Indonesia

We are 9 tertians from 7 different countries, with three instructors: Fr. Priyo speaks like a drill sergeant, but always with a huge smile. Fr. Sunu, the tertian master, is more softspoken and always smiling too. He enjoys introducing us to his many plants. Fr. Wiryono is a little more serious as befits his status as a former president of the Jesuit university. Frs. Sunu and Wiryono are former provincials, while Fr. Priyo has been novice master and tertian master for much of his Jesuit life. So, we are in excellent hands.

Indonesia has the same tropical climate as Eastern Africa, and here at Girisonta (which means “holy mountain”) it is cool at this time of the year.  

The country is blessed with an abundance of fruits, many of which Patrick and I had never heard of, such as rambutan (a fruit with a hairy skin) and salak (a fruit with snake-like skin). We finally got to try durian, which smells awful, but has an unusual sweet and savory taste – some people like it very much; others detest it. Even familiar fruits are eaten differently: we were startled to see the Indonesians putting condensed milk and honey on their avocado; they were aghast to see us eat avocado with salt and rice. The cuisine, even though it always has rice, is rich in variety, borrowing from the many ethnic groups and geographical regions of Indonesia. Patrick and I went to a supermarket nearby looking for toiletries and found it contained only snacks of so many different kinds. Likewise, there is an incredible diversity of coffee and a well-developed café culture in the cities.

We are now used to hearing the Muslim call to prayer and take it as an invitation to pray ourselves. On the downside, I have to remember to apply mosquito repellent before leaving my room as those insects seem to find my blood especially delectable.

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Before starting the tertianship, Patrick and I arrived in Jakarta, the capital, and were delighted to be greeted at the airport by a familiar face – Fr. Jim Spillane. Fr. Jim spent many years at St. Augustine University in Mwanza. We visited the mother of Fr. Deshi Ramadhani who, despite being hospitalized, received us cheerfully. The Jakarta Jesuits kindly arranged for us to tour a high school called Kolese Canisius, and a technical school just outside Jakarta that focuses on metal working but also upcycles plastic. In the city of Semarang, closer to the tertianship, we got to visit another high school, Kolese Loyola, and a woodworking vocational school. Below are some pictures.