My Personal Experience in Indonesia

I have landed in Bali! It is very late at night. We are driving to the family house that we are staying in and once we get there we will go to sleep.  

This is my first day in Bali. We are staying in the outskirts of Bali in a town called Ubud. We walk down the road to the canteen. We are volunteering with a program called Green Lion. This program includes a 3 day orientation.

The first day of orientation we had a tour of Ubud and the market in Ubud. Also, we got the see the preparations for the cremation of a royal family member. The ashes were inside a tower with a giant horse guarding it. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to see the cremation because it took place at noon, and that is when we had lunch. After we had lunch at the canteen, we went back home to do homework. At around 6 o’clock we had dinner. Then we met with out group and orientator to learn about the cultural norms of Ubud and the responsibilities and rules of being a volunteer. The Balinese culture is full of ceremonies:

1. The Daily Ceremony- take rice, fruits, and crackers and put into a coconut leaf box. Place this box in every corner of your house and on the main objects you own in the morning, afternoon, and night. Use around 45-60 boxes per day. The idea behind this is to show appreciation for what you have. 
   

2. 

   The box offerings

      Every 15 Day Ceremony(45-60 boxes per day)
1. New Moon (Tilem)-pray for a good life for a whole month
2. Sacred Day (Kajand Kliwan)- hold a ceremony against the bad spirits
3. Every 6 Month Ceremony(300 boxes per day)- 10-day long ceremony to celebrate a battle won by the good spirits against the evil ones. They make a bamboo angel to put in the temple.
4. Silent Day (March 28)- This is the Balinese New Year. On this day you cannot leave your house and the airport and many other facilities are closed. You are supposed to think about the good and bad sides of yourself and think about what you can improve for next year.
5. Ngerupuk- The day before the Balinese New Year, the community makes a big monster called Ogu Ogu, and they make a lot of noise so the bad spirits will go out of the city and into the monster.
6. Private Ceremonies such as cremations, weddings,  birthdays- In the Hindu and Buddhist cultures, there are very few people that get buried; most are cremated.

In the Balinese culture, the whole family lives together. There are 6 buildings in a Balinese house:

1. The east building (bale danging) and the west building (bale dauh)- These are the buildings for God to stay, and this is also where all the ceremonies take place.
2. The Family Temple (songgah)- The building is used for when a child is born or when someone has passed away. This is the most beautiful building in the house.
3. The north building (bale dajah)- This building is for the older generation to stay. North means the head, and the older people are the head or the teachers because they have more experience.
4. The south building (paoon)- This building is the kitchen. In Bali they use the fire to cook; that is why the god of fire is honored. He lives in the south, which is  why this building is in the south.
5. The rice storage (kerumpu)- Rice is a very important part of the life of a Balinese; that is why a whole building is dedicated to the storage of rice
6. Personal Buildings- These buildings are for the newer generation and guests (like us)!

Finally we learned some do’s and dont’s:

Do	Don’t
Smile	Use your left hand (considered dirty hand)
Excuse yourself when you pass an older person	Touch the head of older people
Cover your shoulders and knees	Show affection in public
Wear a sarong (a long skirt that covers your knee)	Climb in the temple
Tie your hair when you enter a temple so you don’t leave anything behind because the Balinese believe that it is bad luck to leave something at a temple	Disturb people that are praying

After learning about the culture, we did our rough draft of a Balinese traditional scarf. We drew with pencil on our scarf because tomorrow we will paint them.

Painting the Scarves

Day 2! The first activity after breakfast is a language class. The language they speak in Indonesia is Bahasa. Bahasa uses the english alphabet but some words are pronounced differently like “c” is pronounced “ch”. Here is what we learned in this class:

Numbers:

     0. Nol

1. Satu
2. Dua
3. Tiga
4. Empat
5. Lima
6. Tujuh
7. Delapan
8. Sembilan
9. Sepuluh
10. Sebelas

     20. Dua belas

     21. Dua puluh

    100. Seratus

  200. Dua ratus

 1000. Seribu

 2000. Dua ribu

100,000. Satu juta

Greetings & Conversation (Salam & Percakapan):

Good morning: Selamat pagi

Good afternoon: Selamat siang (12:00-3:00) and Selamat sore(3:00-6:00)

Good evening: Selamat malam

Good night: Selamat tidur

How are you?: Apa kabar anda?

I’m fine, thank you: Saya baik, terima kasih

And you?: Dan anda?

What is your name?: Siapa nama anda?

My name is ____: Nama saya _____

Where are you from?: Dari mana asal anda?

I’m from ____: Saya dari____

How old are you?: Berapa usia anda?

Im ___ years old: Umur saya _____ tahun

Where are you going?: Kemana anda perfi?

I’m going to ___: Saya apergi ne____

Yes: ya

No: Tidak

You’re welcome: sama sama

May i have ____: Boleh saya punya _____

After our language class, we had lunch. Then, we went to paint our scarfs that we had prepared yesterday. Overnight they had outlined our drawings with wax and stretched out the cloth so we could paint it. The paint that we used was a mixture of water and paint. You take a little bit of water on a paintbrush and brush the part you are going to color. Then you put some color on your paintbrush and start from the outside and continue to the middle. After finishing our scarves, we went back to the canteen to eat dinner.

Last day of orientation! First we had a rice field walk, and I got to try to harvest rice, hit the rice, and sift the rice.

Me hitting the corn

A woman sifting the rice

To hit the rice, you take a husk of rice and hit it so the seeds come out. Then you sift the seeds by shaking them back and forth against the wind so the heavier leaves go one way and the seeds go another. I enjoyed harvesting the rice, but I couldn’t imagine doing it everyday in the overwhelming heat. I noticed that the workers were only elderly people. This was because they didn’t want to stay at home doing nothing; they wanted to be helpful to the community. Unlike most countries, the farmers worked together to harvest everyone’s land, not only theirs. When everyone works together towards a common goal, it is very helpful to community.

Then we continued walking until we reached the nearby village. This village is famous for painting eggs. We had lunch and then we had part two of the language class. After the language class we went back and had dinner.

Today we will begin teaching! First we learned about the classroom rules that the students should follow. We also learned that we will not be teaching at a school but at an after school club called the Sunshine Club! Then we had some time to prepare for the class. Before we actually go to the Sunshine Club, we have a cooking class. What we will be cooking is Gado-Gado-fried sweet tempe (fermented soybean) with vegetables, fried banana with chocolate sauce, and iced-lemon tea.

My plate

After our cooking class we drove to the Sunshine Club!

There were around 14 children at the club. First we sang an introduction song. Then we sang the A is for Apple song to teach them the phonetics. Next, we separated the kids into a younger and an older group. My dad and my brother taught the younger group, and my mom and I taught the older group. The younger children learned the numbers, phonetics, 3-letter words, and the alphabet. They also played some hangman at the end of class. My mom and I taught the older group how to write and say 3-letter words, use the phonetics, write the numbers, and make stories and write them. At the end of class we jumped rope all together.

Last day in Ubud! In the morning my brother and I did homework, and then in the afternoon we went with our parents to the Sunshine Club to teach. Today we had double the amount of kids. We had 28 kids. First we started off with the introduction song, then the A is for Apple song and then we divided into 3 groups: the younger group (my dad and my brother), the older group that was here yesterday (me), and the older group that was not here yesterday (my mom). First I reviewed with my group the numbers and 3-letter words after. I also taught them  how to make conversation. Then, I taught them the directions. I had them write the directions down in their notebooks. Then, we played a game using what we just learned. I asked one of them to close their eyes. I placed an eraser somewhere in the classroom. The other students had to guide their blindfolded classmate toward the eraser using the directions that we learned. We played this game until everyone had a chance to be the person blindfolded. The last thing I asked them to do was to write directions on how to get from their home to the Sunshine Club. We jump-roped at the end. Then we said “da-da” (bye-bye) to everyone. Even though we only taught those children for 2 days, it still broke my heart to have to leave them.

Our 1 Week in Bali:

This week in Bali was used to catch up on homework, but we spent one day at the Green School. The Green School is a school that sparks your curiosity and your creativity. It is a school without walls; there are no boundaries to what you can create. Green School educates green leaders. This school is based on 8 principles: integrity, responsibility, empathy, sustainability, peace. equity, community, and trust. Green school is entirely made of bamboo and it generates its own electricity through solar power. It has its own gardens to grow food for the school. The school buses are Bio Buses which run on used cooking oil that is collected from villages nearby. The school teaches about social entrepreneurship, looking at the surrounding communities and creating solutions to their problems. I love to see the children having fun in school, working together, asking questions, playing, learning, and having fun!

Indonesia's History

Indonesia consists of 13,500 islands. Many of these islands are full of volcanoes, and some are still active. All of these volcanoes make the land in Indonesia very fertile especially in the south close to Java. There are over 300 ethnic groups in Indonesia and only ⅙ of the population speaks the national language at home. In their homes, people speak the regional language and they identify themselves as Balinese or Javanese-- not Indonesian. The government is still working on creating a national identity.

In the pre-colonial period, Indonesia was the center of trade because it had all the most precious spices such as cinnamon and cloves. Indonesia not only trades with other countries but it also traded internally, especially Java and Bali. The trade that went on inside the country was mostly agriculture. Inside Indonesia, Yogyakarta became the center of trade, philosophy, and culture. Islamisation started in the 13th century, but it was a very slow process. In the end, the Acehnese state became the strictest Islamic state in Indonesia because it was the closest to the middle east, but the states in the middle had a more relaxed type of Islam except for Bali that remained Hindu. The main states were Java, Bali, Maluca, and Acehnese. These states were always competing with each other.

The portuguese were the first europeans to come into Asia. Then came the Dutch and the British. There was a dispute and competition going on between the Dutch East India Company (abbreviated as VOC in Dutch) and the British. The VOC rushed into Yogyakarta and took over. Then, in 1756 the VOC took over Java, Ambon and all the islands in between. In 1796, the VOC went bankrupt and the Dutch government took over the company. Then, in 1911 the Dutch took control of Acehnese, Bali, and the rest of Indonesia. They reduced the practice of Islam and they made all the school secular. The Dutch prohibited Indonesia from trading with other countries; they were only allowed to trade inside their own country. They made all the farmers plant sugar, coffee, tea, and indigo at fixed prices. Java prospered from the money it made by selling these products. However, the Javanese did not own land anymore; they lived as tenants on government property. Also, the Dutch chopped down Sumatra’s forest to be able to grow tobacco, rubber, and later oil (SHELL). Suddenly there was a huge increase in Chinese migration because the British bought Hong Kong and forced China to open its ports. After just a short while of the Chinese being in Indonesia, they began to dominate the trade. The urban areas became twice as large as they were before. The Dutch introduced western education, but it was very unlikely for anyone to be accepted into these schools and universities. At this point the literacy rate was really low.

Educated people began to form political parties, but they were not organized well enough; they were sent to jail or exiled to Australia, but they forgot about one person. Sukarno was able to unite the Indonesian people with his speeches. He gave them the sense of nationalism that they were Indonesians. In 1934 Sukarno was exiled and the Japanese occupation began with little resistance from the Dutch. There was advantages and disadvantages from the Japanese occupation:       

Disadvantages	Advantages
They sent men outside of Indonesia to work for Japanese projects	They removed the Dutch from the administration and put in Indonesians
The rice and agriculture were managed poorly	They prohibited speaking Dutch and only allowed the speaking of Indonesian
Clothes were in low supply	They gave young people military training
	They freed Sukarno and other leaders
	Once they realized that they were going to lose the war, they wanted to make life difficult for the Dutch so they promoted independence

Revolution! Once the Japanese left, the Indonesians declared themselves independent, but the Dutch argued that they were still a colony. So, the Indonesians talked to the U.N to not give money for reconstruction to the Netherlands unless the Dutch gave Indonesia their independence. They also fought a Guerilla War against the Dutch in hope of independence. They also pressured the U.S. to cancel the Marshall Plan (a plan created to give money to countries that were badly destroyed during World War II) if the Dutch did not give Indonesia independence. Finally, in 1949 Indonesia gained Independence! Now that they got rid of the Dutch, they realized that there wasn’t any industry left due to the Japanese occupation and there was no food to feed the country. No government could satisfy the needs of all the people. So president after president came and went but slowly, but surely the industry began to grow again. It is still a work in progress.  

My Personal Experience in Myanmar

First day in Myanmar! We have just landed in Yangon. Our tour guide that will be traveling with us throughout our entire stay in Myanmar greeted us when we arrived. Her name is Aye Aye. From the airport we went directly to a Pagoda called the Shwezigone Pagoda. It was built in 850 and it was finished in 1120. The king that started to build it is Anawrohta. He built the lower half of the Pagoda, and Kyansitta built the upper half. There are 4 Buddhas in the Pagoda and one in each direction: north, south, east, and west. Each of the 7 corners in the Pagoda represents a day of the week. In Myanmar they have an animal that represents each weekday. Monday-Tiger, Tuesday- Lion, Wednesday Morning-Elephant with tusks, Wednesday Night-Elephant without tusks, Thursday- Rat, Friday- Guinea Pig, Saturday- Dragon, and Sunday- Garuda bird. Each corner has a statue of Buddha and a bowl of water for people to pour water on the Buddha. The point of this is to clean the Buddha, which is a way to pray. After they do this, they sit down to meditate. Inside the Shwedagon Pagoda, there is an enshrined tooth relic from the Buddha. After we finished visiting the Pagoda, we checked in at the hotel and then went to sleep.

Day 2:
Today we will leave to Bagan. In the 11th century, 190 Pyu villages united together to become Bagan, which became the capital until the Mongol invasion in the 13th century. It is located east of the Ayeyarwady River and north of Yangon. There are around 2000 Pagodas in Bagan. In 1975 there was an earthquake that damaged many Pagodas and then again in 2016 another earthquake hit-- this time much more powerful. In total 400 Pagodas were damaged; this is why many Pagodas were under repair when we were visiting.

Bagan is divided into 3 towns: The Airport Town and Market, Old Bagan, and New Bagan. When we arrived, we drove through the airport town to the Old Bagan. Before leaving the airport town, we stopped to visit the market. The market is quite different than western market. It is open and fresh foods come in everyday. We tried many snacks at the market but my favorite was tamarind flakes. To make tamarind flakes you have to take the tamarind seeds and make them into a paste then shape them into a circle and put them out in the sun to dry. Don’t worry if you feel kind of jealous of me! I am bringing some bags back home so you can try!   In the Old Bagan, we visited two temples. The first temple is the Htilominlo Temple. This temple was built around the 13th century. The king that built this temple wanted to give the throne to his youngest son, but it was tradition to give the throne to his oldest son.He set the Royal Umbrella between the two sons and made an oath that whichever son the umbrella would fall over on was the son who would receive the throne. The Royal Umbrella fell over on the youngest son; therefore, the king built this temple in honor of his youngest son. The name of this temple means: hti-umbrella, lo-want, min-king, and lo-want.

When we were exiting the pagoda, we stopped to see the sand paintings, which we learned how to make. First, iron a cotton cloth. Then, put Neem(an indian lilac) juice over it. Sprinkle fine white sand on top and roll with a glass bottle. Repeat 5 times. Draw your picture over the sand with a pencil. Then, paint it with acrilic color or carve out the sand in the shape of your picture.

After learning about the sand painting, we went to the Dhammayangyi Temple.  This temple is the largest temple in Bagan.The king that started building this temple also built two Buddha statues inside. When the youngest son killed his father and brother to get the throne, he built a brick wall covering the two Buddha statues and, he built a larger one in front to try to make up for his sins. This temple is unique because there is no stupa to go along with it. A temple and a stupa are the two parts to a Pagoda. A stupa is religious building that is completely solid inside. A temple is building that is hollow inside and contains Buddha images inside for people to come and worship. The stupa and the temple together create a Pagoda.

Day 3:

Today we woke up at 5 o’clock in the morning to go on a balloon tour. The balloon tour was amazing and we got to see a lot of the temples that cover Bagan. We also got to watch the sunrise. After our balloon tour we went to Gu Byauk Gyi Temple. This temple is the oldest temple in Myanmar. The walls of the temple are covered in beautiful murals. The atmosphere of the temple is similar to a cave; it is very dark and the air is quite cool. There are two kinds of murals: dry murals that don’t last long and wet murals. The wet murals are painted on wet plaster, so it is impossible to correct mistakes. In this temple, there was a mixture of both types of murals. The murals were full of colors: white, black, red, green, and blue. Each color was made from a different mineral: white from lime, black from soot, fishballs, charcoal, black clay, and oil lamp smoke, red from red clay and vermillion, green from molochite (a granular material), and blue from indigo. To prevent the colors from fading, the artists put Neem juice between the plaster and the painting. Many of the murals that we saw were badly deteriorated. There are many ways that the deterioration could have happened: insects, natural disasters, lightning, bats, and humans.

The next pagoda we went to was the Mya Zedi Pagoda. The kings that built this temple also wanted to give the throne to his youngest son. This son was half Mon and half Burmese. When the king did give the throne to his youngest son, the oldest son did not complain, in fact he donated a statue to this temple on behalf of his brother. He also carved into stone in four languages: Pyu, Mon, Burmese, and Pali all his donations to Buddha. The Mon king from the south and the Burmese king from the center went to war. The Mom king was captured as a prisoner. He was placed under house-arrest in Bagan. During his time in house-arrest, he donated money to build 4 Buddha statues; 3 sitting and 1 reclining. Once he was released from house-arrest, he built a temple to house the Buddhas.  

Next we went to a Lacquer Ware workshop. We learned how to make them. First put bamboo straps between your two toes and slowly strip of half of the bamboo. Weave the bamboo straps to make the object that you desire. Put cotton over the bamboo weaving to protect the bamboo from rotting. Then, put raisin sap over the cotton and polish with sandpaper. Put raisin sap over again and store in a cellar until totally dry. Repeat 8 times. Make sure the cellar is quite humid. Once the lacquer has dried carve your drawing onto the piece. Put the the first color all over then wash it off with water. Put the second color over then wash it off. Polish the piece with coconut oil or peanut oil.        

The fourth temple of day 2 was the Nan Temple. The king that built this temple was King Manuha. This temple is a Hindu temple with a Brama figure inside made of fine cement. On the walls of the temple there are stuccos of the Mon people. The next temple is the Ananda Temple. It was built from the 1084-1112 and built by King Kyansittha. Ananda means endless wisdom of Buddha. This temple is an Indian style building. There are 4 standing Buddhas on the four sides. The original Buddhas were made from metal; the replacements were made with teak (a type of wood). We didn’t stay very long at the last two pagodas. The second to last pagoda is the Dhammayazika Pagoda. This pagoda has 5 entrances and it was built in 1196 during the rule of the king Narapatisith. The last pagoda is the Shwesandaw Pagoda. This pagoda has 5 terraces. We climbed to the 5th terrace and watched the sunset. I loved Bagan, its temples, its people, and it tamarind flakes!

Now we are in Mandalay. The king that built Mandalay was King Mindon who ruled from 1858-1878.  The burmese name for Mandalay is Yadanarbon City.  The population of Mandalay is 1.225 million people. The ethnic groups are Burmese, Indian, Chinese, and Shan. Mandalay is divided into two parts, old and new. Mandalay was divided because archeologists wanted to do some digging some they asked the government to relocate all the local people to another part of the town. In the end most of the locals moved away. This created the new and the old town.

First we went to the Kuthodaw Pagoda. This pagoda was built in 1959. This pagoda holds the world’s largest book. The book is made of stone. There are 729 slabs of stone (5 inches long, 3.5 inches wide). If you were to pile the slabs on top of each other it would be 20 stories high and if you were to lay them out next to each other it would be 13 acres long. Also, if someone was to read nonstop day and night it would take 5 months and 3 days but, if you read 8 hours in a day it would take 1 year and 3 months. Next we went to Shwe Kyaung or the Golden Monastery. There are very intricate wood carving in the buildings. Then we went to Mandalay Hill to watch the sunset. A little bit later into the evening we watched the Moustache Brothers Show. This show is a comedy show making fun of the government. At the end of the show there was a traditional Balinese dancing performance.

Day two in Mandalay. First, we went to a gold leaf making workshop. The gold leaf is stored in bamboo paper. To make this bamboo paper, first cut the bamboo into strips and boil in water for a day. Put slaked lime and keep for a year. Pound it with a mallet. Mix with water. Spread out and let it dry. To make the gold leaf you simply use a mallet and bang the piece of gold until it becomes flat. Then, store the the gold leaf with a bamboo paper between. Then, we went to the Mahagandayon Monastery and we got to see the monks lining up to get their lunch. The monks cannot talk while they are eating because they are thanking the people who gave them donations of food and asking Buddha to bless them. In Myanmar boys have to be at least 7 years old. In Myanmar monks don’t have to be vegetarian but they could if they want to. Next we went to a bronze casting workshop. To cast bronze first make make a steel frame. Then, mix rice husk and clay into a paste to shape your figure. Put bees wax all over the statue. Put iron all over the statue’s body. Put another layer of clay and fasten the iron belt. In Myanmar they choose an auspicious day to cast the bronze. To cast the bronze pour bronze inside the statue and slowly strip of the clay. Finally, polish the statue.

Next, we went to the MahaMuni Temple. This temple was built in the 17th century. Maha means great and muni means Buddha. This temple was taken from the Rakhine state in the 17th century. The Buddha located inside this temple is covered with 24 carat gold. The whole Buddha weighs 12 tons, the statue= 12 tons and the gold=4 tons. The people in Mandalay believe that the Buddha himself is taking care of this statue and keeping it from cracking. Next we went to alabaster carvings. 32 miles north of Mandalay there are many marble mines. The marble is moved to Mandalay by boat and carved into all kinds of statues and distributed all over the country.

After visiting the alabaster workshop, we visited the wood carvings. When I entered the shop I could smell the warm and woody smell. Above my head there were beautiful carvings of Buddha and his disciples watching over me. To enter the workshop we got to pass through the area where the carving were made. Everything is made by hand. I was so amazed at the skill of the workers and how much patiences they had. This workshop has been one of my favorites. I really enjoyed my visit in Mandalay and I hope I can come back again sometime in the future.

Inlay Lake! This town is 3000 feet above sea level and it is 720 km away from Yangon. There are 64 villages around the lake and around 100,000 people live here. Inlay Lake is famous for its floating gardens. To make these floating gardens you have to plant water hyacinth, put fertilizer, and secure it in place with dried taro stems. Then, spread grass and dried plants on top and plant your tomatoes.

When Myanmar was closed off the rest of the world, people could not buy good from other countries for their everyday lives, so they had to make their own supplies and good. This is why many people became craftsmans. To travel to all the workshops, we took a boat. First, we went to the gold and silver smith. Then, we saw the Padaung Tribe. This tribe wears rings around their necks. At 9 years old they have 14 rings, at 14 years old they have 17 rings, and at 20 years old they have 21 rings. By the time they are 20 they have 8-10 kg around their necks. Then we went to the Lotus weaving shop. First, they take out the strands from the lotus stems. Then, they use these strands to weave cloths, but pure lotus is very expensive so most of the times they make the cloths out of silk and do patterns with the lotus. Next we went to the blacksmith shop. In Inlay Lake, blacksmiths are very important because they make the tools the farmers need to harvest and plant the food. We got to watch the beginning stages of making a knife. One person who place the metal in the fire to make it softer. Then he would transfer it to a block of stone. 3 more people would come and take turn banging on the metal. Then the metal who be put back into the fire and they would repeat these steps until the blade became flat and sharp. The final workshop we went to was the cigar workshop. To make the cigar, you would roll cordia leaves into a little funnel and put tobacco stems and leaves inside. To give flavor to the cigar you would either put rice liquor, brown sugar, honey, or star anise juice (orange liqueur and lemon juice).

Finally we went to the Chauk Htut Gyi Temple. It was built in 1907. This temple hold a 65 meter long reclining Buddha. The sole of the feet of the Buddha are full of engravings and Buddhist symbols. Then we went the the Scott Market. What I found interesting about this market is that there were many foreigners at this market. This market is very big so we couldn’t stay really long. This is everything we did in Inlay Lake. I loved Inlay Lake because I love visiting workshops and learning how the locals live.

Today is our last day in Myanmar. We are in Yangon again. Today we will visit the National Museum and then catch our flight to Malaysia the Indonesia. My favorite part in the museum was the clothing section. It had the typical clothes from every ethnic group in Myanmar. Now we will leave to Indonesia!  

Burmese Language:

1. Tip
2. Nip
3. Tone
4. Lay
5. Ngar
6. Chauk
7. Kun Nip
8. Ship
9. Koe
10. Tip-Sè

Myanmar's History

The country that I am visiting right now is Myanmar or Burma. Burma was the name given by the British during the colonial rule and, later in 1989, the military government changed it to Myanmar. The military government is an anti-democratic government that killed thousands of people in many pro-democratic riots. For this reason, the U.S. insists on calling the country Burma.  Right now, as I am writing this post, I am having difficulty deciding what I should refer to the country as, Myanmar or Burma. I could call it Burma because it is the name the U.S. uses, or I could call it Myanmar because that is the official name of the country. I have finally decided to call it Myanmar mostly because that is how I hear the locals referring to the country, and I want to use the name that they prefer.

Myanmar is 260,000 square miles and the coastline measures 1200 miles. The capital of Myanmar's Nay Pyi Daw (pronounced naypito). Nay Pyi Daw is located in central Myanmar and no one lives there, except for the government. The population of Myanmar is 50 million based on the 2013 record. There are 5 main religions in Myanmar: Buddhists-89.3%, Christian-5.6%, Muslim-3.8%, Hindu-5%, Animist-2%. So far, I haven’t met anyone who isn’t Buddhist, but then again I have only visited Pagodas. Due to the strong relationship that Myanmar has with Sri Lanka, the country has remained Buddhist. Sri Lanka is one of the most important Buddhist countries because of all of the Buddhist schools and monasteries that they have there. The four main rivers in Myanmar are Ayeyarwaddy (1238 miles), Than Win (55 miles), Sittaung, and Chindwin. The only river that I have been to so far is Ayeyarwaddy River; this is where I watched the sunset on my first day in Bagan.

The main 8 races are Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Mon, Burma, Rakhine, and Shan. Myanmar shares borders with China to the northeast, Laos to the east, Bangladesh to the west, India to the northwest, and Thailand to the south. The currency is Kyats. The literacy rate is 94%, the dropout rate is 40%, and the number of people that go to university is 33%. There are 3 seasons: the hot season (March-May), the cold season (October -February), and the rainy season (June-September). In the north they produce gemstones, in the east they produce vegetables and fruit, in the south they produce rice, in the west they produce fish, and in the middle they produce onions, peanuts, sesame, garlic, and chilli.  

This is a little history of Myanmar. From the 1st century to the 9th century there was a kingdom made up of Pyu cities.The Bagan era began in the 11th century and Bagan’s emperors ruled from the 12th century to the 13th century until the Mongol invasions in 1277 through 1301. After this invasion, the capital moved several times. First, the capital moved to Inwa in the 14th century. Then Hanthawaddy from the 14th -16th century. Then there was a 40 year long war between Inwa and Hanthawaddy (1385-1424). Then in the 14th-17th centuries Rakhine became the capital. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the capital was moved from Amarapura to Inwa to Mandalay to Sagain. Then in 1824 there was the first Anglo-Burmese war. In 1826, the second Anglo-Burmese War was fought. In 1885 Myanmar lost independence. Then the Japanese invaded in 1942 until 1946. In 1947, General Aung San becomes the first Prime Minister, and in the same year, he was assassinated by his political rivals in a cabinet meeting. January 4th 1948 is the Burmese independence day. U Nu succeeded Aung San. Political and Ethnic conflicts arise in 1958, but are taken care of by the government. In 1960 U Nu wins another election. In 1962, U Nay Win declares that the unity of the country is in danger, so he seizes power. In 1962, soldiers kill hundreds of students who were protesting against the new regime. A few years later Nay Win got rid of the parliamentary system and established a military government that concentrated all the power in his hands. Nay Win banned all political parties and set up one party-- the Burma Socialist Party. The newspapers were shut down and farmers were forced to sell their produce at the government's controlled prices. He closed Myanmar to the outside world and banned tourists. In 1974 the U-Thant Riot took place, and in 1988 there was a political uprising. From 1988-2010, the military government was still in power. In September 2007 there was a monk uprising, and one year later Cyclone Nargis hit. In 2010 the country opened up, and in 2015 there was a flood. In November 8, 2015 there was the first election. From 2016-2020 the National League for Democracy (NLD) will rule.

Prominent Burmese Kings:

1. Anamahta (1044-1077)
2. Kyansittha (1084-1112)
3. Bayint Naung (1551-1581)
4. Alaung Paya (1752-1760)

Recipes:

Thanakha (sun-block)

-trees grow in Thailand and Myanmar

-chop the tree at 3 years old or 10 years old

-grind on circular stone with water and put on whole body

Betel

-betel leave

-betel nut

-tabaco

-slaked lime

-spices

Tea Leaf Salad

Mix all together:

-green tea leaves

-peanuts

-cabbage

-tomatoes

-chillies

-seseme

-chick peas

-butter bean

-lime

-salt

-chicken powder

-cooking oil