January 30, 2007 - page 3



watch the game with him. The only word he knew in English was ’offsides’ (weird, I thought he would know ’hello’ first). From there, I taught him the words ‘red’, ‘ball’, and ‘goal’. Together, we screamed ‘goal’ when his team scored. After meeting some of

his family and friends, we all shared BBQ chips and healthy chocolate bread while finishing up the game. For the rest of the trip, when I passed by their building they greeted me. Amazingly, I had befriended people who don’t speak my language. Breaking down language barriers is one thing in my life I don’t fear anymore.

Yogyakarta isn’t Bali. It never will be and it never has been. But ‘Jogja’ possesses an attitude that can only be experienced by walking down Marlioboro Street past the markets, going to the base of a Mt. Merapi (which last erupted on June 14, 2006), visiting the 8th-century Hindu temple Prambanan, or even watching soccer with an Javanese man who really likes BBQ chips. In a city like Yogyakarta, life runs on a different schedule, which is one of the reasons it is so unique.