February 1, 2007

On the return flight to Los Angeles I had plenty of extra time to think about how this trip had affected me. Each city we visited emphasized different aspects of Indonesian culture that I could not have experienced through the Discovery Channel or just by reading a textbook. Throughout the trip, I was challenged to understand different beliefs and lifestyles that forced me to question the stereotypes that I had ignorantly formed prior to the trip.

In Bali, I discovered that the beaches weren’t the only sites worthy of a visit. Throughout the hills of Bali, specifically in Ubud, there is a group of people who consider themselves Balinese before Indonesian. They take pride in traditional Balinese crafts, food, jobs and dancing. Furthermore, they respect nature and remain humble in its presence. If you’re not convinced at Balinese dedication, then it might be helpful to speak with the vendor who followed my friends and I up a 6000-foot volcano just to sell us a Coke. Bali, more than the other places we visited, possesses a unique identity that makes it one of the most welcoming locations for a return.

Yogyakarta is the city that gave our group the most problems. People began to complain about seeing too many temples, the hotel, the food, and the one million citizens who knew we were a group of 30 Americans. However, I think Yogyakarta was the city that forced us to grow the most from our trip. In other words, we had to adapt from our posh lifestyle in Bali to a more rigid test in Yogyakarta. This city was necessary in the heart of the trip for us, as students, to truly understand what being Indonesian is really like. Ignoring the fast food