To the east of Yogya is the Hindu temple of Prambanan and to the northwest of Yogya is the Buddhist temple of Borobudur. Borobudur is slightly older (build in 8th Century, while Prambanan was built in the 9th Century; both...
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Ancient temples
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Language classes and other university experiences
Friends, I will first confess that I am behind on blogging, but I fully intend to catch up in the next 24 hours. Watch for blogs on our visits to Prambanan and Borobudur Temples, as well as our final farewell...
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Farewell to Quito, Welcome to Service!
Our sixth week came fast and, with it, time to wrap up our academic, cultural, and artistic activities, and to say goodbye to Quito. The time flew by, and while we had great times as a group exploring the city,...
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Batik!
While our theme for the 2024 Indonesia SST unity is “unity in diversity,” with a particular focus on inter-religious work, we have participated in a number of arts in Indonesia as well. Having these creative outlets over the last 5...
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Brati village and the environment
We journeyed forth on our environmental field trip this past week. Our destination was a traditional village that is working to address environmental and economic issues by reforestation with productive trees (mango and avocado) and development of environmental tourism to...
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Mennonite Shelter for Refugees
This week, we visited a property on the outskirts of Quito where two families that sadly and abruptly fled their home countries have found a place to live. The location was generously lent by a member of the Mennonite Church...
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Dream Farm and the beauty of flowers
SST students and faculty visited Dream Farm, a flower producing facility in Guayllabamba, a small town 45 minutes north from Quito. We learned that the business of flowers is a huge source of revenue for the area, specially before Valentine’s...
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Happy Lunar New Year!
This week we were privileged to see several new sides of Indonesian culture. Last Monday was opening day of the new semester of classes at the university in which we study (UKDW, here in Yogyakarta). We were invited to the...
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In the Presence of The Queen of Water in Otavalo
Otavalo, a small town, two hours north from Quito, is world known for its artisanal crafts such as textiles, musical instruments, jewelry, hats, and hammocks. The community is proud of its indigenous heritage, practices, language, and customs. María Virginia Farinango...
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Future professional gamelan players in our midst?
Our first day with Ibu Kitsie and Pak Wakidi was so amazing, and there was more in store for us. They had arranged for our Goshen group to play the song that we had just learned in an actual wayang...
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Cuicocha and Cotacachi Cantón
Last Thursday, we left our beloved Quito for some adventurous adventures in Imbabura Province, named after a great inactive volcano. Our agenda included hiking around a lagoon in a volcanic crater, meeting new SST partners, and visiting Parque Condor, a...
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Javanese arts in Solo
On Wednesday after class, students traveled by commuter train up to Solo: Quite the trip–standing room only! Luckily the train ride was just an hour, and everyone emerged (relatively) unscathed. The Setiawan family actually was on our way to Semarang...
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Chocolate or coffee? —Yes, both!
While in Mindo, we visited Quetzal Mindo, a chocolate shop, garden, and tasting tour. Sergio, our Portuguese guide —whose Spanish is better than my Portuguese— explained that cocoa harvesting originated in what now is Ecuador, but it was mostly used...
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Mindo on My Mind…
Mindo, a small town located about 2 hours from Quito, is tucked in the middle of green luscious mountains and singing rivers. Because of its biodiversity, beautiful views, and environmental projects, Mindo has become a great ecotourist attraction. The locals...
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Week 2 in Indonesia!
It’s been a little too long since we updated the blog. We’ve been busy with language classes and becoming acquainted with the city of Yogyakarta. Students continue to amaze us with their willingness to be brave and try new things...
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SST students on the Equatorial Line
Museo Intiñan features a tile covered line that marks the equatorial divide—to make it visible to the naked eye—, plus, life size representations of native people’s houses, ancient tombs, and regional flora and fauna. This provides interactive experiences at a...
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Our first field trip day: rain!
During study, Thursdays are our day set aside for a full-day field trip. For this first day, we planned on visiting the Kraton here in Yogyakarta. Yogya is a “special district” and continues to have a living Sultan who rules...
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Casa museo Guayasamin and Capilla del hombre
Oswaldo Guayasamin (1919-1999) is considered one of the most important visual artists of the 20th century, not only in Ecuador or Latin America, but in the world. His work is visually vibrant, emotionally compelling, and politically engaged. He depicted scenes...
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Weekenders, unite and take over!
The first week of classes included lectures, museum visits, church tours, and silly games. On the weekend, students went out on adventures big and small with their host families. On Saturday morning, some students didn’t go on family outings....
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The first week of classes has been accomplished!
Orientation for this year’s SST Ecuador group was packed full of activities, places to see and new people to meet. The first week of classes set us into a more quotidian rhythm of family life, academic activities, group discussions, and...
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Settling into host families and a Yogyakarta routine
Has it really only been one week since the SSTer’s arrived? The first week of SST was brimming with new experiences: the first days of jet-lagged orientation, meeting host families, language class, bus trips, a lecture, new food…. Language class…
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Family life in Quito
We could’t catch everyone, but we capture the pivotal moment of families picking up their “newest” members.
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From orientation to host families
Saturday was a full day of orientation. We started the morning with a walk to UKDW, the university where our language classes will take place. On the way we stopped at Ibu Ning and Ibu Martha’s home so students meet...
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Arrival in Quito and Day One of Orientation
Good morning (or whenever you are reading this)! After a few delays, interrupted sleep, and moments of uncertainty, the SST Spring 2024 group started orientation with a burst of energy, enthusiasm … and some silliness! As the students...
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