I was just informed by Fulbright's Indonesian host, Aminef, that I'll be assigned to teach English at Pesantren Darul Hijrah Putra in Martapura, South Kalimantan. Fulbright in Indonesia, along with the American Embassy in Jakarta, is now starting to expand its English teaching program by including Islamic schools (pesantren) in its school network. Well, I can sense a certain agenda with this expanded approach, similar to the USAID's channeling funds to liberal Islamic groups through the Asia Foundation, which I will touch on later. Not that there's anything wrong with it, as long as there's no "ideological propagation" involved. I'm actually very excited to teach at a pesantren in Kalimantan, which I've never been to before.
To those who are not familiar with Indonesian religious education, pesantren is essentially a traditional religious school. Presently, it's instruction is not so traditional any more since most pesantren now include modern subjects such as science, English, and Math as part of their curriculum. Nevertheless, it is still traditional in the sense that it adheres to the traditionalist--as opposed to modernist--school of Islam, which revolves around studying and memorizing ancient Islamic canons (kitab kuning) and following the leadership of charismatic ulamas (religious leaders). The reason I am assigned to a pesantren is because of my academic background and by being a Muslim, of course. My Masters thesis deals with the topic of Islamic revivalism in Indonesia during Suharto's era (1966 to 1998), and one-half of it involves the study of the two main Islamic mass organizations in Indonesia, the traditionalist Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the modernist Muhammadiyah. While I have visited a couple of pesantrens in West Java before, the prospect of actually living and teaching in one for a year is very attractive indeed.
In terms of location, I have no clue whatsoever of the whereabouts of Martapura. I had to Google it up just to get a brief idea of what the place is like. From what I've gathered so far it's a diamond mining town about 25 miles or 40 km from Banjarmasin, the closest big city, which is also the capital of the South Kalimantan province. My sense is Martapura is out in the boondocks, with not much else going on except diamond mining and Islamic learning--and I'm perfectly fine with it. It's a good change of pace for now. It's also a comfort to know that the closest "city," Banjarmasin, is only 40 km away and easily accessible by abundant of public transportation, which also has a regional airport, in case if I feel like temporarily escaping to Java or Malaysia, for that matter. What I also need to do while I'm over there is to find good diving spots. I briefly read about the two major islands in the vicinity, Pulau Kembangan (?) and Pulau Kaget, which I hope offer good diving opportunities.
Boy, am I psyched...
7 comments:
oh dah tau tempat kat mana. small town ke? easily accessed?
seems like aku dah jadi regular commentor here. hahaha
pekan kecik jer... dlm 40km dr banjarmasin.. so, kalau dr banjarmasin tu boleh naik bot sampai la ke tempat aku.. banjarmasin ada regional airport la.. so senang kalau nak escape ke mana2... tp kalau aku nak balik mesia kena gi jakarta dulu pas tu baru ke KL pasal takder direct flight...
It's gonna be fun!! (envious)
I sure hope so, Juria. Being city-bred I don't know how long I can last until the rural isolation hits me. But it's good to know that Banjarmasin is only a short bus-ride away. As long as it has karaoke bars I'm all set.
hey..such good news..at least u'll be nearer to msia..(despite the unavailability of direct flights).funny la u n ur passion for karaoke..;).any good diving spots there? am planning to go get the license in Bunaken, N.Sulawesi (heard the island is sooo cantik n one of the best diving spot) but found out that it is actually cheaper to get the license done here first, then only go dive there.hmm..looks like i have to start saving now.catch ya later alligator!
You'll do fine, even if you go deep in the Jungle of Congo. I'm sure you'll find a way to amuse yourself, photography, getting to know their culture, night stories, huntings, their dances, their tapai, their rituals if there's any left, many many things you don't see on the street. :)
Juria: Yeah, I'll be fine... no doubt. But I'm worried about not being able to keep up with what's going on around the world. I'm a news junkie, see... and I get restless when I don't read the newspaper every day! Get well soon...
Kay: We haven't karaoked together for quite a while now and we have to do it some time soon. I've never been to Bunaken but I heard it's great for diving. My American friend went to Manado in N. Sulawesi to study intensive Bahasa Indonesia said that Bunaken is one of the best places he's ever dived in. And this is coming from a guy who got his Open Water cert by doing it in the Red Sea. Anyway, I went diving last Sunday at a quarry about 30 mins outside of Madison, and it was freezing as hell. The air temperature is about 60 F (15 Celsius) and the bottom temperature was 45 F (7 Celsius)!! And I'll be going there again this coming Sunday. All in preparation to go to Indo... so, get your C-card (a diving lingo for your license) and we can go hang out with Nemo...
Post a Comment