Today I go to the market with my cohort. I have been studying Bahasa Indonesian for 3.5 hours per day all week in addition to the training I received at Ohio University. The market is an official field trip to allow us to begin trying our new language skills. I'm pumped.
We ride in a van taxi to get to the site.
Here is a terrible angkok (van taxi) selfie:
Then we shop. The markets have all sorts of apparel. Head dresses, shirts, pants, dresses, skirts, jewelry. You name it.
Suddenly, the only phrase in Indonesian I can think of is, "Kapan Anda mandi?" This translates into English as, "When do you shower?"
On the bright side, I have clearly learned a phrase in another language. The downside is that asking people when they shower goes beyond not very useful and into the realm of awkward. To give some specifics, I might want to try on a shirt. I would need to ask for my size and the colors I want. Instead of expressing this, I am thinking, "Kapan Anda mandi?"
I did manage to buy two matching broaches, one for me and one for my site-mate Eliza. It was a slow purchase, but I managed without once actually verbalizing the expression, "Kapan Anda mandi." That, I am certain, is an accomplishment.
Here is me wearing the broach. It actually turns out to be Eliza's favorite color!
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