Bridging the Gap

Ever since I came to work in Indonesia, I have been trying my darndest to learn to speak and write in Bahasa Indonesia. It took me about a month to be able to speak at least a smattering of Bahasa Indonesia to get me thru my day. Using my handy Inggris-Bahasa-Inggris kamus (that's dictionary to you), I used to write down at least 10 words that I don't understand, look up their meaning, and using these 10 words the following day in my conversation. Two months of studying the language, I find myself still groping for words to express my self. The hardest part for me was how to construct the sentences. Bahasa Indonesia has no tenses and usually the structure is the reverse in English. A lot of words are almost the same as in Tagalog so it wouldn't seem to hard to at least be able to communicate, although in "barok" style. So for you trying to learn Bahasa Indonesia, below are my 10 words for the day:

1. pagi -morning ("selamat pagi" means good morning)
2. siang -afternoon
3. malam- evening
4. apa kabar? - how are you?
5. terima kasih - thank you
6. sama- sama - welcome (could also mean together)
7. berapa - how many?
8. harga -price
9. harganya berapa - how much?
10. mahal/mura - expensive/cheap


Hope this will get you started in learning Bahasa Indonesia.

Sukses!

Buddha be Praised!

Borobudur, located in Magelang, Central Java, is a ninth century Mahayana Buddhist temple built around 800AD. Composed of around 6 levels, each level has a story to tell about Buddha and his teachings. At the top of the temple, there are several cone shaped structures, wherein you can find a life sized stone scuplture of Buddha. It is said that if you touch this idol and make a wish, then your wish will come true. At the top of the temple, you can see from miles around and you can just sit in a corner and contemplate on life.

After visiting the temple, you might want to look at the souvenir shops outside the main gates. Within these stalls you will find a variety of souvenirs to choose from. There are silver replicas of Borobudur, t shirts, pens, paintings, weird masks, etc. And if you fail to visit these stalls, there are a lot of hawkers that will flock to you, making you "kulit" until you buy from them. Buti na lang, I look like an Indonesian so they did not flock to me like they did with the Caucasians. The hassles of being white!

Borobudur is definitely a place to visit and should be in your itinerary when you are in Indonesia. Buddha bless you!

Info: Entrance fee is Rp9,000 per person. If you have a camera, you have to pay additional Rp 1,000 and Rp 2,000 for a videocam. Oh, and in case they ask you where you're from, just tell them that you're from Jakarta or something. They have a different charge for orang asing (foreigners) and I'm sure its more expensive than the rates I have mentioned. You can also get a tour guide for around Rp 50,000. But make sure your guide's English is really good.

Soto Sapi: Food for kings

Yesterday, while travelling in the heart of Jogyakarta, we stopped by this eatery of Pak Marto. Situated near the palace of the king of Jogya, this small eatery is always full. People regularly stop by Pak Marto to taste his famous Soto Sapi. This dish is like our Pinoy Nilaga, made also with beef and some vegetables. You can eat it on its own or you can also eat it with rice (which I did because I am Pinoy). Soto Sapi comes with a plate of babat goreng, a dish of fried cow innards particularly the rumen. Locals say that a long time ago, Soto Sapi is the food of choice of kings in Jogya. Pak Marto's dishes are really good and not that expensive. The place is clean and orderly, but they only serve Tehbotol, a locally manufactured tea beverage. So, if you're in a royal mood, visit Pak Marto's in Jogya and feel like a king with their Soto Sapi!

To Spray or Not to Spray

New Castle's Disease or ND, is a viral disease that results in high mortality and is very infectious. Today, most farms have 1 or 2 ND vaccinations for their broiler program. But inspite of this preventive measures, there still sporadic outbreaks and this usually happens during the rainy season. So if there is an outbreak, it will probably best to revaccinate the whole flock with a more potent ND live vaccine (such as La Sota) but it is recommended that the vaccine be applied thru spray vaccination. Although not widely used in Indonesia, spray vaccination is usually the method of choice because; 1) the vaccine enters the nasal passages thereby ensuring faster delivery; 2) it can be done quickly ( you need just 15 minutes to spray a 5,000 population farm), and 3) it is very easy to do.

So in cases when there is an outbreak of ND in your farms, then the best way to control the mortality and the spread of the disease is thru spray vaccination.

The Big Fish

Last week I went to Pati, Demak and Jepara as part of my regular farm visits. We had lunch in Pati in this by the corner turo turo and we ate this really weird looking fish. The locals call this food "manyung". I think they cook it in coconut milk and they add ingedients that I don't know about. The taste is, well, let's just say that its a local taste. I tried a piece of it but found that I am not really "sanay" with the taste. Look at the photo and judge or yourself. A lot of the locals patronize this place because of the "manyung" and probably this out of the way eatery is "terkenal di sana".

Holidays

Spent last chritmas in the Philippines. Xmas in the Philippines never changes. You might think that not so many people will go out shopping because of lack of money, but its not the case. Everywhere you go its traffic. Long lines at the cashier, long lines at the parking area, everywhere. But at least I get to buy some gifts and spend some quality time with my wife and kid.

Good to be home.

Why Create A Blog

Most people I know have their own blogs and I was wondering what the buzz was all about. So being a Pinoy Dr. Hewan (veterinarian) in Indonesia, I thought I should also start my own blog. Not for anyones benefit but just to pass the time and record my experiences here in this country. Hopefully in the future, other Dr. Hewans (DrH) can look into my logs and pick some information that they might need in their field especially if its in poultry. Also, I welcome other DrHs to post also their experiences in the field of veterinary medicine in Indonesia.

I hope to record all my adventures not only in the field of veterinary medicine but also my adventures in Indonesia's culture, people and places that I will be able to visit while I am staying in this beautiful country.

Selamat datang!