Week One...

Well my first week has gone by here in Yogja. To be honest I cannot really say that it has been the most exciting week of my life, mostly because I have been sick most of it.  I arrived here last Saturday and was et by cute little Rizka at the airport. Rizka is a friend of some friends and also works as a research assistent for one of the professors at UIA. She fixed us up a cab which brought me to Prambanan Guesthouse. After that I took her out to dinner at the nearest restruant, Hani´s. We had a nice evening talking and I decided to accompany Rizka and two of her friends on a trip the next day.

The next morning I was up and about quite early considering the 12 hour time difference and I met up with Rizka and her friends and headed off to see the volcano that I will be studying, Merapi. About 30km north of the city Merapi, Indonesias most dangerous volcano sits brooding. The peak was shrouded in clouds for the most part, but we did get lucky and catch a glimpse of it on our drive there as well as later during the day. We drove until the road disappeared beneath us and found oursleves about 4km from the peak. It was easy to see the destruction. Great patches of forest and parts of villages were covered in rubble. After looking around a bit we headed back down for a lunch break at the Norwegian house and then we were off again.

After lunch we headed out again and stopped by a village called Desa Kemadang (Kemadang Village). Rizka had a few things she needed to do in the area, but when done we made a surprise stop at a beach called Watu Kodok (The Frog Rock). Needless to say it was beautiful!

The next day I woke up sick... and while it was not the worst I had ever felt it was pretty bad when you walked out into 35C. I therefore spent the next few days in bed. Thankfully though, I am now on my feet again and off an another adventure tomorrow. :)