I spent the better part of January 2008 in Indonesia on an immersion experience with my school, the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley.  We joined Indonesian Students at Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta (on Java) to study Interreligious Dialog, specifically looking to dialog between Christians and Muslims.

It was quite the experience– an experience that can hardly be explained in one installment of a blog.  So, I bring to you the first edition: a photo blog.

Nothing tells about a culture like food!  We were welcomed into a cultural center in Sumber on Mount Merapi with traditional Javanese food.

Everywhere we went people wanted to take pictures with us.  This is a group of school girls at Borobodour.  They loved interviewing us because they got to practice their english for school!

In Sumber we took a short hike to this water spring.  The Catholic villagers began their Christmas mass at this site, all washing their faces in the fresh water.  We were invited to take part in this ritual as well. 

It is possibly the most refreshing water in the world.

One of the best pics of the trip, in my opinion.  This was at Pabelan Pesantren- a co-ed muslim boarding school.  The caption included in the picture speaks for itself.

And finally, what photo blog is complete without an annoying tourist picture?  I did my best to make htis the most annoying.  I think it is perfect.

More to come on Indonesia later.  I hope you enjoy these for now.