January-February Higlight

On the streets of Jogjakarta, Indonesia, you can find all kinds of people and life. Cars, bikers, pedestrians, cats, becaks, food stands and much more. People of all types use these streets to get around and live daily life like any normal person would. For some people the streets are merely a way to get from point A to B, but for others the streets are both point A and B. For the past couple months here, I’ve always had a place to be, and the streets have always just been, well, streets. This month I had the opportunity interact with some of the people that these streets are so much more than just streets to.

 A becak is a traditional form of transportation in Jogjakarta. It is a type of pedi-cab/rickshaw device that can be found in countless numbers on every street of Jogja. Usually the becak drivers are men that spend all their days pedaling up and down main streets, looking for buisness. I see drivers on the side of the road sleeping in their becak, both during the day and at night. Some don’t have homes, but others do. In any case, the majority of their lives are spent on the road. Without pedestrians, they would not have a job. My school recently hosted an event named “Becak on Vacation”. Many of these becak drivers were invited to a day where they were put into groups, and had to go to about 10 different posts around the city. Sabine, another YES student, and I lead a post where we taught the drivers a little English. The last post was at my school, where there was food and karaoke for all. It was a fun day, and interesting to get the chance to talk to some of the drivers about the way they live their lives.

Another community that spends a lot of time on the streets are ‘Pengamen’. These people are usually from 8-18 years old. With guitars or ukuleles in hand, they walk the streets serenading anyone they pass, stopped cars, motorcycles, people, as a way to get money. Some of these kids have homes, and some of them don’t. I recently started volunteering teaching English at a home where these kids can come and stay for free, like an orphanage. Some of the kids there have their own homes but sometimes they are dangerous, so they come there to be safe. I teach English with another AFS volunteer and an Australian college student. We rarely have many students because often we are there when most of the kids are still on the streets. Some of the kids are shy, but I’ve also had some very interesting conversations with some. One told me he would send a ghost to follow me and keep me safe, and always asks me if I’ve seen the ghost yet or not. Unfortunately I have yet to have an encounter…

There are many more groups that utilize the streets to their advantage, and although I pass them every day, I hope to learn and understand more of them in the next 3 months. 

This is a picture of me giving a little package of rice and chicken to a man who works on the street. Every other weekend my host parents drive around Jogja and hand out over 300 of these packages to people they pass on the streets. 

Aren't you loving these crazy formal posts? I have to write them once a month for the program and sometimes just post them to this blog. Hopefully i'll get some more posts up soon! :)