on a journey to discover the real Yogyakartan batik. In the early days, Batik was of immense importance to Kauman when the majority of the community made batik for personal use, and some also made this their business. Today, Ariebowo's house is alone in Batik creation in Kauman. The decline in production and demand for handmade batik may be attributed to industrialization, outsourcing and unbeatable prices of factory produced fabric. However, there remains a market in which creativity, quality and skill remain competitive-within the fine art world.

We were privileged to be taught Batik by a master: Lukman is a renowned batik artist who not only exhibits in Indonesia, but also internationally. He has exhibited in the Netherlands and has a considerable client-base in Europe. Lukman studied at the Insitute Seni Indonesia in Yogyakarta within the sculpture department. As the institute did not offer a specific Batik art course, he independently adapted his skills to the traditional medium. His art appears Surrealist with the repeated motif of a mask, and it is not surprising to hear of his passion for the Dutch surrealist M. C. Escher. Lukman's works have greater popularity with a foreign market who may identify with his designs through a western framework of art interpretation as they are aesthetically familiar.

Lukman Jamali, world renown batik artst

Pak Lukman has a particular interest in painting dragons

Ariebowo took us through the steps to make our own first batik. We began by sketching our design on a piece of cotton. The canting, a traditional tool was then introduced to us. With this we applied melted wax to the areas of our design we wished to remain white, as Batik is a resist-dyeing process. This proved to be remarkably fiddly and at times messy, leading us to further appreciate handmade batik and understand the higher prices requested. After we had drawn our designs to the best of our abilities (and managed to make a rather impressive wax design on the tile floor), our colourful desires were unleashed.. We sponged the powder based, acidic dye on our cotton and waited in keen anticipation for the sun to work its magic, exposing the dye to create vivid colours. Once our fabric was suitably bright, we boiled and washed it to expose our finished batik designs.

The canting- the essential tool in batik making

Designing the pattern

The last procedure of batik making; the wash

Although the motifs we used were not traditional, and our art does not fit the conventional understanding of the Batik aesthetic, we did move closer to an understanding of the famous textile. Ariebowo and Lukman showed us that the process and the journey are all important. The mass-produced machine made versions are in our hosts perspective, “not real batik”. Through our investigations and brief foray into design, we became closer to true Yogyakartan batik, than we ever will at the stalls on Malioboro street.

With Ariebowo at Kauman after the session with his father

WRITER'S PROFILE: Joanna Molloy hails from Melbourne, Australia and has recently completed a semester of exchange at Monash Sunway, Malaysia. After Yogyakarta, she will embark on another adventure in Italy, completing her Italian major at L'Universita' di Bologna. Textiles send quivers of joy right through her body meaning this Batik rich Yogyakarta trip has been an entirely exhilarating experience.