an entry somewhere else » Demonstration

Liquid gold

Anthony — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 08:19:18 +0000

I’ve drank coffee quite a bit in the past few years and Aceh is a great place for coffee. The idea behind the brewing here is that the longer the drop from the filter to glass, the better the taste. In reality, a fair amount of coffee gets splattered around my cup rather than in it. However, this doesn’t stop the guys in the canteen from attempting to show off how high they can raise the filter.

Another coffee-drinking tactic I’ve seen here is to pour off some hot coffee into the saucer, place the cup to the side and drink from the saucer!

Monday Haiku #37 – 19.05.08

Submersed in the night,
naked stars sing the gospel
while holding you fast.

Continuation

Anthony — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 03:48:25 +0000

It’s Good Friday and the university is off. There is also a conference co-sponsored and coordinated by UIN Alauddin on Gender and Women in the Era of Globalization. There are some speakers here from a university in Hamburg, Germany doing the honors as well. It’s a cool 250,000 for the three day seminar. Unfortunately, I’m prepping for a workshop tomorrow just as one of the two A/C units in the teacher training rooms has malfunctioned. My counterpart called the electrician and was informed he went home to Bone this weekend. Doh.
Plus, the first demonstration in front of the university this semester occurred. I asked the security guards at the gate what it was about, and they replied it was against the US and the recent UN Security Council actions against Iran (which Indonesia voted affirmative as well). I walked out and hopped in a cab. The demonstrators continued to wave their flag and scream into the bullhorn to rouse the public.

I successfully navigated scheduling my return flight home. It had to be done as the orignal date on the ticket was May (or something like that). I think I have told some of you that I wouldn’t be opposed to staying on in Indonesia if there were some job that might cover my living expenses and pay my student loan bills. And the fact that the winters here are sublime. I haven’t heard of anything, so I’ll plan on going back in early July.

I’ve received the confirmation for Kuala Lumpur minus the heavenly Meals & Incidental Expenses usually awarded when travelling. I should really be getting back to work.

Keep Going With It

Anthony — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 10:59:34 +0000

The esteemed POTUS will be arriving sometime tomorrow in Bogor an area outside of Jakarta. The local schools were told to give the students a day off to ease the amount of people going through the city. I have heard that the telecommuncations in the Bogor area will also be cut off for the duration of the visit. These are rumors.

Demonstrations are still going strong all over the archipelago. I haven’t seen any in the flesh yet, only in the local newspaper and on the television. The students at my uni have taken to performing their effigy and flag burning on the grassy median down the street, kindly letting the traffic flow normally. Everyone in the country knows that there will be people demonstrating all day tomorrow in Bogor. I hope it remains peaceful.

In sad news, a piece of Tupperware broke. I have taken this piece of Tupperware to three continents on my travels. It has gone through numerous tosses in my checked luggage and tens of X-rays. Alas, it no longer has its airtight seal.

In sadder news, my alma mater lost to Ohio State and, consequently, lost their chance at the national championship. And Bo passed on this week. A big old blue cloud must be hovering over Ann Arbor now.

As many of my readers prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday and four-day weekend, I shall be a busy bee. I’ll be teaching seven classes, facilitating a 6.5 hour workshop for high school teachers, giving a short lecture on the Thanksgiving holiday on Friday at the American Corner, and another two hour seminar on Saturday. Phew. Not to mention another 6.5 hours workshop next week on an undetermined subject. Oh, and I’ll try to fit in five workouts this week.

Demonstration #8

Anthony — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:01:43 +0000

Initially, I thought it would be interesting to document how many rallies or demonstrations occur at the university. It’s getting rather dull. Today, students were in front of the university president’s office with bullhorn. I’m not actually sure what gets accomplished by these demonstrations, being that there are less than fifty students in the crowd. I dare say there are more observers than protesters. That was demonstration #8.

Demonstration #7

Anthony — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 10:42:26 +0000

Yes, yes, yes, the students were restless this morning. They blocked the entrance to the university. One student was standing on a wooden chair taken from a classroom and using a bullhorn. No one would tell me what the reason for the demonstration. As I left in the evening, I saw the tell-tale signs of burned tire. So it goes.