I want to make notes of some more culture differencies.
Firstly, people eat with bare hands in Aceh. In the beginning they provided spoons and forks to me and everybody companied me by eating with the tools. Note that it was always spoon and fork, never knife. So you would cut the meat with the spoon while holding it with the fork. At some point I realized that everybody else except our table were eating with hands. So people in my table used the tools just to company me, that I wouldn't feel different. After that I wanted to try eating with bare hands also, thinking I want to do like the locals. At first it felt weird, of course, but pretty soon I got used to it. It started to feel normal. That's something travelling and getting really into other cultures does to you: your idea of "normal" changes, gets broader.
One interesting culture difference was that everybody called me (and other teachers) for "miss" ( or mrs" or "mr"). PThe students always started talking to me with "miss". At first it felt funny to be called as miss all the time, but then I of course got used to it, too. In Finland students usually get the attention of a teacher by starting by "ope", which is a shorter word for "opettaja" (=teacher) in spoken language. Or sometimes also the first name of the teacher is used to get the attention. It doesn't feel so frequent, however, than using the word "miss" here.
Sometimes the way of speaking a foreign language reflects the native language of the person talking. For me it sounded funny that people passing me in the school area kept asking me "miss, where do you want to go?". It took some time to get used to it, why would they ask where do I want to go? But that was just their way of asking where I was going to. Also, the same happened when they needed to leave for praying. They always said "sorry miss', but I want to go pray". I am not sure, but I guess they use similar kind of structure when in their own native language, bahasa indonesia. An interesting culture detail was also how the small students greeted you when meeting or leaving. They take your hand in theirs and bring your hand gently to touch their forehead. I think there was something beautiful in the habit.
I was also many times confused by being asked something like "how about school in Finland?" Or "how about Finland?" with no previous context. I mean, normally when you use the words "how about", it refers to a previous conversation, the subject you have been talking about. But these people used it without any previous context, and it made me confused, thinking what exatly would they want to know about. Well, with the other volunteer we came to conclusion that it was their way of asking you to tell everything :D Which doesn't make it any easier to answer, where to start?
Then finally just a very tiny detail, but as I am interested in languages it is interesting to me. The Indonesian people have difficulties in saying the number 6. They will continuously say "sick". And still, they can pronounce the sound 'x' if you ask them to. Somehow it is just not natural for them, it is not frequent in their native language. A bit similar thing is when Spanish people pronounce Steve as Esteve, skate as eskate etc. It is natural for them to add an 'e' in the beginning of the word beginning with 's' + another consonant? These kind of little things are interesting to me, and also it is interesting that after interacting with people from different places of the world you begin to recognize the typical way of pronunciation in certain countries. Then when you meet new people or just hear somebody talking to somebody else with not-native English you start to guess where they come from by the way they speak English.
perjantai 15. heinäkuuta 2016
tiistai 28. kesäkuuta 2016
About volunteering
I ended up volunteering because I didn't get the summer job I wanted. I wanted to work on children's summer camps, it has been one of my dreams for a long time. It is because I loved going on summer camps as a kid, so I would love to bring the same fiiling forward. But unfortunately it is always so many young teachers-to-be wanting that same summer job, that it is very difficult to get the job. When I was informed not to have got the job, I thought what's next on my dream list. Volumteering was something I have also wished to try for some years already, so I decided I would try to fulfill that dream.
I did a lot of research in the internet, and I found out that most of the times you have to pay loads for the volunteering. For me it doesn't make any sense. For the first, a volunteer is giving his/her time for free, wanting to help. Why should I pay crazy amounts of money for helping? I say crazy amounts because many organisations would charge you hundreds or even thousands of euros or dollars for organizing a two-week volunteer experience. Something is wrong there, in my opinion. I think they have misunderstood the target group. People who would like to voulunteer are usually young people who do not have money. They would like to give their work force to help, because that is the thing they have. Then older generations and/or rich people with huge incomes or savings, there we have the group who will donate money for good purposes. Donating makes them feel better, they can help with the money while they can take it easy or the opposite, work their ass off to make more money.
So, in my head it didn't make any sense paying loads for giving my work force to help. In other words, I wouldn't have the money. But I wasn't ready to give up my plan to volunteer. I started looking for free volunteering, which is by the way oretty difficult to find. I thought that it would be fair that the volunteer would get at keast free accommodation, if not food. Food would be okay to pay for, as you would buy food any way no matter where you were. And for accommodation, almost anything goes. I am not picky, I can adapt to pretty extreme circumstances if I need to.
I found some websites that would help you to find less expensive possibilities to volunteer, if not free. At the same time I got also the idea of asking around among people I know. I have many friends from other countries. I was lucky, because The first person I asked, my good Indonesian friend Steve, was willing and able to help me. He had some contacts, and sooner than I could ever imagine, I was emailing with the boss of Sukma Bangsa School. The boss was very welcoming to me from the first email, and pretty soon I found myself booking flights to get there. Yihaa!
As I have told you before, the people in Sukma Bangsa school were incredibly hospitable and welcoming. I felt like being part of the family. Volunteering however, turned out not to be something I had expected. Of course we had discussed beforehand in email, and I had understood that I could be assisting the teachers in the classes and maybe teach something from my country, like some language or dance or something. So I was expecting and hoping to be able to help somehow in in the classes, and at the same time get a look how the school works on the other side of the world. However, what I didn't know was that the school has actually finished for the semester when I arrived. The students were in the middle of the examination period and after that they had only classes in religion.
For me it meant that my volunteering turned out to be more just interacting with the students. Talking, playing, doing things with them. At first, I was kind of dissapointed that I could not help more. My Finnish working moral had expected and wished to really help and work there, like doing full work hours. In terms of my expectations, what I actually did was kind of making me feel lazy. And being treated like a queen there made my conscious even worse, I definately didn't want to make them do any extra effort for me. It took me about one week to get used to the idea that the best thing I could give them was just being there with them, talking with them and do all kinds of things together with them. I really got a little crisis in my head before I could understand that was really what they appreciated from me. Talking with the teachers and the head principal of the school helped. They kept telling me how important it is that they get volunteers from different cultures to the school. It is very important that the students get in contact and interact with people from other cultures, it will broaden their perspective of the world and they need to learn to respect and appreciate cultural differencies. As Aceh being a strictly islamic area, the locals really don't see people from other cultures too often, if ever. Getting crosscultural contacts and even friendship makes the students more motivated to learn English also. There is more reason to study it when you see you can actually use the language.
The head principal emphasized to me also, that he thinks that really the most important thing is building understanding and friendship over the borders, building positive connections world wide. Actually, being able to use and improve English language can also make the students dream bigger. When they see they can get understood in English, they start to believe in themselves more. Dreams of going someday abroad for studying or just travelling get more real. They can really start to believe they can make the dreams come true. It is not impossible. And realizing this is very important. That convinced me finally, I got over my crisis of not being able to give them enough and started understanding the meaning of crosscultural understanding and friendship. I had never thought talking and hanging out with students during different kinds of activities could count for volunteer work, but now I do. I really want to make the students dream and believe in themselves :)
I did a lot of research in the internet, and I found out that most of the times you have to pay loads for the volunteering. For me it doesn't make any sense. For the first, a volunteer is giving his/her time for free, wanting to help. Why should I pay crazy amounts of money for helping? I say crazy amounts because many organisations would charge you hundreds or even thousands of euros or dollars for organizing a two-week volunteer experience. Something is wrong there, in my opinion. I think they have misunderstood the target group. People who would like to voulunteer are usually young people who do not have money. They would like to give their work force to help, because that is the thing they have. Then older generations and/or rich people with huge incomes or savings, there we have the group who will donate money for good purposes. Donating makes them feel better, they can help with the money while they can take it easy or the opposite, work their ass off to make more money.
So, in my head it didn't make any sense paying loads for giving my work force to help. In other words, I wouldn't have the money. But I wasn't ready to give up my plan to volunteer. I started looking for free volunteering, which is by the way oretty difficult to find. I thought that it would be fair that the volunteer would get at keast free accommodation, if not food. Food would be okay to pay for, as you would buy food any way no matter where you were. And for accommodation, almost anything goes. I am not picky, I can adapt to pretty extreme circumstances if I need to.
I found some websites that would help you to find less expensive possibilities to volunteer, if not free. At the same time I got also the idea of asking around among people I know. I have many friends from other countries. I was lucky, because The first person I asked, my good Indonesian friend Steve, was willing and able to help me. He had some contacts, and sooner than I could ever imagine, I was emailing with the boss of Sukma Bangsa School. The boss was very welcoming to me from the first email, and pretty soon I found myself booking flights to get there. Yihaa!
As I have told you before, the people in Sukma Bangsa school were incredibly hospitable and welcoming. I felt like being part of the family. Volunteering however, turned out not to be something I had expected. Of course we had discussed beforehand in email, and I had understood that I could be assisting the teachers in the classes and maybe teach something from my country, like some language or dance or something. So I was expecting and hoping to be able to help somehow in in the classes, and at the same time get a look how the school works on the other side of the world. However, what I didn't know was that the school has actually finished for the semester when I arrived. The students were in the middle of the examination period and after that they had only classes in religion.
For me it meant that my volunteering turned out to be more just interacting with the students. Talking, playing, doing things with them. At first, I was kind of dissapointed that I could not help more. My Finnish working moral had expected and wished to really help and work there, like doing full work hours. In terms of my expectations, what I actually did was kind of making me feel lazy. And being treated like a queen there made my conscious even worse, I definately didn't want to make them do any extra effort for me. It took me about one week to get used to the idea that the best thing I could give them was just being there with them, talking with them and do all kinds of things together with them. I really got a little crisis in my head before I could understand that was really what they appreciated from me. Talking with the teachers and the head principal of the school helped. They kept telling me how important it is that they get volunteers from different cultures to the school. It is very important that the students get in contact and interact with people from other cultures, it will broaden their perspective of the world and they need to learn to respect and appreciate cultural differencies. As Aceh being a strictly islamic area, the locals really don't see people from other cultures too often, if ever. Getting crosscultural contacts and even friendship makes the students more motivated to learn English also. There is more reason to study it when you see you can actually use the language.
The head principal emphasized to me also, that he thinks that really the most important thing is building understanding and friendship over the borders, building positive connections world wide. Actually, being able to use and improve English language can also make the students dream bigger. When they see they can get understood in English, they start to believe in themselves more. Dreams of going someday abroad for studying or just travelling get more real. They can really start to believe they can make the dreams come true. It is not impossible. And realizing this is very important. That convinced me finally, I got over my crisis of not being able to give them enough and started understanding the meaning of crosscultural understanding and friendship. I had never thought talking and hanging out with students during different kinds of activities could count for volunteer work, but now I do. I really want to make the students dream and believe in themselves :)
maanantai 27. kesäkuuta 2016
About the school
Sukma Bangsa Pidie is a boarding school founded by Sukma Bangsa Foundation that was set up to help the victims of the 2004 tsunami. As it is a boarding school, it is of course very different from the public schools. That is why I don't know whether some things that I have learned about the system are common in the Indonesian education in general, or does it concern only this school.
The structure of the Indonesian education system is similar to the Finnish system. You will go to elementary school for six years, then three years in junior high shool and after that three years in senior high school. It is exactly the same in Finland. All the kids have to go to school, at least until finishing junior high.
Unfortunately I could not see any normal daily lessons because of the timing of my volunteering. When I arrived, the students were in the middle of their examination week, during which they had two exams per day. I would have been very interested in following the ordinary school days and lessons, but no luck this time.
Intrestingly, the school semester didn't end when the exams were over. After the examination week the next week was full of so called class meetings, meaning that some senior high shool students organized different kinds of competitions to all the classes. Some of the competitions were like quizzes, starting by all of the students from one class sitting on the lobby floor with a pencil snd paper. One senior high student was asking questions in the front, and the students answered and lifted their answer paper in the air. The teachers were walking between the students controlling the event and checking if the students answered correct or wrong. With wrong answer you loose the game and a teacher would tell you to go and join other students following the competition. The competition ended when all but one had joined the audience, so they knew their winner. There was also class meetings in sports, like in volley ball and futsal. In sport class meetings it was classes competing against each other.
After one week of class meetings, it was time for Ramadan to begin. I understood that during Ramadan most schools don't have lessons nor other activities. Sukma Bangsa Pidie school was is special because they had activities 1,5 weeks into Ramadan time. All the activities were of course about religion. The classes gathered together somewhere in the school area, sitting in a circle with their "parent teacher" (I guess). They studied different things about the religion, sometimes about some religious rules, habits, expected behaviour etc., sometimes they tried to memorize parts of the holy Koran. And of course, they had competitions also, named "Ranking number 1". It seemed to me similar to class meetings, but of course the questions were about religion. And they had competitions in teams also, every class was represented by two teams of three members. The classes are named after some famous religious persons by the way (Ibnu Khaldun for example). I asked why they didn't mix girls and boys because it wasn't the first time I noticed that. However, I was told that actually normally they do mix boys and girls. That made my Finnish equality-emphasized teacher soul breathe better again ;)
Another interesting thing I could take part in was the teacher auditions fpr the upcoming semester. The school needs more teachers because there will be more students next semester and also some teachers will be resigning. So they had many teacher candidates, who actually came to the school to teach one lesson while at least one teacher from the school was following. Plus me. I hope I didn't make the poor candidates feel more under pressure... In Finland we do not have auditions for teachers. We announce a job, teachers send applications, we pick up the best applicants and interview them, and the last step is to make the choice. I think there are laws concerning the procedure, so that you cannot just pick your favourite or a friend if there is someone who has clearly better qualifications for the job.
Anyway, these teacher auditions were a new thing for me. I ended up following two auditions. And well, am I terrible if I say the first one was horrible and the second one was just so-so? Even if I obviously don't understand too much about the teaching because of language barrier, I do see how the teacher is with students, what kind of methods the teacher is using and if the teacher is excited aboutthe subject. In the auditions, the candidates can choose themselves what they will teach. In the first audition I was following there was a teacher who had chosen to teach senior high students about democracy. The teacher was expressionless and made the students prepare questions about democracy in two groups, and later the groups would ask the questions from one another. That was so boring, neither did the students enjoy it or the teacher following. Poor candidate. The next candidate was a candidate for Indonesian language teacher teaching to 4th and 5th grade students about stories and the terminology concerning stories, like main characters, plots etc. She was way better than the democracy teacher, but also quite expressionless. The teaching part was better though, she introduced herself and taught with a little bit more enthusiasm (still not too much). But she flopped when she started to tell a story. She went expressionless and it felt like she was a TV news reporter and not reading a story about dragons and princesses to 10-11 years old kids.
I guess in Finland we have pretty high standard for teachers. Even if everybody represents of course their own personality and teaching style, I think the Finnish teacher education guarantees that there is at last some standard level. All teachers have studied in university for five years and every teacher has their Master's degree. Also getting in to the teacher studies is difficult, you have to pass entrance and qualification exams and interviews. For example, the year when I applied to teacher studies, their was about 2700 applicants and 86 was chosen (just a bit over 3%). So it is not too easy to get in to the university (in almost any program), but once you get in, the education is free. That is the good thing in the Finnish system: you don't have to have money to study in university. Also, Finland is pretty much a corruption free country, so you can't buy yourself in.
I heard that average teacher salary in Indonesia is about 300 dollars. There is a huge difference compared to teacher salaries in Finland, but of course life expenses are also very different. Salaries are always reflecting the circumstances, the cost of living in the country. For comparison, I would guess the average salary of a teacher in Finland is around 2300€. (In dollars?) And teachers do not have a good salary in Finland. You don't go for teacher carrier for the money, you do it because it's your calling. Many other professions are better paid.
The structure of the Indonesian education system is similar to the Finnish system. You will go to elementary school for six years, then three years in junior high shool and after that three years in senior high school. It is exactly the same in Finland. All the kids have to go to school, at least until finishing junior high.
Unfortunately I could not see any normal daily lessons because of the timing of my volunteering. When I arrived, the students were in the middle of their examination week, during which they had two exams per day. I would have been very interested in following the ordinary school days and lessons, but no luck this time.
Intrestingly, the school semester didn't end when the exams were over. After the examination week the next week was full of so called class meetings, meaning that some senior high shool students organized different kinds of competitions to all the classes. Some of the competitions were like quizzes, starting by all of the students from one class sitting on the lobby floor with a pencil snd paper. One senior high student was asking questions in the front, and the students answered and lifted their answer paper in the air. The teachers were walking between the students controlling the event and checking if the students answered correct or wrong. With wrong answer you loose the game and a teacher would tell you to go and join other students following the competition. The competition ended when all but one had joined the audience, so they knew their winner. There was also class meetings in sports, like in volley ball and futsal. In sport class meetings it was classes competing against each other.
After one week of class meetings, it was time for Ramadan to begin. I understood that during Ramadan most schools don't have lessons nor other activities. Sukma Bangsa Pidie school was is special because they had activities 1,5 weeks into Ramadan time. All the activities were of course about religion. The classes gathered together somewhere in the school area, sitting in a circle with their "parent teacher" (I guess). They studied different things about the religion, sometimes about some religious rules, habits, expected behaviour etc., sometimes they tried to memorize parts of the holy Koran. And of course, they had competitions also, named "Ranking number 1". It seemed to me similar to class meetings, but of course the questions were about religion. And they had competitions in teams also, every class was represented by two teams of three members. The classes are named after some famous religious persons by the way (Ibnu Khaldun for example). I asked why they didn't mix girls and boys because it wasn't the first time I noticed that. However, I was told that actually normally they do mix boys and girls. That made my Finnish equality-emphasized teacher soul breathe better again ;)
Another interesting thing I could take part in was the teacher auditions fpr the upcoming semester. The school needs more teachers because there will be more students next semester and also some teachers will be resigning. So they had many teacher candidates, who actually came to the school to teach one lesson while at least one teacher from the school was following. Plus me. I hope I didn't make the poor candidates feel more under pressure... In Finland we do not have auditions for teachers. We announce a job, teachers send applications, we pick up the best applicants and interview them, and the last step is to make the choice. I think there are laws concerning the procedure, so that you cannot just pick your favourite or a friend if there is someone who has clearly better qualifications for the job.
Anyway, these teacher auditions were a new thing for me. I ended up following two auditions. And well, am I terrible if I say the first one was horrible and the second one was just so-so? Even if I obviously don't understand too much about the teaching because of language barrier, I do see how the teacher is with students, what kind of methods the teacher is using and if the teacher is excited aboutthe subject. In the auditions, the candidates can choose themselves what they will teach. In the first audition I was following there was a teacher who had chosen to teach senior high students about democracy. The teacher was expressionless and made the students prepare questions about democracy in two groups, and later the groups would ask the questions from one another. That was so boring, neither did the students enjoy it or the teacher following. Poor candidate. The next candidate was a candidate for Indonesian language teacher teaching to 4th and 5th grade students about stories and the terminology concerning stories, like main characters, plots etc. She was way better than the democracy teacher, but also quite expressionless. The teaching part was better though, she introduced herself and taught with a little bit more enthusiasm (still not too much). But she flopped when she started to tell a story. She went expressionless and it felt like she was a TV news reporter and not reading a story about dragons and princesses to 10-11 years old kids.
I guess in Finland we have pretty high standard for teachers. Even if everybody represents of course their own personality and teaching style, I think the Finnish teacher education guarantees that there is at last some standard level. All teachers have studied in university for five years and every teacher has their Master's degree. Also getting in to the teacher studies is difficult, you have to pass entrance and qualification exams and interviews. For example, the year when I applied to teacher studies, their was about 2700 applicants and 86 was chosen (just a bit over 3%). So it is not too easy to get in to the university (in almost any program), but once you get in, the education is free. That is the good thing in the Finnish system: you don't have to have money to study in university. Also, Finland is pretty much a corruption free country, so you can't buy yourself in.
I heard that average teacher salary in Indonesia is about 300 dollars. There is a huge difference compared to teacher salaries in Finland, but of course life expenses are also very different. Salaries are always reflecting the circumstances, the cost of living in the country. For comparison, I would guess the average salary of a teacher in Finland is around 2300€. (In dollars?) And teachers do not have a good salary in Finland. You don't go for teacher carrier for the money, you do it because it's your calling. Many other professions are better paid.
maanantai 13. kesäkuuta 2016
More about Ramadan
Last time I wrote mostly about how the fasting goes in real life, with no food and drink. There is also more to it. During fasting time it is also prohibited to have sex and smoke. Furthermore, during the Ramadan month it is not allowed to say or do bad things. I guess it is never allowed, but especially during Ramadan it is a big sin. Also, Ramadan is not only about fasting with your body by not eating and drinking. It is also a month when you concentrate on praying and praising the God, Allah. It is also good for you, if you give up something else terrestrial, material or do some other effort you would like to do in your life. For example, if you you think you should spend less time surfing the social media, you can give up using social media during Ramadan. As for me, this was something I wanted to do. So I saw my chance to give up using facebook for at least one week.
By now, I have completed my one week fasting from facebook. I should do more often this! For me, total denying is what works. I am a person of extreme ends. Everything or nothing, you know. I manage the fasting, whether it is with food or something else (I took myself the right to apply the word 'fasting' to different kinds of things, even though probably it is normally used only for food and drink), a lot better a diet where I should control the amounts of food I am eating. In Finland we have a proverb that says "if you give the devil your little finger, it will take the whole hand". I think this is quite true.
Now I have only two days left here in this school with these awesome people. Also for me it means only two days of fasting left. I will continue my travel to Malaysia, and I will not continue fasting there, as we will be doing many physical activities there and I will need more nutrition and hydration. I have completed my fasting goal, that was one week. But as it happens, it feels good to continue fasting the two remaining days also. I thought it would be more difficult, that is why I set a goal for me. I was sure after reaching my goal I would want to eat normally the last days. But actually I have begun to like doing these daily rituals with my new teacher friends here. Waking up way too early for Sahur, breaking the fast together and keep eating until it's time to go to sleep. Lying on the floor chatting and laughing, complaining how full we are and still eating more. It's very powerful, to do all of this together. Sharing the moments and the feelings.
By the way, for some reason these people didn't believe I could manage fasting and they keep being surprised when they hear I am still fasting. And they keep telling me they love me when they hear I am fasting. That is funny, why would my fasting make them love me? :D
For your interest, I did not loose weight during fasting. If there was a change, it was increasing. At least I feel more fat. I was also told that going up in weight during Ramadan is not even rare. People eat more than normally in the evening, night and early morning. People put more effort in the menu during Ramadan, I feel like it is kind of rewarding after being the whole day without eating and drinking. There are some special foods also that are sold only in the Ramadan month. People prepare and buy huge amounts of food and drinks for dinner. The food is delicious, more delicious than normally if possible. That is why you keep eating even though you would be full already, you just want to eat more and more and more. At least it happened to us. It was also something we joked a lot about, your mouth wanting more food than your stomach.
By now, I have completed my one week fasting from facebook. I should do more often this! For me, total denying is what works. I am a person of extreme ends. Everything or nothing, you know. I manage the fasting, whether it is with food or something else (I took myself the right to apply the word 'fasting' to different kinds of things, even though probably it is normally used only for food and drink), a lot better a diet where I should control the amounts of food I am eating. In Finland we have a proverb that says "if you give the devil your little finger, it will take the whole hand". I think this is quite true.
Now I have only two days left here in this school with these awesome people. Also for me it means only two days of fasting left. I will continue my travel to Malaysia, and I will not continue fasting there, as we will be doing many physical activities there and I will need more nutrition and hydration. I have completed my fasting goal, that was one week. But as it happens, it feels good to continue fasting the two remaining days also. I thought it would be more difficult, that is why I set a goal for me. I was sure after reaching my goal I would want to eat normally the last days. But actually I have begun to like doing these daily rituals with my new teacher friends here. Waking up way too early for Sahur, breaking the fast together and keep eating until it's time to go to sleep. Lying on the floor chatting and laughing, complaining how full we are and still eating more. It's very powerful, to do all of this together. Sharing the moments and the feelings.
By the way, for some reason these people didn't believe I could manage fasting and they keep being surprised when they hear I am still fasting. And they keep telling me they love me when they hear I am fasting. That is funny, why would my fasting make them love me? :D
For your interest, I did not loose weight during fasting. If there was a change, it was increasing. At least I feel more fat. I was also told that going up in weight during Ramadan is not even rare. People eat more than normally in the evening, night and early morning. People put more effort in the menu during Ramadan, I feel like it is kind of rewarding after being the whole day without eating and drinking. There are some special foods also that are sold only in the Ramadan month. People prepare and buy huge amounts of food and drinks for dinner. The food is delicious, more delicious than normally if possible. That is why you keep eating even though you would be full already, you just want to eat more and more and more. At least it happened to us. It was also something we joked a lot about, your mouth wanting more food than your stomach.
lauantai 11. kesäkuuta 2016
About praying
I think I have taken a step closer to understanding the praying. When I think about it as showing gratitude to your god for evertyhing you have got. Taking time for being grateful for all the good we have in our lives. Acknowledging all the good we actually have, reminding ourselves about all the things we can be grateful and happy for.
Personally I am closest to agnostic I think, I think that is pretty common in Finland and maybe in some other western countries. I mean, even though statisticly about 70% of Finnish people belong to the Christian church, the religion doesn't play any role in most people's lives.That's the way it is, people concentrate on the terrestrial things in life. But at the same time than people get more busy with their terrestrial lives with carriers, families and hobbies, their level of stress increases and mental well-being decreases. New trends to increase our well-being in everyday life keep popping up: zen meditation, mindfulness, yoga etc. Research in positive psychology shows the strengthening and healing effect of gratitude and other positive feelings. I think positive psychology, that I personally highly appreciate and am interested in, has born because of the lack of religion in western people's lives. It has come to remind us to be grateful for what we've got, something that highly religious people probably never stopped doing. In the Islamic world, at least here in Aceh (Sunni Islamic area) people pray five times a day, meaning that they will at least five times a day take time to be grateful. I bet they are happier than many western people. Our feelings are affected by our thinking. If ee don't have take time for feeling positive feelings because we are so busy, it affects our well-being. Improving mental well-being equals feeling more positive feelings such as gratitude, joy and happiness. Increasing positive feelings happens through changing our thinking, by concentrating on thinking more positive, by taking time for thinking positive thoughts every day.
Even though I am still far away from understanding the strict obeying of one holy book, no matter what the religion is, I do understand the strengthening and unitive power that continuous praying has. I can see the similarities between praying and positive psychology. Making time in your life for being grateful and by that increasing your well-being. Right before writing this, I spent a short while "meditating", kind of praying, thinking about everything I am grateful for. And I do feel good now. In some way I do believe there is a higher power, but still I do not personate that power. When I am grateful and kind of "pray" in my own way, I am not telling my thoughts of gratitude to any named god, but more for an impersonated power, the universum. Pr something like that.
For the Muslims, praying is a lot of praising their god, Allah. Also in Christian religion I have experienced the same, the masses in the church contains too much praising for my taste. I don't understand the praising and that is why I don't feel comfortable with it. What is interesting but a little hard to understand here, is that the Muslims pray always in Arabic language, even though they would not understand the meaning. They just memorize the holy Koran so well that they can recite it despite of understanding it or not. Of course they have translations in another book, and it is possible to study Arabic language. It is better for them, if they do understand the praying, but it is not obligation. Sometimes there are optional prayings, like in this school after morning circle, that is a daily routine here in the morning when teachers gather together for daily announcements. In the optional prayings you can pray in whatever language, because the god will understand your wishes and thoughts. And it would be impossible to pray from your heart with a language you cannot speak. For me, these optional prayings make more sense than the praising part. But on the other hand, I am somehow starting to understand that the daily praying and praising routines must feel very safe, strengthening and unitive. It is powerful. There is something very beautiful in the praying routine also.
Normally men pray in the Mosque and women can choose if they pray in the Mosque or at home. I have got to be there by my Guardian Angel's side when she was reciting the holy Koran and I have seen the praying routine from close. It is beautiful, and at the same time it feels like there is something sensitive or vulnerable in it. I feel it's an honor that I am allowed to follow it from so close, sitting by the side. Or taking pictures of it. It doesn't matter that I am not a Muslim, I am still welcome to follow the ritual as I am also welcome in this school being the only non-Muslim here. In the end we are all the same, similar humans all over the world, despite of our religious orientation. We are people who feel, who express themselves, who care about others and who are interested in learning new things. Humanity and the ability to feel and think is a unitive power with no limits.
Personally I am closest to agnostic I think, I think that is pretty common in Finland and maybe in some other western countries. I mean, even though statisticly about 70% of Finnish people belong to the Christian church, the religion doesn't play any role in most people's lives.That's the way it is, people concentrate on the terrestrial things in life. But at the same time than people get more busy with their terrestrial lives with carriers, families and hobbies, their level of stress increases and mental well-being decreases. New trends to increase our well-being in everyday life keep popping up: zen meditation, mindfulness, yoga etc. Research in positive psychology shows the strengthening and healing effect of gratitude and other positive feelings. I think positive psychology, that I personally highly appreciate and am interested in, has born because of the lack of religion in western people's lives. It has come to remind us to be grateful for what we've got, something that highly religious people probably never stopped doing. In the Islamic world, at least here in Aceh (Sunni Islamic area) people pray five times a day, meaning that they will at least five times a day take time to be grateful. I bet they are happier than many western people. Our feelings are affected by our thinking. If ee don't have take time for feeling positive feelings because we are so busy, it affects our well-being. Improving mental well-being equals feeling more positive feelings such as gratitude, joy and happiness. Increasing positive feelings happens through changing our thinking, by concentrating on thinking more positive, by taking time for thinking positive thoughts every day.
Even though I am still far away from understanding the strict obeying of one holy book, no matter what the religion is, I do understand the strengthening and unitive power that continuous praying has. I can see the similarities between praying and positive psychology. Making time in your life for being grateful and by that increasing your well-being. Right before writing this, I spent a short while "meditating", kind of praying, thinking about everything I am grateful for. And I do feel good now. In some way I do believe there is a higher power, but still I do not personate that power. When I am grateful and kind of "pray" in my own way, I am not telling my thoughts of gratitude to any named god, but more for an impersonated power, the universum. Pr something like that.
For the Muslims, praying is a lot of praising their god, Allah. Also in Christian religion I have experienced the same, the masses in the church contains too much praising for my taste. I don't understand the praising and that is why I don't feel comfortable with it. What is interesting but a little hard to understand here, is that the Muslims pray always in Arabic language, even though they would not understand the meaning. They just memorize the holy Koran so well that they can recite it despite of understanding it or not. Of course they have translations in another book, and it is possible to study Arabic language. It is better for them, if they do understand the praying, but it is not obligation. Sometimes there are optional prayings, like in this school after morning circle, that is a daily routine here in the morning when teachers gather together for daily announcements. In the optional prayings you can pray in whatever language, because the god will understand your wishes and thoughts. And it would be impossible to pray from your heart with a language you cannot speak. For me, these optional prayings make more sense than the praising part. But on the other hand, I am somehow starting to understand that the daily praying and praising routines must feel very safe, strengthening and unitive. It is powerful. There is something very beautiful in the praying routine also.
Normally men pray in the Mosque and women can choose if they pray in the Mosque or at home. I have got to be there by my Guardian Angel's side when she was reciting the holy Koran and I have seen the praying routine from close. It is beautiful, and at the same time it feels like there is something sensitive or vulnerable in it. I feel it's an honor that I am allowed to follow it from so close, sitting by the side. Or taking pictures of it. It doesn't matter that I am not a Muslim, I am still welcome to follow the ritual as I am also welcome in this school being the only non-Muslim here. In the end we are all the same, similar humans all over the world, despite of our religious orientation. We are people who feel, who express themselves, who care about others and who are interested in learning new things. Humanity and the ability to feel and think is a unitive power with no limits.
torstai 9. kesäkuuta 2016
Ramadan
The Ramadan month happened to be begin during my volunteering period here in Aceh. I decided that I want to try fasting together with other people. Praying is an important part of Ramadan, people pray more and longer sessions during Ramadan. I am of course not taking part in that, but I am trying to fast with them. Fasting during Ramadan is obligatory for every healthy, grown-up Muslim. Kids, pregnant women and sick people don't have to fast. And girls having their period are not fasting at the time, but they will replace the missed days during the following year.
The little knowledge I thought I had about Muslims's fasting period has been very little and partly mistaken. I thought they would really not be eating at all or that the variety of food you would be allowed to eat during night would be very small. However, as it now appears to me after lots of asking and listening, they can actually eat what they want. The only thing is that eating and drinking is only allowed after about 7pm and before about 5am. I use the word 'about' because actually the call for praying from the Mosque defines the time, but it is approximately around those times.
So I found out that during Ramadan people actually eat and drink at 7pm, a little more between praying and sleeping around midnight, and then they wake up after 4am to eat "Sahur", a meal to prepare them for fasting during the day. Then because they don't eat during the day, they spend their time mostly at home, sleeping, watching TV, or relaxing in some other way, avoiding any physical activity that would make them hungry or thirsty. Of course during working days people will work, but at least in some places I heard they work only half a day during Ramadan. Here in the school students have only religion classes and the days are shorter than normally.
The weekend before Ramadan, people go out on trips with their family and friends. During Ramadan they don't do such things, because it would make them hungry/thursty. All this is very confusing to me. As for eating it sounds like they turn their day and night around. Still 2-3 meals, but during the night. And I really do not understand why drinking water is not allowed during fasting. There is no nutrition value in water, is there? No calories, it just keeps you alive and keeps the dehydration away. No wonder people spend their time inside if water is not allowed, the heat would kill them.
Also, I thought before that fasting means literally being without food. With more knowledge I can say they might actually eat the same amount or almost the same, but just on different time of the 24 hours available.
At first I also thought that it sounds weird to fast if it makes you spend your time just inside, sleep and rest because you don't have energy for more. I thought, what's the point if you miss one whole month of nice activitites you could do with the people you love? After some processing I started to realize that the point might just be in giving up something of the fun, terrestrial and material habits that we have. To concentrate more on the religion, on being good to other people and develop one's mental strengths. It is kind of downshifting for one month, to concentrate on the real important things in life.
Now I have successfully completed four days of fasting. My own dear guardian angel here, Mukhlisa, did her best to keep me from fasting. She was worried about me and she is doing her everything to keep me safe and feeling good here. But I stubbornly denied to break the fast before the correct time to break it, and after two days she understood she cannot change my mind :D So, four days I have been fasting like them, waking up for Sahur at 4.15 and then keeping mind strong until 7pm, when we have eaten a big dinner. For me, as morning-sleepy as I am, the crazy early wakeup is the hardest part of fasting maybe. But somehow, even though getting up so early is tough for me, I smile just at the thought of it. I do think it is crazy and the people here are crazy to do it for one whole month, but then - I like a little crazy people. And there is definately something fascinating about it, how strong is the power that combines all these people and gets them year after year to repeat these bizarre traditions. There is something really powerful and amazing in that.
For me, out of the four days I have fasted, second and third were the most difficult days. The first day was holiday, so we were mostly inside resting and spending time with students in the dormitory. Inside it's cooler, thanks to air conditioning. On the fourth day we had so many activities all day through, that there was not so much time to about being hungry or thirsty. On the other hand during the second and the third day there was not so much activities, which gives the brain time to think about food and how many hours is left before breaking the fast. Time goes slowly when you are waiting.
After eating too much at the dinner, we have spend a good time with my teacher friends lying on the floor, being too full to move, chatting, teaching each other our languages and just having fun. I really like it, and I am so happy to have become closer to these awesome teachers friends. We are having so much fun together! Saya sangat senang.
The little knowledge I thought I had about Muslims's fasting period has been very little and partly mistaken. I thought they would really not be eating at all or that the variety of food you would be allowed to eat during night would be very small. However, as it now appears to me after lots of asking and listening, they can actually eat what they want. The only thing is that eating and drinking is only allowed after about 7pm and before about 5am. I use the word 'about' because actually the call for praying from the Mosque defines the time, but it is approximately around those times.
So I found out that during Ramadan people actually eat and drink at 7pm, a little more between praying and sleeping around midnight, and then they wake up after 4am to eat "Sahur", a meal to prepare them for fasting during the day. Then because they don't eat during the day, they spend their time mostly at home, sleeping, watching TV, or relaxing in some other way, avoiding any physical activity that would make them hungry or thirsty. Of course during working days people will work, but at least in some places I heard they work only half a day during Ramadan. Here in the school students have only religion classes and the days are shorter than normally.
The weekend before Ramadan, people go out on trips with their family and friends. During Ramadan they don't do such things, because it would make them hungry/thursty. All this is very confusing to me. As for eating it sounds like they turn their day and night around. Still 2-3 meals, but during the night. And I really do not understand why drinking water is not allowed during fasting. There is no nutrition value in water, is there? No calories, it just keeps you alive and keeps the dehydration away. No wonder people spend their time inside if water is not allowed, the heat would kill them.
Also, I thought before that fasting means literally being without food. With more knowledge I can say they might actually eat the same amount or almost the same, but just on different time of the 24 hours available.
At first I also thought that it sounds weird to fast if it makes you spend your time just inside, sleep and rest because you don't have energy for more. I thought, what's the point if you miss one whole month of nice activitites you could do with the people you love? After some processing I started to realize that the point might just be in giving up something of the fun, terrestrial and material habits that we have. To concentrate more on the religion, on being good to other people and develop one's mental strengths. It is kind of downshifting for one month, to concentrate on the real important things in life.
Now I have successfully completed four days of fasting. My own dear guardian angel here, Mukhlisa, did her best to keep me from fasting. She was worried about me and she is doing her everything to keep me safe and feeling good here. But I stubbornly denied to break the fast before the correct time to break it, and after two days she understood she cannot change my mind :D So, four days I have been fasting like them, waking up for Sahur at 4.15 and then keeping mind strong until 7pm, when we have eaten a big dinner. For me, as morning-sleepy as I am, the crazy early wakeup is the hardest part of fasting maybe. But somehow, even though getting up so early is tough for me, I smile just at the thought of it. I do think it is crazy and the people here are crazy to do it for one whole month, but then - I like a little crazy people. And there is definately something fascinating about it, how strong is the power that combines all these people and gets them year after year to repeat these bizarre traditions. There is something really powerful and amazing in that.
For me, out of the four days I have fasted, second and third were the most difficult days. The first day was holiday, so we were mostly inside resting and spending time with students in the dormitory. Inside it's cooler, thanks to air conditioning. On the fourth day we had so many activities all day through, that there was not so much time to about being hungry or thirsty. On the other hand during the second and the third day there was not so much activities, which gives the brain time to think about food and how many hours is left before breaking the fast. Time goes slowly when you are waiting.
After eating too much at the dinner, we have spend a good time with my teacher friends lying on the floor, being too full to move, chatting, teaching each other our languages and just having fun. I really like it, and I am so happy to have become closer to these awesome teachers friends. We are having so much fun together! Saya sangat senang.
maanantai 6. kesäkuuta 2016
Culture shock
I want to start with the respect and generosity, because that is my first impression of Acehnese people. The moment I arrived in the airport and met the teachers who had come to pick me up, I was overwhelmed with how cheerful, smiling and generous people are here. I am in good hands here, they really want to take care of me and make me feel good. When I met students and teachers in the school next day, I was equally overwhelmed and happy to see everybody smiling welcomingly to me. I could have not felt more welcome here. Again, smiling has such a strong effect.
Acehnese culture is all about treating other people with respect and dignity. They are so polite, generous and hospitable that it took me time to get used to it. Actually, I still haven't quite got used to it. For example, I have hard time just sitting and waiting when the other teachers bring the food to the table plate by plate. I have asked to help them, but they don't let me help. I'm their guest, so they will do their everything for me. For me it feels like being treated as a queen, even if I would prefer to be treated as an equal. But that is part of the culture, I guess. A couple of times I have sneaked to wash my plate without asking, and even if I have felt a little guilty about it, it has also felt so good to do my own share of the duties. I live in a guest house with a lovely English teacher, who also does her everything for me to feel good here. In the start there was also an American girl volunteering here and sharing the guest house with us, but now she has returned to US.
One part of the generosity I have got to know is that they are all the time paying me all kinds of tradiotional foods and drinks that they want me to taste. The food is so good, but very spicy. So most times they will order less spicy for me. My favourite foods so far are nasi goreng (fried rice), kacang (peanuts, roasted) and gadu gadu (kind of salad with peanuts and tofu). And the fresh fruits and juices, the place is a real fruit paradise! They have so many delicious fruits here that I have never tasted before. Fruits are delicious as they are but also as juice drinks. Just think about avocado juice, guava juice, mango juice, dragon fruit juice... You name it! One weird thing related to eating here is that people eat with hands! I have never before been in a culture where people eat rice with vegetables and sauce with bare hands. That is.. fascinating, I would say. Weird but fascinating at the same time. For me they always prepare forks and spoons, though. So far I have not tried it with hands, but I think I will try it some day. Step out of my usual comfort zone.
Then to religion, which is a topic that cannot be missed when talking about Acehnese culture. Aceh is strictly Islamic area and the religion plays an extremely important role in people's life here. The Religion defines the pace of Acehnese people's everyday life. They will wake up every day to pray at 5.30. During the day they will pray again at certain times ending up with five times praying before they go to sleep in the evening. An other visible part of the religion is the clothing. All women wear hijab to cover their hair and neck, leaving only the face visible. They wear also long-sleeved shirts and long skirt/pants. Men's clothing seems pretty "normal" for me, meaning by normal that it doesn't differ so much from what I am used to. Except when they are going to pray and they use some kind of skirt (well, it is really not a skirt but I don't remember the name and for outsider it is pretty similar to skirt) and occasionaly a special cap. Women have a special, longer hijab for praying.
As I said, all people here are muslims and obey the same rules. Visitors are adviced to follow the cultural way of clothing, but it is not so strict. As a non-muslim woman I don't need to wear a hijab and a t-shirt is ok as long as it covers at least shoulders and the neckline is not too big. Long pants/skirt is still highly recommended. As for me, I am having a hard time trying to stand out the hot weather in long pants and t-shirt. I would like wear shorts and and top. This is where my inner feminist, that I never before knew was there so strongly, lifts her head. Coming from a country where equality is a daily topic, I'm really having a hard time trying to understand and accept the inequality in clothing here. Men can wear what they want to wear, in other words they can wear what is comfortable to wear in the heat while women have to cover themselves from top to toe. I even had my short breakdown and wiping moment over this topic, the difficulty in understanding the inequality concerning clothing. But it doesn't seem to bother any women here, it is a part of the culture. It is what the holy Koran says, and that's the law. If they are not bothered, why would I be? At least I try to think like that. The bigger the difference, the more you learn. I am learning so much about the local culture and the Islamic religion.
Anyway, despite of what I wear, I am a white western here so everybody wants photos with me! If I go anywhere here, there will be people asking if they can take a photo with me. Sometimes they don't even ask, just sneak beside you and their friend sneaks on the frontside to take a picture. And when I stop for taking a picture of a nice scenery, there will be more than one camera turning to me to sneak a picture of me when I "don't notice". That is so bizarre to me, wanting to take pictures with a total stranger. What are they gonna do with the pics? There is definately a culture difference here also. In the beginning it is just funny, but at some point your smiling muscles start to shake of all the posing... And did I tell you I am a giant here? People here are so small and short. That must be one more motivation to them to take pictures with me. I feel almost like a female Hagrid here! :D
Acehnese culture is all about treating other people with respect and dignity. They are so polite, generous and hospitable that it took me time to get used to it. Actually, I still haven't quite got used to it. For example, I have hard time just sitting and waiting when the other teachers bring the food to the table plate by plate. I have asked to help them, but they don't let me help. I'm their guest, so they will do their everything for me. For me it feels like being treated as a queen, even if I would prefer to be treated as an equal. But that is part of the culture, I guess. A couple of times I have sneaked to wash my plate without asking, and even if I have felt a little guilty about it, it has also felt so good to do my own share of the duties. I live in a guest house with a lovely English teacher, who also does her everything for me to feel good here. In the start there was also an American girl volunteering here and sharing the guest house with us, but now she has returned to US.
One part of the generosity I have got to know is that they are all the time paying me all kinds of tradiotional foods and drinks that they want me to taste. The food is so good, but very spicy. So most times they will order less spicy for me. My favourite foods so far are nasi goreng (fried rice), kacang (peanuts, roasted) and gadu gadu (kind of salad with peanuts and tofu). And the fresh fruits and juices, the place is a real fruit paradise! They have so many delicious fruits here that I have never tasted before. Fruits are delicious as they are but also as juice drinks. Just think about avocado juice, guava juice, mango juice, dragon fruit juice... You name it! One weird thing related to eating here is that people eat with hands! I have never before been in a culture where people eat rice with vegetables and sauce with bare hands. That is.. fascinating, I would say. Weird but fascinating at the same time. For me they always prepare forks and spoons, though. So far I have not tried it with hands, but I think I will try it some day. Step out of my usual comfort zone.
Then to religion, which is a topic that cannot be missed when talking about Acehnese culture. Aceh is strictly Islamic area and the religion plays an extremely important role in people's life here. The Religion defines the pace of Acehnese people's everyday life. They will wake up every day to pray at 5.30. During the day they will pray again at certain times ending up with five times praying before they go to sleep in the evening. An other visible part of the religion is the clothing. All women wear hijab to cover their hair and neck, leaving only the face visible. They wear also long-sleeved shirts and long skirt/pants. Men's clothing seems pretty "normal" for me, meaning by normal that it doesn't differ so much from what I am used to. Except when they are going to pray and they use some kind of skirt (well, it is really not a skirt but I don't remember the name and for outsider it is pretty similar to skirt) and occasionaly a special cap. Women have a special, longer hijab for praying.
As I said, all people here are muslims and obey the same rules. Visitors are adviced to follow the cultural way of clothing, but it is not so strict. As a non-muslim woman I don't need to wear a hijab and a t-shirt is ok as long as it covers at least shoulders and the neckline is not too big. Long pants/skirt is still highly recommended. As for me, I am having a hard time trying to stand out the hot weather in long pants and t-shirt. I would like wear shorts and and top. This is where my inner feminist, that I never before knew was there so strongly, lifts her head. Coming from a country where equality is a daily topic, I'm really having a hard time trying to understand and accept the inequality in clothing here. Men can wear what they want to wear, in other words they can wear what is comfortable to wear in the heat while women have to cover themselves from top to toe. I even had my short breakdown and wiping moment over this topic, the difficulty in understanding the inequality concerning clothing. But it doesn't seem to bother any women here, it is a part of the culture. It is what the holy Koran says, and that's the law. If they are not bothered, why would I be? At least I try to think like that. The bigger the difference, the more you learn. I am learning so much about the local culture and the Islamic religion.
Anyway, despite of what I wear, I am a white western here so everybody wants photos with me! If I go anywhere here, there will be people asking if they can take a photo with me. Sometimes they don't even ask, just sneak beside you and their friend sneaks on the frontside to take a picture. And when I stop for taking a picture of a nice scenery, there will be more than one camera turning to me to sneak a picture of me when I "don't notice". That is so bizarre to me, wanting to take pictures with a total stranger. What are they gonna do with the pics? There is definately a culture difference here also. In the beginning it is just funny, but at some point your smiling muscles start to shake of all the posing... And did I tell you I am a giant here? People here are so small and short. That must be one more motivation to them to take pictures with me. I feel almost like a female Hagrid here! :D
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