Today at Taring Padi we played badminton. For the past two weeks the Tuesday class has been quiet. Many of the children have been busy with other things. While they still come to the library to read books, the Tuesday class has been conflicting with other activities. Which, of course, is to be expected sometimes. The children have a variety of activities in Sembungan village. Several of them have recently been rehearsing for a gamelan performance. Most of them frequently have activities at the mosque. Others are busy babysitting their younger siblings while their parents are working. And some of them just want to take the day off to play.
At the library, however, there are still always things to do, and I take advantage of a quiet day to work with one or two children who do come to clean up the library, organize, and like today, catalogue new books arrived from America. After our hard work, we grab the badminton rackets to play a game of badminton in the yard in front of Taring Padi, and wait for the sun to go down.
Late afternoon is an excellent time of day in Sembungan village. By this time the heat has cooled down a bit and the sky is a deep red-orange. The neighbors are freshly bathed and outside, conversing and enjoying the last light part of the day. Many of the villagers stroll over to Taring Padi, the ibu's (women) holding their freshly powdered babies, an older woman with a new batch of betel nut leaf stuffed in her bottom lip as she sits on a swing and watches our rackets fly. The birdie of the badminton game swoops in the air as Bulan lets out her roaring laugh, two butterflies dancing around the birdie as it soars. A man strolls over in his sarong with his small child to return a book to the library, exchanging it for a new one, while another woman comes with a bag of jewelry and other trinkets to sell to her neighbors. It is peaceful in Sembungan village at this time of day, as we play badminton at Taring Padi until the birdie and butterflies are no longer visible, until the old woman with her betel nut leaf strolls home, and the sounds of the call to prayer (maghrib) echo into the night.
Showing posts with label library. Show all posts
Showing posts with label library. Show all posts
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Monday, December 1, 2008
We're back!!
Class is back in action!! We began again two weeks ago, and the children have returned with fervor. Class numbers are rocketing, with more children from nearby villages showing up to join in the fun. We gather every Tuesday afternoon, from 4pm-5:30, before call to prayer at 6. Many of the children are brought to class by their parents, who are ecstatic to have discovered a free English and reading class. Other children who live closer ride their bikes. Last week we learned about animals, and played games which challenged the kids to bring the animal characteristics into their bodies, while helping them to memorize the names in English. We also read a fabulous book sent from our good friends in Seattle, titled "And the Bear Snores On", about a big bear who hibernates in a cave while the other animals party around him. Very cute, and fun for the kids. So things, at last, are back to their normal routine, with new excitement to learn and grow together!!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Break for Ramadhan
Since September 1st until the beginning of October our weekly English and reading class will be on vacation. The reason being, of course, is for Ramadhan, the Islamic fasting month. Most of the children who usually join class are fasting and have activities at the mosque in the evenings.
Yogyakarta during Ramadhan has a unique feel to it. In the days many food stands are closed, and most people aren't eating or drinking anything. By five o'clock the snack stands begin to come out, until the streets are full with stands selling everything from fried spring rolls and tempe, to fruit juices and coconut sweets. Between 5:30 and 6:00, before sunset, is Maghrib, and the call to break fasting (referred to as buka puasa) calls out through the speakers in every nearby mosque. People at this time gather together to eat and drink, breaking their day-long fast. You will often hear fireworks throughout the village at this time, as people like to set them off after fasting has been broken. The eating continues into the early morning hours, until before sunrise when the call for "Saur" (Imsak) rings out, a call to eat one last time before fasting begins again until the following evening. People wake up to walk to nearby food stalls or cook at home, and the diligent ones from there go to the mosque to pray.
Thus are the activities of our little students for the month. I've observed that most of the children are quite diligent with their fasting, and there's a sense of excitement amongst them in the evening hours when they eat together and enjoy all the yummy treats they've gathered. Ramadhan will end with Lebaran, also known as Idul Fitri,which means to festively break the fast, and is coordinated with the first sighting of the new moon. The important and fun part about Idul Fitri is the gathering of community. People wear their best clothes and visit from house to house, drinking sweet tea and specially made pastry snacks together. They gather with their family and friends to ask forgiveness for any wrongdoings they have committed in the previous year, often expressed in the saying: Mohon Maaf Lahir Batin, which means "forgive me from the bottom of my heart/soul for my wrongdoings in the past year". This year Lebaran falls on the 1st and 2nd of October. After that, our weekly classes will begin again, with new inspiration and fervor!! Until then, it's back to organizing books and joining in the festivities...!
For further information about Ramadhan customs in Indonesia, try visiting the following website: http://www.expat.or.id/info/lebaran.html.
Yogyakarta during Ramadhan has a unique feel to it. In the days many food stands are closed, and most people aren't eating or drinking anything. By five o'clock the snack stands begin to come out, until the streets are full with stands selling everything from fried spring rolls and tempe, to fruit juices and coconut sweets. Between 5:30 and 6:00, before sunset, is Maghrib, and the call to break fasting (referred to as buka puasa) calls out through the speakers in every nearby mosque. People at this time gather together to eat and drink, breaking their day-long fast. You will often hear fireworks throughout the village at this time, as people like to set them off after fasting has been broken. The eating continues into the early morning hours, until before sunrise when the call for "Saur" (Imsak) rings out, a call to eat one last time before fasting begins again until the following evening. People wake up to walk to nearby food stalls or cook at home, and the diligent ones from there go to the mosque to pray.
Thus are the activities of our little students for the month. I've observed that most of the children are quite diligent with their fasting, and there's a sense of excitement amongst them in the evening hours when they eat together and enjoy all the yummy treats they've gathered. Ramadhan will end with Lebaran, also known as Idul Fitri,which means to festively break the fast, and is coordinated with the first sighting of the new moon. The important and fun part about Idul Fitri is the gathering of community. People wear their best clothes and visit from house to house, drinking sweet tea and specially made pastry snacks together. They gather with their family and friends to ask forgiveness for any wrongdoings they have committed in the previous year, often expressed in the saying: Mohon Maaf Lahir Batin, which means "forgive me from the bottom of my heart/soul for my wrongdoings in the past year". This year Lebaran falls on the 1st and 2nd of October. After that, our weekly classes will begin again, with new inspiration and fervor!! Until then, it's back to organizing books and joining in the festivities...!
For further information about Ramadhan customs in Indonesia, try visiting the following website: http://www.expat.or.id/info/lebaran.html.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Special Guests and New Improvement
The past two weeks have been very busy at the Taring Padi Library. From August 11-18, we had special guests from Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. The Littles (Julie, Dan, Grace, Garrett, Mary-Jane, Mark, Jason, Jacob and Eli), in the short span of a week, helped us to establish a garden, build a swingset, and make a fish pond and fountain in front of the library. In this process the parking garage was relocated, books reorganized, tables painted, and more books, learning posters and a fan were added to the library. As if that was not enough, a sports basket was bought, provided with a badminton set (the Indonesian national sport) and a soccer ball, which was later used in the Independence Day women’s soccer game (pictures included). To top it all off, a bamboo tree-house and slide is currently in the process of being built and should be finished within the next week . Amazing!! 
The Littles came equipped with four strong boys ready to dig their hands in the dirt and make something. Mary-Jane was prepared with information on how to make a compost, including several laminated sheets of instructions in Indonesian to offer as lessons to those interested in learning. Grace, Julie’s daughter, was very helpful in the library labeling new books, organizing, and wrapping presents for the big painting contest, which I’ll explain later in this post.
I first met Julie Little in Seattle in 2002, when I was doing my undergraduate degree in Theater at Cornish College of the Arts. At that time Grace and Garrett, her two children, were still small, and I worked for Julie as a babysitter, gardener, and various odds-and-ends helper. We quickly hit it off, and our connection has continued to this day, six years later. When I went to America for a visit in May 2007, I told Julie about my involvement with the Taring Padi arts collective and the newly established children’s library.
Coincidentally, at the same time Julie and her husband Dan were hoping to start an organization focused on sending books to places in the world with less access or money to purchase books. Upon my return to Yogyakarta, Julie offered to begin gathering donated books from Grace and Garrett’s school community in Seattle, and sending them to us in Indonesia for the Taring Padi Library. Today, the amount of books at the library has increased tremendously, thanks to the Littles and their community of generous friends. While in Indonesia, the Littles purchased a variety of children’s books in Bahasa Indonesia to match the growing number of books in English. Amazingly, the library stock is ever-growing, with a great variety of books to inspire the growing amount of children who are coming to read.
For Indonesian Independence Day on the 17th of August, we had a big children’s painting
competition at Taring Padi. The children, who numbered to about thirty-five from local and nearby villages, were divided into small groups. Each group was provided with a stretched canvas, paint and paintbrushes. Over several hours, each group worked together to make their own painting. Later the paintings were gathered and all children were given snacks, a writing book and special pen for their participation. The event was perfect timing with the newly-built playground, and the children had a blast swinging on the new swing-set, playing badminton and wading in the fish pond (luckily no fish yet!). It was a very nice event. On the 30th of August, we’ll exhibit all of the paintings created at the local village center, and two groups will be selected as the winners and receive drawing books and individual pastels. We hope to encourage all the children involved with activities at Taring Padi to be creative and believe in their abilities to make good art. I also hope 
that the event will draw more children into the library and more students for the Sunday English and reading class.
The Littles came equipped with four strong boys ready to dig their hands in the dirt and make something. Mary-Jane was prepared with information on how to make a compost, including several laminated sheets of instructions in Indonesian to offer as lessons to those interested in learning. Grace, Julie’s daughter, was very helpful in the library labeling new books, organizing, and wrapping presents for the big painting contest, which I’ll explain later in this post.Somehow, within one quick week, we managed to multitask and finish everything, and feel really 
good about the work that we did. I was amazed at the energy that the Littles brought with them, their willingness to try new things and strange foods, and their determination to donate their time and money (not to mention summer vacation) to the development of the library and community center at Taring Padi.
good about the work that we did. I was amazed at the energy that the Littles brought with them, their willingness to try new things and strange foods, and their determination to donate their time and money (not to mention summer vacation) to the development of the library and community center at Taring Padi. I first met Julie Little in Seattle in 2002, when I was doing my undergraduate degree in Theater at Cornish College of the Arts. At that time Grace and Garrett, her two children, were still small, and I worked for Julie as a babysitter, gardener, and various odds-and-ends helper. We quickly hit it off, and our connection has continued to this day, six years later. When I went to America for a visit in May 2007, I told Julie about my involvement with the Taring Padi arts collective and the newly established children’s library.
Coincidentally, at the same time Julie and her husband Dan were hoping to start an organization focused on sending books to places in the world with less access or money to purchase books. Upon my return to Yogyakarta, Julie offered to begin gathering donated books from Grace and Garrett’s school community in Seattle, and sending them to us in Indonesia for the Taring Padi Library. Today, the amount of books at the library has increased tremendously, thanks to the Littles and their community of generous friends. While in Indonesia, the Littles purchased a variety of children’s books in Bahasa Indonesia to match the growing number of books in English. Amazingly, the library stock is ever-growing, with a great variety of books to inspire the growing amount of children who are coming to read.For Indonesian Independence Day on the 17th of August, we had a big children’s painting
competition at Taring Padi. The children, who numbered to about thirty-five from local and nearby villages, were divided into small groups. Each group was provided with a stretched canvas, paint and paintbrushes. Over several hours, each group worked together to make their own painting. Later the paintings were gathered and all children were given snacks, a writing book and special pen for their participation. The event was perfect timing with the newly-built playground, and the children had a blast swinging on the new swing-set, playing badminton and wading in the fish pond (luckily no fish yet!). It was a very nice event. On the 30th of August, we’ll exhibit all of the paintings created at the local village center, and two groups will be selected as the winners and receive drawing books and individual pastels. We hope to encourage all the children involved with activities at Taring Padi to be creative and believe in their abilities to make good art. I also hope 
that the event will draw more children into the library and more students for the Sunday English and reading class.We were sad to see the Littles leave on the 18th of August. We enjoyed their presence at Taring Padi very much, and greatly appreciate all their help and support. Not only was it a good experience, but I hope it will establish a life-long friendship between two different cultures so far away, and yet so close at heart.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Tajam and Bulan
You might refer to Tajam and Bulan as the library's resident children. Tajam and Bulan are the son and daughter of Ucup and Wanti. Ucup is one of the founding members of Taring Padi, and Wanti has also been active since the time that Taring Padi was first being developed. Their home, which they built after their former house was destroyed in the earthquake in Yogyakarta on May 27, 2006, is conveniently located right next to the Taring Padi land and library. Any day you come to the library, Tajam and Bulan will surely be there to greet you. To their delight, I 'interviewed' them to be the first profiles on this website, as I begin to introduce the children involved in the Taring Padi library.
Name: Bulan Fisabililah (Bulan means Moon)Age: 9 years old
Date of birth: April 7, 1999 in Lumajang, East Java
Bulan is in third grade. Her favorite thing to do is read, and her favorite place to go is the library. Her favorite book is Donald Duck. Bulan likes reading books because of the stories. She loves having the library right next door to her home. She might be considered the "Manager" of the library; since its start she helped to organize the books and borrowing system, and she is often in charge of helping the other children to check out books. Bulan also likes to draw, and in the past won an award for her ceramic design, the money of which was used to fix the family television. Bulan goes to school six days a week, from 7am-12am, except for Fridays, which is from 7am-11am. Every Wednesday she has the job of cleaning at school, and on Fridays all the students work together to organize and clean (called kerja bhakti). Bulan likes spicy foods and chocolate, and she doesn't like things that are dirty. In the future, Bulan doesn't know exactly she wants to be yet. She says she will leave it to when it comes, wait and see..!
Name: Tajam Pariwangi Muhammad (Tajam means 'sharp')Age: 4 1/2 years old
Date of Birth: July 26, 2003
Tajam will start kindergarden in July. He's excited to start school to have fun! Tajam is often seen rampaging through the library as he goes on another one of his imaginary adventures. Tajam likes to play and ride his bicycle. He also likes people to take pictures of him, and he loves taking baths. His favorite things to play with are robots, swords and power rangers. He hopes some day to become a power ranger himself. His favorite books, of course, are about power rangers. He also likes power, weapons, war, apple trees, and watching television. What Tajam doesn't like is keris, a traditional Indonesian weapon. His favorite food is fish, and like his sister, he doesn't like things that are dirty.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
About the Library
Taring Padi has a new children's library. For those of you who aren't familiar with Taring Padi, you might check out the website in the links I have included at the bottom of this page. The website is, however, slightly out of date, so I'll give you a quick low-down: Taring Padi is an activist art collective located in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, that began in 1997 at the eve of President 
Soeharto's fall in 1998. They were very active in political demonstrations at that time and used their motto 'art for the people' as a way to express social issues concerning corruption, labor rights, farming, women and children's rights, and so on. Ten years later Taring Padi is still active, and following the earthquake that destroyed their space in May 2006, with funding they bought land in Sembungan Village and built their own gallery and children's library. Which is where we find ourselves today, at this moment. The children's library, Omah Buku Taring Padi, is the subject of this blogsite, as a way to communicate the lives of the children and artists involved, and share the experience of bringing books and learning into village life. For the past six months, Julie 
Little and St. Joseph's School in Seattle, Washington U.S.A., have been sending packages of donated children's books for the children at the library. I hope that this website might serve as a way to communicate and foster understanding beetween the two children's worlds, both in America and Indonesia. This has been a great project, and it's still growing. Every Sunday at the library all the children gather together to learn English, read books and play together. Last Sunday we had a shadow puppetry workshop! The number of children varies, usually from 10-15 children both boys and girls, ages 
6-11. Over time with this website, I hope to introduce you to each and every one of them, and their lives here in Indonesia. It's truly a blessing for me to have the opportunity to work with these children; their imaginations are young and bright, they're eager to learn and they love to read! I hope you enjoy this website, and please feel free to contribute comments, ideas, or anything else you would like. Thank you!
Soeharto's fall in 1998. They were very active in political demonstrations at that time and used their motto 'art for the people' as a way to express social issues concerning corruption, labor rights, farming, women and children's rights, and so on. Ten years later Taring Padi is still active, and following the earthquake that destroyed their space in May 2006, with funding they bought land in Sembungan Village and built their own gallery and children's library. Which is where we find ourselves today, at this moment. The children's library, Omah Buku Taring Padi, is the subject of this blogsite, as a way to communicate the lives of the children and artists involved, and share the experience of bringing books and learning into village life. For the past six months, Julie 
Little and St. Joseph's School in Seattle, Washington U.S.A., have been sending packages of donated children's books for the children at the library. I hope that this website might serve as a way to communicate and foster understanding beetween the two children's worlds, both in America and Indonesia. This has been a great project, and it's still growing. Every Sunday at the library all the children gather together to learn English, read books and play together. Last Sunday we had a shadow puppetry workshop! The number of children varies, usually from 10-15 children both boys and girls, ages 
6-11. Over time with this website, I hope to introduce you to each and every one of them, and their lives here in Indonesia. It's truly a blessing for me to have the opportunity to work with these children; their imaginations are young and bright, they're eager to learn and they love to read! I hope you enjoy this website, and please feel free to contribute comments, ideas, or anything else you would like. Thank you!
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