by admin | Apr 6, 2020 | Blog Right, Greetings
First-time visitors to Indonesia, who take the trouble to study Indonesian at language centers in Yogyakarta and elsewhere, often find themselves befuddled when they get the chance to test their newly-acquired language skills. To their dismay, what they have learned...
by admin | Apr 6, 2020 | Blog Right, Greetings
Nadiem Makarim, Minister of Education and Culture, seems to take pleasure in shocking fellow Indonesians, particularly conservative-minded parents and educators with his out-of-the-box suggestions on altering and improving current schooling and learning methods. At...
by admin | Jan 7, 2020 | Blog Right, Greetings
Storytelling has come a long way since the bygone days when people – young and old – used to sit around a venerable figure under a big banyan tree and listen rapturously to exciting tales of heroism, adventure and mystery. Oral storytelling was and remains in a few...
by admin | Jan 7, 2020 | Blog, Ruminations
With ten children in my family and limited private space in our home, the attic was a favorite haunt for me, especially in inclement weather when it was impossible to play outside and otherwise difficult to get beyond calling reach of a parent or nagging distance from...
by admin | Jan 7, 2020 | Blog Right, Greetings
Of all the new ministers in President Joko Widodo’s second government, none has sparked more debate and controversy than the 35-year-old Harvard-educated Nadiem Makarim, Indonesia’s new education and culture minister. Barely two months into his new job, Nadiem shocked...
by admin | Dec 24, 2019 | Blog, Ruminations
In Indonesian there are several words for “souvenir.” One is oleh-oleh: gifts brought back from a trip, often snacks particular to the region visited (tempé crisps from Malang, for instance, or fermented cassava from Purwakarta). Another is cinderamata: keepsake items...
