SASKATCHEWAN FROM SEPTEMBER TO MID-DECEMBER 1982

INDONESIA FROM MID-DECEMBER 1982 to March 1983

Itinerary IN INDONESIA:

Jakarta (Java Island)

Bogor               

Putri Island

Ujung Pandang (Celebes Islands or Sulawesi)

Kendari

Lembo

Tinobu

Air Panas

Kramat Island

Bokori Island

Denpasar (Bali Island)

Bali Island Tower

Crossing the island of Java:

Surabaya

Yogyakarta

Borobudur

Prambanan

Surakarta

Bandung

Back to Jakarta

PHOTOS OF THE CWY PROGRAM IN SASKATCHEWAN AND INDONESIA (Click on the photo below and then on the arrow on the right)

danse-bali

CANADA WORLD YOUTH PROGRAM:

At the age of 19, I participated in an international exchange with CANADA WORLD YOUTH. Here is the description of the program from their website: « Young Leaders in Action is a unique 6-month program for 17- to 25-year-olds. This reciprocal program is divided into two 3-month phases, one in Canada and one abroad, and the youth participate together in both phases. During this program, young volunteers contribute to community-led development projects focused on health, the environment or gender equity, live with host families and participate in youth-organized educational activities. »

After passing the selection stages, it was with joy and excitement that I learned a few weeks later that my application had been selected for Indonesia.

FIRST PART OF THE PROGRAM: SASKATCHEWAN

The exchange program began with three weeks at Camp Rayner at Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan. I met all the Canadian and Indonesian participants there. We had preparatory meetings for the trip and put on a cultural show. We also visited Regina, the capital.

I then left for North Battleford with my small group of eight Canadians and eight Indonesians. I lived with Jim and Vivian Phelps, parents of three beautiful children: Freddy, Bonnie and Jay. I was paired with Yayuk, a young Javanese girl from a wealthy family whose father was one of President Suharto’s bodyguards.

At work, my « counterpart » was Ilza Mayuni, a native of the island of Sumatra. We worked alongside nurses, dentists, nutritionists and social workers at BATTLEFORD’S INDIAN HEALTH CENTER. We accompanied the nurses on their tour of the seven surrounding Indian reserves (Sweetgrass, Thunder Child, Onion Lake, etc.) to assist them in their popular education workshops. We have also worked in a few preschool and elementary schools. It was very formative for Ilza and me. The staff at the Center were really welcoming and friendly with us throughout our stay.

Outside of working hours, our group of sixteen participants often regrouped. We had regular meetings with John Carty, our Canadian group leader, and Akhiar Ibrahim, our Indonesian one. We also had a mandate to put on a show representing our respective cultures for our host community. Ilza showed us three Indonesian dances (Indang, Sarendo and Joli-Joli). We have put together a repertoire of songs in Indonesian, English and French. (Martin Gingras, the only other francophone in the band, performed with me the song « Dondaine La Ridaine. ») Cindy, Hari, Sanjiv, Michel and I have prepared a jazz ballet performance. Pamela, Tim, Martin, Robin, Rahman, Yayuk, Eka and I staged a square dance from Quebec. I prepared a piece on the flute, accompanied by a professional pianist.  This cultural show of dance, singing and music was a success.

I had the opportunity to make a few short trips -outside of work – during my stay in North Battleford: Yayuk and I spent a weekend with our host family at their cottage in Jack-Fish Lake. Me and my group went to visit another group of CWY in Rosetown. We also visited Saskatoon and met with other CWY groups. It was always very pleasant and stimulating to see the other participants while discovering new places.

I have fond memories of three months of intensive group life in Saskatchewan. Canadians and Indonesians, we were getting to know each other through our diametrically opposed cultures. I deepened my English, studied « Bahasa Indonesia » and discovered a lot of things: the principles of Islam, Indonesian culture, mentality and traditions, etc.

PART TWO OF THE PROGRAMME: INDONESIA

After our week of assessment in Regina, we boarded the sky train, crossed Alberta and the Rockies to Vancouver where we spent three days in a hostel. There were many of us (64 participants) because the other three groups from Saskatchewan were also there. We had « meetings » but were also able to visit the beautiful city of Vancouver and its China Town as well as Victoria Island.

The big departure for Indonesia then arrived. We took the bus to Seattle, Washington. We boarded a Boeing 747 in the direction of Narita, Japan. The trans-Pacific flight lasted 9 hours and 50 minutes. I remember doing so much social that I hardly slept. Our second flight, lasting seven hours, took us to Bangkok, Thailand. We spent a short five-hour night in a nice hotel before returning to the airport. Third flight: to Singapore: three hours flight. And finally, our fourth flight took us to our final destination: Jakarta (1 hour 30 minutes flight).

I arrived exhausted from the hostel and when I went to bed, I went into a trance for a couple of minutes; I was completely paralyzed. I couldn’t move any limbs and no sound came out of my mouth when I wanted to warn my roommate of my condition. My mind detached from my body and I could see myself high, lying on the bed. It was scary! When I came back to myself, I felt really relieved. What an extraordinary transcendent experience!

The four CWY groups spent three days in Jakarta. We celebrated Christmas, attended a few meetings and visited: the capital with its mosque reputed to be the largest in Southeast Asia, Miniature Indonesia (huge park with traditional dwellings representing the different provinces of Indonesia), « Kebun Raya » in Bogor (Glorious Gardens) and Putri Island.

Yayuk took me to her house. I also went to Dadang H. Djajadiningrat’s house. (Dadand was my Indonesian lover at that time.) I felt privileged to see their respective neighbourhoods and to be able to get to know each other’s family members. In addition, my good friend Sherley took me to her counterpart Rita’s house and Yana took us to see her aunt’s luxurious residence.

After three busy days in Jakarta, the four groups separated to join their host communities. My group flew from Java to the Celebes Islands (Sulawesi). Yayuk and I were welcomed to the Kusnun, our foster family, in Kendari. The father of the family was a banker. I remember the few days spent with this family. We bought vegetables at a small street market, ran after the hen in the yard to make our supper, ate excellent traditional Indonesian dishes at home and in a restaurant.

We then left for Lembo, our small, isolated host community, with no running water, no electricity and no means of transport except a bicycle for the whole village. We spent two and a half months there. I was staying with a lovely couple (Ayah Mordini, 41 and mama Welipau, 38), parents of four children (Walija, 12, Nilawati, 10, and Wanisa, 8, and Rahim, 2) with my new « counterpart » Eka. We had a room with only furnishings, a double bed with net to protect us from insects. The little family slept on the floor in the other two rooms on thin carpets braided in palm leaves.

At mealtime, Eka and I were sitting at the table with the father of the family and were entitled to a fork to eat as we were the guests. The mother and the children ate with their right hand, sitting on the floor in front of the small wood fire used to cook, in a small room at the back of the house. In the courtyard, there was a well and a small pod. We used the water from the well to wash ourselves – with our left hand, as is customary – after doing our needs. As we didn’t have a shower, we would go to the river to wash and wash our laundry. We had to keep our sarong at all times; Wearing the bathing suit would have disturbed our Muslim guests.

Throughout our stay in Lembo, the menu has invariably remained the same, three times a day: fried fish, rice and very sweet kopi (coffee). « Ayah », the father of our host family, also ate a transparent gelatinous preparation that I never managed to appreciate the taste and texture of. I remember a day of celebration in the village; We were served chicken. Wow! What a joy to vary our menu! I also remember the buns that our « ibu » (mother) prepared especially for us. We ate them with taste and gratitude! We also enjoyed the mangoes, tender and juicy, which the villagers invited us to come and taste with them at all hours of the day.

Ilza and I gave Indonesian dance classes at primary school and English classes at the village high school. We also participated in chores such as cutting the mosque’s turf with a machete, making a volleyball court and building a street with the men of the village.

Once a week, we walked two kilometers to the only market in the area and helped bring back fish, rice, flour, sugar, etc.

Villagers gathered once or twice a week at the « balai desa » (a meeting place consisting of a stage covered with a palm-leaf roof) to dance to the sound of traditional music played on percussion. They taught us dance movements, repetitive and rather primitive but, we took pleasure in joining them for this friendly dance in a circle.

We left the village for a day to go for a swim in the sea. Several villagers accompanied us. To get there, we had to walk 14 kilometers round trip under a blazing sun. We were happy like fish in the water despite the discomfort of wearing the sarong to bathe. The villagers stayed in the shade of a small shelter to look at us and suffer from the heat. They run away from the sun because for them, having dark skin is synonymous with poverty and conversely, having a fair skin is synonymous with wealth. They often wear long sleeves and put white cream on their faces. Their beauty criteria are definitely very different from ours!

I have greatly improved my ability to speak Bahasa Indonesia. Indonesians were pleasantly surprised by my knowledge of their language and proud that I was interested in it. For me, it was a nice gateway to connect with them.

We did a few group outings. We went to Tinobu for three days. We were staying with families. We were the attraction of the village; there was always a crowd around us, even in the houses! We made two boat expeditions: one to Kramat Island and the other to Air Panas where we saw amazing hot springs. And finally, we spent three days at Bokari Island, a fishing village with houses on stilts.

At the end of our stay in Lembo, the farewell was heartbreaking; I knew that I would probably never see my host family and all the friendly villagers again. Unlike other participants, I would have stayed willingly longer; I really liked it.

We left for Kendari where we had four days of evaluation meetings with the other three CWY groups. We had so much to tell! We then flew to Ujung Pandang. We visited the toraja houses on stilts and the roofs in the shape of buffalo horns.

We took another plane to Bali, this beautiful little island with 10,000 Buddhist temples. We were all CWY participants together. We toured the island by bus and saw beaches, temples, beautiful terrace rice fields, a traditional dance show, etc. Gede, another good Indonesian friend, born in Bali, invited me to join his group to visit his house. I was the only Canadian from my group going to his place; I felt really privileged !

We then travelled across the island of Java by bus and visited the world’s largest Buddhist site, Borobudur and the Hindu site of Prambanan with its 240 Shivaite temples. We spent a few days in Yogyakarta before returning to our starting point: Jakarta. These two weeks of tourism were very pleasant and ended our exchange program well.

At the time of the big departure for Canada, the farewell between the Canadian and Indonesian participants was heartbreaking. We had such a great group experience all together!  

We returned to Canada via Singapore, Thailand and Seattle in the United States. We had three days of meetings in Vancouver to take a look back at the program and prepare for the return shock. After another heartbreaking farewell, the Canadian participants separated, and each flew to their home province. I stopped in Saskatchewan to go back to my host family and employees at Battleford’s Indian Health Center. It was a great reunion.

When I arrived at the Quebec City airport with a conical Indonesian hat on my head, I was greeted with excitement by my family. I was very happy to see everyone again after my prolonged absence. The months that followed were a long period of adjustment. The coaching offered by CWY was no longer, so I had to take my life back into my own hands. I missed group life and my friends from the last six months. This trip to the other side of the planet was the most significant of my life. This extraordinary experience opened my heart to the world and the beautiful memories have never left me.